Glossary of Terms

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.

Cutterhead (planers and jointer planers)

A rotating cutterhead with adjustable blades or knives. The blades or knives remove material from the workpiece.

Dado Cut

A non-through cut which produces a square-sided notch or trough in the workpiece (requires a special blade).

Featherboard

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 gauge, or other aids.

Gum

A sticky, sap-based residue from wood products.

Heel

Alignment of the blade to the fence.

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 back toward operator.

Leading End

The end of the workpiece pushed into the tool first.

Miter Cut

A cutting operation made with the workpiece at any angle to the blade other than 90°.

Non-Through Cuts

Any cutting operation where the blade does not extend completely through the thickness of the workpiece.

Push Blocks (for 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 (for table saws)

Devices used to feed the workpiece through the saw blade during cutting operations. A push stick (not a push block) should be used for narrow ripping operations. These aids help keep the operator's hands well away from the blade.

Pilot Hole (drill presses)

A small hole drilled in a workpiece that serves as a guide for drilling large holes accurately.

Resaw

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

A cutting operation along the length of the workpiece.

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.

Set

The distance that the tip of the saw blade tooth is bent (or set) outward from the face of the blade.

Snipe (planers)

Depression made at either end of a workpiece by cutter blades when the workpiece is not properly supported.

Through Sawing

Any cutting operation where the blade extends completely through the thickness of the workpiece.

Throw-Back

The throwing back of a workpiece usually caused by the workpiece being dropped into the blade or being placed inadvertently in contact with the blade.

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.