Site Index
- Joke Page 1
- Joke Page 2
- Joke Page 3
- Joke Page 4
- Joke Archive
- Abbreviations
- Glossary
- Feed Back
- Test
- Ash
- Cherry
- Afrormosia
- Bass Wood
- Boxwood
- Blackwood
- Blackbean
- Bubinga
- Brazilwood
- Butternut
- Balsawood
- Beech
- Cedar
- Cocobolo
- Douglas Fir
- Elm
- Ebony
- European Plane
- Goncalo Alves
- Hard Maple
- Hemlock
- Hoop Pine
- Jarrah
- Kingwood
- Lignum Vitae
- Larch
- Lime
- Mahogany
- Norway Spruce
- Oak
- Obeche
- Parana Pine
- Padauk
- Pecan Hickory
- Purple Heart
- Ramin
- Red Alder
- Red Lauan
- Redwood
- Rimu
- Rosewood
- Rubber Wood
- Sequoia
- Silky Oak
- Sugar Pine
- Satinwood
- Sitka Spruce
- Soft Maple
- Sweet Chestnut
- Sycamore
- Teak
- Utile
- Walnut
- Yellow Birch
- Yellow Pine
- Yew
The Wonderful World of Wood:
Timber merchants have evolved their own jargon which is often abbreviated in catalogues and
price lists.
The following list gives the typical terminology
used in the timber trade.
Abbreviations and Definitions:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
A
Top
B
- BD FT:
- Board Foot.
Top
C
- CLR (Clear):
- Wood that is free from knots and other defects
- CLS:
- Canadian Lumbar Standard Relating to spruce, pine and fir
- Common:
- American hardwood grading term with four or five subdivisions
Top
D
Top
E
- EMC:
- Equilibrium moisture content. The moisture content a piece of timber will ultimately reach when exposed to a more or less constant level of temperature and humidity
Top
F
- FAS:
- First and seconds The best American grade for hardwood
- F1F:
- An American grade for hardwood with one FAS face and 1 No 1 common or better
- FR:
- Foot run. A term used in calculating the price (usually of softwood)
- FS:
- Fresh sawn Wood supplied newly cut from the log.
G
Top
H
- HG:
- Home grown.
Top
I
Top
J
Top
K
- KD:
- Kiln dried. Timber dried artificially to a lower moisture content and more quickly than can be achieved by air drying.
Top
L
Top
M
- MC:
- Moisture content. The proportion (by weight) of water present in the tissues of a piece of timber, given as a percentage of the oven dry weight.
Top
N
- Nominal dimensions:
- The standardized widths and thicknesses of timber when newly sawn from the log. Also used to refer to the various sections thereafter. The actual size will subsequently be reduced by shrinkage and bark.
Top
O
- O.S.E:
- One square edge. A board having one edge cut square, the other being left with sapwood and bark.
Top
P
- PAR:
- Planed all round. Wood that has had all sides planed after dimension sawing.
- PBS:
- Planed both sides.
- PER CUBE:
- A term used in pricing timber where the cost of a cubic foot is quoted
- PS:
- Part seasoned. Some dense woods are difficult to season and are sold as part seasoned with no guarantee as to the moisture content.
Top
Q
Top
R
Top
S
- SE:
- Squares Boards which are cut square on both edges.
- SELECTS:
- The second best American grade.
- SFM:
- Super feet measure. The surface area expressed in square feet.
- SPF:
- Spruce, Pine, Fir. These woods are grouped together because they have similar properties and are marketed as a single species.
Top
T
- T&G:
- Tongued and grooved. Having a tongue machined into one edge and a groove in the other.
- TT:
- Through and through. The process of cutting a log through its full length and width with parallel cuts, producing boards with sapwood and bark on both edges.
Top
U
Top
V
Top
W
- Wane:
- The untrimmed edge of a board showing sapwood and bark.
Top
X
Top
Y
Top
Z
Top
"Weekly Humour List"