CARPENTRY FOR BOYS IN A SIMPLE LANGUAGE, INCLUDING CHAPTERS ON DRAWING, LAYING OUT WORK, DESIGNING AND ARCHITECTURE WITH 250 ORIGINAL ILLUSTRATIONS TEXT

the line, to say nothing of following the line so the kerf is true and square with the board. HOW TO START ON A LINE.--The first mistake he makes is to saw _on the line_. This should never be done. The work should be so laid out that the saw kerf is on the discarded side of the material. The saw should cut alongside the line, and _the line should not_ be obliterated in the cutting. Material must be left for trimming and finishing. THE FIRST STROKE.--Now, to hold the saw in starting is the difficult task to the beginner. Once mastered it is simple and easy. The only time in which the saw should be firmly held by the hand is during the initial cut or two; afterwards always hold the handle loosely. There is nothing so tiring as a tightly grasped saw. The saw has but one handle, hence it is designed to be used with one hand. Sometimes, with long and tiresome jobs, in ripping, two hands may be used, but one hand can always control a saw better than two hands. [Illustration: _Fig. 20._] THE STARTING CUT.--In order to make our understanding of the starting cut more explicit, we refer to Fig. 20, in which the thumb of the left hand is shown in the position of a guide--the end of the thumb being held up a sufficient distance to clear the teeth. In this position you need not fear that the teeth of the saw (A) will ride up over the thumb if you have a firm grasp of the saw handle. The first stroke should be upwardly, not downwardly. While in the act of drawing up the saw you can judge whether the saw blade is held by the thumb gage in the proper position to cut along the mark, and when the saw moves downwardly for the first cut, you may be assured that the cut is accurate, or at the right place, and the thumb should be kept in its position until two or three cuts are made, and the work is then fairly started. [Illustration: _Fig. 21. Wrong sawing angle._] FOR CROSS-CUTTING.--For ordinary cross-cutting the angle of the saw should be at 45 degrees. For ripping, the best results are found at less than 45 degrees, but you should avoid flattening down the angle. An incorrect as well as a correct angle are shown in Figs. 21 and 22. FORCING A SAW.--Forcing a saw through the wood means a crooked kerf. The more nearly the saw is held at right angles to a board, the greater is the force which must be applied to it by the hand to cause it to bite into the wood; and, on the other hand, if the saw is laid down too far, as shown in the incorrect way, it is a very difficult matter to follow the working line. Furthermore, it is a hard matter to control the saw so that it will cut squarely along the board, particularly when ripping. The eye must be the only guide in the disposition of the saw. Some boys make the saw run in one direction, and others cause it to lean the opposite way. After you have had some experience and know which way you lean, correct your habits by disposing the saw in the opposite direction. [Illustration: _Fig. 22. Right sawing angle._] THE STROKE.--Make a long stroke, using the full blade of the saw. Don't acquire the "jerky" style of sawing. If the handle is held loosely, and the saw is at the proper angle, the weight of the saw, together with the placement of the handle on the saw blade, will be found sufficient to make the requisite cut at each stroke. You will notice that the handle of every saw is mounted nearest the back edge. (See Fig. 23.) The reason for so mounting it is, that as the cutting stroke is downward, the line of thrust is above the tooth line, and as this line is at an angle to the line of thrust, the tendency is to cause the saw teeth to dig into the wood. [Illustration: _Fig. 23._] [Illustration: CHINESE SAW. _Fig. 24._] THE CHINESE SAW.--This saw is designed to saw with an upward cut, and the illustration (Fig. 24) shows the handle jutting out below the tooth line, in order to cause the teeth to dig into the material as the handle is drawn upwardly. Reference is made to these features to impress upon beginners the value of observation, and to demonstrate the reason for making each tool a particular way. THINGS TO AVOID.--Do not oscillate the saw as you draw it back and forth. This is unnecessary work, and shows impatience in the use of the tool. There is such an infinite variety of use for the different tools that there is no necessity for rendering the work of any particular tool, or tools, burdensome. Each in its proper place, handled intelligently, will become a pleasure, as well as a source of profit. [Illustration: _Fig. 25._] THE PLANE.--The jack plane and the fore plane are handled with both hands, and the smoothing plane with one hand, but only when used for dressing the ends of boards. For other uses both hands are required. ANGLES FOR HOLDING PLANES.--Before commencing to plane a board, always observe the direction in which the grain of the wood runs. This precaution will save many a piece of material, because if the jack plane is set deep it will run into the wood and cause a rough surface, which can be cured only by an extra amount of labor in planing down. Never move the jack plane or the smoothing plane over the work so that the body of the tool is in a direct line with the movement of the plane. It should be held at an angle of about 12 or 15 degrees (see Fig. 25). The fore plane should always be held straight with the movement of the plane, because the length of the fore plane body is used as a straightener for the surface to be finished. [Illustration: _Fig. 26._] ERRORS TO BE AVOIDED.--Never draw back the plane with the bit resting on the board. This simply wears out the tool, and if there should be any grit on the board it will be sure to ruin the bit. This applies particularly to the jack plane, but is bad practice with the others as well. A work bench is a receptacle for all kinds of dirt. Provide a special ledge or shelf for the planes, and be sure to put each plane there immediately after using. THE GAGE.--A man, who professed to be a carpenter, once told me that he never used a gage because he could not make it run straight. A few moments' practice convinced him that he never knew how to hold it. The illustration shows how properly to hold it, and the reason why it should so be held follows. You will observe (Fig. 26) that the hand grasps the stem of the gage behind the cheekpiece, so that the thumb is free to press against the side of the stem to the front of the cheekpiece. HOLDING THE GAGE.--The hand serves to keep the cheekpiece against the board, while the thumb pushes the gage forward. The hand must not, under any circumstances, be used to move the gage along. In fact, it is not necessary for the fingers to be clasped around the gage stem, if the forefinger presses tightly against the cheekpiece, since the thumb performs all the operation of moving it along. Naturally, the hand grasps the tool in order to hold it down against the material, and to bring it back for a new cut. THE DRAW-KNIFE.--It is difficult for the apprentice to become accustomed to handle this useful tool. It is much more serviceable than a hatchet for trimming and paring work. In applying it to the wood always have the tool at an angle with the board, so as to make a slicing cut. This is specially desirable in working close to a line, otherwise there is a liability of cutting over it. This knife requires a firm grasp--firmness of hold is more important than strength in using. The flat side is used wholly for straight edges, and the beveled side for concave surfaces. It is the intermediate tool between the hatchet and the plane, as it has the characteristics of both those tools. It is an ugly, dangerous tool, more to be feared when lying around than when in use. Put it religiously on a rack which protects the entire cutting edge. _Keep it off the bench._ CHAPTER IV HOW TO DESIGN ARTICLES FUNDAMENTALS OF DESIGNING.--A great deal of the pleasure in making articles consists in creative work. This means, not that you shall design some entirely new article, but that its general form, or arrangement of parts, shall have some new or striking feature. A new design in any art does not require a change in all its parts. It is sufficient that there shall be an improvement, either in some particular point, as a matter of utility, or some change in an artistic direction. A manufacturer in putting out a new chair, or a plow, or an automobile, adds some striking characteristic. This becomes his talking point in selling the article. THE COMMERCIAL INSTINCT.--It is not enough that the boy should learn to make things correctly, and as a matter of pastime and pleasure. The commercial instinct is, after all, the great incentive, and should be given due consideration. It would be impossible, in a book of this kind, to do more than to give the fundamental principles necessary in designing, and to direct the mind solely to essentials, leaving the individual to build up for himself. FIRST REQUIREMENTS FOR DESIGNING.--First, then, let us see what is necessary to do when you intend to set about making an article. Suppose we fix our minds upon a table as the article selected. Three things are necessary to know: First, the use to which it is to be put; second, the dimensions; and, third, the material required. Assuming it to be the ordinary table, and the dimensions fixed, we may conclude to use soft pine, birch or poplar, because of ease in working. There are no regulation dimensions for tables, except as to height, which is generally uniform, and usually 30 inches. As to the length and width, you will be governed by the place where it is to be used. If the table top is to have dimensions, say, of 36" × 48", you may lay out the framework six inches less each way, thus giving you a top overhang of three inches, which is the usual practice. CONVENTIONAL STYLES.--Now, if you wish to depart from the conventional style of making a table you may make variations in the design. For instance, the Chippendale style means slender legs and thin top. It involves some fanciful designs in the curved outlines of the top, and in the crook of the legs. Or if, on the other hand, the Mission type is preferred, the overhang of the top is very narrow; the legs are straight and heavy, and of even size from top to bottom; and the table top is thick and nearly as broad as it is long. Such furniture has the appearance of massiveness; it is easily made and most serviceable. MISSION STYLE.--The Mission style of architecture also lends itself to the making of chairs and other articles of furniture. A chair is, probably, the most difficult piece of household furniture to make, because strength is required. In this type soft wood may be used, as the large legs and back pieces are easily provided with mortises and tenons, affording great rigidity when completed. In designing, therefore, you may see how the material itself becomes an important factor. CABINETS.--In the making of cabinets, sideboards, dressers and like articles, the ingenious boy will find a wonderful field for designing ability, because in these articles fancy alone dictates the sizes and the dimensions of the parts. Not so with chairs and tables. The imagination plays an important part even in the making of drawers, to say nothing of placing them with an eye to convenience and artistic effect. HARMONY OF PARTS.--But one thing should be observed in the making of furniture, namely, harmony between the parts. For instance, a table with thin legs and a thick top gives the appearance of a top-heavy structure; or the wrong use of two different styles is bad from an artistic standpoint; moreover, it is the height of refined education if, in the use of contrasting woods, they are properly blended to form a harmonious whole. HARMONIZING WOOD.--Imagine a chiffonier with the base of dark wood, like walnut, and the top of pine or maple, or a like light-colored wood. On the other hand, both walnut and maple, for instance, may be used in the same article, if they are interspersed throughout the entire article. The body may be made of dark wood and trimmed throughout with a light wood to produce a fine effect. CHAPTER V HOW WORK IS LAID OUT CONCRETE EXAMPLES OF WORK.--A concrete example of doing any work is more valuable than an abstract statement. For this purpose I shall direct the building of a common table with a drawer in it and show how the work is done in detail. For convenience let us adopt the Mission style, with a top 36" × 42" and the height 30". The legs should be 2" × 2" and the top 1", dressed. The material should be of hard wood with natural finish, or, what is better still, a soft wood, like birch, which may be stained a dark brown, as the Mission style is more effective in dark than in light woods. [Illustration: _Fig. 27._] FRAMEWORK.--As we now know the sizes, the first thing is to build the framework. The legs should be dressed square and smoothed down with the fore plane to make them perfectly straight. Now, lay out two mortises at the upper end of each leg. Follow the illustrations to see how this is done. LAYING OUT THE LEGS.--Fig. 27 shows a leg with square cross marks (A) at each end. These marks indicate the finished length of the leg. You will also see crosses on two sides. These indicate what is called the "work sides." The work sides are selected because they are the finest surfaces on the leg. [Illustration: _Fig. 28._] [Illustration: _Fig. 29._] THE LENGTH OF THE MORTISES.--Then take a small try square (Fig. 28) and add two cross lines (B, C) on each of the inner surfaces, the second line (B) one-half inch from the finish line (A), and the other line (C) seven inches down from the line (A). The side facing boards, hereafter described, are seven inches wide. When this has been done for all the legs, prepare your gage (Fig. 29) to make the mortise scribe, and, for convenience in illustrating, the leg is reversed. If the facing boards are 1" thick, and the tenons are intended to be 1/2" thick, the first scribe line (E) should be 1/2" from the work side, because the shoulder on the facing board projects out 1/4", and the outer surface of the facing board should not be flush with the outer surface of the leg. The second gage line (F) should be 1" from the work side. [Illustration: _Fig. 30._] THE MORTISES.--When the mortises have been made they will appear as shown in the enlarged cross section of the leg (Fig. 30), the total depth of each mortise being 1-1/2". The depth of this mortise determines for us the length of the tenons on the facing boards. THE FACING BOARDS.--These boards are each 1 inch thick and 7 inches wide. As the top of the table is 42 inches long, and we must provide an overhang, say of 2 inches, we will first take off 4 inches for the overhang and 4 inches for the legs, so that the length of two of the facing boards, from shoulder to shoulder, must be 34 inches; and the other two facing boards 28 inches. Then, as we must add 1-1/2 inches for each tenon, two of the boards will be 37 inches long and two of them 31 inches long. [Illustration: _Fig. 31._] [Illustration: _Fig. 32._] The illustration (Fig. 31) shows a board marked with the cross lines (B) at each end for the end of the tenons, or the extreme ends of the boards. THE TENONS.--Do not neglect first to select the work side and the working edge of the board. The outer surface and the upper edges are the sides to work from. The cheekpiece (A) of the gage must always rest against the working side. The cross marks (B, C) should be made with the point of a sharp knife, and before the small back saw is used on the cross-cuts the lines (B), which indicate the shoulders, should be scored with a sharp knife, as shown in Fig. 33. This furnishes a guide for the saw, and makes a neat finish for the shoulder. [Illustration: _Fig. 33._] [Illustration: _Fig. 34._] [Illusstration _Fig. 35._] TOOLS USED.--The back saw is used for cutting the tenon, and the end of the board appears as shown in the enlarged Fig. 34. Two things are now necessary to complete the tenons. On the upper or work edge of each board use the gage to mark off a half-inch slice, and then cut away the flat side of the tenon at the end, on its inner surface, so it will appear as shown in Fig. 35. [Illustration: _Fig. 36._] [Illustration: _Fig. 37._] CHAMFERED TENONS.--The object of these chamfered or beveled tenons is to permit the ends to approach each other closely within the mortise, as shown in the assembled parts (Fig. 36). THE FRAME ASSEMBLED.--The frame is now ready to assemble, but before doing so a drawer opening and supports should be made. The ends of the supports may be mortised into the side pieces or secured by means of gains. Mortises and tenons are better. THE DRAWER SUPPORTS.--Take one of the side-facing boards (Fig. 37) and cut a rectangular opening in it. This opening should be 4 inches wide and 18 inches long, so placed that there is 1 inch of stock at the upper margin and 2 inches of stock at the lower margin of the board. At each lower corner make a mortise (A), so that one side of the mortise is on a line with the margin of the opening, and so that it extends a half inch past the vertical margin of the opening. [Illustration: _Fig. 38._] You can easily cut a gain (B) in a strip, or, as in Fig. 38, you may use two strips, one (C) an inch wide and a half inch thick, and on this nail a strip (D) along one margin. This forms the guide and rest for the drawer. At the upper margin of the opening is a rebate or gain (E) at each corner, extending down to the top line of the drawer opening, into which are fitted the ends of the upper cross guides. THE TABLE FRAME.--When the entire table frame is assembled it will have the appearance shown in Fig. 39, and it is now ready for the top. THE TOP.--The top should be made of three boards, either tongued and grooved, or doweled and glued together. In order to give a massive appearance, and also to prevent the end grain of the boards from being exposed, beveled strips may be used to encase the edges. These marginal cleats are 3/4 inch thick and 2 inches wide, and joined by beveled ends at the corners, as shown in Fig. 40. [Illustration: _Fig. 39._] THE DRAWER.--The drawer (Fig. 41) shown in cross section, has its front (A) provided with an overlapping flange (B). It is not our object in this chapter to show how each particular article is made, but simply to point out the underlying principles, and to illustrate how the fastening elements, the tenons and mortises, are formed, so that the boy will know the proper steps in their natural order. [Illustration: _Fig. 40._] HOW ANY STRUCTURE IS BUILT UP.--It should be observed that each structure, however small, is usually built from the base up. Just the same as the more pretentious buildings are erected: First, the sill, then the floor supports, then the posts and top plates, with their connecting girders, and, finally, the roof. The chapter on House Building will give more detailed illustrations of large structures, and how they are framed and braced. At this point we are more concerned in knowing how to proceed in order to lay out the simple structural details, and if one subject of this kind is fully mastered the complicated character of the article will not be difficult to master. OBSERVATIONS ABOUT A BOX.--As simple a little article as a box frequently becomes a burden to a beginner. Try it. Simply keep in mind one thing; each box has six sides. Now, suppose you want a box with six equal sides--that is, a cubical form--it is necessary to make only three pairs of sides; two for the ends, two for the sides and two for the top and bottom. Each set has dimensions different from the other sets. Both pieces of the set, representing the ends, are square; the side pieces are of the same width as the end pieces, and slightly longer; and the