What is rift and quartered hardwood flooring?
While rift and quartered is generally used in white oak flooring, Hurst Hardwoods provides it in many different species, lengths and widths of solid and engineered flooring. Below are the National Wood Flooring Associations (NWFA) description of rift and quartered cuts.
What is rift and quartered milling?
Rift and quartered milling uses milling techniques to highlight the most beautiful grain patterning possible. Typically, rift and quartered is known to be a very traditional milling process. Flooring milled in this way is common in older homes and is what generally comes to mind when hearing “hardwood flooring”.
What is a rift and quartered log?
The log is sawn into four quarters and each quarter of the log is sawn perpendicular to the growth rings at an angle, therefore being named rift and quartered. This creates the traditional long lined grain that rift and quartered is known for.
Can rift and quartered wood have a straight grain?
In other words, only rift and quartered grain can have a straight grain with flecking because of how it’s milled. Many wood species can be cut in a rift and quartered grain; it is often known to be more stable with less expansion and contraction cause by changes in temperature and humidity.
What is rift in hardwood?
Rift sawn lumber is typically narrow with a very straight grain pattern on the face of the board. Rift sawn lumber is usually used with oak to avoid the flecks that are common in the species. 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.
What is the difference between rift cut and quarter sawn?
Rift sawn lumber, also known as straight grain, is cut at the sawmill with the grains intersecting the face of the board at an angle between 30 and 60 degrees and quarter sawn lumber is cut with the grains intersecting the face board the board at an angle between 60 and 90 degrees.
What's the difference between rift and quarter sawn white oak?
QUARTER SAWN WHITE OAK WILL CONTAIN STRIKING MEDULLARY RAY FORMATIONS, COMMONLY CALLED “RAY” OR “FLAKE”. RIFT SAWN IS SIMILAR TO QUARTER SAWN, BUT WITH MUCH LESS OCCURENCE OF MEDULLARY RAY FORMATIONS. PLEASE NOTE THAT WIDER PLANKS OF RIFT-SAWN WILL DEVELOP QUARTER SAWN GRAIN (TREES ARE ROUND!).
What is rift and quarter sawn oak flooring?
Rift Sawn produces a tight straight grain running parallel to the board with little to no ray fleck. Quarter Sawn will exhibit the straight grain along with “ray fleck” or “medullary rays” that run across the grain.
Is rift or quarter sawn more expensive?
Each of these boards is cut radially perpendicular to the growth rings of the tree. There are large triangles of waste left from between each board. As a result, rift sawn lumber is costly to produce and therefore, the most expensive type of planks available from a log.
What are the disadvantages of quarter sawn?
Quarter sawn wood is more expensive because it is more labor intensive to produce and the manufacturing process produces more waste than plain sawn lumber.
How can you tell if a wood is quarter sawn?
A board with growth rings running roughly parallel—usually in arches—relative to the face of the board is called a plain-sawn (or flat-sawn) board. If the growth rings are at a steep angle relative to the face, the board is said to have quartersawn grain.
Is quarter sawn oak worth it?
Utilizing the quarter sawn method enhances this even further. Additionally, quarter sawn wood is some of the most durable and stable lumber choice you can find. It is easy to work with and produces almost no twisting, warping, or cupping.
Is Rift white oak expensive?
The rift sawn white oak flooring price is the highest. Because of the high waste and low supply, rift sawn is the most expensive lumber for oak flooring. It's also the highest grade and the most dimensionally stable of the four cuts.
Is quarter sawn better?
Quarter-sawn wood is more stable than plain-sawn. Not only is it less prone to cupping, it also expands and contracts less. Quarter-sawn provides a “quieter” and straighter face grain than plain-sawn.
What is the advantage of quarter sawn lumber?
The Benefits of Quartersawn Lumber In a word (or two), the benefits of quarter sawn lumber are looks and stability. Because the grain is so consistent on quartersawn lumber, the end product is more stable. The end grain of the wood ends up largely perpendicular to the board's face.
Is quarter sawn white oak expensive?
While quarter sawn oak is more expensive than plain sawn, the value it provides in terms of structural integrity and beauty make it the obvious choice for anyone looking for a quality piece.
What is another name for quarter sawn lumber?
Quarter sawing or quartersawing is a woodworking process that produces quarter sawn or quarter-cut boards in the rip cutting of logs into lumber. The resulting lumber can also be called radially-sawn or simply quartered.
How can I tell if my wood is quarter sawn?
Quarter sawn wood or lumber typically has nearly parallel grain lines that cut across the short dimension of the board. This is due to the way the board gets mostly cut against the grain of the tree. Compare that to live sawn wood that ends up with gentle curves of gran across the width of each board.
What is the advantage of quarter sawn lumber?
Some advantages of quartersawn lumber: Shrinks and swells less in width. Cups, surface-checks, and splits less in seasoning and in use. Raised grain caused by separation in annual rings does not become as pronounced.
Is quarter sawn better?
Quarter-sawn wood is more stable than plain-sawn. Not only is it less prone to cupping, it also expands and contracts less. Quarter-sawn provides a “quieter” and straighter face grain than plain-sawn.
What is a rift and quartered?
Also rift and quartered is the preferred choice for use over radiant heat flooring when approved. While rift and quartered is generally used in white oak flooring, Hurst Hardwoods provides it in many different species, lengths and widths of solid and engineered flooring.
What percentage of a piece must have rift characteristics?
Rift Only/Rift Sawn - at least 75% of the piece must contain rift characteristics: in cross section the angle of the annual ring tangent to the face of the piece to be between 30 and 60. Grain lines to be mostly parallel to the length of strips and medullary ray flecks less than 1/16" wide.
What is the most common cut of hardwood flooring?
Plain Sawn -this is the most common cut of all hardwood flooring. This will provide a grain pattern that is more spread out and not as tight compared to other cuts. Grain pattern will not be as straight with a more wavy appearance.
What is live sawn flooring?
Live Sawn - also referred to as French cut, live sawn will produce boards that can have all of the characteristics of each cut in the same piece of flooring. This provides a unique look and used in the manufacturing process of European French Oak Flooring.
What woods are rift and quartered?
Many wood species can be cut in a rift and quartered grain; it is often known to be more stable with less expansion and contraction cause by changes in temperature and humidity. Making it more desirable and usable in a wider range of applications. While rift and quartered grain is most common with White Oak, Tesoro Woods’ Great Northern Woods ...
How to make a rift and quartered log?
Rift and Quartered grain is achieved through a specific milling technique that differs from the more common, plain sawn style. Logs are cut with the grains intersecting the face of the board at an approximate 60-degree angle. The log is sawn into four quarters and each quarter of the log is sawn perpendicular to the growth rings at an angle, therefore being named rift and quartered. This creates the traditional long lined grain that rift and quartered is known for.
What woods are most common with white oak?
While rift and quartered grain is most common with White Oak, Tesoro Woods’ Great Northern Woods Collection features four North American species in rift and quartered grain in both 3” and 5” widths.
Is milled wood flooring common?
Flooring milled in this way is common in older homes and is what generally comes to mind when hearing “hardwood flooring”. However, it is achieved through one of the least common milling styles and is actually not as common as plain sawn flooring today. For more information on milling types.
Does hardwood have straight grain?
Hardwood only has a straight grain with flecking when sawn into four quarters and cut at a 60-degree angle. In other words, only rift and quartered grain can have a straight grain with flecking because of how it’s milled. Great Northern Woods 5″ Maple, 3″ Red Oak, 3″ Walnut and 5″ Red Oak.
What is quarter sawing?
Quartersawing is a slower process that involves cutting from the inside outwards, turning the quarter log "cant" end for end, and cutting alternate faces. This method is more labor and technologically intensive, yielding slightly narrower boards but with greater strength, stability, and character than plainsawn.
What are the rays on quartersawn boards?
These rays are present in all trees but most prominent in the Oaks. These rays are called "figure", "flake", "ray fleck", "tiger stripe" or "fleck".
What are the radial cells on a red oak tree?
Red and White Oak have, as part of their biology, large bands of radial cells called "Medullary. Rays" emanate outward from the center of the log, similar to the spokes of a wheel. These. radial cells transmit water and nutrients outward as the tree grows. While all trees have Medullary.
Can you choose a quarter only board?
We will hand-select boards with a majority certain grain appearance. Please note that it is impossible to sort out a 100% Rift or Quartered Only board. For example, some Rift boards may still have "flakes" on one end of the board, with the rest of the board being majority Rift cut.
What is a rift and quartered floor?
Also rift and quartered is the preferred choice for use over radiant heat flooring when approved. While rift and quartered is generally used in white oak flooring, Reserve Hardwood Flooring provides it in many different species, lengths and widths of solid and engineered flooring.
What is quartered only?
Quartered Only/Quarter Sawn - at least 50% of the piece must contain quartered characteristics: In cross section the angle of the annual ring tangent to the face of the piece to be between 45 and 90. Grain lines to be mostly parallel to the length of strips, and medullary ray flecks present and more than 1/16" wide.
What is reserve hardwood flooring?
Reserve Hardwood Flooring specializes in providing great prices and availability of Rift and Quartered hardwood flooring. We offer these cuts in a mix of rift and quartered, rift sawn only and quarter sawn only. Each cut will give your floor a more unique look. Choosing one of these cuts will also give your floor increased stability from expansion and contraction while maintaining a harder surface than plain sawn floors. Also rift and quartered is the preferred choice for use over radiant heat flooring when approved. While rift and quartered is generally used in white oak flooring, Reserve Hardwood Flooring provides it in many different species, lengths and widths of solid and engineered flooring.
What percentage of a piece must have rift characteristics?
Rift Only/Rift Sawn - at least 75% of the piece must contain rift characteristics: in cross section the angle of the annual ring tangent to the face of the piece to be between 30 and 60. Grain lines to be mostly parallel to the length of strips and medullary ray flecks less than 1/16" wide.
What is live sawn flooring?
Live Sawn - also referred to as French cut, live sawn will produce boards that can have all of the characteristics of each cut in the same piece of flooring. This provides a unique look and used in the manufacturing process of European French Oak Flooring.
Is maple a light wood floor?
As with plainsawn Maple, this is a predominantly light-colored floor that excludes knots, wormhole, birdpeck, and other such characteristics. However, it may be expected to present somewhat more light-brown heartwood than a plainsawn floor and to have slightly more contrast in the floor as laid. Wider widths will exhibit a larger percentage of brown, up to 15-20% in 5″ widths. Riftsawn pieces will predominate with only the occasional appearance of light figure in the floor from quartered pieces.
Is character rift maple more stable than plainsawn?
An excellent choice for a light-colored natural rustic floor, Character Rift & Quartered Maple will be harder and more stable than plainsawn Maple and will present all the rustic characteristics found in plainsawn. It will tend to have slightly more brown heartwood than in plainsawn, a tendency that increases in wider widths. The floor is largely riftsawn with only occasional pieces of pure quartersawn.
WHAT IS QUARTER SAWN WOOD AND WHAT MAKES QUARTER SAWN FLOORING DIFFERENT?
By definition, quarter sawn lumber is the angle that the annular growth rings intersect the face of the board. However there is little agreement what exactly that angle is. Most define it as between 60 – 90 degrees, although others define it as between 75 – 90 degrees or 45 – 90 degrees.
WHAT MAKES QUARTER SAWN HARDWOOD FLOORING DIFFERENT?
Quarter sawn hardwoods are beautiful and distinctive. The unique look of quarter sawn hardwoods lend itself to an array of design styles, from traditional to modern.
IS RIFT AND QUARTER SAWN HARDWOOD WORTH THE PRICE?
Rift and quarter sawn hardwood can command a premium over plain sawn lumber. This is primarily due to a more limited availability of quarter sawn lumber – both because of the lower number of boards made from each log and combined with a much smaller number of suppliers producing this kind of lumber.
CAN YOU GET RIFT AND QUARTER SAWN WHITE OAK ENGINEERED FLOORING?
Engineered hardwood flooring can be purchased in rift and quarter sawn white oak, in both standard widths and wide widths. These high quality engineered floors have a thick wear layer that can be refinished during the life of the floor.
IS QUARTER SAWN WOOD STILL A GREEN CHOICE?
Many have asked whether the higher waste involved in making quarter sawn wood result in a product that is less environmentally friendly than traditional lumber. The answer is simple – quarter sawn wood is a sound environmental choice. Companies who produce quarter sawn lumber use the rest of the log in a variety of ways.
