We have now described the simple foot-lathe and chucks adapted for hand turning, but of the latter a great number may be provided, and will, in fact, accumulate as the turner proceeds to work upon objects of varied form and size. No chuck once made should be thrown away until it has become so reduced, from repeated alterations, as to be no longer serviceable. And now, before we commence actual turning, it will be well to offer a few concluding remarks upon the selection of a lathe. It will be evident from our previous remarks and illustrations that there is room for great diversity in the size and quality of this machine, and it is astonishing what excellent work is often turned out by an experienced hand from a lathe of the worst description. The simple pole-lathe, which is so out of date that we did not deem it worthy of notice in this series, with its reciprocating motion, like the little tool of the watchmaker, has, before now, supplied the cabinet maker with first-class work, and not many years since we ourselves stood before just such a clumsy tool, taking first lessons in the art. Our next step was to a lathe with wooden poppets, and flywheel of the same material, a mandrel made by a country blacksmith, which scarcely did even him credit; the value of the whole, with stand and beechen bed complete, was £2 sterling, and sufficiently dear at that price. Now, we do not recommend such a tool, and in the present day a much better may be had at that price, but, notwithstanding its evident defects, very tolerable work may be produced from it. We state this to deter the reader from a very common fault—namely, the purchase of an expensive tool and elaborate fittings when the purse is shallow, and the skill shallower still. In fact, any amount may be spent in lathes, and in fitting up a workshop, but to gain real pleasure and satisfaction from the pursuit of the mechanical arts, the outlay should not be more than the probable result in work fairly warrants. A hundred pounds is often expended in the purchase of a lathe, and a hundred shillings would more than purchase the work done by it. We speak from our own experience in this matter, and believe our advice proportionately valuable; and we well know the satisfaction that ensues when good work has been produced in spite of the defects in the appliances at command. If the means do not admit of the purchase of a good lathe necessity must decide the question, and an inferior one must take its place in the workshop. Nevertheless, we would rather counsel a certain amount of delay, and economy and hoarding, that a good foundation may be laid and a lathe purchased of such average excellence that future additions may convert it into a really serviceable tool.
It would be invidious and perhaps rather unfair in this little work to send the reader to any particular lathe-maker. There are several good and two or three first-class ones in London, and if prices range high, the work is at any rate of undeniable excellence.
There are also many cheaper firms than those alluded to, where the work is rather of rough-and-ready style; all depends on what class of work the would-be purchaser proposes to engage in, whether he intends to confine himself to plain hand-turning in wood, to the construction of steam engine, and other models of machinery in metal, or to the more beautiful finished work in hard wood and ivory, which develop the full power of the machine itself, and the skill of the accomplished turner. In the former cases, a very plain and inexpensive lathe will suffice. In the latter, it is absolutely necessary to purchase one of the best construction, at a tolerably high figure.
The best advice to those of slender means, and who, therefore, vastly predominate, is to sacrifice all else to the mandrel and collar. The latter may be bought at from twenty to thirty shillings, ready for mounting in detached wooden headstocks, and will be far superior to any that an ordinary smith can produce. In this case, the two poppets that carry the mandrel and centre screw should be connected together by a block of wood between them, which latter may be rounded off and shaped to something near the form of a cast-iron headstock.
The only care necessary in mounting such a mandrel, will be to keep the axial line parallel to the lathe-bed, and directly over the centre of the latter. Whether the mandrel is thus a separate purchase, as may happen from necessity, or obtained as part of the lathe, and fitted in a cast-iron headstock, it should certainly be hardened, and also the collar, if of steel. Both will take a higher polish for this process, and will run easier in consequence. The cost of such a mandrel is rather greater, because many warp or split in the process, and have to be thrown aside; and the labour of grinding mandrel and collar to an exact fit, is considerably increased. The gain, however, is greater than the loss to the purchaser, and the extra outlay must not, therefore, be grudged. It is very annoying to find a conical mandrel worn down by the collar after a twelvemonths' work; for a collar is thus formed on the conical part, so that it cannot be tightened up by the back screw.
The first tool to be noticed is the gouge, the form of which is a longitudinal section of a tube, and is shown in [Fig. 41]. Of this tool not less than three sizes should be selected, of the respective diameters of one inch, half-inch, and a quarter or three-eighths. When purchased, they require grinding, the bevel being too short. It is essential that this tool and the turning chisel have a long bevel, so that the cutting edge should be a very acute angle. (Fig. 41, not like 42.) It is impossible to do good work with the latter form of tool which is, nevertheless, of frequent occurrence in the workshops of amateurs. Both gouge and chisel must be sharpened on an oilstone (Arkansas or Turkey will be found the best) to a keen edge, and no pains must be spared in preserving the tools in this condition. Three sizes of chisel to match the gouges should be selected. The latter tool is not made like that intended for carpenter's use, with the edge at right angles to the sides, but is sloped like [Fig. 43], so as to present an obtuse angle A, and an acute one B, and the cutting edge is central, the bevel being alike on both sides, so that the tool may be turned over, and used with either of the flat sides upwards. The handles of gouges and chisels should be much longer than those used by carpenters, and nicely rounded and shaped in the lathe. The most difficult thing to turn being a cylinder of soft wood; a description of the method of effecting this will be the best means of initiating the novice in the art of turning. In all the most perfect work by practised hands, there is a sharpness of edges and roundness of mouldings, that are exceedingly agreeable to the eye, and bespeak at once keenness in the tool with which the work has been done, and steadiness in the hand of the operator. The novice must aim at similar perfection, and to this end he must determine to avoid the use of sand-paper, and trust to his management of exceedingly keen tools to put a workmanlike finish to his work. To commence with the proposed cylinder. Let a piece of sound beech be selected for the first essay, as being less difficult to manage than deal, the grain of the latter tearing up in long shreds under the action of the tool. The first thing to be done, after sawing off the necessary quantity of sufficient diameter for the proposed work, is to round it off roughly by means of the hatchet and draw-knife, or spoke-shave. The next thing is to mount it in the lathe. For this purpose the prong chuck, or, better still, that represented as an improvement on the latter, and shown in [Fig. 23B], must be screwed on the mandrel, and the work made secure by the aid of the back poppet centre. Care should be taken that the piece runs truly between the points of support, and that it revolves steadily without shake. There is no real necessity for using the compasses, or other contrivance for finding the exact centre at each end, as sometimes recommended, neither, indeed, is it always possible thus to find the axial line. It is easy to fix it at first lightly in its place, and ascertain by a turn or two of the mandrel, how nearly it runs as it ought to do. If it seems tolerably true, a turn of the back centre fixes it securely, if not, it can be shifted in any direction at pleasure. The tyro ought, however, to be warned that he is likely to be deceived in the size of the rough piece, and that he may very probably think it of sufficient diameter for the proposed work when in reality it is too small. Practice, or the use of the callipers, which are bow-legged compasses for measuring the diameters of work, will soon settle the question. The piece being properly fixed in the lathe, the latter is to be set in motion by means of the treadle, the rest having been first fixed as near as possible without touching the piece, and the T clamped parallel to it. If the tyro wishes to become a proficient, no pains must be spared to acquire the knack of working the treadle without moving the body to-and-fro. He must learn, therefore, to stand firmly on one leg, and after the wheel has been put in motion, he must let it and the treadle have its own way. He will thus soon feel when the crank has passed the dead point at the highest point of revolution, and the proper moment to bear down with the foot. It is not necessary to describe the precise movement, as a few trials will teach the method much better than any written description. At first it is hard work, and constant change of leg from the right to the left, and back again, will have to be resorted to to diminish the fatigue. Practice will, however, remove all difficulties, and allow the whole undivided attention to be given to the management of the tool.
Fig. 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46.
The gouge must be held down firmly on the rest with the hollow side upwards, and the bevel of the edge forming a tangent to the work, [Fig. 44]. In this position it will cut freely and smoothly, and the edge will be preserved. If held horizontally, as in [Fig. 45], it is evident that the fine edge of the tool will be immediately destroyed by the rapid blows it will receive as the rough wood revolves in contact with it. Its tendency in the latter position will be to scrape, instead of cutting, and the fibres of the wood will thus be torn out in threads, and the surface of the work be roughened. The gouge, then, being placed in the former tangential position, the right hand grasping the handle, the left the blade, as in [Fig. 46], the tool is to be slowly slid along the rest, and a series of light shavings, more or less continuous, will be removed from end to end of the piece. Let the workman bear in mind that the tool is to take a firm bearing on the rest, and that it must not move to-and-fro with the inequalities of the piece to be turned. It is not necessary to remove large chips unless the turner has acquired from practice perfect command over the tools, and for the adept this chapter is not written. After the most prominent inequalities have been removed, the side of the gouge will come into use instead of the extreme end, and with this the work may be rapidly reduced to its intended size, always allowing, however, for the final cut with the chisel. Before the latter is taken up, the piece of work is to be rendered as level and true as can be done by the aid of the gouge alone; indeed, if the latter is of tolerable size, and skilfully used, a finish can be put upon the work by it almost equal to that which the chisel can produce and if the work in hand were a moulded pattern, with hollows and raised work, great part would have to depend on the gouge alone. In the present case the chisel must be used, and the method is as follows: Take a hold with both hands, as directed for the management of the gouge, but instead of the flat part lying evenly on the rest, the tool must be partly raised from it, so that only the lower edge takes a firm bearing. By this means the upper angle of the cutting edge (generally the most acute) is kept clear of the wood, and the latter is cut away only by means of the middle and lower part of the edge, as shown in [Fig. 47]. If placed as in [Fig. 48], the acute angle, a, is sure to catch and stick into the work, spoiling in two seconds all that has been done. The chisel can be used with either of its flat sides upwards, and moved along the rest from right to left, or from left to right, or turned upside down, as [Fig. 49], so that the acute angle is downwards. These positions are shown in the [Fig. 47 to 51]. The only care necessary is to keep the upper point clear, allow the chisel to rest as flatly on the wood as the above precaution will permit, and to take as fine and continuous shavings as possible. The chisel will be found to draw itself along in some degree as the cut proceeds, and when this action is felt, it is doing its work properly—still, it is a difficult thing to use a chisel well, and the tyro will fail many times and oft before he will succeed.
