Quarter Sawn Red Oak

[chet]

Sawed out a  Red Oak today that gave me 500 feet of fantastic fleck. Each and every board was awesome.

[leweee]

Beautiful  stuff ... Chet you have struck "green good" there ;D ; 8) 8) 8)

[Jeff]

I would like to take the credit for this fine lumber by saying that I didnt really break Chet's Norwood, thus enableing him to still saw once I left. :-\ ;)

[chet]

   :D   :D   :D   :D   :D   :D   :D   :D   :D   :D   :D   :D

[Dan_Shade]

nice stuff, I had some really nice red oak I sawed up a few weeks ago, only problem was I lost about 6" where I hacked it all up trying to quarter the tree with my chainsaw so I could get it on my mill...

oh well, live and learn, I wish I had bought my 42" bar earlier...

[TomFromStLouis]

Exactly what species was that? I know white oaks vary by actual species for fleck (Q. alba being best), so which were you working?

Nice boards. I think we have a few like that, but not sure if they are as good which is why I ask.

[KILROY]

Chet,
Real nice looking boards. Did you quarter the log before sawing? Now what are the future plans for those boards? I would also be interested in what species of Red Oak.

[OneWithWood]

Nice job, Chet.  Will you trun that into some more fine furniture or is it destined for market? 
Did you really let Jeff paly with your mill?  You know you could ruin his desire to return to that big ole' semi automated circle mill thingy  :D :D ;D

[MrMoo]

Chet,
Really nice boards what you gonna do with them? They remind me of some I did last summer.

Jeff, you gave me a good laugh. Always gotta like someone who is willing to help out & do their part. Chet was lucky to have that kind of assistance. 

[chet]

It was Northern Red Oak. It'll air dry a few weeks, then go into da solar kiln. I'm not sure what I'm makin' with it yet, but but I'll think of something.

Kilroy,
All the work was done on da mill, the two logs were only in 24"-26" range.

[Curlywoods]

Exactly what species was that? I know white oaks vary by actual species for fleck (Q. alba being best), so which were you working?

Nice boards. I think we have a few like that, but not sure if they are as good which is why I ask.

I believe Chet stated that they were Red Oak Tom.  White Oak will exhibit longer medullary rays while Red Oak rays are more often shorter in length.

  Electric Al provided a good explanation recently about what to look for in your White Oak logs to help determine if they will saw out as really pretty quarter sawn boards.   If they don't cut our with really good medullary ray fleck content, they are not what people are looking for when they ask for true quarter sawn Oak.
 
That is some nice looking quartered Red Oak Chet!  What ever you use them for will be a standout!

[TomFromStLouis]

Mike,

I guess I was not too clear in my question. I only mentioned white oaks because the fleck varies by species within that group of woods. Since the red oak category also has many different species grouped there, I did not know if the fleck varied as much within the group. Northern red oak is Q. rubra, which answers my queston. Does anyone know if other 'red oaks' exhibit similar quality?

[Tom]

I've seen medullary ray images in Water Oak Q. nigra, and Laurel Oak Q. Laurifolia, that would knock your socks off.  Unfortunately the wood is rather course and not a prime selection to most cabinet makers. 

I'll bet that a fellow that is good with finishes could make it a prime,  top-notch choice to those who aren't as directly challenged by goals such as this if he first paved the way and then showed them how.

[iain]

I would like to take the credit for this fine lumber by saying that I didnt really break Chet's Norwood, thus enableing him to still saw once I left. :-\ ;)

in anyones book thats a loooooong shot, you thinking of running for office Jeff?


iain

[Larry]

TomFromStLouey,
Our northwest Missouri red oak shows the same color and amount of fleck.  Across the river 2 miles into Kansas the same species of ro turns pretty bland and sorta brownish color.  50 miles east and the ro changes color again.  I'm guessing, but I think the color change is due to different soil make ups.  Another thing to check is ring count per inch.  Less than 8 is not to special.  9 to 15 is good looking.  16 and over is cause for celebration.     

Chet,
I really like Q. sawing logs that size.  I can get pretty good production and still enjoy myself.  A manual mill with bigger logs than that to Q/S becomes to much like work for me. 

I'm sure you will find something to do with them boards...nothing like having your own lumber yard.

[Minnesota_boy]

When I saw red oak up here in northern Minnesota, the color ranges from tan to brown to pink to red, all from the same woodlot.  Trees growing next to each other can have very different coloration.