"It need not be very fine work, but it will make our shop much neater, if the surfaces of the wood are planed instead of being left rough, and to give you practice in planing and to develop your muscles, I am going to let you do most of the planing, while I lay out the work."
The rack as finally constructed is shown in [Fig. 93]. The shop was not sheathed on the inside, the framework or studding being exposed. The short cross pieces were nailed to the studding with ten-penny wire nails, but where they joined the uprights they were let into the latter to a depth of 1⁄2 inch before being nailed. Harry wanted to know what this was for, and Ralph explained that if the cross pieces were simply nailed to the uprights, all the weight would be carried by the nails. By letting or "gaining" them part way into the uprights, the weight was carried by the latter without so much strain on the nails.
"Then why don't you let them into the wall studs too?" asked Harry.
"Because the studs are in position and we couldn't saw them out without breaking through the outside of the building; therefore we are obliged simply to nail them on."
Fig. 93. The lumber rack
Four of the uprights were spaced three feet apart, and held in place at top and bottom by blocks nailed to the ceiling and floor. A carpenter would have simply "toe-nailed" them by driving nails at an angle through the ends of the uprights into the floor, but the boys were not yet skilled in carpenters' methods. An ideal lumber rack is made of galvanized iron pipe. It is indestructible, fire-proof, rather expensive, and the joints are regular pipe fitter's joints, elbows, tees, crosses, and floor plates.
This was beyond our boys' pocket-book, as it would have required the services of a pipe fitter.
One of the uprights laid out and partly cut is shown at a, the openings having been taken out with cross cut saw and chisel.