how to 1/4 saw oak

[efitzgerald]

Was wondering if anyone has any ideas on how to get true 1/4 sawed oak. we have tried many methods but only end up with riff sawed oak boards. does any one have any ideas or has anyone tried this before. some of our boards do have what we call tiger flakes.  Any ideas would be greatful

[Tom]

Links:

Quarter Sawing Diagram

True Quartersawn Yeild

....and lots of other conversations in the past.

[efitzgerald]

that would work for a ban saw but we use a circle saw

[Ianab]

I dont think any of the q-sawing methods will will give ray flecks in more than about 25% of the boards?

By definition a q-sawn board has the growth rings running 60-90 deg from the face of the board. The sawing patterns pretty much achieve this for most of the boards. But the ray flecks will only show if the angle is like 85-90 deg. Only some of the boards are going to achieve this, hopefully they are the widest cleanest ones that you take off first. The boards you have sawn without the flecks are still considered quartersawn (as far as stability and structural matters), they just dont have the visual appeal.

It is also possible to saw up a log like a pie and get every board at practically 90 deg, but the amount of work and waste involved means it's seldom done.

The theory is the same for band or circle mills.  You still have to divide the log up into sections initially and resaw those. On a swingblade it's easier because we just start at the top and work down, but we still take the boards out of the log in the same sort of pattern.

Cheers

Ian

[efitzgerald]

ok i see now thanks for the help

[KiwiCharlie]

Hi,
This is a diagram from a book called "Woodworkers Guide to Selecting and Milling Wood" by Charles Self.  Its got heaps of good info in it and even talks about the "fleck" etc.  Could be worth seeing if your library can get a copy for you to have a look at.  It has an excellent gallery of wood types as well.
Notice the "radial quartersawing" which is what Ian mentioned in his post.
If you want any more info on the book, just let me know.
Cheers
Charlie

[KiwiCharlie]

By the way, the book is out of print, but currently there are 3 copies available on Amazon.
Cheers
Charlie.

[woodmills1]

Kiwi that is a great picture for the different quartering methods.

[KiwiCharlie]

Hi James,
Yes, its a great book.  The first chapter is on the structure of wood.  Gets indepth but is really helpful in understanding/learning about wood at the base level, no matter what type of work you do with wood.
Cheers
Charlie.