A flannel or felt case should be made for the tools, so they may be kept nicely. The case can be made to roll up, and provided with pockets into which the tools are slipped.
The stones needed on which to sharpen the tools will be an ordinary flat oil-stone, and two Turkey or Arkansas slips six or eight inches long, having the shape of those shown in Fig. 2, A and B. C is the flat stone, and every boy who carries a good pocket-knife should be provided with one on which to sharpen the blades.
The other tools necessary to complete the kit will be several clamps similar to the one shown in Fig. 2; also a glue-pot, and a fret-saw like the one depicted in Fig. 2.
The boy who possesses a bracket or jig saw, however, will not need the fret-saw, as more and better work can be done with it than with the hand affair.
A carver's bench on which to work is of course the greatest necessity; but if it is not possible to get one, a good wooden-top kitchen table will answer very well.
The proper kind of a bench gives greater facility for working; it is more convenient and solid, and as the height is better than that of an ordinary table, the carver works under more pleasant conditions.
FIG. 1.—A DESIGN FOR WOOD-CARVING.
The boy who is handy with tools can make a good bench in a short time, and the design of one is shown in Fig. 5 that can easily be made from wood of the necessary kind that is free from knots and sappy places. The top should measure four feet long, two feet wide, and should be one inch and a half in thickness; it can be of yellow pine, ash, or oak, and the wood must be well seasoned. The framework must be well made, and the cross-pieces and braces securely mortised together, or firmly screwed to the uprights or legs, which can be of yellow pine or ash two inches square.
The top of the bench should be three feet and three inches high from the floor; and to one side of the bench a carpenter's vise may be attached, as shown in the figure.