Carpentry & Woodworking

The hand tools, power machinery, and layout devices used to cut and shape wood.

• Carpenter's pencil
  A flat, rectangular pencil with a thick lead designed to mark rough materials and resist rolling away.
• Carving knifealso whittling knife, sloyd knife
  A specialized hand tool with a short, fixed blade used to shape and detail wood.
• Cat's-pawalso nail puller, paw
  A small pry bar with a sharp, V-shaped notch at a right angle for digging out and removing embedded nails.
• Caulalso clamping caul
  A rigid strip or block of wood used to distribute clamping pressure evenly across a glued surface.
• Compass planealso circular plane
  A specialized hand plane with an adjustable flexible sole used for smoothing curved surfaces.
• Crosscut saw
  A hand saw designed specifically for cutting wood across the grain.
• Featherboardalso fingerboard
  A safety device with flexible fingers used to hold stock tightly against a tool fence or table.
• Ferrule
  A metal ring or cap placed on the handle of a hand tool to prevent the wood from splitting.
• Framing hammeralso framing rig, waffle-head hammer
  A heavy-duty hammer with a long handle and a milled face, designed for driving large nails into structural lumber.
• Framing squarealso steel square, carpenter's square
  A large, L-shaped metal tool used to lay out right angles and calculate complex cuts for stairs and roofs.
• Hook pinalso draw pin, drift pin
  A tapered metal spike with a curved head used to temporarily align heavy timber joints.
• Jointeralso jointer plane, surface planer
  A woodworking machine or long hand plane used to create a perfectly flat and square edge on a board.
• Miter square
  A layout tool with a fixed blade set at a specific angle, typically 45 degrees.
• Mootalso moot block
  A traditional sizing ring or block used to gauge the diameter of wooden pins.
• Mortiseralso hollow chisel mortiser, mortising machine
  A specialized woodworking machine designed to cut square or rectangular holes.
• Nail setalso nail punch
  A small metal punch used to drive the head of a finish nail below the surface of the wood.
• Nose bit
  A traditional wood-boring drill bit with a curved body and a small cutting lip at the tip.
• Old woman's toothalso router plane, hag's tooth
  A traditional wooden hand router used for leveling the bottom of grooves and dadoes. Shop talk
• Planealso hand plane
  A hand tool with a fixed blade used to shave, flatten, and smooth wooden surfaces.
• Planeralso thickness planer, thicknesser
  A stationary power tool that machines a board to a uniform thickness.
• Pocket-hole jigalso Kreg jig
  A guide tool that holds a drill bit at a precise angle to create pocket-holes.
• Ringheadalso cutterhead
  A circular cutterhead housing multiple blades, used in industrial woodworking machinery.
• Ripsaw
  A handsaw or power saw blade designed specifically to cut wood parallel to the grain.
• Rooter
  A specialized blade or hand tool used to cut a narrow groove in wood.
• Roseheadalso rose countersink
  A conical drill bit or countersink with multiple radiating cutting flutes.
• Screw boxalso wood threader
  A hand tool used to cut external threads onto wooden dowels or cylinders.
• Shaving horsealso shave horse
  A foot-operated workbench that clamps wood securely while the user sits astride it.
• Tote
  The rear handle of a traditional woodworking hand plane.
• Try-miter square
  A layout tool with an angled handle used for marking both 90-degree and 45-degree lines.
• Twibill
  A traditional T-shaped hand tool used for chopping out mortises in timber.
• Veneer saw
  A small hand saw with a curved, double-edged blade used for cutting thin wood sheets.

The interlocking cuts, hardware, and adhesives used to connect wooden components.

• Birdsmouth
  A triangular notch cut into the underside of a roof rafter to seat it securely on a wall plate.
• Biscuit
  A compressed, oval-shaped wooden wafer used to align and reinforce edge-to-edge glue joints.
• Butment cheek
  The solid wood surface surrounding a mortise that supports the shoulders of a tenon.
• Butt hingealso butt
  A standard hinge designed to be mortised into the edge of a door and the door jamb.
• Butt joint
  A simple connection where the ends or edges of two workpieces meet squarely without interlocking parts.
• Cog jointalso cogged joint
  A timber framing connection where a notched projection on one beam drops into a matching trench on another.
• Cope and stickalso stile and rail joint
  A frame-and-panel joint where the molded edge of one piece fits perfectly into the matching end grain cut of another.
• Cross-halving jointalso cross-lap joint, halving joint
  A joint formed by removing half the thickness from two crossing timbers.
• Dadoalso housing, trench
  A flat-bottomed trench cut across the grain of a board.
• Dapalso dapping
  A notch cut into a timber to receive and seat another structural member.
• Dovetailalso dovetail joint, Dovetailed
  A flaring, wedge-shaped interlocking joint that resists being pulled apart.
• Dowelalso dowel pin
  A cylindrical wooden peg used to align and reinforce joints.
• Finger jointalso comb joint, box joint
  A woodworking joint made by cutting a set of complementary, interlocking rectangular cuts in two pieces of wood.
• French cleat
  A wall-mounting system using two interlocking boards cut at opposing 45-degree angles.
• Keyhole
  A shaped slot or mortise cut into a timber to receive a locking wedge or key.
• Lap jointalso half-lap
  A joint formed by overlapping two pieces of wood, often with half the thickness removed from each.
• Mortise
  A cavity or rectangular hole cut into a piece of wood to receive a matching projection.
• Mortise-and-tenon joint
  A traditional wood joint connecting two pieces at a right angle by inserting a peg into a hole.
• Panalso hinge mortise, hinge gain
  A shallow recess cut into a door or frame to seat a hinge leaf flush with the surface.
• Pocket-hole
  A steeply angled counterbored hole used to drive a screw blindly into an adjoining board.
• Rabbet jointalso rebate joint
  A simple woodworking joint formed by fitting the edge of one board into a recess cut along the edge of another.
• Relish
  The solid wood remaining at the end of a mortise or tenon that prevents the joint from blowing out.
• Sinkeralso sinker nail
  A framing nail with a textured head and a smooth shank coated in vinyl or resin.
• Splinealso slip tenon, loose tenon
  A thin strip of wood inserted into matching grooves on two pieces to align and reinforce a joint.
• Table
  To splice timbers together using interlocking projections and recesses.
• Tenoned
  Machined or cut to feature a projecting tongue meant to fit into a mortise.
• Tuskalso Tusking
  A stepped or offset projecting tenon used to reinforce heavy timber joints.

The physical properties, grain patterns, and defects found in timber and lumber.

• Boule
  A log that has been sawn into boards and reassembled in its original order.
• Froweyalso frowy
  Describes straight-grained timber that works smoothly and splits evenly without tearing. Shop talk
• Inch stuffalso 4/4 lumber, four-quarter stock
  Rough-sawn lumber cut to a nominal thickness of one inch. Shop talk
• Listalso edging, offcut
  A narrow strip of wood cut from the edge of a board, often containing sapwood or wane.
• Long-grainalso face grain, edge grain
  Wood fibers running parallel to the length of the board.
• Matchboardalso tongue and groove board, T&G board
  A wooden board milled with a tongue on one edge and a groove on the other.
• Pomellealso quilted figure, blister figure
  A highly figured wood grain pattern resembling a surface of tight, overlapping circles or blisters.
• Spalting
  The distinct dark lines and color variations in wood caused by fungal decay.
• Stick
  A single piece of dimensional lumber used in framing or general carpentry work. Shop talk
• Wane
  The original rounded exterior of a log remaining on the edge of a cut board.
• Waned
  Describing lumber that retains the rounded, bark-covered edge of the original log.
• Waneyalso live-edge
  Having uneven or bark-covered edges from being milled near the outside of a log.

The specific methods used to mill, cut, assemble, and repair wooden structures.

• Against the grain
  Cutting or planing in a direction opposite to the natural upward slope of the wood fibers.
• Bentwood
  A woodworking method or material where solid timber is softened with steam and set into a curve.
• Biscuitry
  The practice of joining wood pieces using compressed wooden ovals inserted into matching slots. Shop talk
• Blowoutalso tear-out, spelching
  The splintering and tear-out that occurs on the exit side of a cut or drilled hole.
• Dutchmanalso graving piece, patch
  A custom-shaped wooden patch used to repair a defect or mistake. Shop talk
• Fay
  To fit two pieces of wood together so they lie flush and tight against each other.
• Featheralso feather out
  To taper the edge of a piece of wood until it is extremely thin and blends into another surface.
• Glue stripalso clamping block
  A narrow scrap of wood temporarily attached to a workpiece to provide a clamping surface.
• Horn
  The excess length of wood left on the end of a stile during joinery to prevent the end grain from splitting.
• Quartersaw
  A milling method where logs are cut radially to produce boards with straight, parallel grain.
• Rip
  To cut a piece of wood parallel to the direction of its grain.
• Ripping
  The process of cutting lumber lengthwise parallel to the wood grain.
• Rivealso cleave, split
  A traditional method of splitting wood radially from a log along its natural grain.
• Saddle
  To cut a curved notch into a log or timber so it fits over a perpendicular piece.
• Scary sharp
  A method of sharpening edge tools using progressively finer grits of sandpaper adhered to a flat substrate. Shop talk
• Scribe
  To mark and cut a piece of wood so its edge perfectly matches an irregular surface.
• Shoot
  To plane the edge or end of a board perfectly straight and square.
• Side
  To trim or hew the faces of a timber to achieve a uniform thickness.
• Sisteralso sistering
  To reinforce a structural framing member by attaching a new piece alongside it.
• Snape
  To cut a bevel on the end of a timber so it fits snugly against a sloped surface.
• Swingalso hang
  To install a door on its hinges so it opens and closes correctly.
• Sypher
  To overlap chamfered edges of adjacent boards to create a flush, continuous surface.
• Traverse
  To push a hand plane perpendicular or diagonally across the wood grain.
• Trimalso dress, fit
  To cut away a small amount of material from a workpiece to achieve a tight fit.
• Wedging
  The process of driving wooden tapers into a joint to lock it permanently.

The individual load-bearing beams, posts, and boards that make up a wooden framework.

• Angle brace
  A diagonal structural member installed across the interior corner of a wooden frame.
• Bent
  A complete transverse structural framework assembled on the ground and raised into position.
• Bifoldalso Bifolding
  A door or window assembly made of two hinged panels that fold flat against each other.
• Butt
  The thicker, lower end of a timber or the square-cut end of a board.
• Cog
  A solid projection left on the end of a timber that fits into a matching notch on another timber.
• Cradlealso cradling
  A wooden framework built to support the construction of vaulted ceilings, arches, or curved structures.
• Cradling
  A wooden framework built to support curved surfaces like arched ceilings.
• Fillet
  A small, narrow strip of wood used to fill a gap or support another component.
• Graftingalso scarfing
  The process of joining two timbers end-to-end to create a longer continuous beam.
• Harralso hinge stile, harr tree
  The heavy vertical stile of a gate that carries the hinges and supports the swinging weight.
• Heel
  The shorter, inner edge of an angled cut on a rafter or brace.
• Heelpostalso hinge post, hanging post
  The stationary vertical post anchored in the ground that supports a hinged gate or door.
• Interjoistalso joist bay, joist cavity
  The empty space or cavity located between two parallel floor or ceiling joists.
• Kneealso ship's knee, natural knee
  A naturally curved or angled piece of timber used to brace a structural corner.
• Montantalso stile, muntin
  A vertical framing member in a panel, door, or window assembly.
• Mortise wheel
  A historic cast-iron gear wheel fitted with replaceable wooden teeth.
• Notchboardalso housed stringer, closed stringer
  A sloped framing member routed or cut out to receive stair treads and risers.
• Pitching piecealso apron piece
  A horizontal timber that supports a stair landing and the top ends of the stringers.
• Ridge beamalso ridge pole
  A heavy structural timber at the peak of a roof that supports the upper ends of the rafters.
• Riseralso riser board
  The vertical board that forms the face of a step in a staircase.
• Stringalso stringer, stringpiece
  The inclined side board that supports the treads and risers of a staircase.
• Stringeralso stair stringer, carriage
  A heavy, inclined structural timber that supports stair treads or ladder rungs.
• Stringpiecealso stringer
  A heavy longitudinal timber running along the edge of a structure to tie framing members together.
• Throat
  The inner curve or angle of a structural timber knee or brace.
• Toe
  The longest point of an angled cut on a board or framing member.
• Underboard
  A secondary board installed beneath a primary surface for support or attachment.

The moldings, inlays, and surface treatments applied to complete a woodworking project.

• Barleycorn
  A small, V-shaped groove cut between two adjacent moldings.
• Bead
  A convex, rounded decorative profile cut along the edge or face of a piece of wood.
• Bouleworkalso buhl work, Boulle marquetry
  An older spelling for the intricate inlay of brass and tortoiseshell into wood.
• Buhl
  The brass, tortoiseshell, or other metal material used to create intricate furniture inlays.
• Buhl workalso Boulle work, boulework
  The craft and finished product of inlaying intricate metal and shell patterns into furniture.
• Crown moldingalso cornice molding, crown
  A decorative trim installed at the intersection of walls and ceilings.
• Edgebandingalso edge tape, edge banding
  A thin strip of veneer or plastic used to cover the exposed edges of manufactured boards.
• Fretalso fretwork
  An intricate, repeating geometric pattern cut into or through a piece of wood.
• Japanning
  A heavy, baked-on black enamel finish used on cast iron tools and decorative woodwork.
• Marquetry
  A decorative technique where thin pieces of wood or other materials are fitted together to form intricate surface patterns.
• Nulled workalso nulling
  A style of ornamental wood turning that looks like a continuous string of beads.
• Skirting boardalso baseboard, mopboard
  A wooden molding installed along the base of an interior wall where it meets the floor.
• Water poppingalso grain raising, popping the grain
  A surface preparation technique where sanded wood is dampened to intentionally raise its fibers before applying a finish.

The informal idioms, jokes, and rules of thumb shared among professional woodworkers.

• Board Stretcher
  A fictional tool used as a practical joke to trick inexperienced workers. Shop talk
• Measure twice and cut oncealso measure twice, cut once
  A fundamental rule of thumb reminding workers to verify dimensions before making an irreversible cut. Shop talk