Wood Grain direction: Does it matter?

[LightninBoy]

I was under the impression that the conventional wisdom was that the best wood block has clear vertical grains (lines running up and down on the block).

However, the DD4H blocks I've been getting seem to trend more towards horizontal grains, and when I watched a SW video recently it was clear he was working with a block with horizontal grain. So is this the new preference? Or does it just simply not matter? I built one car with the horizontal grained block and its working out fine.

 

[Kinser Racing]

I used to think that it mattered. The cut of wood you're talking about is called quarter sawn. I honestly haven't built a car out of quarter sawn wood for years and really don't know that it matters. Quarter sawn maple is commonly used in guitar necks, they're supposed to be a step up but there are a lot of guitar necks that aren't quarter sawn and they hold up just fine. The selling point for quarter sawn is that it's more stable and won't warp as easily. It really is a matter of preference and you can go either way. /images/boards/smilies/smile.gif

P.S. It's funny, I was just looking at guitar necks.

 

[Kinser Racing]

/images/boards/smilies/thumb.gif

 

[GravityX]

I would say that just about everything that I have built has the grain running the length of the car. Now, whether or not it really makes a difference, I have no idea. Testing always proves things out.

 

[DerbyDad4Hire]

I have never even looked when i have built any of my cars.

 

[Guest]

I saw this article years ago detailing why baseball bats would shatter and how they worked to combat it. They found that the grain near the handle was moving at a diagonal when it would shatter. Makes sense.

 

[Crash Enburn]

I've always tried for more vertical grain so the drill bit would be less likely to wander when drilling the axle holes.

 

[DerbyDad4Hire]

I've always tried for more vertical grain so the drill bit would be less likely to wander when drilling the axle holes.

I have just always made sure i show my drill bits lots of love and attention and make sure they know how much I love them and they never seem to wander.

 

[IAE Racing]

I have just always made sure i show my drill bits lots of love and attention and make sure they know how much I love them and they never seem to wander.

Tried that with my cows once. They still ended up in the neighbors corn field. Apparently, your drill bits don't have legs and stomachs.

 

[Guest]

I've always tried for more vertical grain so the drill bit would be less likely to wander when drilling the axle holes.

I have just always made sure i show my drill bits lots of love and attention and make sure they know how much I love them and they never seem to wander.

Ahh. Workshop poetry!
My favorite form of prose.

 

[DerbyDad4Hire]

I have just always made sure i show my drill bits lots of love and attention and make sure they know how much I love them and they never seem to wander.

Tried that with my cows once. They still ended up in the neighbors corn field. Apparently, your drill bits don't have legs and stomachs.

OK this is a scary picture!