Spiral Grain Patterns from Increment Cores

Laboratory work on lodgepole and ponderosa pine and field tests on lodgepole pine, western redcedar, and western larch provide a new method for measuring grain angle and assaying the presence and amount of spiral grain. This must be considered a research method. Cores 12 mm in diameter are removed covering cambium to pith after stripping off bark and marking the grain angle at the cambium. The core is mounted in wax and the change in grain angle (direction, degrees) is recorded as the core is moved under a microscope with a special attachment. Measurements by microscope and by protractor were in good agreement. The former allows readings at 1/2-inch intervals and thus provides more information.

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