Glossary

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Understanding wood products

Cord

(1) A standard cord is a stack of cut wood 4' high, 4' wide, and 8' long. 

(2) A face cord is 4' by 8', but the stack is made of split wood or logs under 4' long. These are usually 12”, 18”, or 24" long.

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Dimensional Lumber

A term used for lumber that is finished or planed and cut to standardized width and depth specified in inches. Examples of common lumber sizes are 2x4 (actual size 1-1/2"x3-1/2), 2x6 (actual size 1-1/2x5-1/2), and 4x4 (actual size 3-1/2x 3-1/2).

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Rough Sawn Lumber is originally cut from logs without smoothing or sanding.  Typical "nominal" dimensions include 1x6, 1x8, 1x10, 2x4, 2x6,  2x8 etc.

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Flitch 

A portion of a sawn log which is insufficient for finished lumber (due to bark or defects on one or more sides). Usually intended for remanufacturing into lumber or veneer.

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Grade Sawing

A sawing method when the log is sawn, turned to a new face, sawn and turned again up to five times.

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Quarter Sawn

A sawing method generally defined as lumber sawn with growth rings at angles of 60 to 90 degrees to the widest face.  This material is highly sought after and can be found in many fine homes.

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Seasoning

The process of drying lumber or other forms of wood by natural (air-dried) or artificial (kiln-dried) processes.  The Colorado Timberking uses a Nyle dehumidification kiln.

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Live edge or natural edge is a style of furniture where the furniture designer or craftsperson incorporates the natural edge of the wood into the design of the piece.

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