The document describes three common methods of sawing logs: plain sawn, quarter sawn, and rift sawn. Plain sawn produces the widest boards with the least waste but is less stable. Quarter sawn and rift sawn produce more stable boards that resist warping but are more wasteful to produce. Rift sawn is the most stable but also the most expensive due to the high amount of waste.

1. METHOD AND MANNER
OF LOG SAWING

2. METHOD OF LOG SAWING

3. Plain Sawn
• Commonly referred to as “flat sawn”.
• Most common and widely used method
of sawing.
• Produced by making the first cut on a
tangent to the circumference of the log.
• Produces the widest possible boards
with the least amount of log waste.
• It is more economical in comparison
to the other sawing techniques utilized
within the industry.

4. Quarter Sawn
• Produced by first quartering the log
followed by sawing it perpendicular
to the annual growth rings.
• Creates more log waste and therefore
the end result of thinner boards in
relation to the plain sawn technique.
• More stable than plain sawn, being
less prone to distortion that comes with
expansion and contraction from
absorbing and releasing atmospheric
moisture.

5. Rift Sawn
• Rift sawing is very similar to that of
quarter sawing producing similar
limitations and advantages.
• The most stable boards, and also
the most wasteful to produce.
• There are large triangles of waste left
from between each board.
• Costly to produce and therefore, the
most expensive type of planks available
from a log.

7. THE END