A hand saw that has a steel reinforced spine to add rigidity and strength to the saw plate. Typically used in a miter (mitre) box, this saw is used for cross cuts.
A powered saw which utilizes a band of steel that has been joined at the ends to create a loop and has teeth cut into one edge. The workpiece is placed on a small table through which the blade runs and is pushed into the blade in order to make a cut. Bandsaws can be used to make every type of cut in woodworking.
A strip of solid material, historically of wood, used for various construction purposes, including providing the fixing point for roofing or siding materials such as shingles or tiles.
An edge of a structure that is not perpendicular to the faces of the piece, e.g. by being cut on a diagonal, typically in order to soften a sharp edge for the sake of safety, wear resistance, or aesthetics, or to facilitate mating with another piece. The term is often used interchangeably with chamfer, though there are sometimes distinctions in technical usage.
billet
1. A short piece of a log, especially one used for fuel.
Joinery with mating surfaces not protruding through the face or end grain of the pieces being joined. An example is a "blind" mortise and tenon joint.
bolster
Also called a pillow or cross head.
1. A shoulder.
2. A timber situated between a post and a beam to increase the bearing or shorten the span.
bolt
A piece of log cut to a specific length, usually a short length from which products such as shingles are split or cut. Sometimes also called a billet or round.
A hand tool used to drill holes, having a knobbed handle on the top to which pressure is applied and a U-shaped grip in the middle which is used to rotate the drill bit.
Any tool with a characteristically shaped cutting edge used for carving or cutting a hard material such as wood, stone, or metal by hand, with a mallet, or with mechanical power. Chiselling involves forcing the blade or cutting edge into the material in order to cut it.
Any fastening device used to hold or secure pieces tightly together to prevent movement or separation through the application of inward pressure. Some types of clamps are temporary, used to position components while fixing them together; others are intended to be permanent.
climb cut
On a table saw or router, cutting against the normal feed direction at the end of the cut to prevent tearout.
close grain
Any wood grain with very fine fibers of cells that are not visibly porous.
A joint technique most commonly used in woodworking joinery. Noted for its resistance to being pulled apart (tensile strength), the dovetail joint is commonly used to join the sides of a drawer to the front.
A system used to capture wood dust from woodworking machines such as a table saw, miter saw, router, planer, or jointer. A shop vacuum or a dust collector captures wood dust using a high volume of air flow.
A flat and straight length of some material, usually wood, steel or aluminium, which provides a reference for tools to work against, or which prevents the work from sliding.
fiber
Also spelled fibre.
The fine tube-like structure of wood which is hollow and determines the grain direction.
A type of flat, tapered, single-cut file used to cut, flatten, and smooth (or "float") wood surfaces by abrasion, e.g. when making a wooden plane. Unlike rasps and files, floats have parallel teeth and can be resharpened as many times as the thickness of the blade will allow.
A hand tool for drilling small holes in wood without splitting, typically a semi-cylindrical piece of steel that is hollow on one side, having a cross handle at one end and a worm or screw at the other.
Wood from an angiosperm tree, i.e. a tree in the division Magnoliophyta that bears flowers and fruits. Despite the name, hardwood is not necessarily hard or dense (e.g. balsa is a hardwood), although it is generally harder than most softwoods.
The concave surface of a gouge, or a gouge sharpened on the concave surface.
interlocked grain
A type of wood grain which has multiple longitudinal directions in alternating layers, typical of many tropicalhardwoods, and very difficult to work and to produce smooth surfaces.
The part of woodworking that involves joining individual pieces of wood to produce more complex items; the art of framing, joining, dressing, and fixing the finishings of a building.[1]
A circular pattern in timber caused by a dead branch that was not fully integrated into the tree before it was cut down. A loose knot is one that cannot be relied upon to remain in place in the piece. A tight knot, on the other hand, is fixed by growth or position in the wood structure so that it firmly retains its place in the surrounding wood even after working.
A thin, narrow strip of straight-grained wood, typically arranged side-by-side with others and used to support roof shingles or tiles, as a backing material for plaster or stucco in walls and ceilings, or in lattice and trellis frameworks.
A sharp-pointed hand tool used to mark wood for cutting, usually used in joinery or when a more precise mark is needed beyond that provided by a pencil or other method of marking the cut.
A slender, usually tapered, piece of material used to temporarily adjust the angle of a joint or support; sometimes used permanently as an easy but unsightly way to, for example, correct the plumb of a freestanding piece of furniture.
shooting
The technique of planing an edge straight or square.
Wood from a gymnosperm tree, i.e. trees in the divisions Pinophyta and Ginkgophyta. Despite the name, softwood is not necessarily soft or lightweight (e.g. douglas-fir is a softwood). Contrast hardwood.
A change in the texture, strength and color of wood caused by colonies of fungus growing within the dead wood. Where colonies of fungus meet, fine black lines, often considered a desirable feature, are visible.
A circular saw, mounted on an arbor and driven by an electric motor, that partially protrudes through the top of a table, which is used to support the material being cut.
tear out
Broken or torn fibers resulting from damage as the blade of a tool exits a cut.
Wood that will be removed in the finished work. It is often retained during working as a handle to conveniently hold and manipulate the portion being worked.
wasting
Quickly removing wood during carving, usually with an adze, knife, or rasp.
A porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and woody plants. Wood is an organic material consisting of a natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension embedded in a matrix of lignin that resists compression.
