New to woodworking? This woodworking glossary defines 102 terms you'll encounter, from joints and grain direction to finishes and tools, grouped by topic. Each definition links to a deeper guide where we have one.
A woodworking glossary defines the vocabulary used in the shop, from grain and joinery terms to tool, glue and finishing language. Most beginner confusion comes from a handful of near-identical pairs: rabbet and dado, mortise and tenon, jointing and thicknessing, nominal and actual dimensions.
Two ways to use this woodworking glossary. If you already know the word you are after, take its letter from the list above. If you do not, read down the topic groups instead: the terms are ordered the way the work is, so grain sits with grain and glue sits with glue.
Every entry is a word you would actually hear in a shop or read on a spec sheet. Where a term has a full guide behind it the definition links out, so this woodworking glossary doubles as a map of the site.
In short: How a board was cut from the log determines how it moves, how it looks, and what it is good for. This woodworking glossary opens here because these terms come up before any of the others do.
The direction the wood fibers run along a board. Working with the grain gives a clean surface; working against it tears the fibers. More in mastering wood grain techniques.
The decorative pattern on a wood surface, produced by grain, growth rings and irregularities. Curl, quilt, birdseye and flame are all figure. Distinct from grain, which is direction; figure is what you see.
The older, inner wood of a tree. Usually darker, denser and more naturally decay-resistant than the outer wood.
The younger outer wood that still carried sap. Lighter in colour and less durable.
The exposed cut ends of the wood fibers, seen when a board is cut across its length. Absorbs moisture, finish and glue far faster than face grain, which is why end grain joints are weak and end grain takes stain darker.
The broad surface grain of a board, typically the most visible.
Lumber cut so the growth rings meet the face at roughly 60 to 90 degrees. More dimensionally stable across its width than plain sawn, and in oak it shows the ray fleck. More expensive because it yields less from a log.
The common and cheapest cut, with growth rings roughly parallel to the face. Shows cathedral figure. Moves more across its width and is more prone to cupping.
Cut with rings at roughly 30 to 60 degrees to the face. Straight grain throughout, stable, wasteful to produce, most often used for table legs where straight grain on all four faces matters.
The seasonal dimensional change in wood as it gains and loses moisture with humidity. Substantial across the grain, negligible along it. Designing for it is the difference between furniture that survives and furniture that splits. The USDA Forest Products Laboratory Wood Handbook is the standard reference.
The weight of water in wood as a percentage of its oven-dry weight. Kiln-dried lumber for interior furniture is typically in single figures to low teens; wood used wetter than the environment it will live in will move after you build with it.
Lumber dried in a controlled kiln to a low, stable moisture level.
Drying lumber to a stable moisture content before use.
A unit of lumber volume equal to 144 cubic inches, nominally a piece 12 by 12 by 1 inch. How hardwood is priced.
The size a board is sold under, such as 2x4. Larger than what you actually receive.
What the board measures after drying and planing. A 2x4 is 1-1/2 by 3-1/2 inches.
Surfaced four sides. Lumber planed smooth on all four faces, ready to use and priced accordingly.
A standardized scale measuring a wood species' resistance to denting and wear.
Wood from broadleaf, deciduous trees like oak, maple, and walnut; generally denser and more durable. See hardwood types and characteristics.
Wood from coniferous trees like pine, cedar, and fir; lighter and easier to work. See softwood types and characteristics.
A rounded growth on a tree producing highly figured, prized wood.
A board that retains the natural, irregular edge of the tree. See live edge woodworking.
Small splits along the grain, usually at the ends of a board, caused by the surface drying faster than the interior.
A board curving across its width so the face becomes concave. Caused by uneven moisture change between faces, and common in plain sawn stock.
A curve along the board's length, in the face.
A curve along the board's length, in the edge.
The board's ends out of the same plane, so it rocks on a flat surface. The hardest defect to remove and the reason face jointing exists. Checked with winding sticks.
General distortion of a board from uneven drying or moisture changes.
Colour and dark line patterning caused by fungal activity in wood. Prized decoratively; the wood is often softer and partially degraded where the fungus worked.
For choosing between species, see types of wood.
In short: The named cuts and interlocks that hold woodwork together.
The simplest joint, where the end of one board meets the face or edge of another. Weak on its own; usually reinforced with screws, dowels, or biscuits. See basic wood joint techniques.
An angled joint, typically 45 degrees, where two pieces meet to form a corner such as a picture frame. See making wooden picture frames.
A step-shaped recess cut along the edge of a board, often used for joining backs to cabinets or glass to frames.
A square-bottomed channel cut across the grain, commonly used to house shelves in cabinets and bookcases.
The same cut as a dado, running the other way. A groove runs with the grain; a dado runs across it.
The cavity half of a mortise and tenon joint. The mortise is the hole.
The projecting tongue that fits into the mortise.
A classic strong joint where a projecting tenon fits into a matching mortise cavity. See mortise and tenon joinery.
An interlocking joint with fan-shaped pins and tails, prized for strength and beauty in drawer and box construction. See dovetail joinery techniques.
A joint reinforced with cylindrical wooden pegs (dowels) for alignment and strength. See using dowels in wood joinery.
Worked examples in woodworking joint techniques.
In short: What the machines do, and the guarding vocabulary that goes with them. If you read one part of this woodworking glossary before switching a machine on, make it this one.
The width of material removed by a saw blade during a cut. Always account for it when measuring. See accurate woodworking measurement.
The shaft a saw blade mounts on.
A curved plate behind the blade that keeps the kerf open, moving with blade height.
A fixed version of a riving knife.
Toothed arms that grip stock trying to travel backwards.
Violent rearward ejection of the workpiece.
A safety device that holds stock against a fence or table while keeping hands clear of the blade. See woodworking safety practices.
A safety tool for guiding narrow stock past a blade, keeping fingers away from danger. See safe stock handling at the saw.
An undersized hole drilled before a screw so the wood does not split.
A custom or commercial guide that holds work or tools to produce repeatable, accurate cuts.
A pattern used with a bearing-guided bit to reproduce identical shaped parts. See creating and using woodworking templates.
An angled surface cut along the edge or end of a board.
A symmetrical 45-degree bevel cut along an edge to soften it.
A hand tool with a sharpened edge for paring and chopping wood, essential for joinery. See traditional hand tool techniques.
A machine that spins wood so it can be shaped with chisels, used in turning. See woodturning basics.
The rotating assembly carrying knives or inserts on a jointer or planer.
Processing rough lumber into flat, square, dimensioned stock ready for joinery.
Flattening one face and one edge of a board as part of milling, creating a reference surface.
Flattening one broad face of a board.
Making one edge straight and square to the flattened face.
Cutting the second face parallel to the flattened first face, which is what sets the board's thickness. Jointing cannot do this; thicknessing cannot remove twist.
The shallow dip a planer cuts at the ends of a board.
Cutting a board through its thickness to make thinner boards, usually on a band saw.
The surfaces before and after the cutterhead on a jointer.
Smoothing and reducing the thickness of wood with a hand or powered plane. See hand planing techniques.
Shaping, grooving, or trimming wood with a router and various bits. See router woodworking techniques.
Cubic feet per minute, the air volume moved by a dust collector.
Resistance to airflow in ducting, which reduces effective CFM.
Machine by machine in woodworking machinery. The safety terms here follow OSHA's woodworking eTool, which is the standard reference for machine guarding terminology.
In short: Marking, checking and keeping dimensions consistent across a build.
A measuring tool for marking and checking right angles. See measuring and marking techniques.
A stick marked with a project's key dimensions, used instead of repeated tape measurements. See woodworking measurement techniques.
A list of all parts and dimensions needed to build a project.
What to buy for a project, given in the sizes lumber is actually sold in. Distinct from a cut list, which gives finished part dimensions.
Technique in mastering woodworking measurement techniques.
In short: The timing and pressure vocabulary that decides whether a joint holds.
The bond between glue and wood surface.
The internal strength of the glue itself once cured.
The working window from spreading glue to when it stops bonding well.
How long clamps stay on before the joint holds itself.
When the joint reaches full strength, typically 24 hours.
A device that holds parts together under pressure during gluing or machining.
Glue pushed from the joint under clamping pressure.
A joint with too little glue left after excess clamping pressure.
Pre-coating absorbent end grain with thin glue so the real coat is not absorbed.
The visible layer of cured adhesive in a joint.
Slow deformation of a glue line under sustained load.
An adhesive's ability to bond surfaces that do not touch cleanly.
ANSI water resistance grades. Type I waterproof, Type II water resistant.
Able to be released later, as with hide glue.
Initial grab before full cure.
Full comparison in the guide to wood glues and their uses.
In short: Surface preparation and the coats that go on top.
The coarseness rating of sandpaper; lower numbers are coarser, higher are finer.
Smoothing a surface with progressively finer abrasive grits before finishing.
A coloring agent that penetrates wood to change its hue while showing the grain. See wood finishing techniques.
A coat applied to prepare wood for finishing or to lock in stain.
The protective outer finish layer such as polyurethane, lacquer, or varnish. See choosing the right wood finish.
A traditional finish made from secreted lac resin dissolved in alcohol.
A durable synthetic film finish available in oil- and water-based forms.
A penetrating finish blending oils and waxes for a natural, repairable surface.
Method in wood finishing techniques.
In short: The named decorative disciplines, each with its own guide. This is the run of the woodworking glossary where every term opens into a craft of its own.
Shaping wood by cutting away material with knives, gouges, or chisels. See wood carving techniques.
Shaping wood on a lathe to create round forms like bowls, spindles, and legs. See turning wood on a lathe.
The art of decorating wood by burning designs into the surface with a heated tool. See pyrography wood burning.
Setting contrasting material into a recess in the wood surface for decoration. See wooden inlay patterns.
A mosaic-like technique fitting shaped wood pieces of varying thickness into an image. See intarsia woodworking.
The art of creating pictures or patterns from pieces of wood veneer. See marquetry and wood inlay.
A thin slice of wood applied over a stable substrate to show fine figure economically. See wood veneering techniques.
Opening two consecutive veneer or board slices like a book for a mirrored pattern. See working with wood veneer.
In short: ten pairs that sound similar and mean different things. They are the reason most people open a woodworking glossary in the first place, so they get their own table.
| These two | Difference |
|---|---|
| Rabbet vs Dado | A rabbet is a step cut along an edge. A dado is a channel cut across the middle of a face |
| Dado vs Groove | Same cut, different direction. A dado runs across the grain, a groove runs with it |
| Mortise vs Tenon | The mortise is the hole. The tenon is the tongue that goes in it |
| Jointing vs Thicknessing | Jointing makes a face flat. Thicknessing makes the other face parallel and sets thickness |
| Nominal vs Actual | Nominal is the name it is sold under. Actual is what you measure |
| Grain vs Figure | Grain is fiber direction. Figure is the visible pattern |
| Bevel vs Chamfer | A bevel runs the full thickness of an edge. A chamfer takes only part of it |
| Clamp time vs Cure time | Clamps off versus safe to stress. Usually one hour versus 24 |
| Sealer vs Finish | A sealer prepares and evens absorption. A finish is the protective film or penetrating coat |
| Cupping vs Bowing | Cupping curves across the width. Bowing curves along the length |
Keep this woodworking glossary open the first few times you mill stock or glue up a panel. The words stick faster when you are looking at the thing they name.
Starting from scratch? Woodworking for beginners puts this vocabulary to work.
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