Twelve SBB (spruce bark beetle killed) grade 2 logs were received by FPInnovations, three were confidently assigned a grade 2, but nine were considered suspicious, as the scalers suspected that some internal defects could not be correctly identified visually. CT (computer tomography) scanning and analysis revealed that decay and checking were more extensive than externally visible defects indicated, which led to downgrading 2 logs to grade 4. Pressure treating one of the apparently good quality logs with water and re-scanning enhanced the visibility of the number and depth of checks in CT images and led to downgrading that log as well. Two of the suspicious logs were warmed for 24 hours at 22 degrees to simulate exposure to one summer day in BC Interior, but unlike typical dry pine logs, the many fine checks around these logs opened evenly, without revealing the true depth of any. Another two suspicious logs with signs of decay were cut to analyse decay extent. The decay was far more extensive than even visible in CT images, leading to downgrade of both logs. Overall, 4 of the nine logs considered suspicious and one of the 3 considered good quality SBB killed grade 2 logs were downgraded due to checks and decay not visible to scalers on the study. Although these results are neither statistically significant nor comprehensive, they point to the challenge of scaling SBB logs correctly, without knowledge of internal defects.