Feathered oak picture frame

[scsmith42]

There are certain advantages to having your own sawmill and kiln; one of which is being able to experiment with different milling techniques in order to produce some unique material.

Feathered oak is one such product. Under NHLA guidelines it's considered to be a "defect" in a board; however sometimes I'll mill a log so as to include it in the board, and then cut off the feathered portion after the board comes out of the kiln. That way I still end up with a FAS board to sell, and a feathered oak board for me.

This year for Christmas, I made a picture frame for my wife from feathered red oak. It has a much darker character than the white oak (the frame is finished with a clear danish oil). I find it to be an interesting and unusual native wood.

Scott

 

[FredP]

beutifull figure in that frame Scott!:icon_thum I like culls.......:gar-Bi defects like that are cool!

 

[froglips]

Just a beautiful frame!

Defect? Hmmm, they might want to revisit their guidelines and maybe take an eye exam ;-)

Wonderful job and thanks for sharing.

Jim

 

[red]

Nice frame and I love that feathered oak.

Red

 

[steviegwood]

Hi Scott, isn't it funny how a lot of manufacturing companies will throw that out as scrap and call it a defect. When in actuality it is what most people would buy if you put it beside what they sell as good quality. That is beautiful character in that wood. I worked for a cabinet company that would trow away maple wood that was not almost pure white with no grain. That is how I ended up with a lot of maple with some character too. Steve

 

[Ozzie-x]

Scott, that is a nice looking frame. The feather oak is really nice!

 

[bobby g]

Scott,

Nice frame. The wood and the workmanship are both great!

Happy New Year.

Bob

 

[woodArtz]

Very nice Scott! I love the figure. :icon_thum

 

[McRabbet]

Beautiful frame! I wonder if the NHLA would call "flame mahogany" a defect, too!

 

[Trent Mason]

I'll take a "defect" like that any day. That is some beautiful wood and the picture frame looks incredible! Nice work Scott! :eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap

 

[eyekode]

Is this any different then figured oak? I like the defect too

 

[smitty62]

Beutiful oak. Believe that's called "flame " grain in other woods--whatever, it's still very pretty. You say you have 20 Bd. ft. to sell me?:rotflm:

 

[Ivey]

Good eye while sawing Scott, you never know whats in there til you open it up.Thanks for sharing..

 

[sawman101]

Beautiful!! I look for wood defects for scroll saw fretwork; it gives wonderful character to the finished object. Nice use of the wood.

 

[Ken Massingale]

Beautiful wood, and a great job on the miters Scott.

 

[Canuck]

Fantastic looking wood there, Scott!:eusa_danc

Almost looks like burl in the picture - at least to a novice like me.:embaresse

Great frame that will do any picture ton's of justice to adorn any wall!

Wayne

 

[Shamrock]

Wonderful wood, beautiful frame. Well done from the log to under the tree:eusa_clap

So, how much of these type of defects do you say you come across?

 

[bwat]

Agreed. "Defective" in this case is a highly prized advantage. If you ever need to get rid of these defective boards I'm sure you'll find a long list of members who would love to help you out!

 

[scsmith42]

All - thanks for the many kind words.

Salem - from what I've heard, "Figured oak" is another term for quartersawn oak that has prominent ray flake.

Wayne, in appearance it has some similarities to burl, but does not have as much of the very tight sworls that you typically see in burl. Plus, it's produced from a totally different part of a log than a burl.

Smitty (great name by the way!), thanks for the info re the "flamed" term. I'll have to do some research and see if the milling techniques are the same.

Thus far, I've tried to mnimize the amount of feathered oak that I produce, because of the grain structure and distortion that occurs during the drying process. Typically the board will warp extensively adjacent to the feather, and as a kiln operator I really prefer to see nice, flat boards! Also, I have to treat that part of the board as a defect when selling the rest of the board.

From a production perspective, it usually takes 2 - 3 bd ft of board to produce a very small amount (around 1/12 bd ft) of feathered oak, so proportionally it occupies a lot of kiln space.

I'll have to do some experimental milling to see what I can produce as a sellable product in the future. Perhaps the next kiln load...

And now, for the part that I'm embarrassed to admit....

Typically I have been setting aside the feathered oak pieces for Alex Lesniak, to use for his Pens for College business, and I'll call George every few months to let him know that I have a supply for him. As Christmas rolled around this year and I wanted to make something special for the LOML, while searching through my inventory my eyes fell upon Alex's stash.... :dontknow:

Thanks Alex! I still some left for you too!!!

 

[AlexL]

My pen blanks!!!

Just kidding! The feathered red oak looks even better than the feathered white oak. alex