Wood Terms - A Lumber Glossary from A - Z

Edge

Edge & Center Bead Two Sides

Edge & Center V One Side

Edge & Center V Two Sides

A timber management concept used by the USDA Forest Service. This allows the timber manager an immediate increase in the allowable cut when the manager applies intensive management techniques that will accelerate future timber growth.

The first part of the trees’ rings to form after winter hibernation. Earlywood is often characterized by larger cells and a lower density.

Slightly rounded surfacing on pieces of lumber to remove sharp corners. Lumber 4 inches or less in thickness is frequently shipped with eased edges unless otherwise specified.

A legal right for restricted use of property by the easement holder. Easements are granted to utility companies so they may service the utility lines running through a property. Decks should not be built on the area described by an easement because access granted by the easement may require the deck to be torn down or removed.

Edge bead one side.

Edge bead two sides.

The study of animals and plants in relation to their biological and physical surroundings.

Complex ecological community and environment forming a functional whole in nature.

The narrow face of a rectangular-shaped piece of lumber.

Veneer that usually has an adhesive to stick to plywood edging.

Lumber sawed parallel with the pith of the log and approximately at right angles to the growth rings; that is, the rings form an angle of 45 degrees or more with the wide face if the piece.

A straightedge that is used to guide tools, such as a circular saw or router, along a work-piece.

Smoothing and squaring the edge of a board so that it can be glued up evenly to another piece.

Tool used to trim edge banding.

Eased Edges

Edge (vertical) Grain

A property of a material that causes it to return to its original dimensions after being deformed by loading.

A macromolecular material that, at room temperature, is deformed by application of a relatively low force and is capable of recovering substantially in size and shape after removal of the force.

In a dust collection system, a fitting used to torn corners.

A metal joining process that uses a narrow stream of electrons to produce a highly concentrated heat source.

A deck requiring a structure of beams, footings, and posts to raise it to the desired level. Often used so that the height of the deck is the same as interior floors, making access to the deck from the house easier.

End Matched

Grit that is embedded in wood chips in the process of whole-tree chipping. This grit may be extremely difficult to remove when using chips in paper and pulp manufacture.

A loss in strength or energy absorption without a corresponding loss in stiffness. Clear, straight grained wood is generally considered a ductile material; chemical treatments and elevated temperatures can alter the original chemical composition of wood, thereby embrittling the wood.

Any process for impregnating wood with preservatives or chemicals in which air is imprisoned in the wood under the pressure of the entering preservative and then expands, when the pressure is released, to drive out part of the injected preservative.

The dead portion of a branch embedded in the stem by subsequent growth of a tree.

A drying defect caused by the ends of the boards drying faster than the rest of the wood. This can usually be prevented by sealing the end grain. Using an end grain sealant protects against end checks in decking.

The process of sealing the ends of the boards to prevent checking caused by unrestrained evaporation of moisture. Also known as "end grain sealing."

The joists at the end of a series of parallel joists.

To tongue and groove the ends of matched lumber.

A lengthwise separation of the wood fibers at the end of a piece of lumber.

Wood that has been delivered to paper and pulp mills, specifically for burning in boilers; wood to be utilized for heat or other energy products. This includes forest, industrial, urban, and other wood waste, as well as whole-tree chips.

The outermost layer of cells on the primary plant body; often with strongly thickened and cuticularized outer walls; sometimes consisting of more than one layer of cells.

A two part glue that practically glues anything to anything, including metal to metal.

Englemann Spruce

When the level of moisture in a board is equal to the moisture in the surrounding air.

A hidden style hinge fastened to the door with a cup hole.

Edge V one side

Edge V two sides

A stand of trees in which there are only small differences in age among the individual trees.

A silvicultural system in which the individual trees originate at about the same time and are removed in one or more harvest cuts, after which a new stand is established.

Boards expand when they heat up and contract when they cool down. This must be accounted for when spacing deck boards.

Sale of lumber to be shipped to a foreign country.

Wholesaler or broker selling to a foreign market.

A substance, generally having some adhesive action, added to an adhesive to reduce the amount of the primary binder required per unit area.

A flexible, insulated, electric wire fitted with a plug at one end and one or more outlets on the other, allowing one to plug in.

Substances in wood, not an integral part of the cellular structure, that can be dissolved out with hot or cold water, ether, benzene, or other relatively inert solvents.

The allowable unit stress used in the design of bending members such as beams, trusschords, joists, and rafters.

A method of adhesive application in which adhesive is forced through small openings in the spreader head.