To trim a piece of wood, like the edge of a board, down to a line, with a hatchet, for instance, you can first score the piece with a series of short cuts, stopping short of the line, to break up the grain of the wood, and then trim these loosened chips off down to the line with the plane, chisel, draw-knife, or whatever tool may be suitable. The main point is to cut in such a direction that the grain will not cause the cuts to extend farther than the line or to run into the main piece of wood (Fig. 614). The same principle can be applied often in trimming and removing superfluous wood with a chisel, a draw-knife, or a knife. The cuts can often be made with the saw to better advantage (Fig. 614). It takes a little more time to make these cross-cuts with hatchet, knife, chisel, or saw than to whack away furiously lengthways, as if you were chopping kindling, but after you have spoiled a few pieces by splitting beyond the line you will conclude that the former is the more workmanlike and reliable way.
Fig. 615.
This same principle is applicable to making chamfers or bevels with a chisel or knife (Fig. 615). You will find frequent occasion to apply this principle of breaking the grain into small pieces before making the final cuts in many kinds of work. It is in constant use in "roughing out" carving.
Fig. 616.
To trim to a curve as shown in Fig. 616, begin at the edge just outside of the end of the curve and work with the grain from a to b. It is often a help in such cases to first remove part of the wood with the saw, as on the lines bc and then ef. Finally trim the curve smoothly close to the line. Frequently this can be done to better advantage with the work held in the vise instead of lying horizontally on the bench.
Paring off superfluous wood down to a given line or trimming off an irregular edge with the chisel is very easily done provided the grain of the wood is straight, or runs in the same direction, even if slanting, as in Fig. 617, because you can then cut with the grain. It is often better, however, to cut across the grain, or diagonally, with the chisel, as the wood is less likely to be split by the tool.
Fig. 617.