Actually the best wood will be quarter sawn or rift sawn to get the best features of the wood. A 20" log will give you quarter sawn wood but only a few pieces. I couldn't copy the pictures but here is the explaination of the types of cuts.
Web site is;
http://www.ask.com/web?q=quarter+sawn+wood&qsrc=0&o=0&l=dirRift Sawn lumber is cut at a 30-degree or greater angle to the growth rings. This produces narrow boards with accentuated vertical or "straight" grain patterns.
How Quarter-Sawn Wood is Milled
First, the log is cut into quarters. Then, the quarter is flipped ninety degress back and forth to saw off a plane of wood. This process does not produce any more waste than plain sawing, but it does require some extra time to flip the quarters back and forth. This milling process produces a specialty wood flooring cut called Rift and Quarter Sawn.
The benefits to this cut of wood are straighter grain that is up to 50% more stable than plain sawn flooring, and a superior looking product featuring less variation, longer lengths, and medullary rays.
Air drying is the best way and some of the old gun/stock makers wood supplies were from 10-30 years old. By that time you know that the wood is stable, it has gone through all types of temperature changes, and if it was going to change structurally, crack, twist, etc., then it should have happened. One thing also, wood no matter how stable is always moving to temperature changes.
