It looks like I may be able to get my hands on a large, newly fallen
white oak. It seems that white oak in particular is often 1/4 sawn.
I've worked with plainsawn white oak in the past and had a lot of wood
movement. My question is, what are the reasons for choosing to mill
white oak 1/4 sawn?
-it's more attractive?
-more stable?
-both?
-If you had the chance to mill up a pretty darn big, straight white
oak, would you 1/4 saw most of it, all of it?

Thanks!

"Doug" wrote in message
ups.com...
It looks like I may be able to get my hands on a large, newly fallen
white oak. It seems that white oak in particular is often 1/4 sawn.
I've worked with plainsawn white oak in the past and had a lot of wood
movement. My question is, what are the reasons for choosing to mill
white oak 1/4 sawn?
-it's more attractive?

YES

-more stable?

In thickness but not in width but it is stronger.

-both?
-If you had the chance to mill up a pretty darn big, straight white
oak, would you 1/4 saw most of it, all of it?

All of it.

Leon wrote:
"Doug" wrote in message
ups.com...
It looks like I may be able to get my hands on a large, newly fallen
white oak. It seems that white oak in particular is often 1/4 sawn.

-it's more attractive?

YES

Err... maybe. It's good close-up, but if you want grain figure to be
seen
at a distance, riftsawn is preferred. Face frames, use quartersawn.
Panels, maybe riftsawn. Even if you use quartersawn cut plan,
there will be some boards of the riftsawn character.

-more stable?

In thickness but not in width but it is stronger.

Not just dimensionally, but oak has STRONG twist/warp/cup character,
and ripping a board usually releases internal stress. Quartersawn
might warp a bit after ripping, but riftsawn will do worse.

In article . com, "Doug" wrote:
It looks like I may be able to get my hands on a large, newly fallen
white oak. It seems that white oak in particular is often 1/4 sawn.
I've worked with plainsawn white oak in the past and had a lot of wood
movement. My question is, what are the reasons for choosing to mill
white oak 1/4 sawn?
-it's more attractive?

Yes -- *much* more. Quartersawn white oak has a stunning ray-flake grain that
is not visible in flatsawn lumber.

-more stable?

Yes.

-both?

Yes.

-If you had the chance to mill up a pretty darn big, straight white
oak, would you 1/4 saw most of it, all of it?

All of it.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

In article . com,
Doug wrote:
It looks like I may be able to get my hands on a large, newly fallen
white oak. It seems that white oak in particular is often 1/4 sawn.
I've worked with plainsawn white oak in the past and had a lot of wood
movement. My question is, what are the reasons for choosing to mill
white oak 1/4 sawn?
-it's more attractive?
-more stable?
-both?
-If you had the chance to mill up a pretty darn big, straight white
oak, would you 1/4 saw most of it, all of it?

Thanks!


Yes it is more stable. Most woods expand/contract with moisture change
about twice as much tangentially, i.e. in line with the growth rings,
as they do in the direction perpendicular to the rings. In the case of
white oak, quarter sawn also exposes the "rays" which is a kind of
cell structure that extends from one growth layer into another.
Whether you find it attractive or not is a judjment call.

--
Often wrong, never in doubt.

Larry Wasserman - Baltimore, Maryland -

"Doug" wrote in message
ups.com...
It looks like I may be able to get my hands on a large, newly fallen
white oak. It seems that white oak in particular is often 1/4 sawn.
I've worked with plainsawn white oak in the past and had a lot of wood
movement. My question is, what are the reasons for choosing to mill
white oak 1/4 sawn?
-it's more attractive?

Like most things, it is a matter of taste. QS oak (red or white) shows
prominent rays that are highlighted in finishing.

Personally, I don't like white oak, but I suppose it has much more character
QS. Unless I had nothing better to do, I wouldn't bother to cut one up.