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Another newbie question here. How much runout/how off-quarter is acceptable for wood intended to be used as bracewood?

Sure!

I found some spruce blocks that are being listed as bracewood, but it looks like they have been sawed instead of hand-split. Here is a picture of the face of the block:



And then the block would be cut/split like this for the bracewood stock:



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I'm just wondering if that would work, or if I'd be better off getting something different.

Thanks!

I think Brace wood is one area you really want to watch out about runout, which is why the pros like to split it down before sawing or shaping. Such a small piece of wood needs the stability of continuous grain. But of course you already know that.

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"Preoccupation with an effect gives it power and enhances the error"
from "Your Owner's Manual" by Burt Hotchkiss.

Yep. I'm just broke, and trying to figure out how much I can get away with before it bites me in the rear end.

PappaWoodie, First off, Runout and off vertical are two entirely different issues. The pictures you have shown are certain;y a little off vertical but in y opinion not too bad. I try not to sell bracewood that is that far off vertical but from the reading I have done I wouldn't be afraid to use as is. But, for aesthetic reasons I would reprocess it to vertical grain, it would be very easy to do. To determine runout you should saw off a square chunk and then hand split in full halves. That will tell you if there is runout or twist. I posted a section in the tutorials section on Bracewood that should be of some help, it was a while ago so will be on the bottom of the first page or even on the second or third page by now. Good luck.

Shane

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Canada

Hi Shane,
Thanks very much for all of the information! I'm still extremely new to this, so it's always great to learn something new. I appreciate it a lot.