Quartersawing Reveals Oak’s Hidden Ray Fleck

Oak contains unusually broad medullary rays running outward from the tree’s center. Quartersawing exposes these rays across the board’s face, creating the bright ribbon-like figure called ray fleck.

Why it’s useful: Flat-sawn and quartersawn blanks from the same oak tree can produce dramatically different grain patterns in a finished turning. Blank orientation determines whether the rays appear as small lines or bold shimmering flecks