Wood Terms - A Lumber Glossary from A - Z

When a board has one side that is wider than the other, the wider side is referred to as the face (as opposed to the edge). This may also refer to the side that is to visible in the finished item.

Used for writing bureaus and cabinets where it is essential to preserve an uninterrupted flush writing surface are hinged with back flap hinges, and can be rebated/rabbeted over the carcass sides.

In cabinetmaking, a face frame is a flat frame attached to the front of a carcase. The face frame is used to conceal the exposed edges of plywood panels used to build the carcase.

The wide surface of a piece of lumber; the wide surface showing the better quality or appearance from which a piece is graded.

The width of the face of any piece of lumber; in tongued or lapped (rabbeted) lumber, it does not include width of tongue or lap.

High quality veneer that is used for exposed surfaces on plywood.

Lumber intended to be cut up for use in further manufacture’ it is graded on the basis of the percentage of the area which will produce a limited number of cuttings of a specified, or a given minimum, size and quality.

Lumber not up to a particular grade.

Mixed domestic hardwood lumber grade is the highest grade of hardwood lumber. In most species, a board must be 6” or wider, 8’ or longer. Walnut and butternut are the exceptions.

A broad, flat, horizontal surface, sometimes used to cover a joint, or as the other edge of a cornice.

Generic term for bolts, nails, bolts, and other connecting devices.

Extreme fiber stress in bending

Feet board measure

Flat car paper wrapped

A piece of wood with thin “fingers” that hold a board against a fence or down against the table of a power tool; usually a table saw or router.

The distance that the stock being processed moves during a given interval of time or operation cycle.

A term used to indicate a specific unit of measure.

A term used to indicate a specific unit of measure

A straight guide to keep a board a set distance from a blade or other cutters.

Flat of slash grain.

The stage in the drying or wetting of wood at which the cell walls are saturated and the cell cavities free from water. It applies to an individual cell or group of cells, not to whole boards.

A threadlike component of cell walls, invisible under a light microscope.

A type of washboard-like figure that occurs in some species of wood with wavy grain; a decorative wood figure caused by wavy grain. Fiddleback veneer is prized for its character and widely used for musical instruments.

Any distinctive appearance on a longitudinal wood surface resulting from anatomical structure, irregular coloration or defects.

• Medium red-brown with purple veining
• Straight to interlocked grain
• Moderately coarse but even texture
• Low bending characteristics
• Works easily with hand and power tools
• Pre-drilling is required for nailing
• Used primarily as a veneer for cabinetwork. Also used for knife handles, and fancy goods.

A substance that is used to fill pores and irregularities on the surface of material to decrease the porosity before applying a finishing coat.

See ‘bookmatched’.

A method of joining two pieces of lumber end-to-end by sawing a set of projecting “fingers” that interlock into the end of each piece. This makes for a strong glue joint when the pieces are pushed together.

A term indicating the higher grades of lumber, sound, relatively free of blemishes.

The net dimensions after surfacing.

Any evergreen coniferous tree, especially of the genus Abies, with needles borne singly on the stems.

A measure of the time during which a material or assembly continues to exhibit fire resistance under specified conditions of test and performance.

As specified in building codes, a wood product that has been treated with chemicals by a pressure process of treated during the manufacturing process for the purpose of reducing its flame spread performance in an ASTM E 84 test conducted for 30 minutes to performance levels specified in the codes.

A brownish or reddish discoloration, and in the grades where specified, does not affect the use of the piece to any greater extent than the other characteristics of the grade.

For dust collection, accessories that are used to connect hoses, pipes, and tools within a dust collection system.

A small flat wood particle of predetermined dimensions, uniform thickness, with fiber direction essentially in the plane of the flake; in overall character resembling a small piece of veneer.

The propagation of a flame away from the source of ignition across the surface of a liquid of a solid, or through the volume of a gaseous mixture.

Lumber loaded on an open rail car after being strapped into units and wrapped in weather resistant material. Plastic or papers are commonly used.

Lumber sawn approximately parallel to the annual growth rings so that all or some form an angle of less then 45 degrees with the surface of the piece.

Flooring

A thick piece of lumber with or without wane (bark) on one or more edges suitable for remanufacturing.

A lumber pattern with smooth face and tongue and groove edges.

When two adjoining surfaces are perfectly even with one another.

Free on board

Free of heart center

A unit of lineal measurement usually used to indicate the length of lumber.

The below-ground support of a deck’s post; usually made from concrete.

Area managed for the production of timber and other forest productions or maintained as wood vegetation for such indirect benefits as protection of catchment areas or recreation.

Establishment of a forest, artificially or naturally, or an area, whether previously forested or not.

The branch of forestry concerned with the forest as a productive asset subject, in relation to economic principles.

A general term for the surface layer of soil supporting forest vegetation; includes all dead vegetation on the mineral soil surface in the forest as well as litter and unincorporated humus.

The practical application of scientific economic, and social principles to the administration and workings of a specific forest area for specified objectives.

Any activity that enhances and/or recovers forest growth or harvest yield, such as fertilization, harvesting, planting, site preparation, and thinning. Road construction or reconstruction within forest lands for the purpose of facilitating harvest or forest management. Any management of slash, resulting from the harvest or improvement of tree species.

Sum of unused and wasted wood in the forest, including logging residues, annual mortality, and dead, rough, and rotten trees. Unmerchantable material normally left following conventional logging operations other than whole-tree harvesting.

A profession embracing the art of creating, business, and science, conserving, and managing forests, and forest lands for the continuing use of their materials, resources, and other forest products.

Classification of forest land in terms of potential cubic-foot volume growth per acre at the culmination of mean annual increment (C.M.A.I.), in fully stocked natural stands. Classification of forest land is based on the species forming a plurality of live-tree stocking. Type is determined on the basis of species plurality of all live trees that contribute to stocking.

An independent, non-governmental organization established to promote responsible management of the worlds forests and is probably the most well-known forest certification program worldwide. FCS standards of responsible forestry are applied to management of the forest land. A chain-of-command (COC) certification ensures that forest products that carry the FSC label can be tracked back to the certified forest from which they came.

Composed of layers of Kraft paper impregnated with phenolic resins.

These have a center spur and circular timbers with cutting teeth that cut clean flat bottomed holes.

Naturally occurring crooked timbers usually with two sides sawn and two sides with the bark removed; used as beams, knee braces, and posts.

Lumber used for structural members in a house or other building. This is the skeleton to which floors, roofs, and sides are attached.

A large chisel with long, heavy blades, strong enough to be hit with a heavy mallet.

A term generally applied to lumber when the nominal size is 2 through 4 inches thick and 2 inches and wider; lumber used to construct a building or structure.

A flat piece of metal shaped like an “L”, with measurements along both legs of the “L”; commonly used when building decks for marking lines perpendicular to the length of lumber.

Seller delivers the shipment within reach of ship’s loading tackle. All dock charges and freight from point of origin to the dock have been paid by the seller. Freight charges to the final destination are billed to the buyer.

Lumber sawn to exclude the heart center or pith of the log.

Refers to a named point to which the seller will deliver and load lumber on board transportation equipment at no additional charge to the buyer. Freight or other charges to final destination are for the buyers account.

A deck supported entirely by its own structure, typically used for remote decks.

“Board Measure” contents of lumber-when calculated from measurements of over-all dimensions; it is used only for displacement measurements for freight purposes.

A saw with a very fine toothed blade used for delicate cuts in thin material.

A saw blade made with one piece of carbon steel used at high speeds to soften metal for removal.

Usually a type of band sawing that uses high speed to generate heat to soften the metal in front of the blade.

Freight

Foot

Feet surface measure

Cut so the ends can be squared to exact length tallied.

Green Lumber, cut full to a specified size without variation undersize at time or original inspection.

Any process for impregnating wood with preservatives or chemicals, in which a vacuum is drawn to remove air from the wood before admitting the preservative.

Lumber that in thickness and width measures fully up to specified sizes; a term sometimes confused with ‘cut-full’ lumber, the latter admitting lumber intentionally manufactured in larger than nominal thickness and width.

A chemical that kills fungi; used to control fungal diseases in greenhouses and nurseries.

Lumber stain caused by fungus growth in wood; fungi can be either of the sapwood-staining or decay-producing types.

Wood material that has been reduced for incorporation into conventional wood-based composites; including flakes, particles, and fiber.

Moisture found in the cell cavities of wood.