What type of cut is 'riftsawn' ?

[Ron]

How does it compare to flat-sawn or quatersawn?

I've seen it used related to hardwood flooring.

ThankX, Ron

[Charlie Self]

Ron asks:

You can get different opinions on this, but rift saw, AKA bastard sawn, is a step on the road to quartersawn and comes about because not every plainsawn board can plainsawn and not every quartersawn board is quartersawn.

"The quarters are then each sawn. Some sawyers flip the cant after each cut, some don't. Results vary because of that. Rift sawn lumber, also called bastard sawn, is cut from quarters, but the quarters are set at a 15º angle during sawing, producing lumber that has about a 30 to 60º angle to the log, versus the 45º and under of plain sawn and 45 to 90º of quartersawn. Rift sawn lumber is a mid-range style. Angles are approximate because of changes in angle as each board is cut." Copyright Charles Self, 2004. Charlie Self If God had wanted me to touch my toes he would have put them higher on my body.

[Michael Daly]

This drawing might help:

Mike

[Unisaw A100]

All woods can and are quarter sawn/sliced and flat (also called plain) sawn/sliced.

"Flecked" woods like oak will produce a flake on the surface of the board when it is quarter sawn. To eliminate this fleck the log is turned an additional 15 degrees, or in the case of some veneer cutters, the log is placed in an offset lathe and the log is swung to take the cut. The resulting boards and veneer leaves have the straight grain of a quarter cut but without the flecks.

"Flecked" woods like Oak are the only woods that are rift sawn/sliced. I t i s a m i s t a k e to call any woods that do not produce a fleck from their medullary rays rift cut/sliced. In other words, anyone selling any rift cherry, maple or walnut does not have a handle on things and is probably selling these to a segment of the industry that doesn't know any better.

More than likely.

UA1oo

[Wilson Lamb]

[Ron]

Thanks Mike,

'I can see the light' and the different grain patterns and the differences...

Ron

[Swingman]

Ripping and rotating the right plainsawn board can make for some truly interesting grain patterns, and can save the day if for some reason you find yourself needing a bit more quartersawn stock to finish up a project and none is available. I've ripped 8" wide 5/4 flatsawn stock into 1" wide pieces, turned the pieces 90 degrees on edge and glued them back together, ending up with something that is now, for all practical purposes, quartersawn ... works pretty good in a pinch.

[Charlie Self]

And maybe not in a pinch: in this old house, there is some oak that was done nearly that way (1-1/2 to 2" wide strips) on the stairs. Looks great.

Charlie Self If God had wanted me to touch my toes he would have put them higher on my body.

[JGS]

[Robert Bonomi]

[ Caution: Not "politically correct", proceed at your own risk ]



'rift' sawn is what you get when cutting with a Japanese blade on the other side of the stock, as contrasted with "light" sawn.

It's just a question of "handedness".