Terms & Tools: Wood
alcohol-dilutable resin
A type/class of resin that can be solvent-cut so that they penetrate with ease but can still achieve strength, such as Eponex 1510. Benefit of this kind of resin is that it has very little appearance change to the material on which it is used.
arris
The sharp edge created by the meeting of two surfaces, as in the corner or edge of a brick.
astragal
A narrow molding with a semi-circular profile with flat planes (fillets) on either side. Often used as the center member of a double door or at glazing bars on cabinets and bookcases.
bead
A rounded shape cut into the square edge of trim or molding to soften the edge. Can be a smooth round surface or a carved surface.
brace
Diagonal framing member that provides stiffness to keep plane (wall, table top, etc.) from racking by creating a triangle.
chamfer
A bevel, made by cutting off the edge of a corner (arris) of wood, masonry or other material.
consolidation
Strengthening a material by the use of various resins or epoxies. Deteriorated surfaces, such as the soft and punky surface of a window sash, can be consolidated with tongue oil, or alkyld resin. Weakened or rotted wood can be consolidated by the use of epoxy, which is drawn in then cures/hardens within the fibers of the wood strengthening and the wood.
coping
In wood: a process for joining pieces of wood with intricate profiles, such as cornice moldings. These joints are called "coped joints." In masonry: The masonry course that caps a wall. Masonry units usually have a sloping top in order to shed water.
coping saw
Also known as a carpenter's saw. Thin blade held in a U-shaped holder used to cut intricate shapes or cutouts. Often used to fit moldings together.
cornice
Most commonly the top section of an entablature; can also be any projecting decorative molding running along the top of a wall or building.
crown
The highest decorative molding on a door, window, wall, or cabinet.
delamination
A mode of failure where bonded layers of a material separate. Both manmade and natural materials can delaminate. Wood, plaster, paint and even stone can delaminate. Stone delamination, similar to exfoliation, occurs along the natural bedding planes. This kind of deterioration can occur when layers of a stone are laid skyward instead of horizontally, when expansion and contraction occur due to trapped moisture in the stone, by the expansion of rusting metal embedded in the stone, or by weathering caused by harsh conditions.
double-hung
Window formed of two panels, called sashes, one of which slides up past the other. Double-hung is the most common kind of sash window, comprised of two panels.
dovetail joint
A locking structural joint, normally but not necessarily in wood. A wedge-shaped tenon that drops into a wedge-shaped mortise and locks in one direction, but not two.
drift
A steel pin of a consistent diameter used to remove nails; pushes the nails through the substrate without creating a larger hole.
dry-fit
To fit a disassembled item back together without glueing or setting it permanently. A test-run or dry-run, meant to make sure that everything fits together snugly and properly. In furniture and decorative woodwork, there should be numerous dry-fits before adding adhesive for the final fit.
dutchman
A patch fashioned of the same material or other compatible material as a damaged or incomplete piece shaped to fit seamlessly in a void or damaged area of the existing piece. For example, a brick dutchman is set into a piece of damaged brick. A wood repair in which a piece of wood is of an existing piece of wood
Eponex 1510
An alcohol-dilutable resin.
epoxy
A polymer resin that reacts with amine compounds to form a solid.
filled-epoxy resin
An epoxy resin with some kind of material mixed in to thicken it and bulk it out. By making it thicker, less resin is used- making it more controlable. Filled-epoxy resin has high-viscosity and less shrinkage because there is less liquid to evaporate. Resin with ground gypsum can be used in high heat areas, like attics, because it ups the heat resistance. Very high heat will soften resin, making it easy to remove. Some other fillers include: dirt, sawdust, phenolic or glass microballoon (ziospheres,) chopped cotton, graphite to give it more paste or putty-like consistency. By filling epoxy resins, they are made to be thixatropic, meaning they have internal strength and their weight is enough that they can stand up straight and overcome the effects of gravity.
flute
Shallow grooves running vertically along a surface, most commonly a column or pilaster.
frass
Debris and excrement produced by wood eating insects like termites.
jack arch
A structural element in masonry that spans over an opening in the masonry, providing support. Alternate names are "flat arch" and "straight arch."
jamb
The side member running vertically in an arch, doorway, or window. What a door is hinged to and what a sash window rides up and down in.
jig
A device for guiding a tool through either machine or hand process. Can be used with hand tools and machine tool. By using a jig you can repeat precisely the same motion, which is necessary in production of multiple identical pieces.
joist
The horizontal structural member that supports the floor above, traditionally laid full-length with one piece stretching from wall to wall. Its function is to load the walls with weight of the floors, transferring the weight downward. The flooring is typically nailed to the joists on top, and typically lath will be nailed to the bottom side of the joists, onto which the ceiling plaster, or lath is attached.
laminated wood
Sheets of wood veneer glued together to create a single thicker sheet of wood. Can be sheets of wood veneer or actual pieces of wood glued together.
lath
A support for plaster. Now commonly constructed of expanded metal mesh, it was originally constructed of wood strips nominally a quarter-inch thick by 1.5" wide and in lengths running perpendicular over several floor joists or wall studs with about a fingertips spacing in bewteen for plastering mortar to wrap around and through to provide a "mechanical key," or hook, around the backside of the lath. There are two kinds of historic lath: riven and circular cut. Prior to the 1830s lath was riven from larger pieces of wood. After the 1830s, lath was cut with the circular saw, a new invention. Very useful for dating buildings or renovations.
lintel
The structural member that spans an opening, generally doors or windows. In masonry buildings, lintels would have traditionally been wood or stone, but today in masonry buildings they are always steel or steel-reinforced concrete.
MDO (Medium Density Overlay)
High quiality exterior waterproof plywood with resin saturated paper face, good for making jigs or anything outdoors; machines nicely.
mechanical connection
A connection of direct contact between two pieces. The joining of elements by fasteners, such as screws, bolts, or nails (instead of non-mechanical, meaning joining by adhesives.)
mortise and tenon
A method of joining two pieces of wood together. Tenon is the piece that slides into the pocket, or mortise, of the other wood element. Mortise is the pocket created in one piece of wood to receive the tenon from the other piece. Sometimes called a "tenon pocket."
mullion
A vertical wood or stone that divides one window from another.
muntin
The narrow vertical and horizontal woodwork inside window into which the glass sets.
newel post
The base structural post for a staircase. The center pillar for a spiral staircase.
pilaster
A flattened column, attached to the wall.
pit sawn
A pit saw was a two handled saw; often quite large (8-10') While log is on support, one man stands on top of the log while the other stands in a pit. As men work down the log, the angle of the saw is constantly changing. This gives the lumber an irregular tool mark, making it easy to identify. Although commonly believed to have been phased out when circular saws were introduced, pit saws continued to be used in certain areas up until the late 19th century.
plunge cut
Either by power or hand, a saw that cuts directly into a piece of wood without needing to start from an edge.
ply
A individual layer, like in plywood or laminate.
proud
Describes an feature or element that is raised, not flush with the surface.
rabbet
A rectangular notch or groove cut into an edge, so that a board, plank, or door may be fitted perpendicularly into it. Not to be confused with dado, which is cut further in from the edge. Also known as rebate.
rail
Horizontal framing member in a window sash or a door. Used in conjunction with stiles, which are vertical, to complete the frame.
relieve
To remove, carve wood.
sash
A frame of a window or door in which glass or panels are set.
sash sawn
A way of cutting wood using a vertical blade, single or ganged with multiple others. It reciprocates by animal or water power. Log is on a dog that is mechanically advancing log into blade, the same amount each time. Results in exactly parallel tool mark lines.
skew chisel
A chisel with a symmetrical bevel and the cutting edge is not square to the sides of the tools.
spline
A thin strip of wood that helps to align and join pieces of wood; forms part of mechanical joint connection by increasing surface area of joint.
stile
Vertical framing member in a window sash or door. Used in conjunction with rails, which are horizontal, to complete the frame.
thermoplastic resin
Resin that will soften with heat, like filled-epoxy resin.
transom
A window sash found over a door to let light in.