Woodworking glossary

To let wood sit in the room where it will be built and used, so its moisture level settles before you cut it.

See also: Designing for wood movement

An edge or cut that is angled across the full thickness of a board, instead of square to the face.

A thin, football-shaped wafer of pressed wood glued into matching slots in two parts to line them up and add some strength.

See also: Pocket holes, dowels and biscuits

The cover, often clear plastic, that sits over a saw blade to keep hands and debris away from it. Keep it on, and fit and adjust it as your saw's manual says.

See also: Shop safety essentials

Uneven dark and light patches that show up when stain soaks into some areas of a board more than others.

See also: Staining vs painting wood

A straight strip of scrap clamped across a glue-up to spread pressure and keep the panel flat.

See also: Scrap cauls for flat glue-ups

A small flat, angled cut along an edge, usually at 45°, that softens the corner.

How hard the clamps squeeze a joint. You want enough to close the joint and bring out a little glue, not so much that the parts bow.

See also: Clamping strategy, Clamp spacing calculator

A cone-shaped recess at the top of a hole so a flat-head screw sits flush with or below the surface. The bit that cuts it has the same name.

See also: Drilling clean holes in small parts

A cut across the grain, usually to cut a board to length.

See also: Crosscutting and ripping basics

A list of every part in a project with its size and how many you need, used to plan and buy lumber.

See also: Cut list calculator

A flat-bottomed groove cut across the grain of a board, often to hold a shelf.

A wipe-on blend, usually oil mixed with some varnish and thinner, that soaks in and leaves a low-sheen finish.

See also: Oil finish vs polyurethane

A joint of interlocking, fan-shaped tails and pins that resists being pulled apart, common on drawers and boxes.

See also: Hand-cut dovetails

A round wooden pin glued into matching holes in two parts to align and strengthen a joint.

See also: Pocket holes, dowels and biscuits

Putting the parts together without glue first, to check the fit and practise the clamping order.

See also: Glue-ups without gaps

The cut end of a board, where the wood fibres show as rings. It soaks up glue and finish fast and splits more easily.

A holder with flexible fingers that presses stock against a fence or table while you feed it. Set it up as your tool's manual describes.

Lumber cut so the growth rings run roughly across the end of the board. It shows a wavy, cathedral pattern and moves more across its width.

See also: Reading grain to reduce tearout

The step where you spread glue, put parts together and clamp them until the glue sets. It also means the clamped assembly itself.

See also: Glue-ups without gaps, Glue times calculator

The direction the wood fibres run along a board. It affects how the wood cuts, planes, finishes and moves.

See also: Reading grain to reduce tearout

The number on sandpaper that says how coarse it is. Lower numbers cut faster and rougher, higher numbers leave a smoother surface.

See also: Sanding progression

Wood from broad-leaf trees such as oak, maple and walnut. The name is about the tree type, not always how hard the wood is.

See also: Wood species guide

A machine that flattens one face of a board and squares an edge to it, so you have true surfaces to work from.

See also: Flattening and squaring stock

The slot a saw blade leaves, which is as wide as the blade's teeth. Allow for it when you measure parts.

When a spinning blade or bit catches the work and throws it back toward the operator. Your tool's manual explains the setup and accessories meant to reduce it.

See also: Shop safety essentials

A clear, non-drying oil often used on cutting boards. It soaks in but never hardens, so it needs topping up.

See also: Finishes for cutting boards

An angled cut across a board's face, often 45°, so two pieces meet at a corner, like a picture frame.

A guide that slides in a slot on a table saw or other tool and holds the work at a set angle for crosscuts.

See also: Crosscutting and ripping basics

How much water is in a piece of wood, given as a percentage of its dry weight. It changes with the air around it.

See also: Moisture content calculator

A rectangular hole cut into a part to take a matching tenon.

See also: Mortise and tenon by hand

The name size of lumber, like 2x4. The actual board is smaller, because it is dried and planed after the first cut.

See also: Choosing lumber at the big box store

A finish that soaks into the wood rather than building a thick film on top. It looks natural and is easy to touch up.

See also: Oil finish vs polyurethane

How long glue stays workable after you spread it, before the parts need to be together and clamped.

See also: Glue times calculator

A small hole drilled before a screw goes in, so the screw drives straight and the wood is less likely to split.

See also: Drilling clean holes in small parts

A machine that makes a board an even thickness, with the top face parallel to the bottom.

See also: Flattening and squaring stock

A sheet made of thin wood layers glued with the grain of each layer turned across the next, so it stays stable and flat.

An angled hole drilled with a jig so a screw can pull two parts together from one hidden side.

See also: Pocket holes, dowels and biscuits

A clear varnish that dries to a hard, protective film on the surface, in gloss, satin or matte.

See also: Oil finish vs polyurethane

A thin coat brushed on before stain to help it soak in more evenly, mostly on woods like pine that tend to blotch.

See also: Staining vs painting wood

A handled block that presses down on and moves the work through a tool, often a jointer or router table. Use it the way your tool's manual shows.

A simple notched stick used to feed narrow stock past a blade so your hand stays farther away. Your saw's manual covers when to use one.

See also: Shop safety essentials

Lumber cut so the growth rings run roughly up and down on the end of the board. It tends to stay flatter and shows straight grain.

See also: Designing for wood movement

A step-shaped notch cut along the edge or end of a board, often used for a back panel or a simple corner joint.

Tiny fibres that stand up and feel rough after wood gets wet, often from the first coat of a water-based finish.

See also: Sanding and finishing basics

A cut along the length of a board, with the grain, usually to make it narrower.

See also: Crosscutting and ripping basics

A curved metal plate behind a table saw blade that rises and falls with it and helps keep the cut from closing on the blade. Fit and adjust it as your saw's manual says.

See also: Shop safety essentials

Boards straight from the sawmill, not yet planed, with uneven faces and edges.

See also: Flattening and squaring stock

A finish made from a natural resin dissolved in alcohol. It dries fast and is often used as a first sealing coat.

A shop-made platform that rides in a saw's slots and carries the work through the blade for square, repeatable crosscuts.

See also: Crosscutting and ripping basics

Wood from cone-bearing trees such as pine, fir and cedar. Most big-box construction lumber is softwood.

See also: Choosing lumber at the big box store

The glue that oozes out of a joint when it is clamped. A thin, even bead is a sign of good coverage.

See also: Glue-ups without gaps

A block clamped to a fence at a set distance, so every piece you cut against it comes out the same length.

See also: Stop blocks for repeat cuts

A strip of wood marked with a project's key sizes, used to transfer them directly instead of reading a tape each time.

See also: Measuring and marking accurately

Chips and splinters torn out of the surface when a tool lifts fibres instead of cutting them cleanly.

See also: Reading grain to reduce tearout

The tongue on the end of a part, shaped to fit snugly into a mortise.

See also: Mortise and tenon by hand

A plant-based oil that slowly hardens in the wood. Many products sold as tung oil finish are blends, so check the label.

See also: Oil finish vs polyurethane

A clear finish that hardens into a protective film. Polyurethane is one common type.

See also: Finishing schedules

A thin finish applied with a rag and the extra wiped off. It builds slowly over several coats and is hard to get wrong.

See also: Sanding and finishing basics

The way wood swells and shrinks, mostly across its width, as it takes on and loses moisture. Designs need to leave room for it.

See also: Designing for wood movement, Wood movement calculator