FIGURE IN WOOD 



613 



from these so as to get the faces radial or nearly so. Un- 

 less the boards are V-shaped or tapering, as in the case 

 of clapboards, it is obvious that only a few will face in 

 a true radial plane. 



In the case of the hard pines and Douglas fir, quarter- 

 sawn or edge-grain lumber is preferred for flooring 

 because it will wear uniformly and not sliver, but for 

 interior finish, door panels and similar uses where figure 

 is wanted, the flat-sawn or slash grain, as it is often called, 

 is preferred. Douglas fir usually produces a more strik- 



A WONDERFULLY BEAUTIFUL BIT OF FIGURE 



Panel from one piece of finely figured mahogany which seems 

 fairly alive under changing light. 



ing figure than the yellow pines because the outline of the 

 growth rings is usually wavy. 



Among the hardwoods, the so-called ring-porous kinds, 

 produce figure when flat-sawn. Among these may men- 

 tioned the oaks, ash and chestnut which are so extensively 

 employed for interior trim, doors and furniture. It will 

 be noted that, whereas the pines and other coniferous 

 woods show light-colored spring wood and dark late 

 wood, in the hardwoods just mentioned this condition is 

 just reversed. Here the open porous layer of the spring 

 wood absorbs the light while the denser band of summer 

 wood reflects it. In tangentially sawn material the 

 elongated ovals and irregular parabolas of the lighter 

 areas have a fringe of vessel (or pore) lines long or 



short, depending on the angle at which they were cut 

 through. 



In some woods, notably the oaks, another kind of fig- 

 ure is produced by quarter-sawing. In practically all 

 woods there are ribbons of tissue which run at right 

 angles to the axis of the tree like spokes in a wheel 

 These are the rays, often called medullary or pith rays 

 because some of them appear as extensions of the pith 

 into the wood. In all the conifers and most hardwoods 

 these rays are too fine to show distinctly. In others, as in 

 maple, cherry and mahogany, they are distinct but not 

 conspicuous, and in some they are the most prominent 

 feature when exposed. As examples of the latter may be 

 mentioned, in addition to the oaks, the sycamore and 

 beech, the Australian silky oak (which is not an oak at 

 all) and others of its family (Proteaceae) , such as the 

 carvalho and pao concha of Brazil. 



When oak is cut tangentially the lumber is commonly 

 said to be plain-sawn in distinction to quarter-sawn which 

 brings out the conspicuous figure. In ash, chestnut and 

 the conifers, whose rays are scarcely visible, the term 

 plain-sawing, as used in connection with oak, is not 

 appropriate. 



The exposed rays in quartered oak are often called 

 "mirrors" because of their glassy appearance in proper 



THIS IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF WRINKLE MOTTLE 



When the figure appears on the smooth surface as though in 

 relief it is called "mottle." 



