When all is cut out nicely and carefully, take an extra flat gouge and clean “the floor,” removing every trace of unevenness. Then take a French round nail or bodkin, and with the mallet fill the ground with little holes so as to make a rough surface; or you may use one of the stamps for this. This requires care, so that the shape of the stamp may not be apparent. It is advisable to trim with a very sharp small chisel, and with great care, the edge of the pattern. For this lesson it will be best not to cut away more than one-fourth of an inch to form the ground.
If the outlining is done with a chisel and mallet, before cutting away the ground, go over the outline and cut at a little distance from the line already cut towards it, so as to remove the wood and form a V-shaped groove, as one digs with a spade.
Teachers or pupils are begged to remember that the sole object of this lesson is to learn how to handle and manage the tools; that is, to become familiar with them, and how to learn to cut a ground with skill and confidence. To do this there should be much occasional practice on bits of waste wood. Therefore it is earnestly urged that no beginner shall go further than the work described in this lesson until he or she can execute it with accuracy and ease. When this is gained all that remains to be done is easy.
The reason why the “parting” or V tool is not specially recommended to beginners for outlining is, that it is the most difficult of all tools in ordinary use to sharpen. The small gouge answers every purpose for the work in hand.
To recapitulate, first, we have the cutting away from between the outlines of the pattern: If the panel be half an inch in thickness, it should not be more than a quarter of an inch in depth. Cut over the whole very lightly at first, and then go over it again and again. Do not dig or cut out the whole quarter of an inch in one place at once, leaving the rest as yet untouched. Should you do this you will be led to cutting too deeply in some places. When the hard work is effectively executed, and nearly all the wood is roughly cut away, the work is said to be bosted or sketched, a word supposed to be derived from the French ébauché or the Italian abozzo, meaning the same thing.
After cutting [Fig. 37 a], the pupil may proceed to [37 b], which is simply an amplification of the same.
