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Pulp Trees

Small trees and saplings that will be ground to produce paper. Lumber farmers often over-plant their acreage and remove smaller trees for pulp as the crop matures.

Pad Applicator

A finishing tool that consists of a foam pad covered with a piece of short-napped fabric. Originally designed for house painting, but it is well suited for other applications such as applying stain.

Pad Sanding

The process of stacking a number of identical workpieces and sanding the entire stack at one time with the disc sander, belt sander, drum sander or strip sander, or by hand. When performing this operation, all workpieces must be held firmly together with clamps, nails, screws or double-stick tape to ensure the accuracy of the operation.

Pad Sawing

The process of stacking a number of identical workpieces and sawing the entire stack at one time with a scroll saw, bandsaw, or jigsaw. When performing this operation, all workpieces must be held firmly together with clamps, nails, screws or double-stick tape to ensure the accuracy of the cuts.

Padding Lacquer

A special type of lacquer formulated to be applied with a pad similar to the kind used when French polishing. Also called spot finishing lacquer, it is mostly used to repair damaged finishes. Unlike most lacquers, it can be applied directly over many finishes.

Palm Tools

Short (5"), stubby tools used with one hand while the work is held in the other. Great for detail and small carving.

Palmetto

A natural filament derived from the palmetto tree. It is sometimes used as a substitute for bristle in brushes.

Panel-Raising Plane

A plane used to make the beveled edges of a panel. Panel-raising planes are often called fielding planes.

Paraffin Oil

A mineral oil used as a lubricant for rubbing out a finish. Also called rubbing oil.

Paring

Using a chisel with hand pressure only.

Paring chisel

A thin chisel, often with beveled edges. Used with a pushing action to clean a wood surface, such as within a mortise.

Particleboard

A type of manufactured plywood that is made from ground up and glued scrap wood. Particle board is very dense, heavy, and flat.

Particleboard-core plywood

Plywood that is made by gluing a thin layer of veneer to a piece of particleboard.

Parting

A term used in lathe turning to signify the act of separating or cutting-away a completed workpiece from its adjoining scrap once the turning process is completed. Parting is usually performed with a parting tool.

Parting tool

A deep, narrow V-ground chisel used in turning to indicate specific diameters at various sections.

Pass-arm

An arm support on a post-and-rung chair that connects an arm rest to a side or medial leg rung by passing through the side rail of the seat. Imparts strength to the arm rests.

Patina

The condition of a wood and its finish that develops over time. Usually it is characterized by a smooth, worn surface and darkening of the wood. Also includes the build-up of waxes and oils that have been applied to wood over time and the scars and marks that are acquired through use. Denotes a genuine antique.

Pattern

An established shape or design used as a model. When duplicating with the routing system, the pattern is the paper design used in laying-out the plywood or masonite template that guides your fixture blank during the fixture-making process.

Peavey

A log moving tool similar to a cant hook, but with a spike at the end, instead of a hook.

Peg Tooth

A style of tooth cutting in which the saw's teeth have the same angle on the front and back edge, i.e. they are little equilateral triangles. 30-degree rake.

Penetrating Oil Stain

An oil-based stain that has oil-soluble dyes rather than pigments as an ingredient.

Perilla Oil

A natural oil derived from the seeds of the Perilla ocymoides plant. Its properties are somewhere between tung oil and linseed oil.

Phenolic

A very durable synthetic resin made from phenol-formaldehyde and phenol-furfural. It is used to make finishing products that are resistant to water, chemicals and scratching.

Phillips Head

A type of screw head requiring a driver in the shape of a +.

Phloem

The inner part of a tree's bark that delivers water and other nutrients.

Photosynthesis

A process that plants use to synthesize nutrients from water and minerals using sunlight.

Phylum

A class or group of plants. Phylum is a botanical term used by botanists to classify plants.

Pigmented Oil Stain

An oil-based stain that relies on pigments for its color. Also called wiping stain.

Pigments

Minerals and chemicals selected for their color and ground to very fine particles.

Pike

A long pole with a pointed steel head used in raising bents; also called a barn pole

Pilot Bit (Pilot Bearing) also Piloted Bit

A router bit fitted with a bearing above the cutter which rides on the edge of a board or template keeping the bit a fixed distance from the edge. (see Non-piloted bit)

Pin (see Dovetail Joint)

Both pins and tails are tenons, the spaces between being mortises cut so as to receive either a pin or a tail of the mating board.

Pin Hinge

A hinge that pivots on a single point. Offers a very low profile as only the pivoting knuckle is visible from the outside of the cabinet.

Pin Router

A router that is fixed above a table with its bit point down. A pin in the table is aligned with the bit and used to route the workpiece.

Pit Saw

Large two-man saw for cutting large trees or boards. Saw is used vertically with the bottom sawyer standing in a shallow pit. Wood supported on trestles or log walls also referred to as pit sawing.

Pitch

The number of teeth on a saw blade per inch.

Pitch Pocket

A pocket of resinous sap confined within the grain of many conifers.

Pith

The first year's growth of a tree stem, found approximately in the center of a tree trunk or branch.

Pivot Hinge

A concealed hinge for inset doors which uses a bushing placed into the horizontal cabinet members above and below the door, with a pin coming down from the hinge into the bushing.

Plain-Sawn Lumber

A method of sawing lumber where the log is cut tangential to the growth rings. Also called flat-sawn when referring to softwoods.

Plane

A tool to smooth and true wood surfaces, consisting of a blade fastened in frame at an angle with hand grips to slide it along the board. See, Block Plane, Combination Plane, Compass Plane, Fielding Plane, Fillister Plane, Fore Plane, Gutter Plane, Hollows and Rounds, Infill Plane, Jack Plane, Jointer Plane, Match Planes, Molding Plane, Panel-Raising Plane, Rabbet Plane, Radius Plane, Router Plane, Sash Plane, Scrub Plane, Smooth Plane, Transitional Plane, Trying Plane, Universal Plane, Wooden Plane.

Planer

A power tool with two or more straight blades that spin to remove a flat portion of wood from the face of a board. May be hand-held, bench-top or stationary. Bench-top and stationary models generally include powered feeders to move the wood against the blades at a constant rate. Used to thickness boards, and called a thicknesser in Europe.

Planer Ripple

A series of transverse shallow waves caused by machine planers which consist of rapidly rotating knives making glancing cuts across the surface of the wood.

Planing Beam

Long, narrow beam used in Japanese-style woodworking. The beam is generally placed at an angle with the front higher than the back, and is supported laterally at the back to resist movement.

Planishing

The act of straightening a bent saw by hammering lightly on the convex side with a smooth hammer.

Planking Bench

Low, narrow bench for hewing and planing boards for boat building.

Plate Joint

A butt joint that is reinforced with a football shaped "biscuit". The biscuits are usually made from compressed pieces of wood, usually birch. When a biscuit comes into contact with glue in the joint it swells creating a tighter joint. Also called a Biscuit Joint.

Plow, Plough

This describes the process of removing material when making a groove or dado. This is usually done with a plow plane, groove plane or dado plane all of which may be one tool. Coach maker's routers and other router planes also plow material.

Plumb

A term used to describe something that is perfectly perpendicular to the earth relative to gravity. A plumb bob on the end of a string will give you a line that is plumb or straight up and down. See Level.

Plunge Router

A router mounted on a spring loaded base. The router can be turned on and plunged down into the workpiece.

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RD Glossary by Run Digital