| Term |
Description |
| Plate |
A horizontal framing member laid flat. |
| 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. |
| Plumb |
Straight up and down, perfectly vertical. |
| Plunge Router |
A router mounted on a spring loaded base. The router can be turned on and plunged down into the workpiece. |
| Ply |
One layer of a laminated sheet. |
| Plywood |
An assembled product made up of veneers of timber glued together so that the grain of alternate layers is at right angles. |
| Plywood |
Sheets of wood consisting of three or more sheets of wood glued and bonded by heat and pressure with the grain of each sheet running perpendicular to adjacent layers. |
| Pocket |
A patch of bark or gum (kino) completely or partially enclosed in the wood. |
| Pole |
A round timber column. |
| Poly under top tier (PUTT) |
A way of giving some protection to unitized lumber by the insertion of a piece of plastic between the next to top and top tiers. |
| Porous Wood |
Wood with larger than normal pores and vessels |
| portal frame |
A planar frame where the lateral and bending forces are transferred by moment resisting connections from the portal rafters to the columns. |
| Post and beam structure |
A structural frame with repetitive columns and beams. |
| Precision end trimmed (PET) |
Lumber trimmed smooth on both ends and varying no more than 1/16� in no more than 20% of the pieces. |
| Precision end trimmed (PET) |
Lumber trimmed smooth on both ends and varying no more than 1/16″ in nor more than 20% of the pieces. May be a condition of sale. |
| Preservative |
Any substance that is effective in preventing , for a reasonable period of time, the development and action of fungi, borer and insect attack in wood. |
| Preservative |
Any substance which can be introduced into wood to prevent the development or action of decay or deterioration by insects and other organisms for a reasonable length of time. |
| Pressure� |
treated lumber Lumber that has been saturated with chemicals to prevent rot or decay caused by living organisms. |
| Price at the time of shipment (PTS) |
an order committed to by both the buyer and seller, but not having a firm price until it is ready for shipment. |
| Primary Wood Products |
Include logs, softwood lumber, hardwood lumber, plywood, oriented strand board (OSB), medium-density fiberboard (MDF) and particle board. |
| Procurement forester |
A forester employed by and accountable to a sawmill or paper mill and who is responsible for providing a continuous supply of logs for his/her employer. Also referred to as industrial foresters, they purchase trees on the stump or at the landing from landowners or loggers. |
| Proportional Limit |
Refers to the maximum load that marks the limit beyond which there is no more direct proportionality between applied load and deformation produced, during mechanical testing of a material. |
| Pruning |
Pruning of lower dead branches leads to an almost immediate improvement in the quality of wood produced. After several years new wood will cover the severed branch stubs and the subsequently produced wood will be knot-free. This treatment has no effect upon tree growth. Pruning can significantly improve the quality of saw and veneer logs. For maximum effectiveness pruning should be concentrated on lower portions of larger trees which will not be harvested for some 30 to 40 years following treatment. Heavy pruning which removes a substantial portion (i.E., More than one-third) of the green crown should be avoided. |
| Pulp logs |
Logs of lesser value (smaller in diameter with acceptable defects) than sawlogs, of greater value than cordwood. Pulp logs are usually bought by the ton to be debarked, reduced to chips, and used to manufacture pulp and paper. |
| 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. |
| Pumice � |
A fine abrasive powder that is made from volcanic ash. Pumice is used with a a felt block in woodworking to rub out (polish) a finish. (Pumice is also the gritty additive in Lava soap.) |
| Purlin |
One of a series of horizontal framing timbers supporting the rafters or spanning between trusses or frames and supporting the roof. Purlins usually span at right angles to the slope of the roof |
| Push Stick |
A tool used to safely push a board through a table saw or other power tool. |
| Quarter cut |
A method of slicing veneers whereby the average inclination of the growth rings to the wide face is greater than 45 degrees. |
| Quarter sawn timber |
Timber in which the average inclination of the growth rings to the wide face is not less than 45 degrees. |
| 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 plain-sawn. |
| Quarter-sawn |
Wood that has been sawed so that the wide surfaces extend approximately at right angles to the annual growth rings. Same as edge-grained lumber. |
| Queen Anne |
A style of furniture that was first made popular in England during the rule of Queen Ann. It was used almost exclusively by early colonial cabinetmakers. The Cabriole Leg is one of the primary characteristics of the Queen Ann style. |
| Rabbet |
A cut partway through the edge of a board that is used as a part of a joint. |
| Radial |
Coincident with a radius from the axis of the tree or log to the circumference. |
| Radial Shrinkage |
Shrinkage in a piece of lumber that occurs across the growth rings as it begins to dry. |
| Radially sawn |
timber sawn on the radius from the central axis of the tree or log to the circumference, perpendicular to the growth rings. The resulting pieces are generally triangular in shape. |
| Rafter |
One of a series of roof support timbers that provide principal support for the roofing material. Rafters usually span parallel to the slope of the roof. |
| Rail |
(1) A horizontal board that runs along the underside of a table. (2) The horizontal part of a raised panel door. |
| Raised Grain |
A roughened condition of the surface of dressed lumber in which the hard latewood is raised above the softer earlywood but not torn loose from it. |
| Raised Panel |
A piece of wood that is the center of a frame and panel assembly. |
| Random lengths |
A lumber tally containing various lengths. |
| Ray |
A ribbon like figure caused by the strands of cells which extend across the grain in quarter sawn lumber. |
| Rays |
A ribbon-like arrangement of cells, usually oriented in the radial direction. |
| Reaction Wood |
Abnormal wood formed in a leaning tree, often characterized by a dense hard brittle grain and propensity to react irregularly to seasonal moisture changes. In hardwood trees, it forms on the upper side of the lean and is called tension wood. In softwood trees it forms on the lower side of the lean and is called compression wood. |
| Reaction wood |
Reaction wood is wood formed in trees where the main stem is tipped from the vertical. It also often forms following the deflection of a lateral stem (branch) from its normal orientation. Reaction wood formed in hardwoods differs from that formed in softwoods. In softwoods, reaction wood is called compression wood; reaction wood in hardwoods is called tension wood. Both compression wood and tension wood are lower in quality than normal mature wood. As with juvenile wood, reaction wood is viewed as least desirable in lumber and in other products in which wood is used in solid form. |
| Reaction Wood |
Wood with more or less distinctive anatomical charateristics, usually formed in parts of leaning or crooked stems and in branches. It is referred to as tension wood in hardwoods and compression wood in softwoods. |
| Recessing and Routing |
The ease or difficulty with which a timber can be slotted, rebated or routed. |
| Reconditioning treatment |
A high temperature/high relative humidity (100%) treatment applied after drying to restore the shape of collapsed or distorted wood. |
| Reforestation |
The natural or artificial restocking of an area with forest trees. |
| Refractory |
In timber drying this term is used to indicate high resistance to moisture loss during drying. |
| Refractory Wood |
Wood that is difficult to dry, impregnate with preservatives, machine, or to process or manufacture through conventional methods. |
| Relative humidity |
At a given temperature, this is the amount of moisture in air as a percentage of the maximum moisture carrying capacity of the air, i.E. The water vapour pressure as a percentage of the saturated water vapour pressure. |
| Relative Humidity |
Ratio of the amount of water vapor present in the air to that which the air would hold at saturation at the same temperature. |
| Resawing |
The process of sawing lumber in two lengthwise, parallel to the wide face. It is usually, though not always, done through the middle of the board, producing two equal sized boards, each approximately half the thickness of the original. Resawing changes the thickness of the lumber but not its width. Also see Ripping. |
| Resin |
Inflammable, water-soluble, vegetable substances secreted by certain plants or trees, and which characterize the wood of many conifers. |
| Resin Ducts |
Tubular, intercellular spaces which contain and transmit resinous material. |
| Resistance to Impregnation or Treatability |
The natural resistance of wood to attack by fungi and insects can sometimes be improved from low to average, or even better through preservative treatment. Extent of improvement is dependent upon the treatability or the ability of the wood to absorb and retain suitable preservatives in adequate amounts. Treatability varies significantly between species and between sapwood and heartwood of the same species. Classifications usually refer to the heartwood only and should be applied with caution since methods of determining treatability are not standardized. |
| Resorcinol glue |
An adhesive made from resorcinol resin and formaldehyde. |
| Reveal |
The surface left exposed when one board is fastened over another; the edge of the upper set slightly back from the edge of the lower. |
| Ribbon figure |
A striped figure produced by cutting timber that has an interlocked grain. Also called striped figure. |
| Ridge |
The highest part of the roof at the meeting of the upper ends of the common rafters. |
| Rip |
To cut along the grain. |
| Riparian |
Related to or living or or located on the bank of natural watercourse, such as a stream or river or lake or tidewater. |
| Ripcut (Ripping) |
A cut made parallel to the grain of a board. See – Crosscut (crosscutting) |
| Ripped and bundled |
A remanufacturing process in which lumber is ripped and then minor bundled. |
| Ripping |
the process of cutting lumber in two, perpendicular to its wide face. For example, making a 2×12 into two pieces of 2×6. |
| Ripping |
The process of sawing lumber in two lengthwise perpendicular to the wide face. Ripping changes the width of the lumber but not its thickness. Also see Resawing. |
| Roof batten |
Small timbers fixed to the top of rafters to which the roofing material is secured. |
| Ropey figure |
Markings in the form of a twisted rope. |
| Rotary-cut veneer |
Veneer cut in a lathe which rotates a log chucked in the centre against a knife. This method of peeling is used to produce decorative veneers and is a common method of manufacturing veneers for plywood. |
| 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. |
| Rotation age |
The period of years required to establish and grow a timbercrop to a specified condition of maturity. The intended age of harvest of mature trees. Long rotations mostly affect those features that are desirable in lumber and in structural and non-structural products made largely of wood in solid form. Harvest age has less impact on the usefulness of wood for use in paper and fiber products and in products in which wood is reduced to small pieces prior to manufacture. |
| Rough sawn |
Surface condition of wood as it leaves the saw, i.E. Not dressed or final sawn. |
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