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Rift & Quarter Sawn Hardwood Lumber

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Rift Sawn

This linear grain pattern is achieved by milling perpendicular to log's growth rings. The log is milled on an angle between 45° to 75°. Rift sawn lumber is dimensionally superior to both plain sawn and quarter sawn lumber. However, it also produces the most waste, which will cost more per board foot than either quarter sawn and plain sawn lumber.

Benefits of Rift Sawing :

Ideal for custom furniture makers to use for table, chair and other straight pieces
The most dimensionally stable cut of lumber available
Unique, linear appearance on both sides of the lumber planks

Quarter Sawn

To mill quarter sawn wood, each log is sawed at a radial angle into four quarters. Then each quarter is plain sawn. This produces a straight, linear grain pattern. This method of quarter sawing does leave some waste, but much less than rift sawn lumber.

Benefits of Quarter Sawing :

Reduces shrinking and swelling in hardwood lumber width.
Reduces twisting, warping and cupping.
Is less prone to surface checking.
More resistant to moisture penetration
Has a smooth surface as raised grain is not pronounced.
Ribbon aka "fleck" patterns

Available Hardwood Lumber Species

Available thicknesses: 4/4, 5/4, 6/4* and 8/4* (*Available by special order.)

	Northern Red Oak Rift & Quartered Red Oak is sawn from true Northern Red Oak logs. The sapwood in Red Oak is blonde and usually one to two inches thick; the heartwood is very light brown with a tinge of red or pink. Due to slower growth, wood cut in northern us has a finer texture, more consistent pale pink color and somewhat denser, than central or southern US oak. Northern Oak is preferred in all turning and flooring applications.
	Northern White Oak Midwest Hardwood’s Rift & Quarter sawn White Oak also offers a higher degree of color consistency due to the sourcing of high quality Northern hardwood timber. Quarter sawn White Oak remains the species artisans use for mission and arts and crafts style interiors. It is chosen because the medullary ray fleck, wavy grain, and because other aesthetic qualities are more pronounced in White Oak than other species. White Oak is also a denser, more stable, and durable species.
	Northern Black Walnut The Rift & Quartered Northern Black Walnut offers buyers a volume source for a rare cut of hardwood in an already rare species. Rift & Quartered Walnut lumber is used for fine furniture, architectural woodwork, musical instruments, decorative panels, interior trim, and flooring and is more in demand today than ever before as it offers buyers a straight grained, dark, native North American hardwood
	Northern Hard Maple Rift & Quartered Northern Hard Maple is currently used for furniture, cabinets, decorative woodwork, flooring, and veneers. In Midwest’s Northern Rift & Quartered Hard Maple the heartwood or brown portion of the log is isolated to the inside edge and it is limited to 1” or less in width across the board face. Vertical grain white Northern Hard Maple offers a “fresh” look to the traditional Maple appearance consumers are accustomed to seeing.
	Northern Cherry In cabinetmaking, cherry is rated one of the favorites because of its beauty and versatility. It’s unique patina, ability to take stains well, and deep rich red color make it unique in North American hardwoods. Midwest produces a Rift & Quartered Cherry that maintains all the highly desired physical properties of Northern Cherry, while like Maple offering a “fresh” look at Cherry in a vertical grain product.

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Pictures are for illustration purposes only and will not be an exact representation. Lumber is a product of nature where every board is unique in grain, color and defects.