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Author Topic: White Oak diagnosis  (Read 5559 times)

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Offline Wooden Spring

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White Oak diagnosis
« on: February 06, 2015, 09:13:15 am »
OK, I've got some quarter sawn white oak. Some of the boards look like the picture below - that is, although the annual rings are perfectly vertical, there are striations that run horizontally. What is THAT? Is that a mark of a bad board?

I've got other boards that don't have those horizontal markings, so are those "better" boards?
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Offline PEARL DRUMS

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Re: White Oak diagnosis
« Reply #1 on: February 06, 2015, 09:34:58 am »
Could be bug damage. Looks like tunneling to me.
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Offline PatM

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Re: White Oak diagnosis
« Reply #2 on: February 06, 2015, 09:37:27 am »
 It's ray fleck. That's an easy way to identify oak.
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Offline Josh B

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Re: White Oak diagnosis
« Reply #3 on: February 06, 2015, 09:39:36 am »
Yep medullallary rays.  Josh
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Offline PatM

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Re: White Oak diagnosis
« Reply #4 on: February 06, 2015, 09:40:38 am »
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Offline Wooden Spring

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Re: White Oak diagnosis
« Reply #5 on: February 06, 2015, 09:49:45 am »
No, it's not bug damage, it's flush, there's no tunnelling.

OK, so this doesn't indicate a problem, or is it good to go for backing material?
« Last Edit: February 06, 2015, 09:53:00 am by Wooden Spring »
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Offline E. Jensen

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Re: White Oak diagnosis
« Reply #6 on: February 06, 2015, 10:34:32 am »
Rays.  They exist in all wood species and are especially pronounced in oak.
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blackhawk

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Re: White Oak diagnosis
« Reply #7 on: February 06, 2015, 10:34:46 am »
Yes they are medullary rays. They show up when oaks are perfectly quarter sawn...I've played with some as backing material and the bow broke right along a ray...my bend tests with some thin slats after did the same thing. It would've made a gorgeous bow...I even made it 76" ntn hoping the added length would hold it together...but nope. I wood do some bend tests with it first before attempting a whole lotta work for nothing.
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Offline Wooden Spring

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Re: White Oak diagnosis
« Reply #8 on: February 06, 2015, 10:46:59 am »
Quote from: blackhawk on February 06, 2015, 10:34:46 am
Yes they are medullary rays. They show up when oaks are perfectly quarter sawn...I've played with some as backing material and the bow broke right along a ray...my bend tests with some thin slats after did the same thing. It would've made a gorgeous bow...I even made it 76" ntn hoping the added length would hold it together...but nope. I wood do some bend tests with it first before attempting a whole lotta work for nothing.

So it would seem they form weak spots. So a perfect white oak backing would have to be somewhat rift sawn I suppose?
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blackhawk

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Re: White Oak diagnosis
« Reply #9 on: February 06, 2015, 10:52:52 am »
That would be correct on the board I had...maybe yours is different? Like I said...do a bend test first to see, and see what happens with yours....and if ya can please post your results with yours. I'd like to know thanks ;)
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Offline PatM

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Re: White Oak diagnosis
« Reply #10 on: February 06, 2015, 11:30:16 am »
It seems to make sense that the wood fibers are disrupted by the ray distorting the  growth of the fiber enough to violate  the grain when it is milled into a board.
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Offline Josh B

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Re: White Oak diagnosis
« Reply #11 on: February 06, 2015, 12:35:11 pm »
This is splitting hairs and not meant to disagree with Chris el mal or Pat.  More of an attempt at clarifying what they said.  The rays don't exactly distort or disrupt the grain and cause violations as they run with the grain and for the most part are part of the grain.  They do however indicate a grain violation that was caused by the grain not running perfectly true to the face of the milled board.  Josh
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Offline PEARL DRUMS

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Re: White Oak diagnosis
« Reply #12 on: February 06, 2015, 12:53:36 pm »
Swami says! ....;)
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Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.

Offline E. Jensen

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Re: White Oak diagnosis
« Reply #13 on: February 06, 2015, 02:31:04 pm »
If it helps conceptualize it, rays are basically the same cells as fiber tracheids (the main wood going up and down), except oriented radially (get it, rays/radial) meaning perpendicular to the main grain, from the center of the tree outwards.
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Offline Springbuck

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Re: White Oak diagnosis
« Reply #14 on: February 06, 2015, 03:52:35 pm »
People pay a lot to have that in furniture.  Will NOT hurt the wood.  Look at your board from the sides.  If you can not see significant back to front run off I'd say you are on to a winner for either a backing or a board bow.
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