On a shaft, what is this called?

a9ballbr8k

a9ballbr8k

Don't anger my stakehorse
Silver Member
spine.jpg


What is this pattern?
 
type of grain

This grain pattern is "quartersawn" and is characterized by the ray flecks that are circled in your photo. Ray Flecks: Rays, or strips of cells, store food and transport it horizontally throughout the tree. Naturally occuring ray flecks appear as lines across the grain of the wood surface. Hope this helps, Kent
 
I incorrectly refer to it as the spine. Some call it side grain. I am sure there is a correct name that could be found on some of the wood sites. I also look at the straightness of that as well as grainlines when selecting shaftwood.
My definition of what spine actually is, is the side of the shaft that bends the least. If you were to put one end of a shaft on a table and one on a rail and push down on the center as you roll the shaft back and forth there will be a spot that takes more pressure to roll over. That is the Bending spine. It is a common practice used in handbuilt fishing rods to locate were to index the eyelets. It for the most part has no practical purpose for wood selection. Compression deflection is more important and is one of my selection criteria.
 
Although there is no such thing as a visible spine on a piece of wood, this is usually what it is referred as. It is actually the outer surface of a board exactly perpendicular to the growth rings. When a board is turned round this is all of the face that you see on each side. It always runs straight. What you want to look for is the growth rings, which show as lines, to run parallel and straight the length of the shaft. Spine is actually the stiffness of a shaft which can vary from one direction the shaft is bent compared to another.

Dick
 
...where would that grain pattern be found on a tree? Could someone make a diagram or point me to a website that shows where this spine/quartersawn pattern is on the tree?
 
HeLLFiSH said:
...where would that grain pattern be found on a tree? Could someone make a diagram or point me to a website that shows where this spine/quartersawn pattern is on the tree?
Click to expand...

Take a log or a tree trunk without any bark and wrap your arms around it. Everything your body touches is that pattern once it is turned round.

http://www.allwoodwork.com/tipsnarticleimages/quartersawnsketchfigure1.jpg

As you can see in the drawing, quarter sawn wood is like layers of a sheet cake stacked upon each other. The small slice that is shown on the bottom would be a q/s board and the two outside edges of the stack, when turned round, would be what is being discussed here.



Dick
 
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Even though I did not ask the question I've always wanted to know this also but never got around to asking. Thanks for the replies !

I do have another question though. out of the small amount of cues that I have some have the matrix on the shafts while others do not. Is this a factor in shaft quality or is the quality usually determined by the grain per inch ?

Thanks !
 
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