Material Education
Natural Defects
Lumber Defects 101
Checks and Splits
Peck
Rot and Decay
Heart Pith
Ring Shake
Stains
Wormholes
Pitch, Gum, and Sap
Wane
Shelling
Knots
Material Education
Wood Deck Materials
Manufacturing Defects
Wet and Dry Wood
How to Read Grade Stamping
Plane Sawn and Quarter Sawn Cuts
Bark Side Up vs. Best Side Up
How to organize your materials for use
Warping
Crook or Crown
Bow
Cup
Twist
Deck Builders
Watch the first of our deck design video series. Here are the three products in the video. Enjoy!
Gossen PVC Decking
BigFoot Systems
EBTY Hidden Fasteners

Plane Sawn and Quarter Sawn Cuts

Most framing lumber is plane sawn, meaning that it is cut roughly on the tangent or parallel to the wood grain leaving the end grain appearance of loops and growth swirls. This is the simplest method of milling where a tree is cut square and sawed lengthwise. Quarter Sawn or vertical grain lumber is cut on the radius or perpendicular to the grain allowing for a uniform parallel orientation to the trees growth rings. Quarter Sawn wood is cut into quarters and then is flipped 90 degrees back and forth to saw off each board. Quarter sawn wood maintains a straighter grain and a board that is 50% more stable. A plane-sawn board will shrink in width more and is more likely to warp than quarter-sawn boards. Quarter sawing lumber requires more labor to produce and will be more expensive. Many species of wood display a beautiful pattern of rays when expressed with a quarter sawn cut.