If you like the artistic texture of wood grain, you likely would love having your solid hardwood furniture built with quarter sawn wood. Quarter sawn wood, usually white oak, makes the natural wood grain even more striking than if sawn the standard way, which is horizontally.

While most people aren’t certain what quarter sawn is, it really describes itself, quarter sawn. Quarter-sawn refers to the direction that the wood is cut. For most furniture, logs at sawmills are cut horizontally with the grain of the wood. To get quarter sawn grain, the log is cut in half, then each half is cut into quarters. Each quarter is sliced one section at a time, preserving and in most cases exposing the side of the grain instead of the plane of the wood grain.

Quarter sawing wood allows the grain’s natural flakes and rays to come alive, especially when stain and finish are applied. Because quarter-sawn wood is smaller in width than regular cut wood, it tends to be a more stable wood as well. In other words, quarter-sawn wood does not expand or contract as much as horizontally sawn wood.

Many solid hardwood antique pieces, especially Arts and Crafts Mission furniture, were constructed out of quarter-sawn wood for that reason. Changing room temperatures and humidity levels did not have as much effect on quarter-sawn wood as regularly sawn wood. Consequently, wood furniture was constructed using quarter-sawn wood as a way to protect the various pieces from cracking or warping, especially since there was no kiln-dried wood then.

Even in today’s world with numerous varieties and styles of furniture, quarter-sawn wood continues to be in high demand by customers.

The craftsmen at Homestead Furniture can build exactly what you want whether it’s a dining room or bedroom set or an executive office desk. Quarter sawn will make your customized piece all the more distinctive.