Proper terminology - Scroll Saw Woodworking & Crafts Message Board

millwab · 11-02-2009, 05:01 PM

I've seen many a design with ornaments projecting from the top (sort of like a spire) and refered to as finials. I'm working on a design that has these hanging off the bottom. Is "finial" the proper term in this case, or is there another? Any takers?

Pajaro · 11-02-2009, 05:05 PM

Berries might make a good name. Most things hanging off the bottom don't have very good names....

wood-n-things · 11-02-2009, 05:07 PM

As in dingle.....? Oh my...I don't know either but could not resist..Or perhaps Klingons..

Too Dusty · 11-02-2009, 07:31 PM

Finial is the proper term for a decorative piece at the "end" of something. It can be at the top, side, or bottom. It was most comonly used as an architect term to describe the turnings some of the older buildings have that hang at the corners of roofs, porches, and I'm sure other things.

It is a better term to use than some of the others suggested here, though not nearly as funny!!

Bob

knothead · 11-02-2009, 07:32 PM

How about a Bottominial.

Tom

Max · 11-02-2009, 11:41 PM

Tom, that sounds like a lobotomy, only from the other end. lol

jim_mex · 11-03-2009, 04:26 PM

Hi Bruce - the popular consensus if that a finial was originally the term for a decorative capping on the top of architectural items whose main purpose was to weatherproof whatever was being capped. The item being capped could be stone or wood or even metal, such as copper cupola roofs. As Bob as rightly said the term is now loosely used to describe most decorative 'end' pieces where they be at the top of vertical structures or the ends of horizontal ones .

As to what they are called when they point down - ie at the end of something, I've seen the term finials used when someone has said for example 'you can place a finial on the bottom'. But I think the term bottom cap or end cap is more common or in some cases the term pendant might be more applicable.

I tend to be more practically minded. If I go into the average Mexican wood accessories shop I take a rough sketch, point to it and so 'I want one of these!'

millwab · 11-04-2009, 04:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Too Dusty

Finial is the proper term for a decorative piece at the "end" of something. It can be at the top, side, or bottom.

Okay Bob, if I'm understanding this correctly, it's called the same thing if it sticks up, sticks out, or hangs down?

Quote:

Originally Posted by jim_mex

...a finial was originally the term for a capping whose main purpose was to weatherproof whatever was being capped.

Jim, I'm not even going there

(and this started out as a serious question)

Jim McDonald · 11-04-2009, 09:29 PM

Stalactites or stalagmites? Only a spelunker knows for sure.

JohnB · 11-04-2009, 09:47 PM

Jim, here's how you remember.
The "Tights come Down"

and the "mites go up"

11-02-2009, 05:01 PM	#1
millwab Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: NE Ohio Posts: 400	Proper terminology I've seen many a design with ornaments projecting from the top (sort of like a spire) and refered to as finials. I'm working on a design that has these hanging off the bottom. Is "finial" the proper term in this case, or is there another? Any takers? __________________ Bruce . . . because each piece will be someone's heirloom someday. visit sometime Hawk 220VS, Delta 40-570

11-02-2009, 05:05 PM	#2
Pajaro Forever is a long time Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: If it ain't Texas, it Just ain't livin. Posts: 2,047 Blog Entries: 1	Berries might make a good name. Most things hanging off the bottom don't have very good names.... __________________ Pájaro Pete Hombre del pájaro www.pajarostudiowns.com Member " Scrollsaw Association of the world " Excalibur EX-21 fanatic One of the Chosen few "Never try to teach a pig to sing It is a waste of time and it annoys the pig. "

11-02-2009, 05:07 PM	#3
wood-n-things Behave Yourself..I can't. Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Right here ---silly Posts: 4,471 Blog Entries: 1	As in dingle.....? Oh my...I don't know either but could not resist..Or perhaps Klingons.. __________________ The Mike One of them anyway. Don't be so open-minded. Your brains will fall out!

11-02-2009, 07:32 PM	#5
knothead Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: ARIZONA Posts: 719	How about a Bottominial. Tom __________________ Tom ___________________ America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves. Abraham Lincoln

11-02-2009, 11:41 PM	#6
Max Dismembered Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Independence, Ky Posts: 383	Tom, that sounds like a lobotomy, only from the other end. lol __________________ Dan ___________________________________ "Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again." --L. Frank Baum, author of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz"

11-02-2009, 07:31 PM	#4
Too Dusty Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 6	Finial is the proper term for a decorative piece at the "end" of something. It can be at the top, side, or bottom. It was most comonly used as an architect term to describe the turnings some of the older buildings have that hang at the corners of roofs, porches, and I'm sure other things. It is a better term to use than some of the others suggested here, though not nearly as funny!! Bob

11-03-2009, 04:26 PM	#7
jim_mex 'Senior' member - no way! Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Pachuca, Mexico Posts: 1,788	Hi Bruce - the popular consensus if that a finial was originally the term for a decorative capping on the top of architectural items whose main purpose was to weatherproof whatever was being capped. The item being capped could be stone or wood or even metal, such as copper cupola roofs. As Bob as rightly said the term is now loosely used to describe most decorative 'end' pieces where they be at the top of vertical structures or the ends of horizontal ones . As to what they are called when they point down - ie at the end of something, I've seen the term finials used when someone has said for example 'you can place a finial on the bottom'. But I think the term bottom cap or end cap is more common or in some cases the term pendant might be more applicable. I tend to be more practically minded. If I go into the average Mexican wood accessories shop I take a rough sketch, point to it and so 'I want one of these!' __________________ Jim in Mexico “Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.” -Albert Einstein Last edited by jim_mex; 11-05-2009 at 12:17 AM.

11-04-2009, 09:29 PM	#9
Jim McDonald Workin' for the Weekend Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: On the Other Side of the Monitor Posts: 940 Blog Entries: 6	Stalactites or stalagmites? Only a spelunker knows for sure. __________________ Jim Exuberance can be corrected; dullness is incurable. --E. Deters "Political Correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end."

11-04-2009, 09:47 PM	#10
JohnB 1 Tin Soldier Rides Away Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Kalgoorlie, Western Australia Posts: 4,858	Jim, here's how you remember. The "Tights come Down" and the "mites go up" __________________ Regards John "The Golden Mile" I got holes in both of my shoes Well I'm a walking case of the blues Saw a dollar yesterday But the wind blew it away Some of my Stuff Retired Medically Unfit WA Police Officers

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