Can you tell by this picture if this neck is quartersawn?

mefizz · #1 03-20-2013, 11:16 AM

Hi there!!

I've just received a jazz bass neck I ordered from B. Hefner and I not really sure if it's quartersawn as I ordered.

Can some expert tell from the picture if it's qartersawn? It looks more like rift sawn for me...img

Thanks a lot!

devo_stevo · #2 03-20-2013, 11:30 AM

I would tend to agree with you on that one. Doesn't look very quartersawn to me.

Did you pay extra for it to be quartersawn?

roberthabraken · #3 03-20-2013, 11:36 AM

No it isn't. Or not completely although, judging from this end grain shot.

mefizz · #4 03-20-2013, 11:41 AM

I paid 45$ extra for the quarter sawn.

Aparently the say:
"Quartersawn maple is not always perfectly straight up and down, the neck you
received is perfectly acceptable."

I'm kind of dissapointed right now...

Arial Bender · #5 03-20-2013, 11:45 AM

mefizz · #6 03-20-2013, 12:08 PM

I mean, I didn't expect something like this from B Hefner...

Hopkins · #7 03-20-2013, 12:13 PM

Yes that very well could be quarter sawn lumber. Why did you pay $45 more for quartersawn anyway? Dead straight up and down grain will be rift sawn. I wouldn't worry to much about it, there is no reason to think that neck will become unstable.

cnltb · #8 03-20-2013, 12:16 PM

Isn't it rift sawn?

I personally wouldn't pay extra for a quartersawn neck.
But...I would alway expect to get what I paid for.
If I paid extra for something even more so!

Hopkins · #9 03-20-2013, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cnltb

Isn't it rift sawn?

I personally wouldn't pay extra for a quartersawn neck.
But...I would alway expect to get what I paid for.
If I paid extra for something even more so!

No his neck is quarter sawn, Rift sawn will yield straight up and down grain, but its a terrible waist of wood. As can be seen in this picture

cnltb · #10 03-20-2013, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hopkins

No his neck is quarter sawn, Rift sawn will yield straight up and down grain, but its a terrible waist of wood. As can be seen in this picture

Thanks for the correction!

DwaynieAD · #11 03-20-2013, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mefizz

I paid 45$ extra for the quarter sawn.

Aparently the say:
"Quartersawn maple is not always perfectly straight up and down, the neck you
received is perfectly acceptable."

I'm kind of dissapointed right now...

if you don't find it acceptable then it is not perfectly acceptable

mefizz · #12 03-20-2013, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hopkins

No his neck is quarter sawn, Rift sawn will yield straight up and down grain, but its a terrible waist of wood. As can be seen in this picture

I guess I't can be quartersawn according to this picture, if it's taken from one of the slabs of the corners...

Doesn't seems to be very different from one of the ends of a flat sawn any way.

Thanks a lot every one for your answers!

roberthabraken · #13 03-20-2013, 01:34 PM

If it is quarter sawn, it's from a rather small tree or branch, since the grain goes from top to sides in such a tight corner. Or it is indeed quarter sawn but from the very edge of the quarter. I think the point is, when someone advertises quarter sawn you'd expect it to resemble rift sawn more or less. You can get a flat sawn piece that has straight up and down grain, but that's not what you would imagine when someone says flat sawn. I find the whole marketing circus around this subject a bit pointless. You don't want a flat sawn piece from the very edge of the tree, but for the rest it's not all that important, is it?

devo_stevo · #14 03-20-2013, 01:52 PM

Yeah, I suppose it could very well be quartersawn, but according to the image posted, you could get a neck with the grain running in any direction using any of the different cutting methods.

I'm with Rob on this one, while it's technically correct, it is misleading from a marketing standpoint and I'd be disappointed if I was expecting a neck that has the grain running straight up and down as is traditionally (in the instrument business) seen as "quartersawn". Especially after paying a premium for it.

But at the same time, I don't see any reason that this neck wouldn't work just fine as it is.

mefizz · #15 03-20-2013, 02:12 PM

That's the point. The neck is well built and seems pretty sturdy, I don't think I'm going to have any issue with it (I haven't installed it yet), but I expected something else after paying extra for the quartersawn...

Quote:

Originally Posted by devo_stevo

Yeah, I suppose it could very well be quartersawn, but according to the image posted, you could get a neck with the grain running in any direction using any of the different cutting methods.

I'm with Rob on this one, while it's technically correct, it is misleading from a marketing standpoint and I'd be disappointed if I was expecting a neck that has the grain running straight up and down as is traditionally (in the instrument business) seen as "quartersawn". Especially after paying a premium for it.

But at the same time, I don't see any reason that this neck wouldn't work just fine as it is.

Hopkins · #16 03-20-2013, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mefizz

That's the point. The neck is well built and seems pretty sturdy, I don't think I'm going to have any issue with it (I haven't installed it yet), but I expected something else after paying extra for the quartersawn...

Maybe you should talk to them, include that picture in an email and express your concerns that you didn't get what you had in mind, and see if they will refund the extra $45 you spend for the q-sawn option.

Although technically the neck you have could very well be q-sawn. It isn't exactly what comes to mind when you think of a quarter sawn neck. If their customer service is even decent you should be able to come to some kind of resolution.

Dave Higham · #17 03-21-2013, 03:45 AM

What is accepted as quarter sawn or flat sawn in the instrument making world is not what you see in the diagram above.
If you take the second largest board in the 'quarter sawn' section and compare it with the largest board in the 'flat sawn' section the grain is just about identical. So the terms become meaningless is far as stipulating grain orientation is concerned. Which is why they can tell you it is quarter sawn.
As a supplier of instrument necks they know that when you asked for quarter sawn you wanted vertical grain (or close to it). You should ask for your money back.

Hmm. Just noticed that Hopkins has posted more or less what I just said.

sondich · #18 03-21-2013, 10:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave Higham

What is accepted as quarter sawn or flat sawn in the instrument making world is not what you see in the diagram above.
If you take the second largest board in the 'quarter sawn' section and compare it with the largest board in the 'flat sawn' section the grain is just about identical. So the terms become meaningless is far as stipulating grain orientation is concerned. Which is why they can tell you it is quarter sawn.
As a supplier of instrument necks they know that when you asked for quarter sawn you wanted vertical grain (or close to it). You should ask for your money back.

Hmm. Just noticed that Hopkins has posted more or less what I just said.

+1

Lumber people think of quarter-sawn as a process. Luthiers refer to quarter-sawn in terms of grain orientation. The end result is often dissatisfaction, with both parties thinking the other is clueless.

If a log was quartersawn at the mill, the resulting lumber is sold as QS. Cut the end grain off all the boards and you'll see a combination of rift, quartered, and some flatsawn grain. Most commercial sawmills make no effort to reclassify the wood after it's been cut. If they do, they're only looking at the faces, not the end-grain.

Most luthiers could care less how the log was cut, they want quarter-sawn grain on each board/blank.

If you have some time to kill, you can usually save $3-5/board foot by pulling quartersawn boards out of the regular maple racks at your local retailer. They're pretty easy to find in narrow widths which work well for necks.