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A
Air-drying
A method for seasoning wood that permits covered stacks of sawn wood to dry naturally in the open air.
Alloy
A mixture of two or more metals to create a composition with specific properties.
Anthropometry
The comparative study of the dimensions of the human body.
Arc
Part of an unbroken curved line drawn by a compass.
Arris
The sharp edge where two surfaces meet at an angle.
Axis
The imaginary line about which an object such as a chair rail is symmetrical.
B
Backing grade
The category of cheaper veneers that are glued to the back of a board in order to balance better-quality veneers glued to the front face.
Banding
A plain or patterned strip of veneer used to make decorative borders.
Barefaced
The description of a joint that has one shoulder only.
Batten
A strip of wood.
Bead
A rounded convex shape turned on a lathe. or A fine molded strip of wood, also known as beading.
Bench Dog
A metal of wooden peg inserted into one of a row of holes.
Bench Stop
A flip-up tongue that is permanently inlaid into the bench top.
Bevel
A surface that meets another at an angle other that a right angle. or To cut such surfaces. See also chamfer.
Bifold door
A type of sliding door made from two hinged panels that fold as the door is slid sideways.
Bird’s-mouth
A notched plate of metal or wood that is clamped or screwed to a bench so that the notch overhangs the edge. It is used to support work being cut with a piercing saw or scroll saw.
Blank
A piece of wood roughly cut to size ready for turning on a lathe.
Bleed
A process whereby a substance such as natural wood resin permeates and stains the surface of a subsequent coating.
Blister
A small raised area of veneer resulting from insufficient glue at that point.
Blockboard
A man-made building board with a core approximately square-section solid-wood strips sandwiched between thin plywood sheets. See also laminboard.
Bore
To drill a hole.
Bowed
Twisted.
Bruise
To make a dent in wood by striking it with a hard object such as a hammer.
Burl
A warty growth on the trunk of a tree. When sliced it produces speckled veneer.
Burr
A thin hook of metal left along the cutting edge of a blade after honing or grinding.
Button
A wooden device screwed to the underside of a table top to fix it to an underframe.
C
Cabinetmaker
A manufacture of good quality furniture.
Cabriole leg
A furniture leg developed in the 18th century that is made with an upper convex curve that descends, tapering, to a concave curve.
Calibrated
Marked out with one or more scales of measurement.
Carpenter
A woodworker but not necessarily one who specializes in fine work.
Case-hardened
A term used to describe unevenly seasoned wood with residual uneven stresses throughout its thickness.
Catalyst
A substance that stimulates or increases the rate of a chemical reaction.
Cauls
Sheets of wood or metal used to press veneer onto groundwork.
Chamfer
A 45-degree bevel along the edge of a piece of wood or board. or To cut such bevels.
Chattering
The noise caused by a work piece or tool vibrating.
Checks
Splits in wood caused by uneven seasoning. See also knife checks.
Chipboard
A mat of small particles of wood and glue compressed into a flat building board.
Claw
A split hammer peen used to grip a nail by its head and lever it out of a piece of wood.
Clear wood
Good-quailty wood that is free from defects.
Closed-coat
A term used to describe sand-paper that has abrasive particles packed closely together.
Coarse-texture
See open grain.
Collet
A tapered sleeve made in two or more segments that grips the shaft of a cutter.
Comb-grain
Another term for quartersawn.
Compound miter
A miter that is angled in two planes.
Concave
Curving inwards.
Contact cement
An adhesive that bonds to itself without the aid of clamps when two previously glued surfaces are brought together.
Convex
Curving outwards.
Core
The central layer of plies, particles or wooden strips in a man-made board.
Counterbore
To cut a hole that permits the head of a bolt or screw to lie below the surface of a piece of wood. or The hole itself.
Cove
A concave molding along the edge of a workpiece. or Another term for hollow.
Crest rail
The top rail forming part of the back rest of a chair.
Cross-banding
Strips of veneer cut across the grain and used as decorative borders.
Crosscutting
Sawing across the grain.
Cross grain
Grain that deviates from main axis of a workpiece or tree.
Crotch figure
Another term for feather figure.
Crown-cut
A term used to describe veneer that has been tangentially sliced from a log, producing oval or curved grain patterns.
Cup
To bend as a result of shrinkage, specifically across the width of a piece of wood.
Cure
To set as a result of chemical reaction.
Curly figure
See curly grain.
Curly Grain
Wood grain exhibiting an irregular wavy pattern.
Curtaining
An undulating ridge of sagging paintwork resembling the shape of a draped curtain.
D
Dado
A groove cut across the grain. or To cut such a groove.
Dimension lumber
Prepared wood cut to standard sizes.
Double insulated
A power tool with a non-conductive plastic casing that protects the user from electric shock is said to be double insulated.
Dressed lumber
Wood sold with one or more surfaces planed.
Dust panel
A horizontally mounted panel that protects the contents of a drawer from the dust created by the drawer above rubbing on its runners.
E
Earlywood
That part of a tree’s annual growth rings that is laid down in the early part of the growing season.
Edge-grain
Another term for quartersawn.
End grain
The surface of wood exposed after cutting across the fibers.
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