Rift sawing
Rift sawing (radially sawing) is a technique of cutting boards from logs radially so the annual rings are nearly 90° to the faces. When rift-sawn, each piece is cut along a radius of the original log, so that the saw cuts at right angles to the tree's growth rings. Quarter sawn is defined as boards made by sawing a log into quarters and then sawing out boards in parallel cuts with varying angles of the sides to the growth rings up to 30°, 45° or 60° from the annual rings. However, quarter-sawn and rift-sawn are used with opposite meanings and as synonyms so there is confusion about their meanings.
Rift-sawing produces lumber of the greatest stability and wear. However, since this produces a great deal of waste (in the form of wedge-shaped scraps from between the boards) rift-sawing is much less-commonly used than flat sawing and quarter-sawing. The waste may be used as firewood or for some other purpose.
Flat-sawing produces the least wood waste and fastest sawing, but produces boards which are more susceptible to cupping and shrinkage, and which have a distinctive grain which may be aesthetically undesirable for some uses. Quarter sawing produces smaller boards than flat sawing, but has a straighter grain, which in addition to being visually pleasing, makes the lumber more stable. Quarter-sawn wood is seen as an acceptable compromise between economical but less-stable flat-sawn wood (which, especially in oak, will often display the distinct "cathedral window" grain) and the expensively-wasteful rift-sawn wood, which has the straightest grain and thus the greatest stability.
