The Best Oak Money Can't Buy Peter Follansbee Before the advent of powered saws, it was simpler and easier to prepare oak boards by riving the wood using simple tools. And the resulting radially split stock is the best quality a log will yield. It's very stable, milder and easier to work than sawn stuff. Peter Follansbee, the joiner at Plimoth Plantation, takes a log to pieces during this demonstration of the 17th-century joiner's art.