. Where do oak markings come from

You've all the seen the wondrous swirling marks on oak wood, marvelled at their beauty and ran your finger along their circular rings - but have you ever asked why they appear at all? Well, first of all, let's address some of the other names people attach to them. Some people call them tiger marks, filler marks or lacquer splashes, but the scientific name is medullary rays. These rays represent a seal of quality - their presence demonstrates that a piece of furniture has been produced from the best pieces of solid oak available.

So why do they occur? Well, during the growth phase of the tree, the purpose of medullary ray is to transport nutrition between the core of the trunk to the outer parts of the tree. The rays radiate from the centre of the solid oak to the bark and are essential for the transmission of sap through the tree. When the log is quarter sawn, the rays are cut at a very low angle revealing more of their surface and, as a result, show off more of the attractive markings. In this quarter sawn technique, the wood is cut into boards with the growth rings roughly perpendicular to the face of the board. As a result the medullary rays often produce beautiful figures such as silver grain, medullary spots and pith flecks.

As previously mentioned, it's the quarter sawn technique which really emphasises the markings, but that is a discussion for another time. It is also worth mentioning that the medullary ray fleck, wavy grain, and other aesthetic qualities are more pronounced in white oak than any other species. In fact, the rays are almost unnoticeable in some of the other woods you can buy. Solid oak has many other qualities such as being more stable, denser and durable, perhaps the glorious markings are slightly overlooked. So if you want a perfect finished piece of furniture that is going to retain its natural beauty and inherent markings then the choice of wood for you is solid oak.