WOOD PROCUCTS GLOSSAY

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Absolute: A measure having as its zero point or base the complete absence of the entity being
measured.
Absolute pressure: The pressure above zero absolute, i.e., the sum of atmospheric and gauge
pressure. In vacuum related work it is usually expressed in millimeters, or inches, of mercury.
Acceptance sampling: A statistical quality control method that seeks to determine the quality
of a product by sampling a small portion of it. It does not assure that 100 percent of the product
is acceptable, but reduces the likelihood of acceptance of a defective product.
Accumulator: A container in which fluid (generally nitrogen) is stored under pressure as a
source of fluid power.
Acre (a): A unit of area used in English-speaking countries, equal to 4,840 square yards (0.405
hectares).
View: Metric / Imperial Conversion
Across the grain: The direction at right angles to the length of the fibres and other longitudinal
elements of the wood.
Active falling area: The area within two tree-length radius of where a faller or a mechanized
falling machine is operating.
Actuator: A device for converting pneumatic or hydraulic energy into mechanical energy. A
motor or cylinder.
Adhesive: A substance capable of holding materials together by surface attachment. It is a
general term and includes cements, mucilage, and paste, as well as glue.
Adult wood: Wood which characteristically has relatively constant cell size, well-developed
structural patterns, and stable physical behaviour; also called Mature wood.
Adverse (grade): Ascending grade in the direction of travel.
Aeration: Air in the hydraulic fluid. Excessive aeration causes the fluid to appear milky and
components to operate erratically because of the compressibility of the air trapped in the fluid.
Aerial logging: A logging system which fully suspends the logs such as done by helicopters or
balloons. Not to be confused with cable systems which use cables and supports.
Age class: Any interval into which the age range of trees, forests, stands or forest types is
divided for classification and use. Forest inventories commonly group trees into 20-year age
class groups.
Air velocity: The speed of airflow through the stickers, crossouts, and around the lumber
expressed in feet per minute (fpm) or metres per second (mps).
Air-dried: Lumber that was dried by exposure to air in a yard or shed, without artificial heat.
Airflow: The pattern of air movement within a dry kiln. This pattern varies with kiln design,
loading methods, and level of maintenance and operation.
Allowable annual cut (AAC): The volume of timber that may be harvested annually from a
specific timber tenure.

Allowable cut: The amount of wood that can be removed from a landowner's property during a
certain time span, without exceeding the net growth during that same time on the property
Along the grain: The direction parallel with the length of the fibres and other longitudinal
elements of the wood.
Alternate top bevel: A design for a circular saw blade where teeth are alternately beveled.
American Lumber Standards: Provisions for softwood lumber dealing with recognized
classification, nomenclature, basic grades, sizes, descriptions, measurements, tally shipping,
provisions, grade marking, and inspection of lumber. The primary purpose of these standards is
to serve as a guide in preparing or revising grading rules of the various lumber manufacturers'
associations. A purchaser must, however, make use of association rules because the basic
standards are not in themselves commercial rules.
Amplifier
A device for amplifying the error signal sufficiently to cause actuation of the stroke
control. Several types of servo amplifiers are used at the present time: electronic (DC, AC,
phase sensitive, and magnetic) and mechanical.
Amplitude of sound
The loudness of a sound.
Analog
A continuous range of numbers or values.
Anisotropic
Exhibiting different properties when measured along different axes. In general, fibrous
materials such as wood are anisotropic.
Annual growth
Layer of wood developed by a tree during a given year; same as annual or seasonal
increment.
Annual growth rings
The layer of growth that a tree puts on in one year. The annual growth rings can be
seen in the end grain of lumber.
Annular area
A ring shaped area - often refers to the net effective area of the rod side of a cylinder
piston, i.e., the piston area minus the cross-sectional area of the rod.
Anti-sap stain
A wood treatment used to prevent fungus from staining the wood.
Anvil (swage)
The fixed jaw in a swaging device that supports the back of the tooth while the die or
roller presses against the front of the tooth.
Appearance grades
High-line regular board and dimension grades that include tighter restrictions on certain
appearance characteristics, particularly wane.
Arbor
The shaft on which a circular saw blade or chip head is mounted.
Atmospheric pressure
Pressure exerted by the atmosphere at any specific location. (Sea level pressure is
approximately 14.7 pounds per square inch absolute.)

Autoclave
Cylindrical vessel in which wood is impregnated with a preservative under high
pressure. Used to treat lumber, roundwood posts and poles or any other wood based product
which must be protected from rot or insect attack.
View: Post/Pole Treatment Autoclave
Axial force
A push (compression) or pull (tension) acting along the length of a member, expressed
in kilonewtons (pounds).
Axial stress
The axial force acting at a point along the length of a member divided by the crosssectional area of a member, expressed in kilopascals (pounds per square inch).
Back clearance
The angle between the back of a tooth and a tangent of the circumference or cutting
circle. Same as Clearance angle.
Back connected
A condition where pipe connections are on normally unexposed surfaces of hydraulic
equipment. (Gasket mounted units are back connected.)
Back pressure
A pressure in series. Usually refers to pressure existing on the discharge side of a load.
It adds to the pressure required to move the load.
Backcut
The final cut in felling a tree by hand, made on the side opposite the intended direction
of fall, after the undercut.
Backhaul
A delivery by tractor-trailer originates from where the trailer is loaded, the load is
delivered to a destination, then the trucker returns home. If the return is also a paying load to be
delivered to the vicinity of the trucker's home, that load is called a backhaul. If the trucker
returns home empty, that run is called a "deadhead".
Backing veneer
The layer of veneer used on the reverse side of a piece of plywood from the face or
decorative side.
Backrest
A wood bench opposite the tensioner, used to support a circular saw when checking
tension.
Baffle
1. A barrier in a dry kiln used to deflect and control airflow through the lumber.
2. A device, usually a plate, installed in a reservoir to separate the pump inlet from return lines.
Baffle, end
A hinged baffle in a dry kiln that closes the gap at the end of the lumber next to the
doors.
Baffle, floor
A hinged or stationary baffle in a dry kiln that closes the gap at the bottom of the lumber
unit, preventing air from escaping under the load.
Baffle, overhead
A hinged baffle in a dry kiln that closes the gap between the overhead fan deck and the
top of the lumber load.

Baghouse dust collector

An air pollution control device that captures particulate in filter bags.
View: Baghouse Examples
Band saw
A saw made from steel, butt welded into an endless belt or band with teeth on one or
both edges arranged to cut sequentially.
Band sawmill: An evolution in sawmill technology that uses a thinner band saw blade (less kerf
therefore less sawdust waste) than a circular saw. A bandsaw can also have teeth on both sides
that allows cuts to be made in two directions instead of just one, improving efficiency and
productivity.
Bar or blade
That part of the chainsaw upon which the cutting chain moves.
Barberchair
A vertical split in a tree, generally caused by an insufficient undercut or by neglecting to
cut the sapwood on both sides of a heavy leaning tree before felling. Results in a stump which
looks like a high-backed chair. Very dangerous to the faller.
Bark
The outermost, protective layer, of a tree.
Bark pocket
A small area of bark around which normal wood has grown; an opening between annual
growth rings that contains bark. Bark pockets appear as dark streaks on radial surfaces and as
rounded areas on tangential surfaces.
View: Bark Pocket
Barn poles
Roundwood used for highway sign posts.
Barrier wrap
Treated or untreated roundwood encased in a wrap for wood protection. Also keeps
wood treatments from leaching into the surroundings.
View: Barrier Wrap Examples
Basal area
Cross sectional area of a tree, in square feet, measured at breast height. Used as a
method of measuring the volume of timber in a given stand.
Base of tree
That portion of a natural tree not more than three feet above ground level.
Basis weight
1. The weight, in pounds, of a ream (500 sheets) of paper cut to a given standard size
for that
particular paper grade.
2. For linerboard and corrugating medium, the weight of the paper per 1,000 sq. ft.
Baud rate
The speed at which data is transmitted and received over serial communication lines.
The equipment on both sides of the communications line must be set up to send and receive
data at the same rate.
BCTMP
Bleached chemi-thermomechanical pulp.
Bearings

A part on which the arbor, pivot, pin, or the like, turns or revolves.
Beehive burner
A wood waste incinerator.
Belt
Part of the conveyor on which pieces of wood are displaced.
Bending strength
A measure of the resistance of wood to an applied bending stress which is a
combination of three primary stresses, i.e., compressive, tensile, and shear stresses.
Bevel cut
An angled cut through a board.
Big box stores
Large, warehouse-type lumber and building material stores catering to do-it-yourself
(DIY) shoppers. Home Depot and Lowes are examples.
Bight
A work area made hazardous by a line or equipment under tension.
Biodegradable
Something that breaks down to its component parts in the environment.
Biomass
The quantity of biological matter of one or more species present on a unit area. With
respect to trees, biomass can be expressed in terms of various components (wood, bark,
foliage, roots, etc.) of all trees on a unit area or of a single tree; biomass quantities of trees are
commonly expressed on an oven-dry weight basis.
Biomass boiler
Biomass boilers burn bark, sander dust and other wood-related scrap not usable in
product production. Also called "hogged fuel" boilers, biomass boilers make steam and heat for
mill use.
Bit
The smallest unit of memory in a computer. A bit is a single digit and can only have the
values 0 or 1. Bits are combined into words of memory.
Bite (feed per tooth)
The depth of cut per tooth, inch. In general, the formula is: bite = distance between
teeth (in inches) times feed speed (in feet per minute) divided by saw velocity (in feet per
minute). More simply it is the distance the log or cant advances into the saw between
successive teeth.
View: Bandmill Formula, Gang Edger Formula, Quad Sawbox Formula
Bleaching, pulp
The process of removing residual lignin from pulp to improve the brightness and
strength.
Bleed-off
To divert a specific controllable portion of hydraulic pump delivery directly to reservoir.
Blow down
Tree or trees felled by wind. Also known as Windfall.
Blue stain

A bluish or dim-grayish discoloration of the sapwood caused by the growth of certain

dark-colored fungi on the surface and in the interior of the wood, made possible by the same
conditions that favor the growth of other fungi. Also known as Sap stain or Sapwood stain.
View: Blue Stain
Board: Lumber that is nominally less than two inches thick and two inches or more wide.
Board edger:
Machine centre for removing the wane from the sides of flitches.
View: Board Edger Examples

Functional Description:
Board edgers are used to process flitches into nominal sized boards. The flitches are
scanned and optimized for the highest value. The flitch os processed through the edger
producing boards and tailings (edgings). At the outfeed of the edger the tailings are
diverted to a chipper In the case of a chipping edger, the wane is chipped off in the
edging process and there are no tailings to handle.
On a transverse board edger the flitch is scanned transversely and the flitch is then
positioned to the saws in the infeed with fetchers or board positioners. With a lineal, or
linear board edger the flitch is stabilized on a belt or chain and scanned lenealy as it is
transported to the edger. The saws position to the cut line and angle and slew as the
flitch passes through the sawbox.
Feedrolls and bed chains, along with overhead press rolls, control the flitch through the
edger. Saws mounted on the arbor position to edge the flitches. The tailing on a saw
edger is done with picker fingers or shifting belts.
English Terminology: board edger, edgers, lineal, linear, transverse, saw, chip, chipping,
flitch, flitches, lumber, boards, timber, sawmill, planer mill, plywood plant, oriented
strand board, medium density fibre board, wet mill, dry mill
French Terminology: dligneuse, bordures, en ligne directe, linaire, transversale, scie,
copeaux, copeaux, dosse, frises, bois, panneaux, bois, scierie, rabotage, usine de
contreplaqu, panneaux copeaux orients, panneaux de fibres de moyenne densit,
mouture humide, mouture sec
German Terminology: Brett Edger, Kantenschneider, direkte, lineare, Quer, Sge-, Chip,
Chipping, Flitch, Schwarten, Bauholz, Bretter, Holz, Sgewerk, Hobelwerk, Sperrholz,
Pflanze, OSB, mitteldichte Faserplatte, Zerkleinerer, trocken,
Spanish Terminology: canteadora, bordeadoras, lineal, lineal, de corte transversal,
sierra, viruta, astillas, costero, adosados, madera aserrada, tableros, madera, aserraderos,
fbrica de cepillo, planta de madera contrachapada, tableros de fibra orientada, tablero
de fibra de densidad media, beneficio hmedo, beneficio seco
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Board foot
A unit of measurement of lumber represented by a board 1 foot long, 12 inches wide,
and 1 inch thick or its metric equivalent. In practice, the board foot calculation for lumber 1 inch
or more in thickness is based on its nominal thickness and width and the actual length. Lumber
with a nominal thickness of less than 1 inch is calculated as 1 inch.

View: Board Foot

Boiler
Steam generation equipment.
Bolt
A short section of a tree trunk. In veneer production, a short log of a length suitable for
peeling in a lathe.
Bolt circle
A circle scribed around the arbor hole of a circle saw which has one or more holes laid
out to receive bolts.
Bond strength
The unit load applied in tension, compression, flexure, cleavage, or shear, required to
break an adhesive assembly, with failure occurring in or near the plane of the bond.
Bone-dry ton (BDT)
Material that weighs 2,000 pounds at zero percent moisture content. Also known as an
Ovendry ton or Bone Dry Metric Ton.
Bone-dry unit (BDU)
A quantity of wood residue that would weigh 2,400 pounds at zero percent moisture
content.
Boom
A raft of logs or a string of logs chained together, end to end, used to hold floating logs.
A means of log storage or transportation.
Boomboat
Any boat used to push or pull logs, boom, bundles, or bags, in booming ground
operations.
Bound moisture
Moisture which is closely bound to the cell wall constituents of wood.
Bound water
Water that is bound within the cell wall of wood. Water held in wood below the fiber
saturation point. Bound water moves by diffusion.
Bow
A lumber defect referring to deviation from a straight line drawn end to end along the
wide face of a piece of lumber. See also Warp.
View: Bow
Braze
As in welding, a method of adhering or soldering carbide or other hard metal teeth
inserts, or joining pieces of metal.
Breather
A device which permits air to move in and out of a container or component to maintain
atmospheric pressure.
British thermal unit (Btu)
The quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one
degree Fahrenheit.
View: Metric / Imperial Conversion
Broad-leaved trees

Trees which shed their leaves in the autumn. Most broadleaved or deciduous trees are
hardwoods and have broad leaves.
Brow log
A log or a suitable substitute placed parallel to any roadway at a landing or dump to
protect the carrier and facilitate the safe loading or unloading of logs, timber products, or
materials.
Brown rot
Any decay in wood in which the attack is confined to the cellulose and associated
carbohydrates rather than the lignin, producing a light to dark brown friable residue - hence the
term "dry rot". An advanced stage of brown rot where the wood splits along rectangular planes,
in shrinking, is referred to as "cubical rot".
Buck
To saw felled trees into log lengths. Note: In some two person felling operations, one
member may fall the tree and the other may limb and buck it. The second person is often called
a "bucker". Usually the two members interchange the duties throughout the work day.
Bucking
Cross-cutting felled trees into logs or bolts.
Buckskin
A log or tree with the bark fallen off.
Building poles
Roundwood that is commonly used vertically as supports for structures.
Bulbs
General term referring to the drybulb and wetbulb sensors within a kiln.
Bulk density
Factor used to convert between solid wood equivalent of processed wood such as
chips, pulp, particleboard, and sawdust. The solid wood equivalent volume is considered to
have a bulk density factor of one.
Bunk
To place the empty trailer of a logging truck on the tractor unit's bunk for the trip back to
the landing.
Bunk support
The horizontal kiln truck supports on which the lumber is placed for drying.
Burl
A swirl or twist in the grain of wood, usually occurring near a knot, but which itself does
not contain a knot. Valued as the source of highly-figured burl veneers used for ornamental
purposes.
Butt
Bottom of a felled part of a tree; large end of a log.
Butt cut
The first cut above the stump of a tree.
Butt log
First log cut above the stump. Also known as Butt cut.
Butt rot
Decay or rot characteristically confined to the base or lower bole of a tree.

Cable logging
A yarding system employing winches and cables from a fixed position (usually a yarder
and tower of some sort).
Cable yarding
The movement of felled trees or logs from the area where they are felled to the landing
on a system composed of a cable suspended from spars and/or towers. The trees or logs may
be either dragged across the ground on the cable or carried while suspended from the cable.
Calender
To make the surface of paper smooth by pressing it between steel rollers during
manufacture.
Calibration
1. Adjusting the control or recording equipment to reflect the actual control or recording
temperatures.
2. Procedures that involve scanning an object of known size. Calibration is used to adjust
scanner readings for greater accuracy.
Calorific value
The potential heat-production value of a wood source. Depends on the cellulose-lignin
ratio, the percentage of extractives, and the moisture content.
Cambium
The layer of tissue dividing the bark from the wood, which forms new bark to the outside
and new wood to the inside as the tree grows.
Can velocity
The velocity of the gas in the passages between the filter units in the filter house of a
gas filter.
Canopy
The forest layer made up of the crowns of the tallest trees.
Cant
Piece of wood produced by a canter that requires further breakdown.
Canter
A machine that converts logs into a square, rectangular or two-sided cant for further
processing. Canters may be configured with conical disk heads or drum heads. They may
include double length or single length infeeds. Circular or band saw sections can be included to
produce side boards.
View: Canter Examples

Functional Description:
Canters are used to process logs, or blocks, into flitches, cants and boards. A canter
usually consists of a log turner, double or single length infeed, chipping section and a
saw section. The chipping heads can be conical disc or drum head style. The saws can
be circular or band saws.
With a single pass machine the log turner, infeed, chipping heads, saw section and gang
edger are all in one main machine. The log or block is optimized once and that
position / sawing solution is used for all axis of log turning, positioning, chipping and
sawing.
Flitches
and
boards
are
produced.
Double and single length infeed canter systems typically scan the log for optimum
rotation and rescan in the infeed after rotation. After turning and rescanning, the log is

skewed and / or tilted then slewed in the infeed as it is being fed to the chipping
section. These canters can be two sided canters or four sided canters and can be cant
only or produce side boards (flitches). With a four sided canter a bottom spline is
produced on the bottom of the cant to guide piece through the canter. At the canter
outfeed
the
spline
is
removed
with
a
spline
remover
head.
Sharp chain log reducers consist of a pipe log turner and sharp chain infeed. The log is
rotated and impaled onto the sharp chain. The sharp chain transports the log through the
chipping
heads
and
saws.
English Terminology: canter, canters, sharp chain, single pass, log turner, double length
infeed, single length infeeds, chipping section, conical disc head, drum heads, saw
section, separator outfeed, optimization, optimizer, optimizers, optimal, log, logs, block,
blocks, board, boards, lumber, flitches, cants, sawmill, wet mill
French Terminology: galop, galop, la chane affte, un seul passage, tourne-billes,
entre double longueur, infeeds seule longueur, la section caillage, la tte du disque
conique, peaux de tambour, vu l'article, le sparateur de sortie, l'optimisation,
l'optimiseur, optimisation, optimale, journal, journaux, bloc , blocs, conseil, conseils,
bois, frises, cabane, une scierie, moulin tanche
German Terminology: Galopp, Galopp, scharfe Kette, Single-Pass, Stammwender,
doppelter Lnge Einlauf, einzelne Lnge Einspeisungen, Chipping-Sektion
Kegelscheibensatz Kopf, Felle, sah Sektion Separator Auslauf, Optimierung,
Optimierer, Optimierer, optimale, log, Protokolle, Block , Blcke, Brett, Bretter,
Schnittholz, Schwarten, Schmierstoffe, Sgewerk, Namhle
Spanish Terminology: galope, galopes, cadena afilada, una sola pasada, tornero de
registro, de doble longitud alimentaciones de entrada, sola longitud, seccin de
astillado, la cabeza del disco cnico, cabezas de tambor, vio seccin, separador de
salida, optimizacin, optimizador, optimizadores, registro ptimo, troncos, bloques ,
bloques, tablero, tableros, madera, adosados, solicitantes, molino de aserradero, mojado
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Capillary action
The combination of solid-liquid adhesion and surface tension by which liquid moves
through a cellular structure.
Capping head
Equipment used to form a cap (chamfer) on the end of roundwood posts. Consists of a
rotating cutterhead. Also called doming/domer.
View: Capping Head Examples
Carbide
Tungsten carbide used for tooth inserts that are attached to the tooth face tip to provide
a hard wear surface.
Cardboard
A thin, stiff paperboard made of pressed paper pulp or sheets of paper pasted together.
Used for playing cards, greeting cards, etc. Corrugated containers are not made of cardboard.
Carriage

A frame on which are mounted the headblocks, setworks, and other mechanisms for
holding a log while it is being sawed, and also for advancing the log toward the saw line after a
cut has been made. The carriage frame is mounted on trucks which travel on tracks, the
carriage being actuated by a hydraulic piston, or motor and cable.
Cartridge
1. The replaceable element of a fluid filter.
2. The pumping unit from a vane pump, composed of the rotor, ring, vanes and one or both side
plates.
Casehardening
A condition of stress-and-set in dry wood in which the outer fibers are under
compressive stress and the inner fibers under tensile stress. The stresses persist after the
lumber is dry and cause warp if the wood is remachined after drying. See Reverse
casehardening.
Cat
Often short for Caterpillar tractor, or any other brand of bulldozer-type tractor. May refer
to a skidding tractor or a earthmoving bulldozer.
Cat face
Deformed tree trunk surface usually caused by fire, disease or rot.
Cat skinner
The person who operates a cat.
Cavitation
A localized gaseous condition within a liquid stream which occurs where the pressure is
reduced to the vapor pressure.
CCA
Copper Chrome Arsenate, a wood preservative.
Cell
General term for the minute units of wood structure including wood fibres, vessel
segments and other elements.
Cellulose
The carbohydrate that is the principal constituent of wood and forms the framework of
the wood cells.
Celsius (C)
The international temperature scale in which water freezes at 0 and boils at 100 under
normal atmospheric conditions. C = (F - 32) 1.8.
View: Metric / Imperial Conversion
Centimetre (cm)
A metric unit of length equal to one hundredth of a metre. 2.54 cm is equal to one inch.
View: Metric / Imperial Conversion
Centrifugal force
The force which impels a thing, or parts of a thing, outward from a center of rotation.
Chainsaw firewood processor
Equipment used to produce firewood as a business. Uses a chainsaw (often hydraulic
powered) to buck the logs into blocks.
Channel
A fluid passage, the length of which is large with respect to its cross-sectional
dimension.

Charge (supercharge)
1. To replenish a hydraulic system above atmospheric pressure.
2. To fill an accumulator with fluid under pressure. (See Precharge pressure)
Charge pressure
The pressure at which replenishing fluid is forced into the hydraulic system (above
atmospheric pressure).
Check
A splitting of the wood fibers within or on a log or lumber. Checks result from uneven
wood shrinkage.
View: Checks
Check valve
A valve which permits flow of fluid in one direction only.
Chemical pulp
The product of the reduction of wood or other fiber into component parts during cooking
with various chemical liquors in processes such as sulfate, sulfite, and soda pulping.
Chemically protected lumber
Lumber treated with anti-stain chemicals to protect it in transit.
Chemimechanical pulp (CMP)
A product made by pretreating chips with chemicals at a temperature usually below
100C, followed by atmospheric refining.
Chip
1. (n.) Small piece of wood used as fibre for the pulp process; the product of canter
chipper
heads and chippers. Chips are larger and coarser than sawdust.
2. (v.) To mechanically reduce logs or whole trees to small pieces for fuel, pulp, or chipboard
manufacture.
Chip load
The quantity of wood removed by an individual knife as it cuts on each pass.
Chipboard
A paperboard, thicker than cardboard, used for backing sheets on padded writing paper,
partitions within boxes, shoeboxes, etc.
Chipper
Device used to transform pieces of wood to chips.
View: Chipper Examples

Functional Description:
Chippers are used to process trees, stems, logs or blocks into wood chips for making
pulp and paper.
A chipper consists of a housing containing a rotating disc. Chipping knives, counter
knives and clamps are mounted to the chipper disc. As fibre is fed into the chipper it is
chipped to the length determined by the setting of the distance of the chipper knife to
the chipper disc face plate.
There are several types of chippers. Disc chipper, slant disc chipper and drum chippers
are the most common type. Drum chippers are primarily used for trim blocks while disc

chippers are used for whole log chipping and chipping of longer materials including
whole log chipping and edger tailings. Chippers can be horizontal feed or drop feed.
English Terminology: disc chippers, drum chipper, chipping knives, knife, stems, logs,
blocks, flitches, edger tailings, wood chips, sawmill, planer mill, plywood plant,
oriented strand board, medium density fibre board, pulp, paper, wet mill, dry mill
French Terminology: dchiqueteuses disque, dchiqueteuse tambour, l'effritement
des couteaux, des couteaux, des tiges, journaux, blocs, frises, des rsidus de dlignage,
copeaux de bois, scierie, rabotage, usine de contreplaqu, panneaux copeaux orients,
panneaux de fibres de densit moyenne, de ptes, papiers, mouture humide, sec moulin
German Terminology: Scheibenhacker, Trommelhacker, Hackmesser, Messer, Stengel,
Stmme, Blcke, Schwarten, edger Bergematerial, Holzspne, Sgewerk, Hobelwerk,
Sperrholz Pflanze, OSB, mitteldichte Faserplatte, Zellstoff, Papier, Zerkleinerer, trocken
Mhle
Spanish Terminology: trituradoras de disco, tambor de la astilladora, picar cuchillos, un
cuchillo, tallos, troncos, bloques, adosados, relaves bordeadora, astillas de madera,
aserraderos, fbrica de cepillo, planta de madera contrachapada, tableros de fibra
orientada, tablero de fibra de densidad media, pulpa, papel, beneficio hmedo y seco
molino
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Chipper canter: A headrig machine that reduces debarked logs directly to chips and cants
without producing sawdust.
Choke
A restriction, the length of which is large with respect to its cross-sectional dimension.
Choker
Short length of wire rope that forms a noose around the end of a log for hauling.
Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA)
The most commonly used chemical for pressure treating lumber.
Circuit
An arrangement of components interconnected to perform a specific function within a
system.
Circular headsaw
A circular plate having cutting teeth on the circumference and used to ripsaw logs.
Circular saw
A circular metal plate with teeth on the circumference that rotates on an arbor.
Circular saw firewood processor
Equipment used to produce firewood as a business. Uses a circular saw to buck the
logs into blocks.
Circular sawmill
The traditional sawmill uses a circular saw. Circular saws are thicker (larger kerf) than
band saws and produce more sawdust. Logs can be cut moving on the carriage in only one
direction, then the carriage returns and turns the log for the next cut.

Clear
Lumber or logs that are free or practically free of defects. First quality lumber or log.
Clear-cut
An area in which all of the trees have been or will be felled, bucked and skidded in one
operation. When all trees in a given area are felled.
Clearance angle
The angle between a tangent to the cutting circle of a tooth and a line along the top of
the tooth intersecting this tangent.
Climb cut
The circular saw blade rotates in the same direction as the material is fed during the
cutting process.
Climb sawing
See Climb cut.
Clipper loss
During the manufacture of veneer, the ribbon of veneer is cut to specific sizes by a
device called a clipper. Losses during this step occur because of unacceptable defects (knots,
rot, etc.) in the veneer, splits and breakage, or sizing.
Closed canopy
The description given to a stand when the crowns of the main level of trees forming the
canopy are touching and intermingled, and form a barrier to light penetrating the forest floor
from above.
Closed center circuit
One in which flow through the system is blocked in neutral and pressure is maintained
at the maximum pressure control setting.
Closed center valve
One in which all ports are blocked in the center or neutral position.
Closed loop
A system in which the output of one or more elements is compared to some other signal
to provide an actuating signal to control the output of the loop.
Co-gen operation
Refers to the production of usable steam and electricity using a particular kind of fuel
(for example, woodchips, oil, coal, hydro).
Cogeneration
The process of burning fuel to produce electricity and usable steam.
Coils
The radiant heating surface within steam or oil-heated kilns. The coils contain the
steam or oil and transfer its heat through the coil wall to heat the kiln air, producing condensate
in the process.
Coils, center
The steam or oil coils that are positioned between the kiln tracks. Also called Booster
coils.
Coils, overhead
The steam or oil coils positioned overhead at or on the fan deck.
Cold deck

A stack of logs left for later transportation (in the woods), or a deck of logs at the mill for
winter use.
Collapse
The flattening of single cells or rows of cells during the drying or pressure treatment of
wood. Often characterized by a caved-in or corrugated ("washboarded") appearance of the
wood surface.
Collar
A flange mounted on the saw arbor to support the blade on one or both sides. If the
collar is fixed to the arbor, it is called the fixed collar. If not, it is a loose collar.
Collarless saws
The saw floats on the arbor being keyed directly to the arbor itself.
Column
A free standing axially loaded compression member, usually vertical.
Combustion
Consumption by oxidation, evolving heat, and, generally, also flame and
incandescence.
Command signal (or input signal)
An external signal to which the servo must respond.
Commercial thinning
A silviculture treatment that "thins" out an overstocked stand by removing trees that are
large enough to be sold as products such as poles or fence posts. It is carried out to improve
the health and growth rate of the remaining crop trees. As compared to "juvenile spacing".
Compaction
Close packing of chips in a given volume of space in order to minimize the voids
between the individual chips.
Compensator control
A displacement control for variable pumps and motors which alters displacement in
response to pressure changes in the system as related to its adjusted pressure setting.
Composites
Built-up, bonded products consisting wholly of natural wood, or in combination with
metals, plastics, etc.
Compressibility
The change in volume of a unit volume of a fluid when it is subjected to a unit change in
pressure.
Compression failure
Deformation of the wood fibres resulting from excessive compression along the grain
either in direct end compression or in bending. In surfaced lumber, compression failures may
appear as fine wrinkles across the face of the piece.
Compression wood
Abnormal wood formed on the lower side of branches and inclined trunks of softwood
trees. Compression wood is identified by its relatively wide annual rings (usually eccentric when
viewed on cross section of branch or trunk), relatively large amount of summerwood, sometimes
more than 50% of the width of the annual rings in which it occurs, and its lack of demarcation
between earlywood and latewood in the same annual rings. Compression wood shrinks
excessively lengthwise, as compared with normal wood.
View: Compression Wood

Computer simulations
Computer software that models actions or occurrences in the real world.
Condensate
Water formed by removing heat from steam within the kiln heating coils.
Conditioning
A process for relieving the stresses present in wood at the end of drying.
Conditioning treatment
A treatment applied to equilibrate the moisture content of wood to a particular value.
Conifer
Tree that is a gymnosperm, usually Evergreen, with cones and needle-shaped or
scalelike leaves, producing wood known commercially as softwood.
Coniferous
A type of tree which is cone-bearing and has needles or scale-like leaves, such as Pine
and Spruce.
Containerboard
The components (linerboard, corrugating medium and chipboard) used to manufacture
corrugated and solid fiberboard.
Control
A device used to regulate the function of a unit (See Hydraulic control, Manual control,
Mechanical control, and Compensator control).
Control console
Fabricated metal cabinet housing buttons and switches for the control of a machine
center.
Control valve
A device that controls the flow of liquids or gases.
Conventional cut
The circular saw rotates in a direction counter or opposite to the direction of the feed.
Also called Counter sawing.
Conveyor
Wood transport system (logs, lumbers, chips, etc.).
Cord
Stacks of wood 4' high by 4' wide by 8' long. One cord is the equivalent of 128 cubic
feet, 4.7 cubic yards. The weight of a cord varies if it is green (freshly cut), seasoned (partially
air dried), or dry (KD or kiln-dried). Commonly used for smaller timber utilized for firewood or
pulping.
Cord
A stack of wood consisting of 128 cubic feet (3.62 cubic meters). A cord has standard
dimensions of 4 x 4 x 8 feet, including air space and bark.
Core
The innermost portion of plywood usually composed of veneer. Also referred to as a
"center." A core may also be made of fiberboard, particleboard or lumber.
Core stock
A solid or discontinuous center ply used in panel-type glued structures such as furniture
panels and solid hollowcore doors.

Corral rails
Rails used for animal enclosures. Often consisting of roundwood use horizontally on a
fence.
Corrugated containers
Containers made with corrugating medium and linerboard.
Corrugating medium
The wavy center of the wall of a corrugated box which cushions the product from shock
during shipment (see flute). This layer can contain up to 100% post-consumer recycled fiber
content without reducing its ability to protect the product.
Counter cutting
The circular saw blade rotates in a direction counter or opposite to the direction of the
feed.
Counterbalance valve
A pressure control valve which maintains back pressure to prevent a load from falling.
Cracking pressure
The pressure at which a pressure actuated valve begins to pass fluid.
Cripple
A cut in an unseasoned joist, bearer or stud designed to reduce movement in a floor or
wall as the structural timber seasons.
Crook
A deviation edgewise from a straight line drawn end to end of a piece of lumber. See
also Warp.
View: Crook
Cross laminated timber
Cross laminated timber is an engineered building product manufactured by gluing layers
of edge glued lumber panels in a cross pattern. This produces a peanel that is purther
processed into specific sizes of cross laminated timber to be used for building framing.
Crosscut
Cutting across the grain, e.g., a crosscut saw.
Crossouts
Horizontal spacers between units of lumber. They align over the sticks and serve to
separate the units for forklift handling.
Crown
1. The live branches and foliage of a tree.
2. The upper part of a tree.
Cubic recovery ratio (CRR)
In a material balance diagram, the ratio of wood product recovered divided by the wood
raw material used, both measured in cubic volume. The fraction of wood raw material
converted to the intended product.
Cunit
A measurement equal to 100 cubic feet of solid wood.
Cup
Deviation in the face of a piece of lumber from a straight line drawn from edge to edge
of a piece of lumber. See also Warp.
View: Cup

Cure
To change the properties of an adhesive by chemical reaction (which may be
condensation, polymerization, or vulcanization) and thereby develop maximum strength.
Usually accomplished by the action of heat or a catalyst with or without pressure.
Curve Sawing
Sawing a log or cant following the arc or curvature of the log or cant. Also referred to as
sweep sawing or shape sawing. Some systems follow an arc and other systems can follow a
coumpound curve.
View: Curve Sawing Examples
Cushion
A device sometimes built into the ends of a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder which
restricts the flow of fluid at the outlet port, thereby arresting the motion of the piston rod.
Cut sheets
Fine paper cut to letter or legal size for use in printers, copiers and fax machines.
Cut-to-length harvester (CTL)
A self-propelled tracked or wheeled harvesting machine, designed to fell, limb, and buck
a tree into logs, usually 20 feet or less in length. Most commonly the harvesting head is
mounted to an articulating arm. Not to be confused with a full-tree length harvester or fellerbuncher. Most commonly CTL harvesters work with forwarders which transport the bunched log
piles to the landing.
Cutting circle
The circle described by the outer rim or extremity of the teeth of a circular saw.
Cylinder
A device which converts fluid power or air into linear mechanical force and motion. It
usually consists of a movable element such as a piston and piston rod, plunger rod, plunger or
ram, operating within a cylindrical bore.
Dado
A groove cut into one piece to accommodate another piece. A dado is three-sided and
cut into a board, usually across the grain, as opposed to a rabbet, which has two sides and is at
the edge of the board.
Dangling head
A type of harvesting head, usually used on a CTL harvester, with a wrist-like action and
attachment to the harvester boom. Also called a "single-grip harvesting head" and can rotate in
all three axes.
DBH
See Diameter at breast height.
De-superheater
A device for removing the excess heat in steam as its pressure is reduced.
De-vent
To close the vent connection of a pressure control valve permitting the valve to function
at its adjusted pressure setting.
Deadband
The region or band of no response where an error signal will not cause a corresponding
actuation of the controlled variable.
Deadpile
Stack lumber in units without stickers.

Debark
To remove bark from trees or logs.
Debarker
Machine which removes bark from a log.
View: Debarker Examples

Functional Description:
Debarkers are utilized to remove the bark from logs or stems (trees) prior to sawing or
chipping. There are basically four types of log debarkers: ring debarker, drum debarker,
Rosser head debarker and flail debarker.
On a ring debarker logs or stems are singulated and fed linearly into the debarking
system. There usually is a centering infeed in front of the debarkers. This infeed centers
the log to the center of the ring.
The debarker has infeed rolls to guide and feed the log or stem into the rotor. These rolls
can be spike rolls or herringbone rolls. Typically there will be one or two sets of these
rolls. The ring, or rotor, rotates around the log as it is fed through the debarker. There
are tool arms on the ring that are pressurized, typically with air bags. This pressure
squeezes the tool tips against the bark and pulls the bark away at the cambium layer.
Debarkers can have a single ring or dual rings. There are outfeed rolls, the same as the
infeed rolls, to pull the log or stem out of the debarker. Ring debarkers are primarily
used in high speed softwood sawmill applications.
Logs or stems are batch fed linearly into a drum debarker. The drum rotates and tumbles
the logs and the bark is removed by rubbing against the drum walls and other fibre in
the drum. A variation to the drum debarker is the Fuji King and Brunette Industries
reclaimer debarkers. These are bin type debarkers utilizing longitudinal rolls, or rotors,
with attachments using a combination of mechanical and log-to-log contact to remove
the bark. Drum debarkers are primarily used in larger whole log chipping applications.
With Rosser Head Debarkers singulated logs are rotated in a cradle with driven rollers
while a spinning cutter head passes over the log and moves along its length. The Rosser
head debarker works similar to a lathe in the method it removes bark. Rosser head
debarkers are primarily used in slower speed operations, in hardwood mills or on larger
crooked logs.
Flail Debarkers consist of chains or other flexible materials mounted on a rotating shaft
that are flung and whipped against the logs. This hammering action loosens and
removes the bark from the logs. Flail debarkers are primarily used in bush chipping
operations.
English Terminology: Debarker, debarkers, ring, drum, rosser head, flail, sawmill,
planer mill, plywood plant, oriented strand board, OSB, medium density fibre board,
MDF, pulp, paper, wet mill, dry mill
French Terminology: Fendeuse, corceuses, anneau, tambour, rosser tte, flau, scierie,
rabotage, usine de contreplaqu, panneaux copeaux orients, panneaux OSB,
panneaux de fibres de moyenne densit, MDF, de ptes, papiers, mouture humide,
mouture sec

German Terminology: Entrindung, Entrinder, Ring, Trommel, Rosser Kopf,

Dreschflegel, Sgewerk, Mhle Planung, Sperrholz Pflanze, OSB, OSB, mitteldichte
Faserplatte, MDF-, Zellstoff-, Papier, Zerkleinerer, trocken Mhle
Spanish Terminology: Descortezadora, descortezadoras, anillo, tambor, Rosser cabeza,
volante, aserradero, fbrica de cepillo, planta de madera contrachapada, tableros de fibra
orientada, OSB, tablero de fibra de densidad media, MDF, celulosa, papel, beneficio
hmedo, beneficio seco
http://www.woodproductsonlineexpo.com/content_menu.php/3/debarkers_log_ring_drum.html
Decay
The decomposition of wood substance caused by the action of wood- destroying fungi,
resulting in softening, loss of strength, weight, and often in change of texture and color.
View: Decay
Decay, brown rot
Wood decay in which the attack concentrates on the cellulose and associated
carbohydrates rather than on the lignin, producing a light to dark brown pliable residue.
Sometimes referred to as "Dry rot".
Decay, heart rot
Any rot characteristically confined to the heartwood originating in the living tree.
Decay, incipient
The early stage of decay that has not proceeded far enough to soften or otherwise
apparently impair the hardness of the wood. It is usually accompanied by a slight discoloration
or bleaching of wood.
Decay, white-rot
Decay attacking both the cellulose and the lignin, producing a generally whitish residue
that may be spongy or stringy.
Deciduous
A type of tree with broad leaves that usually are shed annually, such as aspen.
Commonly referred to as Hardwood.
Deck
A stack of trees or logs.
Decompression
The slow release of confined fluid to gradually reduce pressure on the fluid.
Defect
A characteristic of a tree, log, lumber, or other product that makes it either less desirable
or completely unsuitable for the intended purpose. Examples are knots, decay, insect holes,
and diagonal grain.
View: Knot Defects, Manufacturing Defects, Natural Defects, Seasoning Defects
Degrade
Drop in lumber grade due to manufacturing or drying practices.
Dehumidifier kiln
A kiln working on the heat pump principle. Moisture evaporated from the timber by a
flow of warm air is condensed on the evaporator coils of a refrigeration unit and drained away.
The refrigerant is compressed and passed through condenser coils, re-heating the air stream.
Delamination

The separation of the layers of laminated wood or plywood at the glueline, usually
caused by moisture, mismanufacture, or defective glue.
Delimber
Landing-based piece of equipment used to limb trees brought in unlimbed, usually cut
with full tree length harvesters. May be of the stroke delimber type or pull-through delimber
model.
Delivery
The volume of fluid discharged by a pump in a given time, usually expressed in gallons
per minute (gpm).
Delta
The amount of change in a number, size or position.
Dense
A reference to the specific gravity of wood. Lumber classified as "dense" has six or
more annual rings per inch, plus one-third or more summerwood, measured at either end.
Pieces averaging less than six rings per inch also qualify if the rings average one-half or more
summerwood.
Density
As usually applied to wood of normal cellular form, density is the mass of wood
substance enclosed within the boundary surfaces of a wood-plus-voids complex having unit
volume. It is variously expressed as pounds per cubic foot, kilograms per cubic metre, or grams
per cubic centimetre at a specified moisture content.
View: Metric / Imperial Conversion
Diameter at breast height (dbh)
Breast height of a tree is considered to be four and one-half feet above ground level.
Diameter inside bark (dib)
A measurement used in log scaling.
Die (swage)
One of a pair of shaping tools, which, when moved toward each other, produce a certain
desired form in an object. In a swage tool the die is the movable part of the shaper, the anvil the
fixed part.
Differential current
The algebraic summation of the current in the torque motor; measured in MA
(milliamperes).
Differential cylinder
Any cylinder in which the two opposed piston areas are not equal.
Diffusion
Movement of moisture from areas of high to low concentration or temperature.
Dimension lumber
Lumber that is sold in a nominal dimension. For example, a 2x4 is dimension lumber
with an actual finished size of 1.5 thick by 3.5 wide.
Dimensional lumber
Refers to the wood used in constructing the wall, floor and roof framing of a platform
frame (2x4) house. Dimensional lumber is manufactured in a variety of sizes for use in wall
framing, flooring systems, and roof trusses, as well as for exterior applications.
Directional valve
A valve which selectively directs or prevents fluid flow to desired channels.

Dish
Used to describe the shape of a "dished" or open saw one that does not stand up
straight, because it has been stretched too much in the inner area for the speed at which it is
run. Hence, it assumes a dish shape.
Displacement
The quantity of fluid which can pass through a pump, motor or cylinder in a single
revolution or stroke.
Dissolving pulp
A special grade of chemical pulp, usually made from wood or cotton linters, for use in
the manufacture of regenerated cellulose (viscose rayon and cellophane) or cellulose
derivatives such as acetate, nitrate, and others.
Dither
A low amplitude, relatively high frequency periodic electrical signal, sometimes
superimposed on the servo valve input to improve system resolution. Dither is expressed by the
dither frequency (Hz) and the peak-to-peak dither current amplitude (ma).
Doming head
Equipment used to form a dome (chamfer) on the end of roundwood posts. Consists of
a rotating cutterhead. Also called capping.
View: Doming Head / Domer Examples
Door carrier
A device that lifts dry kiln doors and moves them away from the kiln opening along an
overhead track.
Doors, access
Small doors, usually located at ground level, which permit operator access to and
escape from the dry kiln interior.
Doors, kiln
Large openings through which lumber passes when loading a kiln.
Double acting cylinder
A cylinder in which fluid force can be applied to the movable element in either direction.
Double sheave
A pulley block with two grooved wheels.
Dowel mill
Equipment used to process roundwood to an exact diameter the entire length. Also
called a rounding machine.
View: Dowel Mill Examples
Doweled products
Roundwood with a tenon on the end to fit in a hole. Equipment used to create the tenon
is called a tenoner.
View: Tenoner Examples
Doweled rail fencing
A fencing system using rails with tenons on the ends of the rails which fit into a
corresponding hole in a fence post.
View: Drill and Tenoner Examples
Doweled wood
Roundwood turned to an exact diameter the entire length. Equipment used for this
process are often called rounding machines or dowelers.

View: Dowel Mill Examples

Doyle Log Rule
The Doyle Log Rule, developed around 1825, is based on a mathematical formula and
is widely used throughout the southern United States. This rule allows for a saw kerf of 5/16
inch and a slabbing allowance of 4 inches, which is about twice the normal amount. Because of
this, the Doyle Rule is somewhat inconsistent; it underestimates small logs and overestimates
large logs. As a seller of timber, you must be aware that for smaller logs the Doyle Rule will
underestimate the actual volume of wood that you have in your trees. (Also see Scribner and
International Rule.)
Drain
A passage in, or a line from, a hydraulic component which returns leakage fluid
independently to reservoir or to a vented manifold.
Dressed lumber
Lumber that has been trimmed and planed at the sawmill.
Dressed size
The dimensions of lumber after being surfaced with a planing machine. A 2- by 4-inch
stud, for example, actually measures about 1-1/2 by 3-1/2 inches.
Drive pulley
The first of a train of wheels, giving motion to the rest.
Dry
Seasoned, usually to a moisture content of less than 19%.
Dry kiln
A chamber in which lumber is dried by controlling the moisture, temperature and air
circulation.
View: Dry Kiln Examples
Dry lumber
As applied to softwoods, lumber sold as "dry" or "kiln dried" is at 19% or lower moisture
content, as specified by the American Softwood Lumber Standards. Hardwoods are generally
considered dry when at 10% or lower moisture content, although there is no definitive standard
as with softwood species.
Dry rot
A term loosely applied to any dry, crumbly rot but especially to that which, when in
advanced stage, permits the wood to be crushed easily to dry powder.
Dry weight
The oven-dry weight, or simply dry weight, is the weight of wood after drying to a
constant weight at a temperature slightly above the boiling point of water (215 to 220F).
Drybulb
A sensing device (thermometer) that measures the temperature of the air.
Drying defect
A feature developing during drying which may decrease the value of a piece of timber.
Drying schedule
A sequence of kiln conditions which result in a gradual decrease in moisture content of
the wood.
Earlywood
The portion of the annual growth ring that is formed during the early part of the growing
season. It is usually less dense and weaker mechanically than latewood.

Edger
A machine used to square-edge wany lumber and also to rip lumber. It consists of a
frame supporting an arbor on which is mounted one to several saws and transmission gear.
View: Board Edger Examples

Functional Description:
Board edgers are used to process flitches into nominal sized boards. The flitches are
scanned and optimized for the highest value. The flitch os processed through the edger
producing boards and tailings (edgings). At the outfeed of the edger the tailings are
diverted to a chipper In the case of a chipping edger, the wane is chipped off in the
edging process and there are no tailings to handle.
On a transverse board edger the flitch is scanned transversely and the flitch is then
positioned to the saws in the infeed with fetchers or board positioners. With a lineal, or
linear board edger the flitch is stabilized on a belt or chain and scanned lenealy as it is
transported to the edger. The saws position to the cut line and angle and slew as the
flitch passes through the sawbox.
Feedrolls and bed chains, along with overhead press rolls, control the flitch through the
edger. Saws mounted on the arbor position to edge the flitches. The tailing on a saw
edger is done with picker fingers or shifting belts.
English Terminology: board edger, edgers, lineal, linear, transverse, saw, chip, chipping,
flitch, flitches, lumber, boards, timber, sawmill, planer mill, plywood plant, oriented
strand board, medium density fibre board, wet mill, dry mill
French Terminology: dligneuse, bordures, en ligne directe, linaire, transversale, scie,
copeaux, copeaux, dosse, frises, bois, panneaux, bois, scierie, rabotage, usine de
contreplaqu, panneaux copeaux orients, panneaux de fibres de moyenne densit,
mouture humide, mouture sec
German Terminology: Brett Edger, Kantenschneider, direkte, lineare, Quer, Sge-, Chip,
Chipping, Flitch, Schwarten, Bauholz, Bretter, Holz, Sgewerk, Hobelwerk, Sperrholz,
Pflanze, OSB, mitteldichte Faserplatte, Zerkleinerer, trocken,
Spanish Terminology: canteadora, bordeadoras, lineal, lineal, de corte transversal,
sierra, viruta, astillas, costero, adosados, madera aserrada, tableros, madera, aserraderos,
fbrica de cepillo, planta de madera contrachapada, tableros de fibra orientada, tablero
de fibra de densidad media, beneficio hmedo, beneficio seco
http://www.woodproductsonlineexpo.com/content_menu.php/16/board_edgers_edger.html
Edging
Trimming the width of a board of defects.
Efficiency
The ratio of output to input. Volumetric efficiency of a pump is the actual output in gpm
divided by the theoretical or design output. The overall efficiency of a hydraulic system is the
output power divided by the input power. Efficiency is usually expressed as a percent.
Electro-hydraulic servo valve

A directional type valve which receives a variable or controlled electrical signal and
which controls or meters hydraulic flow.
Encoder
Device attached to a moving chain that produces an electrical signal each time the
chain moves a fixed distance. The encoder is attached to the chain and used to track the
movement of the pieces through a scanner.
Energy
The ability or capacity to do work. Measured in units of work.
Engineered wood products
A composite wood product using glued fiber, lumber and/or veneer to meet specific
design criteria. Such products include laminated veneer lumber (LVL), parallel strand lumber
(PSL), and structural I-beams. Products under development include various molded, extruded,
and other structural and non-structural composites. Although engineered wood products have a
number of advantages over solid lumber (including the ability to make large-sized members
from small diameter trees), engineered wood products are more costly to produce than lumber
and require the use of more energy to manufacture.
Entering air control
Sensing and controlling drybulb temperatures of heated kiln air as it enters the lumber
load.
Environment
The aggregate of physical, chemical and biological factors that act upon an organism or an
ecological community and ultimately determine its form and survival.
Equalization
The process of narrowing the moisture distribution between boards at the end of a
drying charge.
Equilibrium moisture content (EMC)
The moisture content at which wood neither gains nor loses moisture when surrounded
by air at a given relative humidity and temperature.
Error (signal)
The signal which is the albraic summation of an input signal and a feedback signal.
Evaporate
Changing water from a liquid to a vapor form.
Excess air
Refers to the quantity of air supplied that exceeds the minimum necessary to support
the combustion chemistry.
Exiting air control
Sensing and controlling drybulb temperatures of heated dry kiln air as it leaves the
lumber load.
Expansion factor
With respect to chips, bark, sawdust, and shavings, the ratio of volume occupied in one
of these forms to the volume of solid wood before conversion.
Extractive
Substances in wood, not an integral part of the cellular structure, that can be removed
by solution in hot or cold water, ether, benzene, or other solvents that do not react chemically
with wood components.

Eye
The hole in the center of a circular saw blade so it can be fitted on the arbor.
Face bevel
Saw tooth faces may be straight or angled (beveled) in one of several ways with respect
to each other. The bevel is the angle to which the saw is filed with respect to the saw body.
Teeth filed at 90 to the saw body are said to be straight. If they deviate from this, they are
"beveled".
Face veneer
1. High quality veneer that is used for the exposed surfaces on plywood.
2. The decorative veneer on the face of the panel; the exposed side, be it wall paneling,
furniture, cabinet or other.
Factory lumber
Lumber intended to be remanufactured after it leaves the sawmill.
Fahrenheit (F)
The temperature scale in which water freezes at 32 degrees F and boils at 212 degrees
F under normal atmospheric conditions. F = (C x 1.8) + 32.
View: Metric / Imperial Conversion
Fan deck
The overhead area in a dry kiln where the fans are mounted.
Fan pitch
The angle of the fan blades measured one-third of the fan radius in from the tip.
Fan system
The air moving equipment within a dry kiln.
Fans, cross-shaft
Multiple fans mounted on a single shaft, which extends the length of a dry kiln.
Fans, variable-speed
Fans whose motors turn at infinitely variable speeds by varying the line frequency of the
power source.
Fascia
A vertical board nailed to the lower ends of rafters.
Fast saw
A circular saw that wobbles, weaves, or snakes because the rim is too long for the
speed at which it runs.
FBM
Feet, board, measure.
View: FBM Formula, FBM / Volume Calculator
Feed speed
The speed of a machine centre (canter, planer, etc.) usually expressed in feet per
minute.
Feedback (or feedback signal)
The output signal from a feedback element.
Feedback loop
Any closed circuit consisting of one or more forward elements and one or more
feedback elements.

Feller-buncher
A machine with a fixed-grip harvesting head which can grasp, cut, lift, swing and bunch
trees for yarding. Usually this machine does not limb or buck to log lengths as a "cut-to-length"
harvester can do.
Fence (straightedge)
A straightedge or linebar mounted parallel to the saw blade for guiding the lumber, cant,
or flitch as it passes through the saw.
Fence posts (roundwood)
Roundwood 10 feet or shorter in length designed to be placed in or on the ground for
attachment of horizontal members or wire. These can be pointed and capped or blunt; butt
treated, full-length treated or untreated.
View: Fence Post Production Overview
Fence rails (roundwood)
Roundwood rails used horizontally on a fence. These can be full round or half round,
split rails, peeled, doweled or unpeeled.
Fiber saturation point (fsp)
The moisture content at which moisture is saturated within the cell walls of wood and
the cell cavities are free of water. This averages around 20 percent MC. Below FSP water is
held in wood as bound water within the cell cavities or lumen.
Fiberboard
A broad generic term inclusive of sheet materials of widely varying densities
manufactured or refined or partly refined wood or other vegetable fibers. Bonding agents and
other materials may be added to increase strength, resistance to moisture, fire, or decay, or to
improve some other property. See also Medium density fiberboard.
Fibre
A long narrow, tapering wood cell closed at both ends.
Filter
A device whose primary function is the retention by a porous media of insoluble
contaminants from a fluid.
Fine paper
Paper used in making copy paper, computer forms, tablets, envelopes, printing paper,
etc.
Fines
A term referring to material passing through a chip screening process that is smaller
than the acceptable minimum size.
Finger joint
An end joint in which wedge shaped projections in one piece of timber fit matching
recesses on the other piece and are bonded together by an adhesive.
Finpipe
Pipe with circular steel coils on the outer surface to aid heat transfer in a steam or hot
oil dry kiln.
Firewood processor
High production equipment used to produce firewood as a business. Different types use
similar principles but differ in configuration and how logs are bucked (chainsaw, circular saw or
shear).
Firewood splitter

Usually refers to a low production splitter for home owner use. Can consist of manual
splitting mauls, axes, wedges or semi-automatic hydraulic/mechanical splitters. Also called a log
splitter.
Firmwood
Solid wood free of decay and voids; a term used in log scaling.
Fixed collar
A collar firmly attached to the saw arbor; distinguished from a loose collar, which is held
to the arbor with a nut.
Flakeboard
A particle panel product composed of flakes.
Flat top grind
Used to describe a tooth filed square on top. The teeth may also be ground with
various combinations of beveled tops. For example, alternate top bevels are often used for
crosscutting saws. Tops may also be pointed or chamfered and alternated with flat tops on very
hard, dense woods. This breaks the chip up to reduce tooth load.
Flitch
A piece of lumber with wane on one or both edges.
Flooded
A condition where the pump inlet is charged by placing the reservoir oil level above the
pump inlet port.
Flow control valve
A valve which controls the rate of oil flow.
Flow rate
The volume, mass, or weight of a fluid passing through any conductor per unit of time.
Fluid
1. A liquid or gas.
2. A liquid that is specially compounded for use as a power-transmitting medium in a hydraulic
system.
Flute
One of the wave shapes pressed into corrugated medium. These are categorized by the
size of the wave.
Follow valve
A control valve which ports oil to an actuator so the resulting output motion is
proportional to the input motion to the valve.
Foot (ft)
A linear unit of length equal to 12 inches or a third of a yard (0.3048 m).
View: Metric / Imperial Conversion
FOPS
Falling object protective structure.
Force
Any push or pull measured in units of weight. In hydraulics, total force is expressed by
the product P (force per unit area) and the area of the surface on which the pressure acts. F =
P x A.
Forest license

A license granted by the Ministry of Forests of British Columbia which entitles the holder
to cut a specified volume of timber on specified lands.
Forest Management Agreement (FMA)
An agreement granted by the Alberta government which entitles the holder to establish,
grow and harvest timber on specified lands.
Forest management unit
An area of forest land designated by the Minister of Environmental Protection of Alberta
as a management unit.
Forklift units
Lumber bundled or stacked into packages that can be lifted by a forklift.
Formaldehyde
A component of resin used to manufacture plywood and panel products, and a naturally
occurring component of wood.
Forwarder
A special vehicle with a cradle or bunk or trailer used to forward logs. Usually it is
equipped with its own log loader device and may be tracked or wheeled. Most commonly works
with a CTL harvester.
Four-way valve
A directional valve having four flow paths.
FPM
Feet per minute.
Framing
Lumber used for structural members in a house or other building. The skeleton to which
roofs, floors, and sides are attached.
Free moisture
Moisture which is present in the cell cavities of wood.
Free of heart center (FOHC)
Lumber sawn to exclude the pith or heart center, as opposed to box heart.
Free on board (FOB)
Refers to the point to which the seller will deliver goods without charge to the buyer;
additional freight or other charges connected with transporting or handling the product become
the responsibility of the buyer.
Free sheet paper
Paper made from cooked wood fibers mixed with chemicals and washed free of
impurities. As compared to groundwood paper.
Free water
Water held within the cell cavities of wood. Its movement is primarily by capillary action.
Frequency
1. The number of cycles per second of alternating current (example: 60 cycles per
second or 60
hertz per second).
2. The number of times an action occurs in a unit of time. Frequency is the basis of all sound.
A pump or motor's basic frequency is equal to its speed in revolutions per second multiplied
by the number of pumping chambers.
Front connected

A condition wherein piping connections are on normally exposed surfaces of hydraulic

components.
Front end loader
A mobile machine mounted on a wheeled or tracked chassis, equipped with a grapple,
tuck, bucket, or fork-lift device, and employed in the loading, unloading, stacking, or sorting of
logs or materials.
Full flow
In a filter, the condition where all the fluid must pass through the filter element or
medium.
Full sawn
Lumber cut, in the rough, to its full nominal size.
Full taper
Boards are sawn parallel to the sides of a log.
Full-tree length harvester
A machine with a fixed-grip harvesting head which can grasp, cut, lift, swing and bunch
trees for yarding. Usually this machine does not limb or buck to log lengths as a "cut-to-length"
harvester can do.
Gallon (gal)
A unit of volume. A US gallon is equal to 4 quarts or 231 cubic inches (approximately
3.79 liters). A British imperial gallon is equal to four quarts or 4.55 liters.
View: Metric / Imperial Conversion
Gang drill (roundwood)
Equipment with multiple drill heads for boring multiple holes simultaneously in
roundwood fence posts. For use with doweled fence railing systems.
View: Gang Drills / Drill Examples
Gang edger
A machine having a battery of circular saws, all of which are fitted to the same arbor.
The saws may be over arbor, under arbor, or double arbor. There are straight sawing gangs
and curve sawing gangs.
View: Gang Edger Examples
http://www.woodproductsonlineexpo.com/content_menu.php/6/gang_edgers_gang_edger.html
Gang sawing
This term has several meanings, one being the use of multiple fixed saws on a common
arbor. The term is also used in reference to "sash" gang sawing or "rotary" gang sawing, or
sawing through and through with all saw lines parallel at the headrig.
View: Gang Edger Examples
Gantry tower
The short tower on a modern swing yarder, located just to the rear of the leaning yarder
tower, used to accommodate the walking guy lines and lines to raise and lower the boom of a
yarding crane.
Gauge
The thickness of the saw blade, best expressed in decimals of an inch or millimetres.
Gauge pressure
A pressure scale which ignores atmospheric pressure. Its zero point is 14.7 psi
absolute.
Glue

Originally, a hard gelatin obtained from hides, tendons, cartilage, bones, etc., of
animals. Also, an adhesive prepared from this substance by heating with water. Through
general use the term is now synonymous with the term "Adhesive".
Glue laminated beams
Beams made of lumber glued together. Replacements for solid wood timbers and steel
beams.
Glue laminating
Production of structural or non-structural wood members by bonding two or more layers
of wood together with adhesive.
Glueline
The layer of adhesive that attaches two adherends. Also called a Bondline.
Glulam (glue laminated)
Structural wood product made by bonding together laminations of dimension lumber.
Grade
The designation of the quality of a manufactured piece of wood or of logs.
Grade stamp
An inked marking put on lumber to show its important characteristics and mill
information.
View: Grade Stamp Examples
Grademark
A stamp or symbol applied to a piece of lumber, by the grader at a planermill, to
designate grade.
Grain
The direction, size, arrangement, appearance, or quality of the fibers in wood or lumber.
To have a specific meaning the term must be qualified.
Grain, close
Narrow, inconspicuous annual rings. The term is sometimes used to designate wood
having small and closely spaced pores, but in this sense the term "fine-textured" is more often
used.
Grain, coarse
Wide, conspicuous annual rings in which there is considerable difference between
springwood and summerwood. The term is sometimes used to designate wood with large
pores, such as oak, ash, chestnut, and walnut, but in this sense the term "coarse-textured" is
more often used.
Grain, cross
Fibers that deviate from a line parallel to the sides of the piece; may be either diagonal
or spiral grain or a combination of the two.
Grain, curly
Fibers that are distorted so that they have a curled appearance, as in "birdseye" wood.
The areas showing curly grain may vary up to several inches in diameter.
Grain, diagonal
Has annual rings that are at an angle with the axis of a piece as a result of sawing at an
angle with the bark of the tree or log. A form of cross grain.
Grain, edge

Sawed so that the wide surfaces extend approximately at right angles to the annual
growth rings. Lumber is considered edge-grained when the rings form an angle of 45 to 90
degrees with the wide surface of the piece.
Grain, end
The grain as seen on a cut made at a right angle to the direction of the fibers (e.g., on a
cross section of a tree).
Grain, flat
Sawed parallel to the pith and approximately tangentially to the growth rings. Lumber is
considered flat-grained when the annual growth rings make an angle of less than 45 degrees
with the surface of the piece.
Grain, interlocked
Fibers that for several years slope in a right-handed direction, and then for a number of
years slope to a left-handed direction, and so on. Such wood is exceedingly difficult to split
radially, though tangentially it may split fairly easily.
Grain, open
The common classification for woods with large pores, such as oak, ash, chestnut, and
walnut. Also known as "coarse-textured".
Grain, spiral
Fibers that take a spiral course around the trunk of a tree instead of the normal vertical
course. The spiral may extend in a right-handed or left-handed direction around the tree trunk.
Causes slope of grain in lumber. Spiral grain is a form of cross grain.
Grain, straight
Fibers that run parallel to the axis of a piece.
Grain, vertical
Another term for edge-grained lumber.
Grain, wavy
Fibers that collectively take the form of waves or undulations.
Gram (g)
A metric unit of weight equal to one thousandth of a kilogram; one ounce is
approximately 28 grams.
Grapple
A hinged set of jaws capable of being opened and closed, used to grip logs during
yarding or loading. Can also be attached to swing or non-swinging grapple skidder.
Grapple skidder
A skidder equipped with a grapple to handle logs; used in place of chokers.
Grapple yarding
Cable yarding with grapples instead of chokers.
Gravity packed unit (GPU)
A unit (normally a 200 cubic foot space) filled with chips or other residue material and
allowed to settle under the action of gravity.
Green lumber
Freshly sawed or undried wood.
Green target sizes
The size that lumber must be cut in the green form to allow for sawing deviation,
shrinkage in drying and allowance for fibre removed in the finishing process.

View: Target Size

Green weight
The term green weight specifically refers to the weight of freshly harvested wood that
has the same moisture content (MC) as the standing tree. MC is defined as the weight of water
in the wood expressed as a percentage of the weight of the oven-dry wood (wood from which all
moisture has been removed). Also see "Dry weight".
Green wood
Freshly sawed or undried wood which still contains the moisture that was present in the
standing tree.
Greenhouse gases
Gases that provide an insulating effect in the earth's atmosphere, potentially leading to
global climate change. These gases include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone, and
water vapour.
Gross scale
The volume of a log obtained from original geometric measurements without
adjustments for potential processing losses associated with crookedness, decayed regions, and
so forth.
Groundwood paper
Newsprint and other inexpensive paper made from pulp created when wood chips are
ground mechanically rather than refined chemically.
Groundwood pulp
A mechanical wood pulp produced by pressing a debarked log against a revolving
pulpstone and reducing the wood to a mass of fibers.
Growth ring
One years growth increment of a tree composed of one band of springwood
(earlywood) and one band of summerwood (latewood). Also called an Annual ring.
Guide blocks
The arms of the saw-guide mechanism which hold the guide pins on a bandsaw.
Guide or saw guide
A supporting device above and/or below the cut to restrain the saw from deviating off
line. It generally uses metal holders with babbit faces precision machined for accurate
tolerances.
Guide rail
A rail that guides the movement of the sawmill carriage.
Gullet
The area of the saw tooth in which the sawdust is carried.
Gullet area factor
The factor (% usage) applied to the calculation using tooth pitch and gullet depth
(essentially the area of a rectangle) to convert to the actual size of the gullet.
Gullet fill %
The percentage of the gullet that is filled based on a specific feed speed, gullet size, etc.
The feed speed calculations should not allow the gullet fill to exceed 100%.
View: Bandmill Formula, Gang Edger Formula, Quad Sawbox Formula
Gum spots
Accumulation of resinous material often found on panel surfaces. May be removed by
sanding.

Gumming
The process of cutting out the gullets of a saw.
Half taper
Boards are sawn parallel to the centre of a log.
Hammer bench
A wood bench as an extension of the anvil opposite the tensioner's position and
supporting the rim of the saw when testing for tension; it contains a peg on a sliding panel for
centering the saw while being hammered.
Hammering
Straightening, tensioning, or flattening a saw blade manually with a hammer.
Hand (of mill)
The hand side on which the log passes the sawyer as he faces the saw, right or left.
Hand-peeled (roundwood)
Roundwood with the bark removed by hand. Usually done using a draw knife.
Hardboard
A generic term for a panel manufactured primarily from interfelted lignocellulosic fibers
(usually wood), consolidated under heat and pressure in a hot press to a density of 31 pounds
per cubic foot or greater, and to which other materials may have been added during
manufacture to improve certain properties.
Hardwoods
Generally one of the botanical groups of trees that have broad leaves in contrast to the
conifers or softwoods. The term has no reference to the actual hardness of wood. Also called
Angiosperms or Deciduous.
Hayrack
A type of log hauling trailer with multiple stakes to contain many small trees in the load.
Head
The height of a column or body of fluid above a given point expressed in linear units.
Head is often used to indicate gage pressure. Pressure is equal to the height times the density
of the fluid.
Headblock
That portion of a sawmill carriage on which the log rests. Each headblock consists of a
base, a knee, a taper set, dogs, and a rack-and-pinion gear or some similar device for
advancing the knees toward or withdrawing them from the saw line.
Headrig
Sawing equipment used in the primary breakdown of logs.
Headsaw
In a sawmill, the large band saw or circular saw used to saw the log into lumber.
Heartwood
The wood extending from the pith to the sapwood, the cells of which no longer
participate in the life processes of the tree. Heartwood may contain phenolic compounds,
gums, resins, and other materials that usually make it darker and more decay resistant than
sapwood. Heartwood is very pronounced in southern pine.
Heat
The form of energy that has the capacity to create warmth or to increase the
temperature of a substance. Any energy that is wasted or used to overcome friction is converted

to heat. Heat is measured in calories or British thermal units (Btu's). One Btu is the amount of
heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit.
Heat exchanger
A device which transfers heat through a conducting wall from one fluid to another.
Hectare (ha)
A metric unit of area, 100 metres by 100 metres (10,000 square metres); equivalent to
2.471 acres.
View: Metric / Imperial Conversion
Heel boom
A loader with a grapple or tongs at the end of a boom or arm which forces one end of
the log being loaded against the underside of the boom to steady it and raise the front end of
the log.
Helical
Spiral-shaped: in the shape of a helix or spiral.
Hemicellulose
A celluloselike material (in wood) that is easily decomposable as by dilute acid, yielding
several different simple sugars.
Hertz (Hz)
Unit of frequency; equal to one cycle per second (cps).
High-performance linerboard
Papers with the same strength as regular paper grades but produced at a lower weight.
This process gives more compression strength per pound of fiber than conventional liner, thus
reducing total fiber use.
Hog fuel
Waste wood that is used for generation of heat and process energy; made by reducing
bark to a usable size.
Hollow grind
Grinding the saw plate on both sides so that the blade is thinner toward the eye than at
the rim but leaving a hub in the center the same thickness as the rim.
Holocellulose
The total carbohydrate fraction of wood that is, cellulose plus hemicellulose.
Honeycomb
A cellular separation in the interior of a wood piece, usually along the wood grain, a
result of internal stress. It normally occurs during kiln drying, particularly in White or Red Oak,
when too much heat is applied too rapidly.
Honeycombing
A drying defect which occurs when tensile stresses in the core (usually a result of
collapse) result in the formation of internal cavities.
Hook
The angle at which the face of the tooth contacts the material to be cut.
Horizontally laminated timbers
Laminated timbers designed to resist bending loads applied perpendicular to the wide
faces of the laminations.
Horsepower (hp)

The power required to lift 550 pounds one foot in one second or 33,000 pounds one foot
in one minute. A horsepower is equal to 746 watts or to 42.2 British thermal units per minute.
Hot deck
A pile of logs from which logs are hauled as soon as they are yarded.
Husk
A term used for the parts of the sawing system supporting the arbor, saw, saw guide,
and splitter, usually on a circular saw headrig; more simply, the arbor support frame.
Hydraulic
To move or convey by fluid.
Hydraulic balance
A condition of equal opposed hydraulic forces acting on a part in a hydraulic component.
Hydraulic control
A control which is actuated by hydraulically induced forces.
Hydraulics
Engineering science pertaining to liquid pressure and flow.
Hydrodynamics
Engineering science pertaining to the energy of liquid flow and pressure.
Hydrostatics
Engineering science pertaining to the energy of liquids at rest.
Hygrometer
An instrument for measuring the humidity of air.
Hygroscopic
Changes its moisture content to be in equilibrium with the atmosphere.
I-joists
Wooden members made of two pieces of LVL held together with a web of OSB.
Substituted for wide dimensional lumber as a support for a ceiling or floor.
Implosion
The sudden collapse of dry kiln wall panels due to unequal air pressure between the
inside of the kiln. This usually occurs on startup as hot, expanded air suddenly cools and
contracts as it passes through green lumber. The vents must open on startup to prevent this.
Inch (in)
A unit of length equal to one-twelfth of a foot (2.54 cm).
View: Metric / Imperial Conversion
Infeed
The direction a workpiece is fed into a blade or cutter.
Infeed Rolls
Rolls placed ahead of certain types of saws or chip heads to force the material through
the machine.
Inserted point (inserted tooth)
The tooth used in an inserted-tooth saw.
Insulating board
A generic term for a homogeneous panel made from lignocellulosic fibers (usually wood
or cane) characterized by an integral bond produced by interfelting of the fibers, to which other

materials may have been added during manufacture to improve certain properties, but which
has not been consolidated under heat and pressure as a separate stage in manufacture, said
board having a density of less than 31 pcf (specific gravity 0.50) but having a density of more
than 10 pcf (specific gravity 0.16).
International 1/4-Inch Log Rule
This rule was developed in 1906 and is based on a reasonably accurate mathematical
formula. The rule allows for a 1/4-inch saw kerf and a fixed taper allowance of 1/2 inch per 4
feet of log length. Deductions are also allowed for shrinkage of boards and a slab thickness that
varies with the log diameter. Overall, the International 1/4-Inch Log Rule is the most consistent
and is often used as a basis of comparison for log rules.
Isotropic
Exhibiting the same properties in all directions.
Joinery
Finished timber fixtures of buildings such as doors, windows, panelling, cupboards, etc.
Jointing
The act of reducing the points of all knives on a planer head to coincide with the
circumference of a circle when the head is rotated.
Joist
One of a series of parallel beams used to support floor and ceiling loads, supported in
turn by larger beams, girders, or bearing walls.
Joule (J)
1. A unit of energy equal to the work done when a force of one newton acts through a
distance
of one metre. One joule is equivalent to one watt second or 0.737 foot pounds.
2. A unit of electrical energy equal to the work done when a current of one ampere is passed
through a resistance of one ohm for one second.
Joystick
Stick or handle type input device mounted on the operator's console. Some joysticks
have buttons mounted on the handle. Moving the joystick handle can send either discrete or
analog input signals to the PLC.
Juvenile spacing
A silvicultural treatment to reduce the number of trees in young stands, often carried out
before the stems removed are large enough to be used or sold as a forest product. Prevents
stagnation and improves growing conditions for the remaining crop trees so that at final harvest
the end-product quality and value is increased. See also Commercial thinning.
Juvenile wood
The innermost rings of wood adjacent to the pith, formed during the initial development
of that part of the stem by the live crown. As the crown moves higher with growth in subsequent
years, "mature" wood rings are formed. Certain features of juvenile wood, such as cell structure
and size, differ from those typical of mature wood.
Kappa number
A test for the degree of lignification of pulps.
KD
Kiln-dry wood. Dried in a kiln with the use of artificial heat to a specified moisture
content.
Kerf
1. Width of the cut made by a saw blade.
2. The width of the saw tooth at its outermost widest point.

Key
A small, parallel-sided piece, flat or tapered on top, for securing pulleys and other parts
to shafts.
Keyway
A groove or channel for a key, as in a shaft or the hub of a pulley; a keyseat.
Kiln
A chamber having controlled airflow, temperature, and relative humidity for drying
lumber, veneer, and other wood products.
Kiln carts, trucks
A framework equipped with wheels that supports a load of lumber for kiln drying. Used
in track kilns. Trucks also refer to the wheel assemblies alone.
Kiln kink
The distortion in lumber that results from the uneven forces applied by misplaced truck
supports and crossouts. Once dried into the lumber their effect is permanent.
Kiln-dry wood
Dried in a kiln with the use of artificial heat to a specified moisture content.
Kiln-drying schedule
A stipulated set of dry- and wet-bulb temperatures and air velocities employed in drying
a kiln charge of lumber or other wood products.
Kilns, direct-fired
Dry kilns that are heated with combustion air (gas or wood fired).
Kilns, package
A trackless compartment kiln for drying packages of stickered lumber. It has large doors
through which a forklift loads lumber directly within the kiln.
Kilns, steam
Kilns heated by steam.
Kilns, track
Kilns loaded by placing lumber on kiln trucks that run on tracks within the kiln. These
can be single- or double-tracked kilns.
Kilogram (kg)
The basic unit of mass in the SI system, equal to 1,000 grams (approximately 2.2 lbs).
View: Metric / Imperial Conversion
Kilometre (km)
A measure of length equal to 1,000 metres or 0.62 miles.
View: Metric / Imperial Conversion
Kinetic energy
Energy that a substance or body has by virtue of its mass (weight) and velocity.
Knee
The part of a sawmill carriage headblock that bears the carriage dogs, which hold the
log being sawed. It also supports the levers used to operate both the carriage dogs and the
taper set.
Knife marks
The number of knife marks per inch created by a planer head.
View: Knife Mark Calculator

Knot
That portion of a branch or limb that has been surrounded by subsequent growth of the
stem. The shape of the knot as it appears on a cut surface depends on the angle of the cut
relative to the long axis of the knot.
View: Knots
Knot, encased
The rings of annual growth are not intergrown with those of the surrounding wood.
View: Encased Knot
Knot, intergrown
The rings of annual growth are completely intergrown with those of the surrounding
wood.
View: Intergrown Knot
Knot, loose
Is not held firmly in place by growth or position and cannot be relied on to remain in
place.
View: Loose Knot
Knot, open
Opening produced when a portion of a knot has dropped out or separated due to
seasoning.
Knot, pin
Is not more than inch in diameter.
Knot, sound
Is solid across its face, at least as hard as the surrounding wood, and shows no
indication of decay.
View: Sound Knot / Tight Knot
Knot, spike
Is cut approximately parallel to its long axis so that the exposed section is definitely
elongated.
View: Spike Knot
Knothole
Opening produced when knots drop from the wood in which they were once embedded.
View: Knot Hole
Knuckleboom
A hydraulically operated loading boom whose mechanical action imitates the human
arm. Common on "forwarders".
Kraft (sulfate) process
A chemical pulping process in which lignin is dissolved by a solution of sodium
hydroxide and sodium sulfide.
Kraft paper
Heavy brown paper sometimes treated to be water repellant.
Kraft pulp
A chemical wood pulp obtained by cooking wood chips at a high temperature in a
solution of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide.
Laminar (flow)
A condition where the fluid particles move in continuous parallel paths.

Laminate
A product made by bonding together two or more layers (laminations) of material or
materials.
Laminated linerboard
Two or more plies of linerboard adhered to one another for increased structural stability.
Laminated timbers
An assembly made by bonding layers of veneer or lumber with an adhesive so that the
grain of all laminations is essentially parallel.
Laminated veneer lumber (LVL)
A structural lumber manufacture from veneers laminated into a panel with the grain of all
veneer running parallel. The resulting panel is generally manufactured in 3/4 to 1-1/2 inch
thicknesses and ripped to common lumber widths of 1-1/2 to 11-1/2 inches, or wider.
Landing
A place where logs are collected prior to further transportation.
Latewood
The portion of the annual growth ring that is formed after the earlywood formation had
ceased. It is usually denser and stronger mechanically than earlywood. Also called
Summerwood.
Layup
The process of loosely assembling the adhesive-coated components of a unit,
particularly a panel, to be pressed or clamped.
Lead
Nonparallel alignment of the guide track and circle saw plate which offsets carriage
travel with respect to the saw plane. The purpose is to provide clearance for the back of the
saw and counteract the tendency of the saw to run out of logs. Also used to denote the
tendency of a saw to pull or "lead" to one side in a cut, often caused by off-square.
Left-hand sawmill
A sawmill in which the carriage and saw are on the left-hand side of a person standing
on the log deck and facing the rear of the mill.
Level
Perfectly horizontal.
Leveling
The act of bringing a saw to a flat, even surface.
Lever-type swage
A device for widening the tips of saw teeth by drawing out the tooth point between a
lever-actuated die and a fixed anvil.
Leverage
A gain in output force over input force by sacrificing the distance moved. Mechanical
advantage or force multiplication.
Lift
The height a body or column of fluid is raised; for instance, from the reservoir to the
pump inlet. Lift is sometimes used to express a negative pressure or vacuum. The opposite of
head.
Light framing
The use of dimension lumber, trusses, and other small cross-section members to
provide support and enclosure for a building.

Lignin
The second most abundant constituent of wood, located principally in the secondary
wall and the middle lamella, which is the thin cementing layer between wood cells. Chemically it
is an irregular polymer of substituted propylphenol groups, and thus no simple chemical formula
can be written for it.
Lily pad
A thin slice of wood, sometimes taken off the stump and used to cover the saw if it's to
be left out.
Limbing
To cut branches off felled trees.
Limit switch
Electrical device that transmits an electrical signal when in physical contact with an
object.
Line
A tube, pipe or hose which acts as a conductor of hydraulic fluid.
Linear actuator
A device for converting hydraulic energy into linear motion - a cylinder or ram.
Linerboard
The inner and outer layers of paper that form the wall of a corrugated container.
Liter (l)
Basic unit of volume in the metric system equal to 1,000 cubic centimetres (1.056 US
quarts).
View: Metric / Imperial Conversion
Loader
Any of a variety of machines, wheel or track mounted, designed primarily to lift and load
a truck, train or other mode of transportation.
Log
A segment sawed or split from a felled tree, such as, but not limited to, a section, bolt, or
tree length.
Log Bin
Transfer conveyor on which logs are kicked by the log sorter.
Log dump
A place where logs are removed from transporting equipment. It may be either dry land
or water, parbuckled over a brow log or removed by machine.
Log scales
Determines the value of a log by estimating number of board feet of lumber it will yield
(less allowances for bark, slab and kerf). Helps log sellers understand what they are getting for
the product of their labor. Log buyers can usually predict the actual yield of board feet from a log
depending on the log rule used. Three major log scales are used: Scribner Log Rule, Doyle Log
Rule and International Log Rule, although there are others (Maine and Roy). It is vital that
sellers understand the differences between the scaling methods so as not to be taken
advantage of. Savvy buyers are flexible in the rules they use. A common rule of thumb is that
International is always 25% better than Doyle, and Scribner is always 15% better. Doyle and
International are dramatically different for small diameter logs, yet very similar for large diameter
logs. If the average diameter range of logs is 14" to 20", you can convert Doyle to International
by multiplying 1.2 And Scribner to International by multiplying 1.11. For example, if logs for a

particular site scaled about 5,000 board feet in Doyle, this would convert to 6,000 board feet in
International and 5,500 board feet in Scribner.
Log splitter
Usually refers to a low production splitter for home owner use. Can consist of manual
splitting mauls, axes, wedges or semi-automatic hydraulic/mechanical splitters. Also called a
wood splitter.
Long butt
1. After a tree is felled a section of the butt-end may be sawn off because of rot.
2. A swelled or cull portion cut off of a butt log.
Long log
To produce logs over 20 feet long , commonly 32 to 40 feet long. Also known as "Long
wood".
Longitudinal
Generally, parallel to the direction of the wood fibers.
Longitudinal direction
Oriented in the direction of the length of the wood grain.
Loose collar
The flanged collar that is fixed against the circular saw by attachment to the arbor by
means of a nut.
LRF
Lumber recovery factor. Measurement of lumber recovery or yield from a quantity of log
volume. Most commonly expressed as thousand board feet per cubic meter or board feet per
cubic feet. A true measure of LRF is the finished shippable lumber per unit of logs delivered
(bush to box car).
View: LRF Conversion, LRF By Diameter, Earnings Vs LRF
Lug
A projection mounted on a chain to push material (logs or lumber).
Lumber
The product of the saw and planing mill not further manufactured than by sawing,
resawing, passing lengthwise through a standard planing machine, crosscutting to length, and
matching.
Lumber dimensions
1. Actual size: The dimensions obtained when an individual piece of lumber is
measured with
a caliper and tape.
2. Manufactured size: The dimensions for a given state of manufacture that are provided in
product specifications. Examples are rough-green, surfaced-dry, and so forth. The
manufactured size stated in the American Lumber Standards for a surfaced-dry 2x4 is 1.5 x
3.5 inches.
3. Nominal size: The size in name only; the commercial name by which lumber is known and
sold on the market (e.g., 2x4) and the basis used to calculate lumber volume in board feet.
Lumber recovery factor (LRF)
Measurement of lumber recovery or yield from a quantity of log volume. Most
commonly expressed as thousand board feet per cubic metre or board feet per cubic feet. A
true measure of LRF is the finished shippable lumber per unit of logs delivered (bush to box
car).
View: LRF Conversion, LRF By Diameter, Earnings Vs LRF
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 sorter
Computerized system in which lumber is graded, measured, and sorted into bins.
View: Lumber Sorter Examples
Lumber, factory and shop
Lumber intended to be cut up for use in further manufacture. It is graded on the basis of
the percentage of the area that will produce a limited number of cuttings of a specified minimum
size and quality.
Lumber, matched
Lumber that is edge dressed and shaped to make a close tongued-and-grooved joint at
the edges or ends when laid edge to edge or end to end.
Lumber, patterned
Lumber that is shaped to a pattern or to a molded form in addition to being dressed,
matched, or shiplapped, or any combination of these workings.
Lumber, rough
Lumber that has not been dressed (surfaced) but which has been sawed, edged, and
trimmed.
Lumber, shiplapped
Lumber that is edge dressed to make a lapped joint.
Lumber, side
A board from the outer portion of the log ordinarily one produced when squaring off a
log while producing a cant.
Lumber, structural
Lumber that is intended for use where allowable properties are required. The grading of
structural lumber is based on the strength or stiffness of the piece as related to anticipated uses.
Lumber, surfaced
Lumber that is dressed by running it through a planer.
Lumber, timbers
Lumber that is nominally 5 inches or more in least dimension. Timbers may be used as
beams, stringers, posts, caps, sills, girders, purlins, and so forth.
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.
Machine-peeled (roundwood)
Roundwood with the bark removed by a machine.
View: Roundwood Peeling / Debarking Examples, Debarkers Examples
Mainline
The cable used to haul logs into the landing. Some cable yarder configurations, such as
running skyline, may have more than one mainline.
Manifold
A fluid conductor which provides multiple connection ports.
Manual control

A control actuated by the operator, regardless of the means of actuation. Example:

Lever or foot pedal control for directional valves.
Manual override
A means of manually actuating an automatically-controlled device.
Manufactured housing
Housing units partially or completely built in a factory.
Marine borers
Mollusks and crustaceans which attack submerged wood in salt and brackish water.
Market pulp
White pulp from hardwood trees that is dried into thick blotter-like sheets and baled for
shipment to a paper mill for re-pulping to make paper products.
Material balance
A relationship, often portrayed in a diagram, that shows how all components of a raw
material are allocated and used.
Maul
A maul or splitting maul is a heavy long handled hammer used for splitting a piece of
wood along its grain. One side is shaped like a sledge hammer and the other is a broad head
axe shape.
MBF
Thousand board feet.
Mechanical control
Any control actuated by linkages, gears, screws, cams or other mechanical elements.
Mechanical pulping
The production of fibers and fiber bundles by grinding wood with pulpstones or by
mechanical refiners as opposed to chemical methods.
Mechanically laminated timber
Laminated timber where the laminations are joined with mechanical fasteners.
Medium density fiberboard (MDF)
A panel product manufactured from lignocellulosic fibers combined with a synthetic resin
or other suitable binder. The panels are manufactured to a density of 31 pcf (0.50 specific
gravity) to 55 pcf (0.88 specific gravity) by the application of heat and pressure by a process in
which the interfiber bond is substantially created by the added binder. Other materials may
have been added during manufacturing to improve certain properties.
Mende-process board
Made in a continuous ribbon from wood particles with thermosetting resins used to bond
the particles. Thickness ranges from 1/32 to 1/4 inch.
Merchantable timber
A tree or stand that has attained sufficient size, quality and/or volume to make it suitable
for harvesting.
Meter
To regulate the amount or rate of fluid flow.
Meter-in
To regulate the amount of fluid flow into an actuator or system.
Meter-out

To regulate the flow of the discharge fluid from an actuator or system.

Metre (m)
The metric basic unit for linear measurement equal to 39.37 inches (1.094 yards).
View: Metric / Imperial Conversion
Mfbm
Thousand board feet.
Micron
One-millionth of a metre or approximately .00004 inch.
Micron rating
The size of the particles a filter will remove.
Mile (mi)
A unit of linear measurement on land, equivalent to 5,280 feet (1,760 yd) or 1.6
kilometres.
View: Metric / Imperial Conversion
Millimetre (mm)
A unit of length equal to one thousandth of a metre (0.0394 inches).
View: Metric / Imperial Conversion
Millwork
Planed and patterned lumber for finish work in buildings, including items such as sash,
doors, cornices, panelwork, and other items of interior or exterior trim, but not flooring or siding.
Mineral stain
An olive to greenish-black or brown discoloration believed to show regions of abnormal
concentrations of mineral matter in some hardwoods. It is common in hard maple, hickory, and
basswood. See also Mineral streaks.
Mineral streak
A discoloration of hardwood and hardwood veneer.
Mismanufacture
Wood imperfections or blemishes that result from manufacture.
MMBF
Million board feet.
MMSF
A unit of measure for MDF equal to one million square feet on a 3/4 inch basis.
Modular housing
A type of housing in which major components are assembled in a factory and then
shipped to the building site to be joined with other components to form the finished structure.
Modulate
To control within an infinite range between 0 percent and 100 percent as opposed to
on/off control.
Moisture content
The amount of water contained in the wood, either expressed as a percentage of the
weight of the oven-dry wood or as a percentage of total weight of a piece.
Moisture distribution
Variation in moisture content within a board and/or variation in moisture content
between boards.

Moisture gradient
The difference in moisture content between areas of a board. Usually refers to the
moisture content difference between the surface and core of a board.
Monitor
Screen on which an electronics systems display information.
Motor
A device which converts electricity or hydraulic fluid power into mechanical force and
motion. It usually provides rotary mechanical motion.
Motor control center (MCC)
Central location for circuit breakers for mill equipment.
Moulding
A wood strip having a curved or projecting surface used for decorative purposes.
Mountain pine beetle
A beetle that kills pine trees by eating the living layer of circulatory tissue underneath
the bark of the tree. If the infected trees are not harvested in a timely manner the infestation will
kill trees at an increasing rate.
MSF
Is a unit of measure for MDF and plywood equal to 1,000 square feet, on a 3/4 inch
basis for MDF and on a 3/8 inch basis for plywood, and MMSF means one million square feet.
MSR
Machine stress rated lumber is dimension lumber that has been evaluated by
mechanical stress-rating equipment. The stress-rating equipment measures the stiffness of the
material and sorts it into various modulus of elasticity (E) classes.
View: MSR Examples
Multizone
Technique of dividing a dry kiln into more than two zones of heat control. Used in steam
and hot oil kilns.
NBSK
Northern bleached softwood kraft pulp.
Net scale
Log volume less defect scaling deductions.
Newton (N)
Unit of force equivalent to the force that produces an acceleration of one metre per
second per second on a mass of one kilogram.
Nominal size
As applied to timber or lumber, the size by which it is known and sold in the market;
often differs from the actual size. A 2x4 actually measures 1-1/2 by 3-1/2 inches.
Old growth (virgin timber)
Old, naturally established trees often characterized by dense straight grain and a lack of
knots and defects.
Open center circuit
One in which pump delivery flows freely through the system and back to the reservoir in
neutral.
Open center valve

One in which all ports are interconnected and open to each other in the center or neutral
position.
Open saw
An open circular saw is one that is stretched too much in the inner area for the speed at
which it is running. It will not stand up straight and will heat in the center while running. In
inserted-tooth circular saws, worn shanks can also cause and open saw. Also called a "Dished
saw".
Oriented strandboard (OSB)
Composed of strand-type flakes aligned in directions which make a panel stronger,
stiffer, and with improved dimensional properties in the aligned directions than a panel with
random flake orientation.
Orifice
A restriction, the length of which is small in respect to its cross-sectional dimensions.
Outfeed
The side of a power tool where the board exits.
Oven-dry wood
Wood dried to a relatively constant weight in a ventilated oven at 102 to 105C.
Ovendry weight
Weight obtained by drying wood in an oven at 102 degrees F (plus or minus 3 degrees
F) until there is no more weight loss.
Overdry
Lumber dried to the point of having low moisture content.
Overlay
A thin layer of paper, plastic, film, metal foil, or other material bonded to one or both
faces of panel products, or to lumber, to provide a protective or decorative face, or a base for
painting.
Overrun
The excess lumber, in board feet, actually sawn from logs compared to the amount of
lumber predicted by a board foot log scale; usually expressed as a percent of log scale
(Scribner).
Overs
Chips larger than acceptable length or width.
Overstorey
That portion of the trees, in a forest of more than one storey, forming the upper or
uppermost canopy layer.
Panel products
A descriptor that generally includes some or all of the following: plywood, waferboard
and oriented strandboard, hardboard, insulation board, and composites using these materials.
Panel stock
Stock panels which are 4 wide and 8 long. Therefore, the gross length of the veneer
required for these panels is at least 98 to 100. It may include 9 and 10 lengths.
Paper
Generally, a matted or felted sheet of vegetable fiber, formed on a screen from a water
suspension, used for writing and printing as well as for wrapping and many other purposes.
Paper is one of two broad subdivisions of the general term, papers; the other is paperboard.

Paper wrap
Material used to wrap loads of finished lumber to protect it from weather and damage.
Normally also display company name and logo.
Paperboard
A general term describing sheets made of fibrous material 0.012 inch or more in
thickness. Compared with paper, paperboard is heavier per unit area, thicker, and more rigid.
Paperboard is the term used to describe any single variety, or group of varieties, of board
materials used in the production of boxes, folding cartons, and solid fiber and corrugated
shipping containers.
Parallam
Parallel strand lumber (PSL). A composite wood product where veneers are clipped into
1" strips and pressed together (all grain parallel) into a large billet. Billets are cut into different
sizes for high strength beam and column applications. The attractive material may be left
exposed. CCA treated PSL is also available for exterior use.
Parallel strand lumber (PSL)
A structural wood product made by gluing together long strands of wood that have been
cut from softwood veneer.
Particleboard
A generic term for a material manufactured from wood particles or other lignocellulosic
material and a synthetic resin or suitable binder.
Particleboard, extruded
Made by ramming binder-coated particles into a heated die, which subsequently cure
the binder and forms a rigid mass as the material is moved through the die.
Particleboard, mat-formed
Particles (being previously coated with the binding agent) are formed into a mat having
substantially the same length and width as the finished panel. This mat is then pressed in a
heated flat-platen press to cure the binding agent.
Particleboard, Mende-process
Made in a continuous ribbon from wood particles with thermosetting resins used to bond
the particles. Thickness ranges from 1/32 to 1/4 inch.
Particleboard, multilayer
Wood particles are made or classified into different sizes and placed into the
preprocessed panel configuration to produce a panel with specific properties. Panels destined
for primarily nonstructural uses requiring smooth faces are configured with small particles on the
outside and coarser particles on the interior (core). Panels designed for structural application
may have flakes aligned in orthogonal directions in various layers which mimic the structure of
plywood. Three- and five-layer constructions are most common.
Pascal (Pa)
A unit of pressure or stress equal to one newton per square metre.
Peel
To convert a log into veneer by rotary cutting.
Peeler
Logs used for peeling into thin layers called veneer for the manufacture of plywood.
Pentachlorophenol (penta)
A chemical used in wood preserving; it is usually applied under pressure so that it will
penetrate the wood.
Photocell

Device used to detect the presence of an object. A photocell is composed of a

transmitter, which transmits an infrared signal to a receiver or reflector.
Photosynthesis
A process that plants use to synthesize nutrients from water and minerals using
sunlight.
Pile
A long, heavy timber, round or square, driven deep into the ground to provide a secure
foundation for structures built on soft, wet, or submerged sites (e.g., landing stages, bridge
abutments).
Pilot pressure
Auxiliary pressure used to actuate or control hydraulic components.
Pilot valve
An auxiliary valve used to control the operation of another valve. The controlling stage
of a 2-stage valve.
Piston
A cylindrically shaped part which fits within a cylinder and transmits or receives motion
by means of a connecting rod.
Pitch
Accumulation of resin in the wood. This causes resistance moisture meters to read
high.
Pitch pocket
An opening between growth rings which usually contains or has contained resin or bark
or both.
View: Pitch/Bark Pocket
Pith
The small cylinder of primary tissue of a tree stem around which the annual rings form;
the center of a tree.
View: Pith
Planer
Machine centre used to process rough lumber into a finished product, leaving it smooth
and uniform in size.
View: Planer Examples
Planer mill
Although sometimes a separate facility, the planer mill is usually that part of a sawmill
where lumber is planed, graded, and sorted.
Planer shavings
The residue obtained when a piece of wood is surfaced by a planer.
Planing allowance
The quantity of wood, normally expressed in thousandths of an inch, that is set to be
removed by a planer during surfacing.
Platform frame construction
The type of construction most often used in home building in which the floor joists are
completed first and completely covered with a sub-flooring to form a platform upon which
exterior walls and interior partitions are erected.
PLC

Programmable logic controllers. Industrial computer with I/O capability, which programs
in ladder-relay logic.
Plenum baffle
A fixed or adjustable baffle suspended in the plenum chamber of a dry kiln designed to
split and direct airflow top to bottom through the lumber load.
Plenum chamber
The space between the lumber and the outside walls of a dry kiln.
Plumb
Straight up and down, perfectly vertical.
Plunger
A cylindrically shaped part which has only one diameter and is used to transmit thrust.
A ram.
Ply
A single sheet of veneer forming one layer in a multi-layered piece of plywood.
Plywood
A glued wood panel made up of relatively thin layers of veneer with the grain of adjacent
layers at right angles, or of veneer in combination with a core of lumber or of reconstituted
wood. The usual constructions have an odd number of layers.
Plywood, cold-pressed
Refers to interior-type plywood manufactured in a press without external applications of
heat.
Plywood, exterior
A general term for plywood bonded with a type of adhesive that by systematic tests and
service records has proved highly resistant to weather; microorganisms; cold, hot, and boiling
water; steam; and dry heat.
Plywood, interior
A general term for plywood manufactured for indoor use or in construction subjected to
only temporary moisture. The adhesive used may be interior, intermediate, or exterior.
Plywood, marine
Plywood panels manufactured with the same glueline durability requirements as other
exterior-type panels but with more restrictive veneer quality requirements.
Plywood, molded
Plywood that is glued to the desired shape either between curved forms or more
commonly by fluid pressure applied with flexible bags or blankets (bag molding) or other means.
Plywood, postformed
The product formed when flat plywood is reshaped into a curved configuration by
steaming or plasticizing agents.
Pneumatic
To move or convey an object by air pressure.
Pointing head
Equipment used to form the point on the end of roundwood fence posts. Can consist of
a rotating cutterhead (forms cone shaped point) or sets of cutting blades (two sided/four sided
points).
View: Pointing Head Examples
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.
Poppet
That part of certain valves which prevents flow when it closes against a seat.
Port
An internal or external terminus of a passage in a component.
Positive displacement
A characteristic of a pump or motor which has the inlet positively sealed from the outlet
so that fluid cannot recirculate in the component.
Potentiometer
A control element in the servo system which measures and controls electrical potential.
Pound (lb)
A unit of weight equal to 16 ounces (0.45 kilograms).
View: Metric / Imperial Conversion
Powder-post damage
Small holes (1/16" to 1/12" in diameter) filled with dry, crumbled wood, resulting from the
work of beetles (mostly Lyctus) in seasoned and unseasoned wood.
Power
Work per unit of time. Measured in horsepower (hp) or watts (W).
Power boiler
A boiler that uses wood waste and natural gas as fuel to produce process steam.
Power cut
The circular saw blade rotates in the same direction as the material is fed during the
cutting process.
Power pack
An integral power supply unit usually containing a pump, reservoir, relief valve and
directional control.
Precharge pressure
The pressure of compressed gas in an accumulator prior to the admission of liquid.
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.
Prefabricated housing
Housing units partially or completely built in a factory.
Preprinted linerboard
Linerboard that is printed before being sent to a box plant for manufacture into a
corrugated container.
Preservative
Any substance that, for a reasonable length of time, is effective in preventing the
development and action of wood-rotting fungi, borers of various kinds, and harmful insects that
deteriorate wood.
Pressure

Force per unit area. Usually measured in pounds per square inch (PSI) or kilopascals
(kPa). A kilopascal is equal to 1000 newtons per square metre or 0.0102 kg/sq cm (0.145 lb/sq
in).
Pressure drop
The difference in pressure between any two points of a system or a component.
Pressure line
The line carrying the fluid from the pump outlet to the pressurized port of the actuator.
Pressure override
The difference between the cracking pressure of a valve and the pressure reached
when the valve is passing full flow.
Pressure plate
A side plate in a vane pump or motor cartridge on the pressure port side.
Pressure reducing valve
A valve which limits the maximum pressure at its outlet regardless of the inlet pressure.
Pressure switch
1. An electric switch operated by fluid pressure.
2. Switches that read the available pressure in air and hydraulic lines. These switches are
often used as a safety feature, to prevent equipment from operating when there is not
enough
air pressure or hydraulic fluid pressure.
Pressure treating
A process of impregnating lumber or other wood products with various chemicals, such
as preservatives and fire retardants, by forcing the chemicals into the structure of the wood
using high pressure.
Proportional flow
In a filter, the condition where part of the flow passes through the filter element in
proportion to pressure drop.
Proximity switch
Photoelectric switches that are triggered as a piece passes near them. Proximity
switches are used to detect the presence or absence of material.
PSI
Pounds per square inch.
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.
Pulpwood
Small timber bucked to length (can be longwood or shortwood lengths) for use as a fiber
source in a pulpmill.
Pulse generator
Device attached to a moving chain that produces an electrical signal each time the
chain moves a fixed distance. The pulse generator is attached to the chain and used to track
the movement of the pieces through a scanner.
Pump
A device which converts mechanical force and motion into hydraulic fluid power.

Quality control
Any activity that helps to maximize the value of the raw material and lumber products
through all phases of the manufacturing process.
View: Quality Control Examples
Quartersawn
Lumber sawn so that the annual rings form angles of 45 to 90 degrees with the surface
of the piece.
Radial
1. Coincident with a radius from the axis of the tree or log to the circumference. A
radial section
is a lengthwise section in a plane that passes through the center of the tree stem.
2. A longitudinal surface or plane extending wholly or in part from the pith to the bark.
Radial clearance
Angular clearance on the sides of a saw tooth or saw blade.
Ram
A single-acting cylinder with a single diameter plunger rather than a piston and rod. The
plunger in a ram-type cylinder.
Random lengths (RL)
Lumber of various lengths, usually in even two-foot increments. Lumber offered as
random length will contain a variety of lengths which can vary greatly between manufacturers
and species. A random length loading is presumed to contain a fair representation of the lengths
being produced by a specific manufacturer.
Rate of growth
The amount of tree growth each year expressed as the number of growth rings per inch.
Rays
A ribbon-like aggregate of wood cells extending radially across the grain, radiating out
from the pith to the bark.
Reaction wood
Wood that forms in a tree in response to leaning. Called Compression wood in
softwoods, since it forms on he underside of the stem or limb. In hardwoods it forms on the
upper side and is called Tension wood.
View: Compression Wood
Receiver
Head of a scanner that monitors the infrared signals transmitted by the transmitter head.
Reciprocation
Back-and-forth straight line motion or oscillation.
Recoverable heat
Heat energy from combustion that is actually recovered to do useful work.
Recovery
1. Product recovery: An expression of the amount of product (nominal or actual) that
can be
manufactured from a given input of raw material.
2. Logging recovery: The volume or weight of logs that can be harvested from a given volume
of
standing timber.
View: Product / Lumber Recovery
Recovery boiler

A boiler that recovers process chemicals for re-use and creates process steam with the
heat it generates.
Recyclable paper
Paper capable of being recycled. Almost all paper is recyclable if sorted by paper type
and if contaminants (such as plastic and food products) are removed.
Regenerative circuit
A piping arrangement for a differential type cylinder in which discharge fluid from the rod
end combines with pump delivery to be directed into the head end.
Relative humidity
Ratio of the amount of water vapour present in the air to that which the air would hold at
saturation at the same temperature. It is usually considered on the basis of the weight of the
vapour but, for accuracy, should be considered on the basis of vapour pressures.
Relief valve
A pressure operated valve which by-passes pump delivery to the reservoir, limiting
system pressure to a predetermined maximum value.
Reman
Abbreviation for remanufactured, used to describe boards that require further
manufacturing.
Replenish
To add fluid to maintain a full hydraulic system.
Resaw
A machine to cut boards, planks, slabs, or other material length-wise into two or more
pieces, usually of equal length and width.
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.
Residual fiber
Leftover wood fiber from sawmills and plywood plants, and pulpwood derived from
timber management activities.
Residue
1. Logging residue: Unmerchantable tops, branches, and stumps of felled trees, and
logs and
standing trees that are too small or defective to be removed economically from the woods
during a logging operation.
2. Mill residue: That portion of log input volume that remains after the primary product has been
produced.
Resin
An ingredient of coatings which acts as a binder and gives the coating physical
properties such as hardness and durability.
Resolution
The smallest unit used for taking measurements from a scanner or the encoder.
Resorcinol glue
An adhesive made from resorcinol resin and formaldehyde.
Restriction

A reduced cross-sectional area in a line or passage which produces a pressure drop.

Return line
A line used to carry exhaust fluid from the actuator back to sump.
Reverse casehardening
A final stress-and-set condition in dry lumber in which the outer fibers are under tensile
stress and the inner fibers are under compressive stress. This condition is not reversible. See
also Casehardening.
Reversing valve
A four-way directional valve used to reverse a double-acting cylinder or reversible
motor.
Right-hand mill
A sawmill in which the saw and carriage are on the right-hand side of a person standing
on the log deck and facing the rear of the mill.
Rim speed
The speed of the saw blade at the extreme periphery when rotated.
View: Gang Edger Formula, Quad Sawbox Formula
Rip
To cut a board lengthwise, parallel to the fibers.
Rip tooth
The type of saw tooth adapted for cutting parallel to the fibers of wood.
Ripping
Sawing or cutting with the grain as with a rip saw. When ripping is done on a planer, it
is usually called splitting.
Risers
Small distribution ducts within a direct-fired dry kiln that distribute heated air between
the tracks from an underground main distribution duct.
Roller
A cylindrical body movable about its longitudinal axis.
Rotary actuator
A device for converting hydraulic energy into rotary motion - a hydraulic motor.
Rotary cut
Manner of cutting veneer whereby a log is centered in large lathe. As the log revolves,
the cutting knife moves toward the center and a continuous sheet of veneer is peeled from the
log.
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.
Round-faced hammer
A type of hammer used to flatten the surface and put tension in circular saws. It has a
circular face with a convex plane, the curvature conforming to a radius of 4 inches (114 mm).
Roundup

The irregularly shaped pieces of veneer that are initially produced when a debarked,
irregularly shaped and tapered log engages a rotary lathe during manufacture of veneer.
Roundwood
Wood products that are round, such as pulpwood, posts, pilings, utility poles, and
fencing materials.
RPM
Revolutions per minute.
RTD
A temperature measuring device that measures the change in electrical resistance to
determine temperature (resistive thermal device).
Rung
An element of the PLC ladder logic program. Each rung looks at input signals and turns
output signals on or off. The program runs by scanning the ladder logic, testing the input points
and the instructions on each rung, and turning the output points on or off.
Runout
Deviation from flatness of circular saw near periphery when rotated.
S1S2E
Surfaced one side and two edges.
S4S
Surfaced four sides.
Sap
The watery fluid that circulates through a tree carrying the chemical food that enables
the tree to grow; rich in minerals and nutrients.
Sap stain
A discoloration of sapwood, caused by certain molds and fungi, that is not accompanied
by softening or other disintegration of the wood.
Sapling
A young tree of small diameter, typically 2 to 5 inches at dbh.
Sapwood
The outer layers of a tree stem that contain living cells. The sapwood is distinctly lighter
in Southern Pine than the heartwood it encloses.
Sash gang
A frame saw in which one or several straight blades are clamped in a reciprocating
frame.
Saw eye
The hole in the centre of a circular saw blade so it can be fitted on the arbor.
Saw kerf
The width of the saw tooth at its outermost widest point.
Saw log
A log suitable in size and grade for producing sawn lumber.
Sawdust expansion factor
The amount to allow for sawdust to expand from its solid wood form after being sawn.
This also allow for the air space between sawdust particles in the gullet.

Sawing deviation
The deviation from target sawn sizes caused by the saws.
Sawn timber
Timber finished to size with a saw.
Scaler
The person who measures the diameter and length of the logs determines specie and
grade, and makes deductions for footage calculations.
Scaling (lumber or logs)
Logs are measured (or scaled) for the purpose of estimating the amount of lumber that
can be obtained. Once logs have been processed into lumber it is again necessary to quantify
volumes produced. The process of measuring lumber is called lumber scaling. The volume
lumber yielded from a log may be greater than the estimated volume of lumber. Also see Yield.
Scallop depth
The depth of the arc created by the planer head on the finished surface of lumber.
View: Scallop Depth, Knife Mark Calculator
Scanner
Generally an optical or laser/camera measuring device. Scanners are composed of a
transmitter head and a receiver head, which permit electronics system to obtain the shape and
the dimensions an object.
View: Scanner Examples
Schedule
The "recipe" for drying lumber, which dictates wetbulb and drybulb setpoints throughout
the drying cycle.
Schoolmarm
A tree stem that branches into two or more trunks or tops.
Scragg mill
A special high-speed sawmill designed to saw small diameter logs. A scrag mill typically
has two circle saws arranged in parallel which remove two slabs with one pass of the log
producing a two-sided cant.
Scribner Log Rule
The Scribner Log Rule, developed around 1846, is a good example of a diagram rule. It
was created by drawing the cross-sections of 1-inch boards within circles representing the end
view of logs. A space of 1/4 inch was left between the boards to account for saw kerf. The
Scribner Rule does not have an allowance for log taper and typically underestimates logs,
particularly if the log length is long. The Scribner Decimal C is a different form of the Scribner
Rule; it rounds the volumes to the nearest 10 board feet. For example, 392 board feet on the
Scribner is equivalent to 390 board feet on the Scribner Decimal C scale.
Scribner, East-side
Reference to the method of applying the Scribner Log Rule and obtaining log
measurements, other than in western Oregon and western Washington.
Scribner, West-side
A term commonly used to refer to the method for applying Scribner Log Scale and
taking measurements in western Oregon and western Washington.
Seasoned timber
Timber that has been dried so that the maximum moisture content anywhere in the
piece does not exceed 15%.
Seasoning

Drying timber to a moisture content appropriate to the conditions and purposes for
which it is to be used.
Select structural
The highest grade of structural joists and planks. This grade is applied to lumber of high
quality in terms of appearance, strength, and stiffness.
Select tight knot (STK)
A grade term frequently used for cedar lumber. Lumber designated STK is selected from
mill run for the tight knots in each piece, as differentiated from lumber which may contain loose
knots or knotholes.
Semichemical pulp
Pulp obtained by mild treatment of wood chips by any of the chemical pulping
processes, which remove only part of the lignin from the wood chips, followed by mechanical
treatment to complete the separation of individual cellulose fibers.
Sequence
The order of a series of operations or movements.
Sequencing valve
A pressure operated valve which, at its setting, diverts flow to a secondary line while
holding a predetermined minimum pressure in the primary line.
Servo mechanism (servo)
A mechanism subjected to the action of a controlling device which will operate as if it
were directly actuated by the controlling device, but capable of supplying power output many
times that of the controlling device, this power being derived from an external and independent
source.
Servo valve
Electro-mechanical device used to control a setworks hydraulic cylinder. An electrical
signal is sent to the servo valve which opens, allowing hydraulic fluid to flow into the cylinder.
The voltage level and direction of the electrical signal determine the speed and direction of the
setworks movement.
Set complete
The actual position of a setworks is within a certain distance of the command position to
which it was sent.
Set complete range
The maximum distance allowed between the actual position of a setworks and the
position to which the setworks was sent. When the setworks position is in this range, the
setworks is at set complete.
Sfpm
Surface feet per minute of a saw.
SG
Specific gravity. Also called relative density. As applied to wood, the ratio of the ovendry weight of a sample to the weight of a volume of water equal to the volume of the sample at a
specified moisture content (green, air-dry, or oven-dry).
Shake
1. A separation along the grain, the greater part of which may occur at the common
boundary of
two rings or within a growth ring. It is usually considered to have occurred in the standing
tree
or during felling.
2. A western red cedar roofing and sidewall product made by splitting blocks of cedar, as

opposed to shingles which are manufactured by sawing.

View: Ring Shake
Shank
A device for locking inserted teeth in a circular saw.
Shape Sawing
Sawing a log or cant following the arc or curvature of the log or cant. Also referred to as
curve sawing or sweep sawing. Some systems follow an arc and other systems can follow a
coumpound curve.
View: Shape Sawing Example
Shaper
An implement, consisting of dies and levers, which is used to compress saw teeth to a
prescribed pattern.
Shaving
A small wood particle of indefinite dimensions developed in the planing process. This
cutting action produces a thin chip of varying thickness, usually feathered along at least one
edge and thick at another and generally curled.
Shear
A mechanical cutting head, attached to a harvester, which severs the tree from the
stump with a scissors-like action.
Shear firewood processor
Equipment used to produce firewood as a business. Uses a shearing action to shear the
logs into blocks.
Sheathing
The structural covering, usually of boards, building fiberboards, or plywood, placed over
exterior studding or rafters of a structure.
Sheave
The grooved wheel of a pulley.
Sheaves
Pulleys mounted on the end of the drive and motor shaft over which belts pass to
transfer rotational force from the motor to the shaft.
Shim
A thin piece or strip of metal used to fill in, as in leveling.
Shingles
Thin, rectangular pieces of wood, sawn along the grain and tapering in thickness, used
like tiles for roofing and weatherboarding.
Shiplap
Lumber that has been worked to make a rabbeted joint on each edge so that pieces
may be fitted together snugly for increased strength and stability.
Shipping dry
Having a moisture content (oven-dry basis) of 14 to 20%. Results in reduced shipping
weight and less susceptibility to decay.
Short ton
2,000 pounds or 0.9072 tonnes.
Shortwood
Pulpwood less than 10 feet long.

Shrinkage
The contraction of wood to water loss below fiber saturation point. Expressed as a
percentage of the green dimension.
Side clearance
The distance that the side of the saw tooth projects beyond the body of the saw.
Side dressing
The act of adjusting all saw teeth on a saw to project laterally the same distance from
the plate.
Side gauge
A measuring device to indicate the amount of lateral (sidewise) projection of saw teeth
beyond the surface of the saw.
Siding
The finish covering of the outside wall of a frame building, whether made of horizontal
weatherboards, vertical boards with battens, shingles, or other material.
Signal
A control impulse from a control device or sensor.
Silviculture
The process of growing and tending forests using both natural and enhanced methods.
Skidder
A wheeled or tracked vehicle used for sliding/dragging logs from the stump to the
landing.
Skyline
A cableway stretched tautly between two points and used as a track for a block or
carriage.
Slab
The exterior portion of a log removed in sawing lumber.
Slash
Tree tops, branches, bark, and other debris left after a forest operation.
Sliced
This is the method by which most of the find face of veneers are cut. Flat cut and
quartered veneers are cut on the slicer as are crotch blocks. The log is first sawn into flitches
(sometimes called cants), and this is most commonly a quarter section or half section of a log. It
may be trimmed to a many-sided section, but two parallel sides are necessary, one to be held
against the surface of the flitch table on the slicer, which clamps the flitch and moves up and
down by an electric drive in a slightly shearing motion. The slicer knife, on another section of the
machine is fed toward the flitch table slowly, in increments depending on thickness of veneer
being cut. In contrast t the feed on the veneer lathe, which moves the knife steadily into the log
in rotary cutting, the slicer knife is moved toward the flitch the full amount of the thickness of
veneer with each stroke.
Slope of grain
The angle between the direction of the grain and the axis of a piece of lumber,
expressed as a ratio.
Sludge
Solid material separated from liquid pulp mill effluent during treatment.
Snag

A dead or dying tree that is still standing.

Snaked saws
Wavy saw line seen most often in band-sawed lumber. Graded as skipped dressing.
Snatch block
A block that can be opened on one side to allow a cable or rope to be laid in the block,
instead of threading it through from one end.
Sock, wetbulb
A fabric wick placed over a drybulb that cools the drybulb by evaporation to determine
the relative humidity of the drying conditions.
Soft rot
A special type of decay that develops in the outer wood layers under very wet
conditions, such as in cooling towers and boat timbers. It is caused by micro-fungi that attack
the secondary cell walls (and not the intercellular layer) and destroy its cellulose content.
Softwoods
Generally, one of the botanical groups of trees that in most cases have needlelike or
scalelike leaves, the conifers, also the wood produced by such trees. The term has no
reference to the actual hardness of the wood.
Solid tooth
A saw tooth formed from and an integral part of the saw blade itself.
Solid wood
Wood as it is observed in a tree, log, or piece of lumber and hence free of manufactured
voids as would occur between chips or free of nonwood materials such as resins and other
additives.
Solids fraction
The portion of a space or container that is occupied by solid wood as opposed to voids
between the pieces.
Southern Yellow Pine
A species group, composed primarily of Loblolly, Longleaf, Shortleaf, and Slash Pines.
Various subspecies also are included in the group.
Spar
A tree, wood mast, or metal tower used to support rigging for one of the many cable
yarding systems.
Species
Type of wood: Spruce, Pine, Oak, Cedar, etc.
Specific gravity
Also called relative density. As applied to wood, the ratio of the oven-dry weight of a
sample to the weight of a volume of water equal to the volume of the sample at a specified
moisture content (green, air-dry, or oven-dry).
Specific heat
The heat in joules required to raise the temperature of one gram of wood 1C.
SPF
See Spruce-Pine-Fir.
Splitting maul

A splitting maul or maul is a heavy long handled hammer used for splitting a piece of
wood along its grain. One side is shaped like a sledge hammer and the other is a broad head
axe shape.
Splitting wedge
A triangular shaped tool used to separate two objects. Used in manual log splitting (2
way) or powered log splitters / firewood processors (2, 4, 6 or more ways).
Spool
A term loosely applied to almost any moving cylindrically shaped part of a hydraulic
component which moves to direct flow through the component.
Spring set
Alternately bending saw teeth to make the kerf wider than the blade.
Springwood
The portion of the annual growth ring that is formed during the early part of the growing
season. It is usually less dense and weaker mechanically than latewood.
Spruce-Pine-Fir (SPF)
Canadian woods of similar characteristics that are grouped as one lumber type for
production and marketing purposes. Kiln-dried SPF lumber is used as a structural framing
material in all types of residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural building applications.
SPF species range in color from white to pale yellow.
Sprung saw
A twisted or bent saw which will manifest itself by chattering and heating.
Spur road
A short, low standard branch road generally accessing one or two landings; often dead
ending at the last landing.
Spur trim
In the process of converting a log into veneer, devices called spur knives trim the raw
veneer from a log to a desired veneer length; the difference between the log length and veneer
length is the spur trim.
Square
A measure of the amount of material (e.g., shingles) required to cover a surface area of
100 square feet when applied as recommended.
Square-faced hammer
A type of hammer used to flatten the surface of and put tension in circular saws. The
face has a rectangular outline with a convex plane, the curvature conforming to a radius of 9
inches.
Stack heat loss
Loss of combustion heat via gas emissions in the smokestack of chimney.
Stacker
A mechanical device for making up unit packages of lumber for drying. As each layer of
lumber is deposited on the unit, sticks are inserted manually or by machine between the layers.
View: Lumber Stacker Examples
Steam
Vapor produced by heating water.
Steam sprays
Mechanical equipment for introducing water vapor or steam to the kiln environment.

Stem
The principal axis of a tree, capable of producing sawlogs, veneer logs, large poles, or
pulpwood.
Stere
A metric measure of cordwood or pulpwood representing a stack of such wood 1 x 1 x 1
metres. Approximately 0.27 cord.
Sticker
A wooden strip laid between each layer of lumber as it is stacked for drying. Permits
transfer of heat into and removal of water from the lumber stacks.
Strainer
A coarse filter.
Strapping
Metal or plastic bands tensioned around finished loads of lumber to hold the load
together during transport.
View: Strapping Examples
Streamline flow
A condition where the fluid particles move in continuous parallel paths.
Stroke
1. The length of travel of a piston or plunger.
2. To change the displacement of a variable displacement pump or motor.
Structural timbers
Pieces of wood of relatively large size, the strength or stiffness of which is the
controlling element in their selection and use. Examples of structural timbers are trestle timbers
(stringers, caps, posts, sills, bracing, bridge ties, guardrails); car timbers (car framing, including
upper framing, car sills); framing for building (posts, sills, girders); and crossarms for poles.
Stud
One of a series of vertical load bearing members used as supporting elements in walls
and partitions.
Stumpage
1. The value of timber as it stands uncut in the woods. The residual value after all
logging costs
are taken from the delivered price of logs at the mill yard.
2. The price charged for the right to harvest timber from publicly or privately-owned forest land.
Sub-plate
An auxiliary mounting for a hydraulic component providing a means of connecting piping
to the component.
Suction line
The hydraulic line connecting the pump inlet port to the reservoir or sump.
Sulfate process
A chemical pulping process in which lignin is dissolved by a solution of sodium
hydroxide and sodium sulfide.
Sulfite process
A chemical pulping process in which wood is cooked in aqueous acid sulfite solution
containing free sulfur dioxide.
Sulfite pulp

A chemical wood pulp obtained by cooking wood chips in a bisulfite-sulfurous acid

solution.
Summerwood
The portion of the annual growth ring that is formed after the earlywood formation had
ceased. It is usually denser and stronger mechanically than earlywood.
Sump
A reservoir.
Supercharge
1. To replenish a hydraulic system above atmospheric pressure.
2. To fill an accumulator with fluid under pressure (See Precharge pressure).
Surface checks
Checks that occur on the wood surface during seasoning; they may extend to varying
depths into the wood.
View: Checks
Surfaced
Lumber that has gone through a planer so that its sides are smooth and uniform in size.
Surfaced-dry (S-dry)
The condition referring to lumber that has been air or kiln dried and subsequently
planed to a smooth surface.
Surge
A transient rise of pressure or flow.
Sustained yield
The yield a forest can produce in perpetuity at a given intensity of management without
impairment of the land's productivity, with the intent that there will be balance between timber
growth and harvesting on a sustainable basis.
Swage or swedge
A method of shaping a saw tooth to provide side clearance on both sides of each tooth.
Swamp
To clear brush and obstructions for a cat clearing roads or skidtrails. The person doing
this hand work is called a swamper.
Swash plate
A stationary canted plate in an axial type piston pump which causes the pistons to
reciprocate as the cylinder barrel rotates.
Sweep
A gradual (but pronounced) bend in a log, pole, or piling; considered a defect. Sweep in
a log is analogous to "bow" in a piece of lumber.
Sweep Sawing
Sawing a log or cant following the arc or curvature of the log or cant. Also referred to as
curve sawing or shape sawing. Some systems follow an arc and other systems can follow a
coumpound curve.
View: Sweep Sawing Example
Synchro
A rotary electromagnetic device generally used as an AC feedback signal generator
which indicates position. It can also be used as a reference signal generator.
SYP

Southern Yellow Pine. A species group, composed primarily of Loblolly, Longleaf,

Shortleaf, and Slash Pines. Various subspecies also are included in the group.
Tachometer (AC) (DC)
A device which generates an AC or DC signal proportional to the speed at which it is
rotated and the polarity of which is dependent on the direction of rotation of the rotor.
Tailspar
A spar at the outer end of a skyline system, away from the landing, which elevates and
supports one end of the skyline.
Tailtree
A standing tree used as tailspar.
Tangential
A tangential section is a longitudinal section through a tree perpendicular to a radius.
Flat-grain lumber is sawn tangentially.
Tank
The reservoir or sump.
Taper
1. The difference in diameter between the top end and the butt end of a log.
2. Boards that are thicker or wider on one end than on the other. Graded as skip.
Target moisture content
The amount of moisture targeted to be left in the lumber at the end of a dry kiln charge.
Target size
The size that lumber must be cut in the green form to allow for sawing deviation,
shrinkage in drying and allowance for fibre removed in the finishing process.
View: Target Size
Temperature drop across the load (TDAL)
Also called DAL and Delta T (change in temperature). The temperature of the air
entering a package minus the temperature of the air exiting a package.
Temposonics
Linear displacement transducer.
Tenoning head
Equipment used to form a cylindrical tenon on the end of roundwood posts or poles.
Consists of a rotating cutterhead.
View: Tenoning Head Examples
Tension gauge
Similar to a straightedge but having a convex edge, the curvature of which exactly
coincides with the concave curvature of a properly tensioned saw; used when making the test
for tension.
Tension or tensioning
A method of stretching the saw body in the inner area of either a circular saw or band
saw to compensate for heating that expands the circular saw periphery or the band saw edges.
The amount of tension required is affected by gauge, saw speed, number and kind of teeth,
diameter of a circle saw, width of a band saw, wood species, horsepower, feed speed, etc. As a
general rule on circular saw, large, thin, fast, heavily loaded saws require more tension than
small, thick, slow, lightly loaded saws. Wide, thick band saws require more tension than narrow,
thin bands. A very thin, narrow band may need no tensioning.
Tension wood

Abnormal wood found in leaning trees of some species and characterized by the
presence of gelatinous fibers and excessive longitudinal shrinkage. Tension wood fibers hold
together tenaciously, so that the sawed surfaces usually have projecting fibers, and planed
surfaces often are torn or have raised grain. Tension wood may cause warping.
View: Compression Wood
Thermal oil
A heat transfer fluid used instead of steam. They are not interchangeable within the
same kiln. Thermal oil is capable of higher temperatures at low operating pressure and is not
susceptible to freezing.
Thermocouple (TC)
A sensor that measures temperature based on the voltage difference between two
dissimilar metals.
Thermomechanical pulp (TMP)
A high yield pulp produced by a process in which wood chips are softened by
preheating under pressure prior to mechanical separation into a mass of fibers.
Thermosetting glues and resins
Glues and resins that are cured with heat but do not soften when subsequently
subjected to high temperatures.
Thinning
A practice in which certain trees are removed from a dense stand to allow the remaining
trees adequate sunlight, nutrients and moisture to grow at an even rate.
Tier
Horizontal course in a stack of lumber.
Timber supply area (TSA)
An area of forest land designated by the Minister of Forests of British Columbia and
allocated an AAC from which non-area based timber tenures are granted.
Timber, standing
Timber still standing of the stump.
Timbers
Lumber that is nominally 5 inches or more in least dimension. Timbers may be used as
beams, stringers, posts, caps, sills, girders, purlins, and so forth.
Timbers, round
Timbers used in the original round form, such as poles, piling, posts, and mine timbers.
Ton (T)
1. US unit of weight equal to 2,000 lb; also called a Short ton.
2. British unit of weight equal to 2,240 lb (1,016 kg); also called a Long ton.
View: Metric / Imperial Conversion
Tongue and groove
Lumber machined to have a groove on one side and a protruding tongue on the other,
so that pieces will fit snugly together, with the tongue of one fitting into the groove of the other.
Tonne
A unit of weight in the metric system equal to 1,000 kilograms or approximately 2,204
pounds. Also called a Metric ton.
View: Metric / Imperial Conversion
Tooth bite

The length of cut for each tooth on a saw as wood is feed to the saw. Tooth bite will
vary based on arbor rpm, tooth pitch, saw diameter and feed speed.
View: Bandmill Formula, Gang Edger Formula, Quad Sawbox Formula
Tooth pitch
The distance between teeth on a saw.
Tooth pressure
The force each tooth exerts when cutting.
Top bevel
An angle filed across the top of the tooth, usually staggered on alternate teeth. If all
teeth are angled in one direction, the saw will pull to one side.
Top clearance
The angle of clearance on the top of a saw tooth. Also "Clearance angle" or "Back
clearance angle".
Torque
A rotary thrust. The turning effort of a fluid motor usually expressed in inch pounds.
Torque converter
A rotary fluid coupling that is capable of multiplying torque.
Torque motor
A type of electromechanical transducer having rotary motion used in the input stages of
servo valves.
Total reduced sulphur (TRS)
Sulphur compounds produced in a kraft pulping process that can exhibit a "rotten egg"
smell.
Total suspended solids (TSS)
The total amount of suspended solids dispersed in a liquid.
Tower
A steel mast or framework, generally portable, used instead of a spar tree for cable
yarding.
TPD
Tons per day.
Tracheids, longitudinal
The elongated cells or fibers that comprise the majority of the anatomical structure of
softwoods. Also present in some hardwoods.
Transducer (or feedback transducer)
An element which measures the results at the load and sends a signal back to the
amplifier.
Traps
A device that separates condensate and air from the steam within the steam heating
coils.
Traps, float and thermostatic
Traps that discharge condensate at a rate dependent on the position of an internal float.
Air is removed through a thermostatic air vent.
Traps, inverted bucket

Mechanical traps that operate on the difference in the density between steam and
water.
Traps, orifice
Traps that discharge steam at a constant rate and have no internal moving parts to alter
or stem its flow.
Traps, thermostatic
Traps that use an internal bellows, which expands when steam flows to the trap, closing
the orifice. As condensate accumulates the bellows contracts to release it.
Trim
The amount of extra length allowed when bucking logs or sawing green lumber to
compensate for end checking and damage in transit, and for "squaring up" at the mill. The
allowance is specified in contracts and by log scaling agencies.
Trimmer
Machine centre with multiple saws for trimming defect from boards and producing a
defined length of lumber.
View: Trimmer Examples
Trimming
The manufacturing step that squares the length of boards.
Truss
An assembly of members combined to form a rigid framework. All members are
interconnected to form triangles. Light frame trusses are made from dimension lumber
restrained by toothed plates. Heavy trusses are made for large members restrained by bolts and
connectors or glulam rivets.
Turbine
A rotary device that is actuated by the impact of a moving fluid against blades or vanes.
Turbulent flow (turbulence)
A condition where the fluid particles move in random paths rather than in continuous
parallel paths.
Turn
Any log or group of logs attached by some means to power and moved from a point of
rest to a landing.
Twin circular
A mill that has both a right-hand and a left-hand saw; used to slab logs or to rip cants.
Both saws may be so mounted as to permit altering the distance between them. Also used to
describe an over-under circular saw headrig.
Twist
A spiral distortion along the length of a piece of timber so that the four corners of any
face are no longer in the same plane.
View: Twist
Twists
Ridged projections on the surface of a circular saw.
Two-way valve
A directional control valve with two flow paths.
Undercut
A notch cut in a tree to guide the direction of the tree fall and to prevent splitting or
kickback.

Uninterruptible power supply (UPS)

Provides conditioned power and battery backup for computers in the case of a power
failure or brownout.
Unload
To release flow (usually directly to the reservoir), to prevent pressure being imposed on
the system or portion of the system.
Unloading valve
A valve which by-passes flow to tank when a set pressure is maintained on its pilot port.
Unpeeled (roundwood)
Roundwood without the bark removed. Commonly called "Barkies".
Unscrambler
Machine that maximizes the loading by retrieving a single piece of wood from a pile and
by transferring it to a conveyor or transfer.
View: Unscrambler Examples
Vacuum
Pressure less than atmospheric pressure. It is usually expresses in inches of mercury
(in Hg) as referred to the existing atmospheric pressure.
Value-added product / value-added production
Adding value to a product by further processing it. Examples of value-added wood
products include joinery stock, windows, doors, kitchen cabinets, flooring and mouldings. Valueadded pulp and paper products include such items as packaging, diapers, coated papers,
tissue, business papers and stationery, and other consumer paper products.
Valve
A device which controls fluid flow direction, pressure, or flow rate.
Velocity
The speed of flow through a hydraulic line. Expressed in feet per second (fps) or inches
per second (ips).
Veneer
A thin layer or sheet of wood.
Veneer, rotary-cut
Cut in a lathe which rotates a log or bolt, chucked in the center, against a knife.
Veneer, sawed
Produced by sawing.
Veneer, sliced
Sliced off a log, bolt or flitch with a knife.
Vent
To permit opening of a pressure control valve by opening its pilot port (vent connection)
to atmospheric pressure.
Venting
The act of discharging hot, moisture-laden air from a dry kiln.
Vents
The opening in a dry kiln roof or wall that can be opened and closed to control the
wetbulb temperature in a kiln.

Vertical grain (VG)

Lumber that is sawn at approximately right angles to the annual growth rings so that the
rings form an angle of 45 degrees or more with the surface of the piece.
Vertically laminated timbers
Laminated timbers designed to resist bending loads applied parallel to the wide faces of
the laminations.
Viscosity
A measure of the internal friction or the resistance of a fluid to flow.
Viscosity index
A measure of the viscosity-temperature characteristics of a fluid as referred to that of
two arbitrary reference fluids.
Waferboard
A particle panel product made of wafer-type flakes. Usually manufactured to possess
equal properties in all directions parallel to the plane of the panel.
Wane
The absence of square wood on the edge of a board from any source.
View: Wane
Wane allowance
The maximum percentage of wane that can be left on the edge of a cut board.
Warp
Any deviation from a true or plane surface in a board.
View: Warp
Water box or trough
A water container mounted under the wetbulb that supplies water to the wick or sock in
a dry kiln.
Water hammer
Potentially damaging condition in steam pipes where waves develop on the condensate
surface within a pipe as steam rushes over it. If the peak of the wave becomes high enough to
reach the roof of the pipe, the water in the wave is pushed violently to the far end of the pipe.
Waterlogged
Condition of steam coils where condensate is not discharged at a sufficient rate to keep
it from accumulating in the coil. Filled with condensate, the coils do not transfer significant heat
to the kiln.
Weave or wobble
A circular saw will weave, wobble, or flutter if the rim area is too long for the speed at
which it operates. The speed at which it flutters is the critical speed for that particular saw
diameter and tension.
Wedge
A triangular shaped tool used to separate two objects. Used in manual log splitting (2
way) or powered log splitters / firewood processors (2, 4, 6 or more ways).
Western Red Cedar
Thuja Plicata. This species is found principally along the western edges of British
Columbia, Washington and Oregon. The wood is soft, straight-grained, and extremely resistant
to decay and insect damage. It is used extensively in roof coverings, exterior sidings, fences,
decks, and other outdoor applications.
Wetbulb

A drybulb with a wet sock pulled over it to measure the cooling effect of moisture
evaporation from its surface. Used to monitor and maintain humidity conditions within a dry kiln.
Wetbulb depression
The difference in wetbulb and drybulb temperatures.
White rot
A type of wood-destroying fungus that attacks both cellulose and lignin, producing a
spongy and stringy mass that is usually whitish but which may assume various shades of
yellow, tan, and light brown.
White wood (roundwood)
Roundwood with the bark removed by any method and left untreated.
Widow maker
Any loose overhead debris such as limbs or tree tops that may fall at any time. Widow
makers are extremely dangerous and present the faller with a continual source of danger. Limb
or other loose material dropped or thrown from a tree toward the faller as the tree is felled.
Wobble plate
A rotating canted plate in an axial type piston pump which pushes the pistons into their
bores as it "wobbles".
Wood
A solid lignocellulosic material naturally produced in trees and some shrubs, made of up
to 40%-50% cellulose, 20%-30% hemicellulose, and 20% -30% lignin.
Wood biodeterioration
The destruction and eventual reduction of wood to its component sugars and lignin
elements through attack by organisms such as, fungi, and certain insects, for instance, termites.
Wood cells (vessels)
The basic units comprising wood having open ends and set one above the other so as
to form continuous tubes. The openings of the vessels on the surface of a piece of wood are
usually referred to as pores.
Wood preservative
Any suitable substance that is toxic to fungi, insects, borers, and other living wooddestroying organisms.
Wood residue
Wood chips, shavings and sawdust produced by a sawmill.
Wood soap
A naturally occurring bi-product of pulping wood chips.
Work
The application of force over a definite distance. Work (W) = Force (F) x distance (s).
Expressed in joules, ergs, and foot-pounds. The joule is exactly the amount of work done in
exerting the basic metric unit of force, 1 newton, over the basic metric unit of distance, 1 metre.
Yard (yd)
Unit of length equal to 3 feet (91.5 centimetres).
View: Metric / Imperial Conversion
Yield
1. Product recovery: An expression of the amount of product (nominal or actual) that
can be
manufactured from a given input of raw material.

2. Logging recovery: The volume or weight of logs that can be harvested from a given volume
of
standing timber.
Zoning
The way a dry kiln is divided into temperature control areas.
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