machine sawn ash planks for a hand drum frame

[cynff]

I've purchased some machine sawn ash planks that I intend to use to a make a hand drum frame. Having watched Ray Mears' birch bark canoe making video, I'm wondering if these machine sawn planks have been cut across the grain. The traditional way of making hand drum frames is by spliting logs with the grain then using a Mocataugan Crook Knife to plane the split boards down to the desired thickness. These are then soaked overnight in a lake before bending to make a circular drum frame.

I'm wondering if the wood will split it has been sawn across the grain. How can I tell if the wood has been sawn across the grain? Here are some photos:

 

[C_Claycomb]

“Across the grain” isn’t the best term, since that usually means the tree trunk has been cut into short cylinders. Yours are definitely cut along or with the grain, but also in the second picture the rings of early and late wood show wood fibres run off the faces. Might well split. More likely if all you do is soak in cold water. Much less likely if you steam them.
This is very similar to the problem faced by bowyers trying to make self bows (non laminated limbs) from boards.
Thinner wood would also help.

In ash, early and late rings are easy to see. Look at the cut leaned ends of boards, see the curvature. Then look at the rest of the faces to get clues about how the board lay in the tree relative to these concentric cylinders (okay, often not perfectly concentric or cylinders, but you get the idea).

 

[demographic]

This link might help, I've not tried it but watched the vid about a week ago. Might be worth a bash.
Youtube link.
The grain on that bit of ash goes kind of diagonal and might be an issue but even if it doesn't work its a technique worth learning so have at it eh?