Feather 
Using a thin wood strip, called a spline, to fit into grooves cut in each board edge that is to be joined together, to strength the wood butt joint. 

Feather Edge 
The thinnest edge of a tapered piece of wood. Feathered Soft, plastic material, which is shaped to blend gradually into a flat surface. 

Feathered Edge 
Point where one material used is blended into another. Joint Compound tapers to the surface of wallboard to cover the joint. 

Feathering 
The blending of one edge into a surrounding edge, so that the surface becomes smoothly integrated. 

Feathers and Wedges 
Stone splitting apparatus with one part made of thin metal pieces, which are bent into V-shapes and paced in holes, which are bored along a section of stone. These are called feathers. Metal wedges are placed and pounded tightly into the feathers, along the row and back. At some point, the stone splits, from the force that is exerted, along the line of holes in a straight line to make a clean cut. 

Federal 
Term describing any activity regulation, agency, branch or department of the United States Government. 

Federal Agency Securities 
Debt instruments of U.S agencies such as the Federal Home Loan Bank, the Federal National Mortgage Association, the Federal Farm Credit Bureau and Tennessee Valley Authority. Although these issues are not direct obligations of the U.S. Treasury, they still have a high credit rating. 

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation 
A public corporation, established in 1933, insures up to $100,000 for each depositor in most commercial banks and savings and loan associations. It has it's own reserves and can borrow from the U.S. Treasury. 

Federal Fair Housing Law 
Originally passed as Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, it prohibits discrimination in the sale or rental of residential dwelling units or vacant land on the basis of color, national origin, race, religion or sex. 

Federal Home Loan Bank Board (FHLBB) 
Federal agency that monitors the federal savings and loan associations and federally insured state-chartered S&Ls and acts as a central bank. In addition, it operated the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC).

Federal Home Loan Bank System 
A federally created banking system intended to assure liquidity to qualified thrift lenders, twelve regional Federal Home Loan Banks are directed since 1932 by the Federal Home Loan Bank Board (FHLBB). The regulatory functions went to the Office of Thrift Supervision, which was established to replace the Federal Home Loan Bank Board as part of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1988 (FIRREA). 

Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC) 
Commonly known as Freddie Mac. The company buys mortgages from lending institutions, pools them with other loans and sells shares to investors. 

Federal Housing Administration (FHA) 
Government agency that operates a variety of home-loan programs. Its most popular program provides low-rate mortgages to buyers making a down payment as low as 3 per cent. (Section 203 (b)).

Federal Housing Administration Insured Mortgages 
Mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). FHA insurance is intended to make more housing available and to safeguard the lender against risk of nonpayment. 

Federal Housing Finance Board 
Federal agency created under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act (FIRREA) to regulate and supervise the 12 district Federal Home Loan Banks. The functions of the Board were the responsibility of the Federal Home Loan Board prior to passage of the Act. 

Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA) 
Dubbed Fannie Mae, this congressionally chartered, shareholder-owned company that buys mortgages from lenders and resells them as securities on the secondary mortgage market. 

Federal Reserve Board 
Group of economists who set the nation's monetary policy through its ability to control interest rates, thereby controlling inflation. 

Federal Savings and Loan Association 
Charter issued by the Office of Thrift Supervision, under the U.S. Department of Treasury, to an institution to act as a savings and loan association. A federally chartered savings and loan association, in contrast to one with a state charter, may have the ability to branch across state lines as well as make certain investments a state chartered thrift institution cannot. 

Federal Style 
American architectural style, which evolved after the Revolutionary War and includes bigger windows and a glass surrounded front doorway, topped with an arched window. 

Federal Tax Lien 
A lien placed on an individual's real property, by the federal government, for federal income or estate tax violations. If these taxes are not paid, the government may seek a tax warrant causing a federal tax lien to be placed against the taxpayer's property. In the event of death, the estate is liable for the lien. 

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) 
Government agency, which regulates companies and industries, including collections agencies, timeshare operators, etc. National headquarters: Sixth and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20580 Phone: (202) 326-2222. 

Federally Related Mortgage 
A mortgage loan that is, in some way, subject to federal law because it is guaranteed, insured, or otherwise regulated by a government agency. 

Federally Related Transaction 
Real estate transaction that is overseen by a federal agency. 

Fee Ownership 
Form of ownership giving the owner complete control including the development of an inheritable estate, also known as a fee estate. 

Fee Simple 
This type of ownership, which is the maximum interest a person can have in a piece of real estate, entitles the owner to use the property in any manner as long as it is in accordance with state and local laws. 

Fee Simple Absolute 
An estate limited absolutely to an owner and his/her heirs in perpetuity and without limitation, entitling the owner to all of the property involved as well as having unlimited ability to divide it among his heirs. 

Fee Simple Conditional 
A fee estate conditioned by the provisions of the grantor or the grantor's heirs that some action occur in order to complete its conveyance. If this condition does not occur, the estate returns to the original grantor. 

Fee Simple Defeasible 
Fee simple ownership that can be defeated and returned to the grantor should a particular event occur.

Fee Simple Determinable
A fee estate limited by the happening of a certain event. 

Feeder 
1. A conductor supplying energy, from where electricity enters a structure, to a center from which the energy is distributed into various channels, such as the circuit breaker for a branch circuit. 
2. Anything that supplies or leads into something else. 

Feeder Busway 
A metal enclosure with factory installed electric conductors, for electrical feeder circuits between the service entrance and the main load center. 

Feed Stop 
Clamp, which adjusts the depth of a drill press, to permit the hole to be drilled to a preset depth by not allowing it to drill deeper than needed. 

Feeler Gauge 
Also called a thickness gauge, this series of precision thickness, metal blades is used for measuring small gaps, with each blade being marked with the thickness in thousandths of an inch. 

Feet Per Minute (FPM) 
This measurement of the velocity of air or other mediums is used in calculating pump capacity or for HVAC systems, etc. 

Felt 
1. Fabric whose fibers are worked together by pressure, heat, chemical action, etc. instead of being woven or knitted. 
2. Felt, saturated with an asphalt compound, which is used under roof shingles or flashing for water resistance. 

Felt Papers 
Fabric made of different fibers, such as glass-fiber felts or asbestos fiber felts. Female Plumbing term for the pipe or fitting that receives the end of a pipe or fitting, called the male. 

Female Threads 
Threads that are in place on the inside diameter of an object. 

Fence 
An enclosure or decorative barrier around a section of land and can be made of a wide variety of materials and designs depending on functional needs or aesthetic considerations. Fences are often used to mark property lines. 

Fence Boards 
Various board designs that are used in making a wooden fence. 

Fender Wall 
Low, wall of brick, which is built around a fireplace hearthstone. 

Fender Washer 
A washer that is much larger in diameter than the bolt with which it is used. This gives the washer the ability to distribute the bolt force over a wider area. Fenestration A way windows are arranged in a building. 

Feng Shui 
Ancient Chinese philosophy, which believes that the positioning and physical characteristics of a home affect the fortunes of the owner. 

Ferrite Number 
American Welding Society numbers which are assigned to represent the iron content or ferrite in austenitic stainless steel weld metal, which is an alloy consisting of chromium, nickel, iron and often other elements in small amounts.

Ferrous 
Material containing or derived from iron. 

Ferrous Sulfate 
Also referred to as copperas, this green, crystalline compound of iron and sulfur is used in dyeing, the making of ink, or as paint pigment. 

Ferrule 
1. Reinforcing metal sleeve fitted over the end of tubing as part of a connector. 
2. Short metal sleeve, which adds structural support, when secured around the spike used to fasten pieces of the gutter to a building by bracing the outer edge of the gutter a certain distance from the inner gutter wall. 
3. A short tube or brushing for tightening a joint. 
4. Strengthening band, of metal, which is attached at the juncture of the tool head and handle. When the tool is used, the band provides reinforcement through the stress concentrated at the juncture. 

Festoon 
Any carved or molded decoration that is shaped like a wreath or garland of flowers, leaves, etc. hanging in a loop or curve. This horizontal decorations seems to span two points with a slight sag in the middle. 

Fettle 
1. To line or cover the hearth of a furnace with a loose, ground stone-like material. 
2. Removal of sand from a sand casting. 
3. Removal of the marks of a casting mold from a casting. 

Fettling 
High heat-resistant materials, which are used to fettle (to line or cover) certain types of refining furnaces. 

FHA Loans 
Mortgage loans, which are insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). The FHA operates loan plans for purchasers of rural property as well as providing low-rate mortgages to buyers who make down payments as low as 3 per cent.