A bead is a woodworking

Woodworking

Woodworking is the process of building, making or carving something using wood.-History:Along with stone, mud, and animal parts, wood was one of the first materials worked by early humans. Microwear analysis of the Mousterian stone tools used by the Neanderthals show that many were used to work wood...

 decorative treatment applied to various elements of wooden furniture

Furniture

Furniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating and sleeping in beds, to hold objects at a convenient height for work using horizontal surfaces above the ground, or to store things...

, boxes and other items.

A bead is typically a rounded shape cut into a square edge to soften the edge and provide some protection against splitting. Beads can be simple round shapes, or more complex patterns.

A bead may be created with an Electric router

Wood router

A router is a tool used to rout out an area in the face of a relatively hard workpiece, typically of wood or plastic. The main application of routers is in woodworking, especially cabinetry....

, a special moulding handplane

Plane (tool)

A hand plane is a tool for shaping wood. When powered by electricity, the tool may be called a planer. Planes are used to flatten, reduce the thickness of, and impart a smooth surface to a rough piece of lumber or timber. Planing is used to produce horizontal, vertical, or inclined flat surfaces on...

 or a scratch stock

Scratch stock

A scratch stock is a woodworking tool used for applying decorative treatments, such as beads to furniture and other wooden items.Scratch stocks consist of a handle, usually wood, with provision to clamp a steel blade into which the profile of the shape to be cut has been filed. Scratch stocks work...

. Beads are usually cut directly into the edge of the item to which the bead is being applied. However, beads applied across the grain are usually cut into a separate piece which is then fixed in position.