Do You Know These Things That Carpenters Should Know?

Don't be confused by "sticks": though houses built from scratch on site are called "stick-built," the pieces of wood are nonetheless called "lumber." Logged trees are cut down into usable lumber at plants called sawmills.

Framing is a key part of carpentry. This is where you begin to see the essential building take shape. In the 19th century and before, framing was done with beams and posts; this was called "timber framing" and isn't used very much today.

Joists are the horizontal element of a building's frame; studs are the vertical ones. It's true that logs are used to make rustic buildings like cabins -- but that's a slightly different use than joists; in log cabins, logs make up the entire wall.

This used to be called the "sill plate"; that term has largely been shortened to "sill" in American carpentry. Like the rest of the frame, it is made of wood.

Screwdrivers come in "flat" or "Phillips" versions. A flat screwdriver has a simple, straight-across tip, and can sometimes be used in screws with a cross pattern in the head, if the grooves are wide enough.

Cutting wood with the grain is usually called "ripping," while against the grain is "crosscutting." An experienced carpenter understands the merits of both methods.

Meat also has "grain." This is why in cookbooks involving meat, you might see the direction "cut against the grain." In both cases, it has to do with the way the cells lay when the meat or wood was living tissue.

It's clear how this tool gave its name to a type of puzzle. Jigsaw pieces have bubble-like protrusions and deep curves, deep enough to serve as connectors. This resembles the woodwork that can be done with a jigsaw.

A miter saw doesn't *just* create 90-degree angles, but also 45-degree ones, and sometimes custom angles as well. It uses a miter box as a guide, and is useful in making elements like crown molding.

Scalding is a common injury to plumbers, for obvious reasons. It's less likely to happen to a carpenter, because often they are either working on a building under construction, where the plumbing has yet to be installed, or they're working on a finished building but not dealing with the pipes or the water heater.

Load-bearing walls support the ceiling and roof; a certain number are essential (depending on the strength of the building materials). Whether the home's residents can get along with each other without private spaces to retreat to ... that's above a carpenter's paygrade!

A spirit level looks like a thick ruler, with a fluid-filled tube in the center (the fluid is the "spirit"), and an air bubble in that tube. When the bubble is directly centered in the tube, the surface is level.

Though it looks like something you might dowse with, a plumb bob doesn't find groundwater at the job site. It's essentially the opposite of a spirit level, letting the carpenter discern if, say, a wall is at a 90-degree angle to the floor.

This term survives in the UK, but not very much in Canada or the United States. In these countries, the term "finish carpenter" is used. It's someone who does cabinets, fine decorative work or parquetry.

Crown molding *is* like a cummerbund in that it's a decorative piece that covers up where two things join ... in this case, a wall and a ceiling. The other two terms are for the narrow board found where the wall and floor meet: "baseboard" is a North American term, while "skirting board" is English.

Baseboard gets accidentally scuffed with people's shoes or bumped with the vacuum cleaner. That's why it needs to be made of sterner stuff than crown molding. Crown molding might also be more expensive, because it is more decorative -- but not by that much.

Beams are strong pieces of wood, but flexible ones. A beam can bend, and not break, when weight is applied. Think also of "balance beams," on which gymnasts can leap around and land full-force without the beam giving way.

A roof's steepness is referred to as its "pitch." It's possible that your floor has pitch, too -- but if it does, you might have made a bad buy in terms of real estate, or a bad choice of builder!

"Rise" and "run" are, respectively, the vertical and horizontal space that a staircase takes up. Many considerations go into the building of a staircase, including efficient use of space and user safety. The architect will plan those parts, but a carpenter is responsible for carrying them out properly.

This is measured as the distance from the first step's riser to the last's one. It's sometimes referred to as the "total going" to distinguish it from the "going" of a particular step, which is the length of its tread.

Chisels are simple hand tools that split or gouge the material (like wood) that they're forced into. As you might expect, chisels are among the earliest hand tools created by humans.

To sink a nailhead is to hammer it in until it's slightly beneath the surface of the wood. This is done to make the entire wall or wood surface more appealing to look at. Admittedly, it *is* frustrating if you need to undo the work by hand.

"Prefab" homes are ones in which the different parts, like the roof, are assembled off-site and delivered. While they have a reputation for being cheap, nowadays, some are quite architecturally appealing.

Yep, wood screws are made of metal, like most other kinds of screws. They get the name because they work well *on* wood surfaces.

Doors leading outside are heavier than the ones between rooms inside a house. That's why they'll usually have three hinges, while inner doors have two. A particularly tall door -- say, an eight-foot-tall door to a taller-than-standard first floor -- might need four.

Mortar is what holds rows of brick together. While carpenters don't create brick elements like fireplaces and chimneys, they are likely to have to collaborate with the workers who do -- and many other kinds of tradespeople.

Crown molding often has slanted or curved edges, called "beveling." It also might appear on the edges of cabinets and window sills.

A transom is a decorative window over a door. Often they're made with frosted or etched glass, to enhance their attractiveness and protect privacy, because unlike other windows, transoms rarely have blinds or curtains.

A gable is the simplest shape of roof, an inverted V. A gable is also an extension of the roof in its own inverted V shape; these are used to create extra headroom in an attic that is used as living space.

An A-frame ladder is one about six feet tall, with spreaders holding the two sides together at an angle to each other. It's generally used indoors. An A-frame house is one where a simple gable roof extends almost to the ground, giving the house its simple A shape.

There's such a thing as "engineered wood," which is manmade, and often contains wood products. Adhesives are often required to make everything hang together, but once fabricated, these products can perform as well as natural wood.

OK, not too many barrels are made by hand these days; most are prefabricated. But back in the day, if you loved beer or wine, you'd have to thank a cooper, whose work allowed it to be stored, shipped or aged.

Parquet floors were very popular in the early 20th century. You might see them in homes done in the Art Deco style. Done properly (e.g., not as a wood just stamped with a parquet-style pattern on the surface), they require a special skill in making joints.

Flat roofs (defined in carpentry as roofs with a 10 percent pitch or less) can collapse under the weight of snow, or of accumulated rain when the walls extend past the roofline (as is often the case for safety reasons). Only in climates with little precipitation is a flat roof safe.

This isn't the saw that carpenters reach for most often, but it's valuable because of its narrow, removable blade. This can actually go through a hole and be reattached on the other side, which comes in handy on finish work and fine woodwork.