Woodshop Crossword Puzzle

Print a criss-cross vocabulary crossword for shop class: hand tools, machines, joints, lumber and finishes.

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Woodshop Crossword

Read each clue and write the answer in the squares that start at its number, one letter in each square.

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Answer key: Woodshop Crossword

1L2PLANE3GTO4CHISE5LGEUG6S7CLAMPLABEW8HE9SANDPAPERUM10VSM11JOINTES12GRAINE

Across 2 PLANE · 4 CHISEL · 7 CLAMP · 9 SANDPAPER · 11 JOINT · 12 GRAIN

Down 1 LATHE · 3 GOGGLES · 5 LUMBER · 6 SAWDUST · 8 HAMMER · 10 VISE

Next step Print the hand tools vocabulary worksheetFind woodshop words in a word search

All 113 clues

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Hand Tools 28

  • Adze Ancient tool like an axe, its edge set crosswise to the handle
  • Auger Boring tool whose blade lifts the chips out of the way
  • Awl Pointed tool that scribes a line for the saw to follow
  • Backsaw Hand saw with a rib opposite its teeth, for precise cuts
  • Caliper It takes the linear dimensions of an object or a hole
  • Chisel Tool forced into the wood, by hand or with a blow
  • Clamp It prevents movement by applying inward pressure
  • Coping ___ saw: thin blade stretched across a springy C-shaped frame
  • Drawknife Blade with a handle at each end, worked toward the user's body
  • Froe L-shaped tool for cleaving wood by splitting it
  • Gauge Marking ___: it scribes a line parallel to an edge
  • Gouge Unlike its flat cousin, its edge is angled or rounded
  • Hacksaw Its equivalent for wood is usually called a bow saw
  • Hammer Its claw takes out what its face has driven
  • Holdfast Device that secures a workpiece to the top of a bench
  • Level Instrument that tells horizontal from tilted
  • Mallet Striking tool with a large head of rubber or wood
  • Plane Tool that takes even shavings off a board
  • Plumb ___ bob: pointed weight hung to give a true up-and-down line
  • Pull Stroke on which a Japanese saw cuts
  • Rasp Coarse tool whose teeth are each cut one by one
  • Ripsaw Saw designed to cut parallel to the fibers of a board
  • Sawhorse Trestle that supports a plank while it is cut
  • Scraper Card ___: hand tool for the last shaping before a finish goes on
  • Spokeshave Hand tool that shapes and smooths chair legs and paddles
  • Square It marks and tests a 90° angle
  • Vise Two jaws, one fixed and one movable, that grip
  • Workbench Table at which things are made by hand

Machines and Shop Gear 23

  • Apron Garment worn over the clothes to keep them from harm
  • Arbor Shaft that a circular blade spins around
  • Bandsaw Power saw whose long blade is welded into a loop
  • Bit Cutter gripped by its shank in a drill
  • Chuck Part of a drill that grips the rotating tool
  • Collector Dust ___: system that gathers dust out of the air
  • Earmuffs Pair of cups on a headband, worn against noise
  • Featherboard Device that keeps pressure on a workpiece so it stays flat on the table
  • Fence Straight guide a board rides along on a table saw
  • Goggles They shield the eyes from flying particles
  • Grinder Bench ___: benchtop tool on which dull edges are sharpened
  • Headstock End of a turning machine that holds the spinning bearings
  • Jigsaw Reciprocating saw that cuts irregular curves
  • Kickback A board thrown rearward toward the saw's operator
  • Lathe It rotates a workpiece for turning
  • Mask Dust ___: paper pad held over the nose and mouth
  • Press Drill ___: machine for quick, straight holes
  • Push stick Long handle with a notch in its end
  • Router Power tool with a flat base that hollows out an area
  • Sander Machine that works by rapid abrasion
  • Scroll ___ saw: small machine that cuts intricate curves
  • Spindle Turned furniture part, like a leg or a peg
  • Tailstock The "loose head" that slides to any point on the bed

Joints and Cuts 18

  • Bevel Edge that is not perpendicular to the faces of a piece
  • Biscuit Oval of compressed wood that sits in two crescent-shaped holes
  • Chamfer Transitional edge between two faces, often at 45°
  • Crosscut Cut made perpendicular to the fibers
  • Dado Slot or trench cut into the surface of a board
  • Dovetail Pins and tails interlock in it, often at a drawer front
  • Dowel Round rod, often cut into short pegs
  • Finger Interlocking profiles named for two hands clasped together
  • Jig Custom-made device that makes a cut repeatable and accurate
  • Joint Place where two pieces of wood meet and are fastened
  • Kerf Narrow channel left behind by a saw
  • Lap Kind of connection in which two members overlap
  • Miter Corner made by cutting two parts, usually at 45°
  • Mortise Rectangular hole cut to receive a tongue
  • Rabbet Recess cut into the edge of a board; a rebate in Britain
  • Sawdust Tiny chips left by sawing and sanding
  • Scarf It lengthens stock by connecting two members end to end
  • Tenon Tongue formed on the end of a rail

Lumber and Trees 27

  • Ash Wood of electric guitars and drum shells
  • Balsa Soft, lightweight wood of a tree that can reach 27 m in 10 to 15 years
  • Basswood Odorless wood valued for carving and utensils
  • Beech Its timber goes into furniture and flooring
  • Burl Rounded outgrowth on a trunk, formed around dormant buds
  • Ebony Dark wood of trees related to the persimmon
  • Grain Wood is split along it and sawn with it or across it
  • Hardwood Wood from flowering trees, not conifers
  • Heartwood Also called duramen; it stands apart from the living outer wood
  • Hickory Wood of drumsticks, bows and walking sticks
  • Kiln Heated chamber in which boards are dried
  • Knot Mark where the base of a branch was grown over
  • Lumber American word for what the British call timber
  • MDF Engineered panel made by breaking wood down into fibers
  • Moisture ___ content: what drying reduces in wood
  • Oak Hard timber of furniture, long used for barrels
  • Particleboard Panel of wood chips bound with resin
  • Pine Fast-growing conifer grown in plantations for timber
  • Plywood Engineered panel of thin plies with glue between
  • Redwood Conifer of California that can live about 2,000 years
  • Ring Growth ___: trees form one annually
  • Sapwood Wood that conducts water and dissolved minerals
  • Seasoning Another word for drying wood before use
  • Softwood Wood from conifers
  • Spruce Standard wood for the soundboards of acoustic guitars
  • Veneer Thin slice of wood glued onto a core panel
  • Warp To go out of flat through uneven shrinkage

Sanding, Fasteners and Finishing 17

  • Beeswax Insect-made polish for wood and leather
  • Brush Tool of bristles for laying on a finish
  • Coat One layer of finish, left to dry before the next
  • Countersink Conical hole cut to take the head of a fastener
  • Grit Abrasive particles; a paper is named for their size
  • Hinge Bearing that lets a door or a box lid pivot
  • Lacquer Hard and usually shiny finish
  • Linseed ___ oil: it comes from the seeds of the flax plant
  • Pilot ___ hole: small hole drilled first, to guide a bigger drill
  • Putty Filler for nail holes, applied before finishing
  • Sandpaper Paper sheet with an abrasive glued to one face
  • Shellac Resin secreted by the female lac bug
  • Stain It changes the color of wood but leaves its pattern visible
  • Steel wool Bundle of very fine, sharp-edged filaments
  • Tack cloth Sticky wiping rag that lifts loose dust before finishing
  • Tung ___ oil: it comes from a nut and hardens in air
  • Varnish Clear, transparent, hard protective film

How this list was compiled: Clues written for this site for shop classes from grade 6 to grade 12. What each tool, cut and material is and does was checked against English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0) and, for some words, the American Heritage Dictionary (ahdictionary.com), in October 2026. No brand of tool, glue or finish is named. Licence: own work

How it works

This woodshop crossword puzzle fits Letter or A4, answer key included. The first puzzle has 12 basic words, among them Chisel, Clamp, Lathe, Sandpaper, Grain, Joint, Plane and Goggles. It is a vocabulary sheet, not safety training.

Read the full guide

Five sets after the basics

Hand Tools has Backsaw, Gouge, Spokeshave and Froe. Machines and Shop Gear has Bandsaw, Router, Headstock and Featherboard. Joints and Cuts has Dovetail, Mortise, Tenon and Kerf. Lumber and Trees has Heartwood, Sapwood, Kiln and Burl. Sanding, Fasteners and Finishing has Grit, Shellac, Countersink and Tack cloth.

Clues that say what a thing does

Kerf is the narrow channel left behind by a saw, a Jig makes a cut repeatable, and a Fence is the straight guide a board rides along.

  • Lumber and Trees goes well with a board from the scrap bin: pupils can look for its Grain, a Knot and the Heartwood.

Questions and answers

What grade is the woodshop crossword puzzle for?

Woodshop Basics suits grades 6 to 8 at the start of a first shop class, with answers such as Hammer, Vise and Lumber. The five themed sets suit grades 7 to 12. These bands are our judgment, not a published standard.

Does the woodshop crossword puzzle have an answer key?

Yes. Each print ends with the key on a separate sheet: the solved grid and the answers in clue order. Nothing to pay and no account.

Does the crossword teach shop safety?

No. Goggles, Earmuffs, Push stick and Kickback are answers, each clued by what it is. How to work safely at a machine is for the teacher in the room.

What is the difference between a rip cut and a crosscut?

A rip cut runs parallel to the grain of a board and a crosscut runs perpendicular to it. Ripsaw and Crosscut are both answers; their clues say fibers, because Grain is an answer too.

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