Andy Dingley wrote in message . ..
On Wed, 04 Aug 2004 05:30:31 GMT, Steve Knight
wrote:

you usually don't want the center in your woodworking as it is pretty unstable.

These are face-centred blanks, not boxed heart. They don't _include_
the central pith, they're just tangential slices but where a radius
would pass through the cente of the board's face. I understand that
this is important for good wearing properties when used as propellor
shaft bearings.

In some forms of woodworking (such as timber framing) you might
actually prefer to box the heart, because it keeps the movement as
twisting (which you can cope with) rather than cupping (which is
harder).

Actuallu, these blanks are what you are referring to "boxed heart".
The center of the tree runs down the middle of the long axis of the
blank, so central pith is included.