Woodworking terms — glossary

Sawn wood in boards or planks of defined thickness and width. A core material for producing furniture parts.

A bio-composite building and furniture material manufactured from hemp fibres (or other annual plants such as flax) bonded with a binder. A rapidly renewable, carbon-sequestering alternative to traditional timber that can be machined with standard woodworking tools.

A panel made by gluing solid-wood strips edge-to-edge. Often used for tops and fronts thanks to dimensional stability.

A highly decorative, irregular grain figure valued for unique patterns. Used as a visual accent (often as veneer or selected solid elements).

A method of stacking lumber with spacer sticks between layers, allowing even air circulation and drying.

The process of reducing moisture content in wood to a level suitable for furniture making (typically 8–12%). Done by air-drying or kiln-drying.

Natural or acquired features that reduce the technical quality of timber: knots, cracks, spiral grain, blue stain, insect galleries, etc. They influence material grading and selection.

Wood from broadleaf trees (beech, maple, birch, oak, ash, walnut, etc.). Usually denser than softwood; many species are taste- and odour-neutral, so they suit kitchen accessories and food contact.

Wood from conifers (pine, spruce, fir). Often resinous with a “forest” scent — great for living-room and bedroom furniture, but unfinished softwood is a poor choice for storing food or for smoking meat.

A sticky substance produced by conifers. Gives softwood its characteristic smell and can migrate into food (butter, cheese) if the surface is unfinished. Also affects machining and finishing.

Species such as beech, maple, birch, poplar and bamboo that do not impart flavour to food and absorb ambient smells less readily — essential for cutting boards, spatulas and food containers.

A light, even hardwood often chosen for cutting boards thanks to its neutral taste. With false heartwood it may give off a slight vinegar note.

A hard, light hardwood with fine grain. Popular for cutting boards and worktops — smooth, durable and nearly odourless.

A light hardwood, relatively easy to work. Used for small kitchen items (e.g. ice-cream sticks) because of its neutral taste and smell.

A soft, pale hardwood with low aroma. Used in light components and some food-contact accessories.

A woody grass (not a tree) treated in furniture and kitchens as a hard, dense material with high taste neutrality — common for boards, utensils and tops.

A common softwood with a resinous, forest scent. Fine for living-room and bedroom furniture; without a suitable finish it is unsuitable for delicate food contact.

A light softwood similar in resin content to pine. Pleasant indoors; avoid in unfinished vessels and when smoking meat.

A hardwood valued for smoking — gives food a mild, appetising aroma and attractive colour. Also used for lighter furniture and decorative parts.

Wood (and twigs) with an intense, spicy aroma. A classic smoking additive; less common in furniture due to small stem size.

Darker colouration of the inner stem (especially in beech) without true heartwood formation. May be linked to a vinegar note in the wood’s smell and affects grading for furniture and accessories.

A fungus that can colonise softwood. Infected timber may smell of vanilla — a natural curiosity, not a desirable feature in furniture making.

Species used for curing aroma: fruitwoods, alder, juniper. Softwoods are avoided because resin spoils the taste. Choice of wood shapes colour and depth of flavour.

Oils safe for food contact (e.g. food-grade mineral oil and certain plant oils intended for this use). Regular oiling of boards and kitchen accessories reduces absorption of smells and moisture. Not the same as industrial oils or varnish.

A two-part kitchen or dining sideboard typical of Poland’s PRL period (mainly the 1960s–1980s): lower cabinets and drawers, upper section often with glazed doors (including fluted glass), softened edges, wood or metal handles. Mass-produced in Polish furniture factories of the era — usually particleboard, veneer or mixed materials, less often solid wood throughout. Today “kredens PRL” also names a style: new made-to-order pieces inspired by that form (e.g. solid oak), or restoration of originals — dismantling, repairing damage, replacing veneer or glass, sanding, fresh finish (hardwax oil, lacquer) and adapting dimensions to a modern kitchen. At Five Colors of Wood we build new sideboards in this style from solid wood and renovate existing units.

Furniture for storing and serving alcohol and glassware. Historically a fixed salon cabinet or low sideboard (pouring top, bottle shelves, sometimes a mirrored back). Earlier, drinks were also kept in credenzas — glazed upper doors for glasses, lower cabinets for bottles. Today a barek is often mobile (casters, lighter form, solid wood and steel), loft-style or made to measure. See our mobile loft bar.

A finishing element mounted on the inside of the window. It serves aesthetic and practical roles: it can be a shelf, it hides the window-to-wall joint, and it directs warm air from the radiator onto the glass (reducing condensation). At Five Colors of Wood we make them from solid wood to size — set dimensions, species and finish in the windowsill configurator.

An element mounted on the outside of the window whose main job is to drain rainwater away from the façade. It needs frost- and UV-resistant materials (coated steel, aluminium, stone, conglomerate), so — unlike the interior sill — it is rarely made of wood.

An interior sill made from a single wood species (e.g. oak, ash, walnut), oiled or stained. Unlike PVC, MDF or HPL laminate it shows natural grain, feels warm to the touch and can be renovated (sanded back and refinished). See the windowsill configurator.

The part of the sill that projects beyond the wall face. For an interior sill a typical projection is about 3–5 cm — it gives a handy shelf, but too large an overhang above a radiator restricts warm-air flow along the glass.

The finished, forward edge of the sill. On a wooden windowsill we profile it with a router bit — a roundover or a chamfer. Set the edge radius and corner rounding in the configurator.

The vertical or horizontal wall surface around the window opening. The sides of an interior sill are set into the reveals, so the sill sits firmly and tightly with no visible gaps at the wall.

Caps (plastic or metal) that hide the cut side of the sill and protect the plaster — used mainly on PVC sills. On a wooden windowsill the sides are finished differently: cut to size, then sanded and oiled.

An extruded-polystyrene (XPS) profile fitted under the window frame at the masonry joint. It forms an insulation layer between the window and the sill, reducing thermal bridges and the risk of condensation under the window.

A spot of reduced thermal insulation where heat escapes from the interior (e.g. a poorly seated sill under the window). It results in a cold surface and a risk of condensation and mould.

PU foam used to seat and seal the sill under the window frame. It fills the gap, dampens sound and adds thermal insulation. Once cured, the excess is trimmed and hidden by the finish.

A flexible sealant to finish the joint between the sill, the window frame and the wall. The neutral (non-acetic) type does not discolour wood or stone and has no sour smell — which is why it is recommended for wooden sills.

Elements of a warm window installation. The vapour-barrier tape seals the joint on the interior side, while the vapour-permeable tape does so on the exterior — together they protect the window-and-sill joint from moisture while still letting vapour escape outward.

A well-chosen interior sill does not fully cover the radiator, so warm air washes over the glass. This limits condensation on the window and the growth of mould. For a deep sill, consider vent grilles or the right projection.

A property of the material and finish that limits fading and colour change under sunlight. For a wooden windowsill on the sunny side, choose a finish with a UV filter to keep the wood colour longer.

EU Deforestation Regulation — requires due diligence from operators placing timber and wood products on the EU market, including geolocation of the harvest source.

A general term for techniques of joining wooden parts with minimal or no metal fasteners. Examples: mortise-and-tenon, dovetail, finger joint, tongue-and-groove.

A traditional woodworking joint known for strength and a distinctive interlocking shape, commonly used in drawers.

A circular saw with an arm that slides over the workpiece. Used for crosscuts, mitre cuts and compound angles.

A stationary circular saw with the blade mounted below a flat table. A versatile machine for rip and crosscuts.

A table saw fitted with a sliding carriage for precise crosscutting of large panels and long stock.

A precision table saw with a scoring blade and a large sliding table, designed for cutting sheet goods and large panels. A standard in professional shops.

A handheld circular saw with a plunge mechanism, used with a guide rail for precise, repeatable cuts on panels and countertops.

A machine for flattening one face and one edge of a board. The first step in preparing rough lumber for further processing.

A machine that planes boards to a uniform thickness, working the face opposite to the one flattened on the jointer.

A machine combining the jointer and thicknesser in one unit. Popular in smaller shops where space is limited.

A multi-function woodworking machine (sawing, planing, moulding, drilling) in a single unit. A space-saving solution for small workshops.

A handheld or table-mounted router with the spindle pointing downward. Used for profiles, grooves, roundovers and joints.

A stationary machine with the spindle mounted below the table. The cutter protrudes above the surface for edge profiling and moulding against a fence.

A machine with a horizontally oriented spindle for drilling dowel holes, hinge cups and hardware bores.

A machine for cutting square or rectangular mortises in wood (e.g. for tenons). Enables fast, repeatable joints.

A template-guided copy router for repeatable production of woodworking joints (tenons, mortises, dovetails) with high precision.

A hand tool for smoothing and flattening wood surfaces by shaving thin layers. An essential piece of traditional woodworking kit.

A hand cutting tool with a sharp blade used for carving, chopping mortises and paring wooden parts.

A device for clamping and holding parts during glue-ups, assembly or machining. Comes in many types: screw, one-handed, parallel, corner.

A machine for pressing panels (veneering, laminating or multi-layer glue-ups) under pressure and heat.

An industrial sander where the workpiece travels on a conveyor belt for uniform, high-volume sanding.

A sander with a rotating abrasive drum for surface sanding — often used to calibrate panel thickness.

A handheld sander whose round pad moves both orbitally and rotationally, giving a smooth finish with no visible swirl marks.

A stationary sander with a wide abrasive belt for sanding large flat surfaces (tops, panels).

A stationary sander with a long abrasive belt stretched between rollers. Versatile — for edges, profiles and flat surfaces.

An abrasive material available in various grits (from coarse P40 to very fine P600+) for sanding wood by hand or machine.

A finish combining oils and waxes: enhances grain, feels natural to the touch, and can often be refreshed locally.

A classic finish based on shellac, valued for depth and a refined look. Requires appropriate care and compatible cleaning products.

An enclosed, ventilated and filtered workspace for applying lacquers, oils and stains under controlled conditions. Ensures finish quality and worker safety.