How do I tell the difference ?

[Callekanin]

Hey guys pretty new to bowmaking and was hoping someone be able to post a picture of the difference between rift sawn and quarter sawn boards and tell me wich cut be best to use and where to look for it on the board , I wanna try another go on another Ostrich sinew backed ash bow  
last one blew up on me    

casper

[Roy from Pa]

This is 1/4 sawn below, it's the best for bow making. Just look at the end of the board for flat sawn, or rift sawn, or 1/4 sawn.

 

Rift sawn looks like this on the end of the board //////.

[Roy from Pa]

http://www.woodworking.com/ww/Article/Identifying-Flatsawn-Riftsawn-and-Quartersawn-7475.aspx

[Wolftrail]

Rift sawn looks like this on the end of the board //////.   Quarter sawn is never cut and dry, no pun.  By looking at the end grain can sometimes be confusing, you have to look at both faces and the edges to verify it 100%..

Rift sawn will look more like flat sawn on the faces.

[John Scifres]

It's tough to say one or the other is best for bowmaking.  Either can make a bow.  It's the individual piece that you must learn to judge.  The basics of making a board bow apply, even to backed or composite bows.

Here's a timeless tutorial on board bows.

  Ferret\\'s Board Bow Tutorial

[mikkekeswick]

Roy - Care to elucidate on why 1/4 is the best for bow making?  

Casper - When you go to select a board my advice is to look for the straightest grained piece you can find by assessing the straightness from ALL 4 sides of the board. Try to get a feel for exactly how the fibers run through the board from end to end.
If you get a straight grained board go for it.
An important factor with ash is the ratio of earlywood to latewood. You want nice fat rings with the smallest amount of porous earlywood.
Also crown your sinew so the back ends up convex. Plenty down the middle with little on the edges.

[Roy from Pa]

I don't think you would understand, Mike.. Your stuck on that flat sawn stuff..  

[Callekanin]

Tyvm for the advice really appreciate sry i havent got back to you earlier but fam/work took up my time : ) ive got a day off tomorrow then ill go have a look at the stuff i got in the barn see if any fits, see if i can throw a few pics in on my selected piece ( not really very good with pc's ) and tyvm for the links they look very useful , good day to you

Casper

[John Scifres]

I will add that plane or flat sawn that is done well is simply a decrowned log and does very well.  But you rarely find them this way in the lumber racks.

Quarter sawn has a greater margin of error assuming there are no defects such as pins or small branches which can cause weak spots across the entire belly of a bow.

Rift sawn pieces are what you will find the most of in lumber racks.  They must be judged individually and I have gone through thousands of pieces in the big box stores like Lowes and Home Depot and found maybe 4 pieces I would bother with.

A backing such as ostrich sinew will save a piece of oak with shallow runups in the grain but big defects such as wavy grain or poorly angled rift cuts are a waste of time and resources.  Hickory is much more tolerant of such problems and I would be more likely to allow for them in my board choice.