brob

from The Century Dictionary.

• To prick with a bodkin.
• noun A wedge-shaped spike, driven along the side of a timber which abuts against another, to prevent it from slipping.
• noun In coal-mining, a short, thick piece of timber, used for supporting the coal which is being holed or undercut; a prop.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• noun (Carp.) A peculiar brad-shaped spike, to be driven alongside the end of an abutting timber to prevent its slipping.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun A wedge-shaped spike used to secure the end of a timber where it abuts another. Much used in earlier times in the construction of tunnelled box-timber headings.
• verb obsolete To poke or prick