B
backband - A moulding applied to the outside edge of casing for decoration and often to increase the depth to allow for wainscoting or chair rail. This keeps the chair rail from protruding beyond the thickness of the backband moulding.
backboard - A supporting board or dead wood for structure.
back cut - The act of cutting a bevel.
ball pin - A pin used with a butt hinge that has a shape of a ball at the top and often bottom of the pin.
baluster - Vertical support of balustrade or hand rail commonly on stairways shaped round and decorative.
balustrade - A rail on stairway or landing, and the row of balusters that support it.
banding - Moulding used to create entablature effects under crown moulding or lower on the wall running horizontally.
bar clamp - A metal bar or pipe with adjustable right-angle surfaces used to hold cabinet doors and other structures together while glue dries.
baseboard - A moulding or man-made material used to finish the bottom edge of the face of interior walls and seal the bottom corner of the wall from the inside structure.
base cabinet - The lower portion of cabinets used in living areas often 36 inches high or less.
bead - The profile of the face of mouldings where you have a perfect or elliptical radius cut in the surface that protrudes outward.
bead height - The radius of circle or sphere shape.
bead width - The radius of circle or sphere multiplied by 2.
bead board - 4 X 8 sheets with vertical grooves or convex profiles milled into the surface, for use in wainscot or wall panel applications.
beam - A horizontal support or effect on a ceiling or upper portion of a structure.
beech - A deciduous tree of the genus Fagus commonly used for handles, and flooring, F. grandifolia of eastern North America is very light in color with a closed-grain.
bevel - The angle or inclination of a line or surface that meets another at any angle other than 90 degrees.
 

D
dado - A rectangular groove cut across the grain of a board commonly used in making drawer parts. A rabbit groove cut is also a rectangular cut but considered cut parallel with the grain.
denatured alcohol - Ethyl alcohol with acetone or methane added making it poisonous commonly used as shellac solvent.
dentil - One of a series of small rectangular blocks forming a moulding projecting beneath the cornice.
diameter - The distance across a circle or sphere, double the radius.
disk sander - A power tool with a flat sanding disc allowing grinding from one side of the disc.
distressed - Intentionally marred, faded, dented, scratched, rubbed, sanded, or marked to convey an antique look.
dome - An elliptical sphere shape as part of a structures ceiling or applied to the upper areas of interior buildings.
doric order - The oldest and simplest of the three classic orders of Greek architecture, characterized by heavy fluted columns with plain, saucer-shaped capitals and no base.
dove tail - A fan shaped tenon that forms a tight inter-locking joint commonly used for making drawer parts.
dremel - A trademark name representing a small power tool with a high speed shaft enabling the user to sand, carve, polish, and even cut.
drill press - A motor driven vertical drilling machine used in drilling perfectly vertical holes by using a base plate mounted perpendicular to the drill bit. The base plates can be moved for angled holes.
dry wall - Prefabricated plasterboard which is basically finely ground rocks not cemented together but held by paper on both sides commonly sold in 1/4, and 1/2 inch thick material in a 4 X 8 sheet.

E
edge tool - A metal tool such as a chisel used for cutting into a surface or edge of material.
elliptical - Deviation from the perfect curve towards elliptic, or a section of a perfect curve less the distance of the radius.
emboss - To mold or carve in a relief, decorate, and or appliqué.
emery paper - Sanding paper made of fine-grained impure corundum for grinding and polishing.
engaged - Partially imbedded, built into, or attached to a wall as in a column on a wall.

F
face - The surface of the widest part of a side such as the front of a cabinet has material applied that is wider than it is thick.
facing - Applying a face piece for protection or to give a finish look.
fascia - A flat horizontal banding between columns or moulding.
fir (Douglas) - An evergreen genus Abies with a varying density being very soft outside the grain, and extremely hard at the grain.
fillet - A thin flat moulding or small rectangular cut used to offset other mouldings, an exposed rabbit.
finial - A ornamental shape affixed to a peak often seen on vertical posts and butt hinge pins.
flat finish - A finish applied that is dull in sheen.
flex - flexible moulding that can be bent in two planes but mostly sideways for surface applications.
flitch - A longitudinal cut from the trunk of the tree enabling duplicate parallel cutting providing veneers of similar grain patterns.
flute - A moulding or column that has radius or elliptical shapes in the surface that protrude inward.
french curves - Multiple architectural drawing tools commonly made of clear plastic used to draw various cambers, smooth curves, and circles.
french door - One of a pair of doors built with glass panes and mullions.

G
geometry - The mathematics of the properties, measurements, and relations of points, lines, angles, surfaces, and solids, often called plane geometry.
glaze - Applying finishes to enhance antique looks or to give a glossier look around the edges or surfaces.
gloss finish - A glassy or shiny like coating commonly used in finishes.
gouge - A chisel with a round troughlike blade for scooping or digging shapes mostly in wood.
grain - The direction and orientation of the pore fibers of wood.
Greek revival - An architectural style imitating elements of ancient Greek temple design.
guilloche - An ornamental border formed of two or more curved bands that interlace and repeat a design.
gut - To disassemble the inside structure of an existing element of your home or other living area.
gypsum - A colorless, white, or yellowish mineral used in the manufacture of plaster of Paris, various plaster products, and fertilizers.

H
half relief - Sculptural relief composed of modeled forms that project approximately halfway from the background.
hardwood - The wood of the dicotyledonus tree. Other woods may also be consider hard for their properties as discovered.
header - The structural support framing above windows, doors, or part of a beam, connecting common points.
heart pine - A popular wood from North America that was over used and not normally available today as new lumber, taken from the heartwood part of the Pine tree, but very rich is sap or pitch properties, sometimes called pitch pine.
heartwood - The older inactive part of a tree usually darker and more resistant to decay.
hexagon - A polygon having six sides.
hickory - A genus Carya chiefly of North America bearing nuts having a hard tough wood used for walking sticks and today popular for cabinets.
high relief - Sculptural relief by which the modeled forms project at least halfway from their depth.
honing - Using friction, sharpening the edge of a steel cutting tool.
hook - The angle or degree of the cutting tooth of a saw blade.
hue - The properties of colors by the way they can be perceived determined by the dominant wavelength of the light.
hutch - A cupboard usually with drawers and open shelves above often used for dishes or china.
hyperbolic - Geometric system by which two curved lines can be drawn through any point in a plane and not intersect a given line in the plane.
hypotenuse - The side of a right triangle opposite the right angle.

I
inset - The term used to describe doors that are flush with the face of the mounted surface and sit inside a rectangular frame.
ionic order - An order of Greek architecture characterized by two opposite volutes in the capital on its facing sides.

J
jack plane - A bench type plane about 16 inches long that removes surface areas with a steep beveled steel tool. Performed by moving the material one direction through the device.
jarrah - An Australian tree (Eucalyptus marginata) grown for its hard red-brown wood.
jig - A device created that allows multiple uses to perform a function.
jig saw - A power tool that has a vertical blade moving up and down at high speeds allowing user to cut sharper curves or inside corners.
joint - A sometimes visible line where two parts are joined together.
jointer - A machine similar to a jack plane used mainly for edges to square up and create a smooth surface for joinery.
joinery - The art of joining wood in a professional manner.

K
kerf - The width made by the cutting tool or thickness of the cutting blade.
key stone - The central wedge-shaped stone of an arch that locks the two parts together.
knot - A denser circular pattern in wood where stems are located on the tree and the material was milled (cut) through these areas.

L
lacquer - A clear or amber synthetic sprayed on coating using plasticizers and pigments for dull, satin, and gloss finishes.
lag screw - A heavy wood screw have a head on the screw used to fasten thicker pieces of wood together.
lap board - A single flat piece used to set in your lap substituting a desk or table.
lap joint - The joining of two wood or steel members at the ends by overlapping requiring a rabbit that is cut opposite for each member.
laser - A device dealing with electromagnetic radiation manipulating frequencies creating a visual (perfectly straight) line from invisible spectrums.
lattice - An open framework of strips of wood, plastic, or metal overlapping in a crisscross pattern.
level - A carpenter's tool used to determine plumb or right angles to plumb sometimes allowing for other degrees of measurement.
lignin - A complex polymer and chief noncarbohydrate constituent of wood created to strengthen fibers of all living plants.
lime - Calcium oxide with silica, alumina, and iron.
limestone - A sedimentary rock consisting mostly of calcium carbonate used often in manufacturing for cement.
linear - Pertaining to a straight line or length.
linseed oil - A yellowish oil extracted from the seeds of flax and used as a drying oil in paints, varnishes, linolium, printing inks, synthetic resins.
lock set - Consisting of a plunger, striker plate, and handles for locking passage doors.

M
magnetic catch - hardware especially designed to hold two parts together by mounting a plate opposite the magnetic device.
mahogany - Tropical genus Swietenia (Spanish) was one of the first mahogany's used. For many years, (Honduras) mahogany has been used and depleted on supply. Today, mahogany is available from Bolivia that is very similar to Honduras with a dark reddish brown. Mahogany has been used for hundreds of years to build boats because of it impervious properties to water.
maple (hard rock) - Genus Acer of the North temperate zone is an extremely hard closed-grain wood, very light in color, and similar to birch.
maple (soft) - Soft maple is commonly available today as an alternative to hard. Although soft maple is only slightly softer, it carries more grain pattern along with a darker tint overall.
marble - Metamorphic rock formed by alteration in limestone or dolomite harvested to be used on floors and walls. It is cut in rectangular shapes and butted together flush with one another.
merbau - A beautiful Asian wood commonly from the family CAESALPINIACEAE used for all purpose but with controversy over misuse.
mesquite - Genus Prosopis is of the pea family native to hot, dry regions, southwest U.S. and northern Mexico, an important biological element for nature and not commonly used.
meter - Equivalent to 39.37 inches.
mill - To shape, polish, or finish into a desired shape.
millwork - The art of milling lumber mouldings or other material that can be modified and used architecturally.
mineral spirits - A petroleum product often called paint thinner used for oil -based applications.
miter - The end bevel cut on material, usually 45 degrees, where preparation is made to join two parts together at the same point.
mortise and tenon - Two opposite cuts, one a rectangular notch, the other a protruding rectangular block, for more elaborate joinery work.
moulding - Variant of molding, embellishment in strip form.
moulding head - A drum located as part of a machine that has multiple steel plates cut in specific shapes which turn at high speed forming continuous profiles on strip lumber.
mullion - A vertical and/or horizontal strip dividing the panes of a window or door.

N
nail (box) - A nail that has a large flat head on one end.
nail (common) - A nail made with a shaft that has a larger diameter. Used for framing homes of wood.
nail (finish) - A nail with a head slightly larger than the shaft for finish carpentry. Commonly used with nail sets.
nail set - A hand tool used to drive the heads of nails just below the surface allowing for filling of the hole created.
needle point brads - Very small nail without heads used for fine finish woodworking.
newel post - A vertical post made of stone or wood usually that is the ending point of the balustrade or hand rail.

O
oak (red) - A very porous reddish orange brown wood common to North America monocecious deciduous.
oak (white) - Native to the eastern U.S., the Quercus alba is lighter in color than red oak but less common.
ogee - A double curve in the shape of an elongated letter S.
oil stone - A fine-grained whetstone lubricated with oil used for sharpening.
opaque - Showing no reflection or not translucent.
orange peel - A texture often created by using a paint roller with the texture variances developed by thicknesses of the mixture.
ornament - Something that decorates or adorns often made of wood carvings and reliefs.
ovolo - A rounded convex moulding often a quarter section of a circle or ellipse.

P
palm sander - A power tool especially designed to be held with one hand with a vibrating pad allowing sanding sheets to be cut and attached for sanding mostly wood.
panel (raised) - A flat panel that has a milling around all edges into the face. The panel is constructed to protrude out from its slot or recessed location.
panel (drop) - A flat panel that is recessed in between rails and stiles such as in a door or wainscot application.
particle board - A structural material made of wood fibers or chips mechanically pressed into sheets and bonded with resin.
patina - A copper sulfate coating that forms on copper, an aged look on furniture or wood finishes.
pediment - A triangular element in architectural design above doorways and entrances and can be flat as an abacus.
peg board - A trademark name for sheets with holes drilled through it in corresponding lines perpendicular to one another and spaced apart equal distance. A special made hardware is inserted into the holes and used for display or many other uses.
pentagon - A five sided polygon.
perilla oil - Substitute for linseed oil used to make artificial leather.
pigment - A mineral substance used for coloring in the form of dry powder and insoluble.
pine (pitch) - A North American pine tree (Pinus rigida) that yields pitch or turpentine.
pine (piranha) - A South American species of tree that was discovered around the beginning of the 21st century characteristic of deep red lines in a medium brown colored wood.
pine (ponderosa)- Pinus ponderosa evergreen with light brown wood containing smaller knots and known for its large nature.
pine (western white) - Pinus monticola or silver pine located in mountain areas, a well used matching wood.
planer - A machine that removes a wide area of surface material with each pass using steep beveled steel rotating on a drum at high speeds.
plaster of Paris - Gypsum cement in a white powdery substance mixed with water used in making cast, molds, sculpture, even mouldings.
plinth - A block or slab on which the column, pedestal, or statue is placed.
plumb - The true vertical established when using a straight line or device equipped with a air bubble in an enclosed liquid filled clear shaft exactly perpendicular to the straight line.
pneumatic - The use of air pressure to power machinery and tools.
polyurethane - One of the more common resins used in creating tough chemical coatings, adhesives, and foams.
poplar - A fast growing deciduous tree of the genus Populus. This is a common wood used for mouldings because it is more affordable and still dense enough to be considered harder than others available.
protractor - A semi circular instrument used for calculating angles.
pumice - An abrasive used for polishing which is powdery lava.
purpleheart - A tropical tree (Peltogyne paniculata) native to Guiana and Trinidad, having very hard durable wood that turns more purple with exposure.
putty - A dough-like cement commonly used to fill cracks and holes.

Q
quarter-round - A moulding that is one quarter of a circle cut linear used to insert into an inside corner.
quarter-sawed - Lumber milled perpendicular to the annual rings of the tree or grain pattern, and in quarter sections, or linear pie cuts into the center.

R
rabbit - A rectangular groove cut parallel with the grain and sometimes cut on the edge removing two sides.
relief - The projections of figures or forms from their background.
radius - Imagine the shape of a perfect half circle where this is representing the distance from the center of the circle or sphere to any point on the outside edge.
radius surface length - The distance of half the circumference of the circle or sphere.
reveal - The edge of openings in doors, windows, or other structures as they meet an adjacent piece either flush or offset.
right angle - The angle formed by two lines meeting at 90 degrees.
rip cut - The act of cutting wood in a linear fashion.
rise/run ratio - The total sum (length) of two risers and one tread equally ideally between 60 and 65cm.
riser - The vertical face piece between treads on a stairway.
rosewood - A tropical legumminous tree of the genera Tipuana, Pterocarpus, or Dalbergia having hard reddish dark wood with a strongly marked grain.
router - A power tool with a high speed shaft allowing the user to mill rabbits, profiles, and grooves in linear or circular patterns.

S
sand paper - Paper that is coated on one side with abrasives.
sapwood - Newly formed wood near the outer edge of a tree.
sash - A frame in which the pane of the window or door are set upon.
satin finish - A somewhat shiny finish just under semi-gloss.
sawbuck - A sawhorse with crossed legs at each end.
scale - A type of measurement used to duplicate architectural drawings that accurately represent full scale.
scroll saw - A hand or power saw with a narrow ribbon like blade used in cutting fine lines and sharp curves.
scroll work - Embellishment with a scroll motif often send around Victorian designs, and elaborate architectural elements.
shellac - A purified lac used in varnishes and finishes.
shoe mold - A small moulding used at the bottom edge of floors in a convex elongated shape.
shutter - A wooden door with adjustable slats commonly mounted to windows with butt hinges.
sideboard - A piece of dining room furniture with drawers and shelves for linens and tableware.
sine - In a right triangle, the ratio of the length of the side opposite an acute angle to the length of the hypotenuse.
skew - To turn or place at an angle.
softwood - The wood of a coniferous tree that are not broad leaf.
solvent - A substance capable of dissolving another substance.
spoke shave - A drawknife used for shaping curves with two handles on each side of the steep beveled steel blade.
spruce - Any various coniferous evergreen of the genus Picea, normally softer wood used for framing lumber.
square - Representing objects at 90 degrees from one another, also a tool that is in a L-shape that is perfectly set at 90 degrees allowing the user to mark along an the edge or measure.
stain - A liquid containing pigments and/or dyes used to penetrate the surface of wood enriching its color.
stair pitch - The degree or angle of rise ideally around 30 degrees.
statuesque - Suggestive of a statue in proportion, grace, or dignity.
steam bending - The art of using hot steam to expose strips of wood inside a contained space, turning the wood flexible for a few minutes until it starts drying.
steel wool - Fine fibers of steel matted or woven and used as an abrasive for fine finishes.
substrate - An underlying later or supportive plane of material.

T
tack cloth - A sticky cloth used to remove small particles from the surface of finishes between coats.
tack hammer - A smaller hammer commonly used to drive tacks.
taper - To become gradually thicker or thinner toward one end.
T-astragal - A moulding made in the shape of a T with an astragal face for mounting on double doors as a divider and stop.
teak - A tall evergreen (Tectona grandis) of southeast Asia having hard, durable yellowish brown wood, and containing impervious properties to water, used heavily in boat building.
tear-out - The result of wood structure being torn or damage on the surface by milling.
tempered glass - Heat treated glass making it hard and unable to shear when broken.
tenon - A projection on the end of a piece of wood made to fit into a mortise (opposite cut) on another piece of wood.
tetrahedron - A polygon with four faces.
toggle bolt - A fastener consisting of a threaded both and a spring-loaded toggle used where hollow walls exist.
tongue and groove - A joint made with wood mostly where a tongue is milled on the edge of one board and a groove is milled on another allowing joinery of the two along an edge. Usually a small chamfer is present on the edge to accent the process and to create a fillet effect rather than a flush joint.
travertine - A light, porous calcite or calcium carbonate used as a flooring material in construction.
tread - The flat horizontal step in stairway construction.
trough - A hand tool used in the finishing of concrete and grout applications. Geologists also use one for digging.
T-square - A rule having a perpendicular end piece allowing the user to mark a 90 degree line across a large panel of material.
tung oil - A yellow or amber oil from the tung tree used as a drying agent and commonly applied directly to unfinished wood as a natural finish and preservative.
turpentine (spirit of turpentine)- A thin volatile essential oil used as a paint thinner and solvent.
tuscan order - Greek architectural order where columns are never fluted but always smooth, similar to the simple doric order.
tympanum - The ornamental recessed space enclosed by the cornices of a triangular pediment.

U
underlayment - A sheet material designed to be used as a substrate.

V
valance - A horizontal board sometimes with a cover drapery over the top of windows.
varnish - A finishing resin that is transparent and often applied with a brush drying very hard and durable.
venetian blind - A window covering consisting of horizontal slats made of plastic or metal similar to a shutter.
veneer - A thin sheet of wood applied to a less desired surface or inferior material applied commonly with contact cement.
volute - A spiral, scroll like ornament as in nature's gastropod shells of the oceans, this can be carved in wood and often used at the end of balustrades and hand rails on stairways.

W
wainscot - A face or paneling usually of wood applied to the face of an interior wall dividing the wall horizontally.
walnut (black) - An eastern North American tree (Juglans nigra) having dark brown wood commonly used in veneers, cabinets, and furniture.
warp - An object that is twisted or imperfect as a perfect geometric shape.
water level - A long clear plastic tube filled with water and used to determine common level points in space by holding the tube vertically and reading the water level at each end.
wenge - From central Africa, species Milletia laurentii having uniform a dark chocolate brown color.
whetstone - A hard fine-grained stone for honing tools.
whitewash - A partial concealment of a surface by applying lime or white pigmented material.
whitewood - Any of the deciduous trees such as basswood.
whiting - A pure white grade of chalk that is ground and washed for use with paints, inks, and putty.
wire gauge - A gauge for measuring the diameter of wire.

X
Y

Z
zebrawood - Any of several African tropical trees having prominent strip patterns in its grain.