Wood Glossary

A

Arris

Arris Rail

Auger

1. a self feeding drill bit for wood. Designed for very low rotational speed with high torque. A good choice for hand drilling wood. Commonly available in sizes of 6mm and up.
2. Type of earth drilling bit

B

Baluster

Balustrade

Banister

Barge Board

Batten

Strip of wood applied to wall or ceiling, to which usually plasterboard is applied. Used to even up uneven walls and to permit insertion of insulation behind plasterboard.

Beam

joist, rafter, purlin, or any other large wooden, steel or concrete structural member.

Bitumen

a black sticky gloop used to waterproof and preserve.

Blockboard

2 thin wood veneers with strips of wood glued between. One of the many ways to convert low value material into useful sheet material.

Bore

to make a hole

Bradawl

Pointed tool used to mark a point on wood for drilling.

C

Cabinet Scraper

Piece of metal with a burr. Scrapes wood off a bit like a plane

Camber Beam

A curved beam

Car body filler

A tough durable filler with many uses. Polyester resin with inert fillers.

Casing

Timber lining of a door or window opening.

Caustic Soda

Paint, grease & fat remover, drain unblocker.

Sodium hydroxide

Cill

aka sill.

Chipboard

A low cost low performance sheet material made from sawdust & wood chips stuck together with glue.

Chisel

Also see cold chisel, plugging chisel, bolster,

Cladding

CLS

Canadian Lumber Standard, which covers varius aspects of timber, most noticeably a smooth planed finish and rounded corners. Both reduce the spread of fire.

Corrugated fixing

Counterbore

to cut a recess for a bolt head.

Countersink

to cut a tapered recess for a screw head, enabling it to lie flush with the surface.

the conical drill bit that cuts such holes

Cup

A type of warping of wood planks that makes both side edges raised or lowered compared to the centre of the plank.

D

Dado

rectangular channel cut into board. See dado rail for more common usage

Dado rail

A rail, usually horizontal and wooden, run at around waist height on a wall. Reduces wear & chair damage to the wall decorations.

Delamination

the separation of layers of a material. Plywood and other laminated products may fail in this manner.

Dovetail joint

Dowel

round wooden rod used to accurately align timber joints.

Dowel centre

Dressing

F

Fence

H

Hardboard

A sheet material made of wood fibres stuck together. Usually seen in 3mm thickness. Widely used for furniture backs and drawer bottoms.

Heartwood

Wood that's not from the wetter outer layer of the tree.

K

KD block.

Knockdown block

A plastic jointing block in 2 parts. The 2 halves of the block are joined or separeted with a single screw, enabling quick disassembly and reassembly of furniture etc.

Kerf

The width of a saw blade's cut

Kickback

When tool or workpiece moves back toward the user violently.

Kiln dried

Wood dried to a specified moisture content. It may have been stored outdoors since, slowly increasing in moisture.

Knockdown joint

A joint that can be quickly disassembled and reassembled. Used for products that need to be repeatedly reassembled and shipped or stored flat. See KD block.

Knot

A patch of tough material where a branch grew out from the wood. Knots tend to be hard, splittable, some fall out, and they are the part of wood most prone to instability or warping.

L

Laminate

Sheet material made of layers glued together

Lumber

Wood - a term used more in US and Canada than here

Lumber core plywood

Solid wood inner, veneer outer sheet material

M

MDF

Medium density fibreboard. A consistent but not especially strong wood fibre product.

Mortise & Tenon joint

O

Ogee

A moulding profile (shape) used for wooden trim (moulding) and gutters.

P

PAR

Planed All Round. The 90 degree angles aren't necessarily accurate.

PSE

Planed Square Edge. Planed & with 90 degree corners

Particleboard

chipboard

Particle core plywood

timber veneered chipboard

Pitch

Plate joint

biscuit joint

Pot life

Push stick

Stick used to push timber through some power tools. Avoids some accidents.

Q

Quarter sawn

Timber resulting from the trunk being sawn into quarters. This has stability advantages.

R

Rabbet

Rail

Raised panel

Reaction wood (tension wood & compression wood)

Branches contain reaction wood, and is much more likely to warp.

Rip cut

Cutting along the grain.

Rotary cut veneer

Veneer cut in a spiral motion from the trunk. Makes a long seamless veneer with a rougher surface than sawn veneer. Lower cost than sawn veneer.

S

Sapwood

Wood from the outer layer of the tree. Has much less resistance to rot, worm, etc.

Scant

Undersized

Scarf joint

And end to end joint formed by cutting the 2 ends at an angle. A simple joint, not as strong as finger jointing.

Z

add more....

See Also

• Another Wood Glossary
• Wiki Contents
• Wiki Subject Categories