> I had always thought that it was preferable to use flat sawn planks when
> cutting out woodstrips. The strips are then cut at 90 degrees to the wide
> surface of the plank, giving quarter sawn strips.

You can see how this works in a minute of doodling with a pencil and paper.

Draw a series of concentric circles to simulate the growth rings on a tree.

Now draw a series of parallel lines through this nest of circles, to simulate the planks produced by one of the simplest methods of making lumber. This is also the simplest way you would be cutting the wood with that chainsaw/sawmill contraption.

As you can see from your drawing, the widest planks from near the center of the tree have the grain running nearly perpendicular to the wide face of the board. If you cut those planks into strips that are 3/4 wide and 1/4 inch thick, then the grain will go from edge to edge along the 3/4 dimension, and that 1/4 inch thickness will be 2 to 6 growth rings thick.

If you cut strips from any other planks the grain will be at an angle, with the angle increasing as you work on planks cut further from the center of the log.

Now go back to your nest of concentric circles and cut then in to quarters, kinda like how you would slice a pizza. Take any quarter, and working from one flat side draw a parallel line simulating how it would be if you cut a plank from it there. Then do the same to the other flat edge, now switch back to the first side. You mirror this for the other 3 quarters by extending the lines.

What you end up with is that the center cuts will give you the same effect as you get with flat sawn wood, but you also get most of the same effect on the center cuts that are perpendicular. You dont get twice as many boards with the most desireable grain structure, but it is close to that. If you are realy trying to get a lot of strips with that grain structure, after you take one or two slices off of each quarter, cut off an angle to re-orientthe remainder of your log so you can get a few more thin planks with perpendiculur grain. Your illustration will show you how to do this, and also give you some idea on how much waste you'll have.

By the way. those long, triangular `waste' pieces can be planed, glued together and squared off to makes some nice, clear, long, and strong pieces for skin-on-frame kayaks. Again, draw out a few samples and attack them with scissors before you cut your logs, and you`ll be able to get the maximum yield for what you want. Or, if they are wide enough, you can cut them so that you can use them to make spooned blades for you paddles, and have the spoons follow the curve of the growth rings. If you have enough wood you can get real creative in cutting it.

Hope this helps.

Paul G. Jacobson