Mandrel: A Shaft (with Bearings) on which a Circular Saw Blade or Grinding Wheel is mandrelmounted.  (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: See Gauge The marking gauge marks a line parallel to the edge of a workpiece.
 marking guage

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. 

Matchers:

Measurement: 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. Boston: Ginn and Co., 1887 (several editions).  (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.

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. Boston: Ginn and Co., 1887 (several editions).  (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:  of Shepherd's Compleat Early Nineteenth Century Woodwork er. Source: Green River Forge G.S.L.C., Utah , 1981, page 35. ISBN:0-939964-00-7, ("...the ultimate tome on working with wood the old fashioned way, sans power tools, sans high-tech." Smithsonian Magazine April 1982 Vol. 13 #1).  (Reprint scheduled for summer 2004)

 

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

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 Joint:

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. (Source: Home Craftsman 4  January-February 1935 page 124.

Sources: 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 Mitergauge (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.
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, a Dowel, Biscuit, with a corresponding shape, where the tenon is glued into the hole in the face grain of the wood. Compare: Tenon.
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.

Fig. 16-48 shows a modern moulding machine that will handle stock up to 4 in. thick and 8 in.wide. 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 as shown in Fig. 16-51; 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:  [extended entry under construction - click here] A "molding" is a workpiece -- such as the Stiles and Rails of some Cabinet doors -- with a profiled surface, the Profile created by a Moulder (also Moulding Machine) Router or a Shaper. (The discrepancy in spelling is not a typo; see above, Molder.)

 

Moulding Cutterhead : See Shaper Cutter 

 

Miter Slot:

Miter Square:

Mullion: Philip Leon, "Woodworker Meets Wordworker," Popular Woodworking (April 2002), p. ? ["Out of the Woodwork" column.]

Muntin: Philip Leon, "Woodworker Meets Wordworker," Popular Woodworking (April 2002), p. ? ["Out of the Woodwork" column.]