FEW - (Concerning Plywood Face Grades) - A small number of characteristics without regard to their arrangement in the panel.

Fiberboard - Panel board made from wood fiber wood fiber or pulp bonded with adhesive; plywood substitute.

Fiddleback - A grain characteristic that has a rippled appearance. (Maple, Mahogany and Sycamore). veneers used on violins.

Figure - The pattern produced in a wood surface by annual growth rings, rays, knots, deviations from natural grain such as interlocked, curly and wavy grain and irregular coloration.

Flake - See fleck ray.

Flat-Cut - See Plain-Slice.

Fleck, Ray - Portion of a ray as it appears on the quartered surface. Fleck is often a dominate appearance feature in quartered Oak.

Flitch - A complete bundle of veneer sheets laid together in sequence as they are cut from a given log or section of a log.

Gap - Open slits in the inner plies or improperly joined veneers.

Grain - The direction, size, arrangement and appearance of the fibers in wood or veneer. The 8' grain direction in 4' x 8' plywood.

Grain Slope - Expression of the angle of the grain to the long edges of the veneer component.

Grain Sweep - Expression of the angle of the grain to the long edges of the veneer component over the area extending one-eight of the length of the piece from the ends.

Green Lumber - Freshly sawn; unseasoned lumber.

Gross Lumber Tally - Lumber measured when freshly cut.  NOTE: Lumber will shrink from 3% to 11% after kiln drying....depending on the species.

Growth Rings - New wood formed by the annual growth of a tree. (Also called annual rings).

Gum Pockets - Well-defined openings between rings of annual growth, containing gum or evidence of prior gum accumulations.

Gum Spots and Streaks - Gum or resinous material or color spots and streaks caused by prior resin accumulations sometimes found on panel and lumber surfaces. especially common in Cherry.

Gymnosperm - The class of plants having naked seeds (not enclosed in an ovary). Within this group are all trees yielding softwood lumber.

Hairline - A thin, perceptible line showing at the joint of two pieces of wood.

permits the cutting of log on a wider sweep than when mounted with its center secured in the lathe to produce rotary sliced veneer. A type of half round cutting is used to achieve plain-sliced or flat-cut veneer.

Hardboard - Homogeneous panels manufactured primarily from inter-felted lignocellulosic (wood) fibers consolidated under heat and pressured with a density of (31 Lb./cu.ft.) or more often termed "masonite".

Hardwood - General term used to designate lumber or veneer produced from temperate zone deciduous or tropical broad-leaved trees in contrast to softwood, which is produced form trees which usually needled bearing or coniferous. The term does not infer hardness in its physical sense.

Heartwood - The non-active or dormant center of a tree generally distinguishable from the outer portion (sapwood) by its darker color. Heartwood is more decay-resistant than sapwood.

Honeycomb - A cellular separation that occurs in the interior of a board, usually along the wood rays.

Hygroscopic - Wood products absorb moisture and expand when exposed to high humidity and expel moisture and shrink in low humidity environments, changing and balancing with its general surroundings.

Inconspicuous - Barely detectable with the naked eye at a distance of 6 feet to 8 feet (See Blending).

Inner Plies - Plies other than face or back plies in a panel construction. Crossbands and centers are classed as inner plies (See Core).

Joint - The common edge between two adjacent materials in the same plane.

Joint Edge - Joint running parallel to grain of the wood.

Joint, Open - Joint in which two adjacent pieces of veneer in the same plane do not fit tightly together. (See Hairline).

Kerf - The path that any saw makes in the process of cutting. Sawdust removed in the sawing process.

Kiln Drying - Artificial method of dry lumber by forcing heated air to circulate around the lumber in an enclosed building.

Kiln Dried (KD) - Wood that has been artificially dried to a moisture content required for a specific end-use application.

Knot - A circular, woody fiber in a board that once formed the base of a branch or twig growing from the trunk of living tree.