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How was the log aligned to produce this figure?

Started by scsmith42, March 10, 2016, 09:47:03 PM

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scsmith42

I saw this photo on a woodworking forum, and am having a hard time envisioning how the log was aligned in order to produce this pattern.

Clearly it is a crotch, but what I find unusual is the relationship of the crotch feather to the sapwood, and also how one side of the crotch has tight, vertical grain and the other side of the crotch does not, and the curvature of the grain on one side of the crotch feather and the straightness of the grain on the other side.

Any ideas?



 
Peterson 10" WPF with 65' of track
Smith - Gallagher dedicated slabber
Tom's 3638D Baker band mill
and a mix of log handling heavy equipment.

Jeff

I put it in photoshop so I could divide it so I was only looking at one half, then rotate it and flip it and after all that. I have no idea either. :D
Just call me the midget doctor.
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sandsawmill14

 say_what say_what say_what i dot know either but it would make a very nice end table or something :)
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bkaimwood

Maybe you are over thinking it...or I'm not thinking hard enough about it...
The slabs is the picture likely came from a crotch or other abnormal area of tree growth, as is clear as mentioned. However, I don't believe they came from a full crotch, using both sides...picture this... Flip the two pieces in the picture together... Now you have one thick board or slab...it was likely cut from one side of a crotch or irregular log as mentioned...now just cut it through the center for the book match. The fella who processed these may have done this because there was something wrong with the other side of the crotch, or he didn't have it? Crotches can have the tendency to crack, atleast on one side, due to the internal stresses that limbwood tends to have, coupled with all the different growth patterns and variations found in these areas. Another possibility is this...picture a nice 14 foot log with a crotch on the end. I have done this...I only want a nice straight, 12 foot log, maybe it gets to crazy at the end. But I know there's some awesome grain up there, I saw the short seperate. Nice stuff in there...but maybe some rot, bark inclusion, or what not in the center, as is often encountered...saw the defect areas from the slab by ripping it out, through the center...you get a nice bookmatch from both sides, but one is from the right side, one from the left. I don't think there was much special indexing or sawing the sawyer planned on from that cut, probably cut what he had and adjusted as mentioned for end value. The special-ness was there in that short to begin with, and it is special!! Beautiful!! I have a very similar bookmatch short about 2 feet long sitting here in the garage now, harvested from the latter of the two mentioned situations...
bk

4x4American

Boy, back in my day..

Satamax

The bottom V is i think a branch start. The thing is bookmatched, and it looks like indian rosewood of some kind.
French CD4 sawmill. Latil TL 73. Self moving hydraulic crane. Iveco daily 4x4 lwb dead as of 06/2020. Replaced by a Brimont TL80 CSA.


Seaman

I am with BK on this. I think if you stood the crotch up on it's side, one fork up, one fork down, split it down the center, then lay one on it's side, and cut book match pieces, you would get this.
Now the grain, I think this was a crook in the log, just before the fork.
Of course, I am new at this, and general full of $()!*, so I may not know what I am talking about !
Have a good day sawing guys !
Frank
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Semper Fi

bkaimwood

Footnote... Sawn near the pith, hence the tighter grain that follows the sweep inward...
bk

AnthonyW

My guess is that it was a fork. Clearly they are bookmatched. The sapwood was toward the center of the tree/fork/crotch and the outside sap wood in missing. I think if you rotate the picture 90 degree counter-clockwise so the board is pointing up (instead of sideways) you get a better idea of how the log grew and was cut from the tree. That is IMHO.
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isawlogs

 I have some pine boards on my shop like this, the tree over grew a limb, makes for interesting cut.

  He bookmatched the cut after.
A man does not always grow wise as he grows old , but he always grows old as he grows wise .

   Marcel

customsawyer

I think it was a accident and he don't remember
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Satamax

French CD4 sawmill. Latil TL 73. Self moving hydraulic crane. Iveco daily 4x4 lwb dead as of 06/2020. Replaced by a Brimont TL80 CSA.

Sawmill Man

 The tight vertical grain was a limb and the piece is quartersawn.
"I could have sworn I went over that one with the metal detector".

scsmith42

As others have stated, the wood is black walnut.

The bookmatching of the boards is obvious.  What is not obvious is the shape of the log and how the crotch intersected it.  Both sides of the crotch appear to be quartersawn, as all of the grain is vertical.

I think that I may have this figured out.  This particular crotch came from a fork in the tree instead of just a limb sticking out, but the main trunk was vertical and the fork angled out on one side.  That would explain how the sapwood portion is flaring out. The tight growth ring wood with the vertical grain along the left side of the crotch on the bottom board is the compression wood on the bottom side of the limb.  The wider growth ring portion to the right of the crotch is the main trunk above the limb.  It appears as if the limb was fairly small compared with the main trunk section (looking at the sapwood and where it would intersection the upper portion of the crotch in the tree).  Since there is no pith wood present in the wide growth ring portion of the board, the main trunk was fairly large diameter. 

Thus, the log would have been orientated in the standard manner with the "Y" of the crotch aligned parallel with the band.  What makes the board somewhat unique is the way that it was trimmed after milling.
Peterson 10" WPF with 65' of track
Smith - Gallagher dedicated slabber
Tom's 3638D Baker band mill
and a mix of log handling heavy equipment.

5quarter

What is this leisure time of which you speak?
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