Reply by HorizontalMike

I had an 8/4 piece of White Ash just like that. What I ended up doing was two fold:

• I resawed several 1/4in panels for inserts, and
• I cut vertically with or parallel to the 8/4. This basically gave me 2in wide boards that were quarter-sawn. I then glued up two wide to have my stiles, and single for my rails. It sure gave me great straight grain!

Here is the blanket chest that I built in this manner:
http://lumberjocks.com/projects/70869

-- HorizontalMike -- "Woodpeckers understand..."