# Which species should be quartersawn?



## molf20 (Apr 2, 2011)

I have a bunch of hardwood logs that I will be sawing in the next few days. Is there any species that look better quartersawn? You hear about quartersawn oak all the time, but not much about other species. Should I bother spending the extra time quartersawing? I have hard maple, yellow and paper birch, hornbeam (Ironwood), ash, and poplar.

Thanks,

Luke


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

For looks none of the species you listed you have on deck are worth 1/4 sawing. I only 1/4 saw oak and sycamore for looks. You are not just spending more time, but wasting more wood properly 1/4 sawing. The ones you mention are just fine looking flat sawn, and you will get more. There is the fact 1/4 sawn lumber is more stable than flat sawn and for certain uses is preferred (guitar makers like 1/4 sawn everything for example). But for furniture it is not IMO that much more stable to make it worth it...and frankly most species just look better flat sawn.


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## ETWW (Mar 27, 2011)

I agree with what Daren said about not QSawing the species you listed. I will add that if you are going to be cutting any of it for leg stock then rift sawing is preferred as you will then have straight grain on all four faces.


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## HomeBody (Nov 24, 2010)

My wife ordered all new bedroom furniture for two rooms. Amish made locally. She ordered quarter sawed white oak. I asked her why she needed quarter sawn and she said it was more expensive, so it must be better.:wallbash: I'm with Daren, I like the looks of slab sawed just as much or more than quarter. Gary


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Stickley and Amish furnture*

One of the design "features" of these styles is the use of quartersawn oak which results in a grain pattern in the surface of the wood sometimes called rays or flecks. People appreciate this condition and are willing to pay more for the "look". Even a flat sawn board will have quartersawn right through it's center as this diagram shows. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quarter_sawing

 


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quartersawn
As Daren says to properly quarter saw a log it should be sawn radially, a time consuming and wasteful operation. In flat sawing, the boards on the top and bottom of the log may tend to cup more because of the grain orientation , whereas the center boards have more vertical grain, the desired quality of quartersawn. 
Another way to quarter saw is to flat saw the center 2 boards out and then "quarter" the remaining slabs by sawing through them vertically. Then by flipping 90 degrees after each pass the result will be as close to radial quarter sawing as possible.  bill


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## qbilder (Dec 19, 2010)

If your hornbeam is large enough then quarter sawing it will reveal a really cool ray pattern similar to oak, more like beech. Hornbeam is rarely larger than 12" though, which means 3-4" quartered boards and smaller. For small projects it would look great. If not quarter sawing it, it's actually pretty ugly stuff. It's vibrant white when first cut but turns grey when dry, much like holly does. If you kiln dry it right away you can preserve the snow white look. The bright white color with bold medullary rays showing would look awesome in a jewelry box, picture frames, etc. Would be an outstanding contrast with walnut. Just a thought. 

As for hard maple, if strength & stability are the goal, go with quartering. I think it's impossible for quartered maple to move. Not really but it's pretty darn stable. And with it being ugly & bland anyway, why not? Curly figure shows best on quartered boards. That's true for any species. But then again the log has to possess curly grain in order to show it.


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## molf20 (Apr 2, 2011)

*Thanks everyone!*

Thanks for the help everyone! What about Beech? Should this be quartersawn?

Luke


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

molf20 said:


> Thanks for the help everyone! What about Beech? Should this be quartersawn?
> 
> Luke


You use the term "should". Wood doesn't have to be quarter sawn. It may be a desired cut for the visual effect, or its stability. If the project like a kitchen or an entertainment center, matching up the same species of lumber and hardwood plywood, would be to use a flat sawn (plain slice) for both lumber and the plywood. Finding quartersawn faces on plywood would be difficult.












 







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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

***Ok, I started this response at 8:45...then had to go to work before I finished and could hit post (I work at home and a customer showed up). I am in for lunch now and see C-man basically saying the same thing I had typed...but I went to the trouble earlier, so I just added this part instead of saying ''what he said''....but what he said :smile:..and this below***

''Should'' and can I think are my hangups here. Anything _can_ be 1/4 sawn, for appearance _some_ should (if you are looking for ray fleck). Beech can show ray fleck. Some woods should be 1/4 sawn for stability for their intended purpose, I mentioned guitars. qbilder makes billiard cues so stability is also very important to him, and little pieces (narrow boards) are not a problem in that use.

The north American hardwoods I deal with (which is most of them) nothing says any of them _should_ be 1/4 sawn. I do 1/4 saw some oak and sycamore, but not all. I don't mess with 1/4 sawing anything under 18'' diameter. As Bill showed even flat sawn you are going to get 2-4 (depending on log size and lumber thickness) true 1/4 sawn boards. I flat saw most everything and set the 1/4 sawn off to the side for later use/sale. For my uses 1/4 sawing everything is far too wasteful and the lumber is too narrow. I use/sell for furniture and I or no one else wants to join a bunch of 2''-3''-4'' wide boards when we can just pick out a 12'' wide one from my stack and be done.

It depends on your final plan for the lumber. You can 1/4 saw every single log you get...or never 1/4 a single one, no one says you should 1/4 saw. And just because a species can show ray fleck it doesn't mean it will, or at least as much as you may see in a picture. Just the slightest crook in the log or misalignment on the mill you can ''get off the fleck'' and the wood is no better looking than flat sawn.(and you will have less of it, and narrower lumber)

I 1/4 sawed a red oak recently. Split it in 4 pieces on the mill...it sprung open and the 1/4's all bowed slightly away from each other. By the time I milled it out and edged I had a very small pile (because of the waste involved in 1/4 sawing) of not too impressive lumber. That was not sawyer error, just the nature of that particular tree.


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

Daren said:


> ***Ok, I started this response at 8:45...then had to go to work before I finished and could hit post (I work at home and a customer showed up). I am in for lunch now and see C-man basically saying the same thing I had typed...but I went to the trouble earlier, so I just added this part instead of saying ''what he said''....but what he said :smile:..and this below***
> 
> ''Should'' and can I think are my hangups here. Anything _can_ be 1/4 sawn, for appearance _some_ should (if you are looking for ray fleck). Beech can show ray fleck. Some woods should be 1/4 sawn for stability for their intended purpose, I mentioned guitars. qbilder makes billiard cues so stability is also very important to him, and little pieces (narrow boards) are not a problem in that use.
> 
> ...


+1. What he said.:laughing:












 







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## Allen Tomaszek (Dec 11, 2010)

molf20 said:


> Should I bother spending the extra time quartersawing?


It depends on what your goal is Luke. A lot of people like the look of flat sawn lumber and there are people who like the look of straight grain produced in quarter/rift sawing. 

If you're sawing the logs to sell lumber to the general public you probably won't be any more ahead quartersawing this material. It just depends on what your customer is looking for. There are some flooring manufacturers who look for quartersawn maple. People who make planes and mallet heads seem to prefer quartersawn wood no matter what species they use. If your customer is you then cut it the way you like and don't worry about the should.

If I were sawing I would probably quartersaw the yellow birch and the ash if they were at least 20" diameter. The maple and the beech I would let spalt (a whole other topic) and then flat saw them. But that's just me and my market. Good luck.


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