Rift sawing

Rift sawing (radially sawing) is a technique of cutting boards from logs radially so the annual rings are nearly 90° to the faces. When rift-sawn, each piece is cut along a radius of the original log, so that the saw cuts at right angles to the tree's growth rings. Quarter sawn is defined as boards made by sawing a log into quarters and then sawing out boards in parallel cuts with varying angles of the sides to the growth rings up to 30°, 45° or 60° from the annual rings. However, quarter-sawn and rift-sawn are used with opposite meanings and as synonyms so there is confusion about their meanings.