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| Navigation - Home - What we make - Hardwood lumber - Quartersawn Oaks |
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Carving Lumber |
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LFP Brand Quartersawn White Oak
and Quartersawn Red Oak
Loyalist Forest is a family owned, fully integrated value added wood products company with over 4,000 acres of sustainable timberlands under our care and management. With parts of our forestland under continual stewardship since the mid 1800's, we have been growing our own future in the form of quality forest products; simultaneously preserving the natural habitat of countless wildlife species.
Quartersawn Oak, a material little used today, is one of the hallmarks of the Arts & Crafts and Prairie styles. At the sawmill, the log is first split into four quarters as shown below left (hence the name 'quartersawn'), then cut on the diagonal from the center of the tree out toward the edges.
A peculiarity of oak is that it has very strong, well-defined ‘Medullary Rays’ running from the center of the tree outward. Look closely at the end of a sawn oak board or branch and you can easily pick out the rays. They look like fine, straight lines spreading out from the center of the tree, perpendicular to the grain of the wood.
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The Quartersawing Method places these rays on the face of the board, revealing the distinctive stripe or 'ray fleck' running across the grain that is the signature of quartersawn oak.
According to Gustav Stickley "The quartersawing method of cutting...renders quartersawn oak structurally stronger, also finer in grain, and, as shown before, less liable to warp and check than when sawn in any other way."
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Quartersawing fell out of favor in the first half of this century because it yields less lumber per tree and takes more labor than plainsawing. Because almost all oak furniture today is plainsawn, we associate the quartersawn figure with prized period pieces. Therefore, this unique figure is an important ingredient in accurately recreating the look of turn-of-the-century furniture.
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At Loyalist Forest, we produce top quality quartersawn white oak and quartersawn red oak on a continual basis.
You can depend on our strict grading standards, and a focus on quality to ensure that your hardwood lumber order from Loyalist Forest exceeds your expectations.
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All hardwood lumber is inspected after sawing, again after kiln drying, and finally at the point the order is picked for shipment.
Packaged with care and promptly shipped to locations across North America, we service the retail, commercial and industrial wood industry. From 2 to 200,000 board feet, we can provide you with a lumber supply solution.
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