REB] ( 106 ) 



Rail and Railing. Usually a horizontal bar of wood attached 

 at either end to a post in the ground by way of forming a 

 fence ; further, in playing an important part in wood framing 

 of doors, shutters and panelling. As handrailing to a stair- 

 case it becomes an art work, fixed on a wall as a substance 

 to hold by, or forming the baluster capping to the open end 

 of a step or stair ; it there freely departs from the hori- 

 zontal plane. See notes headed "Handrail." 



Rails. The horizontal bars in panelled wood-work, such as 

 doors, shutters, etc., which enclose the panels (the iipright 

 pieces being termed "stiles"), and horizontal bars in wood 

 gates and fences. 



Railway Keys. Hardwood wedges mostly of oak or teak, made 

 to special designs, bevel edges one side and rounded edges 

 the other, to fit between the steel chair and the rail. 



Railway Timber. A general term for all woods purchased whole- 

 sale for railway work. 



Rake, in saws, is the angle or " lead " to which the teeth are 

 inclined. A variant term is " set." 



Rake or Raking. Anything that inclines from the perpendicular, 

 as a mast rakes aft. 



Raking Mouldings. Those which are inclined from the horizontal 

 line, as in the sides of a pediment. 



Ram. See "Monkey." 



Ram's Horn. A lateral grain or figure, peculiar to European 

 ash, the result of compression or contortion of the vertical 

 fibres, known as " ram's horn " or " fiddle back " from its 

 resemblance to the ram's horn, or the figured sycamore 

 used in the backs of fiddles. This contorted grain is best 

 seen in the Austrian and Hungarian billets imported for 

 ornamental purposes, sometimes in wainscot oak logs. 



Ramp. Literally a spring or bound, any sudden rising internipt- 

 ing the continuity of a sloping line, commonly used to denote 

 a sudden upward curve in the handrail of a stair. 



Raze Knife. A sharp instrument for scribing the contents on 

 timber. See " Scribe." 



Rebate (or Rabbet). A longitudinal channel, groove or recess 

 cut out of the edge or face of any body, especially one 

 intended to receive another member, so as to cover the joint, 

 or more easily to hold the members in place ; thus the 

 groove cut for a panel, or for a door, is a " rabbet " or 

 rebate. See " Shiplap Joint." 



Rebate Plane. In a technical sense to " rebate " is to reduce, 

 hence the rebating of a door-casing is a sensible reduction 



