Chapter XI.
HARD-WOOD TURNING.
We now discard almost entirely the gouge and chisel used for soft woods, and fall back upon an entirely different set of tools, similar to those used for metal, but ground to rather more acute angles. These tools are held horizontally upon the rest, because depressing the handles causes the bevel below the edge to rub upon the work; and in addition, the grain of hard foreign woods is such that it cannot well be cut by placing the tool at a more acute angle, as would theoretically be required. Hence we can only regard these as scraping tools; but as such they will do excellent work in skilful hands. I have said that we discard the gouge, but there are some woods that will bear this tool, to take off the roughest parts of the work, before the application of others. The roughing-tool, however, may now be considered to be the point-tool, and the round-end tool, or “round” as it is often called; a narrow one makes a good tool for this purpose.
Hard wood is easier on the whole to work than soft, because we have for the purpose a large stock of tools of all shapes, suitable to the various mouldings required. Hollows, round-beading tools, compound and simple moulding tools of various sizes, to say nothing of those which are made for use with ornamental apparatus, such as are required for fluting, beading, and eccentric work, spirals, and so forth. It is indeed in hard wood that most amateurs are accustomed to work; ebony and ivory, singly or in combination, being more extensively used than any other.
To turn a cylinder, or any work requiring to be held at both ends, you will invariably find the cross-chuck the best to use,—the fork or prong not taking hold in the hard material. Rough down to shape as before, using the gouge if it will work, but keeping the rest as close as possible, and only taking a light cut. Then finish roughing with a round-tool, and proceed generally as in soft wood turning, except inasmuch as you have to scrape instead of cutting the work into form.
In addition to the tools already described, you will have to obtain a few beading-tools, if you want to do very good work, for these give far more beautiful mouldings than you can cut in any other manner. Fig. 53, A to C, represent these. The bevel is on the under side, and it is better to interfere with it as little as possible, by always sharpening the flat face only. If it should be necessary, however, to touch the bevel, it must be rubbed by a slip of oilstone, rounded on the edge, as used for sharpening gouges. Conical grinders, revolving in the lathe, are also used, especially for small beading-tools, to be fixed in the slide-rest. In the same figure, D and E represent another useful hard-wood and ivory tool. It is called the side-parting tool; and it is usual to have several of these, the hooks increasing in length. The edge is only on the extreme end of the hook. These tools are used for economy’s sake to cut solid blocks of ivory and hard-wood from the inside of boxes, instead of cutting the material into a heap of useless shavings. Similar tools, G, H, curved instead of rectangular, serve to cut out a solid piece from the inside of a bowl. In ivory work it is essential to use these tools, because such material is very costly; $2.50 a lb., and upwards, being a common price.
Fig. 53.