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Kootur Lumber - Timber info Category: Agriculture and Industry > lumber and timber terms Date & country: 31/01/2011, USA Words: 76

Air-dried lumber
Lumber that was dried, usually outside, to an equilibrium moisture content with the air it was exposed to. Any lumber below 30% MC is classified as air dried. Construction grade is around 19% MC and in southern Ontario the relative humidity is usually between 50 to 60 % which lumber will equalize to moisture content to between 8 to 14% MC.

Annual growth rings
The layer of growth that a tree puts on in one year. The annual growth rings can be seen in the and grain of lumber.

Birds-eye figure
A figure on wood, usually maple and a few other species. The figure is composed of many small rounded areas resembling a birds eye. The figuring is most common on plain and rotary sawn lumber.

Board Foot
A form of wood measurement, where one board foot equals the volume of a board I inch thick, 12 inches wide, and 12 inches long.

Bookmatch
A term in veneering or sawing, where successive pieces of veneer, or boards, from a flitch, or log, are arranged side by side. A properly done bookmatch will resemble a mirror image of the opposite side. Other names are sisters, butterflied and mirrors.

Bound water
water found within the cell wall of wood.

Bow
A defective piece of lumber that has warped along its length.

Brad
A small finishing nail up to 1" long.

Burl
Bulges and irregular growths that form on the trunks and roots of trees. Burls are highly sought after for the incredible veneer they yield and are used in turning as well.

Butt Joint
A woodworking joint where the edges of two hoards are placed against each other.

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 end causes the tree to grow and expand. It is the layer that becomes either bark or wood and lies dormate in the winter.

Case Hardening
A defect in the lumber caused by improper drying. 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.

Cell
The smallest, microscopic, structure in wood.

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.

Clear
A board which is free of defects.

Common Grade Lumber
Lumber with obvious defects.

Compound Cut
An angled cut to both the edge and face of a hoard.

Crook
A lumber defect where there is an edgewise warp effecting the straightness of the board

Crotch
In lumber, a piece of wood taken from the fork of a tree. Crotch Veneer is highly valued for its figuring.

Cup (cupping)
A defect in the lumber where the face of the board warps up like the letter U.

D2S
Lumber that has been dressed on two sides.

Deciduous
Generally trees that have broad leaves that are shed in the fall. Usually it is a hard wood.

Defect
An irregularity found in a board that lowers its strength and value. Common defects are knots, staining, checks, etc..

Edge Joining
Smoothing and squaring the edge of a board so that it can be glued up squarely to another piece.

Equilibrium moisture content(EMC)
When the level of moisture in a board is equal to the moisture in the surrounding air.

Face Veneer
High quality veneer that is used for the exposed surfaces on plywood.

Flat-sawn Lumber
A method of sawing lumber where the log is cut tangential to the growth rings.

Free Water
Moisture found in the cell cavities of wood.

Girth
The distance around a tree; the circumference.

Grain
The size, alignment, and color of wood fibers in a piece of lumber

Green Lumber(Live)
Freshly cut lumber that has not had time to dry. Lumber that is above 30% moisture content.

Heartwood
The dead inner core of a tree. Usually much harder and darker than the new wood.

Infeed
The direction a work piece is fed into a blade or cutter.

Kiln
In lumber drying, a kiln is a room or building where temperature, moisture, and the air circulating are controlled to dry wood.

Latewood
The part of a trees annual growth ring that is formed later in the season

Linear Foot
A measurement of the length of a board.

Lumber
Logs which have been sawn, planed, and cut to length.

Lumber ruler
A tool resembling a ruler with a handle at one end and a hood at the other which is used to calculate the board footage of a piece of lumber.

Lumber-Core Plywood
Plywood where thin sheets of veneer are glued to a core of narrow boards. Lumber-core plywood differs from regular plywood in that regular plywood is made up of successive layers of alternating grain veneer.

Medium density fiberboard (MDF)
A special type of tempered hardboard characterized by a very fine, smooth finish. MDF is used in cabinet making.

Mill-run
Lumber that is in varying widths and grades.

Moisture Content(MC)
A measure of the amount of water in a piece of lumber.

Nominal Size
The rough-sawn size of a piece of lumber. When purchasing planed lumber it is sold by its nominal, rough sawn, size. For example a 2"x4" is the nominal size for a board whose actual dimension is 1.4" x 3.25".

Ogee
A decorative molding profile with a S shape.

Outfeed
The side of a power tool where the board exits, (see infeed)

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

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 end minerals, using light.

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

Pith
The soft core in the center of a tree trunk.

Plain-Sawn lumber
A method of sawing lumber where the log is cut tangential to the growth rings, also called n when referring to, softwoods.

Porous wood
Wood with larger than normal pores and vessels

Quarter-sawn
A method of cutting lumber where the annual rings are relatively perpendicular to the face of the board. Quarter-sawn lumber tends to be more dimensionally stable than other forms of lumber, such as plane-sawn.

Radial Shrinkage
Shrinkage in a piece of lumber that occurs across the growth rings as it begins to dry.

Ray
A ribbon like figure caused by the strands of cells which extend across the grain in quarter-sawn lumber.

Reaction Wood
Abnormal wood tissue that was formed in a leaning tree. Reaction wood is very unstable and prone to warping and cupping when sawn into lumber.

Relative Humidity
The amount of moisture in the air is measured as a percentage of the total amount of moisture the air can hold at a particular temperature. This is known as relative humidity. The ideal relative humidity for a home is between 35% and 45%, too much above or below these levels problems can begin to occur.

Ripcut (ripping)
A cut made parallel to the grain of a board.

Rotary-cut Veneer
Veneer which was cut from a log in one long sheet. Rotary cut veneer is cut from a log like a roll of paper towels.

Rough-sawn
Lumber that is either green or dried that has not been dressed. (planed).

Sap
The water in a tree which is rich in minerals and nutrients.

Sapwood
The new wood in a tree that lies between the bark and the heartwood. Sapwood is usually lighter in color, and becomes heartwood as the tree ages.

Seasoning
The process of removing the moisture from green wood to improve its workability and stability.

Selects
In softwood, lumber which has been graded strictly for its appearance. In hardwood, lumber which is one grade below first and second.

Softwoods
Generally lumber from a conifer such as pine or cedar. The name softwood does not refer to the density of the wood. There are some hardwoods which are softer than some softwoods.

Sound
A term referring to a board which has no or very few defects which will effect its strength

Specific Gravity
The ratio of the weight of wood to an equal volume off, rater. The higher the specific gravity, the heavier the wood.

Stain
A discoloration in wood caused by a fungus, minerals or chemicals. A die or pigment used to discolor wood.

Sticker
A ¾" to 1" wood strip that is inserted between stacks of green wood and spaced between 16" to 24" to allow air to flow through the stack to ensure proper drying..

Surfaced Lumber
A piece of wood that has been planed smooth on one or more surfaces.

Surfacing
The Way a piece of lumber has been prepared at the lumber mill.

Taper
A piece of wood that has been cut so that it is wider on one edge than the other.

Tongue and Groove
A joinery method where one board is cut with a protruding "groove" and matching piece is cut with matching grove along its edge.

Twist
Warping in lumber where the ends twist in opposite directions.

Veneer
A thin sheet of wood cut from a log.

Veneer-core Plywood
Plywood made from three or more pieces of veneer glued up in alternating-grain patterns.