Most of the time, newbie woodworkers tend to focus more on mastering crafting techniques instead of getting familiar with woodworking terms first. Because of this, they end up confused when choosing softwood and hardwood lumber or deciding which tool to use.
To avoid these mishaps, I’ve listed the definitions you should note for your next project.
A
- Abrasive (n): It includes materials used to smoothen surfaces or finishes. Examples of abrasives are sandpaper, steel wool, and pumice.
- Acetone (n): A solvent-liquid mixture you can use for finish and paint removal in pieces of wood.
- Adze (n): A cutting tool with a design similar to an axe. Woodworkers use it to get perfectly shaped and curved surfaces on wood and lumber.
- Air Cleaner (n): It’s a vacuum machine with a filtration system to eliminate sawdust produced by a power tool during the cutting process.
If you can’t spot one in your local stores, I suggest finding it using its alternative name, ambient air cleaner or scrubber.
- Air Dried (adj): This process includes naturally drying solid wood through stacking in an open-air environment. Getting the wood fixed on a stack meant the air could freely flow between the solid wood boards.
- Aliphatic Resin Glue (n): These adhesives are popular in the woodworking industry because of their strength and fast-drying nature of getting wood glued together firmly. They are also sold in the market as Carpenter’s Glue and Wood Glue.
- All-Purpose Blade (n): A saw blade typically equipped with a circular saw. If you look at the saw blade closer, you’ll notice that its cutting edge has a tooth configuration suited for crosscutting and ripping.
- Allen Wrench (n): It’s a bar with six sides used by woodworkers for turning recessed hexagonal screw heads into a piece of wood. Allen wrench is also referred to as Allen Key and has the shape of the letter L.
- Alternate Top Bevel (n): A woodworking term used to categorize saw blades; it means that the blade’s sharp edge has teeth angled in opposite directions in an alternating pattern.
- Aluminum Oxide (n): Most sandpaper products used to smoothen wood fibers sold in the market are made with abrasive materials called Aluminum Oxide [1].
- Ampere (n): A metric unit used for measuring electric current. It’s commonly seen in tool specifications in its abbreviated term “amps.”
- Aniline Dye (n): You can use this water-soluble dye for coloring the wood grain.
- Annual Growth Rings (n): These rings can be seen in the lumber’s end grain. Through this, you can tell how old the trunk is.
- Anti Kickback Pawl (n): A safety attachment for table saws that enables the cutting edge to move forward without restriction. At the same time, it prompts the teeth to bite into the piece of wood to stop the material from jumping and causing injuries.
- Apron (n): These are railings around the table’s base that connect the working surface to the table’s leg.
- Arbor (n): It’s a spindle or mount shaft for attaching woodworking tools like router bits or blades. This component works by riding on the bearings and rotating by the drive belts to trigger a spinning blade.
- Architect's Ruler (n): This is a measuring tool designed in a triangular shape. Most craft makers call it the architect’s scale because it has different measuring units on each side of the ruler.
- Auger (n): A tool best used to get a hole drilled on the wood board.
b
- Backsaw (n): It’s basically a handsaw with an unbendable rib throughout the length of the blade’s back side, opposite to its one edge for cutting. You can count on it for stable sawing action.
- Baltic Birch, Baltic Birch Plywood (n): These materials have a consistent wood grain pattern, making them highly suitable for different woodworking projects.
- Band Clamp (n): Straps that you can attach to a ratcheting tool to wrap around irregularly-shaped materials.
- Band Saw (n): It’s a power saw that carries a blade made of thin material. The metal blade operates in a loop motion together with more than two driving wheels. Because of its tight radius, the materials can get cut with a curved edge, which is great for resawing wood.
- Bar Clamp (n): True to its name, this metal bar tool includes two clamping jaws for holding two large wood pieces.
- Barleycorn (n): In woodworking, this term refers to the tiny groove between two moldings.
- Barrel Hinge (n): A jointing tool a woodworker can use for connecting two materials, like a box and lid.
- Base Plate (n): A popular term for a compact machine’s flat underside that’s rarely referred to as a sole plate.
- Basswood (n): Wood species with soft and fine attributes best suited for carving wood.
- Batten (n): This material is often sold as a thin flat board or wood strip. Woodworkers use it for covering wood joints between perfectly aligned boards. You can also utilize it as a caul for applying clamp pressure.
- Beading Tool (n): Another hand tool for crafting intricate details on a material’s edge.
- Beam (n): One meaning for this term is the handle users have to grip when using a hand tool, while the other meaning relates to the large workpieces used in construction settings.
- Bearing (n): A mounting wheel typically attached to a router bit but can also be equipped on fixtures and jigs. It guides these components throughout the entire cut.
- Belt Sander (n): A handheld tool powered by electricity. It operates with an abrasive belt that works well for swift material removal and panel leveling.
- Bench Dog (n): Woodworkers use this material to keep the workpiece in a stable position. It’s typically shaped round or square to fit the holes in the workbench.
- Bench Grinder (n): A portable tool often situated on a workbench and runs with abrasive wheels. It’s typically utilized for sharpening or polishing a wood material.
- Bench Knife (n): A short and pointy blade that only requires sharpening on one side. Besides handheld cutting, crafters use it for marking the material.
- Bench Plane (n): A plane tool with a wider construction and blade cutter. You can use it for smoothing and straightening materials.
- Benchtop (n): It’s a category for woodworking tools intended to be placed on a bench surface or table. These are compact and portable machines.
- Bevel (n,v): It’s a cutting technique that leaves the material with a sloped edge. People also refer to it as a wood piece with an angled cut not similar to 90 degrees.
- Bevel-Edge Chisel (n): It’s a chisel tool designed with a beveled edge. This tool can help you to shape and chop wood pieces. Since it’s a handy chisel, it’s best used for hard-to-reach spaces like edges and joints.
- Biscuit (n): A small, thinly sliced workpiece placed into the holes of two wooden pieces you want to connect.
- Biscuit Joiner (n): A tool you use to bore holes to make way for the biscuits.
- Biscuit Joint (n): The space you cut holes in for the biscuit pieces.
- Bit (n): A drill attachment you can use to make holes in a material. These accessories are sold in varying shapes and sizes according to the tool’s specifications.
- Blade Guard (n): A safety feature often seen on table saws that act as a shield covering a part of the blade to avoid accidents.
- Blade Plate (n): A flat disk-like material often seen on blades equipped in circular saws.
- Blade Rim (n): The edge of a circular saw’s blade, often located near the tool’s teeth.
- Blade Stabilizer (n): This thin plate material is installed on both sides of the saw’s blade to reduce vibration levels.
- Blank (n): A wood material typically utilized in carving and turning projects.
- Blast Gate (n): The door that lets the air flow freely inside the dust collection system.
- Blind (n): Any inset space on a material that’s not sliced throughout its length.
- Blind Dovetail Joint (n): It’s as strong as the dovetail joints but only has an exposed thin layer of end grain. Besides its strength, it’s also a great choice for a joint because of its non-flashy appearance.
- Blind Mortise-And-Tenon-Joint (n): A joinery technique often used in framing works. It covers flaws made on mortise cuts within the tenon’s shoulder.
- Block Plane (n): A smaller plane with trimmed edge grains and joints.
- Blushing (n): A wood finish discoloration that often happens when you let the moisture be trapped while curing.
- Board Foot (n): A board foot measurement is a metric for lumber equivalent to 1 ft long, 1 ft wide, and 1 in thick. It’s often abbreviated as BF in the material specifications.
- Bookmatched (n): The manner of cutting wood in a repeated arrangement, creating a mirrored appearance on wood grains.
- Box Joint (n): A joinery technique with extensive and interlocked fingers, which is why it’s also called a fingerlap joint.
- Brace (n): Another attachment used with a drill bit or auger for drilling holes and slots in wood. Some braces can also be fitted with other attachments, such as screwdriver bits or countersink bits, expanding their versatility in woodworking applications.
- Brad (n): An 18-gauge nail bit often loaded on a nail gun for delicate woodworking tasks.
(But what if your nail gun won’t shoot nails? How do you fix it? Read next!)
- Brad-Point Bit (n): A power tool similar to a twisting drill but equipped with a center spur for guiding the bit to the pilot holes.
- Break (v): Removing sharp wood board edges through the sanding process.
- Bird's-Eye (n): A distinct pattern to wood species like hard maple similar to a burl without the small knots.
- Bridle Joint (n): A joinery technique you can easily do using table and band saws. It’s strong enough to protect the structure from racking.
- British Standard Whitworth (BSW) (n): The numeric system used to specify thread spacing for bolts and screws.
- Buildup (n): An extra wood piece you can use for additional edge thickness.
- Bullnose (n,v): A material with a rounded tip used for finishing details. You can achieve this output by utilizing hand planes or router bits.
- Burl (n): A wood protruding on the tree trunk often used for turning veneers.
- Burnish (n): This steel rod is often sold in circular and triangular variations. It’s commonly utilized for making a cabinet scraper’s hooked edge.
- Burr (n): The formation of the blade’s tip into a wire-like shape caused by sharpening.
- Bushing (v): A woodturning technique where woodworkers use small metal tubes to turn the pen and get the right output diameter.
- Butt Joint (n): A woodworking joint with weak construction and complex alignment. Because of this, you’ll have difficulty gluing it up.
- Butt Matched (n): An arrangement where two resawn wood pieces are connected on their edges.
- Butterfly Hinge (n): A cut plate with a wing-like pattern.
C
- C-Clamp (n): A clamp to set the material on a fixed position. It’s made of a C-shaped bar material with a screw.
- Cabinet Maker (n): A job title for a skilled woodworker engaged in building pieces of furniture and cabinets.
- Cabinet Saw (n): A tool variation of a table saw, often made with industrial-grade features and constructions.
- Cabinet Scraper (n): A straight metal piece for making the wood surface smooth.
- Cabriole Leg (n): It's a carving leg shaped like the letter S and equipped with an ornamental foot.
- Caliper (n): At first glance, it has a design similarity to a compass. However, it’s typically used for measuring inner and outer diameters.
- Cambium (n): The active wood layer beneath the tree bark.
- Cap Iron (n): A metal component equipped on a plane tool, holding the cutting iron in its position.
- Carbide (n): Blades, bits, and other metal components are made of this material. It’s categorized as hard alloy, making these accessories sharp and durable.
- Carcass (n): It's the framing structure of cabinets or any rectangular construction, also called a carcase.
- Carving In The Round (n): A three-dimensional carving technique similar to sculpting.
- Case-Hardened Lumber (n): This wood variation isn’t dried properly in the kiln, making it have dry and moist portions. It’s also deformed unpleasantly.
- Casework (n): It refers to rectangular constructions like cabinets.
- Casing (n): The wooden trimmed frame wrapped around wall openings.
- Caul (n): A wood piece (often a scrap one) used to aid clamping pressure by placing it between the clamp tool and the material.
- Cechanical Compressor (n): A tool equipped with compressed air for powering up pneumatic machines.
- CFM (n): An abbreviation of cubic feet per minute. It’s the specification for measuring airflow.
- Chamfer (n): A category of bevel cuts angled at 45 degrees to give the material sharp edges.
- Chatoyance (n): The wood’s changing colors and appearances when seen at different angles.
- Checks, Checking (n): The splits you see in the wood piece’s end grain. Typically, it’s a sign of not being dried properly.
- Cheek (n): Surfaces with a long wooden grain with box-joint fingers. Woodworkers also refer to this term as a center or end lap.
- Chip Carving (n,v): A decorative carving technique that includes chip removal, not wood shaving.
- Chop Saw (n): An informal way of calling a power miter saw.
- Chuck (n): A tool part that holds on the cutter or bit shank.
- Clamp (n,v): A device or method of holding the workpiece down in the desired position.
- Clearance Hole (n): A drilled hole made for a screw where the shank and threads can pass without hassle.
- Cleat (n): A supporting material made of a narrow wood board or strip.
- Climb-Cut (v): The method of cutting materials from the other side of your tool. I don't recommend it for newbie users.
- Close Grain (n): A wood attribute that refers to having a fine-textured surface.
- Closed Coat (n): A sandpaper with tightly distributed grain patterns. You can use it if paper clogs are not an issue.
- Clutch (n): A feature you can find on electric-powered drills that can minimize or increase torque production.
- CNC (n): A short term for Computer Numerical Control that refers to the system that defines material specifications.
- Coarse-Grained (n): Any wood piece with wider and highly visible rings. It also features massive pores and grainy surfaces.
- Coated Abrasives (n): These are products made of abrasive materials like sandpaper.
- Collet (n): A socket component or a casing that keeps the woodworking tool on the spindles or arbors.
- Color Rendering Index (n): It indicates the color rendering accuracy of fluorescent lights, which is crucial for determining wood finishes and colors.
- Combination Blade (n): A blade type specifically for circular saws with a tooth design suited for crosscutting and ripping.
- Combination Machine (n): A woodworking tool that can perform tasks for table saws, planers, jointers, and other workshop machines.
- Combination Square (n): A square tool with measuring angles of 90 and 45 degrees. You can opt for this tool when marking joints.
- Common (n): It's a term for low-grade lumber categorized in #1, #2, and #3.
- Common Nail (n): A steel wire fastener with a sharpened tip and a flat nail head.
- Compound Miter (n): A woodworking term used for angled cuts on both the edge and face of the material.
- Compound Miter Saw (n): A miter saw tool variation that operates in a pivoting axis with an arm attachment. If you saw similar tools that include sliding rails, these are called sliding compound miter saws.
- Compression (n): It’s a method used to treat wood for added strength.
- Compression Wood (n): It’s when a wood material undergoes mechanical treatment or stress.
- Contractor's Saw (n): A portable version of table saws with a durable workspace and extensions.
- Cope (v): Cutting a workpiece to match the appearance of another material.
- Cope-&-Stick Joint (n): Another joinery technique where workpieces with similar profiles and complex shapes are glued into one form.
- Cornice (n): A molded horizontal workpiece for crowning a structure.
- Counterbore (v): A woodworking technique you can utilize when setting back a screw by drilling holes larger than the screw’s head and smaller slots for the shank and threads.
- Countersink (v): Another method woodworkers use for setting pilot holes to hide flat screws from plain sight.
- Cove (n): A hollow cut at the wood board’s end portion, often made by a router tool.
- Cramp (v): It's a British term for holding the project in progress.
- Crossbearer (n): A caul made of wood materials popularly used for adding even clamping pressure on glued workpieces.
- Crosscut (v): A technique of cutting wood across the grain.
- Crosscut Blade (n): Blade types equipped on table saws or handsaws; suitable for crosscutting.
- Crotch (n): A tree part with V-splits in the trunk. These wood types are popular in carving and turning projects.
- Crotch Lumber (n): A wood piece from the tree limb intersection with attractive grain patterns.
- Crowning (n): A workpiece with a convex-like shape, which results from wood deformation.
- Cup (v): Wrapping the material across its entire width, often at the opposite side of the growth rings.
- Cupping (n): A deformed lumber condition with a concave shape.
- Curly (n): A grain pattern with a ripple effect. It’s also called fiddle back or tiger.
- Cutoff (n): The material waste from cutting wood.
- Cutoff Blade (n): A blade type for circular power saws, suitable for either metal or wood.
- Cutoff Saw (n): A powerful tool specifically used for crosscutting and miter cutting. It’s sold in varying models with features compatible with wood and metal materials.
- Cutterhead (n): The rotating drum component equipped on surfacing machines like jointers and planers.
- Cyanoacrylic (n): More known as “super glue” or fast-curing adhesives.
- Cyclone (n): A dust collection machine with circular airflow motion.
D
- “d” (n): A singular term used to specify nails in pennyweight.
- D-Handle (n): These handle designs are suitable for hand routing jobs for their convenient gripping mechanisms.
- Dado (n,v): A technique of creating a rectangular-shaped grooved across the material’s grain.
- Dado Head (n): A stack of blades used for making dado cuts in varying sizes. It’s an attachment often equipped with table and radial saws.
- Danish Oil (n): A finish that can penetrate through the wood; sold in clear and dark tint variations.
- Dead-Blow Mallet (n): A non-bouncing hand tool you can use to pound on the material without the risk of marring.
- Deadman, Sliding Deadman Bench Jack (n): An attachment that aids extensive wood boards when they’re clamped into the bench’s face vise.
- Deck Screw (n): A woodworking fastener with a similar design to a drywall screw but has a thicker construction and is not brittle.
- Denatured Alcohol (n): It's a colorless solvent mixture that dries fast and suits wood finishes like shellac.
- Dentil (n), Dentil-Type (adj): These rectangular wood blocks form molding underneath the cornice.
- Detent (n): A tool’s angle preset configured at 45 or 90 degrees. It’s also called a positive stop.
- Dewaxed Shellac (n): A wood finish extracted from lac beetle and undergone the process of removing its wax component to avoid weak bonds.
- Dial Indicator (n): Woodworkers also refer to this term as a dial gauge. It’s a tool used for short-distance measurement and accurate tolerances.
- Diamond Dresser (n): A tool that can scrape debris from a grinding wheel.
- Dimensional Lumber (n): A term for materials sliced in standard wood sizes and thickness, like 2 x 4.
- Disk Sander (n): A woodworking machine sold in stationary and handheld models. It’s a surfacing tool with a rotating circular disk.
- Dog (n): Unlike its literal term, a dog refers to a removable clamp that keeps the wood piece from moving.
- Domino (n): A fastener attachment that can connect two wood surfaces, including mortise and loose tenon.
- Double-Stick Tape (n): A tape product with adhesives on both sides. You can use it for temporary attachments of jigs.
- Dovetail (n): A durable and aesthetically pleasing joinery technique. It has tail-shaped notches and fan-shaped pins.
- Dowel (n): A label for a cylindrical wood length that acts like a pin for joint reinforcement/
- Doweling (v): Creating joints by inserting the wood length inside two symmetrical holes and putting them together with glue and clamp.
- Dowel Center (n): You slip this metal disk into the doweling hole to set the right drill position on the mating surface.
- Doweled Joint (n): A term for a strong and properly aligned joint.
- Doweling Jig (n): A tool that assists in drilling and making dowel holes.
- Downdraft Table (n): A surface attachment connected to a vacuum attachment for enhanced dust removal during sanding operations.
- Dozuki (n): This sawing machine is from Japan, with thin blades that cut upon a pull stroke.
- Drawboring, Drawbore (n, v): A method in which mortise-and-tenon joint components are pulled together using the pin and offset slots.
- Drawer Slide (n): It's an attachment system that connects the drawer exterior to its interior, allowing it to be opened and closed without misaligning.
- Drawknife (n): A straight-bladed tool with vertical grips, making it perfect for chairmaking.
- Dressed (adj): This term is used when the material is planned smoothly after the sanding procedure.
- Drill Press (n): A machine composed of a drilling head and a powerful motor with a working table and mounting adjustments.
- Driver Bit (n): The screwdriver’s edge is placed on a drill without drill bits.
- Drum Sander (n): A surfacing woodworking tool with a rotating cylinder and abrasive sheet. It’s a great sanding machine for curving and contouring projects.
- Dry Fit (v): Testing the materials and components to see if they fit without gluing or fastening them up.
- Drying Oil (n): An oil-based finish that hardens upon air exposure.
- Drywall Screw (n): A fastener used as an all-purpose screw with coarse-threaded attributes and a thinner, brittle shaft.
- Dual-Bevel (n): This term indicates that the tool can cut at left and right angles.
- Dust Collector (n): A tool’s built-in system made of ducts and hoses that can be attached to vacuum tools for sawdust and wood chip elimination.
- Dust Nibs (n): Particles that land on the wood piece before the wood finish drying up.
- Dust Port (n): A power tool feature where you can attach a dust-collecting device.
- Dwang (n): A horizontal workpiece placed between the floor to make the structure stiff.
E
- Earlywood (n): A tree part that grows during springtime. It accommodates sap flow.
- Edge Grain (n, adj): When a sliced wood piece has perpendicular rings on its face side, it’s called an edge grain board.
- Edge Lap (n): The notches on the material’s edge mid-way on its width create a half-edged lap joint formation.
- Edge-Belt Sander (n): A sanding machine with an abrasive belt that operates in vertical oscillation while mounted on a table to produce a 90-degree edge.
- Edge-Glue (v): Adding glue to the plywood’s edges.
- Elbow (n): A connector for air ducts in a dust collection system.
- Enamel (n): A term for a wood finish with a high-varnish component.
- End Grain (n, adj, adv): It’s a term that refers to the growth-ring pattern at the wood’s exposed edges. You’ll see it on the edge grain where wood pores are also exposed.
- Engineer's Square (n): A metal square measuring tool mainly used for proving 90 degrees.
- Epoxy (n): A component that requires a catalyst to form adhesive attributes.
- Equilibrium Moisture Content (n): A term used to determine if the material’s moisture equates to the surrounding air.
- Etagére (n): These are wooden shelves with free-standing constructions with open designs on all sides.
- Extension Table (n): Most powered table saws are compatible with this accessory. Typically, it’s constructed with cast iron or steel to withstand large and heavy materials. Some manufacturers also label this attachment an extension wing.
F
- Face (n): The visible surface of the workpiece.
- Face Frame (n): The cabinet’s front portion, where stiles and rails are attached to door and drawer frames.
- Face Plate (n): Typically a wood-lathe accessory that aids in turning materials.
- Fascia (n), Fascia Board (n): It's a horizontal workpiece for molding and covering joints.
- Featherboard (n): A safety component that keeps the workpiece against the table fence during the cut to protect your fingers.
- Feed Rate (n): The speed specification indicating how fast your tool can process the material.
- Feeler Gauge (n): It's a steel measuring tool for getting precise measurements of small gap spaces.
- Fence (n): A fixture attachment is used on a stationary tool to keep the material straight.
- Ferrule (n): It's a metal ring between the tool and handle.
- Fiddleback (n): A grain pattern with a ripple effect used as materials for instruments like the violin.
- Figure (n): When this term is used, it points out the attractive pattern on the wood’s grain.
- File (n): A steel woodworking tool you can use for cutting ridges to scrape materials from the piece.
- File Card (n): A brush type that’s stiff enough to clean files.
- Filler (n): An extra material used to fill unseen gaps.
- Fillet (n): The term can refer to a tiny part of the molding or a rectangle-shaped wooden strip.
- Film Finish (n): A protective layer of a furniture piece treated with varnish.
- Finger Joint (n, v): A technique connecting workpieces from one edge to another through parallel cuts.
- Finial (n): A wooden cap for decorative purposes inserted on top of flagpoles, hinge pins, and many more.
- Firsts And Seconds (FAS) (n): A short term for first and seconds. It refers to wood grade requirements where the worst side of the material can’t have less than 83.3% clearance. It also requires the boards to be 6 inches wide and 8 feet long.
- Fishtail (n): A chisel with a blade shaped like a fishtail, hence the name. It’s best used for carving wood pieces.
- Fixed-Base Router (n): A router tool that can only be adjusted before usage. It has the opposite feature of a plunge router.
- Fixture (n): It supports the wood piece during the machine's operation.
- Flange (n): A component that plays the role of the rim to guide, strengthen, and guide another piece.
- Flat Grain (n): When wood has been cut straight to the tree’s rings, it leads to a highly figured flat grain appearance.
- Flat Sawn (n): When the tool slices the wood in parallel cuts to make the grain patterns parallel to the board’s face.
- Flat-Top Tooth (n): A circular saw tooth configuration with 0-degree top-bevel ground settings. It works best with wood-ripping tasks.
- Flattening Agent (n): A mixture of chemical compounds woodworkers often add with wood finishes to lessen the glossy effect of the material.
- Flint (n): A low-quality abrasive material used in manufacturing cheap sandpapers.
- Flitch (n): These are flat veneer sheets cut from a log. In simple terms, it’s called one-quarter of a log.
- Flush-Trim Bit (n): It’s a straight bit, except you can see that it has a bearing on its tip. These materials are typical for trimming wood or plastic laminate.
- Forstner Bit (n): You can bore flat-bottomed slots using this drilling bit with larger diametric specifications.
- Frame And Panel (n): A construction type with an exterior frame and an interior panel.
- Framing Lumber (n): Typical wood pieces used in the building industry, with a nominal thickness of 2 inches.
- Framing Nail (n): A typical nail type used in construction projects.
- Framing Nailer (n): A compact hand tool operating with compressed air to hook large nails into a structure.
- Fret Saw (n): A power saw with a thin blade and a frame deeper than a coping saw.
- Fretwork (n): It's a cutting technique featuring complex and intricate details often done with scroll or fret saws.
- Friction Polish (n): A cured finish made by heat generation and friction.
- Frog (n): A hand plane’s angled portion that acts as an aid for the blade.
- Full-Extension Slide (n): These gliders are meant to withstand the weight when you open the drawers.
G
- Galoot (n): A woodworker keen on using hand tools than power tools.
- Garnet (n): A medium-quality abrasive material used as grit specifications in sandpapers.
- Gateleg Table (n): A space-saving table with a swinging leg often found in workshops with limited working areas.
- Gel Stain (n): An oil-based stain solution with a pigmented and thick consistency that works well with vertical surfaces.
- Gib Screws (n): A screw type that keeps the blade in the right position while attached to the cutter head.
- Gingerbread (n): A pattern you can achieve through fretwork, which includes cutting intricate angles on a flat stock.
- Glue Line (n): The flat area at the wood board’s tip that’s well-prepped with a smooth surface and no gaps.
- Glue Up (n,v): The arrangement of wood pieces for the gluing and clamping process.
- Gouge (n): It’s a typical chisel tool with a curved cutting edge to get the job done.
- Grain (n): The wood patterns from the tree’s natural rings.
- Grain Pattern (n): The wood grain’s visual attributes, including its flatness, straightness, and many more.
- Grain Reversal (n, adj): When the staining mixture applies more thickly on the lighter portion of the wood and not the darker, it creates a grain reversal effect.
- Green (n): A newly-cut wood piece that’s not been treated or dried.
- Green Woodturning (n, v): A turning technique with uncured wood as materials.
- Grit (n): The specification for abrasive material used in sandpapers.
- Groove (n): A rectangular cut sliced to the grain’s direction along the board’s dimension.
- Groove Joint (n): A joinery technique executed without using any glue agent for thinner cabinet construction.
- Growth Ring (n): The formation of light and dark patterns on wood due to seasons changing.
- Guard (n): A safety feature that prevents blade contact.
- Guide Blocks (n): These metal blocks are part of a bandsaw that keeps the blade from flexing and twisting.
- Guide Collar (n): A metal bushing attachment on the router’s base that guides the pattern for a freshly shaped cut.
- Gullet (n): The deep gaps on the blade’s teeth.
- Gusset (n): A triangle-shaped material that makes the joint assembly more durable.
H
- Hacksaw (n): A handy saw suitable for cutting metal materials.
- Half Pin (n): It consists of two external row pins angled on a single side.
- Half-Blind Dovetail Joint (n): It's a more complex cutting technique than dovetail by hand or machine.
- Hand Plane (n): A tool used for shaving material with a blade at a steep angle.
- Hand Screw (n): A clamping tool for oddly shaped materials with threaded steel rods and a handle.
- Handwheel (n): A feature in a woodworking machine where you can make all the adjustments.
- Hang (n): The handsaw’s gripping angle.
- Hardboard (n): A piece of wood used as a building material for its hard surface and compressed air fibers.
- Hardwood (n): A wood piece cut from deciduous tree species.
- Haunch (n): A material cut into an edge of a tenon.
- Haunched Mortise-And-Tenon Joint (n): A joint mostly used in framing and paneling doors.
- Heartwood (n): A wood piece from a tree’s spine.
- Heat Treating (n): The heating process of a steel material that ranges from 1450 degrees to 1500 degrees.
- Hide Glue (n): Collagen adhesives made of extracted animal skins.
- High-Speed Steel HSS (n): Most cutting machines are made of this heat-resistant metal alloy material.
- High-Volume Low-Pressure (n): A spray system used when finishing many materials at once, where they're kept in a low-pressure environment.
- Highboy (n): A drawer structure with a tall chest and legged material base.
- Hinge Mortise (n): A receding cut used in a door or frame to accommodate hinge mounting.
- Hold-Down (n, adj): A term you can call a material used for holding down an object in position.
- Hole Saw (n): A sawing tool with teeth assembled underneath a cylinder for cutting large holes.
- Holidays (n): The surfaces mistakenly skipped during paint or varnish application.
- Hollow Grind (n): A concave bevel built by a grinding wheel.
- Hollow Vessel (n): A vase-shaped woodturning method with a smaller opening than the turn diameter.
- Hollow-Ground (n): A blade that’s capable of concave cutting. It has a more durable cutting edge that requires less effort during usage.
- Hollowing Tool (n): A scrapper with small ends designed to make hollow vessels on a lathe material.
- Hone (n): A method of sharpening a tool or material.
- Honing Guide (n): An assisting jig used for holding down a chisel or iron plane during the sharpening process.
- Hook (n): It determines the tooth’s positive and negative lean on a circular blade that correlates to its circumference.
- Horsepower (n): A unit used to measure a tool's working power, determined by multiplying voltage by amperage. One horsepower is equivalent to 746 watts.
- Hot-Melt Glue (n): It's a plastic-made adhesive sold in a cylindrical form that you can load to a glue gun where it's melted to high temperature and applied on an object.
- Housed (n, adj): An enclosed tool part or a specific type of joint.
- Hybrid Table Saw (n): A machine with the same power and price range as a contractor saw but includes a wide range of features similar to the cabinet saw.
I
- Impact Driver (n): A woodworking tool for securing nuts, bolts, and screws. It operates in a combination of drilling and tapping motion.
- Index (n): The method of aligning; or referencing the fence used for getting the right bit and cut position.
- Induction Motor (n): It's an electric-powered motor typically equipped on heavy-duty stationary machinery.
- Infeed (n,v): Feeding the wood piece into the machinery.
- Inlay (n, v): The act of placing smaller workpieces in the material’s grooved cuts.
- Insert (n): This term is used for removable or replaceable attachments such as a throat plate.
- Insert Cutter (n): A circular base accessory with matching knives. Typically, it’s attached with tools like molding machines, routers, saws, and many more.
- Intarsia (n): A wood piece designed after 3D imagery or mosaic concept.
J
- Jack Plane (n): An all-purpose plane with a medium size range.
- Jig (n): A tool that ensures accuracy and consistency in making repetitive cuts.
- Joinery (n): A woodworking technique that connects two workpieces using glue and other fasteners.
- Jointer (n): It’s a common tool in the workshop as it’s meant to cut out square outputs through rigorous material removal. You can continue to use the machine to remove thin layers until the surrounding wood shape is a perfect square.
- Jointer Plane (n): A plane you can use for making square and long edges.
- Jointer/Planer (n): It's a standalone machinery capable of operating as a jointer and a planer.
K
- Kerf (n): It could refer to the blade’s thickness or the excess material removed.
- Kickback (n, v): The danger hazard caused by a powerful tool where the materials get thrown back at the user operating the machine. It happens when a workpiece accidentally gets stuck in the middle of the fence and blade.
- Kiln-Dried Lumber (n): A processed wood piece or board that goes through a drying process in the kiln. It gets dried until the moisture content ranges from 6 to 12 percent.
- Knife (n): Woodworkers also call it a cutter or blade. It’s a tool with a sharp point.
- Knife Hinge (n): A mounting accessory for doors that allows it to open and close through metal bars that interlock.
- Knockdown (adj): A term referring to a workpiece that can be disassembled swiftly.
- Knot (n): It's a branch part or a tree limb you'll find at the material's face side or edge.
L
- Lac Bug (n): A short term for the insect Laccifera Lacca with a shell used for making a shellac finish mixture.
- Lacquer (n): A wood finish made of solvent.
- Lag Screw (n): A fastener suitable for anchoring heavy objects. It’s also commonly known as a lag bolt.
- Laminate (n): A plastic material laid over a sheet to produce a smooth and durable surface.
- Laminate (v): The process of attaching the laminating material to the sheet; or gluing smaller materials into a large piece.
- Laminate Trimmer (n): You can use this tool to trim away the excess of the applied laminating material.
- Lap Joint (n): You can use this method to connect wood pieces of the same thickness. All you need to do is remove one-half from one piece’s top surface and one-half from the other piece’s bottom surface. After that, the two mating surfaces are secured with wood glue or fasteners.
- Lapping Plate (n): A sharpening tool made of smooth, flat, hardened material.
- Laser Printer/Cutter (n): An electric device equipped with an advanced laser beam for cutting and etching materials.
- Latewood (n): The tree’s ring grows during summer until the start of fall.
- Latex (n): Typically refers to synthetic rubber or plastic materials used as adhesives or paints.
- Lathe (n): A woodworking tool for turning materials on an axis.
- Left-Tilt (n): The path or direction table saws travel when set at a perpendicular angle for a cut.
- Leg Set (n): A convertible stand to a bench tool for floor-standing machinery.
- Lignum Vitae (n): It's a wood type, more known by its common name, ironwood.
- Linseed Oil (n): A liquid extract harvested from flax seeds and made to use as a wood finish.
- Lip (n): Overhanging wood borders.
- Live Center (n): Lathe mounting points used for spindle turning. It operates by spinning on its bearings.
- Lock-Miter Joint (n): A common miter joint technique that doesn’t require a third wood piece.
- Locking Half-Blind Rabbet Joint (n): A strong joint suitable for drawer and box constructions.
- Long-Grain (adj): This grain formation offers a strong bond.
- Loose Knot (n): A detached wood part, but still on the board surface because of the material's shape.
- Loose Side (n): A veneer’s rough side.
- Lumber (n): The wood produced through sawing, crosscutting, and length matching.
- Luthier (n): A woodworker whose main focus is crafting stringed instruments.
M
- Machine Screw (n): A fastener with a slotted head meant to be used in a tapping hole or with a nut.
- Mallet (n): A large wooden handheld striking tool.
- Mandrel (n): A rod for turning hollow blanks on a lathe to make pen parts.
- Marking Gauge (n): You can adjust this device to outline marks aligned to the wood's edges using any tool with a sharp point.
- Marquetry (n): A technique that uses different wood veneers to cut and arrange into a unique pattern.
- Medium Density Fiberboard (n): Typically abbreviated as MDF, it’s a paneling product made of wood fibers glued together through heat pressure.
- Medullary Rays (n): A tree part responsible for storing and delivering food to the trunk. These rays are large and quartersawn, making them perfect as the board's face.
- Milk Paint (n): A furniture paint made of milk.
- Mill (n): A method of cutting a wood piece in its desired dimensions.
- Mineral Spirits (n): A solvent component often mixed in oil paint and varnishes. The common term for this word is paint thinner.
- Mission (n): A minimalistic furniture design style with fewer ornaments.
- Miter (n): The surface that forms an angled joint edge.
- Miter Box (n): A cutting machinery used for slicing narrow wood stock at accurate angles, especially 45 degrees.
- Miter Gauge (n): An attachment designed with a fence you can adjust for angled cuts.
- Miter Joint (n): A joinery method connecting two wood pieces at a complimenting angle.
- Miter Saw (n): A power saw that produces miter cuts.
- Miter Slot (n): A woodworking machine slot for guiding the gauge and other attachments equipped in the unit.
- Miter Square (n): A square measuring tool for determining and marking angles.
- Moisture Content (n): The water moisture inside a wood piece.
- Molding (n): The material’s wood length in which it has been decoratively milled. It’s a component often used for transitioning between two surfaces.
- Morse Taper Mt (n): It's a typical mounting shaft sold for a drilling press, chuck component, and lathe.
- Mortise (n, v): A recessed wood piece suited for receiving hardware, like a hinge.
- Mortise-And-Tenon (n): It's a durable joint consisting of a rectangle stub inserted in a cavity and glued for extra security.
- Mortiser (n): A machine for cutting mortises or rectangular cavities.
- Mullion (n): You’ll often see this vertical member as part of a cabinet or door frame. You may not know, but it acts as the divider for two materials, like panels.
- Muntin (n): A material strip that acts as the divider between glass panes placed in a sash.
N
- Nail Set (n): A metal tool that recesses finishing nail heads beneath the material surface.
- Natural Finish (n): A clear finish that does not alter the natural wood color or grain.
- Natural-Edge Turning (n, v): A woodturning method for bowls and goblets with tree bark remnants.
- Neanderthal (n): It has a similar meaning to Galoot, which refers to a woodworker who uses hand tools more.
- Newel (n): A post structure over or below the staircase, where the fence is assembled and mounted.
- NGR (n): An abbreviation for “non-grain-raising” wood finish.
- Nickel-Cadmium (adj): A variation of rechargeable batteries.
- Nickel Metal Hydride (adj): Another rechargeable battery variation.
- Nondrying Oil (n): A wood finish made of oil that doesn’t dry or harden upon air exposure.
- Normite (n): A woodworker who only uses power tools.
- Notch (n): A dado sliced into the wood’s edge. It’s also part of a lap joint’s edge if it extends mid-way into the material.
O
- Offcut (n): The wasted piece after the cut.
- Ogee (n): Decorative moldings or edges with an S-shaped profile referred to as Roman ogee.
- Oil Stain (n): A stain mixture you can get by putting together oil-soluble dyes or an oleoresinous base with oil.
- On Center (adj): The method of putting two points at the same distance away from the center. You can also use this term when referring to the spacing between studs.
- One-By (1-By) (n): Nominal wood dimension of 1 inch thick.
- One-Off (n): A unique furniture piece customized per the customer's request.
- Open Coat (n): A sandpaper with only 50 to 70% abrasive surface.
- Open Time (n): The duration that a glue application can be exposed to air.
- Open-Grained (n): Any wood specie with large pores and wide rings, like oak and walnut trees.
- Open-Slot Mortise (n): A mortise at the board’s edge used for bridle joinery.
- Orbital Sander (n): A finishing sanding machine that operates in a circular motion to smoothen the surface.
- Oriented Strand Board (n): It's a building panel material consisting of glued-together wood chips for a large sheet formation.
- Oscillating Drum Sander (n): A powerful sanding tool that moves in up and down motion to smoothen oddly shaped materials.
- Outboard Turning (v): Pivoting the lathe's head away from its bed to increase turning capacity.
- Outfeed (n, v, adj): The term used when the material exits the machine feed.
- Overlay Door (n): A cabinet door construction covering the box front.
P
- Paint Thinner (n): A oil solvent mixture for paint and varnishes.
- Painter's Tape (n): It's an adhesive tape made of paper that leaves no residue when removed.
- Palm Sander (n): A powerful, handy machine for sanding wooden surfaces.
- Panel (n): A rectangular piece made by gluing boards together.
- Panel Saw (n): A machinery that cuts large panel sheets into smaller pieces.
- Particleboard (n): It's a material for building processed through a wood chip compression with adhesives to form a sheet.
- Parting Tool (n): Also called a V-tool. It's a chisel tool that operates with a V-shaped blade point.
- Pawl (n): A toothed attachment placed on a ratchet or anti-kickback device.
- Pegboard (n): A hardboard with uniformly spaced slots or holes that works well with brackets and hangers.
- Pen Lathe (n): A small-sized lathe not heavier than 12 lbs that's perfect for turning pens or jewelry.
- Penny (n): A nail specification often abbreviated as letter d.
- Phenolic, Phenolic Resin (n): It's a resin mixture great for coating wood or an adhesive that turns rigid once cured.
- Phillips (n): It's a popular screw type with a cross indention on its head.
- Piano Hinge (n): It's a term for an extensive but narrow hinge type with points, intervals, and pins along its length.
- Pigment (n): A component that produces the color on stain, paint, and finishes mixtures.
- Pigtail Scratches (n): These scratches are left by electric-powered sanders.
- Pilaster (n): A pillar-like decorative detail on the furniture's upper side.
- Pilot Bearing (n): A bearing solely responsible for guiding the bit during the cutting operation.
- Pilot Hole (n): A drilled hole meant to guide a fastener to its proper location.
- Pilot-Bearing Guide (n): These bearings are often equipped on a router bit. When using this guide, the bits can freely move to the shape of the material’s edge.
- Pin (n): The wood part that fits between the tails of dovetail joints.
- Pin Knot (n): A tiny knot.
- Pin Nailer (n): A handy tool that drives pins into thin materials.
- Pin Router (n): A machine that uses a pattern to guide the workpiece
- Pipe Clamp (n): Woodworkers use this tool to clamp a steel pipe.
- Pitch (n): It determines the number of teeth per inch on a sawing blade.
- Pith (n): The core of a tree log.
- Pivot Block (n): The guide you can refer to when resawing to follow the cut line accurately.
- Pivot Hinge (n): A hinge that allows doors and windows to swing open at a single angle.
- Plain Sawn (adj): The most common cut you can do to lumber.
- Plain-Saw (v): A basic woodcut based on the tree’s annual ring production.
- Plane (n): You can use this hand tool for carving wood. It can make thin slices to straighten the surface or edge of a board.
- Planing (v): Carving thin wood slices to straighten a board surface or edge.
- Planer (n): A machine that planes wood materials.
- Platen (n): A plate component used to assemble a veneer to a substrate.
- Plug (n): A small wood piece glued over a screw’s head to hide it from sight.
- Plunge Router (n): Another router type with a spring-loaded motor engine.
- Plywood (n): It's a wood sheet consisting of adjoining layers of thin materials.
- Pneumatic (n): A tool specification for air-powered.
- Pocket (n): Any hole with varying shape options that fits mated joints.
- Pocket Hole (n): An alternative joining method to dowel, mortise & tenon, and many others. A jig can create this hole with a specialized step bit.
- Points Per Inch (adj): The saw blade classification according to its tooth points within the 1-inch span.
- Polyurethane (n): A polymer component used in foam and resin forms.
- Polyvinyl (adj): A terminology used to refer to a polymerized vinyl compound, like plastic and resin.
- Polyvinyl Acetate Glue (n): A white glue mixture often labeled as PVA.
- Positive Stop (n): The tool’s angle preset, where you can adjust its position between 45-degree and 90-degree detents.
- Pot Life (n): Another term you can use for the duration the glue can withstand air exposure.
- Predrill (v): Drilling slots before driving the nail into the hole. It lessens the chances of wood splitting.
- Press Fit (n): A description of a joint when it does not require force to mate two parts.
- Primary Wood (n): The main material for a structure that is externally seen, like drawer fronts or doors.
- Proud (adj): You can use this term when the material has a slightly protruding part over its surface.
- PSA (n): It's an abbreviation for pressure-sensitive adhesive, which supports sanding discs.
- PSI (n): A shortened terminology that means pounds per square inch.
- Pumice (n): A stone formed through cooled lava used as a mildly abrasive material.
- Push Stick (n): A safety feature that pushes the material to the cutter.
- PVA (n): A polyvinyl acetate-based adhesive, more known as white glue.
Q
- Quarter-Sawn (n): A woodcut whose development rings are aligned with the board’s face.
- Queen Anne (n): A furniture design category inspired by the Baroque style. It was developed during the reign of Queen Anne.
R
- Rabbet (n): A trench cut with two sides at the board’s edge.
- Rabbet Joint (n): A typical joint used for building boxes. It offers more strength than butt joints.
- Rabbet Plane (n): The plane’s edge creates a rabbet.
- Rabbet-And-Dado Joint (n): A joining technique where the rabbet is locked in a dado, improving its strength and protection.
- Rack (v): Twisting the material to make loose joints.
- Racking Force (n): It's when the materials are pressed at different angles except for 90 degrees.
- Radial-Arm Saw (n): A powerful machine with a motor engine and blade placed on a tabletop and assisted by a pivoting arm.
- Rail (n): A horizontal member typically placed in the middle of two vertical wood pieces. You’ll encounter this material when working on the cabinet’s face frame.
- Rail-And-Stile Bit (n): Two matching bits that create mating joints for door rails or stiles.
- Raised Grain (n): A lifted wood grain effect is formed by applying a water-based finish.
- Raised Panel (n): It's a panel material used for a structure with thin wood edges.
- Raised-Panel Door (n): A frame and panel structure with a lifted profile.
- Rake (n): An angle related to the tool’s core.
- Raker (n): It's a type of tooth in an alternate top bevel (ATB) blade that flattens the material's lower portion.
- Random Orbit (n): The swirling path or motion in which most disc sanders operate to avoid unwanted sanding scratches.
- Ray Flecking (n): An aesthetically pleasing wood pattern often seen on quartersawn materials.
- Reaction Wood (n): A wood piece that went through machinery stress during its developmental stage.
- Reciprocating (n): It's relative to the up and down blade motion of the reciprocating power saw.
- Relief Carving (n): A carving technique partially influenced by three-dimensional designs on its front side.
- Relief Cut (n): A kef cutting style applied on the board’s hidden side to relieve stress on the visible surface.
- Resaw (v): This woodworking method includes sawing through the material’s length with the blade slicing through its face side to create thinner pieces. You can use this technique for table and bandsaw operations.
- Resin (n): A thick sap extraction from lumber.
- Reveal (n): The material's sides surrounding the frame with an exposed panel from the outer plane.
- Rift Sawn (adj): A type of quartersawn wood angled at 30 to 60 degrees on the material’s board.
- Rift-Cut (adj): A term that also refers to Rift-Sawn.
- Right Side (n): The board's visible side finished smoothly.
- Right-Tilt (n): The direction (right side) where the table saw tilts its blade.
- Rip (v): A cutting technique that slices the material with the grain.
- Rip Blade (n): A type of blade used for ripping and commonly equipped in table saws.
- Rip Cut (n, v): The method of making woodcuts aligned to their grain.
- Rip Fence (n): A blade guide feature on table saws that you can adjust while making rip cuts.
- Riving Knife (n): It's a metal safety gear that keeps the wood from touching the blade's edge.
- Robertson Head (n): A screw variation with a square drive.
- Root (n): A part of the screw's length underneath its head with threading.
- Rotary Cut (n): A veneer cut that peels thin wood layers while the log turns.
- Rotary Tool (n): A handy electric-powered device that cuts, sands, grinds, and polishes wood materials.
- Rotary-Cut (n): An unsurfaced lumber cut.
- Rotary-Peel (adj): A term used for a wood piece that’s cut but not surfaced.
- Rottenstone (n): It's a fine abrasive material with a lot of grit, best used for material polishing.
- Rough Sawn (n): Unsurfaced woodcut.
- Rough-Cut (v, adj): Cutting wood at a length range slightly over the exact specification.
- Roughing Gouge (n): A massive gouging tool for fast material removal.
- Rough Turn (v): The process of rounding a rough blank using a lathe.
- Roundover (n, adj, v): Cutting the board’s edge or rounding its corners.
- Router Table (n): A table where you mount the router tool.
- Rubbing Compound (n): A mild-rated abrasive material for removing top layers of wood finishes.
- Rubbing Out A Finish (v): The application of ultrafine abrasives to polish a wood surface.
- Runout (n): The wobbling of a spinning tool during usage.
- Ryoba Saw (n): A Japanese-made two-edged sawing tool.
S
- S2S (n): A wood category that underwent a surfacing process on two sides.
- S4S (n): A lumber piece surfaced on all sides.
- Sacrificial Fence (n): A replacement (temporary) fence when the main one gets damaged.
- Sanding Drum (n): It's a rotating cylinder component attached to abrasive sheets.
- Sapwood (n): A wood piece from the exterior tree part.
- Sawyer (n): A name for a saw operator or someone working on a sawmill.
- Scales (n): A knife’s wooden handle.
- Scarf Joint (n): A joining technique that connects materials end to end.
- Scorp (n): A drawknife with curved edges to effectively hollow bowls and chairs.
- Scraper (n): A lathe chisel with a flat design and round edge.
- Scribe (v): Woodworkers do this method when transferring lines and patterns by using dividers.
- Scroller (n): A woodworker who uses a scroll saw.
- Scuff Sand (n, v): Sanding wood finishes to enhance its adhesive attributes.
- Sealer Coat (n, v): It's a term used for the initial application of a wood finish meant to seal surface pores.
- Secondary Bevel (v): Sharpening the tool’s edge to a distinct bevel degree apart from the main one.
- Secondary Wood (n): These are wood types used for the part of construction that isn’t seen. You can utilize them on the interior of a drawer box or cabinet shelf.
- Select (n): The second to the highest hardwood grade with 83% clearance.
- Self-Indexing (n): A woodworking tool’s cutter with an indexing mechanism that puts the knife seat in the right position.
- Self-Sealing Finishes (n): A wood finish that seals pores in the first application.
- Set (n, v): Driving the nail underneath the surface.
- Set Screw (n): A tiny screw for adjusting throat plates or guide blocks.
- Shank (n): A bit or cutter part mounted on a tool.
- Shaving Horse (n): A carving bench and seat capable of clamping materials on its foot.
- Shear Forces (n): The shelving effect caused by gravity and the material’s weight.
- Sheet Good (n): A manufactured wood piece, like plywood and MDF boards.
- Sheet-Metal Screw (n): A fastener for attaching metal materials together.
- Shellac (n, v): The extraction of lac bug secretion to make a wood finish mixture.
- Shim (n): A thick wood piece for filling gaps or leveling the surface.
- Shiplap Joint (n): These joints are very common for the materials used to build cabinet backs. Given that these joints have overlapping edges, I recommend them for hiding any seasonal wood movement caused by the humid weather.
- Shooting (v): When woodworkers use the term shooting, they’re placing s straight edge into their materials.
- Shooting Board (n): This wood piece can guide a plane or cut.
- Short Grain (n): A wood grain with fibers cut short, so it turns fragile.
- Shoulder (n): A lifted portion of the blade’s tooth that prevents kickback; or the surrounding wooden area.
- Silicon Carbide (n): An abrasive component with a uniform design suitable for sandpapers used in fast-cutting operations.
- Skew (n): A straight chisel tool attached with an angled edge.
- Skew Chisel (n): A turning chisel that can turn left and right.
- Skip (n): Cutting through a rough-sawn board using a planer to peak in the material’s attributes.
- Sled (n): A device on table saws used for guiding the piece through the blade.
- Sliding Bevel (n): An adjustable attachment that allows angle changes between the blade and beams.
- Sliding Dovetail Joint (n): A wood joining technique with durability suited for boxing work.
- Sliding Table (n): An adjustable feature on table saws for feeding the material squarely to the blade.
- Slip Match (n): You can create this veneer pattern by aligning wood pieces vertically in a horizontal offset.
- Slip Stone (n): A stone used for honing the internal curves of a gouge.
- Slot Mortiser (n): A machine that bores horizontal slots.
- Slurry (n): The mixture of sawdust, liquid, and abrasive made from sanding the surface wet.
- Snipe (v): Pinching and marring the board’s lower portion with a planer or jointer.
- Softwood (n): These wood materials are from coniferous trees.
- Sole (n): The base of a woodworking machine.
- Solid Surface (n): A hard material well-suited for countertops.
- Soss Hinge (n): A knife-like hinge type that you can fully conceal.
- Spade Bit (n): A drill bit type with a spade-shaped edge, perfect for drilling holes with massive diameters.
- Spall (v): Reducing wood chips by using a hammer.
- Specific Gravity (n): The method of measuring wood density.
- Speed Square (n): A triangular layout tool capable of trying, mitering, and framing squares.
- Spindle (n): A power tool’s mounting feature.
- Spindle Sander (n): An oscillating machine with a sanding drum protruding at 90 degrees angle on top of a metal table.
- Spline (n): A narrow strip glued firmly into grooves and other wood pieces. When you set the thin strip outside the miter joint, it’s referred to as the miter key.
- Spline Joint (n): A woodworking method of putting splines for the wood pieces to align as you glue them together.
- Split (n): It happens when the workpiece gets broken grains.
- Split Point (n): A drill bit best used for getting precise hole location.
- Splitter (n): A metal or plastic material placed behind the blade to avoid kickback.
- Splotching (n): A surface with an uneven stain spread.
- Spokeshave (n): A drawknife you can draw with two gripping handles capable of concave planes.
- Stile (n): The vertical part of any wooden frame.
- Stopped Joint (n): A joint with cross-grain grooves that are highly durable.
- Stopped Sliding Dovetail Joint (n): An enhanced variation of stopped dado joint, but difficult to execute.
- Story Stick (n): A wood piece with repeated measurement markings.
- Straight Bit (n): A router bit variation with straight edges.
- Straight-Grained (adj): A term used when the grain patterns have tree rings aligned to the material’s face and edge.
- Straightedge (n, adj): Any measuring tool designed with a square or straight side and sometimes with measurement markings.
- Stretcher (n): A supporting material for furniture or any vertical component.
- Strop (n): A leather material honing the blade’s edges.
- Surface (v): The method of making the area smooth.
T
- T-Bolt (n): A T-shaped bolt head meant to slide into the hole before tightening it.
- T-Nut (n): A T-shaped hardware mounted into the material to act as an anchor for the fastener.
- Table Saw (n): A stationary machine type driven by arbors with a blade underneath a table.
- Tack Cloth (n): A cloth that sticks to the material to remove dust produced by sanding. I suggest using it before painting or staining.
- Tack Time (n): The duration length for the glue to start sticking.
- Tail (n): The excess portions of dovetail joints.
- Tailstock (n): The component that keeps the workpiece stable during the spindle turning on a lathe.
- Tambour (n): It’s a door that slides with a cloth and is placed in a track.
- Taper (n): The cuts you made that make the material shorter and narrower after the process.
- Tear-Out (n, v): The chipping incident on the kerf’s edge.
- Teeth Per Inch (adj): A term used to measure the blade’s teeth in every inch.
- TEFC (n): Abbreviation for totally enclosed fan-cooled; referring to a sealed motor engine with an internal fan to lower tool temperature.
- Tempering (v): The usage of heat to strengthen the blade.
- Template (n): A guiding pattern for routers and other cutting machines.
- Tenon (n): A stub cut more known as a mortise.
- Tension (n): The force pulling the wooden joint in different directions.
- Tension Wood (n): A wood condition often found on deciduous trees under stress.
- Tensioning (n): The level of blade taunt you can adjust through the supporting wheel.
- Threaded Insert (n): A cylinder inserted into a wood piece to act as an anchor for fasteners.
- Through (n): It's a cut type that slices through the wood’s entirety.
- Through Dovetail Joint (n): A technique similar to a half-blind dovetail joint, but easier and more convenient to make.
- Through Joint (n): A dado joint that's more visible and easier to execute.
- Through Mortise-And-Tenon Joint (n): A joint you can cut after the material assembly without needing to determine the mortise’s depth.
- Thrust Bearings (n): Bandsaw blade metal wheels that act as support during cuts.
- Tiger Figuring (n): A wood figure resembling the tiger’s stripes.
- Tipping Off (v): The spreading of the brush at 45 degrees throughout the material to smoothen the wet finish.
- Toenail (v): Driving nails at a specific angle into the wood piece.
- Toggle Clamp (n): A clamping tool that opens and closes to adjust to the material’s dimensions.
- Tongue-And-Groove Joint (n): A mortise-and-tenon joint type used for additional strength to long grain edges.
- Tool Rest (n): A lathe metal bar that keeps the chisel stable during usage.
- Torque (n): The force measurement when rotating a shaft.
- Torx Head (n): A screw with a star-like pattern.
- Totally Enclosed Fan-Cooled (adj): A motor engine type for a high-powered machine.
- TPI (n): Abbreviation for teeth per inch.
- Treenware (n): A carved wood piece like utensils.
- Triple Chip (n): It's the blade’s top teeth flattened and chamfered at 45 degrees.
- Truing (v): The method of processing a workpiece to its desired shape.
- Trunnion (n): It's a metal bracket mounted on a motor engine to hold it down.
- Try Square (n): A handy tool for measuring and marking right angles.
- Tung Oil (n): An oil-based wood finish made from tung nuts extraction.
- Tungsten Carbide (n): A mixture of tungsten and carbon components to harden materials.
- Turn Between Centers (v): It happens when the lathe’s head and tail stock hold the material in between while the spindle turns.
- Turnery, Turning (n): The tasks done with a lathe.
- Twist (n): A wood defect; twisted length.
- Twist Bit (n): A drill bit with a recessed spiraling cut.
- Twist Drill (n): A specialized drilling bit that features a spiral flute for removing debris.
- Two-By (2-By) (n): The nominal dimension of wood pieces set at 2 inches thick.
U
- UHMW (n): An abbreviation used for Ultrahigh Molecular Weight plastic. You can use it for making sliding jigs.
- Universal Motor (n): It's a smaller-than-typical electric-powered motor with an impressive power-to-weight ratio. These motor engines are a common sight on compact woodworking machines.
- Urethane (n): A binding plastic material used as a coating that cures in a hard form. Because of this, it’s highly durable for wood finishing.
V
- V-Tool (n): It's a chisel type used to separate sections during the outlining process.
- Vacuum Press (n): A bagger that holds up a veneer material and presses it to dry once the air gets released.
- Vapor Respirator (n): Safety equipment used by woodworkers to prevent inhaling dust during cutting tool operations.
- Varnish (n): A general term for any finish types used on wooden materials.
- Veiner (n): A narrow but deep gouge, helpful for carving grooves or lines.
- Veneer (n): Thin wood sheets stacked together to form a thick piece.
- Veneer Press (n): A technique where a whole veneer sheet is clamped to a substrate. Some smaller presses include handwheels and screws, while larger ones have multiple clamping features.
- Veneer Roller (n): You can use this roller to smoothen the veneer when it’s freshly glued into the substrate.
- Veneer Tape (n): It’s often applied on the veneer while waiting for the glue to dry up.
- Veneer-Core Plywood (n): A stack of veneer sheets glued together to form plywood, with an alternating angle of 90 degrees per layer.
- Vernier Caliper (n): A tool best used to measure linear dimensions like panel length or material width.
W
- Wainscotting (v): A method of covering wood on the lower part of the wall. It’s a great way to maintain the material’s warmth and keep out moisture levels.
- Wane (n): A wood’s natural edge with tree bark still intact on its body.
- Waney-Edged (n): When you say waney-edge on a wood board, it refers to having an edge to maintain natural wood appearance.
- Warp (n): These are the defects or deformations in the wood board’s shape.
- Wash Coat (n): Crafters use this term when applying a thin finishing coat on the material. It’s also popularly used as a seal coat.
- Washboarding (n): If the veneer isn’t glued well into the substrate, this term describes the formation of ridges on the surface.
- Water Stone (n): An abrasive stone that uses water for lubrication. Woodworkers utilize this material to keep the tool’s edge sharp.
- Ways (n): This term refers to the bed rails found on lathe tools.
- Web Clamp (n): This strap is often attached to a ratcheting mechanism. It’s flexible enough to be tightened around materials with irregular shapes.
- Wedge (n): A tiny wood piece securely placed inside a cut slit of a through-tenon.
- Wedged Mortise-And Tenon- Joint (n): This joint requires placing a wedge in the material’s conjunction along with a tapered tenon and mortise to keep the pieces neatly together.
- Wenge (n): These wood species from West and Central Africa are aesthetically pleasing and durable. Because of this, these materials are suitable for cabinetry and flooring.
- White Glue (n): Unlike other colored glue, this liquid adhesive is made of polyvinyl acetate. Thanks to this, it sticks fast. You’ll also find these products sold as PVA glue.
- Wide-Belt Sander (n): It’s a stationary sanding tool operating with a massive belt no less than 12 inches wide.
- Winding Sticks (n): These straight wood pieces are measuring materials used in pairs to determine the overall twists within the board’s length.
- Wire Edge (n): The formation of a thin burr upon the sharpening process.
- Witness Lines (n): These markers are lines drawn on various wood pieces to determine the material’s orientation. Other woodworkers refer to it as Witness Marks.
- Wobble Dado (n): These dado cutters carry one blade with angle configurations meant to make wide cuts while the blade continues to spin.
- Wood Conditioner (n): This mixture is applied to the wood before the staining process to prevent the material from absorbing uneven stains.
- Wood Movement (n): The drying process in which the wood drains its moisture and reaches an equilibrium point. However, it’s still possible for the lumber to regain moisture levels due to high humidity.
- Woodcut (n): A method of relief wood carving where you shape the piece through waste removal beneath the wood’s surface.
- Woodworker (n): A person who creates workpieces and products using varying wood materials. These products include but are not limited to furniture-making, cabinetry, and many more.
- Woodworking (n): It's a general term that refers to an activity that includes crafting projects out of wood materials. However, it doesn’t include projects involving massive constructions.
- Working Life (n): The term indicates the amount of exposure the glue can withstand without diminishing its adhesive quality.
- Worm Drive (n): This component is a spiral-grooved driveshaft often used in circular saws.
- Wormy (n): A wood piece damaged by insects through its channels and tunnels. It creates a pattern that’s rustic and desirable for wooden decorations.
X
- “X” (n): A symbol representing the word by. People use it for connecting two size specifications like 2” x 4” or 2-inch by 4-inch.
Y
- Yellow Glue (n): Another variation of woodworking glue composed of aliphatic resin.
Z
- Z-Clip (n): This material allows item installation and hanging without putting a screw on the object’s surface. In a way, it’s similar to how French Cleats works.
- Zero-Clearance Insert (n): You can mount this plate on a table surface around the saw blade to ensure zero clearance that may cause a tear-out.
Conclusion
These woodworking terms can be overwhelming, especially if you try to learn them all the once. If you ask me, the best way to be well-versed is to take one step at a time.
After all, you’ll likely encounter these terminologies, especially if you plan to take on woodworking projects continuously.
Robert Johnson is a passionate furniture maker & carpenter, sought after for his knowledge on the craft.
You’ve probably seen his down-to-earth wisdom in USA Today, Bobvila, Family Handyman, and The Spruce, where he has shared commentary and guidance on various woodworking topics.
Robert is the brain behind Sawinery, where he aims to share tips, tricks, and a passion for all things carpentry.
