Chapter I
CARPENTRY
Carpentry, or the science of making things out of wood, is the oldest and comes the closest to us of any of the applied arts and crafts. The earliest men made clubs at least. Later they began to build, to construct, and it is interesting to remember that this ability to construct is a faculty shared with man by the animals. There are many species of birds that build well-designed nests; the spider is a weaver; the bee is a geometrician; the ant is a tunnel builder; the beaver, in the construction of his dams and breakwaters, displays engineering ability of a high order. The vital difference between the animal and the human intelligence lies in the fact that the latter is progressive. The spider weaves just the same pattern to-day that he did when the Pyramids were young; the mathematical section of the bee cell is invariable; the mud-swallows build the same kind of houses as their remotest ancestors. The common explanation is that instinct and not reason guides the animal in his work, and instinct is a reproductive faculty, not an inventive one. It is for man alone to progress from the crude beginnings of an art to its highest and most perfect development.
Perhaps the first and most urgent need of all living creatures is for shelter. The oriole weaves his hanging nest; the beaver constructs his wonderfully domed house; primitive man builds his hut of interlaced boughs. But it is man alone who is not content with the first crude efforts; he is constantly aiming after something more substantial and better adapted to his increasing needs. So man becomes the true builder, and as wood is the simple and almost universally obtainable material, carpentry, or the art of working in wood, stands at the head of the applied sciences upon which the civilization of the race depends.
The average boy takes to carpentry as naturally as ducks take to water, and beginning with the tacks a baby boy will hammer in a board, the young builder goes on from the simple to the more complex forms until he attains the full mastery of his material and his tools. He has now obtained the dignity of manhood; he is a maker of things.
Once proficient in the art of cutting, joining, and fastening wood-work, and in the use and care of tools, a boy may begin to call himself a carpenter. But he must learn to work systematically and accurately if he is ever to become a genuine craftsman. In the first place, he should understand the possibilities and limitations of his tools. He should never use a chisel for a screw-driver, nor drive nails with the butt end of a plane. Good tools should have good care. Inanimate things that they are, they yet resent ill-usage, and retaliate, in their own way, by becoming dull and otherwise unfit for their work. Indeed, a good carpenter may be known by the condition of his tool-chest and work-bench. Carpentry, when properly carried on, is a most fascinating occupation for out-of-school hours, especially in the winter season, when bad weather keeps one indoors. Needless to say, it may be made a profitable way of passing time as well as an amusing one.
Tools
The tools that a boy will need in order to do good joiner-work should be the same as carpenters use, but they may be smaller and not so cumbersome to handle. The set of tools in a chest, put up for the use of children and sold at toyshops, are not the sort that can be relied upon for good carpentry work, since they are usually dull and made of soft steel that will not hold an edge. Possibly the manufacturer thinks that he is justified in turning out this kind of rubbish, bearing in mind the old saying, “Children should not play with edged tools.” But the boy who is old enough to take up carpentry in earnest is entitled to the use of good and serviceable implements, and without them it is hardly worth while starting at the business.