Shop language, decoded
100 Essential Woodworking Terms
A plain-English reference for reading plans, buying lumber, setting up tools, and understanding joinery without guessing what the shop vocabulary means.
Quick answer
Woodworking terms describe materials, cuts and joints. Start with grain direction, moisture movement and reference surfaces. A jointer creates a flat reference face; a thickness planer makes the opposite face parallel. A dado crosses the grain, a groove usually follows it, and a rabbet is open along an edge.
Jump to a category
Ten groups, ten definitions in each group.
Terms 1–10
Wood and grain
The parts and visible characteristics of the material itself.
- 001Hardwood
- Wood from an angiosperm, or flowering tree. The label is botanical: some hardwoods are softer than some softwoods.
- 002Softwood
- Wood from a gymnosperm, usually a cone-bearing tree such as pine, spruce, or cedar. The name does not guarantee that the wood is physically soft.
- 003Sapwood
- The younger outer wood of a stem, where cells conduct water and store nutrients while the tree is alive. It is often lighter than heartwood, but color varies by species.
- 004Heartwood
- The older inner wood that no longer conducts sap. Deposited chemicals can change its color and decay resistance, but heartwood is not automatically decay-proof.
- 005Grain
- The direction and arrangement of wood fibers. Woodworkers also use the word loosely for the visible pattern created by those fibers and growth rings.
- 006Figure
- The visible pattern produced by grain direction, growth, cell structure, color, and the way a board was sawn. Curl, ray fleck, and birdseye are examples.
- 007Face grain
- The grain visible on a board’s broad face. Its appearance depends on how the board was cut from the log.
- 008End grain
- The surface exposed when wood fibers are cut across their length. It absorbs finish and glue differently and usually requires different cutting technique than face grain.
- 009Earlywood
- Wood formed early in a growing season, commonly with larger cells and lower density than the later growth in the same ring.
- 010Latewood
- Wood formed later in a growing season, commonly with smaller, thicker-walled cells and greater density than earlywood.
Terms 11–20
Lumber and sawing orientation
How boards are measured, surfaced, and cut from a log.
- 011Board foot
- A volume equal to 144 cubic inches. One board foot is represented by a board 1 inch thick, 12 inches wide, and 12 inches long.
- 012Nominal size
- The customary name for a lumber size rather than its finished measurement. A nominal 2×4 is commonly about 1½×3½ inches after drying and surfacing.
- 013Actual size
- The measured thickness and width of a board after drying and surfacing. Use actual dimensions when planning joinery or calculating a finished part.
- 014Rough-sawn
- Lumber whose faces and edges still show the sawmill cut rather than a final smooth, dimensioned surface.
- 015S2S
- A common supplier shorthand for lumber surfaced on two faces. Conventions can vary, so confirm which faces or edges the seller prepared.
- 016S3S
- A common supplier shorthand for lumber surfaced on two faces and one edge. The remaining edge is usually left for final sizing.
- 017S4S
- A common supplier shorthand for lumber surfaced on both faces and both edges to a consistent rectangular section.
- 018Quarter-sawn
- Lumber sawn so the growth rings meet the wide face at a steep, near-perpendicular angle. It often shows straighter grain and different movement than plain-sawn stock.
- 019Rift-sawn
- Lumber sawn so the growth rings meet the face at an intermediate angle, often around 30° to 60°. It tends to show straight grain with less ray fleck than quarter-sawn boards.
- 020Plain-sawn
- Lumber sawn roughly tangent to the growth rings, often producing cathedral-shaped figure on the face. It is also called flat-sawn.
Terms 21–30
Moisture, movement, and defects
Why a board can change shape before and after a project is built.
- 021Moisture content
- The mass of water in wood expressed as a percentage of the wood’s oven-dry mass. Moisture content affects dimensions, weight, strength, and finishing.
- 022Equilibrium moisture content
- The moisture content at which wood is neither gaining nor losing moisture in a particular temperature and relative humidity.
- 023Fiber saturation point
- The condition where cell walls are saturated with bound water while little or no free water remains in the cell cavities. It is often near 30% moisture content but varies.
- 024Shrinkage
- The dimensional decrease that occurs mainly as bound water leaves cell walls below the fiber saturation point. Wood shrinks by different amounts along and across the grain.
- 025Cup
- Warp across a board’s width, causing the edges and center of the face to sit at different heights.
- 026Bow
- Warp along a board’s length on its broad face, like a shallow arc from end to end.
- 027Crook
- Warp along a board’s length on its narrow edge, sometimes called edgewise bow.
- 028Twist
- Warp in which the board’s four corners no longer lie in the same plane.
- 029Check
- A separation along the grain caused when drying or other stresses pull wood fibers apart. A check does not necessarily extend through the entire board.
- 030Knot
- The embedded base of a branch. Knot size, condition, and location can affect appearance, machining, and strength.
Terms 31–40
Layout and reference
The vocabulary used to mark parts consistently before cutting.
- 031Reference face
- The face chosen as the primary known-flat surface from which thickness, squareness, and other layout are measured.
- 032Reference edge
- A straight edge established square to the reference face and used as the starting point for width and crosscut layout.
- 033Square
- A tool used to mark or check angles, especially 90°. The word also describes two surfaces or lines that meet at a true right angle.
- 034Combination square
- A graduated rule with a sliding head commonly used to mark or check 90° and 45° angles, depths, and offsets.
- 035Marking gauge
- A beam-and-fence layout tool whose pin or wheel scribes a line parallel to a reference edge or face.
- 036Cutting gauge
- A gauge with a small knife-shaped cutter, useful for severing fibers cleanly when marking across the grain.
- 037Marking knife
- A knife used to scribe a precise layout line. The cut line can register a saw or chisel and helps sever surface fibers.
- 038Baseline
- A primary layout line from which related measurements are transferred, such as the shoulder line around a tenon.
- 039Story stick
- A strip or board that records project dimensions and locations directly, reducing repeated numerical measurement.
- 040Winding sticks
- A matched pair of straight sticks placed across a board so their top edges reveal twist when sighted from one end.
Terms 41–50
Hand tools
Common edge tools for shaping, fitting, and smoothing by hand.
- 041Chisel
- An edge tool with a sharpened blade used to pare, chop, or clean wood, often in joinery.
- 042Bevel-edge chisel
- A bench chisel with beveled sides that can reach into narrow corners such as dovetail joints.
- 043Mortise chisel
- A thick, strong chisel designed to withstand levering and mallet blows while cutting deep mortises.
- 044Bench plane
- A family of hand planes used on the bench to dimension, flatten, true, and smooth boards.
- 045Block plane
- A compact plane, usually with its iron bedded bevel-up at a low angle, used for trimming end grain, edges, and small parts.
- 046Jack plane
- A medium-length bench plane used for general stock preparation, from removing high spots to preliminary smoothing.
- 047Jointer plane
- A long hand plane whose sole bridges low areas, making it useful for straightening edges and flattening larger surfaces.
- 048Smoothing plane
- A short bench plane set for fine shavings and final surface preparation after a board is flat and true.
- 049Spokeshave
- A small two-handled plane-like tool used to shape and smooth curves, edges, and narrow surfaces.
- 050Card scraper
- A thin steel scraper prepared with a small turned burr and flexed by hand to remove fine shavings or difficult grain.
Terms 51–60
Power tools and machines
The shop machines most often named in plans and tutorials.
- 051Table saw
- A stationary saw with a circular blade projecting through a table, commonly used with a rip fence, miter gauge, or crosscut sled.
- 052Miter saw
- A pivoting circular saw designed mainly for crosscuts, miters, and compound-angle cuts in stock supported against a fence.
- 053Band saw
- A saw with a continuous loop blade running on wheels, used for curves, straight cuts, and resawing.
- 054Circular saw
- A handheld power saw with a rotating circular blade, commonly guided by its base plate or a straightedge.
- 055Jigsaw
- A handheld saw with a narrow reciprocating blade used for curves, cutouts, and short straight cuts.
- 056Router
- A high-speed motor that spins interchangeable bits to shape edges, cut joinery, follow templates, and form recesses.
- 057Router table
- A table that holds a router beneath the surface so the bit projects upward and the work is guided past it.
- 058Jointer
- A machine that cuts a flat face or straight edge using rotating knives between infeed and outfeed tables. Its fence can establish an edge square to a flat face.
- 059Thickness planer
- A machine that cuts the upper face of a board parallel to the face riding on its bed. It controls thickness but does not reliably remove twist without a flat reference.
- 060Drill press
- A stationary drilling machine with a vertically guided spindle and adjustable table for repeatable hole location, depth, and angle.
Terms 61–70
Cuts and milling operations
Names for common ways of dividing and dimensioning stock.
- 061Rip cut
- A cut made generally in the same direction as the wood grain, often used to reduce a board’s width.
- 062Crosscut
- A cut made across the wood grain, often used to bring a board or part to length.
- 063Kerf
- The slot, and therefore the width of material, removed by a saw blade or other cutter.
- 064Resawing
- Cutting through a board’s thickness to produce two or more thinner boards, usually on a band saw.
- 065Jointing
- Creating a flat reference face or a straight edge, by machine or hand, before final thicknessing and sizing.
- 066Planing
- Removing controlled shavings to reduce thickness, make faces parallel, flatten, or smooth a board, depending on the tool and setup.
- 067Chamfer
- A flat surface cut along an edge to remove the sharp corner, commonly but not necessarily at 45°.
- 068Bevel cut
- A cut tilted through the thickness of a workpiece so the new edge is not square to the face.
- 069Miter cut
- A cut angled across the width of a workpiece so its end is not square to its length.
- 070Flush trimming
- Bringing one surface or edge even with a reference surface, often with a bearing-guided router bit, saw, plane, chisel, or scraper.
Terms 71–80
Joinery foundations
Recesses and interlocking shapes that form the core of many assemblies.
- 071Dado
- A flat-bottomed channel cut across the grain or width of a board, often to receive a shelf or divider.
- 072Groove
- A channel cut generally with the grain or length of a board, often to receive a panel or tongue.
- 073Rabbet
- A two-sided recess cut along an edge or end, leaving one open side.
- 074Mortise
- A cavity cut to receive a tenon or loose tenon.
- 075Tenon
- A projecting tongue formed on the end or edge of one part to fit a mortise.
- 076Mortise-and-tenon joint
- A joint in which a tenon fits a matching mortise, providing long-grain glue surfaces and mechanical registration.
- 077Butt joint
- A joint where the end or edge of one piece meets another without an interlocking profile.
- 078Miter joint
- A joint made from angled mating ends, commonly two 45° cuts forming a 90° corner.
- 079Lap joint
- A joint in which parts overlap; material may be removed from one or both pieces so the finished faces align.
- 080Bridle joint
- An open-ended mortise-and-tenon form in which a slot receives a full-width tongue.
Terms 81–90
Assembly and alignment
Joints, helpers, and checks used when parts come together.
- 081Dovetail joint
- An interlocking joint of tapered pins and tails shaped to resist being pulled apart in one direction.
- 082Box joint
- A corner joint made from alternating square fingers that interlock and create a large glue area.
- 083Tongue-and-groove joint
- A joint in which a projecting tongue on one part fits a matching groove in another, aligning adjacent boards or panels.
- 084Dowel joint
- A joint aligned or reinforced by round wooden pins fitted into matching holes in the mating parts.
- 085Biscuit joint
- A joint aligned with compressed oval wafers inserted into matching slots. Biscuits are especially useful for registration during glue-up.
- 086Pocket-hole joint
- A joint fastened with a screw driven through a steeply angled counterbored hole, usually made with a guide jig.
- 087Spline
- A separate strip fitted into matching grooves in two parts to align or reinforce their joint.
- 088Caul
- A straight or shaped auxiliary piece used with clamps to distribute pressure, protect a surface, or keep an assembly aligned.
- 089Clamp
- A tool that applies holding pressure to secure work for machining or keep a joint closed while adhesive cures.
- 090Dry fit
- A trial assembly made without glue to check fit, sequence, alignment, and clamp access.
Terms 91–100
Drilling, sanding, and finishing
Terms used to prepare a surface and protect or color the finished project.
- 091Pilot hole
- A hole drilled before a screw or larger bit to guide the fastener, reduce driving force, and lower the chance of splitting.
- 092Countersink
- A conical recess that lets a flat-head fastener sit flush with or below the surrounding surface.
- 093Counterbore
- A cylindrical, usually flat-bottomed recess that houses a bolt head, screw head, washer, or plug.
- 094Grit
- A designation for abrasive particle size. Within the same grading system, a higher number generally means finer abrasive.
- 095Stain
- A wood-coloring product that deposits pigment, dye, or both in a carrier. Its effect depends on wood porosity, preparation, and product chemistry.
- 096Dye
- A soluble colorant that penetrates wood with little particle buildup, often coloring the grain more transparently than a pigmented stain.
- 097Shellac
- A film finish made from resin produced by the lac insect and commonly dissolved in alcohol. It dries quickly and is available in several natural colors.
- 098Lacquer
- A broad family of fast-drying film finishes that harden mainly as solvent evaporates; formulations and compatibility vary.
- 099Polyurethane
- A film finish based on polyurethane resin, sold in oil-modified and water-borne formulations with different color, drying, and application behavior.
- 100Oil finish
- A finish based on drying oils or oil blends that penetrates wood and cures by oxidation or polymerization. Commercial products may also contain varnish or solvents.
Checked terminology
How this glossary was checked
The material and moisture language follows U.S. Forest Products Laboratory usage. Lumber sizing and grading context follows North American industry standards. Cut and joint names were cross-checked against tool-manufacturer training and manuals. Supplier shorthand such as S2S can still vary, so confirm the seller’s definition before ordering.
This glossary explains vocabulary. Follow the manual and safety instructions for the exact tool, blade, bit, material, and operation in your shop.
- USDA Forest Products Laboratory — Wood Handbook
Used for wood structure, grain, moisture, movement, and wood-based materials.
- American Wood Council — Weights & Measurements
Used for nominal and actual lumber dimensions.
- National Hardwood Lumber Association — Grading Rules
Used for North American hardwood-lumber terminology and grading context.
- SawStop Jobsite Saw Pro manual
Used for illustrated rip, crosscut, dado, groove, rabbet, and plunge-cut terminology.
- Lee Valley — Basics of Cutting Woodworking Joints
Used for dovetail, dado, and rabbet joinery.
Put the language to work
Mark a cleaner line, tune a hand-tool cut, compare shop tools, or choose a project where the terms become real decisions.