The art of milling.
The pick of the crop of wood fibre
comes only from an extraordinary cut.
That which is true for precious stones, is also true for wood. Both can acquire an astronomically superior value if cut with superb expertise. Only expert eyes and hands are able to turn a diamond in the rough into one for crowns worthy of queens. In order to do that, the artist has to have intimate knowledge of the crystalline structure of the material and respect its geometry. The same is true of cutting wood. To do it properly you have to know the anatomical directions and respect the layout of the fibre.
01_AXIAL DIRECTION / 02_RADIAL DIRECTION / 03_TANGENTIAL DIRECTION
A_Striped vein / B_Flamed vein / C_Growth rings pores / D_Midollari rays
That which is true for precious stones, is also true for wood. Both can acquire an astronomically superior value if cut with superb expertise. Only expert eyes and hands are able to turn a diamond in the rough into one for crowns worthy of queens. In order to do that, the artist has to have intimate knowledge of the crystalline structure of the material and respect its geometry. The same is true of cutting wood. To do it properly you have to know the anatomical directions and respect the layout of the fibre.
CUTTING TECHNIQUES
QUARTER CUT
TRADITIONAL CUT
MILLED LUMBER
The wood most commonly used for the upper layer of parquet is the result of cutting the trunk at a particular angle. This technique provides slabs of even thicker wood without creating internal tension or altering the mechanical performance of the material. When making specific products, two-dimensional items with particular shapes and dimensions, you can easily use veneer as the top layer. This technique is recommended when uniformity and beauty is a priority, so it is popular in the furniture design industry. To safeguard the mechanical integrity of wood, this application is limited to a certain range of thicknesses.
THE PORES. SIGN OF BALANCE.
Some wooden planks, like oak, are graced with opaque streaking. These are known as pores and are a distinctive sign, a seal of quality, of each perfectly radial section, that is, the part that goes through the trunk’s centre where the cut includes the pores. The veining is characterized by the typical striped pattern, they are some of the most precious parts of wood: maximum dimensional stability, maximum density against water penetration, maximum axial mechanical performance thanks to the even continuity of the fibre. This is why it ranks as the pick of the crop when it comes to cuts of wood. They are rare and priceless cuts: the only part used when making the barriques in which fine wine will slowly age, for the key harmonic components of the world’s very best violins.