Log furniture has its own vocabulary. Makers throw around words like "checking," "draw-boring," and "character marks" as if everyone grew up in a workshop. This glossary covers every term you're likely to hit while shopping for, building, or maintaining log furniture in Canada — in plain language, with honest context about what actually matters.
Wood that's been stacked outdoors with spacers between boards (called "stickers") and allowed to dry naturally over months or years. Air-dried wood retains more of its natural oils and aroma than kiln-dried wood. Most small-shop Canadian log furniture makers air-dry their stock because kiln capacity is expensive.
Air-dried logs typically reach 12–15% moisture content in Canadian climates. That's fine for most furniture, though slightly higher than kiln-dried (6–8%). The trade-off: air-dried wood is more likely to continue checking as it acclimates to heated indoor spaces.
A light-coloured, relatively soft hardwood common across Canada. Trembling aspen is the specific species used in furniture — it's pale, almost white, with a subtle grain. Popular for rustic furniture because it's abundant, affordable, and takes stain well. Softer than pine, which means it dents more easily. Best for bedroom furniture and decorative pieces rather than high-traffic surfaces like dining tables.
Furniture where the natural bark is left attached to the log. This is an aesthetic choice — it looks rustic and dramatic. The practical issue: bark eventually loosens and falls off on most species as the wood dries. Cedar bark is more tenacious than pine bark. Some makers stabilize bark with CA glue (cyanoacrylate) or epoxy, which extends its life significantly but doesn't make it permanent.
Pine trees killed by mountain pine beetle, primarily in BC and Alberta. The beetle introduces a blue-stain fungus that produces distinctive grey-blue streaks in the wood. Structurally sound — the fungus discolours but doesn't weaken the wood. Beetle kill pine furniture has become a Canadian specialty: it's sustainable (using dead trees), visually striking, and tells a uniquely Western Canadian story.
A warp where a board curves along its length, like a shallow half-pipe. Common in improperly dried lumber. In log furniture, a slight bow in a rail or stretcher isn't structural — it just means the wood dried unevenly. Significant bow in a tabletop or bed rail is a quality issue.
A rounded outgrowth on a tree trunk caused by stress, fungal infection, or genetics. Burl wood has wild, swirling grain patterns prized in furniture and woodworking. A burl slab coffee table from a salvaged BC maple can run $1,500–$5,000+ depending on size. The irregular grain means burls are prone to cracking and difficult to finish evenly — but that's part of the appeal.
Retail-speak for knots, minor checks, colour variations, insect holes, and other natural features in the wood. When a seller says "character marks add to the rustic charm," what they mean is "this wood isn't perfect and we're marketing that as a feature." To be fair, they're usually right — uniformly perfect wood looks wrong in log furniture. But "character marks" shouldn't include structural defects or rot. Know the difference.
Small cracks that develop along the grain as wood dries and shrinks. This is the single most asked-about topic in log furniture. Checking is normal. It happens in virtually all log furniture, especially pieces made from recently harvested wood. The cracks follow the grain, they're cosmetic (not structural), and they're a sign that the wood is continuing to dry.
Checking is most aggressive in the first 1–2 years after a piece is made, then slows dramatically. A queen-size log bed frame with zero checks after five years was either made from extremely well-seasoned wood or sealed with something that's hiding the movement (and may crack itself later).
Any transparent topcoat that protects wood without adding colour. Polyurethane, lacquer, shellac, and water-based acrylics are all clear finishes. On log furniture, the most common clear finishes are water-based poly and lacquer. Oil-based "clear" finishes aren't actually clear — they amber over time, which can be an asset on cedar but turns pine orange.
A cut made perpendicular to the grain (across the log). Cross-cut log slices are used for tabletops, wall art, and decorative surfaces. They show the annual growth rings, which is visually striking but structurally challenging — cross-cut slabs crack more aggressively than longitudinal cuts because drying stresses concentrate along the radius. A well-dried, stabilized cross-cut slab is fine. A fresh one will check badly.
A rectangular groove cut into wood to receive another piece. In log furniture, dados are less common than mortise-and-tenon joints, but you'll find them in shelf construction, drawer bottoms, and panel-back pieces. A clean dado joint is a sign of quality — it means the maker used measured joinery rather than just screwing things together.
Logs with the bark removed. Most log furniture is debarked because bark eventually loosens and sheds. Debarking also reveals the cambium layer and early sapwood, which can have attractive colour and texture. A drawknife leaves a hand-hewn texture; a pressure washer or rotary peeler leaves a smoother surface. The method affects the final appearance more than most buyers realize.
An interlocking joint where fan-shaped "tails" on one piece fit into matching "pins" on another. Exceptionally strong and historically used in drawer construction. In log furniture, dovetails are rare (the irregular shapes of logs make them impractical) but you'll see them in drawers and boxes. Hand-cut dovetails are a premium feature — $200–$400 more per dresser compared to dado or butt-joint drawer construction.
A traditional technique where the peg hole in the tenon is drilled slightly offset from the hole in the mortise. When a wooden peg is driven through both, the offset pulls the joint tight. Draw-boring creates a mechanical lock that doesn't rely on glue. It's a mark of quality craftsmanship in mortise-and-tenon log furniture and something worth asking about if you're spending over $1,000 on a piece.
Thuja occidentalis — Ontario, Quebec, and Maritime provinces. Lighter in colour and slightly softer than western red cedar. The dominant species for cottage furniture east of Manitoba. Full comparison of Canadian cedar species here.
The moisture level where wood stops gaining or losing moisture in a given environment. In a heated Canadian home (roughly 35–45% relative humidity in winter), EMC is about 7–8%. In an unheated cottage, it can swing from 6% in a dry winter to 14%+ in a humid summer. This swing is what causes seasonal checking, joint loosening, and drawer sticking. It's also why cottage furniture has a harder life than furniture in a year-round home.
Furniture shipped disassembled for the buyer to put together. Common for Adirondack/Muskoka chairs, basic bed frames, and outdoor dining sets. Quality varies enormously. All Things Cedar (BC) makes well-engineered flatpack that assembles cleanly with hand tools. Some Amazon imports labelled "cedar" arrive as mystery softwood with pre-drilled holes that don't line up. Check the seller and reviews.
Freshly cut wood that hasn't been dried. Moisture content of 30–80%+ depending on species and season. Building furniture from green wood is a real tradition — green woodworking exploits the fact that wet wood is easier to shape. But green-wood furniture will shrink, check, and move dramatically as it dries over subsequent months. This isn't a flaw — it's the method. Just don't expect a green-wood chair to look the same in year three as it did on day one.
The dense, darker wood at the centre of a tree. Heartwood is dead — the tree no longer uses it for water transport — but it's where the extractive chemicals concentrate. These chemicals are what give cedar its rot resistance, walnut its dark colour, and cherry its warmth. In log furniture, heartwood is the good stuff. Sapwood is the lighter outer ring that's less durable and more prone to insects.
Furniture made from logs split lengthwise. The flat side goes against the wall or floor; the rounded side faces out. Common for rustic dressers, headboards, and shelving. Uses material more efficiently than full-round construction and creates a flat surface for mounting hardware and fitting against walls.
A standardized measure of how resistant wood is to denting. The test measures the force needed to embed a steel ball halfway into the wood surface. Measured in pounds-force (lbf). For log furniture reference: eastern white cedar is about 350 lbf, pine around 380–690 (varies by species), aspen 420, red oak 1,290, sugar maple 1,450. This is why cedar and pine tabletops dent if you drop a cast-iron pan on them. See the full wood species comparison.
Wood dried in a heated chamber (kiln) to reduce moisture content quickly and uniformly, typically to 6–8%. Kiln drying also kills insects and larvae, which matters if you're concerned about woodborers. Kiln-dried furniture is more dimensionally stable and less likely to check than air-dried furniture. The downside: kiln capacity is expensive, so kiln-dried log furniture costs more. Not all makers have kilns — many Canadian shops air-dry instead.
The base of a branch, visible as a round or oval mark in lumber. Tight knots (firmly attached) are structural and add character. Loose knots (separating from surrounding wood) can fall out and leave holes. In log furniture, knots are expected and valued — a knotty pine bed looks right. But check that large knots near joints aren't compromising structural wood. A 3-inch knot in the middle of a bed rail's tenon is a red flag.
A slab or board where the natural edge of the tree — often with bark intact — is preserved rather than being squared off. Live edge is its own style category that overlaps with but is distinct from log furniture. A live-edge walnut dining table is a very different aesthetic from a log dining set. Full comparison of log, live edge, and reclaimed styles here.
Pinus contorta — the straight, slender pine found throughout BC, Alberta, and the northern interior. Its uniform diameter and straight growth make it ideal for log furniture. Much of the pine log furniture sold in western Canada uses lodge pole pine. It's harder and denser than eastern white pine, which makes it better for structural furniture like bed frames and dining chairs.
The gold standard of log furniture joinery. A projecting piece (tenon) fits into a matching hole (mortise) in another piece. When done right — especially with draw-boring — it creates a joint that's stronger than the surrounding wood. This is what separates quality log furniture from furniture that's just screwed together. Full explanation of mortise-and-tenon in log furniture.
The percentage of water in wood by weight. Fresh-cut ("green") wood can be 30–80% MC. Furniture-ready wood should be 6–12% depending on its intended environment. A $30 pin-type moisture meter from Canadian Tire is the single best tool for evaluating wood furniture — stick the pins in an inconspicuous spot and you'll know immediately whether a piece was properly dried.
Logs stripped of bark using a drawknife or spud, leaving a textured surface with tool marks visible. Hand-peeled logs have more visual character than machine-peeled and are considered a premium feature. The surface undulations catch light and shadow differently and feel more authentically crafted. Most high-end Canadian log furniture makers hand-peel.
Concentrated pockets of tree resin (sap) in the wood. Common in pine and spruce. Pitch pockets can weep sticky resin, especially in warm environments or near heat sources. In log furniture, a pitch pocket on a bed rail isn't a big deal. One on a tabletop or chair seat is annoying. Ask makers about pitch pocket management — quality shops seal them with shellac before finishing, which prevents bleeding.
Lumber salvaged from old structures — barns, factories, rail ties, docks. Reclaimed wood furniture has a different aesthetic and story than log furniture. Log vs live edge vs reclaimed comparison.
A wood's natural ability to resist fungal decay. Cedar heartwood is naturally rot-resistant. Pine, spruce, and aspen are not. For outdoor log furniture, rot resistance matters enormously. For indoor furniture, it's irrelevant — fungal decay requires sustained moisture above 20% MC, which shouldn't happen inside a building. If it does, you have bigger problems than your furniture.
The lighter-coloured outer ring of wood beneath the bark. Sapwood is the living, water-conducting tissue of the tree. It's softer, less durable, and more attractive to insects than heartwood. In cedar furniture, sapwood is the pale ring around the darker heartwood — it lacks the rot-resistant oils that make cedar valuable for outdoor use. Quality outdoor cedar furniture should be predominantly heartwood.
A thick, wide piece of wood cut lengthwise from a log, often with live edges preserved. Slabs are used for dining tables, desks, mantels, and countertops. A 2-inch-thick, 30-inch-wide BC maple slab suitable for a dining table runs $600–$2,000+ in Canada depending on species, figure, and drying. Slabs must be properly dried and stabilized or they'll warp and crack.
The grey patina that develops on untreated wood exposed to weather. Caused by UV degradation of surface lignin. Silvering is not rot — it's only 1–2mm deep and the wood underneath is sound. Many cottage owners prefer the silvered look on outdoor cedar furniture because it requires zero maintenance. If you don't like it, a light sanding or oxalic acid wash removes it.
Trees that died naturally and remained standing. Standing dead timber is partially air-dried on the stump, which means lower initial moisture content and often less aggressive checking than green-cut wood. Beetle kill pine is the most commercially significant standing dead timber in Canadian furniture making. It's also more environmentally appealing — you're using wood that would otherwise fall and decompose.
The projecting "tongue" that fits into a mortise. In log furniture, tenons are typically round (turned on a lathe or shaped with a tenon cutter) rather than the rectangular tenons of traditional cabinetry. Round tenons in round mortises is the defining joint of log furniture. The fit should be snug — you shouldn't be able to wiggle the tenon in the mortise without force.
A warp where the wood spirals along its length. One corner lifts while the diagonal corner stays down. Twist in a log furniture piece is a drying or material selection problem. A twisted bed rail or table leg is a genuine defect — don't accept "character" as an excuse for twist. It means the grain was running in a spiral (common in trees that grew in windy areas) or the wood was dried improperly.
Thuja plicata — the large, aromatic cedar of BC and the Pacific Northwest coast. Rich reddish-brown colour, high natural oil content, excellent rot resistance. The premium species for Canadian outdoor furniture and log furniture. Full cedar guide here.
The dimensional change in wood as it gains or loses moisture. Wood swells when humidity rises and shrinks when it drops. This is why drawers stick in summer and rattle in winter, why joints loosen in heated homes, and why unheated cottages are hard on furniture. Wood movement is perpendicular to the grain — a 12-inch-wide pine board can move 1/4 inch or more seasonally. Good furniture design accounts for this. Bad furniture fights it and loses.