CARPENTERING.
“All made out of my own head.
And wood enough left for another.”
Nothing is more useful to a youth than to be able to do a little carpentering. To be handy with a chisel and saw, a nail and a hammer, saves many a pound in the course of the year. If you call in a carpenter for a little work he is sure to spin out a “regular job.” I remember once buying some oak saplings, which cost me eightpence a stick; and wanting to build a summer-house, I required eight of them to be sawn through, so I applied to a carpenter, and the sticks were cut, but to my astonishment, sixteen shillings was charged for this little “job,” although the wood cost me only five shillings and fourpence. I found out afterwards that the proper price for sawing would have amounted to about four shillings, so that twelve shillings profit was clapped on for the benefit of my experience. I just mention this to show my young friends, that if they wish to make summer-houses for their gardens, cages for their birds, fowl-houses, rabbit-hutches, or boxes for their books, they must learn to make them for themselves. I shall therefore offer them a little advice upon “carpentering.”
THE SHOP AND BENCH.
Endeavour to procure some small outhouse, in which you may erect what is called a carpenter’s or joiner’s bench. These may very often be bought second-hand, or if not, can easily be procured at a reasonable rate. I am very particular in recommending a bench, as without it you will find many obstacles to your work. You must also provide yourself with a set of tools,—gimlets, hammers, planes, saws, gouges, files, nails, screws, and such articles of use.
The bench is composed of a platform or top, supported by four stout legs; A is what is called the bench hook; this ought to be fitted in tight, so as to move up and down with a hammer only. The use of it is to keep any wood steady you may have to plane: B is the bench screw, used for keeping any wood firm and steady you may have to saw, which is to be put in the grip and screwed tight. Sometimes the edges of wood require to be planed, and then the wood is put in the grip or cheeks of the bench and held tight while you plane it. The holes in the side of the bench, C C, are for the insertion of a movable pin to support the end of the board you have to plane or saw, which is not in the screw. The height of your bench should be about 2 feet 8 inches. The common length is from 10 to 12 feet, and the breadth about 3 feet 6 inches.
OF PLANES.
[C] is what is called the jack plane, which is the first to be used. It is about 17 inches in length, and is used to take the rough parts from a piece of wood. It should be held steadily by fixing the right hand at the handle (h), and the left over the top and side at (s), and pushed forward on the wood, when the knife (k) will take off a shaving which runs through the hole (o), and falls on the side. In using the plane the endeavour should be to take off a clean shaving, which is done by using the instrument uniformly and steadily over every surface to be planed.
[D] is another kind of plane, called the trying plane, having a double top or handle. It is used to regulate and smooth, to a higher degree, the surface of the wood that had previously been smoothed from the rough by the jack plane. Its length is about 22 inches, and it is broader than the jack plane. There is another plane called the long plane, which is used for facing a piece of stuff, which it does with the greatest exactness; its length is about 2 feet 4 inches. There is also the joiner’s plane, which is the longest of all the planes, being 30 inches long. But the most handy of the planes to the boy carpenter is the smoothing plane, [E]. It is the last plane used in joining, and gives the utmost degree of smoothness to the surface of a piece of finished work; it is about 7 inches in length, the sides of the stock are curved, and resemble in figure a coffin; it is used in a similar way to the other.
SAWS.
There are many kinds of saws, but the most useful one is what is called the “hand saw.” It has a blade or plate about 28 inches long; the teeth of which are so formed as to allow you to cut the wood crossways as well as lengthways. The handle of the saw is made so as to allow a full yet free grasp of the hand, either for a pull or a thrust.
The panel saw. This saw has a plate nearly of the same size as a hand saw, and is used for cutting very thin boards, which the rough teeth of the hand saw would not cut through without breaking them.
The tenon saw is of a different shape to the others, and is made to cut across the grain of the wood so as to leave the ends nicely even, that it may fit to the piece it is joined to, which is called a shoulder, being that part which comes in contact with the fibre of the wood thus:
To do this it requires that the teeth should be much smaller, and they are therefore placed so close as eight or ten to the inch, according to the length of the blade.
The dovetail saw. There is another most useful saw it would be of advantage for the young carpenter to have, namely, the dovetail saw. It is about 9 inches long, and contains at least fifteen teeth in the inch. It is used for cutting the dovetails of boxes. Its plate is very thin, and it requires some care in using. It has a back for the purpose of strength, formed of a thin piece of brass or iron, let in so as to give the blade the requisite firmness necessary in using it.
The compass saw. The plate of this kind of saw is very narrow, and not more than one inch wide at the broadest part, gradually diminishing to about a quarter of an inch at the lower end. It is about 15 inches in length, and is used for cutting a piece of wood into a circular form, and the plate being narrow allows it to follow the foot of the compass to a very small diameter.
The keyhole saw. The keyhole saw is much smaller than the above. It is used for cutting short curves, small holes, &c., such as a keyhole. The handle is the same form as that of the chisel, a small slit being cut through from end to end. It has a screw on one side, in order that the blade may be set to any length, according to the circumference of the hole to be cut.
THE SPOKE SHAVE.
This is a very useful tool. It is employed for smoothing the edges of round pieces, or other ends requiring to be shaved down. It is a narrow plane made of boxwood, and has generally a steel blade let into it to cut; it is used by taking hold of each end with a hand, and moving it to and fro over the wood to be shaved down.
STOCK AND BITS.
There are about thirty-six bits to a set, all of different shapes and sizes; but our young friends need not get quite so many: if they provide themselves with a couple of a medium size, this will be sufficient, such as the centre bit and the auger bit. The centre bit will cut holes varying from a quarter of an inch to three quarters of an inch in diameter, and is used by pressing the knob end against the chest, and twirling the centre part round with the hand. It cuts a hole very clean, leaving it quite smooth inside. The auger bit is for the same purpose, and is used in the same manner. Another bit, called the taper shell bit, is used for making holes wider, and is a very useful implement.
HOW TO MAKE A WHEELBARROW.
One of the handiest things in a garden is a wheelbarrow, and one of the prettiest for the young carpenter to exercise his ingenuity upon. To make one, take a wide plank or board about an inch and a quarter thick. Proceed to your bench, and having fitted it to its proper position, take your jack plane and plane off the rough, next use your smoothing plane to make it smooth. Then take your pencil and draw upon its side the following [figure], A. Then take your compass saw and cut round the marks you have made: to do this you will have to fix your board in the screw of your bench. When this is done take your spoke shave, and shave the edges all round till they are very smooth and even, and you have one side of your barrow. Lay this on another piece of board, and mark the shape of it with your pencil; cut and shave it exactly as you did the first side, so that when finished the two will exactly correspond; then cut a piece off another board for the back and front of the barrow, of the [subjoined shape], by the same method you cut the sides, and plane and finish them up in a similar way. Cut some tenons at the end of each exactly to correspond with the mortices shown on the sides, D D; let them be a trifle larger than the mortices, so that they will drive in tight. Then cut the bottom out neatly, and nail it to the sides. Having proceeded thus far, cut out the legs of your barrow, B, and nail one on each side as shown in the figure. Give each leg a shoulder for the sides to rest upon.
To make the wheel. Take a piece of board, [A], and strike a circle upon it the size you wish your wheel to be of, B, and with the compass saw cut close round to the stroke; cut out a square hole, C, in the centre for the nave to join. Then get the blacksmith to put an iron rim round the wheel to keep it from splitting, and a round pin in each side of the nave, and put a staple in each side of the barrow to keep the wheel in its place. Paint the whole of any colour you choose, and you will have
PUNCH’S COACH.
THE WAY TO MAKE A BOX.
First ascertain the size you wish your box to be of. Then cut off your stuff, but take care to cut it a quarter of an inch longer than the size of your box from outside to outside. Should you want it deeper or broader than the length of a deal, the widest of which is generally only eleven inches; suppose, for instance, you wish your box to be 18 inches deep, and you have only 9-inch deal to make it with, you will of course have to join two together, or make what is called in carpentering a glue joint. First, then, after you have cut off your stuff, take your jack plane and “scuffle the rough off;” then put your board edgeways into the bench-screw, and take your trying plane or long plane to get the edge of the deals that are to be glued together perfectly straight and even; and lastly, use the joiner plane, which will take off a nice uniform shaving of the whole length of the board. Proceed exactly in the same manner with the other board to be joined to the first. Then, after having made each thoroughly smooth, clap the two together and see if they will lie close in every part, if not, you must plane them till they do, taking care to plane the edges perfectly square, or at right angles to the surface of the board, for if you are not careful in this particular, when your boards are glued together they will be of this form.
When you have joined them properly for glueing, let your glue be nicely hot and not too thick, and hold both edges of the boards together so that you can with a brush put the glue on both at one time, put the two together very quickly, let one of them be in the bench-screw, and while there rub the other backwards and forwards till the glue sets, which it will soon do if well joined. Let the whole dry, and then the glued part will be as strong as any other part of the board.
After your sides, ends, bottom, and top are thus prepared, you must then plane them up nicely, so that they are perfectly smooth and straight. Use first the jack plane, then the trying plane. When this is done you have to proceed to a nice little job, namely, to dovetail the corners together, so as to form your box. In this process much depends upon the planing and squaring of the stuff, for if you have not done this nicely the dovetailing will be very imperfectly performed. Assuming that everything has been well done, then take the two ends of the box, and see that each is perfectly square and true to the other. Then allow one-eighth of an inch more than the thickness of your sides, and set out the ends, squaring it over on both sides, which when the dovetails are cut out will form the inside of the box.
TO CUT THE DOVETAILS.
Take one “end-piece” of the box and place it endways into the bench-screw, and mark out the dovetails on the edge of the board inside, thus:
then with your dovetail saw cut in into the marks down to the lines squared over on the flat side like this—
Then with a chisel cut out that part of the wood that is crossed, and leave the other part, this being the part which will form the pins or tails. Then take one side of your box and lay it flat on the bench, the inside uppermost; then place the end you have cut on it, keeping the edges flush, and mark round the shape of the pins, which will leave them after this form—
the black places being the mortices which are to be cut out. In cutting out these you must be careful to cut within side of the stroke, so that the mortices will be a little smaller than the pins, which will admit of their being driven in quite tight, and will allow the glue to adhere to them (for you have to glue these when you fix them). When you have thus put the ends and sides together let them stand till the glue gets dry, then take your planes and plane the quarter of an inch off the pins which you allowed to be a little longer than the length of the box, and you have then made the body of your box.
THE BOTTOM OF THE BOX.
Cut your bottom the exact size of the box, nail the bottom on, and “get out” a piece of wood (by cutting and planing in the usual manner) to nail round so as to form a skirting to it, and at the same time hide the joints of the bottom; “get out” a similar piece of wood to nail round the top which will form the lid. Then get a pair of box joints and a lock, and having put them on by a stroke of your own ingenuity you will have a “box.”
