18. Bastard-Sawing

All boards and planks, except those intended for flooring, furniture or fine interior finish, are sawn from the log by gang or circular saws, which cut the log into slices, as shown in Fig. 16, and the edges are then trimmed by a circular saw, the edgings being worked up into laths or used for kindling. Boards sawn from the log in this way are called "bastard-sawed." The face of a bastard-sawed board, except on a few boards that are cut from the centre of the log, will generally have the appearance shown in Fig. 3, by which the-manner of sawing can be readily determined. About 25 per cent, of the boards thus sawed which come from near the centre of the log will show the annual rings running across the end of the board, and on the face the rings of spring and summer wood will appear as parallel lines, as shown on the edge of the board in Fig. a. Such boards are commonly called "quarter-sawed," * and in some mills quarter-sawed boards are obtained by picking out these pieces.

Fig. 13.

Fig.14

Fig. 15.

19. Quarter-Sawed Lumber

Real quarter-sawed lumber, however, is obtained by first quartering the log and then sawing up each quarter at an angle of 450 with the diameter, as shown in Fig. 17. In this way there is but little waste, and most of the boards are cut at right angles to the annual rings, and moreover grained, as applied to manufactured wood, mean identically the same thing" - North Lumberman. When the lines of summer wood appear perfectly straight and parallel it is sometimes called "comb-grain." the saw cuts often split the medullary rays, giving a handsome silver grain, as in quartered oak and sycamore. It is more trouble and takes more time to saw lumber in this way, and there is a little more waste; hence quarter-sawed lumber costs more than that which is bastard-sawed, but it possesses advantages which more than compensate for the extra cost.

Fig. 16.

At the present time hard pine is about the only soft wood that is quarter-sawed (except for clapboards), and the product is used almost exclusively for flooring.

Oak for flooring and finishing purposes is generally quarter-sawed, and many of the other hard woods are sawed in this way.

Quarter-sawed lumber wears better, warps and shrinks less, and in most hard woods looks handsomer than the bastard-sawed.

The finest furniture is now made of quarter-sawed lumber, the finest finishing is quarter-sawed, as is also the best clapboarding and the best flooring.

Framing timber, such as planks and dimension lumber, is almost invariably bastard-sawed when intended for building purposes.

For railway ties and the construc-tion of cars and carts, the lumber is often sawn by first quartering the log and then squaring the quarters, so that in such lumber one edge of each piece is from the heart of the log. This is done to prevent checking and warping.

20. Merchant Sizes

With a few exceptions framing timber is always sawn to even dimensions and lengths, as 4x6, 6x8, 10x12, etc. Floor joist and planks are sawn 2, 3 and 4 inches thick, and 14-inch joist are usually also sawn 2½ inches thick. A few mills saw 15-inch joist, and in New England 5-inch studding and 2x7 rafters are common, but in the West odd widths are not generally carried in stock.

Outside and inside finishing wood of the common kinds are usually sawn 1, 1¼, 1½, 2 and 2½ inches in thickness. Flooring is usually sawn 1 and 1¼ inch thick, so as to finish to 7/8 and 1 1/8 inch. Ceiling (or matched sheathing, as it is called in New England) is sawn to finish 3/8, 5/8,¾ and 7/8 inch in thickness.

The more expensive finishing woods are most generally used in 3/8 and ¾-inch boards and in veneers.

Fig. 17.

"A veneer is a thin strip cut from a board by a shaving machine, thirty veneers being allowed to each board of an inch thickness, the boards of the most costly woods running about 2 feet wide and 10 feet in length."

Measurement of Lumber. - Framing timber, planks and boards are always sold by "board measure," that is, the number of superficial feet the piece would contain if sawn into boards 1 inch thick. Matched flooring and ceiling are measured by the size of the board from which the flooring or ceiling is worked.

Boards less than an inch thick are measured by the square foot, the price depending upon the thickness. Veneers are always sold by the square foot. Lattice and mouldings are sold by the lineal foot, but the price of the latter depends upon the thickness as well as the width. Laths, shingles and clapboards are sold by the thousand.

Lumber of all kinds generally comes from the mill in even foot lengths, as 10, 12, 14, 16 feet, etc., and lengths between these measurements must be cut to waste.