Is quarter-sawn timber worth paying more for?

Two boards of the same species and thickness from the same tree can behave completely differently in service, and the difference is visible on the end of each board. It comes down to the angle the growth rings make with the face, which is decided by where in the log the board was cut and how the log was broken down.

Step by step

1. Read the end grain.Look at the end of the board. Rings running roughly parallel to the face, in long flat arcs, mean flat sawn. Rings running roughly perpendicular to the face, as near-vertical lines, mean quarter sawn. Anything in between is rift sawn and behaves in between.
2. Understand what flat sawn gives you.Cut straight through the log in parallel slices. It yields the most boards, the widest boards and the least waste, so it is cheaper. The face shows the wide cathedral or flame figure. It moves most across its width and it cups away from the heart side.
3. Understand what quarter sawn gives you.Cut radially, towards the centre of the log. It wastes more, yields narrower boards and costs more. The face shows straight, even stripes rather than arches, and in oak the medullary rays show as the silver or tiger fleck people pay a premium for.
4. Choose quarter sawn where flatness matters and the part is wide.A worktop, a wide panel in a door, a drawer side that must slide sweetly, a stair tread, anything that has to stay dead flat across a substantial width in a heated house.
5. Choose flat sawn everywhere else.Framing, studs, joists, rails, stiles, narrow components, anything painted, and anything where the wide figure is what you want to look at. Most timber is flat sawn for good reasons.
6. Use narrow boards as the cheap substitute.The reason a wide flat-sawn board cups is that it is wide. Glue a panel up from several narrower boards, alternating the heart sides, and you get most of the flatness benefit of quarter-sawn at flat-sawn prices.
7. Ask for it by name and expect to pay by the piece.General merchants rarely stock quarter-sawn material; hardwood specialists do. It is normally sold at a premium per cubic metre and in narrower widths, and it usually has to be selected in person.

Tips

• You can often pick quarter-sawn boards out of an ordinary flat-sawn pack for nothing — the boards cut nearest the centre of the log are naturally close to quarter sawn. Look at the ends of every board in the bundle.
• Riven and cleft oak, split along the grain rather than sawn, is effectively perfectly quarter sawn, which is part of why old cleft oak lasts and stays straight.
• For instrument and furniture work, quarter-sawn stock is also noticeably more stable in thickness, which matters for anything that has to hold a precise fit.

Common mistakes

• Paying for quarter-sawn timber and then using it for narrow parts — The stability advantage scales with width. On a 40mm wide rail, both cuts move an amount you cannot measure, and the premium buys you nothing but the appearance.
• Ignoring the heart side when gluing up a flat-sawn panel — Alternating the heart side of successive boards turns one large cup into a series of small opposing ones, which is far easier to hold flat. Laying them all the same way gives you a panel that curls.

Questions people ask