Rip cut

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In woodworking, a rip cut is a cut made parallel to the grain of the wood. Rip cuts are commonly made with a table saw, but other types of saws can also be used, including hand rip saws, radial arm saws and band saws. Unlike cross-cutting, which shears the wood fibers, a rip saw works more like a chisel, lifting off small splinters of wood.

As a general rule, tools which work well for rip cutting do not work well for crosscutting. Most woodworkers thus have a table saw, which is used for rip cutting, and a chop or miter saw, which is used for crosscutting, even though it is technically possible to do either on either.

Circular saw blades designed for rip cutting have a smaller number of larger teeth than similar blades designed for cross cutting.