Rift sawing is a technique of cutting boards from logs. Each board is cut along a radius of the original log, so that the saw cuts at right angles to the tree's growth ring. This produces lumber of great stability. However, since this produces a great deal of waste (in the form of wedge-shaped scraps from between the boards) rift-sawing is much less-commonly used than flat sawing and quarter sawing.
Flat sawing produces the least waste, but produces boards which are more susceptible to warping and shrinkage, and which have a distinctive grain which may be esthetically undesirable for some uses. Quarter sawing produces more waste than flat sawing, but has a straighter grain, which in addition to being visually pleasing, makes the lumber more stable. Quartersawn wood is seen as an acceptable compromise between economical but less-stable flatsawn wood (which, especially in oak, will often display the distinct "cathedral window" grain) and the expensively-wasteful riftsawn wood, which has the straightest grain and thus the greatest stability.
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