Timber Conversion Techniques

Question 1

What does quarter sawing entail?

Answer 1

Cutting to produce boards that are at right-angles to the growth rings

Question 2

What does back sawing entail?

Answer 2

Cutting to produce boards that are generally tangential to growth rings, exposing them decoratively

Question 3

What does live sawing entail?

Answer 3

Live sawing is simply cutting a log a single direction for all cuts

Question 4

What are the three methods of timber conversion?

Answer 4

Back sawing
Quarter sawing
Live sawing
(If asked for two, just use back sawn and quarter sawn)

Question 5

What are the benefits of back sawn timber and uses?

Answer 5

Used when an internal fault is detected in a log

Boards are higher strength and used for ceiling and floor joists and axe handles

Question 6

What are the benefits of quarter sawn timber and uses?

Answer 6

Boards do not cup nearly as much as back sawn timber and expose the grain nicely, but aren’t as strong and are used for floorboards and mouldings

Question 7

What are the benefits of live sawn timber and uses?

Answer 7

Allows for an increased choice of grain pattern as the central planks are radial cut and the outer planks are tangential cut