Rift Sawn Vs Quarter Sawn Flooring

Drying rift quarter sawn lumber takes longer.

Rift sawn vs quarter sawn flooring. This produces a straight striped grain and creates distinctive ray and fleck patterns in red and white oak. Rift sawn lumber is very similar to quarter sawn but with a key difference. Each type of lumber is dependent on how the log is oriented and cut at the mill. When lumber is cut from logs it is typically cut in one of three ways.

Quarter sawn lumber quarter sawn oak hardwood. The result is a particular orientation of the growth rings on the end grain of the board and is what defines the type of lumber. Quartersawing a log will yield some quartersawn boards but it will also yield some rift sawn boards and some boards that have a mixture of both often called mixed grain. Gorgeous 4 rift quarter sawn red oak floor installed over radiant heat sanded and finished with 50 50 ebony weathered oak stain and 3 coats bona traffic hd water based polyurethane.

Quarter sawn rift sawn or plain sawn. Rift sawn wood is used for applications that require straight lined grain through and through. Rift sawn lumber milling is more labor intensive than both plain and quarter sawn lumber. While not a huge number when 4 4 white oak rift quartered takes 34 days to dry and plain sawn takes 30 days those extra days.

Rift sawn lumber is usually used with oak to avoid the flecks that are common in the species. This cut is produced by quartering the log lengthwise which results in growth rings which are at 90 degrees to the face of the board. One of the main costs of lumber drying is time. Rift sawn lumber you can think of rift sawn lumber or flooring as being cut like a pie is.

They are plain sawn quarter sawn and rift sawn. This cut produces dimensionally stable flooring and is generally resistant to. However for rift sawn lumber the quarters are then cut in a spiral pattern. Similar to quarter sawn lumber rift sawn lumber is also referred to as radial grain.

There are also fewer mills that produce quarter sawn lumber which also contributes to a higher price. For instance tables chairs and other furniture legs benefit greatly from having all exposed sides with the same linear appearance. We are constantly evaluating the drying of lumber based upon how much revenue per day a dry kiln facility can make. Each type of lumber is dependent on how the log is oriented and cut at the sawmill.

When flooring companies refer to quarter sawn wood they are usually referring to a combination of quarter and rift sawn boards. The annular rings or a rift sawn board are about 30 60 degrees to the face of the board but 45 degrees is the most optimum. As with quarter sawn lumber logs are first cut into quarters. The result is a particular orientation of the annual growth rings on the end grain of.