You also might try cutting it on an angel so the grain is neither horizontal or vertical.
Dennis
Yes, and that is the 45° cut which is know as the "Diagonal cut":wink:
Some woods become very fragile when they are cut in angles, particularly the cross cut, I had some that almost snap just for looking at them in the wrong way...!:biggrin: It may be a bit of an exaggeration but, what it means is quite real.
Some people just don't like to turn anything but straight cut or with the grain woods, unless is a burl, that has no grain direction...!
It is also true that, woods with "rays" formations, such as the she-oaks, bull-oaks, Holly-Oaks, and many others, finding the ray direction and cut it at about 60°, it will provide one of the most interesting patterns possible, it doesn't affect the way the wood turns but enhances the channels of the rays like the eye channels in some burls...!
Cheers
George