What is Plain-sawn or Rip-sawn Lumber?

[ptradmin]

There are several different ways to saw trees into usable lumber, and quartersawn (quarter-sawn) lumber is a particular method of milling trees that yields highly usable, very strong boards with a lot less waste than, say, riftsawn lumber. Quartersawn lumber is particularly popular for oak and maple, where the exposed grain in the wood is important and plays a part in its use within a project. Most lumber is made by a process called rip-sawing (plain-sawn lumber), an efficient method that utilizes almost every square inch of a tree to make usable boards. The most hardy wood is made using a rift-sawn method that makes sure all pieces of wood are aligned towards the center of the tree. This generates a grain that crosses the wood and allows it to expand only along its length-side. Quarter-sawing is like the happy medium, presenting a cut that takes more time and energy, but using more of the trees available wood than the riftsawn method.

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