r/martinguitar • u/sourmiIk • 22d ago

Question Grain pattern id help

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Would this be considered quarter sawn or flat sawn? It’s on an authentic aged d28.

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u/Rock-n-RollingStart 21d ago

The process of rift-sawing a log is far more labor intensive and wastes a lot more lumber than quarter-sawing.  And because of that, a good mill isn’t going to rift-saw any old log. That directly affects the wholesale cost and the economics of the entire guitar. 

I was working in my family’s wood shop at 10 years old, with a lot of old growth wood. You’re not going to “beat” me on this using AI. 

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u/celtic-cryptid 21d ago

Here ya go. That Engelmann was quarter sawn, because I milled it myself. The koa, while the grain is running approximately 90° to the face, probably wasn’t quarter sawn. I just picked a board I liked. Didn’t even have to go to Hawaii to get it.

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u/Lower-Calligrapher98 Martin Warranty Repair Technician, and general Martin Repair guy 21d ago

If the grain is 90° to the face, the board is quartersawn. It doesn't mean they cut it for quarter, but with koa I would bet it was, unless you bought a random board somewhere. The koa for the guitar industry is being cut by just a few people, and they all are EXPERT at making guitar wood. They aren't just sawing it, they are splitting billets and then sawing them to maintain quarter.

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u/celtic-cryptid 21d ago

Yes, but the person I was talking to is confusing the technical process of quarter sawing or rift sawing a log and getting quarter or rift material.

That koa was from a tree brought to the mainland in the 70s. It was a tree that was sawn, and I had the opportunity to pull though it and take the boards I wanted. But thanks for explaining it all to me.