Woodworking Quiz;

[Ralph Jones]

Greetings Friends,
Define the woodworking term, "Back Sawn Timber".

Respectfully,

[Eastie]

The radial growth rings are <45 degrees to the face of the board. Also known in some areas down here as a bastard cut - do you know why???

[redmond]

coz it warps alot?

[DaveInOz]

It is a derevation of the term used by American sailors stationed in perth for the local Swan Brewery beer. The 'black swan timber' being real beer made them drop like they had been smacked in the head with a piece of timber, and wake up feeling worse.
Over time 'black swan timber' was used to describe anything very solid / sturdy.
This colorful term was used by them to describe solid sturdy hard timber they took to the USA (jarrah), 'this lumber is real black swan timber'. Not knowing the swan brewery the locals assumed they had miss heard and the hardness and beauty was soon ascribed to it being 'back sawn timber'.

So if you want to understand the term back sawn timber you should either get very drunk on swan, or hit yourself in the head with a piece of jarrah.


remember bullsh*t truely is an artform

[journeyman Mick]

Originally the term was "back's'gone" timber. After a day on (or under) the pitsaw ones back was in a sorry state. (BTW I'm sure that the term "the pits" derives from being the lower operator of a pit saw). So the pioneer would convert enough logs to build the family homestead but in the process damage his back. Thus he would build with "backsgone" timber. This evolved to be backsawn timber with the advent of powered mills as sawyers no longer damaged their backs (well, not as quickly). The original meaning was obscured by the passage of time and nowadays people think it's timber that has been cut with its growth rings at an angle (45deg or so) to the face of the board.

Mick
(professor of linguistics and etymology )

[silentC]

You're all wrong.

Back in the late 1700's, there was a sawer who carried the appellation "Edmund of the Kerf". He was known throughout the land for being the fastest sawyer alive. He held the championship title at the local sawfest for more than 20 years.

One day, an itinerate sawyer arrived at the sawfest to challenge Edmund for his crown. This sawyer was known as "Baldrick the Sawn". A great cry went up and people came from far and wide to see the newcomer made a fool of. People took bets but Edmund was the odds on favourite, of course.

The competition began. Edmund was doing well, when suddenly, Baldrick leapt to the lead. He won by a nose. When people asked how he had beaten the great Edmund, he replied that it was in the careful choice of timber which had allowed him his advantage. From that day, people would always back Sawn in any competition and the type of timber he chose, which is easy to saw, was known as "Back Sawn Timber".

Now that is bullsh*t, Dave

[DaveInOz]

You have to appreciate seeing true artists at work

[Robert WA]

You are all wrong.
Back sawn timber is timber ripped with the back (smooth) edge of a saw.
It takes a long time to make the cut, but it sure is clean.
Rob

[ozwinner]

Take no notice of these people Ralph.
Its an Ozzie term, comes from Out Back Timber.
Timber collected from the Out Back

Cheers, Mick Dundee.

[echnidna]

It comes off the back of the heart so the growth rings are parallel to the face of the board.
Or
Its cut from a flitch hanging up in the workshop over your bench so you have to lay on your back to cut it.

[outback]

The upper cut is cutting one way along the log, then you turn around and saw back down. So you end up with back sawn timber.

[Sturdee]

As far as I am aware it is the timber you saw out back of the shed.


Peter.

[Ralph Jones]

Greetings Friends,
Of all the quizzes I write I am enjoying the answers I receive from you folks, as well as the humor that goes along with your stories.

The answer for todays quiz is as follows;
BACK SAWN TIMBER - Timber sawn so that the growth rings are inclined at less than 45&#176; to the wide face.

Thank you all for your support.

Respectfully,

[macca2]

Well stone the bloody crows.

macca

[Eastie]

Bingo Redmond. We oztraaaaleeeans (just tryling to make you feel at home Ralph in spelling it how you say it) have had many difficulties in trying to find an export market for backsawn boards cut from our ash type eucalypts, blue gum and shining gum due to the high shrinkage rate across the back of the boards. The type of shrinkage experienced locally in oztraaaaleea is reported to be near twice that of migrant grown ash eucalypts overseas and other similar foreign hardwoods. Thus if someone makes the mistake of running a perfectly good saw log through a twin bandsaw the screws are often heard to say "which bastard cut that log?", and the response from half the lackies will be "that bastard cut it". No bull.