Glossary M

Mandrel

A Shaft (with Bearings) on which a Circular Saw Blade or Grinding Wheel is mounted.  (Also, evidently, "A piece of wood or metal, either tapered or cylindrical. One end of the mandrel is held in a Chuck and the other end is forced into a hole in a piece of work which is to be machined. Commonly used on the lathe in conjunction with metalworking"

Source: Home Craftsman 4 May-June 1935 page 220.

Manual

see Woodworker's Manual See examples in the Woodworker's Manuals sections.

Marking Gauge

The marking gauge marks a line parallel to the edge of a workpiece.

Marking gauges are of two types: Some marking gauges have sixteenth-inch graduations along the beam, while others are unmarked and require setting with a rule. The "unmarked" type is shown in the jpg on the left.

Marking Knife

The professional woodworker and contributing editor to Woodworker’s Journal [date ?] Ian Kirby, notes his preference for a marking knife “is a two-blade Swiss Army knife. Its size and shape”, he claims, “allows for complete control and pressure at the cutting edge.” The blade, thin, but sturdy and easily sharpened, also cuts veneers.

Marquetry

Matchers

Measurement

(I am still thinking about how to confront defining measurement for a dictionary of woodworking. First, it is virtually tautological to say that woodworking cannot be conducted without measurement. Rather than doing nothing, I have adapted Vic Taylor's definition -- below -- of "measure", but even his attempt to define measurement is really not much more than giving examples of measurement.

Measure Timber is measured (a) by cubic content, (b) by superficial area, and (c) by linear metre or foot. Certain hardwoods and fancy timbers of slender girth are sold by weight; dense tropical woods are obviously heavier than those from more temperate zones. Cubic content is calculated by multiplying the length by the width by the thickness; superficial area by multiplying the length by the width; and linear measure is the number of running metres or feet. In the trade, a set of tables known as a 'Hoppus Measurer' (q.v.) is used to calculate cubic content quickly if imperial measurements are being used. In all calculations it is important to ensure that all measurements are in the same denomination, e.g. all metres, or all feet. All softwoods are sold in metric; hardwoods are sold either by cubic metres or cubic feet. One cubic metre 35.315 cubic feet. Source: Vic Taylor, Wood-worker's Dictionary , Hemel, Hempstead, England: Argus Books,1987; Pownal, VT: Storey Communications, 1990, page 119.

Overview

Roughly 6000 years ago, mankind came to the realization that between any two points there existed a distance, and the field of measurement was born. Like most human inventions, measuration was born out of necessity—specifically. the necessity to record and relate information about products, places, or parcels of land. At its inception, measuration was based on the measuring instruments most readily available to everyone -- the parts of the body. This is still largely discernible from the names of some of the units of measure, e.g., foot. hand, and span. Other units still in use today are also based on these body-part measurements, although their names may not make it so obvious, e.g., yard, cubit, and inch. The yard was the distance from the end of the nose to the tip of the middle finger: the inch was the distance across the width of the thumb; and the cubit, although infrequently used today, was the distance from the bent elbow to the tip of the middle finger, or approximately one-half of a yard.

All of these units of measurement obviously had varying degrees of accuracy associated with their relative size, and likewise had different applications. The one common factor they did have was a serious lack of conformity to a given standard. My hand and my neighbor's hand are substantially different sizes. Therefore, if I were going to buy a horse from her (incidentally, horses are still measured in "hands" to this day), she might be able to claim the animal was 17 hands high, but I would measure it as only 14 hands high. Both might be correct, but they are based on different standards of measurement for the same unit. The system went through various refinements: the yard, for example, ceased to be the distance from the end of your nose to the end of your middle finger, and eventually was given the standard of the distance from the thumb tip to the nose on King Henry I. This was still not terribly accurate, but it had the redeeming quality of a consistent standard, at least while King Henry I was alive, and one that was not open for a great deal of dispute. Of course, King Henry's mortality would eventually catch up with him, so a more permanent standard was developed: the distance between lines inscribed on two gold inserts in a bar made of bronze was measured at a particular room temperature to compensate for expansion or contraction of the metals.

Accuracy and consistency obviously have taken a quantum leap forward with the advent of this bar, but change and striving for precision are the hallmarks of technological advance, and the standard would again need to be made more accurate. This time, the length of a lightwave from a particular color and type of light was denoted as the standard on which all forms of linear measurement would be based. To date. this has proven to be sufficiently stable as a standard.

Source: Paul D.Q. Campbell, An Introduction to Measuration and Calibration by .. New York: Industrial Press Inc, 1995, pages xvi-xvii.

See also Measuring Sticks and Measuring Tools

Sources: C. P. B. Shelley. Workshop Appliances, Including Descriptions of Some of the Gauging and Measuring Instruments, Hand Cutting Tools, Lathes, Drilling, Planing and Other Machine-Tools Used by Engineers Sixth edition, revised and enlarged London: Longmans, Green, 1883, Chapter I, pages 1-30, is "On Measures of Length and Methods of Measuring"; W F M Goss. Bench Work in Wood: A Course of Study and Practice Designed for the Use of Schools and Colleges. (click here for selecting from several options for an online version of Goss.) Boston: Ginn and Co., 1887 (several editions).(Pages 9-20 includes discussion of how measuring standards for woodworkers were achieved. This Link is to the 1890 google print version on pdf.); ; R A Salaman, Dictionary of Woodworking Tools Newtown, CT: Taunton Press, 1989, pages 270-271.

Measuring Sticks

Sources: R A Salaman, Dictionary of  Woodworking Tools  Newtown, CT: Taunton Press, 1989, pages 270-271)

Measuring Tools

Sources:  C. P. B. Shelley. Workshop Appliances, Including Descriptions of Some of the Gauging and Measuring Instruments, Hand Cutting Tools, Lathes, Drilling, Planing and Other Machine-Tools Used by Engineers Sixth edition, revised and enlarged London: Longmans, Green, 1883, Chapter I, pages 1-30, is "On Measures of Length and Methods of Measuring"; W F M Goss. Bench Work in Wood: A Course of Study and Practice Designed for the Use of Schools and Colleges. (click here for selecting from several options for an online version of Goss.) Boston: Ginn and Co., 1887 (several editions).(Pages 9-20 includes discussion of how measuring standards for woodworkers were achieved. This Link is to the 1890 google print version on pdf.); (Pages 9-20 includes discussion of how measuring standards for woodworkers were achieved. Link to the 1890 google print version on pdf.); R A Salaman, Dictionary of  Woodworking Tools  Newtown, CT: Taunton Press, 1989, pages 270-271)

Mechanic

see also Craftsman, Cabinetmaker, Woodworker .

Mechanic is, according to Stephen Shepherd, an old term for Craftsman

Source: Stephen Shepherd, Shepherd's Compleat Early Nineteenth Century Woodworker Green River Forge G.S.L.C., Utah , 1981, page 35. (Not online, this book is said to be "...the ultimate tome on working with wood the old fashioned way, sans power tools, sans high-tech." Smithsonian Magazine 13, No 1 April 1982 Vol. 13.)

Medium Density Fiberboard

(MDF)

[Fabricated out of compressed wood fibers. Used for furniture and trim that will be painted. Also used in woodshop for table tops on shopmade power tool stands, and for creating Jigs. Machines well. Doesn't hold threaded screws securely.] Will eventually discuss MDF and Particle Board together, but not Plywood

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Melamine

Manufactured sheets of 4' x 8' particle board, used as a base for vacuum press gluing.

Milled Timber

Mineral Spirits (MS)

Used as a general solvent in the shop for dilution of finishes and cleaning of brushes/equipment. A light wipe down will reveal glue spots and show the color of the wood after finishing.

Miter

An angled cut, used for creating Joints in many woodworking applications. See Miter Joint

Miter Fence

The sliding fence used for cross cutting on the table saw. Usually the fence can be adjusted for various angles (miters) of crosscut.

Miter Saw

See also Chop Saw. [eventually need to join these two entries, and flesh out details] A fine-tooth Blade, either for use by hand or on a machine, for cutting Miter Joints. The term also applies to a machine with two adjustable circular saws for cutting both ends of a miter in one operation.

Sources: Home Craftsman 4 January-February 1935 page 124; R A Salaman, Dictionary of  Woodworking Tools  Newtown,CT: Taunton Press, 1989, pages 270-271; Rick Peters, Popular Mechanics Workshop. Miter Saw Fundamentals: the Complete Guide New York: Hearst Books, 2006.

Miter Square

also Miter gauge (sp. Mitergage) R A Salaman, Dictionary of  Woodworking Tools  Newtown, CT: Taunton Press, 1989, pages 476-477, gives several examples.

Moisture Meters

See also Appendix 8: The Anatomy and Physiology of Wood The moisture content of wood can be determined by using an Electric Moisture Meter. Meters are usually calibrated to cover a range from 7 to 25 percent with an accuracy of plus or minus 1 percent of the moisture content.

Two types of meters are available:  One determines the moisture content by measuring the electrical resistance between two pin-type electrodes that are driven into the wood. The other types measures the capacity of a condenser in a high-frequency circuit in which the wood serves as the dielectric material of the condenser.

Molder

(also Moulding Machine ) (This is a temporary fix:: The passage reprinted below serves to define the meaning of moulder, and to provide evidence about the arbitrariness of the term molder/moulder in actual use. Will be on the lookout for more evidence about the preferred usage of this term. 5-5-06)

 

Moulder This machine produces moldings for furniture and interior trim. In a single pass through the machine, four cutterheads form completely such items as window sash stock, door casings, base-board, base shoe, tongue and groove flooring, and numerous other items. .. The bed or table of the moulder is made of highly finished hardened steel plates. The feed mechanism consists of an endless chain in one section of the table with overhead rollers. Roll pressure is usually provided by pneumatic power. In operation, the stock first enters the feed mechanism and then passes under an overhead ever, when set up to produce molded shapes, cutterheads like the one in Fig. 16-50 are used. The cutterheads are mounted on a tapered spindle ... each is powered by an individual motor. The motors for the top and bottom heads usually have a greater horse—power than the side-heads and are equipped with…. Source: Willis H Wagner, Modern Woodworking: Tools, Materials and Procedures   South Holland, IL: Goodheart-Willcox Co, 1974, p. 16-15.

Molding

A "molding" is a workpiece -- such as the Stile and Rails of some Cabinet doors -- with a profiled surface, the Profile created by a Moulder (also Moulding Machine) Router or a Shaper.

Molding Cutterhead

See Shaper Cutter

Miter Slot: and/or Miter Square:

Morse Taper

see entry, Morse Taper

Mortise

As in "mortise and tenon", a mortise and tenon makes a very strong joint. A mortise is a hole in a workpiece -- it can be round, square, rectangular, or whatever shape needed --  designed to receive a tenon.(In woodworking joints, a tenon has a function that is similar to a Dowel, Biscuit.
Click here for a more extensive entry on this important term

Mortise and Tenon Joint

Mortise and Tenon Joint

Perhaps the most important joint in woodworking, the mortise-and-tenon joint deserves an entry of its own.

Mullion

"... strips [of wood] between any sort of panel, such as Wainscoting."

Source: Philip Leon, "Woodworker Meets Wordworker," Popular Woodworking April 2002, page 88. ["Out of the Woodwork" column, Philip Leon, "Woodworker Meets Wordworker."]