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SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/wood-quartersawn-ring-angle

In commercial practice, quartersawn lumber has growth rings at what angle to the wide face?

Rings at 45 to 90 degrees to the wide face.

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  1. 0 to 45 degrees
  2. Exactly 30 degrees
  3. 45 to 90 degrees ✔

Why: Quartersawn boards are cut so the growth rings stand steeply to the wide face, at 45 to 90 degrees. Plainsawn boards have rings at 0 to 45 degrees. Quartersawn surfaces are generally more dimensionally stable.

Huh, didn't know that: Hardwood with rings at 30 to 60 degrees is sometimes called bastard sawn.

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What has no fingers but lots of rings? A tree.
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References

Answer: 45 to 90 degrees. Quartersawn boards are cut so the growth rings stand steeply to the wide face, at 45 to 90 degrees. Plainsawn boards have rings at 0 to 45 degrees. Quartersawn surfaces are generally more dimensionally stable.

  1. Wood Handbook: Wood as an Engineering Material, FPL-GTR-282 (USDA Forest Products Laboratory, 2021) research.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/62200
    lumber with rings at angles of 45° to 90° to the wide surface is called quartersawn
    Checked 2026-10-10.

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