Carpentry for Boys

J >> J. S. Zerbe >> Carpentry for Boys

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THE GAGE.--The illustration (Fig. 19) shows one of the most useful tools
in the kit. It is used to scribe the thickness of the material which is
to be dressed down, or for imprinting the edges of tenons and mortises.
Two should be provided in every kit, for convenience.

The scribing point should be sharpened with a file, the point being
filed to form a blade, which is at right angles to the bar, or parallel
with the movable cheekpiece.

CHISELS.--I have already pointed out, in general, how to hold tools for
grinding purposes, this description applying particularly to chisels,
but several additional things may be added.

Always be careful to grind the chisel so its cutting edge is square with
the side edge. This will be difficult at first, but you will see the
value of this as you use the tool. For instance, in making rebates for
hinges, or recesses and mortises for locks, the tool will invariably run
crooked, unless it is ground square.

The chisel should never be struck with a hammer or metal instrument, as
the metal pole or peon of the hammer will sliver the handle. The wooden
mallet should invariably be used.

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.--If the workman will carefully observe the
foregoing requirements he will have taken the most important steps in
the knowledge of the art. If he permits himself to commence work without
having his tools in first-class condition, he is trying to do work under
circumstances where even a skilled workman is liable to fail.

Avoid making for yourself a lot of unnecessary work. The best artisans
are those who try to find out and know which is the best tool, or how to
make a tool for each requirement, but that tool, to be serviceable, must
be properly made, and that means it must be rightly sharpened.

CHAPTER III

HOW TO HOLD AND HANDLE TOOLS

Observation may form part of each boy's lesson, but when it comes to the
handling of tools, practice becomes the only available means of making a
workman. Fifty years of observation would never make an observer an
archer or a marksman, nor would it enable him to shoe a horse or to
build a table.

It sometimes happens that an apprentice will, with little observation,
seize a saw in the proper way, or hold a plane in the correct manner,
and, in time, the watchful boy will acquire fairly correct habits. But
why put in useless time and labor in order to gain that which a few
well-directed hints and examples will convey?

Tools are made and are used as short cuts toward a desired end. Before
the saw was invented the knife was used laboriously to sever and shape
the materials. Before planes were invented a broad, flat sharpened blade
was used to smooth off surfaces. Holes were dug out by means of small
chisels requiring infinite patience and time. Each succeeding tool
proclaimed a shorter and an easier way to do a certain thing. The man
or boy who can make a new labor-saving tool is worthy of as much praise
as the man who makes two blades of grass grow where one grew before.

Let us now thoroughly understand how to hold and use each tool. That is
half the value of the tool itself.

THE SAW.--With such a commonplace article as the saw, it might be
assumed that the ordinary apprentice would look upon instruction with a
smile of derision.

HOW TO START A SAW.--If the untried apprentice has such an opinion set
him to work at the task of cutting off a board accurately on a line. He
will generally make a failure of the attempt to start the saw true to
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" x 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" x 42" and
the height 30". The legs should be 2" x 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
top and bottom are longer and wider than the end pieces.

[Illustration: _Fig. 41._]

A box equal in all its dimensions may be made out of six boards,
properly cut. Make an attempt in order to see if you can get the right
dimensions.

JOINTS.--For joining together boards at right angles to each other, such
as box corners, drawers and like articles, tenons and mortises should
never be resorted to. In order to make fine work the joints should be
made by means of dovetails, rabbets or rebates, or by beveling or
mitering the ends.

BEVELING AND MITERING.--There is a difference in the terms "beveling"
and "mitering," as used in the art. In Fig. 42 the joint A is _beveled_,
and in Fig. 43 the joint B is _mitered_, the difference being that a
bevel is applied to an angle joint like a box corner, while a miter has
reference to a joint such as is illustrated in Fig. 43, such as the
corner of a picture frame.

[Illustration: _Fig. 42._]

[Illustration: _Fig. 43._]

PROPER TERMS.--It is the application of the correct terms to things that
lays the foundation for accurate thinking and proper expressions in
describing work. A wise man once said that the basis of true science
consists in correct definitions.

PICTURE FRAMES.--In picture frames the mitered corners may have a saw
kerf (C) cut across the corners, as shown in Fig. 44, and a thin blade
of hard wood driven in, the whole being glued together.

DOVETAIL JOINTS.--It is in the laying out of the more complicated
dovetail joints that the highest skill is required, because exactness is
of more importance in this work than in any other article in joinery. In
order to do this work accurately follow out the examples given, and you
will soon be able to make a beautiful dovetail corner, and do it
quickly.

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