Logs of timber are hard to use in their natural form. Therefore, they need to be split into more manageable pieces. There are 4 basic types of woodcuts: plain sawn, rift sawn, live sawn, and quarter sawn. We will discuss each method in detail below! It’s, however, important to note that woodcuts may mean more than the aforementioned cuts and we have considered this. we will therefore be looking at, type of woodcuts inside the woodworking workshop. This will also include machine-specific cuts. as a bonus.
Table of Contents
Different types of woodcuts from Log to Timber
Plain Sawn
– Plain Sawn timbers come straight off the log as opposed to living quarter cuts where the log is split into quarters first. This method is perhaps the easiest and most cost-effective. The blade goes through the log making parallel lines as shown below. Most millers prefer this cut as it gives wide planks with minimal waste. The growth rings are cut tangentially giving the planks a common part that has become to be known as “Cathedral.” As beautiful as the cathedral pattern is plain sawn timber is prone to bow, cup or twist with time due to tension in the grains cut in tangential.
Characteristics of Plain Sawn timber
– The grain of the timber is very consistent with a straight, vertical orientation. This type of woodcut produces good patterns ideal for large surface work like dining table tops, doors, and flooring.
Advantages of Plain Sawn timber
-Aesthetically pleasing finish on both sides; more contrasting colors in select woods.
– Great for longboards, large pieces that are needed and desired
It- More economical in cost because it has minimal waste.
– Stronger finished product as there is less chance for gaps to form between them when glued together due to lack of knots within the timber.
Rift Sawn
– Rift Sawing is when logs or trees are sawed perpendicularly down the middle. This method produces the most waste as perpendicular to the annular rings sawn boards leaves a lot of triangular chunks of waste. It is however still preferred by artists and fine artisans who prefer it for its aesthetic and consistent grain pattern.
Characteristics of rift sawn timber
Rift sawn timbers have straighter grains making them better at holding up against stresses like twisting and pressure from moisture over time. Trees with a more uniform diameter are used for this type of timber which means there is less risk of warping.
Rift sawn timber can be more difficult to work with, but this also means that it will last longer and allow you greater control when cutting or shaping the wood.
Advantages of rift sawn timber
Straighter grain means straighter boards. Rift sawn boards have a consistent grain pattern making it valuable to design artists.
On top of this Rift, Sawn timber has greater dimensional stability which means that it is less likely to warp or bow over time.
Check our article on how to archive straight edges with no planer
Live Sawn
Live Quarter is also called standing cut. This type of cutting does not produce a lot of waste because the tree remains intact on one side. The log will be split into quarters (thus the name) which are then further sliced for lumber sizes that are needed in carpentry.
Characteristics of live sawn timber
Live Sawn is a type of woodcut that has its own unique characteristics. The grain pattern, color spectrum, and natural variations in this wood make it an attractive option for flooring or cabinet pieces. It also allows you to see every layer in the board’s growth rings which ensures there are no gaps due to continual tree growth.
advantages of Live Sawn timber
Live Sawn has a few advantages that make it the ideal choice for countless projects. It is free of knots and possible cracks, which means you can use this timber for flooring or cabinet pieces without any worries about the wood splitting or breaking beneath your feet. Live Saw also allows you to see every layer in the board’s growth rings which ensures there are no gaps due to continual tree growth.
Quarter Sawn
– Finally, there are quarter sawed timbers where logs will be cut across the width of a tree so they can then be ripped apart easily. The board has a wavy grain pattern along its surface making them fantastic at resisting twisting and moisture problems over time like plain sawn timber but not quite as good as rift sawn due to being more prone to deflection and warping from contact with water.
characteristics of Quartersawn timber
A quarter sawed timber has a wavy grain pattern along its surface making them fantastic at resisting twisting and moisture problems over time like plain sawn timber but not quite as good as rift sawn due to being more prone to deflection and warping from contact with water. They have a long straight line going through the center of the board called the quarter saw line.
The opposing angles of this line can cause problems with glue strength as they are more likely to contract and expand at different rates than plain sawn timber. This is why it may be better for smaller projects, such as cabinet work or cutting boards where surface appearance is not important but resistance against moisture damage over time and warping is a concern.
advantages of Quartersawn timber
The main advantage of quartersawn timber is that it is less likely to twist or warp due to moisture, as the wood fibers are oriented at an angle across the board. This makes it especially good for smaller pieces such as cabinetwork and cutting boards where appearance does not matter but stability overtime against warping or twisting is essential. The straight grain also makes it a good candidate for veneer work, since the grain will always be parallel to the surface.
Check our article on Carving Pine
Woodworking Basic Joints
butt-joint
The first type of joint is the butt joint. This type of joinery involves two pieces, one longer than the other. The long piece goes on top and the shorter piece becomes a “stick out” at either end. When using this technique, the glue must be used to keep it together  ensuring that no water gets into contact with any part of the wood for the risk of rotting it.
lap joints
Next in line are lap joints which involve three or more pieces coming together (usually) perpendicular to each other and glued together securely so they can’t move around or pull apart easily when pressure is applied from different directions while assembling them – such as would happen if someone were sitting down on a chair made out of these types of joints.
This type of joint is used when joining together some pieces that are a different size than the other, or if for whatever reason one piece needs to be shorter than the rest (like with chair rungs). The two sides to this kind of joinery have to be cut at an angle which means that you’ll need a saw and jig-saw blade (or table saw) Â because these types of blades can make cuts angled in any direction.
dowels
The third basic woodworking joint would be doweling – where sometimes “dowels” are inserted into holes drilled through both boards being joined together so they won’t shift out from their position over time due not only to weight but also heat changes inside your woodworking project. Â
dovetail
The fourth basic woodworking joint is a dovetail which usually makes for interesting, decorative joints and is commonly found in cases where you want to have full-length drawers that will open up without the risk of coming out (due to gravity).
mortise and tenon
The fifth kind would be mortise and tenon – because the materials are large and heavy, it’s important that joints like these are strong and won’t come apart easily.
Half-Lap Joint
The last basic type of joints for this article are Half-Lap joints. This type of joint is used to join two pieces of wood together that are the same width, but different thicknesses. This allows you to create a relatively strong connection between the two pieces without adding any additional materials or fasteners.
The Half-Lap Joint can be created by either halving one piece and then joining it with another similarly shaped piece or by halving two pieces and then joining the halves together.
Half-Lap joints are used to join wood that is of similar width, but different thicknesses. They can be created in one of two ways – either halfing a single piece and then attaching it with another similarly shaped piece OR by simply using both halves from each original board – as shown below:
In this example, I am using the Half-Lap joint on boards that were ripped into thin strips for use as edging. The result is a clear connection between them without any additional material needed!
As always, please feel free to ask us questions about any other types of joints in woodworking via email – we’ll do our best!
