Fig. 2706.
Fig. 2707.
The shrinkage is greater on the outside than near the heart of the tree; thus if a log be cut into four quarters it will shrink as in [Fig. 2706], from the full block outside to the inside or white outline; or if we cut out a square as in figure, one corner extending to the heart, it will shrink to the form shown in the figure. If we sever the log by the four parallel saw cuts it will shrink as shown by the black outline, the shrinkage of the middle piece being more clearly shown in [Fig. 2707].
Fig. 2708.
It is evident, therefore, that to obtain a uniform degree of shrinkage throughout the length of a piece of timber, it should be sawn as near as possible parallel with the grain of the log. Thus in [Figs. 2708] and [2709] we have a side and an end view of a log, the saw cuts at a being from logs that have been squared, the upper slab b being waste material, and the planks being parallel to the squared sides of the log.