Woodworking Terms

Have trouble understanding the woodworking jargon found throughout our site or other resources? Use this list as a reference for woodworking terms and definitions!

• Apron: The apron connects the table legs to one another to form the table base.
• Biscuit: Also referred to as Wood Plates or Wafers. A thin, oval-shaped piece of compressed wood shavings, typically made from beech wood. Biscuits are glued into slots precisely cut by a biscuit cutter, and the moisture from the glue causes the biscuit to swell and tighten the joint. They are used for edge or corner jointing.
• Board-foot: A system of hardwood measurement. One board-foot is equivalent to 144 cubic inches.
• Breadboard Ends: This is the end piece of the tabletop which secures and stabilizes the wide, long planks of our tables. Tenons extend off of the tabletop into mortises in the breadboard. The center mortise and tenon are securely pegged. The other tenons are pegged through slots in the accompanying mortises, which allow for seasonal expansion and contraction of the tabletop.
• Butt Joint: The most commonly used joint when two or more boards are to be glued up into a tabletop, headboard, or other types of panels.
• Carcass (Carcase): The basic box portion of any cabinet.
• Chamfer: A chamfer refers to a tapered corner used to finish certain edges.
• Crown molding: This molding is found at the top of most case pieces. The configuration of the crown molding was often unique to a particular cabinet shop.
• Dado: A groove cut into a piece of wood to hold another piece of wood.
• Dovetail joints: Pins and tails are cut to create an interlocking joint. This joint is most often used to join drawer faces, sides, and backs.
• Finials: A finial is the carved component that is at the top of many ornate pieces. Drop finials are usually used under an apron such as on our Connecticut Lowboy.
• Grit: the number of abrasive particles found per square inch of sandpaper. This term is used to differentiate between coarse and fine grades of sandpaper.
• Hardwood: An assortment of woods, usually harvested from deciduous trees, that are used in woodworking. Most fine furniture are made from some form of hardwood such as oak, maple, walnut, mahogany, or cherry.
• Miter: A miter is a type of joint where the two parts to be joined are cut at an angle, and typically the finished joint forms a 90 degree angle. Also commonly spelled “mitre.”
• Mortise: A deep pocket or hole in which a tenon of the same dimension fits to create a joint.
• Mortise & Tenon Joinery: Traditional form of joinery used to join components at right angles. Examples are the joining of the table legs to the apron and bed posts joined to the side rails.
• Mullions: The vertical piece of wood dividing individual glass panes in a door.
• Rabbet: a groove cut into the side of a board that is against one edge. Differs from a dado based on its location in the board.
• Rails: the horizontal frame members found in doors and panels.
• Raised Panel Doors: True raised panel doors consist of the frame of the door with a solid, floating panel held inside the frame to complete the door. The panel must float and not be glued so as not to crack from the changes in humidity and temperature throughout the year.
• Spline joint: When this joint is used, the boards are not glued together. A groove is cut in each board edge and a single spline inserted to align the two boards. Most often this joint is found in tabletops and cabinet backs.
• Stiles: the vertical frame members of a door and panel.
• Stretcher: The rails which span between table or chair legs, attaching to the legs near floor level.
• Tenon: the projection on the end of a component which will fit into the mortise.
• Tester Frame: This is the structure that rests atop the Pencil Post Bed and supports the draping of fabrics. Originally, the fabric was in place during the winter months to keep drafts and a bit of the cold out.