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Arbor: The part of a power saw to which the blade is mounted.

Bevel: An angled cut made through a board from face to face.

Biscuit: A small, football-shaped spline used as reinforcement in a biscuit joint.

Biscuit joint: A joint which is reinforced with biscuits and glue.

Blade guide: The part of a band saw that keeps the blade tracking true while cutting.

Board foot: A unit of measure for lumber equal to 1" thick by 12" wide by 12" long.

Bowing: A type of warping that causes boards to curl up at their ends.

Box joint: Joint made of equally sized and spaced notches and pins cut into the edges or ends of a board.

Bullnose: A profile, which resembles a board rounded over at each face of one edge.

Burning:

Discoloration left on a board by a dull cutter, blade or bit. Feeding material at an improper rate or binding may also burn stock.

 

Butt joint: Joint where two boards are glued edge to edge or face to edge without overlapping.

Carbide steel: Extremely hard, long wearing steel used in high quality cutters, blades, bits and knives.

Carcase: The frame part of a panel construction.

Casing: Trim work around any opening; most commonly associated with doors and windows.

Chamfer: A 45° angle milled into the edge or end of a board.

Check: Splits at or near the end of a board.

Cheek: The part of a tenon parallel to the face of the board. See Tenon.

Chuck: The part of a drill that holds the bit in place.

Cleat: A strip fastened to one part to hold it in place or to facilitate the fastening of another part.

Collet: The part of a router that holds the bit; similar to the chuck in a drill.

Compression: The force exerted to push the components of a joint together.

Cope joint: A joint used on trim with rounded profiles.

Counterbore: The process of boring a hole for a screw or bolt so the head is below the wood's surface.

Countersink: A hole bored for a screw so the screw head sinks below the surface.

Cove: A concave profile milled into a board's surface.

Crook: Warp along the edge line; also known as crown.

Crosscut: A cut made across the grain of a board.

Cubic feet per minute (CFM): A rating that indicates the amount of air a fan, blower or compressor can move.

Cupping: A type of warping that causes boards to curl up at their edges.

Dado: A groove cut into a board or panel, across the grain.

Degloss: Lightly scuffing a slick or shiny finish to promote adhesion of another finish or topcoat.

Dovetail joint: An extremely strong joint where two boards have interlocking tails and pins cut specifically to mate together.

Dressed lumber: Air stacked or kiln dried lumber cut to an accepted standard size.

Dry fit: Assembling the pieces of a project to check their fit before gluing. Can also refer to the assembled pieces.

Dust bag: Power tool attachment that traps dust and shavings created by the tool.

Edge: Either of the two longer sides of a board, perpendicular to the face.

Edge band: To glue veneer to the edge of a board.

End: Either of the two shorter sides of a board perpendicular to the face.

Extension table: Power tool attachment that mounts on the side of a tool, increasing the work surface.

Face: Either of the two wide surfaces of a board.

Face glue: Gluing pieces together so their faces are joined.

Factory edge: An edge of a board or sheet good cut at a mill or factory.

Feather board: Power tool accessory used to hold stock next to a fence or guide.

Feed rate: The speed at which stock is moved through a cutter, blade or bit.

Fence: An adjustable part of a woodworking machine used as a guide to keep stock square to the cutter, blade or bit.

Finger joint: A joint where the lines of the joint resemble interlocked fingers; commonly used in paint grade trim.

Foot: The part of a handheld power tool that contacts the surface of the work piece; also called base.

Gang sand: Sanding multiple pieces, which have been face clamped, along their edges and ends simultaneously to create identical parts.

Grain: The direction of fibers in lumber or other materials.

Groove: A recess cut into a board or panel, with the grain.

Gullet: The space between a saw blade's teeth.

Hardboard: A manufactured building material made by pressing wood fibers into sheet goods.

High speed steel (HSS): Hardened steel used in cutters, blades, bits and knives.

Heartwood/All-heart: Wood cut from the center of a tree.

Insert: Table saw accessory that surrounds the blade and supports the work piece.

Jamb: Top, sides, studs, frame and trim of a door, window or other opening.

Jig: A guide for producing identical work or work pieces.

Joinery: Connecting or bonding two pieces of wood.

Jointer: A woodworking machine designed to straighten and square a board's edge.

Kerf: A cut made in a board that is equivalent to the saw blade's width.

Kickback: Occurs when a work piece is thrown back along the direction of feed from a woodworking machine. In handheld power tools, the tool itself may be thrown backwards.

Laminate: The process of gluing material together.

Lap joint: A woodworking joint where half the thickness of each piece is cut away to allow the pieces to lie flush after the joint is assembled.

Lath: Thin strips of wood that serve as a base for plaster or or as a cap piece in some trim.

Length: The dimension of a board measured from end to end.

Level: The state of being in the true horizontal plane.

Mill: To alter a board with a cutter, blade or bit.

Miter: An angled cut made across the face of a board from edge to edge.

 

Mortise: A hole, slot, groove or other recess into which another element fits.

Outfeed table: The part of a power tool that supports a work piece after it passes the cutter, blade or bit.

Panel construction: A type of furniture or cabinet assembly that uses stiles and rails as framing to hold floating panels. The frame pieces are grooved to accept the edges of panels and allow them to expand and contract with temperature and humidity changes. A six panel door is a good example of panel construction.

Pilaster: A vertical element of an assembly; usually refers to ornate elements of a doorjamb or mantle.

Pilot hole: A hole in a workpiece pre-drilled for a nail or screw; the purpose is to avoid splitting the workpiece when the fastener is driven.

Pins: The thin protrusions of a dovetail joint. See Dovetail joint.

Pitch: Buildup or deposit left on a cutter, blade or bit after milling resinous wood.

Plain sawn: Lumber that has been sawn so the growth rings run between 0 and 44 degrees relative to the board's face.

Plug: Cylindrical piece of wood (similar to a dowel) used to fill a countersunk hole. Some plugs can be sanded flush with a board's surface. Others have a rounded button-like head and are designed to be left unsanded.

Plumb: The state of being in the true vertical plane.

Pocket hole: A hole drilled at an angle to hide a screw and fasten two perpendicular pieces.

Positive stops: Manufacturer's preset positions on a tool for cutting at specific angles.

Pounds per square inch (psi): A rating that expresses the amount of air pressure generated by a compressor or required by a pneumatic tool.

Predrill: Drilling pilot holes for screws before running them, to avoid splitting the work piece.

Profile: The shape of a piece of trim as viewed from an end.

Push stick: An instrument for pushing stock through cutters, blades or bits of woodworking machines.

Quartersawn: Lumber that has been sawn so the growth rings run between 45 and 90 degrees relative to the board's face.

Rabbet: A recess cut into the edge or end of a board into which another piece fits to form a joint.

Racking: Force exerted that twists the components of a joint in opposite directions.

Rail: Any horizontal element; usually associated with panel construction.

Resaw: Re-cutting dressed lumber to produce two or more thinner pieces.

Rip cut: A cut made with the grain of a board.

Round over: A convex shape milled onto the edge or end of a board.

Sacrificial fence: A piece of stock secured to a tool's fence to protect the fence from contact with the blade, bit or cutter.

Sapwood: Wood cut from the portion of a tree between the heartwood and bark.

Scribe: Transferring the contour of one surface to another.

Scuff sand : Lightly sanding to allow a follow-on coat of finish to adhere.

Set: Driving nails below the surface.

Shaft lock: Mechanism for locking the shaft of a tool during cutter, blade or bit replacement.

Shank: The part of a bit that fits into a tool's collet or chuck.

Shoulder: The part of a board around a tenon, perpendicular to the face of the board. See Tenon.

Sill: The lowest horizontal piece of a window or door.

Snipe: Concave cut or dimple left at the tail end of a work piece passed through a jointer. Snipe usually occurs when the outfeed table is set lower than the jointer knives.

Spline: Thin strips glued in place to reinforce and align joints.

Squeeze out: Excess adhesive forced from a joint during clamping.

Stile: Any vertical element of an assembly; usually associated with panel construction.

Tails: The thick protrusions of a dovetail joint. See Dovetail joint.

Tear out: Chipping or splintering, usually at the point where a cutter, blade or bit exits the board.

Teeth Per Inch (tpi): Determines the speed with which the blade cuts through stock. Blades with high tpi cut slower but leave a very smooth edge. Blades with low tpi cut quickly and leave a slightly rough edge.

Tenon: A projection extending from the end or edge of a board usually specially cut to fit a mortise.

Tension: Force exerted that pulls the components of a joint apart.

Thickness: The dimension of a board measured from face to face.

Throat: The distance between the cutter/blade and the body of a woodworking machine.

Toenail: Fastening by driving nails at an angle. To drive nails at an angle.

Tongue and groove: A joint where a protruding tongue on the edge of one board fits into the recessed groove in the edge of another board.

Twist: A type of warping that causes boards to curl in more than one direction from end to end.

Veneer: Thin slice of wood sawn or rotary cut for laminating. Veneer is usually cut from the most desirable species.

Vertical shear: Force exerted that slides the components of a joint against each other in opposite directions.

Wane: Missing wood or untrimmed bark along the edge or corner of the piece.

Width: The dimension of a board measured from edge to edge across the face.

Wood movement: The tendency of wood to swell or shrink with changes in humidity and temperature.