Air Dried - Removing moisture from green wood by exposing to the air usually in a yard without artificial heat. Not a complete drying process for interior woodwork.

Angiosperm - Belonging to the class of plants having seeds enclosed in an overlay. Within this class, the subclass dicotyledons includes all hardwood trees.

Back - The side reverse to the face of a panel or the poorer side of a panel in any grade of plywood calling for a face and back.

Backing Board - The board remaining on faceplate after slicing veneer. Usually thin boards (1/2" to 3/4" thick). Generally backing boards are quarter sawn and make beautiful stable wood floors, paneling etc.

Balanced Matched - Two or more veneer components or leaves of equal size to make up a single face.

Balanced Panel - Plywood thickness composed of an odd number of veneers. A balanced panel is one which is free of warp that affects serviceability for its intended use.

Band Sawn - Saw blade tooth markings (kerf) on face at right angle to edge of board.

Bark Pocket - Bark around which normal wood has grown.

Bird Peck - A patch of distorted grain resulting from birds pecking; sometimes containing ingrown bark.

Bird's Eye - Small decorative circular figure, common in Hard Maple.

Blending - Color change that is detectable at a distance of 6 feet to 8 feet but which does not detract from the overall appearance of the panel.

Board Foot - A piece of lumber 1 inch thick,12 inches wide and 1 foot long, or its cubic equivalent.

Book Matched - Adjacent veneer sheets are opened like a book, matching the back of one sheet with the face of the next. Opposite slant of grain creates a light and dark effect (tight and loose veneers).

Bow - The distortion in a board that deviates from flatness within the length of the board (board shaped like the bow of a bow & arrow).

Brashness - Condition of wood characterized by low resistance to shock and by abrupt failure across the grain without splintering.

Burl - A burl is a swirl or twist in the grain of the wood which does not contain a knot (figured wood around a knot).

is associated with abrupt color variation and/or a cluster of small dark piths caused by a cluster of adventitious buds.

Burl, Blending - A swirl, twist, or distortions in the grain of the wood which usually occurs near a knot or crotch but does not contain a knot and does not contain abrupt color variation. A blending burl is detectable at 6 feet to 8 feet as a swirl or roundel.

Cambium - (Vascular Cambium) The actively dividing layer of cells that lies between the bark and the sapwood and gives rise to secondary xylem and phloem or, in other words, the layer of tissue just beneath the bark from which the new wood and bark cells of each year's growth develop (the growing part of a tree).

Cathedral - A grain appearance characterized by a series and inverted "V" or cathedral type patterns common in plain-sliced (flat-cut) veneer.

Cell - A chamber or component at some time containing a protoplast; a general term fro the minute units of wood structure. It includes fibers, vessel segments and other elements of diverse structure and functions.

Cell Wall - The limiting membrane of a cell

Cellulose - The carbohydrate that is the principal constituent of wood and forms the framework of the cells.

Centers - Inner plies whose grain direction runs parallel to that of the outer plies in veneer core plywood.

Center Match - An even number of veneer components or leaves of equal size matched with a joint in the center of the panel to achieve horizontal symmetry or balance.

Check - a lengthwise separation in the wood surface caused by rapid or faulty seasoning.

Circular Sawn - Saw blade tooth marking are curved on the face of a board. Lumber sawn by a Circular Saw.

Clear Face Cutting - A cutting having one clear face.

Close Grain - Wood with narrow growth rings.

Course Grain - "Rapid growth" wood with wide growth rings.

Collapse - The flattening of single cells or row of cells in hardwood during the drying or pressure treatment of wood, characterized externally by a caved-in or corrugated appearance. Also, termed Honeycomb.