verhoevenc Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 For all you acoustic guys who are tired of going to the lumber yard to get back/side billets and aren't finding good quartered stock, only slabcut stuff... don't you always go "would the flat or riftsawn wood really be THAT bad for an acoustic...?" I just read the BEST thread of my life on the subject... it took reading and search the OLF for 2 hours to find one that really did it for me... but either way, I thought I'd link it here for you guys, cause honestly, it's a great read. And like the topic says, it's the best, easiest to understand answer to the question that I've found. OLF Thread In Question Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 For all you acoustic guys who are tired of going to the lumber yard to get back/side billets and aren't finding good quartered stock, only slabcut stuff... don't you always go "would the flat or riftsawn wood really be THAT bad for an acoustic...?" I just read the BEST thread of my life on the subject... it took reading and search the OLF for 2 hours to find one that really did it for me... but either way, I thought I'd link it here for you guys, cause honestly, it's a great read. And like the topic says, it's the best, easiest to understand answer to the question that I've found. OLF Thread In Question Chris I just read the topic. Lots of points made, lots of debate on what is "flat". I understood what was being said, but I don't think it clearly answered the question at hand(I took from it a big "depends on the wood"). Is that what you got from it? Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verhoevenc Posted March 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 Yes, but the reason I liked that answer, was atleast in this thread, it gave you the tools to figure out how to apply the "depends on the wood" answer. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 The one concern I would have is with bending flat sawn sides. Don't you think they would be prone to cracking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 The one concern I would have is with bending flat sawn sides. Don't you think they would be prone to cracking? Not really. From what I have seen some woods are more prone to cracking. You generally have trouble with those woods but other woods are not usually an issue. Zircote is a nasty one for cracking. It will crack in the quartersawn orientation just as fast as the flat. Woods like Port Oxford Cedar never give me any issue with cracking again either orientaion. The type of wood really seems to be key in how prone to cracking it will be. If you look at the way a log tends to develop cracks as it dries. You will see the cracks develop perpendicular to the growth rings. This would lead you to suspect cracking in the flat orientaion(which is spot on your theory Godin). However I have not had issue with this after the wood has dried the first time. I am not sure if it is attributed more to differencial pressure during the initial drying(which evolves from inner to outer compression) or if it is an actual weakness in the structure. My personal observations tell me it is related more to the initial drying process. Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoodWood Posted April 1, 2007 Report Share Posted April 1, 2007 The one concern I would have is with bending flat sawn sides. Don't you think they would be prone to cracking? Not really. From what I have seen some woods are more prone to cracking. You generally have trouble with those woods but other woods are not usually an issue. Zircote is a nasty one for cracking. It will crack in the quartersawn orientation just as fast as the flat. Woods like Port Oxford Cedar never give me any issue with cracking again either orientaion. The type of wood really seems to be key in how prone to cracking it will be. If you look at the way a log tends to develop cracks as it dries. You will see the cracks develop perpendicular to the growth rings. This would lead you to suspect cracking in the flat orientaion(which is spot on your theory Godin). However I have not had issue with this after the wood has dried the first time. I am not sure if it is attributed more to differencial pressure during the initial drying(which evolves from inner to outer compression) or if it is an actual weakness in the structure. My personal observations tell me it is related more to the initial drying process. Peace,Rich I dug up some quarted cedar at Lowes. Its pretty vertical. When some did crack (its all very very wet) it went against the vertical, I was suprised. Also, it was close to the center. I suspect the science is well known as to why logs/wood cracks. I have also read that slab/flat sawn sitka is th best for braces. Not quartered. From that piano guys site I think, or some luthier site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted April 1, 2007 Report Share Posted April 1, 2007 Quartered is best for spruce for stability; a good whack and a flatsawn brace may split along the grain lines. Pianos do things differently, lutes have flatsawn braces, but quartered spruce is the most stable, dimensionally, which is important. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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