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From these 24 words, as many per round as you like — up to all of them: first what is due today, then new ones. First you choose, then you fill the gap, then you write it yourself. Mistakes come back again shortly.
More about this list The tenth entry is la traverse d’about , and both of its nouns look like English words they have nothing to do with. Take the second one first. L’about is not a preposition at all. It is a masculine noun built on le bout , the end, and in a workshop it names the extremity of a piece of timber cut to meet another one; the final t is silent, as it is in bout . Its verb is abouter , to join two pieces end to end. Then the first noun. English « traverse » is a verb of crossing, or on a rock face a sideways climb, while French la traverse is an object: the horizontal member running across a frame, which a cabinetmaker here calls a rail. The same word lies under a railway track as the sleeper, and un chemin de traverse is a short cut over the fields. Put the two together and you have the rail fixed across the end grain of a tabletop to keep it flat, what English calls a breadboard end. To English eyes the phrase describes a journey; to a joiner it is a strip of wood.
The words
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Adjective (1)
Grammar for these: Adjective agreement · Where the adjective goes
débité sur quartier quartersawn Adjective C2 Une planche débitée sur quartier reste plus stable. A quartersawn board keeps its shape far better than one cut straight through the log.
Noun (m) (16)
Grammar for these: Definite article: le, la, les · Indefinite article: un, une
le bois massif solid wood Noun (m) C2 Le bois massif bouge avec l’humidité de la pièce. Solid wood swells in a damp room and shrinks again in a dry one.
le taux d’humidité du bois the moisture content of the wood Noun (m) C2 Le taux d’humidité du bois se mesure avant l’assemblage. Nobody should cut a joint before the moisture content has been checked.
l’assemblage à tenon et mortaise the mortise and tenon joint Noun (m) C2 L’assemblage à tenon et mortaise tient sans une seule vis. A well-cut mortise and tenon joint needs no screw at all.
l’assemblage à mi-bois the halving joint Noun (m) C2 L’assemblage à mi-bois se trace au trusquin. The halving joint is marked out with a gauge set to half the thickness.
le tourillon the dowel Noun (m) C2 Le tourillon doit garder une rainure pour la colle. Each dowel is fluted along its length so that surplus glue can escape.
le tenon flottant the loose tenon Noun (m) C2 Le tenon flottant remplace le tenon taillé dans la pièce. With a loose tenon, both pieces get a mortise and the tongue is a separate part.
le bâti à panneau the frame and panel Noun (m) C2 Le bâti à panneau laisse le panneau libre de bouger. In frame and panel work the panel floats in its groove and is never glued.
l’assemblage bord à bord the edge joint Noun (m) C2 L’assemblage bord à bord demande deux chants parfaitement droits. An edge joint only closes when both edges are dead straight.
le placage en miroir book-matched veneer Noun (m) C2 Le placage en miroir ouvre la feuille comme un livre. Book-matched veneer opens two consecutive leaves like facing pages.
l’encollage the glue-up Noun (m) C2 L’encollage doit être fini avant que la colle prenne. The glue-up has to be over before the glue starts to grab.
le corroyage planing to size Noun (m) C2 Le corroyage précède toute mesure définitive. No measurement is final until the planing to size has been done.
l’arrachement de fibres the tear-out Noun (m) C2 L’arrachement de fibres apparaît quand on travaille à contre-fil. Tear-out appears the moment the plane runs against the grain.
le racloir the card scraper Noun (m) C2 Le racloir laisse une surface que le papier ne donne pas. A card scraper leaves a surface that no abrasive paper can match.
le relèvement des fibres the grain raising Noun (m) C2 Le relèvement des fibres suit le premier passage à l’eau. Grain raising follows the first wipe with a damp cloth.
le corps du meuble the carcass Noun (m) C2 Le corps du meuble doit être d’équerre avant tout le reste. Everything else waits until the carcass is square.
le joint creux the shadow gap Noun (m) C2 Le joint creux rend un défaut de quelques dixièmes invisible. A shadow gap hides an error of a few tenths of a millimetre.
Noun (f) (7)
Grammar for these: Definite article: le, la, les · Indefinite article: un, une
la queue d’aronde the dovetail Noun (f) C2 La queue d’aronde résiste à la traction dans un sens. Pull a dovetail the right way and it will not come apart; pull it the other way and it slides.
la traverse d’about the breadboard end Noun (f) C2 La traverse d’about cache le bois de bout et tient le plateau plat. A breadboard end covers the end grain and stops the top from cupping.
la pression de serrage the clamping pressure Noun (f) C2 Une pression de serrage trop forte chasse la colle du joint. Overdo the clamping pressure and the joint is starved of glue.
la finition à l’huile the oil finish Noun (f) C2 La finition à l’huile se répare sans tout reprendre. A scratch in an oil finish can be mended without stripping the whole piece.
la gomme-laque shellac Noun (f) C2 La gomme-laque sèche en quelques minutes. Shellac is dry to the touch within minutes.
la ferrure the fitting Noun (f) C2 La ferrure se pose en dernier, sur une surface finie. Hinges, handles and other fittings go on only once the surface is finished.
la coulisse de tiroir the drawer runner Noun (f) C2 La coulisse de tiroir supporte le poids et le guide. The drawer runner carries the load and keeps the drawer running true.
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