Plain sawn, quarter sawn, rift: how the cut makes the floor.

Before a board has a grade, it was sawn. And how it was sawn decides almost everything you later see and feel: the figure of the grain, the dimensional stability, the yield from the trunk, and with it the price. Plain sawn, quarter sawn, rift: these terms appear in every wood floor specification and yet are rarely explained. This article catches up on that.

Why the sawing direction changes everything.

A tree trunk consists of concentric annual rings. Depending on the angle at which the saw passes through these rings, they meet the board surface flat, at a slant or upright. This angle determines two things: the visible figure of the timber and how it behaves. Wood shrinks and swells along the annual rings (tangentially) about twice as much as across them (radially). A board with standing annual rings is therefore considerably more dimensionally stable than one with rings lying flat.

The four sawing patterns.

Plain sawn / Crown cut

Quarter sawn

Rift sawn

Plain sawn / Crown cut (rings lying flat)

• The trunk is sawn through in parallel boards; the annual rings lie flat to the surface (at an angle below roughly 30 degrees).
• Figure: the typical cathedral or flame figure. Lively and expressive.
• The highest yield from the trunk, which makes it the most economical option.
• Moves the most: with fluctuations in humidity the board is more prone to cupping.

Quarter sawn (standing rings)

• The trunk is first quartered, then the boards are cut radially; the annual rings stand steeply to the surface (roughly 60 to 90 degrees).
• Figure: calm, straight stripes. In oak the medullary rays become visible: the characteristic ray figure, shimmering light flecks across the grain.
• Considerably more dimensionally stable than plain sawn, and therefore preferred for wide boards and underfloor heating.
• Lower yield, correspondingly higher price.

Rift sawn (rings at a slant)

• Cut at an angle of roughly 30 to 60 degrees to the annual rings, deliberately steering past the rays.
• Figure: the calmest, most linear picture of all. Fine, parallel stripes without ray figure and without cathedrals.
• Very dimensionally stable; the first choice for minimalist, graphically strict designs.
• The lowest yield of all cuts, which makes it the most expensive.

Live sawn / Through and through (boule)

• The whole trunk is sawn into continuous slabs, the European sawing tradition.
• Figure: all three pictures in one board. Standing rings in the middle, cathedral figure towards the edges.
• Efficient and full of character; shows the tree as it grew.
• Popular for wide plank floors with an authentic, mixed picture.

The ray figure of quarter sawn oak divides tastes. In classic furniture and parquet making it counted as a mark of quality: it shows that the timber was cut radially. In very reduced, modern designs it is often perceived as restless instead; rift is then the right specification. Only one thing matters: whoever asks for a 'calm, straight grain' must say whether that means with or without rays. That is exactly what the two terms are for.

In the trade you frequently encounter the combination 'rift and quarter': a mixed grade of both radial cuts. It is calmer than plain sawn but livelier than pure rift, and priced between the two.

• Wide boards, underfloor heating, large glazed areas with solar gain: specify standing annual rings (quarter or rift). The extra cost is an insurance against gaps and cupping.
• Minimalist design with a linear look: rift, explicitly without rays.
• Classic and representative, herringbone in oak: quarter sawn with rays is historically the noblest reading.
• Characterful wide plank floors: live sawn or plain sawn, happily in a livelier grade.
• Always record both in the specification: sawing pattern and grade. The grade describes what is visible in the timber; the sawing pattern explains why it looks that way.

Once you keep the two pairs of terms apart, you read every wood floor specification fluently: sawing pattern plus grade plus finish together make the picture of the floor. How grades work in detail is explained in the article 'Select, Natur, Rustikal: what grades really mean' here in the Knowledge section.