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tut Offline OP
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Curious of the respective thoughts on what type sawing yields the best strength/beauty etc. I have had a few guns stocked over the years and have always avoided anything but Quartersawn, but it seems if one wants to see more smoke/marble cake in the mineral streaking then Slab shows a lot more. I've always been more concerned about layout/strength in the wrist area and felt quartersawn provided more strength in that area.

Lastly, back in the glory days of double making it seems like no guns were stocked with slab sawn wood, am I correct or off base on thinking that?

Last edited by tut; 01/20/18 08:53 AM.

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Tom,

Here's a good read on marbling and streaking in quarter-sawn and flat-cut saw English blanks. Some pretty good info here.

http://www.oldtreegunblanks.com/sawcuts.html

SRH


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It doesn't matter how the wood is cut. With either quarter or slab sawn, you have to visual inspect the area that will run through the wrist of the stock. You need nice long straight grain through that area, with a minimum of run out. Whether it is slab or quarter sawn only means what direction that potential run out could be, i.e. either top to bottom, or side to side.

I have seen MANY blanks regardless of cut, that will not meet that requirement. Each blank needs to be evaluated on a piece by piece basis.


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Originally Posted By: Flintfan
It doesn't matter how the wood is cut.


Respectfully, I could not disagree with this more. It matters a great deal how the wood is cut, and it has been known for centuries that quarter sawn is, by nature, the most stable cut. There is no finish employed in typical gunstock use that can completely stop moisture migration, which is a leading cause of wood "movement." Wood absorbs and loses moisture depending on its environment, and wood moves the most in line with the growth rings. Quarter sawn puts the growth rings (ideally) 90 degrees or perpendicular to the face of the blank (60 to 90 degrees is generally classified quarter, 60 to 30 rift, 30 to 0 or parallel slab or flat sawn), and minimizes inevitable wood movement. It is also my direct experience of almost 50 years of woodworking the not only is quarter sawn preferred in most any application for strength, because movement is minimized it holds a finish better.

Run out in the wrist is of course to be avoided, and as that is generally the area of the stock with the least mass, extra attention should be paid to flow and figure in that area. But to say it does not matter how the blank is cut is simply a bridge too far for me.

Mike


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Don't forget symmetry.
I don't care for one sided blanks.


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Originally Posted By: ClapperZapper
Don't forget symmetry.
I don't care for one sided blanks.


Amen to that.
JR


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From Fender guitars website, but a good explanation, nonetheless:
http://www2.fender.com/experience/tech-talk/quartersawn-necks/
JR


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The most predictable blanks are perfectly quarter sawn. Slab or rift can be nice but I least worry about direction of grain flow in the wrist and side to side run out. You even get a few blanks which start out as one thing on one end and end up another by the end of the blank. You see a lot of quarter to rift blanks but you have to watch where the grain changes direction. Also rift to slab blanks as well. It is for that reason I won't by any blanks unless I can get clear pictures of all six sides of the blank.

Some one sided blanks will improve when shaped. Some even become no sided as all the surface figure is lost when cut. Even looking at the butt end can only give you a hint but no absolute guarantee of what you will get. And if the seller claims kiln dried wood I just walk away. Kiln dried wood tends to be very prone to chipping and may have extreme areas or stress in them due to such rapid drying. Bad enough with some sellers claiming air dried wood which you find out later is only half dried. Better to buy the wood and let it dry several years more before you use it. Unless you live in extreme climate areas I don't think you can damage wood by letting it dry longer. It's for that reason many of us have many more blanks than we will ever use, just drying in our wood racks. I had 300 blanks at one time but have culled them down to a tidy 40-50 blanks. If lucky I'll get to use a quarter of them.

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Originally Posted By: Stan
....Here's a good read on marbling and streaking in quarter-sawn and flat-cut saw English blanks. Some pretty good info here....

That is an interesting read Stan. It's not so much about the blanks, but market for them. I'd agree with CZ about one sided blanks, it's not so satisfying to go there if a person doesn't want to with their eyes wide open.

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Originally Posted By: wingshooter16
Originally Posted By: Flintfan
It doesn't matter how the wood is cut.


Respectfully, I could not disagree with this more. It matters a great deal how the wood is cut, and it has been known for centuries that quarter sawn is, by nature, the most stable cut. There is no finish employed in typical gunstock use that can completely stop moisture migration, which is a leading cause of wood "movement." Wood absorbs and loses moisture depending on its environment, and wood moves the most in line with the growth rings. Quarter sawn puts the growth rings (ideally) 90 degrees or perpendicular to the face of the blank (60 to 90 degrees is generally classified quarter, 60 to 30 rift, 30 to 0 or parallel slab or flat sawn), and minimizes inevitable wood movement. It is also my direct experience of almost 50 years of woodworking the not only is quarter sawn preferred in most any application for strength, because movement is minimized it holds a finish better.

Run out in the wrist is of course to be avoided, and as that is generally the area of the stock with the least mass, extra attention should be paid to flow and figure in that area. But to say it does not matter how the blank is cut is simply a bridge too far for me.

Mike


The original question was specifically about wood strength through the wrist. You bring up many good facts about wood, but again, the only thing that matters on that specific point is grain run out in the wrist, regardless of how the blank is cut. A quartersawn blank with extreme run out in the wrist is simply not going to be as strong as a straight grained, slabsawn piece.

I was simply pointing out that the OP should not get hung up on quartersawn vs. slabsawn as the sole reason for picking a specific blank. I have seen piles of quartersawn blanks that would make terrible gunstocks. Obviously, one would pick a quartersawn blank if given the opportunity, but each one must still be evaluated on a piece by piece basis.


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