White Oak Stess

[Rhodemont]

I was sawing some white oak with my son today that we had fell and skid back in January.  He is going to build an outside kitchen/party kitchen so it is 6x6 post and beams.  I was very surprised to see how much stress there was in the logs causing the slabs and flitches to bow like they did... I mean like 1.5 inch  up on the ends of 14 foot logs.
I am centering the pith for the beams so should be good but this kills any jacket boards. I see stress in Tulip poplar and red oak that has an obvious lean/bend but did not expect this on nice straight white oak logs.

[Magicman]

Your description indicates an off center pith which is also an indicator for stress.

[barbender]

I see that a lot in Bur Oak.

[customsawyer]

Some white oak in my area will have lots of stress. Than others will saw as nice as can be. Keep in mind that the cant will be trying to move in the other direction.

[ladylake]

 Smaller white oak logs can have lots of stress.    Steve

[Rhodemont]

The logs were 14 and 16 inch diameter small end x 14 and 18ft, some taper on the but.  I purposely looked for trees about this size so I could handle the logs for these longer beams.  The pith on each is centered.  The cants did move a little so I kept flipping and taking thin passes to get them flat and straight.  Did not get many usable boards.  Hoping they stay straight as they dry.

[moosehunter]

I've sawn white oak that had some bad movement as it was sawn. Others that sawed straight as can be. Did a job two weeks ago, 10 white oak logs, only 1 was moving as I cut it. All were nice straight logs.
mh

[SawyerTed]

I had one white oak a few weeks ago, sawed like a banana peel.   It didn't matter which face I cut, the boards bowed, 180 degrees, 90 degrees didn't matter.  Two faces were worse than the other two. The log had a lot of taper. Two faces I tried parallel to the bark, two faces were cut straight- no dice. 

We decided to use the mill and cut it to firewood sizes and the customer cut it for his men's group weekly gathering around the fire pit with church.  That's how they do bible study.  

Other logs produced flat boards.  

[beenthere]

Sounds like the customer brought you a limb to saw. 

[123maxbars]

I have sawed a lot of WO that size and stress is common. One of the loggers I deal with calls them juvenile delinquent logs, I guess since they try to run away and not be straight.    

[barbender]

The stuff I have experience with, the more taper it has the worse it moves. 

[Magicman]

Taper and also size.  If the log is only one or two boards larger than your targeted cant, you can expect it to curl/bow like a banana peel as you make the opening and subsequent faces.