"No, I guess you were right after all."
Ralph showed him the proper way to stand, and how to hold the jack-plane so as to get the best results. He promised to show him how to sharpen and adjust the plane as soon as the lumber was stored away on the lumber rack.
Harry's business was to dress down one of the flat faces of each piece till it was smooth, straight and true both with the grain and across it. He tested it by his eye and the edge of his plane and when he thought it was about right, passed it over to Ralph for criticism.
Ralph was a very exacting instructor, but made allowance for the boy's inexperience. He was making the second trestle at the same time and it was exasperating to Harry to see the ease with which he turned out his work.
"Never mind," said Ralph, "you can do as good carving now as I, and in a few weeks you will be able to do just as good joinery or carpentry. The first day is always the hardest. You are all impatience and want to get through right away. After a while you will learn by experience that you can only do one thing at a time, and will not rush so."
Photograph by Helen W. Cooke
Using the Jack Plane.