A symmetrical moulding used to cover the gap where a pair of doors meet.
Cabinet Maker
A craftsmen who makes cabinet furniture in a workshop and onsite. Working principally in wood but may also use other materials including: metal, glass, plastics and ceramic. There are further specialisations e.g. Chair and table makers.
Carcase
The body of a piece of cabinet furniture comprising; base, top ends and back.
Carpenter
A woodworker who works as part of a team constructing and fitting out buildings.
Cornice
A feature moulding that defines the top of a cabinet.
Dovetail
An historic woodworker’s joint comprising ‘pins & tails’. Possessing a high tensile strength once glued the joint requires no mechanical fasteners.
Entablature
An architectural term describing a frieze carved into or applied with carvings.
Frame & Panel
An historic method of construction used by cabinet makers and joiners to allow solid wood panels in frameworks to shrink and expand without splitting. The panels became decorative by moulding and carving e.g. fielding and linen-fold panelling.
Figure
The way a log is sawn into boards causes different patterns of vessels to be displayed. Curl, crown cut and quarter-sawn are terms used to describe figuring.
Frieze
A wide horizontal section below the cornice, often made of figured decorative wood.
Grain
The micro-structure of wood resembles a bunch of drinking straws called vessels. The length of the vessels is the grain direction. Wood is 20 times stronger along the grain than across.
Hardwoods
Have more complex structures and slower growing than softwoods. Timber from deciduous trees, that lose their leaves in winter.
Indentation hardness varies widely e.g. soft balsa wood is classified a hardwood.
Heartwood
The inner core of the tree generally darker, harder and stronger than the sapwood.
Joiner
A craftsman woodworker who typically makes doors, windows and staircases in a workshop.
Laminating
Gluing multiple veneers of wood of wood together to form very strong and stable furniture components.
Mortice & Tenon
A key woodworking joint:
Mortice: A slot cut into one piece (French literally means the grave). Into which is fitted the Tenon: A matching shaped protrusion cut into the second piece (Tenir to hold).
Panel products
A wide ever-evolving range of Man-made boards developed to reconstruct wood into stable strong and convenient size panels. Plywood, MDF and chipboard re the most commonly used.
Plinth
The plain or moulded bottom parts of a cabinet, jutting out or set under the carcase.
Pilaster
Vertical members fitted to a cabinet to add rigidity and/or a decorative feature.
Sapwood
An outer layer surrounding the heartwood generally lighter in weight, colour and durability. Sapwood of oak and walnut are prone to woodworm.
Softwoods
Are faster growing and simpler structures than hardwoods. Indentation hardness varies widely e.g. a dense hard timber yew is classified a softwood.
Solid wood
Real woods like oak, ash, elm and pine that have naturally grown on trees unlike but often used with panel products, which are man-made re-constructions.
Steam Bending:
Heating wood in a steam chamber to cause the fibres to allow wood to be bent without breaking, usually around a shaped former.
Steam bent wood is stronger than cutting curves out of boards where ‘short grain’ forms weak points.
Texture:
The size of vessels varies in each species of timber: Ash and oak have bands of large vessels forming a coarse texture. Maple has tiny vessels forming a fine texture.
Vessels
The fundamental structure of hardwoods: Tubes that grow into annular tree growth rings, sized according to the seasons and climatic conditions. Vessels shrink and expand according to changes in relative humidity (hygroscopic) informing the basis of all furniture design and development of panel products.
