# Question about quarter sawn blanks



## Ben Shook (Jun 23, 2015)

Got a question, and I couldn't think of a better place to ask it. I apparently am confused about quarter sawn blanks. Are they cut with the end grain running from left to right, or are they cut with the grain on the face running at an angle? Any help on this would be appreciated.


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## Kevin (Jun 23, 2015)



Reactions: Like 1 | Great Post 1


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## Ben Shook (Jun 23, 2015)

Thanks Kevin, I was leaning toward that, but wasn't 100% sure.


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## Kevin (Jun 23, 2015)

There's a lot of ways to quartersaw though n0t just 2

And typically a square blank will have 2 quarter or rift sides and two face sides and the bigger the log that the blank comes from the more contrast you'll see.


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## barry richardson (Jun 23, 2015)

If your turning round things from your blanks, it really doesnt matter how the blank is cut..... just sayin.... but for something like knife or pistol blanks, it's very relevant...

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Kevin (Jun 23, 2015)

Every blank that has quarter also has some amount of face. It is possible to get a blank that is all rift though.


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## Ben Shook (Jun 23, 2015)

I attached a pic of some I cut today. Am I on the right track? Granted what I cut down was not big, but these are 2x2.


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## Ben Shook (Jun 23, 2015)

I had a guy asking me about some quarter sawn square blanks for box calls, so that was why I was inquiring.


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## Kevin (Jun 23, 2015)

As I stated before with a square piece of timber you are usually going to have 2 qtr and/or rift and 2 plain sanw faces. I also stated that the bigger the tree these blanks came from the clearer the distinction would be. Here you have blanks that came from a very small tree so the distinctions can be a little more complex. I've tried to diagram them for you.

Faces A1 B1 C1 & D1 will probably not appear as face grain but more like qtr & rift I would guess. But A3 B3 C3 & D3 will all appear clearly as face grain. Side 4 of all blanks will appear as qtr (and some rift) just as sides 2 will.


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## Kevin (Jun 23, 2015)

BTW _flat_ sawn and _plain _sawn are the same thing.


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## Ben Shook (Jun 23, 2015)

Thanks Kevin, that helps a lot.

Reactions: Like 1


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