A-Y (Adze to Yoke)

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Adze
An axe-like tool with its blade at right angles to its handle.
Air Dried Oak
Milled Oak Timber which has been air dried by exposure to natural atmospheric conditions, whilst protected from the rain.
Aisled Frame
A frame which has aisles added to a wall frame to increase the span of the building.
Arcade posts
Also known as aisle posts, these are the internal posts in an aisled frame.
Arch-brace truss
Truss with curved braces which joint into a collar.
Arris
The corner edge of a beam.
Bay
The space between cross frames.
Beam
A main horizontal member in a buildings frame.
Birdsmouth
A right-angled cut out on the underside of a rafter, where it notches over the wallplate. The depth of the birdsmouth should be a third of the depth of the rafter.
Bottom Plate
A continuous timber which runs around the bottom of the frame.
Box Frame
A system of framing where posts and wall plates support roof trusses.
Brace
Diagonal piece timber to add strength and stop the building from racking.
Bressumer
Sill supporting the upper wall above a jetty.
Bridging Beam
Large Floor bean supporting ends of joists.
Bridle Scarf
Scarf joint employed in joining wallplates and soleplates.
Broad Axe
A large single bevelled axe used for hewing logs into timbers.
Cambered Beam
Centre of the beam is higher than the ends.
Carpenters mark
A chiselled reference number put on each timber when it is made.
Chamfer
A simple bevel done to embellish the timbers.
Cladding
The non load bearing layer on walls and roofs used to keep the weather out.
Cleat
A small piece of wood attached to the back of a principle rafter to stop any rotation in the purlin.
Collar
A horizontal timber between the principle rafters in a truss.
Collar purlin
An alternative name for a crown plate.
Common Rafter
Rafters which are supported by the purlins.
Cripple-jack Rafter
A rafter that is connected to both a hip and valley rafter.
Cross Frame
The frames that run between the wall frames, creating bays.
Crown plate
Central longitudinal beam in a roof that supports collared rafters.
Crown post
Post which supports the crown plate. They are usually shaped for decoration.
Cruck Blades
Curved pairs of large timbers, which reach from the floor to the ridge. Usually matching pair is made by splitting a curved tree in half.
Dovetail
A tenon that is shaped like a dove's spread tail to fit into a corresponding mortise.
Dragon Beam
Floor beam set diagonally to support a jettied floor.
Draw-pegging
Method by which the peg hole in the tenon does not quite line up with the peg hole in the mortise, so when a tapered peg is driven into the joint, it closes tightly.
Floor Beam
Main beam which carry the joists
Framing Chisel
A heavy duty chisel designed to be used with a mallet.
Gable end frame
The outside end cross frame of a building.
Green Oak
Freshly felled oak still with high moisture content.
Hand Hewn
The conversion of logs to timbers by means of axes and adzes.
Hip rafter
A diagonal roof timber that rises from an external corner of a frame, to the ridge.
Interrupted Tie
Tie beam that is interrupted by sling / brace.
Jack Rafter
A rafter which is connected to the hip rafter.
Jetty
Cantilevered overhand.
Joists
Horizontal beams in the floor which support the floorboards.
Jowl post
Flared head of main post, which enables the joining of wallplate and tie beam.
King post
Central post in a truss used to support the tie beam.
Lap joints
Halving joints that cross over each other.
Mertise and tenon
Common joint for connecting two pieces of timber together.
Peg
Wooden pin used to connect the joints in a frame.
Post
Main upright support in the frame.
Primary Timber
A timber that is common to more than one two-dimensional plane.
Principal rafter
The main diagonal beams in trusses that support the purlins in the roof.
Purlin
Horizontal roof beams which support the rafters and carry the roof load into the cross frames.
Quarter Sawn
Timbers sawn and quartered.
Queen posts
A pair of timbers in a truss, used to support the principal rafter by the purlins. These can be curved or straight.
Racking
An effect where one beam or post pushes its connecting member until structure collapses like a stack of dominoes. Braces are used in frame to counteract the affects of racking.
Rafters
Inclined timbers used to carry the roof covering.
Raising
Erection of the frame on site.
Rebate
Step shaped reduction to the edge of a timber.
Ridge
Horizontal timber supporting top ends of rafters in the apex of the roof.
Ring Shake
Shake following the growth ring in the timber.
Roof truss
'A' frames in the roof that support the purlins.
Scarf joint
Used to connect two lengths of timber together to form one continuous length.
Scribing
A method of marking out joints on out of square timber.
Shake
A fissure or split in a beam.
Sill
Horizontal bottom timber of a window frame.
Sling brace
A long curved brace used in an interrupted tie beam truss.
Sole plate
A continuous timber which runs around the bottom of the frame.
Spline
Pegged timber insert used to connect two timbers end to end.
Sprocket
A rafter extension which is usually fixed at a different angle to the rafter to kick up the bottom row of tiles.
Strut
A timber that projects from a king post to support the principal rafters.
Studs
Small vertical posts within the frame.
Tie-beam
Large horizontal beam that ties wallplates together and forms main part of a truss.
Top Place
A continuous timber that runs along the top of a wall frame.
Trusses
'A' frames in the roof which take the load of the purlins.
Valley rafter
A diagonal roof timber that rises from the internal corner of a frame.
Wall frame
Side frame of building set perpendicular to the cross frames.
Wallplate
A continuous timber that runs along the top of a wall frame.
Wind brace
Brace from principal rafter to purlin that strengthens the roof structure and stop the trusses from racking.
Yoke
A small timber attached to the apex of a truss to support the ridge.