Log Talk

      This is only a whisper of all the lumber vocabulary. We've shown the ones we use the most.

Bookmatch

.....are two boards that are in the sequential  order they were cut that when you open them like a page in a book they create BEAUTIFUL patterns....normally they are straight cut on one side but they can be full flitches.

Chatoyancy

   .....having light changing properties often seen in wood with these characters: ...curl,... burls,... crotches,... feathering,...etc., etc. or a combination of several in the same board. Different styles/types of finish can greatly effect the brilliancy.

Crotches

 .....a feathering effect common in the "Y" of a tree where the timber forks or branches. The more distinctive  feathering usually happens when the branch/fork is wider and not as parallel with the main trunk.

Drying and Kilns

   AD...Air Dried... a process used to dry wood using natural air flow.
   KD...Kiln Dried... a process used to accelerate the drying process in lumber using different sources as heat and moisture removal.
   DH...Dehumidifier... a piece of equipment used in some kilning process to remove moisture.
   Solar Kiln... a kilning process used to dry wood in a accelerated natural state by using the sun's heat source.
   Vacuum Kiln... a kilning process used to dry wood while under a vacuum.

Feathering

   ....a growth process where the grain intermingles itself in the Y of a crotch.

Flitches

   .... a cutting process to which in most cases the lumber is kept and restacked in the sequential order they were cut to produce bookmatching and often left with live edges.

Live Edge

.....when a cut board is left with the bark or natural edge revealed.

MC

   ....Moisture Content... the amount of moisture that is "trapped" or still in the wood.

Plain Sawn 

....a sawing term where the grain is running more parallel with the width. 

Rift Sawn

....a sawing term where the grain runs  at a large  angle to width but not quite as strong as quartersawn.

Quarter Sawn

....a sawing term where the grain is running mostly 90 degrees to the width. This is a desired cut in some woods where it shows "rays" of  the grain like in white oak and sycamore. This is also the most stable cut on a piece lumber.

Quarter Scale

....this is a sawyers term relating to each 1/4" of thickness a cut is made.....example 6/4  =  one and a half inches, 8/4 = two inches

Spalting

..... a fungus process that happens in wood that makes a black streak usually caused when the first stage attempts to fight off the second stage.