Anti-kickback pawls (radial arm and table saws)
A device which, when properly installed and maintained,
is designed to stop the workpiece from being kicked back
toward the front of the saw during a ripping operation.
Arbor
The shaft on which a blade or cutting tool is mounted.
Bevel cut
A cutting operation made with the blade at any angle other
than 90° to the table surface.
Chamfer
A cut removing a wedge from a block so the end (or part of
the end) is angled rather than at 90°.
Compound cut
A cross cut made with both a miter and a bevel angle.
Cross cut
A cutting or shaping operation made across the grain or the
width of the workpiece.
Cutter head (planers and jointer planers)
A rotating cutterhead with adjustable blades or knives. The
blades or knives remove material from the workpiece.
Dado cut (table saws and compound sliding miter saws)
A non-through cut which produces a square, three-sided
notch or trough in the workpiece.
Featherboard (table saws)
A device used to help control the workpiece by guiding
it securely against the table or fence during any ripping
operation.
FPM or SPM
Feet per minute (or strokes per minute), used in reference
to blade movement.
Freehand
Performing a cut without the workpiece being guided by a
fence, miter fence, or other aids.
Gum
A sticky, sap-based residue from wood products.
Heel
Alignment of the blade to the miter gauge groove.
Kerf
The material removed by the blade in a through cut or the
slot produced by the blade in a non-through or partial cut.
Kickback
A hazard that can occur when the blade binds or stalls,
throwing the workpiece in the direction of the spinning blade.
Miter cut
A cutting operation made with the workpiece at any angle
to the blade other than 90°.
Non-through cuts (table saws and compound sliding
miter saws)
Any cutting operation where the blade does not extend
completely through the thickness of the workpiece. This is a
cut where the blade will not cut the workpiece into two pieces.
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
8 — English
Pilot hole (drill presses and scroll saws)
A small hole drilled in a workpiece that serves as a guide
for drilling large holes accurately or for insertion of a scroll
saw blade.
Push blocks (jointer planers)
Device used to feed the workpiece over the jointer planer
cutterhead during any operation. This aid helps keep the
operator's hands well away from the cutterhead.
Push blocks and push sticks (table saws)
Devices used to feed the workpiece through the saw blade
during cutting operations. When making a narrow rip cut
without a jig or similar cutting aid, always use a push stick (not
a push block). A push block can be used for narrow ripping
operations, if a jig or similar cutting aid is used. These aids
help keep the operator's hands well away from the blade.
Rabbet
A non-through cut positioned on the end or edge of the
workpiece which produces a square, two-sided notch or
trough in the workpiece.
Resaw (table saws and band saws)
A cutting operation to reduce the thickness of the workpiece
to make thinner pieces.
Resin
A sticky, sap-based substance that has hardened.
Revolutions per minute (RPM)
The number of turns completed by a spinning object in one
minute.
Ripping or rip cut (table saws)
A cutting operation along the length of the workpiece and
typically in the direction of the grain.
Riving knife/spreader/splitter (table saws)
A metal piece, slightly thinner than the blade, which helps
keep the kerf open and also helps to prevent kickback.
Saw blade path
The area over, under, behind, or in front of the blade. As it
applies to the workpiece, that area which will be or has been
cut by the blade.
Snipe (planers)
Depression made at either end of a workpiece by cutter
blades when the workpiece is not properly supported.
Taper cut
A cut where the material being cut has a different width at
the beginning of the cut from the end.
Through sawing
Any cutting operation where the blade extends completely
through the thickness of the workpiece. This type of cut will
separate a single workpiece into two pieces.
Workpiece or material
The item on which the operation is being done.
Worktable
Surface where the workpiece rests while performing a cutting,
drilling, planing, or sanding operation.