What's it called when cutting?

[mrcaptainbob]

Okay, when cutting the diameter of a log it's called cross cutting. When cutting the length of the log along it's grain it's called ripping. What is it called when cutting perpendicular to the end of the log? It's not exactly along the grain....

[beenthere]

An how is it not along the grain?  ???

There is across and along, and everything in between.

[John Bartley]

Okay, when cutting the diameter of a log it's called cross cutting. When cutting the length of the log along it's grain it's called ripping. What is it called when cutting perpendicular to the end of the log? It's not exactly along the grain....

Yup, I think I know what you're asking, and I don't have an answer. People who cut firewood do crosscutting. People who run swing mills are doing pretty close to ripping,........ but a band mill is crosscutting on end grain... what's that called?

John

[Jeff]

Crosscutting on end grain?  smiley_whacko  ;)

Ripping! 

[John Bartley]

Crosscutting on end grain?  )

Ripping!  

Is it?  not being difficult here, but when I rip a board with a handsaw, I'm definitely not perpendicular to the grain direction. I always thought (maybe in error) that ripping was cutting parallel to the grain .... educate me please! :P

John

ps :  I have done the web searches, and yes, ripping (generically) is cutting a board lengthwise, so technically crosscutting on end grain is ripping, but the operation is slightly different than when using hand tools.

[Okrafarmer]

There is a third kind, and I sometimes end up doing it with a chainsaw. That is when you take a chainsaw or other saw start cutting along the grain but not from the end. I do that when a piece of firewood is too heavy to lift and I cut it in two. If you put the chainsaw across the end if the log and cut into it, that is normal ripping. The sawdust comes out very small and fine as you are cutting off lots of little tiny pieces of wood fiber from the ends of the fibers. But if you lay the chain saw parallel to the log and cut down into it, you may still be ripping, technically, but in a whole different way. The sawdust comes out in long shavings as the saw teeth are peeling away long strands of wood fiber with each cut. I often do that to cut large firewood cookies into manageable pieces to carry them out of inaccessible areas.

[nmurph]

There is a third kind, and I sometimes end up doing it with a chainsaw. That is when you take a chainsaw or other saw start cutting along the grain but not from the end. I do that when a piece of firewood is too heavy to lift and I cut it in two. If you put the chainsaw across the end if the log and cut into it, that is normal ripping. The sawdust comes out very small and fine as you are cutting off lots of little tiny pieces of wood fiber from the ends of the fibers. But if you lay the chain saw parallel to the log and cut down into it, you may still be ripping, technically, but in a whole different way. The sawdust comes out in long shavings as the saw teeth are peeling away long strands of wood fiber with each cut. I often do that to cut large firewood cookies into manageable pieces to carry them out of inaccessible areas.

this is noodling. but i'm not sure that this is what the OP means.

[Jeff]

A bandmill  cutting a log in a normal fashion is ripping.  Maybe I am not understanding the question. As far as I know, anything cutting parallel with the grain is ripping. Anything perpendicular to the grain is crosscutting. 

The original question asked what cutting perpendicular to the end of the log is. The grain does not go across the end, but perpendicular, so you are cutting with the grain, so you are ripping.

See Beenthere's post.

I'm pretty certain that noodling is slang for sawing where long "noodles" of wood are produced from the saw kerf versus chips. You can get noodles crosscutting and ripping.  I've seen noodles produced when using a 2 man crosscut saw and with a mechanized drag saw, both equipped with rakers in the saw tooth design.

I've also seen noodles when using a vertical edger on a circle mill to "rip" edges or a skill saw when not cutting completely through stock while cutting the length of a board. Your angle of attack while ripping will influence the shape and size of your expelled kerf wood.

The angle of attacks used in the ripping examples above would be such as a planer uses.

[mrcaptainbob]

Yeah. Okay. Entering the end of the log with a saw would be ripping. Then what would it be if setting a saw down parallel to the log center and getting the 'noodles'? I was thinking more from my youth, using a hand saw to rip a board lengthwise. And there were the curls coming from it. But using that same saw ( or a cross cut, for that matter), across the end grain sure displayed a different test for the forearm and wrist! The smaller the angle between blade and board, the longer the curls. Of coarse it's more with the grain, too. But the larger the angle, up to 90* is just chipping the ends of the grain. Thought there may be a special term for that. (Talk about noodling things! Don't I have anything better to do???)

[Al_Smith]

Regarding ripping with a hand saw ,heaven forbid, it's done with a special type saw made for that purpose .A regular handsaw won't work very well . A cross cut saw works basically like two chisels set at opposing angles .A rip saw doesn't use that type of "set "

Most power circular saws use "combination " blades . Of course they make or grind a rip chain for chainsaws which produces saw dust instead of chips but it's rather slow albeit more smooth .

Now regarding noodles , I can pull 3 and 4 inch curly fries with my old Mac 650 geardrive if cutting green soft maple or cotton wood ,cross cutting .That old 1/2" chipper chain just rolls up a big fluffy chip and spits it out like a wood planer.Looks odd .