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This is just a question, since I have already laid on white oak for my keel.  Last night at Lowe's I saw SYP 2x12's that appeared to be cut through the center.  The grain was like this: ((((((o)))))))

Wouldn't that be like a vertical cut?  I would think it would be weak in the center if it were planed to 3/4 inch, assuming equal cuts made on each side. 

Just trying to get a free wood quality lesson!

Bob

Here is a link to a US Government site about wood and saw cuts: http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fplgtr...3/ch03.pdf

According to that site the board you describe should be considered quartersawn if I read it correctly.  Here's a short bite from that link above:

"Plainsawn and Quartersawn
Lumber can be cut from a log in two distinct ways: (a) tangential
to the annual rings, producing flatsawn or plainsawn
lumber in hardwoods and flatsawn or slash-grained lumber in
softwoods, and (b) radially from the pith or parallel to the
rays, producing quartersawn lumber in hardwoods and edgegrained
or vertical-grained lumber in softwoods (Fig. 3–1).
Quartersawn lumber is not usually cut strictly parallel with
the rays. In plainsawn boards, the surfaces next to the edges
are often far from tangential to the rings. In commercial
practice, lumber with rings at angles of 45° to 90° to the
wide surface is called quartersawn, and lumber with rings at
angles of 0° to 45° to the wide surface is called plainsawn.
Hardwood lumber in which annual rings form angles of 30°
to 60° to the wide faces is sometimes called bastard sawn.
For many purposes, either plainsawn or quartersawn lumber
is satisfactory. Each type has certain advantages that can be
important for a particular use."

There are diagrams on the page also that help make that definition clearer.  Give the document a read it is interesting and the info will come in handy for you in the near future.  The document is a .pdf but that should be ok for most computers to handle.

Generally, what you do with this type of lumber is rip it down the center, cut off any pith or other heartwood defects and use it as quarter sawn. I buy lumber like this all the time and rip to the widths or thicknesses I need. For example if I want vertical grain 1x2's, I'll use a flat sawn 2x4 (or 2x6, 2x8, etc.) and rip it down the edge at .75". This gives me a .75" x1.5" board with vertical grain. It's much cheaper to work your wood then select your wood, so a little selective purchasing can yield some pretty stock when you mill it to size.

(10-20-2009, 09:06 AM)Bob Sanders link Wrote: [ -> ]The grain was like this: ((((((o)))))))

So Paul's description is to cut it like this ...

(((((  (o)  )))))
good  bad  good

You could then edge glue the outer pieces back together ...

((((()))))

Cheers,
Tom

Bingo, and note the alternating grain, which is usually what you want in a part.