I was in a house the other day that had wide, random width, quarter sawn white oak flooring. The widths varied from 5″ to 8″.  It was very noticeable to me that there were no surface fasteners, evidenced by the absence of plugs. I’m wondering how a floor could be effectively fastened with such wide boards nailing only the tongue. Is it because it was quarter sawn, or are there techniques that enable this? I’m interested in duplicating the look, but don’t want to (or can’t) use quarter sawn stock.