Quarter sawing using alaskan + mini mill part 1

[Rob D]

Now that the weather is getting colder it's the best time to start milling wood (doesn't dry so quickly initially which is one of the main causes of defects).

 

I've been through and through sawing for years but now I can see the value of quarter sawing timber.

 

What's quarter sawing? - this is the process of milling a log to get the growth rings running perpendicular to a board = less cupping and movement and warping. You also get more 'figuring on the board' i.e. in oak and beach you get attractive 'rays' in the wood.

 

Great demo vid here that shows this:

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVBsA1KbfY8]Plain Sawn vs Quarter Sawn - YouTube[/ame]

 

In this vid I'm having a go at a largish piece of beech. It's not an ideal candidate as it's not a clean log but a good way to practice.

 

 

• For the first cut you want to be milling exactly in parallel with the log so you're not coming across the grain - hence the funny wooden shaped things for the ladder to rest on! These have been lined up with the center of the log.
  
• Do the horizontal cut first then try and set the mini mill so the tip of the saw is in the small gap (I had to long a bar to do this here). It's a good use of the mini mill.
  
• Part 2 will be looking at then re sawing the quarters in various ways to get quarter sawn boards.
  

 

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXyZxnKyiyM&list=UU9eV7377LRZ9H98BQowuSbQ&index=1&feature=plcp]Quarter sawing using alaskan mill and mini mill - YouTube[/ame]

 

 

 

 

 

 

And you can see a great animation of quarter sawing here.

 

 

 

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQOLdlavAWA&feature=related]The Frank Miller Lumber Quartersawing Process - YouTube[/ame]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Stubby]

Hi Interesting and explanatory. I have some Fender guitars with quarter sawn north American hard rock maple necks . This makes them much more stable and less pron to warpage and creep . ( as explained in the vid ) nice one bud !

[dexta]

Thanks for posting. Good explanation of how to do it

[delabodge]

very imformative as usual rob,,brilliant,

[Big J]

Very good videos Rob. My experiences with quarter sawn Oak is that it is sawn slightly differently, as detailed at the start of this thread:

 

Quarter sawing tutorial with pics

 

I like quarter sawn oak, but not always. I think that there is a lot of stunning figure that can be missed out on if you only quarter saw. Any burr or pipping is more or less lost, and wilder grained Oak can have some fabulous figure close to the crown.

 

Never the less, excellent video and will prove useful!

[bobh]

Thanks Rob

All makes more sense now, will be interested to see part 2.

Clever use of the wooden supports for the first cut.

[Rob D]

Very good videos Rob. My experiences with quarter sawn Oak is that it is sawn slightly differently, as detailed at the start of this thread:

 

Quarter sawing tutorial with pics

 

 

I've had a look at that - I think that method is more suitable for bandsaws as you don't have to flip from one side to another i.e. less moving of the 'quarter'

 

I like quarter sawn oak, but not always. I think that there is a lot of stunning figure that can be missed out on if you only quarter saw. Any burr or pipping is more or less lost.

 

I dunno if you'd lose the burring as a result - although in a slightly burry log it would push the burring to the edges... but you could always through saw the burr area and then quarter saw the rest...

 

 

 

I know - it wouldn't be for every log but I think I'll be milling at least half of my wood by quarter sawing from now on. More for stability reasons rather than the figuring.

[geoff]

Thanks for those videos,that has cleared it up for me

[Bob Slade]

Hi Rob, thanks for the vid. correct me if i am wrong but wouldn't the 2 boards either side of the heart be quarter sawn by default by cutting straight across as normal?

[agg221]

Hi Rob, thanks for the vid. correct me if i am wrong but wouldn't the 2 boards either side of the heart be quarter sawn by default by cutting straight across as normal?

 

Yes, you are correct - they are.

 

If the tree is big enough, the first four boards can be (within the 60degree angle), excluding the very centre.

 

I've been making feather-edge cladding which is quartersawn, literally radial around the tree. One of the few jobs where a portable mill that references from the log is actually easier to use than a mill that references from its own frame.

 

Alec