A simple and accessible tool for understanding the fundamental terms related to wood. From the meaning of sapwood and heartwood to the characteristics of texture, grain, and density. A useful resource for professionals, citizens, and students who want to familiarize themselves with the language of the sector.
Machine designed to make the protruding part (called the ” tongue”) required for a tongue-and-groove joint.
Breaking strength value determined as a result of a tensile test.
A type of reaction wood that occurs in the inclined trunks and in the upper cross-section of the branches of many broad-leaved trees. Anatomically it is characterised by gelatinous fibres whose lumen is filled with an anomalous form of cellulose layers. Macroscopically, it is usually detectable by a lighter, shinier colour than the surrounding wood and by a cottony appearance of the surfaces. Tension wood has a higher longitudinal shrinkage than normal wood and it is susceptible to strong flatness deformations.
Mollusks belonging to the genus Teredo that attack wood submerged in seawater.
Hole in wood caused by marine organisms of the genus Toredo. The hole is normal to the grain and does not exceed 20 mm in diameter. NOTE: The tunnel may be coated with lime.
Mollusks that attack wood submerged in seawater.
Apotracheal parenchyma cells isolated or in a more or less continuous layer of varying thickness at the closure of the growing season.
Social insects that cause very serious damage to wood of both deciduous and coniferous trees. In Italy there are two species: Reticulitermes lucifugus and Calotermes flavicollis.
Technical operation of determining one or more characteristics of a given product, process, or other service according to specified procedures.
All instruments, standards, reference materials, auxiliary and calculating apparatus necessary for carrying out a measurement. The term includes measuring apparatus used both for testing and checking and for setting. For example, there are those for measuring dimensions, other for measuring the value of angles (for both square and oblique elements) or for measuring deformations or conditioning.
Specific technical procedure for performing a test. Test methods are a necessary component of technical standards.
Document presenting the results of a test performed by a laboratory and other information relating to it. The term ‘certificate’ is incorrect and is often used instead of the term ‘test report’.
Species tested for the determination of a property.
Laboratory conducting tests.
Visual character of wood determined by its anatomical structure and the width and uniformity of the growth rings. It is usually defined by the adjectives coarse, semi-fine or fine, the characteristics of which are established in the specific grading standards.
Plywood modified by a mechanical process to increase surface relief.
Point where the log will be cut during cross cutting.
Amount of heat flowing in unit time through a unit surface of a substance of unit thickness when the temperature of its opposite faces differs by one degree centigrade.
Reversible increase in the size of a material caused by an increase in temperature.
A heating system, often used in dryers, splicers and presses, which uses diathermic oil as the heating agent. The fluid is heated and circulated in the operating machine.
Ability of a material to reduce the transmission of heat between environments at different temperatures. It is expressed through the thermal conductivity measured in watts (unit of power) per meter (unit of length or thickness) per kelvin (unit of temperature), i.e. from the Greek letter lambda = W / (m . K) In other words, conductivity is the amount of heat transferred in 1 h (hour) through a surface of 1 m2 with a thickness of 1 m to obtain the variation of one degree of temperature (1 K) between inside and outside.
Synthetic adhesive that, when cured, is neither soluble nor melts when exposed to heat (irreversible polymerization).
Abnormal dark area of the heartwood of some tropical species. It is associated with a higher density and different anatomical properties.
Dimension perpendicular to the surface of a sawn timber, panel or other semi-finished product.
In wood flooring elements, it is the thickness existing between the face and an underlying discontinuity.
Operation that generally precedes the sanding of a wood-based panel and consists of leveling its thickness by passing it between two opposing cylinders lined with sandpaper.
A silvicultural operation aimed at reducing the density of a forest stand. Thinnings are carried out from the pole stage to the final or regeneration cut.
Intermediate cuttings consisting of supression of supernumerary stems.
Country or territory that is not a member of the European Union.
A device for connecting implements and operating machines to the tractor. It is connected to the lifting device (hydraulic lift) and together they constitute the load-bearing coupling.
Crack or fissure that extends from one surface of a piece of wood to the opposite or adjoining surface.
Natural veneer coloured with any colour. It features the same properties, in terms of workability and end use, as natural veneers.
See “sanding through”
Wood species Scientific name: Entandrophragma angolense (Welw.) ATIBT nomenclature: Tiama. Origin: West and East Africa.
The vertical alignment of pieces or laths in the formation of a sawn timber pile.
In veneering, the term denotes the surface of the sheet that is in contact with the back of the knife during cutting and is therefore not affected by lathe checks.
Rotary cut veneer or sliced veneer that shows little difference between the stretched side and the compressed side, i.e., in which there is no noticeable cracking on the stretched side that would make it abnormally flexible.
Special type of erect ray cell, apparently empty, approximately the same height as procumbent cells. It is present in indefinite horizontal series, usually scattered among the procumbent cells. Note: Common in certain Tiliales and Malvales species.
A wood assortment, generally valuable and of good quality, intended for joinery work.
Timber processed to the dimensions required for the needs of a given installation or industrial sector. For example: timber for furniture factories, lamination timber, model timber.
Wide and deep natural furrow (occurring in a forest context) along which timber is harvested by sliding.
Product obtained after the processing of wood derived from standing or felled trees (wood-based panels and particles are not included). Firewood is usually considered excluded from the definition. The French and German terms also translate the Italian term “legno”
A registered trademark of Trus Joist MacMillan for an oriented strand lumber composed of particles with a nominal length of 30 cm pressed by vapor injection to form wood elements up to 14 cm thick and with a surface area of 2.44 x 10.5 m. Originally called PSL-300, the product is particularly suitable for the window and door industry where it can be coated with vinyl film or sliced veneer.
Part of a work phase. The identification of sub-stages is used only in detailed studies.
In a bonded finger joint, it is the distance between the finger tip and the slot base.
In a finger joint, it is the distance between the faces of the fingers, measured at the tip.
Property of a mixture to become liquid when agitated and to congeal when rested.
See “butt end cutting”.
Sawing or cutting wood in a direction perpendicular to the grain.
Sawing or cutting the wood in a direction parallel to the grain.
Coppicing of a stem at a certain height from the ground.
Watering by sprinkling droplets.
Difference between upper and lower permitted deviation. It is an absolute value, so it has no sign (unlike the permitted deviation).
Measure of mass, accepted by the International System, equivalent to 1000 kg.
Continuous relief (small in the case of flooring), protruding into the side and/or head of an element. It is intended to fit into the groove of a flanking and/or adjacent element. It can be obtained directly from the element by shaping or by fluting (core). In the furniture industry it is also called “tenon”.
See “tongue-and-groove joint”.
Joint system in which the prominent profile (“tongue”) of one element fits exactly into the recessed profile (“groove”) of another. Such a system allows stresses to be transferred efficiently through the joint.
Element of the cutting part of a saw blade.
Engraved marks left by misaligned saw teeth.
The set of teeth of a saw blade.
In a pallet, deck on which the load is placed.
Diameter measured at the smaller diameter end.
Part at the highest end of tree stems with a diameter up to 8-10 cm in conifers, and 5-7 cm in deciduous trees.
Also called the last log or top end log, it is the log taken at the smallest end grain of the trunk.
See “top end log”.
In wood flooring, it is the thickness between the face and any type of joint, groove or glue line.
Surface of a sawn timber on which transverse fibers are visible due to distortion of the grain.
Slope of grain caused by damage to the top of a tree that occurred during its growth.
See “top rupture”.
See “topping”.
Subphase of limbing indicating the cutting of the top end of a tree.
A particular condition of the surface of a sawn timber characterised by the presence of partially detached and raised fibres.
Uplift of wood fibers on the surface caused by the presence of tension wood or highly deviated grain.
See “torn grain”.
Stress applied to one end of a body that tends to make it warp or rotate while the other end is constrained.
Breaking strength value determined as a result of a torsion test.
The thickened central part of the pit membrane.
Mass of the inorganic residue remaining after combustion under specific conditions. Typically it is expressed as a percentage in relation to the fuel mass in the anhydrous state.
It is the sum of the delamination lengths of all glue lines within a test workpiece.
Management technique using a team approach to involve the entire workforce of a company or organization in the achievement of stated goals and in the implementation of measures to improve product quality and production methods based on recognition of customer expectations. The broadening of quality concepts from the technical to the managerial aspects of the company. In every aspect of business operations, concepts such as quality assurance, customer priority, and continuous improvement of operations are important.
Shrinkage of wood in a given anatomical direction (radial, tangential, longitudinal). Occurs in the transition from the saturated state of the fibers to the anhydrous state. Shrinkage is expressed as a percentage of the dimension measured in the saturated state.
Swelling of wood in a given anatomical direction (radial, tangential, longitudinal). It occurs in the transition from the anhydrous to saturated fiber state. It is expressed as a percentage of the size measured in the anhydrous state.
Structural wood panels sized to obtain uniform thickness by light surface sanding during manufacturing.
Structure suitable for supporting the skyline by means of a mounting block. It does not allow the carriage to pass through.
A yarder consisting of a winch with two or more drums that contain and drive the hauling and carrying ropes, as well as any other ropes. It also includes a turret (acts as an end retractor) on top of which the ropes are sent back. It can be carried or towed by tractor, or mounted on a load-bearing tractor or truck.
Part of a cell wall, rod-shaped or round, that radially projects through the lumen.
Ability to reconstruct the history and track the use or location of an object or activity (or similar objects and activities) through documented and arranged identification. The term “traceability” can take one of the following three main meanings: (a) referring to destination, it relates to a product or service; (b) referring to calibration, relates measuring instruments to national or international samples, to primary samples, or to basic physical constants and properties. The term “riferibilità” is also used in this area in the Italian language. (c) referring to data collection, relates calculations and general data through the quality spiral, to a product or service. Traceability requirements must be specified with reference to a time period or starting point.
The main water-conducting elements of wood, mostly vascular elements and tracheids. Note: In primary xylem, tracheal elements have only annular, spiral or reticulated thickenings, without pit.
Long dead cell found in the wood of conifers. It has both mechanical support and conduction function. In the cell walls, they have bordered pits that allow the transfer of fluids between adjacent cells, while they have no openings in the end walls (unlike the vessels of broadleaf trees, which have terminal perforations). This characteristic causes slower sap movement (and thus also greater difficulty in impregnating the wood) in that type of wood. There are also radial tracheids, with a transport function within the rays.
Geometric drawing of a track, road or cable car line with planimetric and elevation features. Also, trace on the ground of the track, road to be built or cable car line.
Self-propelled machine intended for towing and driving implements.
Name by which a particular species of wood is known commercially.
Any natural or legal person who, whilst engaged in a commercial activity, sells or buys timber or timber products already on the internal market.
Striproad consisting of a natural or coarsely improved trail. It is used primarily for tractor-trailer extraction or tractor-trailer movement.