Wooden Touches Inc
Shaun Fleming's wood art portfolio
some woodworking terms
Marqueterie is one of Shaun's specialties and can be seen in many of her pieces:
Main Entry: mar·que·try
Variant(s): also mar·que·terie /'mär-k&-trE/
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle French marqueterie, from marqueter to checker,
inlay, from marque mark : decorative work in which elaborate
patterns are formed by the insertion of pieces of material (as wood, shell, or
ivory) into a wood veneer that is then applied to a surface (as of a piece of
furniture)
some other general terms:
Adhesive
A substance that is capable of bonding material together by surface attachment.
Air Dried
Lumber stacked and stored so that it is dried naturally by the exposure to air.
Allen Head
A screw head with a recess requiring a hexagon shaped key, used mainly on machinery. These may be in metric or SAE sizes.
Annual Growth Ring
The layer of growth to the circumference of a tree in a season, easily recognizable in many woods by the difference in cells formed during the early and late parts of the season.
Apron
A frame around the base of a table to which the top and legs are fastened.
Arbor
A stub shaft on a machine to turn blades or other cutting wheels.
Awl
Pointed instrument that looks like an ice pick, useful for marking positions when laying out a project.
Back Saw
A handsaw with a rectangular blade with a reinforcing rib along the back for stability, types include razor saws, veneer saws, dovetail saws, and miter box saws.
Band Saw
A saw with a looped blade running around two or three wheels. Used with narrow blades for cutting freehand shapes, and with wider blades and a guide for resawing material.
Bark
The outer protective layer of a tree.
Bench Dogs
Pegs which go into holes in the top of a workbench that work with a vise to hold wide material.
Biscuit Joint
An oval shapped disk that when inserted in a slot with glue swells to form a tight bond. A special tool is required to cut the slot.
Blade Stablizers
Metal disks aprox. 3 1/2" in diameter that go on each side of a saw blade to minimize flexing and rim vibration.
Block Plane
A small plane designed for cutting across end grain.
Board Foot
Measurement of lumber equal to one square foot an inch thick or 144 cubic inches. Multiply width in inches X length in inches X thickness in inches, divide by 144 for total board feet.
Bookmatch
Successive layers of veneer are arranged side by side to resemble a mirror image of each other.
Box Joint
Square shaped finger joints used to join pieces at right angles.
Brace and Bit
This is a hand drill with a crank shaped handle with a flat knob on the end, special auger bits with a square tapered shank fit into a two jaw chuck. This is a ancient system but still works well when jobs are done by hand.
Brad Point Bit
Similar to twist drill but with a flat bottom and sharp point.
Butt Joint
A joint where the edges of two boards are against each other.
Branding Iron
A tool for burning a name or logo on to wood, electric or flame heated.
Calliper
An insturment with two legs, one of them sliding, used to measure the thickness of objects.
Carbide Tipped
Extremely hard steel pieces with sharp cutting edges fastened to cutting tools such as saw blades, and router bits.
Carcass
The case or box of a piece of furniture, it is the rough framework and structure of the item.
Carpenter's Pencil
Rectangular shaped pencil, about 1/4" X 1/2", with a 1/16" X 3/16" lead.
Chamfer
To bevel the corner of a board at a 45° angle.
Chuck
An attachment to hold work or a tool in a machine, lathe chucks and drill chucks are examples.
Closed-Coat
When the grit on sandpaper covers 100% of the backing paper it is referred to as closed-coat. This is used for sanding hardwood and fine finishing.
Collet
A type of chuck that accepts a fixed shaft size, commonly used on routers.
Combination Square
A square that measures both 90 degree and 45 degree angles.
Compass
An insturment for drawing circles consisting of two legs joined at a pivot hinge.
Compound Miter
An angled cut to both the edge and face of a board, most common use is with crown moulding.
Countersink
A special drill bit that allows a screw head to sit flush with the face of the material it is driven into.
Cross Cut
A cut which runs across the board perpendicular to the grain.
Cupping
This is when the edges of a board bend with the grain away from the center to form a concave shape.
Curl
A term to describe what happens to wood as it grows. Curly wood looks like sand on the beach or river bottom with repeated ripples in the grain. The grain goes up and down causing the unusual look in the wood. Also called "tiger" grain or "fiddleback".
Dado
A groove in the face of a board, usually to accept another board at 90 degrees as in shelf uprights.
Dial Gauge
This measuring instrument has a circular graduated face and a pin which activates a rotating pointer to measure variation in movement in thousands of an inch.
Dovetail Joint
A joint where the fingers are shaped like a doves tail, used to join pieces at 90 degrees.
Dowel
A wood pin used to align and hold two adjoining pieces.
Dowel Center
Metal buttons that go into a predrilled dowel hole to mark the position for drilling the second piece.
Dressed Size
The dimension of lumber after being surfaced by a planer.
Epoxy Glue
A two part glue that practically glues anything to anything, including metal to metal.
European Hinge
A hidden style hinge fastened to the door with a cup hole.
Featherboard
Pieces of wood with fingers used to hold material against a fence and or down against the table on power tools such as a table saw.
Fence
A straight guide on a tool such as a table saw or router table to keep the material a set parallel distance from the blade or cutter.
Fiddleback
Describes wood, usually maple or mahogany but can be any wood, with Curl or Tiger grain material with fine grain used in the manufacture of violins, hence the name.
Filler
A substance that is used the fill pores and irregularities on the surface of material to decrease the porosity before applying a finishing coat.
Finger Joint
Long tapered fingers used to join material lenghtwise, often used in manufacturing moulding to join short lengths.
Flush
When two adjoining surfaces are perfectly even with one another. See Proud and Shy.
Forstner Bit
These have a center spur and circular rims with cutting teeth that cut clean flat bottomed holes.
Good One Side
Plywood with one side patched solid and sanded, the other side will be rough and have open knot holes.
Grain
The appearance, size and direction of the alignment of the fibres of the wood.
Gum Pocket
An excessive local accumulation of resin or gum in the wood.
Hand Plane
A tool to smooth and true wood surfaces, consisting of a blade fastened in frame at an angle with hand grips to slide it along the board.
Hardwood
Lumber from the group of trees with broad leaves, this has no reference to the actual hardness of the wood.
Heartwood
The wood from the pith extending to the sapwood, darker in colour due to gum, resins, and other materials which make it less susceptable to rot.
Horned Dado
This is caused by the outside blades of a stacked dado head cutting deeper than the chipper blades.
Infeed
The side of a power tool where a board enters.
Janka Test
A hardness test, usually for wood flooring, rating is pounds of pressure required to press a steel ball .444 inches in diameter one half way into the wood.
Jig
A device used to hold work or act as a guide in manufacturing or assembly.
Joiner
A machine to true the edges of boards usually in preparation for gluing.
Kerf
The width of a saw cut, determined by the thickness and set of the blade.
Kick Back
This is when a workpiece is thrown back by a cutter, prevented using anti-kick back devices on power tools such as table saws.
Kiln
A heated chamber for drying lumber where the air flow, heat and relative humidy can be controled.
Kiln Dried
Lumber dried in a kiln.
Knot
The portion of a branch or limb that is embedded in the wood.
Laminate
The product of bonding layers together as in beams or plywood.
Linseed Oil
Is an amber-colored, fatty oil extracted from the cotyledon and inner coats of the linseed. The raw oil extracted from the seeds by hydraulic pressure is pale in color and practically without taste or odor. When boiled or extracted by application of heat and pressure, it is darker and has a bitter taste and an unpleasant odor.
MDF
Medium density fiberboard, very stable underlay for counter tops etc. to be covered with laminate.
Milk Paint
A paint made with milk solids, chemically akin to casein glue, often the original finish on antique furniture.
Miter Box
An apparatus to guide a saw to make miter joints.
Miter Gauge
A guide with an adjustable head that fits in a slot and slides across a power tool table to cut material at an angle.
Miter Joint
Pieces are cut on an angle to make a joint.
Molding (Moulding)
A strip of material with a profile cut on the facing edges, used for trimming.
Morse Taper
The standard for the taper on the shanks of drill chucks, drill bits and lathe centers. The different size tapers are designated by numbers, #1 being the smallest, #3 is common for drill chucks.
Mortise
A cavity or hole cut to allow a tennon to pass through to make a joint.
Nominal Size
The rough sawn dimension a finished piece of material is referred to, for example what is referred to as a 2 X 4 is actually 1 1/2" X 3 1/2".
Ogee
An S shape that is made by making one cut to produce two identical pieces.
Open-Coat
Grit covering 70% or less of the surface backing of sandpaper is referred to as open-coat. This is used on softer wood or paint removal because the chips will not clog the sandpaper as easily.
Outfeed
The side of a power tool where the baord exits.
Particle Board
A generic term for material manufactured from wood particles and bound together with glue.
Phillips Head
A type of screw head requiring a driver in the shape of +.
Pilot Bit
A router bit with a bearing at the end of the cutter that rides against the edge the material or a template to guide the cut.
Pitch
The number of teeth on a saw blade per inch.
Pith
The soft core in the center of a log.
Plain Sawn
Boards are sliced from the log with the cut tangent to the growth rings.
Plumb
A term used to describe something that is perfectly perpendicular to the earth relative to gravity. A plumb bob on the end of a string will give you a line that is plumb or straight up and down.
Plunge Router
A router that can be pushed down to insert the bit in the material.
Plywood
A glued wood panel usually 4' X 8' made up of thin layers of wood laid at right angles to each other.
Pocket Hole
A hole drilled on an angle with a step bit to make a butt joint. The larger hole is for the screw head to enter, and the smaller hole is for the shank.
Primary Wood
This is the wood that is on the main or primary surfaces of a piece of furniture. These are the premium or money woods of the cabinet. Woods of lesser value, that are on the sides or not seen is called Secondary Wood.
Proud
To just protrude above the surface so it is sticking out a bit.
Quarter Sawn
Boards which have been cut so that the wide surfaces are aproximately 90 degrees to the anual growth rings, this type of cut reduces cupping of the boards.
Rabbet
A groove in the edge or face of a board, usually a rabbet is referred to on the edge, a dado is refered to on the face.
Rack and Pinion
A system using two gears, one round, one flat to move a part, an example would be a drill press, a round gear connected to a handle works with a flat gear on the column to raise and lower the table.
Radial Arm Saw
Circular saw that runs on an overhead track, the track mechanism swings in relation to the table to make miter cuts.
Radial Drill Press
A drill press with the head mounted on a tube which is laterally and vertically adjustable, this type gives greater throat clearance but is not as solid as a conventional drill press so run out can be a problem.
Rail
A horizontal member between chair legs or between styles or vertical members of a door frame.
Raised Grain
The roughened condition of sanded wood when the hard latewood rises above the soft earlywood when moisture is applied.
Rake
The angle at which the leading edge of the teeth are cut on a saw blade.
Rip Cut
A cut which runs through the length of a board parallel to the grain.
Robertson Head
A screw head requiring a driver with a square tip, also referred to as a socket head.
Rotary Planer
A power hand tool with rotating blades that smooths the surface of material.
Rough Lumber
Boards which are sawn, edged and trimmed but not run through a planer.
Router
Basically a high speed motor with handles and an adjustable base with a collet that accepts profile bits to cut dados, rabbets, or shapes.
Sapwood
The wood lighter coloured wood on the outside of a log, this wood is more susceptable to rot than heartwood.
Sawhorse
A trestle usually used in pairs to hold wood for cutting.
Seasoning
The time it takes for wood to dry. Wood air-dries and takes one year for every inch of thickness. It refers to a year, a season.
Secondary Wood
This is the material used in furniture that is not seen or on the sides or back of an object. These are the materials that make up the drawer sides, dust panels, backs and other hidden parts.
Set
The teeth are offset on each side of the blade to allow clearance for the thickness of the blade.
Shaper
A machine with an interchangable rotary cutter head to cut profile shapes on the edge or face of material.
Shellac
Resin flakes dissolved in alcohol used as a finish for wood.
Shy
A term for an adjoining object being below the object it is next to. This means a little below the surface. See Proud and Flush.
Snipe
The tendency to gouge the trailing end of material when running it through a joiner.
Softwood
Wood manufactured from trees with needles or scalelike leaves, has no reference to actual hardness of the wood.
Spade Bit
These are an inexpensive bit, suitable for general use, they get their name from their shape.
Spline
A thin strip of wood fitted between two grooves to make a joint.
Spokeshave
Used to shape curved surfaces, consists of a blade fastened between two handles, blades come in straight, concave and convex curves.
Square
An insturment used to lay out or test right angles, with two arms at 90 degrees to each other, the longer and wider arm is the blade, the shorter narrower arm is the tongue.
Stacked Dado Head
This style of dado cutter has two outside saw blades, using a combination of chipper blades and shims between them the width of the dado is set.
Stickers
Strips placed between layers of lumber for drying.
Story Stick
A "Story Stick" or "Story Pole" is a scrap strip of wood used to record dimensions for a project on site, then the dimensions are used in the shop to build the project. This method reduces the chance of error due to misreading numbers etc.
SWMBO
"She Who Must Be Obeyed"
Style
A vertical member of a door framework attached to the horizontal rails.
T - slot
A slot milled in the shape of an upside down T to hold special bolts for clamps or jigs.
Table Saw
A circular saw mounted under a table with height and angle adjustments for the blade.
Tack Cloth or Tack Rag
A cloth permeated with a sticky substance to wipe up the dust from sanding when finishing a project.
Taper Cut
A cut where the width decreases from one end to the other, these are usually done on a table saw with a jig.
Tearout
The tendency to splinter the trailing edge of material when cutting across the grain.
Template
A pattern to guide the marking or cutting of a shape, often a router is used with a piloted bit.
Tenon
A projection made by cutting away the wood around it to insert into a mortise to make a joint.
Thickness Planer
A power-fed rotary planer that trims the surface of a board to a certain thickness.
Toggle Clamp
Clamps which can be attached to a base or table to hold work.
Tongue and Groove
A joinery method where a board has a protruding tongue on one edge and a groove on the other, the tongue of one board fits into the groove of the next.
Torx Head
A screw head requiring a driver in the shape of a star.
Try Square
A square with a steel tongue in a wooden handle.
Varnish
A liquid preparation that dries to a hard lustrous coating.
glossary terms from sawdustmaking.com
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