April 2:.. 1017 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



17 



figured wood, popular for furniture aud interior house finish, as well 

 as for musical instruments. 



Brixgixg Out the Pigdre 



In cutting the log on lines from bark to center to produce boards, 

 the saw exposes the flat, bright sides of the rays. They appear as 

 streaks, flecks and patches when the surface is polished; and being 

 a little brighter in color than the rest of the wood, they stand out 

 plainly. They constitute the figure aud are responsible for the 

 brightness and beauty of quartered oak. The exposed sides of the 

 rays vary in size from those barely visible for smallness 'up to 

 patches of several square inches. The variety in oak is great. Much 

 depends upon choice of logs, but much also upon the manner of 

 sawing. Patterns of figure change with the angle at which the saw 

 cuts the ray. The sawyer's skill may make or mar the figures, pro- 

 vided the material for it is in the log to begin with. No skill can 

 bring out what is not there. 



Quarter-figure oak is seen oftener than that of any other wood, and 

 oftener than of all other woods combined. The rays are broad, long 

 and numerous, and it is an easy , 



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ARIZONA SYCAMORE 



Radial section showing small but distinct figure exposed by 

 sawing this wood. It is not coniniercially important 



finish and can deliver kmds and 



matter to cut them to show large 

 surfaces and bold patterns. So 

 regularly do the rays occur in the 

 best specimens of oak that they 

 may be cut at man}- angles and 

 thereby produce variety of figure 

 that is surprising, as well as a 

 number of standard patterns. 

 4^mong the well-known figure 

 patterns are " herringbone, ' ' 

 "blaze," "'zebra," "moon- 

 shine flake, " " large flake ' ' and 

 ' ' splash. ' ' These are no more 

 than an outline of the ' ' infinite 

 variety" possible in the conver- 

 sion of' oak. The veneer cutter 

 can take orders from the manu- 

 facturer of furniture or interior 

 varieties to meet any reasonable demand. 



Great differences exist in the figures of different oaks. There 

 are fifty-two species of tlie wood in the United States, and while 

 it cannot be claimed that each species has a characteristic figure 

 of its own, the range is wide. The flakes differ in color as well as 

 in size and arrangement. 



A pink or red tone prevails among the figures developed from oaks 

 which grow in the Eocky Mountain region and westward, but there 

 are exceptions. The Santa Catalina white oak (Queretis tomentella) 

 has rays so nearly the color of the rest of the wood that scarcely 

 any contrast is seen, the wood resembling in color the sapwood of 

 hickory. The oaks of the western arid regions are inclined to pro- 

 duce dark and ugly heartwood, and the figure developed by quarter- 

 sawing the trunks has little to recommend it. Dark color is not 

 necessarily objectionable in figured oak, for the heartwood of south- 

 ern live oak {Quercus virginiana) is quite dark and the rays are 

 nearly black ; yet, the quartered wood, when polished, is decidedly 

 beautiful. It suggests black granite. It is not apparent why the 

 wood is not more popular than it is, but it is a fact that the southern 

 live oak meets scarcely any demand for manufacturing purposes. 

 Other Than Oak 

 The American forests contain many species that may be quarter- 

 sawed into figured stock, -and some of the figures are delicate and 

 beautiful, but the oaks are more important than any or all other 



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woods. Those regularly cut for the figure they are capable of pro- 

 ducing are so few that they may be counted on the fingers of one 

 hand. jSJ^ext after oak comes sycamore. It has broad rays, which 

 show well in quartered stock. The surface has a checkered appear- 

 ance, without much variety. There is a sameness in the figure of 

 sycamore that would tire if oft repeated. There are three species, 

 the eastern, that of Arizona and that of California. The rays are 

 reddish in the eastei-n and inclined to pink in the two western species. 



The flecked surface of quartered maple is well known; it is not a 

 figure. There are differences in different species of maple. The 

 luster is less pronounced in the soft maples than in the sugar tree. 



The characteristic luster of cherry is by some believed to be due 

 to the lining of the cells as much as to the glow of the minute 

 medullary rays. 



The extremely small, bright rays of Cottonwood give it a silvery 

 luster when highly polished on its quartered surface. This luster 

 is seen to perfection in the species of eottonwood known as balm 

 of gilead. The surface displays no details, but is flat and monotonous. 



The yellow cedar of the Pacific 

 coast, when quartered and ])ol- 

 ished, kindles into a fine golden 

 luster. The individual ra.vs are 

 no larger than the wings of gnats, 

 lint each is a yellow scale of deli- 

 cate beauty. 



The California holly (^Eeter- 

 omclis arhutifolia) , which is not 

 holly but belongs to the rose fam- 

 ily, has rays of bright red which 

 would be quite conspicuous if the 

 rest of the wood were not so near- 

 i\- of the same color. But trunks 

 are too small for manufacturing. 

 That is true of a number of trees 

 with fine wood and splendid rays. 

 They cannot be profitably put to 

 use, and for that reason they remain unknown, though perhaps their 

 wood is as beautiful as our own forests produce. Small size is usually 

 sutficieut to bar them from quarter-sawing operations, though they 

 might go to the lathe in the novelty shop. 



Comparatively few of our commercial trees have rays that can be 

 developed into figure by quarter-sawing. The entire list of softwoods, 

 with scarcely an exception, may be put in that class. These include 

 the pines, ' cedars, firs, spruces, hemlocks and larches. These woods 

 have rays, thousands to the square inch usually, but they are too 

 small to make anj' show. 



A long list of important hardwoods goes to the same class for 

 the same reason. Their rays are either small or characterless, or 

 both, and they have no figure to be brought out by exposing the 

 rays. Among these woods are willow, cottonw'ood, ash, tupelo, gum, 

 hickory, cherry, birch, chestnut, walnut, basswood and yellow poplar. 

 Some quite pleasing results may follow quarter-sawing yellow poplar 

 and red gum, but it is luster rather than figure that pleases in these 

 woods. 







quarter- 



The exponents of red and figured gum for trim aud for furniture 

 are quite often inclined to practice what they preach, and to use 

 this wood for decorating their own offices as well as making some 

 of their office furniture. This is good business, because it helps 

 advertise the wood as well as demonstrate the faith of those who 

 handle it. 



THE SILVER GRAIN OF OAK EXPOSED TO VIEW BY QUARTER-SAWING 



