Aside from differences in species, what accounts for the appearances in hardwoods?
Different appearances result from the different ways hardwoods are sawn. There is: 1) flat-sawn or plain-sawn; 2) rotary cut; 3) off-set rotary cut; 4) sliced-cut. Flat-sawn can be a flat or vertical grain. The rotary cut method involves peeling the log with large lathes for dramatic, wilder graining. Off-set rotary cutting is a method of cutting wood which gives a sliced appearance with added cross-grain stability. Hardwoods are more dimensionally stable across the grain, so off-set rotary cutting takes advantage of this. Sliced cutting is where the hardwood layer is sawn like regular lumber which reveals finer graining.
