• C

Cabinet Scraper

A scraper with a cast-iron body that holds a scraper blade.

Cabriole Leg

A leg used on Queen Anne furniture. The cabriole leg is characterized by graceful curves and a shape that resembles an animal leg.

Cage

Rung section of a post-and-rung chair frame.

Caliper

An instrument with two legs, one of them sliding, used to measure the thickness of objects.

Camber

A slight convexity, arch, or curvature.

Cambium

The live, actively growing, layer of a tree. The cambium is one cell thick and resides between the sapwood and the phloem. It repeatedly divides itself to form new wood and causes the tree to grow and expand. Leaves, pith and cambium are the only growing part of the stem.

Camel Hair

A natural filament used to make brushes for use with lacquers and water colors.

Caning

A woven chair seat that utilizes thin strips from the outer layer of rattan vines. Caning is usually woven in an octagonal pattern on a flat chair frame.

Cant

1. A canted saw blade is one where the angle between the plate of the saw and the sawbench is less than a right-angle. 2. A square-edged timber or a squared log.

Cant hook

A strong wooden bar, fitted with a curved iron arm and a hook at one end. Used to lever logs and heavy timbers in the woods and at saw mills. A peavey is similar, but has a spike instead of the end hook.

Cap iron

The unit which is clamped to the cutting iron on a hand plane. It deflects the shaving and stops it jamming into the works. See chip breaker.

Carbide Tipped

Extremely hard steel pieces with sharp cutting edges fastened to cutting tools such as saw blades and router bits.

Carcass, Carcase

The case or box of a piece of furniture, it is the rough framework and structure of the item. Referred to when veneering or applying decorative moldings or carvings.

Carpenter's Pencil

Rectangular shaped pencil, about 1/4" X 1/2", with a 1/16" X 3/16" lead.

Case Hardening

A defect in the lumber caused by improper drying often resulting in honey-combing. Case Hardening is caused when a board is dried too fast. The outer layers in a case hardened board are compressed while the inner layers are in tension.

Catalyst

A chemical that speeds up a reaction between other chemicals. When catalysts are mixed with certain resins like polyester or epoxy, they cause the resin to harden into a solid plastic.

Catface

A scar on the bark surface that reflects the presence of a knot within the wood.

Cathedral (onion rings)

The growth ring pattern on the end of a board.

Caul

A plate or pad (often scrap wood) used as a spacer between clamp jaws and the item being clamped. Cauls distribute pressure and prevent clamp jaws from forming an imprint on the wood.

Cavetto

Concave molding shape with roughly a quarter-circle.

Cell

The smallest, microscopic, structure in wood.

Chairmaker's shave

A spokeshave with a sole that is gently curved from handle to handle. Used to finish the saddling of Windsor seats. Sometimes called a "travisher."

Chalking

A dusty film of pigments left on the surface of weathered paint.

Chamfer

A bevel cut at a 45 on the arris of a board or timber. It can be through, in other words along the entire length, or it can be stopped, run short of the end. Stop chamfers can have simple rounded ends or more elaborate carved ends.

Chatter

Usually refers to some vibration in a plane's system. Less common than skitter, see below.

Check

A lumber defect caused by uneven shrinking of the wood during drying. A checked board has splits which develop lengthwise across the growth rings.

Cheek

The part of the joint that is parallel with the face or edge. The side of a tenon.

Chemical Stains

Stains that rely on a chemical reaction with natural chemicals in the wood to produce a color change.

China Wood Oil

See tung oil.

Chip breaker

A secondary blade fitted above and behind the cutting edge of some plane and spokeshave irons. Dampens blade vibration and deflects shavings up and through the escape. Also called a "cap iron."

Chisel

A carving tool with a straight cutting edge (technically a #1 sweep) at right angles (or square to) the sides of the blade. See Crank Neck Chisel, Firmer Chisel, Japanese Chisel, Mortise Chisel, Paring Chisel, Registered Chisel.

Chopping

Using a chisel with a mallet.

Chord

A straight line intersecting two points of a curve or circle.

Chroma

Color intensity.

Chuck

An attachment to hold work or a tool in a machine, lathe chucks and drill chucks are examples.

Circular Saw

Any of a class of electric saws that makes a cut by spinning a round blade with teeth along the perimeter. May be hand-held or stationary. See Table Saw and Radial Arm Saw.

Clamp, Cramp

A device to hold two or more objects together during construction or gluing. An indefinite amount of clamp types exist from heavy rocks to fine spring hand clamps.

Clear

A board which is free of defects.

Clearance Angle

The angle formed between the work and the underside of the cutting edge of the blade.

Climb Cutting

Feeding stock into a router into the direction of rotation to reduce chip-out.

Clip On Hinge

A concealed hinge that allows you to attached the two parts of the hinge together by simply snapping them together.

Closed Coat

A piece of sandpaper with a surface completely covered with abrasive particles. This type of paper tends to clog easily with sawdust and is generally not used for woodworking. See also - open coat

Closed-Grain

Wood with no easily discernible pore structure. Does not require filling to achieve a smooth finish.

Cock Bead

A term for a beaded molding that is applied such as around a drawer front or door that is proud of the surface it surrounds.

Cold Finish

A finish that uses solvents that don't dissolve most other types of finishes. Cold finishes can be safely applied over most previously finished surfaces. Varnish is a cold finish. See hot finish.

Collars

On a circular saw, the two discs that clamp the saw blade.

Collet

A type of chuck that accepts a fixed shaft size, commonly used on routers.

Comb

A curved, horizontal piece of wood that caps the bow of a low-back Windsor, or connects the spindles of a comb-back Windsor.

Comb-back Windsor (high-back Windsor)

A tall Windsor arm chair having a horizontal arm-bow with spindles passing through the back section that terminate in a horizontal comb.

Combination Machine

Stationary woodworking tools that combine the functions of two or more individual tools. European style combination machines generally combine table saw functions with shaper and jointer/planer. American style combination machines generally combine lathe functions with table saw, drill press, and variations on those such as sanding and horizontal boring. One American brand, ShopSmith also manufactures add-on tools such as band saw and jointer that are powered by the main unit.

<< Start < Prev 1 2 Next > End >>

RD Glossary by Run Digital