4 x 4 inch unsorted redwood question

[Jacob]

Have bought 4 x 4 inch unsorted redwood in the past from Snows (now closed).
The best - suitable for newel posts, furniture, etc. had a particular technical name relating to it having been sawn without the heartwood splits i.e. no defects except a few knots. Presumably from 9 x 4 with the middle cut out.
Anybody know the technical name?

 

[Doug71]

Heart free

 

[Sgian Dubh]

Have bought 4 x 4 inch unsorted redwood in the past from Snows (now closed).
The best - suitable for newel posts, furniture, etc. had a particular technical name relating to it having been sawn without the heartwood splits i.e. no defects except a few knots. Presumably from 9 x 4 with the middle cut out.
Anybody know the technical name?

Rift sawn? That is, with the growth rings, as seen from the end, running pretty much from one corner to the corner diagonally opposite. Slainte.

 

[Jacob]

Rift sawn? That is, with the growth rings, as seen from the end, running pretty much from one corner to the corner diagonally opposite. Slainte.

Could be but doesn't quite ring a bell. I think they'd rip a 9x2 down the middle and take out middle where the splits are found. It was also available in long defect free lengths.

 

[Jameshow]

Have bought 4 x 4 inch unsorted redwood in the past from Snows (now closed).
The best - suitable for newel posts, furniture, etc. had a particular technical name relating to it having been sawn without the heartwood splits i.e. no defects except a few knots. Presumably from 9 x 4 with the middle cut out.
Anybody know the technical name?

Spendy!!!

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Could be but doesn't quite ring a bell. I think they'd rip a 9x2 down the middle and take out middle where the splits are found. It was also available in long defect free lengths.

Surely it's exactly that? Growth rings corner to corner?

 

[Sgian Dubh]

Could be but doesn't quite ring a bell. I think they'd rip a 9x2 down the middle and take out middle where the splits are found. It was also available in long defect free lengths.

No idea then. Sorry. I'm not quite sure why you mentioned 9 X 2 in your reply as I thought newel posts are more commonly 4 X 4, or perhaps bigger. Typo on your part? Slainte.

 

[Jacob]

Surely it's exactly that? Growth rings corner to corner?

Yes but cut so no pith or associated splits. They just had a particular name for it.
A typical slab sawn 9x4 would have splits down the middle on the inside face. If straight and sawn either side of the middle you'd end up with two near quarter sawn faces with no pith or splits.

 

[Jacob]

No idea then. Sorry. I'm not quite sure why you mentioned 9 X 2 in your reply as I thought newel posts are more commonly 4 X 4, or perhaps bigger. Typo on your part? Slainte.

Oops yes a typo. 9x4 sawn

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Yes but cut so no pith or associated splits. They just had a particular name for it.
A typical slab sawn 9x4 would have splits down the middle on the inside face. If straight and sawn either side of the middle you'd end up with two near quarter sawn faces with no pith or splits.

The rings wouldn't be corner to corner if it contained pith.

 

[Jacob]

The rings wouldn't be corner to corner if it contained pith.

If straight enough the pith would be on one 4x4 corner, before it was sliced off.

 

[johnnyb]

the last 9 by 4 I got was baltic in origin( from finland) I thought it was a bit better than Swedish tbh more heart.

 

[Jacob]

Forgot to say - these long lengths (15ft or more) of near perfect 4x4" were specifically for newel posts as not many other uses for that size and quality i.e. much better than "construction" grades

 

[LeeAkeroyd]

Have bought 4 x 4 inch unsorted redwood in the past from Snows (now closed).
The best - suitable for newel posts, furniture, etc. had a particular technical name relating to it having been sawn without the heartwood splits i.e. no defects except a few knots. Presumably from 9 x 4 with the middle cut out.
Anybody know the technical name?

Green split, heart free is the material.

 

[Adam W.]

Green split, heart free is the material.

Interesting, I've never heard of that.

More like FOHC (Free of Heart Centre) which is an American thing where they box the heart, then divvy the rest of the timber up. They used to cut parallel to the bark and discard the centre, but in our age of small plantation grown trees it's not very economical.

Edit:

I'll add that the mechanisation and computerised control of industrial sawmilling has generally put paid to most old ways of milling and throughput is the name of the day in order to make a profit. Timber is being treated more like plastic these days and trees are now grown for uniformity and ease of handling to suit our modular ways of constructing stuff.

You may get a better milled product by going to the mill and specifying the way you want timber to be sawn, but you need to know exactly what you want and expect the price to double or more as it slows them down a lot.

 

[Keith Cocker]

Yes but cut so no pith or associated splits. They just had a particular name for it.

TTP?

I.e with the Pith taken out

 

[Jacob]

Green split, heart free is the material.

That's it! Was at the back of my mind all the time.
Next question - does it mean a particular process e.g. actual splitting green wood rather than sawing? Which could make sense as it would take the stress out of it before sawing straight cuts of long pieces.
PS a quick google shows it widely available and seems to be all 100mm square. Also called "green split centre free"
n.b. this is the ideal size and material for woodwork bench legs, amongst other things.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

When you see the price of the timber you realise what good value stuff like this is -

https://www.stairpartsuk.co.uk/shop...ouse-table-legs/p/140883011/category=35429659
excellent quality as well.

 

[Jacob]

When you see the price of the timber you realise what good value stuff like this is -

https://www.stairpartsuk.co.uk/shop...ouse-table-legs/p/140883011/category=35429659
excellent quality as well.

He doesn't need the long straight lengths for table legs, so I guess he'd be using 9x4 or 8x4 cut down the middle which would be a good bit cheaper than "green split heart free".

 

[RobinBHM]

I used to buy green split softwood stock for joinery. Sections like 75 x 100, 63 x 75 etc

basically it’s timber cut to nominal size before kiln drying.

stair components are mostly engineered these days, especially strings and newels