Quarter sawn oak explained: how ray flecks appear
Updated: 2 hours ago
Quarter sawn oak is easy to recognise by the shiny flecks in the wood. These are called ray flecks. The video below shows in under a minute how they appear.
What is quarter sawn oak?
For quarter sawing, we first saw the log in half. Then we saw one half in two again. That gives four quarters.
From a quarter we saw the boards from the inside out, from two sides in turn. If the growth rings sit at an angle of 60° to 90° to the board face, the board is quarter sawn.
In oak, wide medullary rays run out from the center, like the spokes of a wheel. When we quarter saw, the blade cuts along those rays. So each ray opens up as a shiny fleck.
Quarter sawn, rift sawn and plain sawn
This is how the three sawing methods differ:
Quarter sawn: growth rings at 60° to 90°, straight grain and many ray flecks. A board is on average 6.5 in (16.5 cm) wide, from a log of about 19 in (48 cm) diameter.
Rift sawn (in Dutch “half kwartiers” or “vals kwartiers”): growth rings at 30° to 60°, straight grain and few flecks. A board is on average 4.5 in (11.5 cm) wide.
Plain sawn (in Dutch “dosse gezaagd”): the blade cuts along the growth ring. This gives a cathedral or flame figure and no flecks.
So it is the same log with three faces. Only the sawing method differs.
What does this mean for your wood?
Quarter sawn wood has a straight grain and is more stable: less shrinkage and warping. It does need a higher quality log, because we saw from the inside out.
You can read more about our oak grades in Oak Grades Explained: From QF/1a to QF/5.
Questions about oak for your project? Call me on +31 (6) 22546945 or have a look at our products.
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