How-To
How to rift-cut stock to follow the grain
A College of the Redwoods instructor shows how to rift-cut straight or curved stock to follow the grain
In this video Jim Budlong, a longtime instructor at the College of the Redwoods Fine Woodworking program, shares one of the lectures he gives to students at the school. Using a piece of ash, he demonstrates how to rough out straight stock on the bandsaw, following the grain direction on the face of the board, to ensure that the grain will run straight on all faces of the board. He also shows how to rough out curved stock and then how to orient the board to take advantage of the grain direction.
By learning how to follow the grain, he says, your furniture will be “a cut above.”
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Comments
Sounds like a recipe for some pretty bland woodwork. Surely wild and unpredictable grain patterns are what give pieces their unique identity. I certainly would not call seeing sloping grain a distracting or unpleasant experience. Quite the opposite.
I think it depends on what the individual craftsperson is trying to achieve.
As an amateur, my own pieces have improved since I've started paying more attention to grain over the last few years.
The point is not to condemn sloping grain but to understand how the cuts you make effect the graphics of the wood grain. That way you have the control to align those graphics to support the intent of your design, whether it be minimizing or exaggerating a certain grain characteristic.
Thanks for the helpful lesson. I appreciate anything that helps me visualize what's happening inside a piece of wood. It's like adding a new tool to my box.
This explains what happened to a piece I eventually gave away so I detested it.The measurements were all good/true but the drawer appeared uneven to the top and kept going the grain the grain.Thanks.
If you look through the heavy dark stain of a lot of cheap production furniture, you see coarse and fine grain going off in different directions all mixed and glued together. I think that's what he's trying to steer us away from. I'm still trying to make those decisions second nature and appreciate all of these reminders. Thanks to Gary Junken and Collage of the Redwoods for sharing this and David Heim for posting it.
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