Greetings John:
I would strongly suggest you contact an Oregon State Extension Forestry specialist if this question is related to marketing Oregon timber as they will have better knowledge regarding local log scales.
However, if this log scale question is related to marketing Illinois timber then I would be more than happy to address your questions. Here in Illinois, we typically sell timber using the Doyle scale. Yes, Doyle does underscale small logs and yes it does overscale large logs; however, sawmills, loggers, and timber buyers know this common fact so there really isn't any marketing genius behind playing the log scale game. Anyone who buys timber will ask what log scale was used to quantify the volume and they will simply adjust their prices accordingly based on the log scale used. I personally believe Illinois should switch back to the International ¼ log rule as this was the log rule used in Illinois several decades ago. I won’t digress into the shortcomings of board foot volume lumber rules, as cubic volume measurements are consistently more accurate. That’s a discussion for another day!
Please view http://www.ces.purdue.edu/extmedia/FNR/FNR-191.pdf for a brief, but good look at log rule comparisons common here in the Midwest.
Illinois Timber Price Bulletins:
http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/forestry/il_timber_prices/index.html
USDA Timber Report Websites:
http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/econ/data/prices/index.htm
