IC-NRLF
JAMES H, SMITH
PREVOCATIONAL
AND
INDUSTRIAL ARTS
By
HARRY E. WOOD
Director of Manual Training
Indianapolis Public Schools
And
JAMES H. SMITH
Supervisor of the Principal's Course
Whitewater State Normal School
Whitewater, Wisconsin
(Formerly Teacher of Mathematics and Manual Training
School of Education, University of Chicago)
With Illustrations by
HARRY E. WOOD
1919
CHICAGO
ATKINSON, MENTZER & COMPANY
s.s.
COPTRIGHT 1919 BY
ATKINSON, MENTZER & COMPANY
ALL RIGHTS RKSERVED
PREFACE
Changing industrial and social conditions demand changes
along educational lines. In the early period of our national devel-
opment manufacturing was done in the home and a child had
a chance to observe the work of his parents or his older brothers
or sisters, and thus absorb the means and methods of work.
In the present stage of production on a large scale, everything
is so highly specialized that the young employed worker does
not even have the opportunity of seeing what is taking place
in other parts of the plant in which he works. The school there-
fore faces the problem of giving as broad a knowledge of indus-
tries and occupations as is possible with the facilities and equip-
ment available, thus supplying what was formerly obtained from
the home and small shop.
The mere acquiring of the so-called fundamentals is not
sufficient to equip the children of today so that they can intelli-
gently choose their life work. They should have a taste of
industrial work in a prevocational way in order that they may,
with some degree of intelligence, choose occupations for which
they are fitted. It is not presumed that the brief courses in our
public schools will make them proficient in any craft or occupa-
tion, but leaders in education realize that personal dislikes,
mental and physical deficiencies and lack of dexterity can early
be discovered through prevocational industrial courses. These
courses result in the development of a keen interest on the part
of many pupils in perhaps one or two lines together with a
limited degree of skill in manipulating the tools of these trades
or occupations as well as a discernment of their content.
With these thoughts in mind, the authors of this book have
endeavored to present various lines of work in such a fashion
that pupils of the grammar grades or prevocational period may
understand and make use of them ; that high school or vocational
school pupils may profitably use them for informational or
manipulative suggestions and that individuals, who are not
in school, but who are seeking help in the details of the crafts
covered in this volume, can find the guidance which they need.
It is impossible to cover all of the details of each craft in the
brief space allotted to each subject in this volume, but sufficient
details have been given to enable the reader to do effective
work in the subjects under consideration.
416187
No courses of study are suggested in this book. A variety
of projects have been suggested, some of which will appeal to
pupils in a city or village and some of which will appeal more
particularly to pupils in a rural community, but it is left to the
instructor or individual- to evolve his seauence of work. By
means of this breadth of selected projects and the group arrange-
ment of the .book, it is made easily adjustable to the needs of
any local situation. At the same time information on work
outside of the particular community is brought before the
pupils. It is the idea of the authors that the projects given in
this text be used as suggestive material and redesigned or
developed to suit the individual needs of the pupil. The mere
fact that one subject is presented in this book before another,
does not necessarily mean that it should be studied in that order;
in fact, it may not be possible or advisable to undertake all of
the lines of work suggested because of inadequate equipment
or lack of interest in some subjects in certain communities.
It is hoped that in this text a real need in the school will
be met. It has been developed by the authors at the suggestion
of educators who have felt the need of a book which would set
forth the informational side of manual arts in connection with a
variety of subjects and projects of an industrial character. In
this way content is emphasized as well as skill.
THE AUTHORS.
CONTENTS
PREFACE 1
SHOP EQUIPMENT 3
WOODWORKING TOOLS 3
MATERIALS AND PROCESSES
Grinding and Whetting Tools 30
Wood and Lumber '35
Wood Fasteners 42
Sand Paper 52
Wood Finishes 53
Glass and Window Glazing 58
Chair Seating 62
MECHANICAL DRAWING 72
COMMON JOINTS AND CONSTRUCTIONS 90
WOODWORKING
Operations 92
Projects 97
JIGS AND TRICKS '....154
FACTORY ORGANIZATION 158
SCHOOL-HOME PROJECTS
Gardening 160
Canning Vegetables 167
Seed Corn 169
Raising Poultry 172
Raising Hogs 182
CONCRETE .188
METAL WORK AND FORGING. 212
PAPER AND PRINTING
Paper 226
Printing 231
SHOE REPAIRING 241
ELECTRIC WIRING AND CONSTRUCTION
Bell Wiring 252
Telegraph Circuits 259
Motors 262
Generators 264
Light Wiring 265
INDEX .267
WOODWORKING TOOLS
SHOP EQUIPMENT
To do good work, one must have good tools. Only standard
brands should be purchased. Not a great variety of tools is
necessary for all kinds of work. One can make many useful
articles with just those tools double starred in the list below, but
it is better to have also those which are single starred.
A good work bench is also essential. It can be purchased
complete or can be made and a vise added. The bench should
be fastened securely to the floor. One should not attempt to
work in a poorly lighted room, since so much depends upon
accuracy. A damp room should also be avoided because the
tools will rust in such a place. A rack for holding the tools
should be built on or near the bench and a place for each tool
established. Each tool should be kept in the place made for
it when not in use. Tools should occasionally be greased with
lubricating oil or vaseline to keep them from rusting.
CLASSIFICATION OF WOODWORKING TOOLS
CUTTING
TOOLS
SAWS
PLANES
Cross cut
Rip
Back
Mitre
Key hole
Turning
Coping
Jack
Smoothing
Jointer
Block
Spoke shave
Router
BORING
TOOLS
** ( Brace
HOLDERS I Hand drill
BITS
* f Firmer
** Framing
CHISELS { Mortise
* Gouge
[Veining
rSloyd
KNIVES ** ^ Pocket
IDraw
CHOPPING
TOOLS
LAYING OUT
TOOLS
~, (Axe
, -j Hatchet
Udze
fRule
Try Square
J Framing square
| Marking gauge
Dividers
LTee bevel
HOLDING
TOOLS
DRIVING
TOOLS
SCRAPING
TOOLS
** fGimlet
* Dowel
** Auger
J Twist drill
* J Expansive
Forstner
** [Countersink
Saw horse
Vise
Bench hook
Bench stop
Hand screw
Carriage clamp
Cabinet clamp
.Mitre box
** f Hammer
Mallet
{ Screw driver
Nail set
[Wrench
( Scrapers
I Files
WOODWORKING TOOLS
Fig.Z
SAWS
The tool first used in getting out stock is the saw. There
are several varieties adapted to various uses, but they are all
grouped in two general classes, i. e., crosscut and rip. As the
name indicates, cross cut saws are designed to cut across the
grain and rip saws are designed to rip boards apart in the direc-
tion of the grain. Wood can be separated easily in the direction
of the grain, but the fibers of which it is composed are tough
and hard to separate across the grain, in fact they must be cut.
A simple experiment proving this theory can be made by
splitting a board with a knife or hatchet, as at Fig. 1. A
reasonable amount of pressure on the tool will split the board
its full length. If the same experiment is tried in the edge of
the board, A- Fig. 2, it will be found that the tool will penetrate
only to a slight depth and that it will make no impression on
the wood beyond the edge of the tool. The only way the board
can be cut in two across the grain is to cut into the edge at two
points and force the wood between to crack out, B- Fig. 2.
A cross cut saw acts on a board something like a series of
knives operated in pairs. The teeth are shaped as at A-Fig. 3.
One tooth is beveled on one side, the next tooth on the opposite
side. This makes an extreme point on each tooth, but one is.
on one side of the saw blade and the next is on the opposite
side. A saw with teeth shaped like this, when drawn over a
board, does in one operation exactly what a knife might be
made to do in several, i. e., scores the wood in two places and
chips out the particles between, C-D and E-Fig. 2. A saw
constructed in this way would not, however, penetrate far into
the wood until the blade would begin to bind. To overcome
this the points of the teeth are bent outward, first one to one
SAWS
CROSSCUT SAW
Side view
Section view A-A
RIP SAW
bide view o/ rip saw
Stition v/tw A-A
Fig. 4
side, then the next to the opposite side. A saw with the teeth
so bent is said to possess "set." Fig. 3 shows several views of
a cross cut saw, with and without set, also its action on wood.
The cut or crack made in the wood by the saw is called the kerf.
A cross cut saw can also be made to cut in the direction of the
grain but when used for this purpose its action is slow and un-
satisfactory.
The teeth of a rip saw are somewhat like chisels. They are
not sharpened to a bevel on the edge and they are not pointed.
As has been stated, the fibers in wood separate easily in the
direction of the grain and are easily removed once they are cut.
Cutting with the grain requires no scoring. A chisel pushed into
the wood as at A-Fig. 5, only cuts across a group of fibers but
the piece in front of it is easily forced out. If another chisel
were pushed into the wood a short distance behind the first
and in line with it, the result would be another piece of wood
forced put. The rip saw works on this principle, each tooth
being similar to a chisel. Like the cross cut saw, it would bind
unless "set" to give clearance. Fig. 4, shows several views of a
rip saw with and without set. Fig. 6 shows its action on wood.
A rip saw will not cut across the grain because there are no
scoring points. B-Fig. 5 shows how a chisel acts when pushed
into the wood with the grain. Instead of removing a particle of
the wood, it causes the wood to split in the direction of the
grain and, in a similar manner, a saw tooth shaped like a chisel
forced into the wood hard enough would finally split it but the
kerf would be rough and uneven.
The coarseness of a saw is determined by the number of
points to the inch and is indicated by the number stamped on
the butt of the saw. There is always one more point per inch
WOODWORKING TOOLS
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
y Inch
&A
RIP &AW Pig.7
l -^ __
- - 1 Inch
CROSSCUT SAW
than there are teeth, Figs. 7 and 8. The size of the saw is de-
termined by the length of the blade in inches.
Fig. 9 shows a hand saw with the shapes and names of the
various parts indicated. It can be toothed as a cross cut or as
a rip saw. Its blade is taper ground, that is, the thickness is not
the same in all parts of the blade. The butt and the blade along
the entire length of the tooth edge are of equal thickness, but
from the teeth to the back and from the butt to the toe, the
gauge or thickness decreases gradually. Hand saws are used
for cutting wood to size and for general purposes. A back saw,
Fig. 10, is finer toothed and the blade is made of thinner metal
of uniform thickness, consequently it is admirably suited to fine
work. The metal back reinforces the blade and keeps it from
buckling or bending when in use. Coping, turning and compass
saws are used for sawing curves.
In using the hand saw the wood should be held firmly over
a saw horse with the knee against or on the wood. Fig. 11
shows the starting position with the left hand holding the board
and at the same time guiding the saw. The first movement
Screws
'Handle
indicates
point? to
ait, '"*
SAWS
should be a short, slow, dragging stroke and the next a slow
thrust, both without much pressure or weight applied to the saw.
Once the saw kerf is started the saw is guided by the twist and
slant given to the handle with the right hand. In sawing it is
always held at about the angle illustrated. Fig. 12 shows
method of holding saw and work when finishing cut.
The back saw, being used for small and accurate work, is
held somewhat differently. The wood is placed against a bench
hook or in a vise where it can be held firmly. The saw is guided
by the left hand and the tooth edge near the toe started into the
wood as in Fig. 13. This position is not held continually as with
the hand saw. It is only a starting position. After the cutting
edge has entered the board sufficiently to hold it in the wood at
the far edge, the other edge of the saw is gradually lowered as
the saw is moved backward and forward until the entire cutting
edge of the saw has entered the top surface of the wood. This
slow lowering of the blade allows one to follow the sawing line
carefully. The saw held in this horizontal position is drawn
backward and forward in this surface cut until the proper depth
. Y Starting position
'*- Last position
fig. 13
Fig.14
8
WOODWORKING TOOLS
Fig 15
Fig. 17
is reached. Care should be taken that the saw blade is kept
perpendicular during the entire time the cut is being made so
that the end of the board will be true.
A mitre saw is nothing more than a large back saw. As the
back saw gets its name from its form of construction, so the
mitre saw gets its name from the use to which it is put, i. e.
making mitres. It is used in a mitre box as illustrated in Fig.
14. An adjustable feature of this box makes possible the cutting
of any angle between 45 and 90. A simple mitre box which
can be made and used with a back saw to take the place of a
mitre saw is illustrated in Fig. 64, page 24.
A keyhole saw, sometimes called a compass saw, has a blade
which tapers almost to a point and is so shaped for the purpose
of sawing small openings and inside curves. A hole sufficiently
large to take the point of the saw, must be bored in the wood
with an auger bit before the saw can be inserted.
Turning and coping saws are used for sawing outside curves
or those which can be entered from the edge of the board. They
may also be used for inside curves provided a hole is first bored
in the wood as for the keyhole saw. The blades are removable
and are very delicate. They should be kept stretched taut when
in use to prevent breaking. The turning saw is held by the near
handle with the right hand when starting a cut, with the left
hand guiding the blade, Fig. 15. Once the saw is started into the
wood, the left hand is placed as in Fig. 16. The teeth in the
blade should point toward the workman so that the cutting takes
place while the saw is being pulled rather than pushed. The
coping saw is used mostly on wood that is too thin to be held
in the vise and sawed with the turning saw. The best results can
be obtained if the wood is held over a saw block as in Fig. 17.
The teeth of the saw should point toward the handle and the
blade should be held perpendicular at all times to insure the
making of a square edge.
PLANES
. 16
Cutting cylinder
corrupted roll
Cross Section of Planer
Fig. 19
PLANES.
Sawed lumber is rough on the surface. Before it can be used
in cabinet work or for anything requiring a finish it must be
smoothed. Usually this is done on a surfacer or planer, Figs.
18 and 19. A set of corrugated rolls pull the board through the
machine while a revolving cylinder in which a set of knives is
imbedded, cuts away the outer part, leaving the board fairly
smooth. The board is then turned over and the other side
planed.
While to all appearances the surface is smooth, on close
examination it will be found to be ribbed across the grain, due
to the fact that the knives on the surfacer gouge out pieces of
the surface instead of splitting off shavings. If an extremely
smooth surface is desired, a smoothing plane, Fig. 20 is used.
The cutting blade in this plane is pushed along over the surface
of the board, splitting the fibers apart and leaving a very smooth
surface. A, B and C, Fig. 22, show highly magnified drawings
of a board, first as it comes from the planer, and then from the
smoothing plane.
There are several kinds of planes. Those used for smooth-
ing flat surfaces are known as smoothing, jack and jointer planes.
A smoothing plane is used to produce exceptionally smooth
20
Knob
10
WOODWORKING TOOLS
surfaces. A jack plane is of the same shape and construction
but slightly larger and the cutting blade is sharpened differently.
Because of this, work can be speedily roughed out with it. It is
never used for smoothing work unless the blade is sharpened
as in a smoothing plane. A jointer plane is like smoothing and
jack planes except that it is very much longer. The cutting
blade is sharpened like that 9f a smoothing plane. Because of
the extreme length of the plane bottom it is possible to make a
very true edge which can be jointed to another board, hence the
name jointer. Because of its size it is never used on broad sur-
face work. Fig. 23 shows the comparative sizes of these planes.
Block planes, Fig. 25, are used for planing end grain only.
The angle of the cutting blade is lower than that in the other
planes because of the different nature of the work required of it.
A spoke shave, Fig. 25, is a kind of plane having handles on the
sides. The shortness of the bottom makes possible its use in
smoothing curved surfaces. Rabbet planes, plow planes and
router planes are used respectively for cutting rabbets, plowing
grooves and routing out dadoes.
There are three styles of planes used in smoothing flat sur-
faces, wooden, wooden bottom and iron, Fig. 26. In the wooden
plane the cutting iron is held in place by a wedge of wood. In
Jack
Jointer-
"Plane. Irons
Srnoot/i
Rg24
PLANES
11
Fig.
B/och Plane
Shave
Fig. 26
Wooden Plane.
Wooden Bottom Plant
Iron Plane.
the wooden and iron bottom planes an adjusting nut and lever
regulate the depth and squareness of the cut. The cutting iron
in a smoothing plane is always sharpened straight and square
to the sides while the cutting edge of the jack plane iron is
slightly curved, Fig. 24. See section on "Grinding and Whetting
Tools" for correct shape and bevel of cutting irons. The distance
the cutting iron projects below the bottom of the plane is con-
trolled by the adjusting nut. To adjust the plane, the plane iron
and plane iron cap should be assembled as in A-Fig. 21 and
placed in position in the bed of the plane and the lever cap
clamped down. The plane should then be held bottom side up,
the toe toward the workman and the heel toward the window or
light, Fig. 27. Sighting along the bottom, one can see the. plane
iron projecting. By manipulating the adjusting nut and lever,
the proper adjustment can be made. The plane iron cap, some-
times called the breaker cap because it breaks the angle of -the
shavings when they are cut off the board, causing them to curl
upward and out of the plane, should be screwed securely to the
plane iron. In assembling the plane iron and cap the lower edge
of the latter should be set back of the cutting edge about one-
eighth of an inch. If set closer than this the throat of the plane
will become clogged with shavings: if farther away it will not
make the shavings roll out.
12
WOODWORKING TOOLS
Fig. 31
Fig. 3 3
In planing one should start at the near end of the board, A-
Fig. 28. A maximum amount of pressure should be applied to
the knob and toe at the beginning of the stroke and as the plane
is pushed along the board an equal amount of pressure is ap-
plied to all parts of the plane. As the plane nears the end of the
board, greater pressure is applied to the handle and heel, B-
Fig. 30. The plane can be pushed along the board more easily
if turned at a slight angle, but never to such an extent that the
entire bottom of the plane does not rest on the board. When
planing edges the thumb and first finger are held on the plane
while the other fingers act as a guide. After a little experience
in planing one can tell by the feeling of the fingers whether or
not the edge is being planed square to the broad face. Fig. 31
shows the manner of holding the plane when planing a broad
face. Fig. 32 illustrates the way of holding the spokeshave
when smoothing a curved edge.
When cutting a chamfer across the grain it is necessary to
hold the plane at a slant as at A- Fig. 33, in order to prevent
the far edge of the board from splitting, while in cutting a cham-
fer with the grain, the plane is held as at B-Fig. 33.
CHISELS
13
Tang Socket
Firmer Framing
Chisel Chisel
Fig. 34
5ocAet
Gouge
Mining
Too/
^
Outside
bevd
CHISELS.
There are two general classes of chisels known as firmer and
framing, Fig. 34. They are very similar in construction and each
has a straight cutting edge. Their chief difference is that one is
heavier and stronger than the other. Either of these chisels can
be secured in the tang or socket style. In the tang chisel the
metal part extends up into the wooden handle. In the socket
chisel the wooden handle fits into a socket in the metal part.
The blades of each can be secured either plain or with the side
edges beveled. Lignt firmer chisels are called paring chisels.
Extremely thick -bladed but narrow framing chisels are called
mortise chisels. Both kinds of chisels come in varying widths
from *A" to 2".
Gouges are, in reality, chisels having a curved cutting edge.
They can be secured in either the tang- or socket style. They
also come in widths varying from y%' to 2" and in different
sweeps or curves. The bevel of a gouge is sometimes on the
outside and sometimes on the inside.
The gouge is used for cutting out depressions where the
inner edge of the depression is to be round. Of the two kinds
the outside ground gouge is the more useful for general pur-
poses. However, it is necessary to have an inside ground gouge
14
WOODWORKING TOOLS
Fig. 35
Bg.36
if straight sided holes of any great depth are to be made. The
gouge is held in ways similar to those described for chiseling.
Veining tools are extremely small, outside beveled gouges.
They are used for gouging out or veining outlines around a de-
sign on wood. They can be secured either V shape or U shape.
Extreme care must be taken to cut exactly with the line
when "veining" around a design. The straight edge of the try
square or framing square can be used to advantage in con-
trolling straight line cuts, it being held so that the straight edge
follows the line and the veining tool operated against it.
In using a chisel the first essential thing is to see that it is
sharp. (See section on "Grinding and Whetting Tools.") If used
properly it will retain its edge for a long time but if it is abused
it will be necessary to resharpen it continually. In using either
the chisel or gouge the blade back of the cutting edge is held
with the left hand, thus guiding and controlling the cutting edge,
while the power is applied with the right hand. When the pres-
sure is applied to the handle, forcing the blade through the wood,
the blade should be given a slight sidewise, paring stroke. This
will produce a smoother cut and less pressure will be required
for operating the tool. For heavy work the blade is grasped with
the entire hand while for light work the blade is held only be-
tween the first two fingers and thumb. If a considerable amount
of wood is to be removed with the chisel, large cuts may be
taken at first but as the limit of the depression is neared, very
thin cuts, in fact shavings should be made to insure a smooth,
true surface. The chisel blade acts on the wood precisely as
does the plane bit. In the plane the bottom keeps the cutting
edge from going too deeply into the wood, while with the chisel
the left hand must regulate the cut. Fig. 35 shows the method
KNIVES
15
Fig. 37
Fig.36
of holding the chisel while making a verticle cut and Fig. 36
illustrates the method of paring and rounding a corner.
In case of very heavy work or extremely hard wood, the
mallet may be used to give additional power to the stroke, the
left hand being used as before mentioned, in controlling or guid-
ing the direction of the cut. Care should be taken not to muti-
late the end of the chisel or gouge handle when pounding it. If
any great amount of heavy chiseling is to be undertaken a handle
having a leather tip or an iron ferrule is better than the plain
wood handle. A mallet should never be used if enough power
can be supplied with the hand by pushing, even if the chips
removed are much smaller.
In chiseling mortises (see page on joints) the bulk of the
wood may be removed to the proper depth with an auger bit and
then the sides and ends pared up with the paring chisel. In
making a tenon the chisel is held bevel side up as at Fig. 37 and
the wood removed down to the gauge line. In cutting dadoes,
Fig. 38, or tenons, the chisel should never be pushed all the
tvay across the board, because it will split out as when planing
across grain. The cutting should be done from each edge
toward the center, to a point slightly beyond the center.
KNIVES.
The knife differs from a chisel in that its cutting edge is
along the side of the blade instead of the end. The sloyd knife
and the pocket knife are sharpened with both sides of the blade
sloping to the cutting edge instead of being beveled on one side
as on the chisel, but the blade of a draw knife is beveled on one
side and flat on the other, Fig. 39. While sloyd or pocket knives
are primarily used for whittling wood, they are indispensible
16
WOODWORKING TOOLS
T'ocAef Knife
Fig. 39
.Handle
Ming/ing Hatchet
Adze
Fig.40
tools in laying out work, the points being used to score lines.
The blade of the sloyd knife is stationary and it is thicker and
more pointed than the blade of a pocket knife.
The draw knife is composed of a long blade with a handle
on each end. It is a valuable tool for removing waste wood
when there is hardly enough to remove with the saw but too
much to plane away. Its cutting edge acts like the cutting edge
of a plane but it is pulled through the wood instead of being
pushed. It is a dangerous tool to manipulate and unusual pre-
cautions should be taken in using it. It also has a tendency to
split the wood rather than to cut it.
CHOPPING TOOLS
There are three kinds of chopping tools, Fig. 40, the axe,
the hatchet and the adze. While the shape of the axe is slightly
different from that of the hatchet, the cutting edges are alike,
being beveled from both sides like the knife. An axe is heavier
than a hatchet and has a long handle so shaped and curved as
to secure ease in holding it and to make possible the delivery of
a more powerful stroke when the tool is used. There is great
variety of design in both axes and hatchets.
There are two kinds of hatchets known as shingling hatchets
and half hatchets. Each has a nick in one side of the bit for
pulling nails. Each also has a head for driving nails. The axe
is used for felling trees, splitting fire wood, and for heavy chop-
ping and the hatchet for light chopping.
The adze, is about the size of an axe but its cutting edge is
at right angles to the handle instead of in the same direction, like
the axe. The adze is used chiefly to square up timbers.
LAYING OUT TOOLS
17
^ge
LAYING OUT TOOLS
Laying out tools are used for determining sizes and setting
off lines or shapes. The rule or scale, A-Fig. 41, is used for de-
termining size. Some tools have the scale of measurement on
some part of the tool so that the operation of measuring can be
performed at the same time the lines are set off. The try square,
B-Fig. 41, is a tool used on narrow stock for setting off lines at
right angles (90) to a straight edge and also for testing the face
thus made to see if it is true and square to the other faces. The
blade is graduated in the same manner as a rule. In testing or
laying out with the try square, the head of it must always be
held rigidly against a square or true surface. The framing
square, C-Fig. 41, is similar to the try square and is used for the
same purpose on larger work. Instead of having a handle and
blade like the try square, it is composed of two blades, each be-
ing graduated in the same manner as a rule. Being much larger
than a try square, it is particularly well adapted to laying out
and testing frame work, hence the name framing square.
The marking gauge, D-Fig. 41, consists of a beam and a
movable head. Imbedded in one end of the beam is a sharp
steel scoring point. The beam in some gauges is graduated like
a rule. The gauge is used to lay out widths up to six inches.
The scoring point is sometimes sharpened to a point and it is
sometimes wedge shape. If properly adjusted, Fig. 43, the
wedge shape works more easily and produces the best results
because the shape helps to hold the scoring point in the wood.
To set the gauge, the set screw in the head is released, the head
slid along the beam until the face nearest the scoring point is
over the desired mark on the beam, then the set screw tightened.
On an old gauge this tightening of the set screw often allows the
18
WOODWORKING TOOLS
' Side
/
bottom
Fig. 44
head of the gauge to slip. It is therefore necessary to test the
adjustment with the rule after the screw has been tightened as
in Fig. 42, in order to insure accurate work. After the gauge is
properly set it is placed with the head against the straight edge
from which the line is to be gauged and the tool pushed along
the board and at the same time against this straight edge, Fig.
44. The beam should be slightly tilted in the direction in which
the gauge is being pushed so that the scoring point is dragged
along the wood, otherwise it will tear the wood. It will also
have a tendency to follow the grain in the wood instead of cut-
ting a line parallel to the edge, if the point is held erect.
Dividers, E-Fig. 41, look something like a compass. They
are used for scoring circular lines, for stepping off duplicate
dimensions and for scoring lines parallel to curved or irregular
shaped surfaces. The dividers are adjusted by loosening the set
screw, which allows the wing to slide freely in the slot in the
arm of the dividers, until the points are the desired distance
apart. This distance may be gauged by holding the points over
a rule as in setting a compass. Once this distance is regulated,
the set screw is tightened. When testing the distance between
the points of the dividers, if it is found that only a slight inac-
curacy exists, instead of adjusting with the set screw this can be
Tig. 45
Fig. 46
LAYING OUT TOOLS
19
Fig 47
Mark
Fig. 46
corrected by tightening or loosening the adjusting nut on the
end of the wing. Circular lines are made by using the dividers
as a compass is used. Duplicate dimensions are set off as illus-
trated in Fig. 45. A line parallel to a surface of irregular shape
can be gauged by holding the dividers as in Fig. 46 and dragging
them along, making one point follow the shape being paralleled
while the other scores the desired line.
The sliding T bevel, F-Fig. 41, is similar to a try square
excepting that the blade in a T bevel is adjustable, making pos-
sible the setting of the blade to any angle. In adjusting a T
bevel the set screw is loosened and the blade slid up and down
until the desired angle is reached. This angle may be deter-
mined by placing the T bevel over a piece of work having a
bevel to be duplicated, Fig. 47, fitting the blade down tightly
and tightening the set screw. If the angle of the bevel is to be
determined by measurement instead of taken from a pattern, the
T bevel is placed over the framing square as shown in Fig. 48,
and the blade is moved around until its edge touches the desired
figures on the blades of the framing square. If the T bevel blade
touches like marks on each blade of the square, the angle will
be 45.
Fig. 49
Fig. 50
20
WOODWORKING TOOLS
Expanse
WOOD BORING TOOLS
Round holes can be made in wood in several ways; with a
brad awl, a gimlet bit, a twist drill, an auger bit, an expansive
bit or a Forstner bit, Fig. 51, or by sawing with a coping saw,
turning saw or keyhole saw. See section on "Saws." The
range of sizes of holes which can be made by these tools is given
in the accompanying chart.
Graduations
wire gauge numbers.
32nds.
32nds.
16ths.
adjustable screws and cutters of
different sizes.
16ths.
up to 8".
..any size inside the limit of the wood, with-
in range of the saw frame.
to. . . .limited only by the size of the wood being
sawed.
Minimum
Kind of Tool Size
Brad Awls
]
to.
to.
to.
to.
to.
to.
to.
to.
to.
to.
VTaximum
Size
-W by
No. 1 by
" 3 A" by
.. 1" by
.. 2" by
. . 5" by
dif
.\ 1 A" by
. .any siz
. .any siz
Gimlet Bits ...
i //
Twist Drills....
.No. 80
Expansive Bits
I"
V
Forstner Bits..
Coping Saws. . .
Turning Saws..
....54;;
Keyhole Saws
The brad awl is shaped much like a nail and acts on wood in
a similar way. It only separates but does not cut the fibers. It
can be used only in soft wood and unless handled carefully will
split the wood. The hole is made by twisting the awl back and
forth and at the same time pushing the point into the wood,
Fig. 52.
All bits with square shanks are held in a brace, Fig. 54, and
turned clockwise in boring a hole. Much care should be taken in
WOOD BORING TOOLS
21
Head
placing a bit in the brace to see that the shank is held rigidly in
the jaws of the chuck. Otherwise the bit will not bore straight.
A bit is inserted by gripping the chuck firmly with the left hand
and turning the handle backward. This will open the jaws of
the chuck and permit the bit to be inserted. Reversing these
processes fastens the bit in the chuck.
Small twist drill bits have round shanks and are held in a
hand drill, Fig. 53. They are twisted in or out of the wood much
faster than is possible with a brace, due to the fact that the bevel
gears multiply the speed, one revolution of the handle turning
the bit four or five times. Hand drills will hold twist drill bits
from YA" in size down to those as small as a needle, but one sel-
dom uses in wood such small bits as the latter. The drill bits
are placed in the chuck of the hand drill in the same manner as
the larger bits are placed in the brace.
The gimlet bit makes only a fairly smooth sided hole. The
shape of the point helps to pull it into the wood. The cutting
edge cuts the wood fiber and the channel removes the shavings.
The twist drill requires the application of more pressure when
boring because its point does not aid in pulling it into the wood.
The auger bit is especially designed for cutting a smooth sided
hole ; the point centers the bit and pulls it into the wood, the
spurs score the wood, or in other words, cut the shape of the
hole, the lips cut the wood loose and force it up the hollow in
the twisted channel. If the hole is bored only part way through
a board, the bottom of the hole retains the shape of the bit, as at
A-Fig. 55. The expansive bit works in the same manner as the
auger bit but it may be adjusted in such a way as to make it
possible to bore holes of different sizes with the same bit. A
Forstner bit cuts a clean, straight sided hole with a flat bottom
22
WOODWORKING TOOLS
Fig. 55
B
Rg.56
as at B-Fig. 55. The Forstner bit requires the application of
much greater pressure than bits having a threaded centering
point.
The countersink is not designed to cut holes all the way
through the wood. Its purpose is to ream out a hole made by
a gimlet bit or twist drill, so that the head of a flat head screw
will sink even with the face of the board. Fig. 56 shows the
method of countersinking and testing the hole for size.
When wood is being bored it should be held rigidly in a vise
and the angle of the bit in relation to the wood carefully deter-
mined and kept while the hole is being made. The wood may be
so placed that the brace is held vertical as in Fig. 57, or horizon-
tal as in Fig. 58. It is sometimes necessary, for the sake of ac-
curacy, to have one person operating the brace and bit and an-
other person sighting to see that the brace is being held at the
proper angle.
It is impossible to tell exactly when to stop boring in order
to make a hole of a certain depth. Experience and practice will
aid one in judging the amount of pressure and the number of
turns necessary to produce certain results but it will be neces-
sary to remove the bit occasionally and test, with a small stick,
the depth of the hole. When more than one hole of a certain
fig.57
Fig. 56
HOLDING TOOLS
23
Saw Horse.
Top
Toolwe//
Too/racA
Tailvkt
Frame
Work Bench
Fig.60
size is to be bored to the same depth, time is saved in testing
by keeping an accurate count in the first hole of the number of
turns the brace makes after the bit begins to cut. Succeeding
holes can be made without testing by counting the same number
of turns provided an equal amount of pressure is applied in each
case. See section on "Jigs and Tricks" for devices for gauging
and regulating holes made with a bit.
HOLDING TOOLS
Tools and devices for holding materials while working on
them are just as important as the tools with which the actual
work is done. The saw horse is a device for holding wood when
laying out or sawing it. Fig. 59 shows a convenient saw horse
having an open top. This style is well suited for use when rip-
ping small boards or for cutting off stock. The brackets on the
sides form a convenient place for keeping a cross cut saw and
a rip saw within easy reach. A saw horse can be made any size
to suit one's needs.
The work bench should have a vise on it for holding the
wood when working upon it. Some benches are equipped with
two vises, one on the front edge called the front vise, the other at
the right end called the tail vise. One can get along very well
with one vise provided it is near the left end on the front edge of
Rg-61 3e/7c/r
Shu/der
Hand
Screw
24 WOODWORKING TOOLS
Fig. 63
Rg.64
the bench. There are many styles and designs of vises but they
can be grouped under two general types, one known as the con-
tinuous screw and the other as rapid acting. In the continuous
screw, the only way to open or close the vise is to screw or un-
screw it with the handle while in the rapid acting vise the
front jaw may be opened or closed most of the way by simply
sliding it.
A bench hook, A-Fig. 61, is a very convenient tool and it
can be made in the shop. Small pieces of wood are held against
it when being sawed or chiseled. It may be hooked over the
edge of the bench or the lower block may be fastened in the vise.
Fig. 10 in the section on "Mechanical Drawing" gives the work-
ing details of a good bench hook. The block on one side is shown
placed to the right, on the other side to the left, so that it can
be used for either a, right or left handed workman. Bench hooks
are usually put together with dowel rods and glue so that if the
saw or chisel cuts into the block, the edge will not be dulled.
In the absence of dowel rods the bench hook may be nailed or
screwed together.
There are two kinds of bench stops, B and C-Fig. 61. One
is made with a block which fits in a vise and holds a thin board
out over the bench so that wood can be pushed against it when
planing. The other is made to fit a square hole in the top of
the bench. A cross peg in this latter kind of stop keeps it from
falling all the way through the hole. This kind of stop is used
when work is to be clamped between the vise and the stop.
Hand screws and carriage clamps, Fig. 62, are used to hold
pieces of 'wood together when gluing or nailing them. Hand
screws are sometimes used for holding wood at an irregular
angle in the vise while planing, boring or chiseling it, Fig. 2,
HOLDING TOOLS
25
Fig. 65
ferrule ,***"
/ c
Nail oer
Adju^ng
rf^ Monkey Wrench
Strew Driver Bit
page 157. The jaws of the hand screw should always be kept as
near parallel as possible because otherwise a strain is produced
on the screws, which will break them. It is always best to begin
the tightening with the middle screw and then complete it with
the end screw.
Cabinet clamps, Fig. 63, are used on large work for the same
purpose as hand screws, i. e. clamping boards together while the
glue sets or while nails or screws are driven in.
A mitre box is a device for holding wood while it is being
sawed at a determined angle. A simple mitre box for cutting
right angles and 45 angles can be made as at Fig. 64. It is very
necessary that the saw used in the mitre box have a blade of
equal thickness at all points. For this reason a back saw is used.
This kind of a saw also produces much more accurate work be-
cause the blade is thin and the teeth fine. By. properly placing
angle irons on the box as shown in the drawing, the metal back
of the saw can be made to ride, thus keeping the cutting edge
from sawing all the way through and spoiling the box. These
angle irons should be separated just far enough to give clearance
to the saw blade without side play, if accurate work is to be
expected of it. The saw must be slid into the slots or kerf from
the side. Forcing it in from the top would dull the teeth of the
saw and spring the mitre box. Mitre boxes having an adjust-
ment for holding the saw at any angle, can be purchased, but
for ordinary purposes the home-made box will be found to be
satisfactory.
26
WOODWORKING TOOLS
rig. 66
Fig. 67
DRIVING TOOLS
Driving tools, Fig. 65, group themselves into two classes
because of the manner in which they drive. The hammer and
mallet belong to that class which produces driving power by in-
termittent pounding strokes. The nail set, while it does not
produce driving power in this way, transmits power produced by
the hammer and therefore belongs to this class. The screw
driver and wrench belong to the other class in which the driving
power is produced by continuous twisting pressure. This power
applied to screws and bolts forces them into the wood if turned
clockwise, or out of the wood if the direction is reversed.
Hammers designed for pulling as well as driving nails are
called claw hammers. There are two kinds, plain eye and adze
eye. Of the two the adze eye is the better because the part of
the handle which is inside the hammer head is longer. This
makes it more secure. The head of the hammer stays on better
and the handle is not so apt to break. In the best hammers the
head is made of forged steel and the handle of hickory. The
shape of each part has been carefully designed to perform easily
its portion of the work. The face, that part used for pounding,
is sometimes flat and sometimes convexly curved. When curved
the hammer is said to be bell faced. The claw, that part used for
pulling nails, is tapered, curved, and of the proper pitch and
shape to pull nails easily. The handle, while curved, is not ex-
actly the same shape at any two places. It is full near the end
to furnish an easy grip for the hand. It is smaller near the
hammer head. The eye in the head of the hammer is largest
near the outside thus allowing that part of the handle extending
into the eye to be securely fastened with a wedge driven into
the end of it.
DRIVING TOOLS
27
Fig. 69
Fig. 70
When using the hammer for driving or pounding, the handle
should be gripped firmly near the end farthest away from the
head, Figs. 66 and 67. The hammer face should be placed over
the nail or place to be pounded, in order to gauge the distance,
and then the hammer head lifted to a point somewhat removed
from the object to be struck, with a motion partly of the wrist
and partly of the arm. The return blow is struck with a quick,
snappy stroke, again largely a wrist movement, never a pushing
stroke.
The claws are so designed that when they are slipped under
the head of a nail as in Fig. 68 and pressure applied to the handle,
the leverage forces the nail out of the wood a certain distance.
If one tries to force the nail farther than the hammer naturally
pulls it, he will only succeed in bending the nail, Fig. 69. On the
other hand if, after this first operation, a small block of wood is
placed under the head of the hammer, Fig. 70, and pressure
again applied to the handle, the pull on the nail is a straight up-
ward one and the nail may be easily drawn out.
Mallets are made of hard, tough wood and usually have a
cylindrical head and flat faces. When the handle is put in, the
hand end, which is smaller than the other, is inserted through
the tapering eye in the mallet and the full length of the handle
drawn through it. Thus the large end remains in the mallet
head and forces it to a tight fit when the mallet is being used
instead of allowing the head to fly off. The mallet is especially
useful in producing power for chiseling and gouging because the
pounding face is broader than that of the hammer. The wooden
handle of a chisel or gouge will not be so badly battered up if
pounded with a wooden faced tool like the mallet instead of with
a metal faced tool like the hammer.
28
WOODWORKING TOOLS
Plain Moulding Swan MecA
Cab/net 5cror/>ers Veneer Scraper
Section A- A
3/acte.
Fig. 71
Half Round Wood Rasp
Screw drivers must be made of a tough grade of steel since
they are subjected to a severe twisting strain. If the steel is not
properly tempered it will chip or twist. Unless a screw driver
is properly shaped and made out of such material that it will
retain that shape it is useless. The point should be square and
the broad faces parallel so that the point will fit into the slot
in the head of the screw. It should never be sharpened wedge
shape because it would force itself out of the screw slot instead
of holding itself in place. The length of a screw driver is de-
termined by the number of inches from point to ferrule. The
size is indicated by name, Tower's indicating heavy, cabinet
medium, and light cabinet or electrician indicating a very slender
blade.
There are many kinds of wrenches. Some have adjustable
jaws while in others the jaws are stationary. A wrench usually
get's its name from the use to which it is put, such as bicycle
wrench, auto wrench, pipe wrench and pocket wrench. Some-
times, however, the name is given on account of the shape, like
the S wrench and sometimes from the name of the manufacturer.
The wrench perhaps most widely used is known as the Monkey
wrench. It derives its name from the designer whose name was
Mr. Monkey.
SCRAPING TOOLS
There are two distinct kinds of scraping tools, Fig. 71, those
which have one cutting edge and those having many cutting
edges. While the name would indicate that these tools scrape,
in reality they cut, but the particles removed are so minute as
to give the impression that the surface upon which they are
used, has been merely smoothed down or scraped.
SCRAPING TOOLS
29
Fig. J2.
Rg. 73
The cabinet scraper is nothing more than a square edged
piece of properly tempered steel of the correct contour, some-
times straight and sometimes curved, to fit special needs. A
straight edged scraper is sometimes held in a bed, like the bed of
a plane and sometimes in a handle. If held in a bed it is known
as a veneer scraper. The successful cutting of a scraper depends
upon a burr or wire edge rather than upon a keenly sharp edge,
in fact the edge is not sharp. The wire edge scrapes or cuts the
surface of the wood when the scraping edge is dragged over it,
Fig. 72. This is exactly opposite to the way in which a plane
acts, since it cuts when its cutting edge is pushed ahead.
The type of scraper having many cutting surfaces is known
as a file or rasp. Its surface is covered with teeth similar to the
wire edge of a scraper. When the file is pushed across the wood
these numerous cutting edges scrape or smooth the surface.
However, cutting down a surface with a file or scraper is slow
work and these tools should never be made to do the work which
could be done so much better with a plane. There are several
hundred varieties of files suited to as many different purposes.
Their shapes are usually designated by such terms as flat, round,
half round, taper, knife, etc. The more teeth to a given area, the
finer the file, and the smoother will be the surface made by it.
When a file is coarse toothed it is called a rasp. A file or rasp
should always be pushed and never pulled across the work.
Fig. 73.
30
GRINDING AND WHETTING TOOLS
Edge tools should be kept extremely sharp if they are to
produce good work. They are grouped into two general classes,
those having one side beveled and the other side flat, such as
chisels and plane irons, and those having both sides tapered to
an edge, such as knives or hatchets.
Edge tools are sharpened on stones or wheels composed of
a substance which is harder than tempered stee). This substance
is known as an abrasive. The particles composing it must be
sharp edged 'so that they will cut. They must also be tough
enough to stand the wear to which they are subjected, and they
must be so cemented or held together that the surface of the
abrasive keeps its shape. There are two distinct classes of
abrasives used in sharpening edge tools, one a natural product,
the other a manufactured article. Whether the sharpening tool
be a natural or manufactured product, its action on the edge
tool is the -same. Both kinds can be secured in coarse, medium
or fine grit. Sharpening stones and grinding wheels to meet the
demands of all kinds of work can be secured- in either. It is true,
however, that the demand for the manufactured article is increas-
ing while the sales of the natural product are decreasing.
A hard variety of sandstone is the most widely known of
the natural abrasives. The grindstones, scythestones and
whetstones of a few years ago were all made out of this natural
product and are still produced in limited quantities. The pro-
duction of these articles is simple. The stone is merely cut out
of the quarries and sawed into the desired shapes, just as build-
ing stone is quarried and shaped. Washita and Arkansas are
other forms of natural stones similar to sandstone and different
degrees of hardness and coarseness can be secured in either.
The hard Arkansas is considered the best natural whetstone
for fine edge tools, while the Washita is the best of the natural
stones for wood working tools.
Corundum is a natural product but it has to be worked
into shape before it can be used as an abrasive. It has a crystal
like formation. The crystals must be crushed, graded to size
and bound together into the desired shape of the stone or wheel
with a suitable kind of cement. Particles of corundum are much
harder and sharper edged than sandstone, in fact they are almost
as hard as a diamond and the diamond is the hardest known
substance, therefore stones made of corundum will cut metals
which it is hard to cut with sandstone. Emery is a crude form
of corundum.
GRINDING 31
The discovery of the manner ot producing artificial abrasives
is thought to have been an accident, but whether it was or not
it is interesting to note that in the manufactured abrasives
called Alundum or Aloxite the substance composing the stones
is about the same as at composing corundum. In other words,
these manufactured abrasives are almost identical with the
natural products.
Alundum and Aloxite are made by fusing in an electric fur-
nace certain kinds of clay containing a large per cent of alumi-
num oxide. The processes necessary to makie these abrasives
are as follows : the clay is taken from the mines, washed, dried,
ground, calcined (brought to a red heat) and fused by being fed
into an. open electric arc similar to the carbons in a street electric
light. These carbons, each approximately 4 inches by 12 inches
in cross section, are placed near the top of fire proof crucibles
and as the clay is melted it drops into the crucible below the
carbons. It takes this mass of melted clay, now called Alundum
or Aloxite, several days to cool enough that it can be broken,
crushed and graded. The grading is accomplished by the use
of sieves of different mesh. This crushed material is then made
up into abrasive paper or cloth, grinding wheels and whetstones
of all shapes and sizes, depending on the use to which they are
to be put.
Carborundum and Crystolon are also products of an electric
furnace, but the chief substance in their composition is carbon
instead of aluminum as in the case of Alundum and Aloxite.
Coke and sand are mixed together in the right proportion and
placed in huge electric furnaces and melted. The result is a
beautiful bluish crystal formation, extremely sharp edged and
just as hard as Alundum but not quite so tough. Grinding and
whetting stones are made from it in the same manner as those
made from Alundum. They cut more quickly but owing to the
brittleness of the crystals they do not keep their shapes as well
as those made of other material.
Sharpening edge tools is performed in two distinct kinds
of operations, i.e., grinding and whetting. Grinding consists of
roughly removing the bulk of waste material and giving the
tool the proper shape. This is accomplished by holding the
tool against a revolving grinding wheel or grindstone made
from medium or coarse grit. Whetting consists in putting a
keen cutting edge on the tool. It is accomplished on a flat whet-
stone procurable in varying degrees of coarseness, the selection
being made according to the kind and quality of tool being
sharpened and also the use to which the tool is to be put. Some
whetstones are made with a fine surface on one side and a
coarser surface on the other. This makes it possible to roughly
32
GRINDING AND WHETTING TOOLS
Fig. 3
cut away the tool on one side and finish the whetting to a keen
edge on the other.
It is very essential that the cutting edge of the tool be of the
proper shape. Beveled edge tools should have the proper pitch
or angle and this same pitch or angle should be retained at all
times. This can best be accomplished if the beveled edge is
somewhat hollow ground. For this reason round grindstones
are used, Fig. 1, the diameter of the stone regulating the acute-
ness of the arc, thus making the hollow more or less pronounced.
The grinding surface of the grinder should revolve toward
the tool, not away from it, A-Fig. 1. Examination through a
microscope of a surface of steel which has been ground will
reveal the fact that, while the cutting stone really cuts away
some of the particles, others are combed out and laid parallel
to each other. It will also be noticed that while steel is thought
of as a brittle substance, the minute particles of wjiich it is
composed are very flexible and bend easily. If the grindstone
is made to revolve away from the edge of the tool as at B-Fig. 1
a feather or wire edge will be produced which will prevent the
edge from becoming sharp, while if the stone is turned in the
opposite direction, toward the tool, this wire edge is turned
under and cut off. While a wire edge can be removed during
the whetting process, it takes much time and it is a much more
difficult task than to remove it when grinding.
Some abrasives cut more rapidly than others, due to the
fact that the cutting particles of some kinds are sharper than
others. The friction caused by the rubbing of the grindstone
against the tool generates heat. The sharper the cutting edges
of the particles which make up the stone, the less heat is gen-
erated. Usually water or oil must be poured over the surface
of a grindstone when the tool is being ground. This water or
oil serves two purposes : it washes away the small particles of
steel cut off the tool, and it cools the tool and stone. If the
particles of steel were not Washed away they would fill up the
WHETTING
33
Tool flat against
stone
Direction ef
stroke
pores in the surface of the stone, reducing its cutting power, and
it would also cause so much frictional heat that the temper
would be drawn out of the tool; in other words, the cutting
edge of the tool would be so burnt that it would not hold a
sharp edge. (See page 220 on ''Tempering Tools/') If the grind-
stone is quite coarse, the revolving stone will throw out the
particles of steel and, while water or oil are not needed on such
a stone, their absence necessitates the. tool being held very
lightly against the stone or the edge will be burned.
Whetting, as has been stated, is done on a flat stone, the
tool being rubbed over the stone instead of the stone being
revolved against the tool. The finer the stone the keener the
edge produced on the tool. The whetting should be done in
precisely the same way as grinding, the tool always being moved
over the stone toward the cutting edge. Oil should be used to
float away the particles of steel ground off of the tool. Care
must be taken at each stroke of the whetting to keep the tool
in the same position in relation to the stone so that no unneces-
sary bevels or rounded edges will be formed. Fig. 3 shows the
position of the tool and of the hands when whetting a tool.
A-Fig. 2 shows the whetting angle at the time of the first
whetting after the tool has been ground, B, the second whetting
and C a still later whetting. D shows a tool which has the
proper bevel for cutting, while E and F show why improperly
beveled tools cannot cut.
Chisels and the cutting irons for planes need to be ground
to different angles for different kinds of wood. The harder the
wood, the shorter the grinding bevel required. The reason for
this lies in the fact that the longer the bevel, the thinner the
edge. A thin edge will break easily in hard wood. A-Fig. 2
shows a short grinding bevel suitable for hard wood like oak,
yellow pine, hard maple, etc., and D-Fig. 2 shows a long bevel
suitable for basswood, sugar pine, chestnut, etc.
When sharpening bevel edge tools, even though the tool is
34
GRINDING AND WHETTING TOOLS
pushed in the proper direction, a slight feather edge will appear.
This should be removed by turning the tool flat side down and
giving it a few strokes over the whetstone, Fig. 4. Unless the
tool is held perfectly flat during this operation a bevel will be
formed on the side which must necessarily remain flat.
When grinding an edge tool on a stone having a face nar-
rower than the width of the tool, it is necessary to slide the tool
from side to side so that the entire edge of the tool is ground,
Fig. 5, but the angle of the tool in relation to the stone must
not be changed. Fig. 6 shows a type of grinder having an auto-
matic rest for the tool so that once it is properly set, any number
of tools of the same kind may be ground in it and the angle on
all will be the same.
In whetting a knife, the utmost care should be taken to
prevent any bevel appearing on the edge. The knife should be
held as in Fig. 7 and drawn across the stone with as much of
the blade as possible held against the stone, Fig. 7. When
the end of the stroke is reached, the knife is turned over and
the blade is pushed away, with the blade again held tightly
against the surface of the whetstone. A faulty practice engaged
in by some persons is to give the tool a rotary, scouring motion.
This should never be done. A few strokes, well directed, with
the tool held properly, will accomplish much better results than
those obtained by the revolving method.
When an especially keen edge is desired, the tool is stropped,
that is, it is rubbed over a leather strop in much the same way
as it was over the stone, excepting that the tool is pushed away
from the cutting edge instead of toward it. The surface of the
leather might otherwise be cut or marred.
. 35
WOOD AND LUMBER
The lumber used in constructive work is obtained from the
trunk of the tree. The tree is cut down, the trunk is sawed into
logs which are then taken to the mill where they are sawed
into lumber. The lumber is allowed to dry out or season, partly
by being stacked in the open with sticks between each layer
so that air can circulate around each board, afterward by
placing these boards in a steam heated room called a kiln where
the drying process is completed. The sticks used for air-drying
lumber are usually about l"xl^" and of sufficient length
to extend across the entire stack of lumber and they are usually
placed about three to five feet apart. If the boards are dried
too quickly they become brittle and less durable. If the moisture
does not leave the board on all sides at the same time it will
shrink unevenly. It will dry more on one side than on the other,
resulting in the cupping or curling of the board toward the side
which has dried the more quickly. This cupping of the surface
of a board is called warping. If the board dries unevenly and
twists, it is said to be "in wind." A board has a tendency to
warp or cup more on the side which grew nearest the bark, as
that side contains a greater amount of moisture. When this
moisture is driven off, that side of the bcfard shrinks more than
the one nearer the center of the tree.
After it is thoroughly dried, lumber for rough work, like
framing and scaffolding, 'is ready for use. For most work,
however, the surface of the lumber must be smoothed. This is
called surfacing. Lumber which has been surfaced is known
as dressed lumber.
Some wood is adapted to one kind of work and some to
another. Some woods are strong, others weak ; some tough,
others brittle ; some split easily but are hard to break across
the grain ; some are nicely marked by the grain while in others
the markings are uninteresting. It is therefore possible to
pick out a kind of wood suited to the kind of project to be made.
For example, an axe handle or the spokes in a wheel should
be tough and hard to break. Hickory is well suited for this
purpose. The frame work of a house should be strong but it
does not necessarily have to possess a beautiful grain. Pine is
suitable for such uses. Furniture should have beautiful grain.
Oak and walnut possess this quality, while chestnut, even
though the appearance of the grain is much like oak, is too
soft to stand the hard usage given furniture. The accompany-
ing chart gives the general characteristics and adaptability of
the most commonly used woods. See page 40.
36
WOOD AND LUMBER
Fig.l
tenter or Pith
. 2
The growth of a tree takes place just under the bark.
Food stuff is taken out of the soil under the tree by the roots
and carried by the sapwood, the outer rows of cells just under
the bark, to the crown of the tree, where the leaves digest the
food and send it down the trunk, part to form new wood on
the outside of that already made and part to make new bark
on the inside of that already formed, Figs. 1 and 2. In this way
the tree trunk increases in diameter.
The tree grows more rapidly during certain seasons than
during others. This difference in growth is very pronounced
for the cells carrying the food stuff at the rapid growing season,
spring, are stretched to their utmost capacity, resulting in their
walls being thin and the openings large. In the slow growing
season, summer, the openings in the cells are very small and
the walls thick. When a tree is cut down and the log or stump
examined, Fig. 3, these rows of growth are very noticeable and
it is easy to detect one year's growth from another. These
markings are called annual rings and it is the lines produced
by them which give the pattern called grain to lumber when
it is cut out of a log. There are also rows of cells radiating
from the center of the log to the bark, called medulary rays.
These cells are hard and compact and usually form themselves
in nearly straight lines. Their purpose is to hold the annual
rings together, therefore a tree having very pronounced medulary
rays is much stronger than a tree in which they are less pro-
nounced.
While the diameter of the tree is being increased by these
annual rings of growth, the height is also continually increased,
for each year's growth extends beyond that of the former year.
It should be borne in mind, however, that each year's growth
is fixed, that only by the next year building on top of it and
SAWING
37
Heart wood
grortffi
Fig.4
around it does the tree develop in height and diameter. Fig. 8
shows an exaggerated drawing of this growth, A representing a
section of a nine year old tree split through the center from top
to bottom, B a cross section near the base, showing the number
of annual rings intersected and C a cross section near the top.
The wood nearest the bark usually contains more sap than
the center part of the trunk because it is nearer the growing
part. It is called the sapwood, while the center part of the trunk
is called the heartwood. Sapwood can usually be distinguished
from the heartwood because it is lighter in color. As the tree
increases in size it must have more bark to protect it from the
weather, consequently the bark increases in thickness. Since
the bark grows on the inside, it stretches the outside until it
cracks or divides in clefts. Fig. 3 is a drawing of the end of a
log of oak and Fig. 4 shows a highly magnified section of the
end of the same log, showing the decided difference between
spring and summer growth.
When a slab is sawed 'from a log, Fig. 5, it leaves a flat
surface exposed. This flat surface cuts through many of the
annual rings. If this cut is in exactly the same direction as the
fibers or cells, straight lined grain is the result, but if the cut is
at a slight angle or if the tree trunk in growing was slightly
bent, an irregular marking is the result. A board or slab taken
off the top of this log, A-Fig. 6, will have a similar marking to
the one taken off the side, but if the log is cut in quarters
through the center (see dotted line, Fig. 6) and a board, B,
sawed off of either of these new faces, a kind of grain entirely
different in appearance is exposed. This is caused by the fact
that the annual rings are much closer together at the points
intersected by the saw in this board than they are at similar
38
WOOD AND LUMBER
Fig. 5
points in the slab and that the saw has cut in the direction of
the medulary rays, exposing them on the broad faces of the
board. The medulary ray is very hard. When its broad sur-
faces are exposed by the saw cut, pleasing patterns are produced.
Boards sawed near the outer edge of the log cut across the
medulary rays, consequently they show but little. Fig. 7 show-
ing these marked differences, represent boards A and B, Fig. 6,
after they have been removed from the log. When a board is
sawed from the log near the quartering line, exposing the broad
surfaces of the medulary rays, it is said to be quarter sawed
lumber. When it is sawed near the outer edges of the log it is
said to be plain sawed. The medulary rays bind the annual
rings together and make a strong wood, which is less susceptible
to warping than wood without pronounced medulary rays.
Knots in wood are cross sections of the base of limbs. Fig. 9
shows a section through the trunk of a seven year old tree,
having a limb which lived only four years. A board sawed
thorugh this log at a point indicated by line A A, Fig. 9, would
have a sound knot in it where it cuts through the limb. A board
taken out of the log at B B would have a loose or dead knot.
When this tree has become several years older the bark will have
completely sealed over the trunk arid from all outward appear-
Grain fnarA/ngs made Zhafs of medulary
(See fiy. 6)
7>cti tifmedulory rays
Center of trte
Fig. 7
Fig. 6
LUMBER SIZES
39
Fig. 9
ances one could not tell that a knot existed underneath. A
board taken through this outer part of the log, C C, would
possess crooked grain but it could not be called a knot.
Lumber is sawed into standard lengths of 8, 10, 12, 14, 16
and 18 feet. It is also sawed and dressed to standard thick-
nesses as follows :
BOARDS
LUMBER SIZES
dressed to "
dressed to
*
y
1/8"
13/8"
PLANKS
TIMBERS i 6" and above.
Thin strips are called boards, heavy boards are called planks
and very heavy boards, timbers.
Lumber is measured and sold by board or face measure,
1" thick, 12" wide and 12" long indicating one foot, face or board
measure. Anything less than 1" thick is counted face measure.
Anything more than 1" thick is multiplied by the thickness as
expressed in inches or fractions of an inch. The general rule
for measuring lumber is to multiply the length of the board in
feet, by the width and thickness in inches and divide by twelve,
for example, l"x9"Xl4'0"-^-12=10K, the number of board feet
in the board.
Lumber is separated into grades. Each kind of wood is
traded differently but in general the grades are as follows :
rsts, seconds, common, saps, selects, etc. Lumber is always
graded by the appearance of the best side. Prices on lumber are
usually quoted per M, meaning that the price given is for one
thousand feet board measure. (B. M.) In making out a bill of
material the dimensions are always given in the following order:
thickness, width, length, regardless of which dimension is the
longest ; in other words, length always means with the grain.
This is done to simplify the lumberman's work. See section
on "Mechanical Drawing" for a complete mill bill.
40
QUALITIES OF WOOD
1
Hardness
Strength
Elasticity
Grain
Medulary
ray
Weight
Clevlbillt7
Kind of
Wood
1
a
s
p
I
M
I
1
,
,
I
I
Medium
Obscure or closed
Visible but not
pronounced
I
Medium
3
a
Splita with
difficulty
a
3
Split* easily
Ash
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
2
Basswood
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
Beech
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Birch
X
X
X
X
X
X
Cedar
x
X
X
X
X
X
X
Chestnut
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Cypress
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Gum
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Hickory
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Mahogany
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Maple (hard)
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Maple (soft)
X
X
X
X
X
X
Oak
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Pine (hard)
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Pine (soft)
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Poplar
X
X
X
X
X
Spruce
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Sycamore
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Walnut
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
USES OF WOOD 41
USES
1 Interior finish, cabinet work, barrel hoops, tool handles, oars, agricul-
rural implements, boats, saddle trees, wheel hubs.
2 Paper pulp, wooden ware, picture moulding, cigar boxes, toys, wagon
beds.
3 Tool handles, baskets, shoe lasts, levelers, chairs, fuel, shoe heels.
4 Interior trim, spools, shoe lasts, button molds, furniture, dowel pins,
wooden ware, paper pulp, shoe heels.
6 Chests, cooperage, shingles, electric light poles, pencils, railroad ties,
pails, street paving blocks, cigar boxes.
6 Railroad ties, electric light poles, interior finish, cores for veneers,
fence posts.
7 Shingles, posts, cooperage, railroad ties, construction work.
8 Veneering, wheel hubs, construction work.
9 Tool handles, wheel spokes, agricultural implements, chair seat splits,
barrel hoops, single and double trees, fuel.
10 Cabinet making, veneers, interior finish, pattern making.
11 Flooring, furniture, wooden type, shoe lasts, p\ano actions, ship keels,
tool handles, dowel pins.
12 Wooden ware, furniture, flooring, oars, fuel.
13 Cabinet work, interior trim, cooperage, agricultural implements, posts,
construction work.
14 Heavy building timbers, construction work, interior finish, railroad
ties, flooring.
15 Doors, window sash, matches, patterns, telephone poles.
16 Wooden pumps, furniture, construction work, boats, carriage and
wagon bodies, toys, coffin boxes.
17 Paper pulp, sounding boards in musical instruments, ladders,
cooperage.
18 Butcher's blocks, furniture, inside frame work, tobacco boxes.
19 Gun stocks, cabinet making, veneers, picture frames.
42
WOOD FASTENERS
Fig. 1
Common VJire Nail
W/'re Brad
F/oor/ng NaiL
of wire
VJire Gauge
fig.3
WOOD FASTENERS
There are many devices and materials used in fastening
wood together, such as nails, screws, bolts, glue, dowels, plates,
hinges, etc. Since each is so different from the other they should
be discussed separately.
NAILS
Nails at one time were ctit out of sheet metal, but now most
nails are made out of wire. Wire of the proper size is fed from
large coils into a machine which cuts it to the proper length,
points it at one end and gives it the proper shaped head at the
other.
The kind of nails used depends somewhat on the project
being made. The size is also determined by the size and char-
acter of the material used. Some kinds of wood split easily,
therefore the nails must be small in diameter but long enough to
hold the pieces together. If the wood is hard and compact, a
nail small in diameter will, in all probability, bend before it
penetrates the wood to tfte proper depth. In such a case a hole
slightly smaller than the nail should be drilled in the wood
before the nail is driven into it. Some articles require a nail
with a large head while on some the large head is unnecessary
and is a disfiguration.
The shape of the nail indicates the kind of a fastener it is,
Fig. 1, for instance, the one with the large but flat head is gen-
erally known as a common wire nail. The one with a head
NAILS
43
WIRE NAIL 3izc*
ID5TH
INCHES
W RE. NUMBERS
6
7
a
9
10
It
IZ
13
14
15
16
17
Id
19
zo
Zl
22.
3
X
X
X
X
s
X
X
X
X J
X
Yi
X
X
X
X
H
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
%
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
%
X
y.
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
1
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
l>6
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
jS
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
1/2
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
1%
X
X
X
X
x
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
2
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
2M
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
^y^
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
2M
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
3
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
3^
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
3^
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
4
X
X
X
X
X
X
smaller in diameter but thicker, is known as the brad or finishing
nail while the one with the tapering head is the flooring nail.
The size of a nail is usually indicated by the term "penny,"
as twopenny, fourpenny, etc., written 2d, 4d, etc. This orig-
inally indicated that one thousand nails would weigh the number
of pounds indicated by the figure. The size of nails is some-
times indicated by measure as, 1 17. The first figure indicates
the length in inches and the last figure the size of the wire out
of which the nail is made, Fig. 2. The larger the wire number
the smaller the wire. Not all lengths of nails are made in all
sizes of wire. The accompanying chart shows the range of
sizes of wire brads up to four inches. The sizes of brads and
floor nails are indicated by measure only. Special nails are
designed for special purposes such as trunk nails, roofing nails,
clout nails, clinch nails, etc.
When two pieces of wood are to be nailed together, they
should be placed in position and the kind and size of nails which
best fill the need selected. Nails driven into the wood at a
slant, A-Fig. 3, will have much greater holding power than nails
driven in straight as in B-Fig. 3, especially if slanted in opposite
directions. The location of the nail points should be well
selected. Proper placing will insure greater strength. Pleasing
patterns may also be made by the arrangement of the nail heads.
A nail placed too close to the end of the wood, C-Fig. 3, forces
it to break out a piece of the wood. If placed too close to the
44
WOOD FASTENERS
Fig. 4 Screws
5 CO
flat head Round head Fillister head Oval head
Screw Gauge
Fig.6
edge, the wood will split, or if slanted too much the point of
the nail will project and mar the surface. If the nails are to go
through cross grained wood only, D-Fig. 3, shorter lengths can
be used than when the nail is driven partly into end grain as
in E-Fig. 3. Edge or side grain pinches the nail much tighter
than end grain, therefore, the holding power is greater.
Nails should be driven with the hammer until the head is
almost even with the surface of the wood. They should never
be driven far enough to dent the wood with the hammer.
Nails rust when exposed to moisture. If the article being
nailed is to be exposed to the weather, the nails should be
driven in until their heads are below the surface of the wood. A
nail set is used for this purpose, Fig. 1 in section on "Driving
Tools." The hole left over the nail after it is "set" should be
rilled with putty.
WOOD SCREWS
Where two or more pieces of wood which may be subjected
to any great strain are to be fastened together, or where metal
is to be held against wood, screws are used as fasteners. There
are several kinds of screws, the difference being either in the
shape of the heads or in the kind of material out of which they
are made. The different shaped heads are flat, round, fillister
and oval, Fig. 4. Any of these styles can be secured in iron,
finished bright or blue, or in brass. Screws copper or nickel
plated are made but are used only in connection with special
cabinet fittings which are copper or nickel plated.
The size of a screw is designated with two numbers, for
example, \y\ 8. The first number indicates the length in
inches and the second number the size or gauge of the un-
threaded part of the screw. Fig. 5 illustrates the method of
gauging the length and size of a screw with a screw gauge. In
flat head screws the length number indicates the measurement
, WOOD SCREWS
45
UNfiTM
IRON AND BRASS SCREW SIZES
ilKHti
V*
H
Yt
5 /fl
?4
X
i
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
a
X
9
X
10
x
X
y
IZ
X
^
15
X
14
X
x
15
16
17
10
to
Z2
2-4
26
ze>
30
'/e
1
5
S
I 3s
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X.
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X.
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Z
2)4
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
2&
3
3Ji
4
4/i
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
*
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X.
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
5
6
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
over all; in round or fillister head screws, that from the screw
point to the shoulder under the head; in the oval head, that
from the screw point to the center of the head.
Not all lengths of screws can be obtained in all sizes. The
accompanying chart gives the range of sizes for all wood screws.
Flat head bright screws are made of iron and polished. Blue
screws are made in the same way but after being polished they
are heated in large pans over a furnace and while hot, plunged
into oil. This gives the metal a bluish color. Brass screws are
made entirely of brass. They are used instead of bright or blue
screws in places where moisture exists, since they will not rust.
They are much softer than either bright or blue screws and are
easily twisted in two. Their heads are easily marred if the
screwdriver is not carefully used. Screws are sold by the gross,
being packed a gross in a box.
Where two or more pieces of wood are to be fastened
together, or where metal is to be fastened to wood, holes of
sufficient size to give clearance to the screws should be bored
in the piece or pieces through which the screw is to pass. If
the wood into which the screw is to be anchored is very hard
a hole slightly smaller in diameter than the screw, should* be
bored to the depth to which the screw is to enter. Since the
action of the screw point is to separate the fibers, the wood
will sometimes split if such a hole is not made or in case the
wood is extremely hard the screw will be twisted in two if
there is no hole for it to enter. In forcing screws into soft
wood they are placed through the hole in the first board, that
46 WOOD FASTENERS
board is placed in position on the second board and the screw
given a light tap with a hammer or mallet. This engages the
point. A screw driver is then inserted in the slot in the screw
head and turned clockwise until the screw draws the pieces of
wood or wood and metal together. In case flat head screws
are used the wood should be reamed out with a countersink to
a sufficient depth to take the screw head. See countersink in
section on "Boring Tools."
One should grip the handle of the screw driver firmly when
driving the screw. At the end of each turn the grip on the
handle is released, the hand slid backwards around the handle,
a new grip taken and the screw given another turn. The screw
driver point should always remain in the slot in the screw until
the operation is completed. Otherwise the screw head is
scratched or twisted out of shape.
When sufficient strength cannot be obtained with the screw
driver to force the screw into the wood, a screw driver may be
inserted in the bit brace. This will allow sufficient pressure
and the sweep of the brace will give greater twisting power.
The point of the bit will have a tendency to jump out of the
slot, marring the screw head. This can be avoided if the rachet
in the brace is adjusted, the brace given a half turn, then, with
a reverse motion brought back to the starting position and the
process icpeated. To remove a screw with the brace and bit,
the rachet should be turned in the opposite direction.
Screws should never be driven into the wood with a ham-
mer, beyond the starting point, as the threads tear down the
fiber structure of the wood and destroy the holding power, Fig. 6.
If it is hard to turn the screws in the wood, the resistance
can be cut down by rubbing soap into the threads before start-
ing the screw into the wood.
LAG SCREWS
For very heavy work, lag screws are better and, in some
cases, necessary. Instead of the head being slotted to hold the
screw driver, it is made square so that it may be turned with a
wrench. 1 ]/$ is the smallest size of lag screw obtainable and
the 'largest is 12 1. The first figure indicates the length in
inches from the screw point to the shoulder under the head, the
second the diameter in inches of the unthreaded part of the
screw. They are made of iron and are sold in bulk or in boxes
containing 100 screws.
BOLTS
47
Lag Carriage Stove.
Screw v
Stove Machine
BOLTS
There are several kinds of bolts, those generally used being
carriage, stove and machine bolts, Fig. 7. The sizes are indi-
cated in the same manner as those of lag screws. Their con-
struction is different in that instead of a tapering screw, the
diameter of their threaded part, which does not taper, is just
as large as the unthreaded part. Instead of them holding them-
selves in place in the wood, they are inserted through holes in
the wood sufficiently large to allow the bolt to pass easily, and
a nut screwed on the exposed, threaded end. This clamps the
pieces of wood together firmly. The nuts are made square,
hexagonal and octagonal. Carriage bolts are made only of iron
while stove and machine bolts are also made in steel and brass.
Carriage bolts are round headed and square shanked. The
square shank keeps the bolt from turning while the nut is
screwed on, it is therefore very necessary that the hole through
which the bolt is to be inserted, be small enough to engage the
corners of this part of the bolt to keep it from turning. The
heads of stove and machine bolts are slotted the same as screws
so that they can be kept from turning with the screw driver
while the nut is screwed on. They can be secured with either
round or flat heads.
GLUE
Screws, bolts, etc., are mechanical wood fasteners. Glue
works on a different principle. It cements the two parts to-
gether. All wood is more or less porous and when glue is
applied it spreads over the surface into the pores. If held
rigidly in one position until the glue hardens, it is almost im-
possible to break it apart.
There are two kinds of glue, animal and vegetable. Animal
glue is made from the hoofs, horns or hides of animals or from
the skins of fish. These substances are boiled in lime water to
48 WOOD FASTENERS
remove foreign matter and are then thoroughly washed, strained
and allowed to dry. When almost dry they are sometimes
shaved into small flakes. This is known as flake glue. After
glue has been allowed to harden it is sometimes broken into
chips and sometimes ground into small particles. The former
kind is known as chip glue and the latter as ground glue.
Vegetable glue is made from plants containing viscous
matter. It is manufactured by a secret process. In substance
it resembles animal glue and it acts in about the same way
except that it requires the application of greater pressure to the
parts being glued until it is thoroughly dry. It is especially
well suited to gluing up veneers.
To prepare glue for use, the flakes, chips, or ground particles
are allowed to soak in cold water until the substance becomes
jelly like. This requires several hours. It is then heated slowly,
preferably in a double boiler, until it becomes hot and easy
flowing. An improvised double boiler may be made by setting
an old baking powder or tomato can containing the glue in a
somewhat larger vessel of boiling water. Because glue of this
kind must be applied hot it is referred to as hot glue.
Liquid glue, sometimes called cold glue, is a glue which is
kept in solution by the addition of acetic acid. It remains in
solution until applied to a surface in a thin layer, when it be-
comes dry and acts in a similar manner to the hot glue. The can
should be kept tightly closed when not in use or the entire mass
will harden.
Glue should always be applied sparingly, but every part of
each of the surfaces to be glued together must be covered. Glue
is applied with a brush or flat stick. If only a small amount of
gluing is to be done, it is better to use a stick. While it is more
difficult to spread the glue evenly with a stick, cleaning the
brush of all glue after it is used takes so long and wastes so
much material that it is hardly justifiable if only a little gluing
is to be done. To clean a glue brush, wash and rinse it thor-
oughly in hot water before the glue has been allowed to become
hard or dry in it.
DOWELS
Ordinarily a glued joint will hold as well as any other part
of the board, but if the surfaces joined together are short and
the pieces are subjected to much strain, they are reinforced with
dowels. Dowels are short, round rods or pins of hard wood
varying in diameter from 3/16" to 1". They usually come
in rods 36" long and may be cut to any length which
suits the need. They are inserted in auger bit holes as shown
HINGES
49
-*- Fig.9 Hinges
Hinges Fig. 10
in Fig. 8. If the dowel pin fits too snugly the edges of the hole
will scrape all of the glue off of the dowel pin when it is inserted.
If too loose it will not give the added strength to the joint. If
the pin fits tightly its sides should be grooved, as at Fig. 8, with
a marking gauge. The glue then, instead of being scraped off,
is forced into the channels cut by the gauge and forms a suffi-
cient adhesive to hold it firmly against the sides of the hole.
HINGES
Hinges are a kind of flexible wood fastener. They fasten
it rigidly in one direction and allow it to move in another.
There are several forms of hinges, known as butt, strap, T, table
or back flap, chest, screen and invisible, Fig. 9.
The most generally used hinge is the butt. There are two
kinds; common, those in which the pin on which they turn is
riveted over at both ends, and loose pin, those from which the
pin may be removed and the hinge taken apart. The butt hinge
is used for hinging boxes and doors or any place where the
leaves can be set between the two parts to be hinged. The
advantage of loose pin butts is that a door hung with them can
be taken off without taking off the hinges. Both loose pin and
common butt, when set in place, show only the knuckles and
acorns, while all of the parts of the strap and T hinges are
visible. Butt hinges must be set into the wood to the depth of
the thickness of the leaves of the hinge.
Strap hinges and T hinges fasten onto the exposed faces of
the parts to be hinged together. Box hinges with fancy leaves
are a form of strap hinge.
Back flap or table hinges are different in construction from
either of the above mentioned in that the knuckles project an
equal distance on both sides of the leaves while, in the butt,
strap and T hinges, the backs are flat, Fig. 10. Back flap hinges
require a great deal of fitting, both in setting the hinge and
50
WOOD FASTENERS
Fig. 11
Cupboard Turn Elben Catcfi
shaping the two pieces of wood so that they fit together when
closed.
Chest hinges are shaped to fit around the corner of the lid
of a chest and the screw holes in the leaves are separated far
enough in the bent leaf so that the screws do not interfere with
each other. However, care should be exercised in the selection
of the screws to see that they are of the proper length.
Screen hinges, allow the parts hinged together to open either
way. In the illustration, Fig. 10, the two parts have revolved
on the knuckles, A-A. When the parts are opened so that the
two edges touch each other, the knuckles, B-B, are also in line
with each other, and if the faces, C-C, of the wood were brought
together as D-D have been in the illustration, the parts would
be hinging on the knuckles, B-B. Hinges of this kind are used
on folding screens and on doors which must open two ways.
Invisible hinges are used where it is desired to have a blind
hinged joint. When the two parts are closed it is impossible to
tell that a hinge exists.
LOCKS AND CATCHES
The principal kinds of locks are door locks, drawer locks,
chest locks and padlocks. Wardrobe locks and night latches are
forms of the door lock. Each kind of lock may be made in
various types of construction, the two principal ones being com-
mon and cylinder. Each type of construction requires a differ-
ent kind of key. Some of the locks are mortised into the wood
and others are merely fastened onto it. The padlock is an ex-
ception, it being hooked through a staple, over a hasp. Fig. 11
shows various kinds and styles of locks and keys.
If it is not necessary to open a door from both sides, it may
be held shut with a catch. Some catches open by turning a
knob, others by sliding a bar and others by lifting a catch. Fig.
12 shows various styles of catches.
PLATES
51
Fig. 13
F/at P/ate
Corner
Iron
Angle Iron
Staple
Corrugated fastener
PLATES
Pieces of wood are sometimes fastened together with metal
plates. There are three kinds in general use, i.e., flat plates,
corner irons and- angle irons. Often there are special plates
made to fit special places. Plates as a rule are used to reinforce
joints which have been fastened together with some other kind of
wood fasteners.
STAPLES, ESCUTCHEON PINS, CORRUGATED
FASTENERS
Staples are pieces of wire bent U-shape and both ends
pointed. They come in various lengths and sizes of wire. They
are used for fastening wire or wire netting to wood. They are
driven into the wood with a hammer. Large staples are some-
times used for fastening a door hasp to a door when the door
is thin enough to allow the points of the staple to project
through it so that they can be bent over, thus riveting the hasp
in place.
Escutcheon pins are round headed nails usually made of
brass. Their real purpose is for fastening escutcheons, the pro-
tecting plate around the keyhole of a lock, but they are often
used for fastening on light box hinges where the- projecting ends
can be bent over on the inside of the box.
Corrugated fasteners are used to reinforce or to give added
strength to two pieces of wood joined together edgewise. They
should not be used unless the edges have first been glued or
nailed together. The fastener, sharp edge down, is placed half
over each piece of wood and driven in with a hammer. Since
the pounding sometimes breaks apart the nailed or glued joint,
it is well to clamp the pieces together while driving in the
fastener. Corrugated fasteners come in lengths ranging from
*/&" to 1" and in widths from 1 to 4 corrugations inclusive.
52
SAND PAPER
Fig.l
C/ *.^y&~ : ~-&i/td0ai>*r
Fig. 2
/fo/e
Flg.3
SAND PAPER
Articles made of wood must be perfectly smooth before they
can be stained, painted or varnished. This is usually done with
the plane and scraper but often an additional smoothing is
accomplished by the use of sand paper.
Sand paper is a tough paper coated on one side with glue
and crushed flint or quartz. This crushed flint resembles sand.
The particles are sharp edged and of irregular shape and quite
hard. They are graded in sizes 000 to 3 by being sifted through
screens having openings of different sizes. A thick glue is
applied to one side of the paper and the crushed flint sprinkled
evenly over it. After this is thoroughly dry a second coat of
very thin glue is applied over the sand side to make sure that
every particle is fastened to the paper.
In sand papering the surface of hard wood, garnet paper is
better than flint paper. While the crystals are not quite as
sharp, they are much harder and consequently wear better. It
is made in the same way as sand paper. Sand" paper and garnet
paper are sold in rolls or in sheets.
When the sand paper is rubbed over the surface of the
wood the sharp edges of the flint or garnet, cut or comb down
the fibers of the wood. Since the fibers in the wood run in a
certain direction, it is very important that the sand papering be
done in the same direction, for, if sand papered across the lines
of fiber the surface of the wood will be made rough instead of
smooth.
To give a true surface the sand papering must be done with
an even pressure over the entire surface. Otherwise the corners
and edges will be rbunded. This true surface can be secured
by holding a small piece of sand paper around a block shaped
as in Fig. 1. The pressure of the fingers against the slanting
sides of the block keeps the paper tightly stretched.
Sand paper should always be torn, never cut, since the
particles of flint would destroy the edge of any knife or pair of
shears. In order to tear it straight it should be placed sand side
down on a flat surface with a rule or straight edge upon it at
WOOD FINISHES
Fig. Z
Rg-3
the desired place. By holding the rule firmly in this position
and pulling upward on the paper at the corner marked X-Fig. 2
the result will be accomplished.
To smooth curved surfaces, a piece of sand paper should be
wrapped about a round stick as in Fig. 3.
Where only a limited supply of sand paper can be kept on
hand No. 1 or No. 1^ will be found suitable for practically all
purposes.
WOOD FINISHES
"Wood finish" is a term used to designate various substances
which are applied to the surface of wood either to color it or to
protect and preserve it from the elements which would tend to
destroy its mechanical properties as well as its natural beauty.
Wood finishes are divided into several classes, i.e., paint, stain,
filler, varnish and wax. The application of stain changes the
color of wood but does not hide the grain, because stain is trans-
parent. Paint changes the color and also hides the grain ; in
other words, it is opaque. Filler, as the name implies, fills up
the pores in the wood, making the surface smooth. Stain is
sometimes combined with filler so that with one operation the
object is filled and stained. Varnish is applied to give a hard,
smooth, glossy surface and to keep out moisture. Wax is some-
times used instead of varnish, giving the surface a slick but not
as glossy a finish as varnish.
The use to which an object is to be put and the kind of
wood out of which it is to be made determine whether it is
better to stain or to paint it. Woods having prominent grain are
usually stained because of the transparency of the coloring mat-
ter in the stain, but to preserve the wood, stained articles should
also be varnished or waxed and sometimes filled. Wood having
an uninteresting grain is usually painted. Practically all objects
used out of doors are painted because the paint better with-
stands exposure.
The principal ingredients in paint are white lead, linseed
oil, coloring pigment, turpentine and drier. The white lead
gives body and covering power to the paint, the pigment colors
54
WOOD FINISHES
Rg.4
Sma// Stain Brush
Flat Varnish, Stain Paintbrush
Round Varnish Brush
it, the linseed oil furnishes the liquid carriage which floats the
pigment and lead over the surface and it also acts as a binder
to hold them onto the surface. The turpentine thins the mixture
so that it can be easily applied with a brush and the drier helps
to dry the paint after it has been applied to the surface. Paint
may be made by mixing the above mentioned ingredients
together or it may be purchased ready mixed. Since the lead
is very heavy, it settles to the bottom of the container. The
paint should therefore be thoroughly stirred before being used.
When it is well mixed it is applied to the surface to be painted
with a bristle brush of a size and shape suited to the kind of
work. Fig. 4.
The surface to be painted should be previously smoothed
with sand paper and nail holes or small defects in the wood,
filled with putty. (See putty in section on "Glazing.") Knots
should be shellaced to prevent the rosin from oozing out. Paint
is applied by dipping the fiber end of the brush into the can or
bucket, allowing only a portion of the fibers to enter the paint.
The brush should never be allowed to go. into the paint up to
the metal sheath and in no case should the paint be stirred with
the brush. Even with only a portion of the fibers entering the
paint too much of it will enter the brush. It is therefore neces-
sary to remove the excess. This should be done by pressing
the fibers against the inside of the container as at A-Fig. 5,
allowing the extra amount of paint to run back. The brush
should never be dragged over the edge of the bucket as illus-
trated in B-Fig. 5, for while a large part of the paint will go
back into the bucket, it is almost impossible to keep some of it
from running down over the outside. Should paint at any time
get on the handle or sheath of the brush it should immediately
be wiped clean with a cloth or bit of waste.
When the brush is charged with the proper amount of paint
it is drawn back and forth over the surface until the paint is
thoroughly worked in and spread evenly over the surface. There
STAINS 55
is danger, however, of overbrushing the paint and making it
bubble and consequently become rough.
Wood, when painted for the first time, will require two or
more coats in order to cover it well, but surfaces which have
been painted before are not so porous and one coat may suffice.
Different formulas are used for the making of stain but
they are all alike in that they are all semi-transparent and con-
tain coloring matter which changes the appearance or color of
wood. The coloring matter is dissolved in an easy flowing
liquid which makes possible an even distribution of the color
over the surface to which it is applied. This liquid usually
evaporates rather quickly. Stain also contains a "binder," a
substance which remains after the liquid has evaporated, and
holds the color in the wood.
In selecting a stain, the material out of which the project
is made must be considered. A soft, porous wood will take a
stain which penetrates slowly, while a close fibered, hard wood
often resists the most penetrating kind of stain. The natural
color of wood often changes the appearance of a stain. A stain
which appears to be of a light golden color when applied on oak,
will be so affected by the greenish color of the wood that it will
appear to be a dull, dirty brown when applied to poplar.
Stain should never be applied too lavishly. The wood will
absorb only a certain amount which should be of such consist-
ency that it flows and penetrates easily. In some cases it is
necessary to remove the excess from the stained surface with
waste or rags after the stain has had sufficient time to soak in
but this process should not be delayed until the liquid has fully
evaporated because the surface will become gummy.
Surfaces to be stained should be smooth and free from finger
marks, pencil marks, grease, etc. (see sections on "Planes" and
"Sandpaper"). If the surface to be stained has been sand-
papered the stain should not be applied until the pores of the
wood have had a chance to reopen. If the stain is applied too
soon after sandpapering there is danger of the pores being
clogged with the sandpaper dust and so closed and crushed
that they will not allow the stain to penetrate deeply enough
to be permanent.
Most stains settle in the can because some of the materials
in them are heavier than others, consequently the container
should be shaken or well stirred before the stain is used. A
sufficient amount of stain to cover the project should be poured
into an open mouthed can or bucket. Waste or cloths should
be at hand ready for wiping off the surplus at the proper time.
56 WOOD FINISHES
Papers should be spread under the project to be stained unless
there is available a metal covered staining table which can be
wiped clean after the staining is done.
The brush, is charged with stain in exactly the same way as
with paint and equal care should be exercised in handling it,
especially since stain is much thinner than paint and will run
more easily. Stain is applied to the wood by placing the brush
saturated with stain at one end of the board and drawing it
slowly toward the center in the direction of the grain, Fig. 1.
The brush should be pulled over the wood slowly enough to
allow the stain to soak in. When the stroke has covered about
half the length of the piece of wood the brush should be lifted
and a second stroke which slightly overlaps the first, made, Fig.
2. When one-half of the surface has been covered in this way the
work should be turned around and stained from the other end
in a similar manner. The brush should never be rubbed back
and forth over the wood or drawn from the center of the wood
toward the edge or end because the fibers will spatter the stain
as in Fig. 3.
The brush should never be laid down with paint, stain or
varnish in it nor allowed to stand in any of these materials. The
brush should never be laid across the bucket from side to side.
A small stick or wire placed across the top of the bucket as in
Fig. 6 makes a good rest for the brush for then if the paint, stain
or varnish should drip from the brush it will go back into the
bucket.
After all parts of the project have been painted, stained or
varnished the unused material in the bucket should be poured
back into the original container which should be tightly closed
in order to keep the contents from evaporating. The bucket
should then be wiped clean and bright. Brushes should be
washed in a solution similar to the liquid out of which the
material is made, i.e., turpentine, for paint, varnish and oil stain,
alcohol for spirit stain and water for water stain. Great care
should be exercised in disposing of all oily rags, since heat is
often generated in them, resulting in fire.
There are two kinds of filler, liquid and paste. Liquid filler
is composed of shellac gum dissolved in alcohol. Paste filler is
made of silex and linseed oil. Silex is a mineral which does not
expand or contract under changing atmospheric conditions.
When worked into the wood with a brush stroke in the direction
of the grain the sharp angled particles of silex anchor in every
crevice. The surplus is then wiped off and the surface appears
even and smooth. Liquid filler is also applied with a brush.
It is thinner than paste filler and therefore will fill up smaller
VARNISH
57
Fig7
Fig. 6
crevices. It is allowed to become thoroughly hard and the
roughness is then rubbed off with fine sandpaper. Fillers are
always applied before the wood is varnished and sometimes
before the wood is stained.
Varnishes are made by melting certain vegetable gums and
then cooking them in linseed oil and turpentine. They have to
be thoroughly filtered. They must stand many months before
they are ready to be used. This is called seasoning. They are
applied in a way similar to that in which paint and stain are
applied except that they are floated onto the surface with as
little brushing as possible. Varnishes are very sticky and slow
drying, therefore articles being varnished must be kept in rooms
as near dust proof as possible. Varnish dries best in rooms mod-
erately heated. V
Finishing wax is used either over stained surfaces or sur-
faces filled with liquid filler. It is made of vegetable wax dis-
solved in a liquid which evaporates quickly after it has been
applied to wood, leaving a thin scum of the wax on the surface.
It is best applied by taking a small portion of the wax out of
the can, placing it on a double thickness of cloth and wrapping
the cloth around it, Figs. 7 and 8. Holding the loose ends of
the pieces of cloth between the fingers and rubbing it over the
surface to be waxed will force the wax through the cloth a little
at a time. When the entire surface has been covered thus the
wax should be allowed to dry and then polished with a stiff
brush or cloth. Wax may be applied with a brush but it is
wasteful of material and it is hard to regulate the amount put
on the surface.
58
GLASS AND WINDOW GLAZING
Of the many materials used in constructive work, glass does
not often attract much attention, nevertheless its place in the
world is very important. Without it large builidngs would not
be practicable for it is the window glass that permits them to
be lighted by day and the glass light bulb, shade or chimney
which makes possible their illumination at night. Even the
electric current could not be brought into a building if it were
not for the glass or porcelain insulators. Science has been
greatly advanced by the use 'of glass, for the success of the
microscope, telescope and camera are dependent upon their
glass lenses. Many eyes have been saved and many pains re-
moved through the use of spectacles. Bottles, dishes, buttons,
beads, door knobs, sanitary hospital appliances, mirrors, etc., are
in existence because of the discovery of how to transform cer-
tain elements into glass. Just when this discovery was made
no one knows, but pieces of glass which are over six thousand
years old have been found in Egypt.
Of the entire amount of glass produced the greater portion is
window glass. It varies in kind, quality and use. Very thin
glass (single strength) is used in picture frames, heavier glass
(double strength) is used in ordinary windows, hot houses, hot
beds and cheap show cases, and very heavy glass (plate glass)
is used in large windows, in mirrors and in the better grade of
show cases. Semi-transparent glass for windows is produced
with different surfaces, such as frosted or ribbed and for sky
lights and elevator shafts a glass reinforced with a wire webbing
is made.
While the elements which enter into the making of glass
are always about the same, the method of manufacture is entirely
different. Ordinary window glass is blown by men or by
machines, into cylindrical forms and then flattened into sheets,
while plate glass is not blown, but is rolled into sheets or plates.
Glass is made by fusing under intense heat, a mixture of soda,
lime and sand. It takes from fourteen to twenty hours to prop-
erly melt a "batch." For blown glass the ingredients are melted
together in vats in huge furnaces. When the molten mass is
ready, if it is to be blown by men, a small portion of it is dipped
out, through a door in the furnace, on the end of a blow pipe.
The workman, to protect his face from the blistering heat and
intense light from the open door, carries a mask, A-Fig. 1, which
he holds in place with his teeth. The blow pipe is constantly
revolved to keep the ball of molten glass from falling off. This
GLASS
59
Wooden frame-
3
-Colored g/ass
-block he/d
between the tteth
s^&low pipe.
fig.l
Molten glass
mass weighs from twenty to forty pounds and as it begins to
solidify it is twisted and turned over an iron mould -until it
assumes a pear shape, B-Fig. 1. It is then passed on to the
glass blower who stands by a deep pit with the blow pipe and
glass ball suspended into the pit. Blowing gently at first he
swings the pipe back and forth like the pendulum of a clock and
at the same time gives it a rotary motion. This gradually
changes the shape of the molten mass to a long, hollow cylinder,
having walls of even thickness at every point. If the cylinder
begins to lengthen too much the blower swings the pipe and
glass over his head, still blowing and revolving it.
When the desired length of cylinder and the proper thick-
ness of glass is obtained the far end of the cylinder is reheated
and cut off. When the glass has become firm enough it is
placed on a wooden rack and the blow pipe loosened by touch-
ing it with a cold iron. This same end of the cylinder is then
cracked off true by passing a heated wire around it and touching
the glass with a moistened finger. The cylinder is then opened
lengthwise by passing a red hot iron from end to end down the
inside, Fig. 2.
This open cylinder is next placed in an oven on a flat stone
slab. The heat naturally unrolls the glass and it is pressed out
flat with a wooden block on a long rod thrust through the door
of the oven. When the glass becomes flat it passes on to the
annealing oven where it is gradually cooled. If cooled too
quickly it becomes very brittle. From the annealing oven it is
inspected, marked and cut to various sizes. Seldom is a cylinder
found without flaws, so the cutter cuts around the flaws, first
getting out the larger panes, then the smaller ones. The cutting
is done either with an instrument having a diamond point or a
highly carbonized steel roller.
Machine blown glass is produced by the same process except
that the machine automatically dips the blow pipe into the
molten metal, shapes it and blows it. One man, attending a
60
GLASS AND WINDOW GLAZING
Q
Fig.
Fig. 4
glass blowing machine, can produce about three times as much
glass as a mouth blower. Machine blown cylinders are about
twenty-five feet long and two feet in diameter while mouth
blown cylinders at best never reach more than ten or twelve
feet in length and eighteen inches in diameter. The surface of
blown glass is glossy and smooth.
The materials out of which plate glass is made are melted
together in large clay crucibles. When the materials are prop-
erly melted together, huge traveling cranes pick up and carry
the crucible to the plate glass machine where the contents is
poured out on a large metal table. A huge metal roller is then
passed over it, flattening the mass into a plate two or three
times as thick as blown glass. The surface produced in this
way is rough and only semi-transparent. This plate of glass is
then sent through the annealing oven, after which it is anchored
onto a large revolving table with plaster of Paris and the upper
surface ground off smooth and true with sand stone. The glass
is then reversed and the other side ground. After being ground
smooth the surface is polished on revolving tables with revolving
buffers and rouge. It is then inspected and cut to standard
sizes the same as blown glass.
Glass is usually held in place in windows in a wooden frame
called a sash, but with the diminishing use of wood and the
increasing use of metal it is probable that in a few years nearly
all window sashes will be made of metal.
Placing the window glass in the sash is called "glazing."
If glass of the correct size cannot be obtained it may be cut to
fit by placing it on a flat surface and, at the proper place, scoring
a line with a glass cutter, Fig. 3, along a straight edge. In doing
this, one should be careful that the scored line reaches com-
pletely from edge to edge. Enough pressure should be applied
to score the line at one operation. To try to score the same line
the second time is apt to be disastrous. Once the glass is scored
it is held in the hands, scored side up, and cracked apart as in
GLAZING
61
Fig. 6
Fig. 4. If it fails to respond to this treatment, it should be
lightly tapped with the handle of the cutter on the under side
of the glass near the scored line. If any small part fails to
break off at the scored line, that part is broken off with the
glass cutter as shown in Fig. 5.
To glaze a window the sash is, if possible, removed and
placed rabbeted side up, all old putty and glass removed, and
the new pane fitted in and fastened with glazier or zinc points.
These points are flat triangular-shaped pieces of metal made of
zinc so that they will not rust when exposed to the weather.
They come in sizes to 3 inclusive (0 being the larger), ^-lb.
to the paper, or they can be bought in bulk. They are laid in
place on the glass and driven about half way into the sash with
any kind of flat instrument which can be slid along the glass.
A cold chisel is a good tool for driving in these points. A suffi-
cient number of points are placed around the sash to hold the
glass firmly. The glazier points and edges of the glass are then
puttied over as shown in Fig. 6, the putty knife being drawn
along the edge, forcing the putty into every crack and crevice.
The surface left should be quite smooth.
Putty is made by mixing together whiting and boiled linseed
oil, to the consistency of dough. The air oxidizes the oil, leaving
the whiting almost as hard as stone. Since the air hardens putty
it should be kept in an air-tight container until needed for use.
If it is too stiff to work well, it may be softened by simply
kneading it with the fingers. If this does not soften enough, a
drop or two of boiled linseed oil may be added and worked
into it.
62 CHAIR SEATING
Section A- A
flat Oval Hotfroujid Hound
Strip of cane wm <m> <tm> %
Shapes of rattan
CHAIR SEATING
Wooden seated chairs are durable and if properly shaped
they are comfortable, but they are heavy and sometimes ugly in
appearance. Various other methods are used in seating chairs,
among them weaving, upholstering and the application of pre-
pared seatings.
There are several ways of weaving seats in chairs and many
different kinds of materials are used. Any material which is
strong, flexible and tough, and which is made or can be secured
in shapes convenient for weaving, can be used for seating chairs.
The commonly used materials are cane, rush, reed, rope and
hickory split. Cane, perhaps, is the most widely used. It is
made from the outer covering or bark of a certain specie of palm.
This grows in dense forests in India, China, Ceylon and the
Indian Islands. The plants sometimes grow very tall and then
fall to the ground, trailing like vines. They frequently reach a
length of several hundred feet without a branch and without de-
veloping to a diameter of more than one inch. The bark is very
thin and its outer surface is quite hard and slick. The woody
part grows in a different way, and its appearance is quite differ-
ent from that of ordinary wood. In texture it is much softer
than wood and is very porous but much tougher than all woods
except hickory.
The vine like stems of the plant are cut by the natives into
lengths of ten to twenty feet, washed, made into bundles and
shipped to various European countries and America. The bark
is then stripped off and cut into varying widths from T V' to
T V' and tied into bundles or hanks of 1,000 lineal feet. The re-
maining part is cut into different shapes and sizes, Fig. 1. The
strips made from the bark are known as chair cane and the
material made from the pith or woody part is called reed or
rattan.
CANING
63
Fig 2 I 5t Step
Under -s/ofe
Fig. 3
2^ Step
DIAMOND PATTERN WEAVING
There are several ways of weaving the seat of a chair with
cane. The most common is the diamond pattern. For this kind
of weaving the chair seat must, first of all, be prepared. If on
new work, holes $" m diameter must be bored around the seat
frame l /2 tf apart and l / 2 " away from the inner edge. Unless the
utmost care is used in locating and boring these holes, an im-
perfect pattern will be the result in the finished weaving. If an
old chair is to be reseated, all of the old cane must be cut out,
the holes thoroughly cleared and the seat frame washed and, if
need be, varnished.
The woven seat of a chair should be quite tight. This is
chiefly accomplished by having the cane wet while weaving it.
The moisture expands it and after evaporating causes the cane
to stretch very tightly. Fifteen or twenty minutes is a sufficient
amount of time for soaking the cane. If allowed to remain in the
water too long it will become discolored and also lose its strength.
About all the equipment one needs in this work is a knife
and an awl. An awl can be made out of a long brad with a piece
of wood for a handle. Several round pegs, about \y 2 " long and
tapering from y&" to l /^" should be whittled out of wood.
Caning a chair can be divided into seven consecutive steps.
First step. After soaking the cane as already directed, it should
be held glossy side up, and one end put down through a hole
at the back of the chair seat, (allowing it to project about three
inches below the seat frame), and fastened with a peg. The
other end of the cane should be inserted through a hole in the
front of the seat which is exactly opposite the starting hole in
the back.. In case a chair has a round seat, unusual precaution
must be taken to see that the holes exactly opposite each other
are used in starting or the entire pattern will be a failure. The
entire strand of cane should be pulled through the hole, care
being taken to avoid getting kinks or twists in it, the cane made
64
CHAIR SEATING
Fig. 5
Fig. 6 4*&ep
tight and a peg inserted to hold it in place. This stretched strand
should be picked with the fingers to test the tightness as the
string of a musical instrument is tested. The long end of the
strand should then be brought up through the next hole and
across the seat, stretched and pegged and then inserted through
succeeding pairs of holes until the entire seat is covered with
parallel rows of cane from front to back, Fig. 2. After a few
pegs have been inserted, the second peg (never the first) and
those following it can be removed and used over again. When
one strand of cane is used up, the last hole through which the
cane passes should be pegged and a new strand started in the
hole next to it. The loose ends under the chair are fastened by
drawing them under the nearest span on the under side of the
seat as shown in Fig. 3.
Second step. .Proceeding as in step one, parallel strands of
cane should be laid across the chair seat from side to side and
on top of those in the first step, Fig. 4.
Fig. 7
Fig. 6
Fig. 9
CANING
65
Fig. 10
" Fig. 11
Third step. The strands of cane in this step are laid from
front to back exactly as in the first operation, the strands from
side to side thus facing left between those placed in the first and
third steps, Fig. 5.
Fourth step. The real weaving now begins from side to
side. With one hand below the seat and the other above, the
end of the cane, after passing through a hole from the bottom
of the seat, is forced between the top and bottom strands of each
pair which run from front to back, in every case passing under
the strands of the first or bottom layer and over the strands of
the third layer of cane. At the same time the weaver must be
placed at the nearest side of the strands which lie between the
pairs and which run from side to side, Fig. 6. Failure to do this
will spoil the pattern. If the holes become clogged with cane so
that the ends of the strands will not pass through easily, they
may be cleared by inserting the awl, but the awl should only
separate and not puncture or tear the cane in the holes or it will
weaken the finished seat. After all the strands of the fourth
Fig.12
1
J
p-p j
J [
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1 I
1
T
i r
1
3
1
i
1
3
T t
1
i
1 1
3 r
Fio.15
66
CHAIR SEATING
Fig. 16
Fig. 17
group have been woven in, the entire seat of cane should be
moistened and the strands both ways shoved together in pairs.
Fifth step. This step is also a weaving step but instead of
the weaver passing over one and then under one as in the fourth
passes first over two and then under two or vice versa, depends
on the little pattern formed where the horizontal and vertical
pairs cross. This diagonal weaver should be placed so that it
passes over the pair which, when it is pulled tight, will allow it
to remain in a straight line sliding in the square formed as in
Figs. 7 and 8 and not as in Fig. 9. Once the first diagonal is
correctly placed the others follow easily because if the diagonal
goes over the strands stretched from front to back, it will go
under all strands stretched from side to side or vice versa. All
diagonals running in one direction should be woven in before
any weaving is done with the cross diagonal.
Sixth step. The cross diagonals, which complete the pat-
tern, Fig. 10, are woven in exactly the same manner as the first
diagonals. If that part of the seat which has been made is too
tight to permit the weaver pulling through easily, the entire
cane part of the seat should be sponged.
Seventh step. To hide the holes and make the edges of the
work look neater, a binder of wide cane is laid on as at Fig. 11
and held in place with a piece of cane brought up through a hole
on one side of the binder and down through the same hole on
the other side of the binder and then into the next hole and into
each successive hole until the* entire edge is covered.
CANE WEBBING
Cane webbing is the name applied to cane woven by machin-
ery. It can be purchased by the yard in widths from 8" to 18"
increasing in units of 2". It can be secured in the diamond or
plain pattern, Fig. 12. Chairs caned with webbing do not re-
quire holes in the seat frame. Instead a groove }4" wide and
WEAVING
67
Fig. 16
Fig. 19
Fig. 20
iV' deep is made, J^" away from the inner edge of the seat
frame. The webbing is thoroughly soaked, preferably in hot
water, and then cut one-half inch larger all around than the
shape formed by the grooves in the seat frame. It is then laid
on the seat frame and the strands running parallel to the
grooves, but outside of them, are ravelled out. The cane is
placed so that the lines of the pattern parallel the front edge of
the chair. With a wedge slightly narrower than the groove
and a mallet, the ends of the cane are forced into the groove,
first at the front, then at the back and then at either side and
last at the corners. This temporarily holds the webbing in
place, Fig. 13. The loose ends of the cane are then cut off with
a chisel as in Fig. 14. A heavy coat of glue is next put into the
groove and a spline shaped as at Fig. 15 and made either of
wood or rattan is driven in. As soon as the glue hardens this
kind of seat becomes very secure.
RUSH SEATING
In this kind of weaving seats made of rope or twisted paper
are formed by winding the material around the upper part or
frame work of the stool or chair instead of inserting it through
holes made in the seat frame. Figs. 16 and 17 show the succes-
sive steps in weaving chair seats and stool tops in this way.
Stool and chair seats are sometimes made in this way of hemp
rope or heavy cord. Rush, corn husks, raffia and paper, if
twisted into cords or ropes of sufficient size and length, may
also be used. To preserve them and to keep them from untwist-
ing, seats made of such materials should be varnished with a
pliable varnish after they are finished.
BASKET WEAVE
Seats made of hickory splits or reed are woven somewhat
differently. Splits are long, ribbon like strips of hickory. Reed
has already been described under chair caning. Like the rope
68
CHAIR SEATING
Tront fail
~S/de rail
&acA rail
Section from front to back
Seat frame
Fig. 22
Section from front to back
or fibre seats, they are bound around the upper part of the frame.
Different patterns can be made by changing the order of weav-
ing. A plain weave is made by weaving over one and under one.
By weaving in series, such as over one and then under three, a
different appearing pattern is produced. Diagonal effects are
produced by the following method of weaving.
Strand No. 1 over one then under two then over two, etc.
Strand No. 2 over two then under two then over two, etc.
Strand .No. 3 'under one then over two then under two, etc.
Strand No. 4 under two then over two then under two, etc.
The weaving is started by tacking one end of the weaver
firmly under the edge of the frame and then winding the reed,
rush, cane or splits around it close together in parallel rows in
one direction, usually the longest one, until the entire seat is
covered, Fig. 18. Since it will be necessary for these rows of
material to bend over and under the weavers when they are in-
serted, they should not be pulled very tight but they should all
be of uniform tightness. The cross weavers cannot be laid as
close together so after each strand is woven, the round or bar
in the seat is given a single wrap with the weaver before the
process is continued, B-Fig. 19. Weaving a stool top in this
manner produces a double top and the weaving must be watched
on the under side as well as on the top. It can be made much
more durable if the center is stuffed with corn husks before all
of the weaving is completed. If it is difficult to force the end of
the weaver through, a blade like stick will separate the strands
permitting it to pass easily.
If the double top is not desired, a single thickness top- taking
only a little more than half the amount of material used in the
double top can be made, provided there are two rails on each
UPHOLSTERING
69
Fig.Z3
Fig.Z4
B
side and end of the stool. Instead of the material being wound
around and around it is taken across the top, down on the out-
side of the second rail, up between the two rails, over the top
one and across to the other side of the stool where the operation
is repeated. Fig. 20.
Stools or chairs seated with reed appear fuzzy because small
threads of the fibre pull loose. The largest ones of these should
be clipped off with scissors and the smaller ones singed with a
lighted paper or candle. The reed burns and scorches easily,
therefore this singeing should be done quickly.
UPHOLSTERING
Upholstering a seat is an entirely different task. That the
materials which can be used are so many and varied, accounts for
the fact that the greater part of our furniture today is uphol-
stered. The ease and comfort of an upholstered chair may also
be in part responsible.
The tools needed for simple upholstery work are scissors,
knife, tack hammer, awl and stretcher. The materials used are
webbing, springs, canvass, cotton, curled hair, tacks (both round
and upholstering), staples, gimp, cord and covering materials
such as fabrics, leather or imitation leather.
The frame work of the chair or stool, if it is to contain
springs, should consist of a box deep enough to hold the springs.
This may be a part of the chair or it may be a separate box,
upholstered and set in the chair frame. If the tops of the legs
project into the box, it will be necessary to glue and nail in
corner blocks to which the upholstering can be tacked, A-Fig. 21.
Springs come in heights from three to sixteen inches. The box
should be half as deep as the springs are high. If the box of
70
CHAIR SEATING
Fig. 25
the chair is deep enough to allow slats of wood to be nailed in
it to hold the springs, it makes a more substantial seat, Fig. 21.
If there is not enough room for the wooden slats, double strips
of webbing are stretched across and nailed to the frame with
staples. Staples will hold a group of threads running the long
way of the webbing, while tacks will only separate the threads
and force all the strain upon the cross threads. Fig. 22 shows
the under side of a chair seat with webbing in place ready for
the springs.
A sufficient number of springs should be selected to hold the
seat covering up. The number needed will depend upon the
size of the seat box. If possible the springs should be placed at
about equal distances in from the edge of the seat box. If
wooden slats are used the springs are fastened to them with wire
staples. If the bottom is made of webbing, the springs are
sewed to it with heavy cord, each spring being fastened in about
four places. After the springs are securely fastened to the bot-
tom of the seat, the tops of the springs are tied together with
strong cord as indicated in Fig. 23. Wherever the cord crosses
a spring or another section of the cord, the two are tied together
to prevent wear. The ends of the cords are then fastened to the
top of the seat frame with staples.
Before fastening these cords the springs should be pressed
down slightly so that after the cords are fastened the released
springs will stretch them tight.
Next, a piece of heavy burlap several inches larger than the
seat is spread over the springs and tacked to the top edge of the
box with four ounce tacks. This burlap should be stretched
smooth but not so tight as to further compress the springs. As
all of the pull should come on the cord it will be easier to get
PREPARED SEATINGS 71
this burlap smooth if it is stretched over the springs and tacked
as at A-Fig. 24 and then folded back, B-Fig. 24 and again tacked.
This will also make a stronger fastening for the burlap.
The stuffing, either tow, dried sea moss, hair, shredded
husks or other similar material, which can be arranged to form
a bulky, springy mass, is next separated sufficiently to make it
fluffy and placed in a layer over the entire top. In fluffing this
material it should be kept in one large mass and in no case used
in small balls or wads. This layer of stuffing should be of uni-
form thickness and it should extend slightly over the edge of
the seat box.
A light weight burlap is next spread over the top and "slip
tacked" (tacks driven in only part way so that they can easily
be pulled out) with a few tacks on each side. The stuffing
should be pushed back a little during this operation, but the
closer to the edge of the box it comes, the better will be the fin-
ished seat. The corners of this piece of burlap will have to be
cut away around the corner posts but it must fit as snugly as
possible. With the regulator, a long, sharp wire or needle, the
stuffing may be shifted from one point to another by inserting
the point of the tool down through the burlap and moving the
stuffing with a prying motion, Fig. 25.
The upholstering material should be carefully cut to size
and shape and placed smoothly over the padded seat. If it is a
material which ravels easily, the edge should be turned under as
it is tacked on. This top covering should be brought down over
the edge as at A-Fig. 26. Care must be taken that the tacked
edge is straight and parallel to the upper edge of the box. The
edge of the upholstering is covered with a gimp binding which
harmonizes with it in texture, quality and color. This binding is
tacked in place with upholstering tacks which are also of a
color and kind in keeping with the covering material. These
tacks should be evenly spaced apart. The gimp binding must be
carefully folded when it is put around the corner posts and se-
curely tacked in place into the corner blocks.
PREPARED SEATINGS
Prepared seats can be secured in varying shapes and sizes
to suit different kinds of chairs. They are made of embossed
leather, of imitation leather (made of paper), and of wood ve-
neer. They are tacked around the edge of the opening in the
seat frame with fancy headed upholstering tacks. The heads of
these tacks are made in different shapes and they can be secured
in brass, black metal or leather covered.
72
MECHANICAL DRAWING
Before any object can be constructed in material there must
be an idea or plan. First comes the mental picture and after that
the picture reproduced on paper. This reproduction on paper
can assume many forms. If it is a picture of the object as it
will appear when made, it is called a perspective drawing, Fig. 1.
It may be a free hand orthographic sketch showing the dimen-
sions, such as Fig. 2; it may be a more carefully made ortho-
graphic drawing on cross section paper, Fig. 3, or an ortho-
graphic drawing mechanically made, Fig. 4, or an isometric
drawing with dimensions as in Fig. 5.
The first type, perspective, is of little use to the workman
since from it he only gets the picture of the thing to be con-
structed, but the other forms of drawing give all the shapes and
sizes of all the pieces entering into the construction. There is
hardly an occupation which is not touched by the working
drawing. Plans for houses, bridges, parks, railways, etc., must
be made before construction can begin. Designs for furniture,
cabinet work, automobiles, boats, railway coaches, lighting fix-
tures, plumbing, electric wiring, etc., are necessary before they
can be made or .assembled. In fact drawing is a language under-
stood by all people, it is easily interpreted and easily used by
any one who can devote a little time and study to it.
The first step in making a working drawing of an object is
the rough sketch. Its aim is to quickly put on paper the idea
or mental picture one has of the object. Since, when working
in material, only one surface can be worked upon at a time, the
easiest kind of a drawing to read is the orthographic drawing.
Fig. 6 shows a rough .sketch of a stool. If one. has j^ad enough
experience in constructing furniture to establish good propor-
tion and correct sizes for the various parts, this rough sketch is
all that is necessary. Figures added to the drawing suggesting
the size of each part permanently retain the dimensions decided
upon. If, however, one is not sure that the mental picture is of
good proportion, rather than spoil the material in experimenting
as well as wasting time, a more complete drawing, such as Fig. 7,
can be made with a straight edge on cross section paper. In
case the object is too large to be drawn full size on the paper it
is drawn smaller than the object itself but in exactly the same
proportion. If the drawing is half size and the length of the
top board is fourteen inches, the drawing of the top board is
made only seven inches ; in other words, each inch on the draw-
ing represents two inches in the finished object. This is called
drawing to scale and in this example it is written Scale 1"=2".
THE LAYOUT
73
Fig. 1
Fig.Z
f~*
Mu
74
MECHANICAL DRAWING
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Rg.9
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1
It is possible in this way to work out the size and proportion of
every detail no matter how complicated, how large or how small.
To make a mechanical drawing of an object, first the rough
sketch is made, such as Fig. 8, with the approximate size of
each piece indicated. Next the mechanical layout is made, Fig. 9.
Here the exact proportions are ! worked out. If the original sug-
gestions for dimensions are found to be wrong they are changed
in this layout. The lines of the layout are lightly drawn in
pencil so that in case the proportion is wrong, they can be easily
erased, or if they are very lightly drawn they may be left on
the paper. These light lines are called construction lines. Once
this skeleton of light lines is made and the correct proportion
established, the lines representing the visible edges of the object
are made heavier, Fig. 10. Next the lines representing edgefe
which are known to be there but which are hidden by some parlt
of the object, are also made heavier. To show the difference
between the visible edge and the hidden edge, the hidden edge is
made up of a series of dashes with spaces between equal to
about one-third the length of the dash. The length of these
dashes and the spaces between them is not always the same,
but their proportionate length is always the same. In large
drawings the dashes are quite long while in small drawings or
parts of drawings they are very short. The width of the line
representing the hidden edge is always the same and it should
be of the same width as the visible edge line.
The next step in making the drawing is placing the dimen-
sion lines and dimensions. The dimensions should, if possible,
be placed half way between views. This will save placing dupli-
cated dimensions on the drawing. Dimension lines and figures
make a drawing look complicated, therefore they should
be added only when necessary. They should always be placed
below or to the right of the drawing except when placed
between views or in a case where a part is too far removed to
be readable if the dimensions were placed below. Since dimen-
DRAWING INSTRUMENTS
75
n
Rg.ll
o
3 pi
: 1
Fig. 10
Construction line
(J
' ie "
4 j
11
Line representing o visible edge
1!- ,.
iJ
Line represent/no Q hidden edge
1- <
1-
Dimension lint
! M i
2 - H--T JTT-T^-I
N -a__ SJ -S >n
rtrit
T 1 i !: i 1
x| --^ I x^l --* 1
Taulty arrow heads
sion lines and figures make 'a drawing look complicated it is
essential that they be subordinate to the drawing. Therefore
dimension lines should be only slightly heavier than construe^
tion lines, the arrow heads on the ends of the lines showing
from where the measurements are taken should be small, pointed
and not too black, and the figures, while distinct, should be of
medium size. In case the dimensions are indicated with frac-
tions, the lines separating the numerators and denominators
should be aligned with the dimensions lines. Fig. 11 shows the
standard lines and their uses.
In case the drawing is to be a permanent record, pencil
lines are not good as they will smudge with usage. If the
drawing is not to be handled too much it may be made perma-
nent enough by inking in the parts to be retained and leaving
the construction lines in pencil. When a drawing is to receive
severe usage a tracing, an ink drawing on transparent paper or
cloth, is made from the original drawing and from this tracing
blue prints are made. This also makes possible a quick way of
producing a number of copies of the drawing. The blue print is
different from the original drawing or tracing in that the parts
which were black on the original are white on the blue print
and the background is blue instead of white.
The instruments used in making mechanical drawings, Fig.
12, are the drawing board, the tee square, 45-degree angle, 30
and 60-degree angle, scale, compass, curve and inking pen. A
hard pencil is usually used in laying out the drawing and a soft
pencil for strengthening the lines. It is very necessary that the
pencils be kept pointed and sharp at all times. Figs. 13 and 14
show the method of sharpening and correctly pointing the
pencil. The pencil should always be pointed on the end farthest
away from the lettering or grade mark. Thumb tacks are used
to hold the paper in place when drawing upon it. As the name
indicates, they are tacks designed to be pushed in with the
thumb, never pounded.
76
MECHANICAL DRAWING
Fig. 1Z
$0-60' Angle
Tee Square
45 Angle
m ^ Cur re
Thumb Tack
5cc7/e
*%&**
To draw a free hand pencil line the pencil should be held
loosely in the hand as in Fig. 15. It should be noted that the
pencil lays back in a position similar to that used in writing.
In drawing mechanical lines, lines guided by a straight edge, the
pencil should be held more nearly erect as in Fig. 16, with the
balls of the first and second fingers and the thumb holding the
pencil near the point. The weight of the hand is applied to the
third and fourth fingers as the hand is drawn along. This makes
possible a control of the pressure on the pencil point and regu-
lates the strength of the line being drawn. The position of the
left hand in holding the straight edge securely while the line
is being drawn and the manner of getting the point of the pen-
cil against the lower part of the straight edge, should also be
noted.
Horizontal lines, lines running from left to right on the
paper, are drawn along the upper edge of the tee square. It is
absolutely necessary that the head of the tee square should
always be held firmly against the left edge of the drawing board.
Unless this is done lines drawn along its edge will not be
parallel. To draw vertical or oblique lines, the triangle neces-
sary to give the straight edge or proper angle, is placed against
the upper edge of the tee square and both are held in position
Fig. 13
Fig.14
STRAIGHT LINES
77
fig- 15
as in Fig. 17, while the line is drawn along the edge, Fig. 18.
Unless the head of the tee square is held firmly against the
end of the drawing board, the lines drawn along the angle will
not be in the direction desired. (It is very essential that the
paper be fastened to the board with the thumb tacks so that
its edge is parallel to the blade of the tee square.) If lines other
than 45, 30 or 60 degrees are desired, combinations of two
angles over the tee square may be made, Figs. 19 and 20. It
is extremely difficult to hold the angles and tee square in these
combinations.
To make sure that a line is continuous, or that it will pass
through a given dot, the pencil should be placed on the dot or
line, the tee square or angle pushed up against it and the line
drawn. Figs. 21 and 22 show the two stages in drawing such
lines. Mechanical lines are always drawn from left to right.
Circular lines are made with a compass. There are two
kinds of compasses but each performs the same kind of work.
The less expensive kind, A-Fig. 23, is made of steel and nickle
plated. It has a stationary steel centering point and an ordi-
nary pencil or pen for the drawing point. A better grade of
compass, B-Fig. 23, is made of German silver. It is much more
durable and is susceptible to finer adjustments, consequently
Fig. 17
Fig. 18
78
MECHANICAL DRAWING
Fig. 19
Fig.ZO
better results in drawing can be obtained, with it. It has an
adjustable centering point, the joint at the junction of the two
legs is adjustable and each leg is jointed. The pencilling and
inking points are interchangeable, being detached below the
knee joint on the drawing leg of the compass. The lead in the
pencilling point is contained in a metal holder while the inking
point has two nibs with an ink chamber between instead of one
nib with an ink pocket underneath as in the ordinary pen. The
points of the compass are set over the scale as in Fig. 24, care
being taken that the distance betwen the centering point and
the drawing point is exactly one-half the length of the diameter
of the circle to be drawn, in other words, the distance between
these points is the radius. Care must be taken not to mutilate
the markings on the scale in setting the compass.
To draw a line with the compass the centering point is
placed on the paper where the center of the circle is to
be, and the knob of the compass held between the second ringer
and thumb as in Fig. 25. The knob is then twirled or rolled
between that finger and the thumb until it comes between the
Fig Zl
FigZZ
CURVED LINES
79
Fig. 23
Rg.Z4
first finger and thumb, Fig. 26. The result will be a complete
circle, made by the drawing point.
Irregular shapes are drawn along the edge of a curve as
shown in Fig. 27. That part of the curve is selected which gives
the shape which will pass through two or more points on the
drawing and the lines drawn around it as along the straight
edge of the angles or tee square. In case no one part of the
curve gives the desired shape, the curve may be shifted and
different parts of it used. Fig. 28 shows how the curve is
shifted three times to produce the desired line.
The ruling pen, Fig. 30, is handled in a similar way to the
pencil. The pen should be held as near perpendicular as pos-
sible. A-Fig. 32 shows the correct side position of the pen in
relation to the straight edge. B-Fig. 32 shows an incorrect posi-
tion which would produce a blotted line, and C-Fig. 32 an
incorrect position which would produce a ragged line. The set
screw should be held on the side away from the straight edge.
Loosening the set screw allows the nibs to separate ; tightening
it closes up the space between the nibs. The wider the space
Fig 25
F lg . 26
80
MECHANICAL DRAWING
Fig.Z/
Fig. 26
between the nibs, the broader will be the line produced. The
nibs should never be brought together tightly because their
points may be damaged. If, when inking a drawing, the ink on
the line has a tendency to slide over some spots and settle in
pools in others, the paper should be dusted lightly with powdered
chalk or talcum powder. Lines are always drawn from left to
right. The pen is filled with water proof ink to about one-third
its capacity by dipping the quill, which is in the cork of the
bottle, into the ink and then inserting it between the blades of
the pen at the ink chamber, Fig. 31. The inking point of the
compass is filled in the same way.
It is also necessary to hold the inking point of the compass
perpendicular when drawing with it. For this reason a two
nibbed inking point can be used only in a compass having jointed
legs as at Fig. 33. Inking pens should be kept thoroughly
clean. This is best accomplished by always wiping the points
with a linen cloth or a bit of chamois skin. Linen and chamois
are best because they absorb the ink easily and leave little or
no ink on the pen. Ink should never be allowed to dry on the
pen.
Good lettering is essential to the appearance of a mechanical
drawing. Only continued practice will enable one to become
Fig. 29
Fig.30
Fig-31
LETTERING
81
Fig. 33
proficient in lettering. The study of lettering should be ap-
proached, first by becoming familiar with letter structure, to
see how each letter is designed. The next step is to be able
to produce the letter forms and work them into word and sen-
tence combinations, and then to acquire speed in making the
letters without lowering the standard acquired when making the
letters slowly. Simple Roman letters are best suited for all
forms of mechanical drawing. The letters are sometimes made
slanting and sometimes vertical, depending on the taste of the
individual or the practice in the drafting room where the let-
tering is done. Figs 34, 35 and 36 show both styles, also the
shape and proportion of both capitals and small letters, and
the number of strokes necessary to their completion, and
the direction of each. One should make a number of copies
of these standard letters in order to familiarize himself with
their proper shape, size and spacing, before attempting to form
them into words. The letters should at first be made about
" high, then, after the shapes and proportions are learned,
the size reduced to J4" high and finally to
Fig. 37.
It is best to begin by drawing the capitals first and after skill
is acquired in executing them, the small letters should be studied
and drawn. The. illustrations throughout this book show numer-
ous examples of single stroke, free hand lettering. When the
slanting style is used, it is very necessary that the slant of all
upright lines be the same.
It is much easier to learn the structure of the letters by
studying them in groups according to structural details rather
than in alphabetical sequence. While certain standard propor-
tions can be set up, no unalterable rule can be established con-
cerning these proportions. The appearance of each letter is
influenced by the letter placed next to it. Unless this is taken
into account and some letters widened and some narrowed as
82
MECHANICAL DRAWING
LETTERING
83
84
MECHANICAL DRAWING
in Fig. 38 the line of lettering will appear uninteresting, no
matter how well each letter is made". While certain combina-
tions of letters can be sighted as examples of lettering, the
proportions of which must be modified when used together, only
experience and practice will tell just where and how much of a
change should be made. Cross section paper makes the study
of letter structure easier but it should be used only until one
has become familiar with the structure, as the squares are apt
to become a hindrance when it becomes necessary to modify the
proportion of some of the letters. When drawing on plain paper,
mechanically made parallel guide lines for the top and bottom
of each line of lettering should be very lightly drawn, but
all other lines should be made free hand. The complete
line of lettering should first be blocked in, Fig. 39, to insure
correct distribution and proportion and then the lines to be
retained strengthened. Each line should be made with a single
stroke. Touching up an error in a line usually makes it wider
and consequently more noticeable.
. Blue prints from tracings are made in a blue print frame.
It consists of a frame holding a pane of glass. The back of the
frame is detachable and is held in place against the glass with
springs. The tracing, whether it be on tracing paper or tracing
cloth, is placed in the frame with the front against the glass.
The sensitized side of a piece of blue print paper is placed
against the tracing and the back of the frame clamped in place.
The frame is placed in the sun long enough to allow the light
rays to chemically change the ingredients in the coating
on the paper, the amount of time needed depending upon
the strength of the light, the age of the paper used
and the transparency of the tracing paper or cloth. In
order to avoid waste of time and material in determining the
amount of time needed to secure the proper tone on the blue
BLUE PRINTS 85
LL 1 1 LKS SHOULD MK5T I
JC l5L(JLI\tL) IIM AINU IMtlM Jl KL(N(j 1 IILNtlJ
It /3 io/77 f 'u 'm f J> nFc^s^Gf
v To /^Esncfce o wos~cf o/~ two
nry Tib fesoaee a word or Two
. L 'n; j v-,^ .
All vipnjjhw lincsj MILSL /)
omwjf in Lftffi &&JKSZjuISfJQl.
1 ! '"' i / |\* /.' |; '"
i
print paper, a simple test can be made as follows : after placing
the tracing in the frame as instructed above, a strip of blue print
paper about I;^>"x6" is placed in position in the frame and the
back of the frame clamped down. A piece of light proof card-
board should be held over the front of the frame and the
frame placed at a proper angle to receive the most direct
rays of the sun. The cardboard should then be moved
down, exposing about a half inch of the blue print paper.
In fifteen seconds the cardboard should again be moved down
another half inch. After retaining this position for fifteen sec-
onds, the process should be repeated until the end of the strip
of paper is reached. The result is that the last section will have
been exposed only fifteen seconds while the first will have been
exposed three minutes. This test strip should be thoroughly
washed in water and carefully studied to see which section pro-
duces the most intense blue and clearest white. If, by counting
down from the end last exposed, the number of sections to this
clearest one, it is found that the best result was obtained in
the third section, forty-five seconds will be needed ; if the sixth
section appears best, a one and one-half minute exposure will be
required to produce a like result.
Blue prints will fade unless thoroughly washed, preferably
in pure, moving water. Five minutes under such conditions is
sufficient to develop the color and fix the chemicals.
Most blue print paper made now is coated by machinery
and results attained with it are much more satisfactory than can
be secured with hand coated paper. The principal ingredients
which go into the making of the coating solution are citrate of
iron and ammonia, and red prussiate of potash.
This solution must be applied to the paper in a room where
the natural light is excluded. The coating solution is not sen-
sitive to amber or ruby light. In large architects' offices and
86
MECHANICAL DRAWING
Fig.40
Cutting Bill
A Top IpcfxIZ'x 14
> 5hel/ I - *XIO"X 12"
C Legs 4 - ^x 2ix2'6'
D Back Rail f TX l*"x 12'
E Side Rails 2- fx i*"x 7"
Mill bill
Piece
mechanical drafting rooms, blue printing is done with blue print-
ing machines in which the electric arc light furnishes the light
rays which change the color of the paper.
READING BLUE PRINTS
When a drawing is made of an object the three views, top,
front and end are flattened out onto one plane. At first it is
difficult to think of these various parts in this position, but it
becomes easier when one grows accustomed to thinking what
each part of the drawing means. So with reading a blue print.
At first it seems impossible but by concentrated study the task
can be accomplished.
Fig. 40 shows a perspective drawing of a telephone table
with each piece lettered and numbered, number 1 indicating the
top view of the piece, number 2 the front view of the same
piece and number 3 the end view of that piece. By* locating all
three views of each piece on the mechanical drawing, Fig. 41,
according to these numbers, one will become familiar with their
correct location. To further check this reading, the reference
letters, with the name and size of the piece indicated are shown
in the accompanying cutting bill.
CUTTING BILL
87
A'
Fig. 41
" CTri j
,11 t - Hy'^x
There is very little difference between reading blue prints
or mechanical drawings of cabinet work and for objects con-
structed of metal or other materials. Each form of construction
has its own symbols or special characteristics. For example,
compare the drawings on the following pages for details typical
of the different occupations each represents.
Page 140 Cabinet making. Page 89 Architecture.
Page 88 Machine design. Page 264 Electrical construction.
The chief thing to learn in reading a blue print is what each
kind of line represents, Fig. 11, and to be able to see from where
and to where the measurements are made. Once this is learned,
even complicated drawings are easily understood.
CUTTING BILL
In order to make out a cutting bill, one must be able to read
a blue print accurately. It is best to start with the largest or
most important piece first. Since the dimension for thickness
is always given first, one should look for the dimension line
which gives the thickness of this most important piece. In this
drawing, selecting the top as that piece, the dimension sought
88
MECHANICAL DRAWING
Fig.42
A
B
c
B
'*
D
E
WASTE
G
Y
WORM WHEEL
AND WORM
Fig. 4 3
will be found between the front and end views. The width is
always given second. In this drawing figures giving the width
are found to the right of the top view. The last dimension,
length, in this case is found between the top and front views.
These dimensions are entered on the cutting bill as shown in
Fig. 40. By locating each piece of the telephone table in the
perspective sketch, the mechanical drawing and the cutting bill,
and checking the dimensions in each one, against the other,
experience is gained in reading and interpreting the drawing.
MILL BILL
In order to get the material for the sizes suggested in the
cutting bill it must be determined how many boards will be
required and of what thickness, width and length they must be
to cover the dimensions. This can be determined with a layout
as shown in Fig. 42, but when a little experience has been
acquired one becomes so familiar with the method of doing this
that it is not necessary to reduce it to a drawing on paper.
In making up a mill bill from a cutting bill it must be borne
in mind that there is some waste, partly in saw kerfs and partly
because of the shapes of the boards. The problem is to reduce
the cutting bill to the fewest number of boards of standard
MILL BILL
89
ftg.44
FIRST FLOOR PLAN
SECOND FLOOR PUM
length. Allowance must be made for saw kerfs and each piece
must be enough larger than the actual size when finished, to
give the workman plenty of material to get the piece out accord-
ing to the dimensions in the cutting bill. In this telephone table
the net amount of length required is 63". While perhaps
a quarter of an inch would be enough to allow between boards,
unless the sawing were absolutely square it would be impossible
to get the parts out according to the cutting bill sizes. Since
the nearest stock length to that required is 6', one would
have to pay for the difference between 63" and 6', even if
it were cut off, so it is best to leave it on the mill bill as
allowance for sawing space. The drawing, Fig. 42, shows how
all pieces of the telephone table can be gotten out of a single
board. While three of the pieces of the table are to be of half
inch stock, they are so small that it is cheaper to buy one thick-
ness of lumber for all parts and plane these three pieces down
to their proper thickness.
90 COMMON JOINTS AND CONSTRUCTIONS
Halflap
Tenon
Tenon
COMMON JOINTS
Butt, dado, rabbet, dovetail and gain joints are all similar
in construction. The butt is the simplest and is adapted for
crates, boxes and general construction. The 4ado is used in
drawer and shelf construction. The rabbet is used where it is
desirable to cover the end grain of the joints. The dove tail
is so constructed that its shape holds it together. The gain is
used for practically the same purposes as the dado, but it is so
constructed that the joint is hidden from the front.
A mitre joint is a 45 angle butt joint used in picture frames
and in joining moldings.
A half lap joint is used where it is desired tp have two
pieces cross each other without increasing the thickness beyond
that of one piece.
A mortise and tenon is the best joint for most purposes
from cabinet making to general construction.
COMMON CONSTRUCTIONS
Through nailed construction and toe nailed construction
are the most common types used in various kinds of work.
Dowel construction can be so made that the dowels do not show
when the joint is assembled. Draw bolt construction is used
in joints subjected to great strain. The joints can be tightened
up when they work loose, by twisting the bolts.
COMMON JOINTS AND CONSTRUCTIONS 91
Toe Nail
Clapboard
barn Door Drawingoard Panel
Surface coverings are made with butt, tongue and groove,
spline, ship lap and clapboard construction. Butt joints admit
light and air while the others do not. All boards shrink and
swell with changing weather conditions, but these joints will
remain light and dust proof. The joint in shiplap and tongue
and groove construction is often made less noticeable by the
grooving of a bead parallel to the edge of the joint.
Rabbet, chamfer, stop chamfer and bevel are forms of edge
construction. .In each, one arris is cut away. In the rabbet the
two new surfaces formed, parallel the faces of the board. In
the chamfer one new surface is made which is oblique to the
other faces. The stop chamfer does not extend the full length
of the board. A bevel differs from a chamfer in that its slant
begins at one arris of the board instead of at a point on one face.
In barn door construction several boards with edges butted
are held together with a batten. If it is used for a door, a
diagonal brace which slants down from the hinge side is usually
added. In drawing board construction, the ends of one or more
boards are tongued and set into a grove in the edge of another
board. The grain running two ways keeps each from warping.
Panel construction is used when it is necessary to have a cov-
ering the size of which will not change with leather conditions.
The frame will retain its shape because the grain runs two
ways and the panel of thinner wood may shrink or expand in
the grove. The panel must never be glued into the groove.
92
WOODWORKING
CLASSIFICATION OF OPERATIONS
In making any project there are certain fundamental opera-
s which must be undergone. Briefly they arrange them-
p a<i follows *
tions which
selves as follows:
Selecting the stock in
regard to
The working drawing.
The suitability in regard to use.
The suitability in regard to appearance.
The suitability in regard to working qualities.
Measuring -and laying out.
Getting out stock.
Cutting to size
{Roughing out.
Smoothing.
Joints.
Assembling with
Nails.
Screws.
Glue.
Dowels.
Finishing
Scraping.
Sanding.
Stain.
Paint.
Paste Filler.
(Liquid Filler.
I?- i e t I Shellac.
Final Surfaces J Wax.
I Varnish.
Preparing Surfaces,
Coloring Surfaces..
Filling Surfaces
A knowledge of these fundamental operations will aid one
m making any project. They should therefore be carefully
studied and followed in making any of the projects set forth in
the following pages.
Selecting Stock. In selecting the kind of wood for a pro-
ject, the strength, hardness, weight, grain, etc., should be con-
sidered or much time may be spent on building the project only
to find that the wood is not strong enough to stand the strain, or
that it would appear more beautiful if wood with a more pro-
nounced grain had been used. The chart on page 40 will be
of great help in determining the kind of wood to select for a
project.'
The kind of wood having been determined, a board of suf-
ficient size to allow all pieces to be gotten out of it economically
CLASSIFICATION OF OPERATIONS 93
should be selected. In order to do this, one must thoroughly
understand how to read a mechanical drawing or blue print so
that he knows the exact size of every piece. (See section on
"Reading Blue Prints" and "Cutting Bills," on page 86.)
Measuring and Laying Out. Either a rule, yard stick or
framing square may be used in measuring and laying out stock.
Allowance must always be made for waste in sawing. When
measuring in the direction of the grain, the measuring tool must
be held parallel to the long edges and never diagonally even to
the slightest degree, or inaccurate measurements will result.
Measurements and lines set off across the grain must be made
along the edge of the blade of the try square or framing square,
the other blade or head of which is held against the truest edge
of the board.
Getting Out Stock. The wood must be held securely in a
vise or across or between saw horses while the stock is being
sawed. Care must be taken while sawing not to split the board.
As the end of a cut is neared, the hand holding the board should
take hold of that part being sawed off and the sawing should
proceed more slowly and with shorter strokes. Wood not used
should be returned to its proper place in the rack.
Cutting Wood to Size. For some outside work the wood
may be sawed to size and left rough although it usually pays to
take the additional time necessary to plane the surfaces, from
the points both of appearance and durability. Moisture will seep
into the grain of a rough board much more quickly than into
that of a smooth board.
If it is desired to use up scraps of lumber in any given
project, the pieces selected should be reduced to near the finished
size as described in "Getting Out Stock." Time thus spent
often saves much unnecessary planing.
A rectangular board has one surface and six faces. Two of
these are called broad faces, two edges (narrow faces running
with the grain), and two ends (narrow faces running across
the grain). The order usually followed in squaring up a board
to any given dimension is :
1st. Planing one board face smooth and true; testing it
lengthwise and crosswise, Fig. 1, with the blade of the try
square or framing square to be sure that it is perfectly flat;
marking this face with a light pencil mark to indicate that it is
finished. This is called the working face, Fig. 2.
2nd. Planing one edge smooth and square to the working
face, testing it lengthwise and crosswise from the working faces
with the try square, Fig. 3, then marking it.- This face is called
a working edge, Fig. 4.
94-
WOODWORKING
Fig. 1
Fig.2
3rd. Squaring up one end to the working face and work-
ing edge. In case the end is very much out of true a knife
line should be scored around the board, first across the working
face, then across the working edge, then across the unfinished
broad face and then across the unfinished edge. If the line is
scored along the marking edge of the try square and the head
of the square is held tightly against a working face or edge
while the line is being scored, Fig. 5, the lines will meet on each
arris of the board. If there is much wood to be removed out-
side the scored line, it may be sawed off close to the line and
then planed to the center of the line.
In planing end grain it is necessary to cut across the wood
fibers. Since they separate easily the wood will splinter or split
at the far edge if the plane is pushed all the way across the
board, Fig. 6. To avoid this splintering the plane should be
pushed from each edge toward the center. The trueness and
squareness of the end can be verified with the try square, Fig.
7, but if the scored line has been carefully divided by the
cutting iron of the plane, the end is, of necessity, square. This
end is called a working end, Fig. 8.
4th. Measuring the required length from the working end
along the arris between the working face and working edge and
scoring a line through this point around the board as in the
third step. Sawing and planing to this line will give the length,
Fig. 9.
Fig-3
* Step
Fig. 4
Martina
edge*
CLASSIFICATION OF OPERATIONS
95
Fig. 5
Working edge
Fig. 6
5th. With the marking gauge set to the desired width (see
section on " Lay ing Out Tools"), gauging a line from the work-
ing edge on both broad faces of the board, then planing to the
center- of the gauge line. If there is too much wood to plane
away, the greater part may be cut away close to the gauge line
with the rip saw. Planing to this line reduces the board to
width, Fig. 10.
6th. With the marking gauge set for the correct thickness,
gauging a line from the working face on both edges and across
both ends. Planing to this line smoothes the last broad face
and gives the final dimension of the board, thickness, Fig. 11.
When boards are irregular in shape, either with curved
surfaces or straight edges oblique to the line of the grain, the
waste wood can be removed with a saw, Fig. 16, page 8, or
it may be chiselled as shown in Fig. 35, page 14. Large curved
edges should be smoothed with the spokeshave, small curved
edges with the chisel or gouge, but if the opening is too small
for these tools, the wood rasp may be used. Never use the
wood rasp if it is possible to use the plane or sp'okeshave.
After all parts are cut to size, the joints are laid out and
cut as illustrated in the section on "Joints/' page 90.
Assembling. The first thing to do in assembling is to see
that all pieces of the project are of the proper size and shape.
Fig. 7
Workingface
Working edg
3* Step
forking
end*
Fig.8
96
WOODWORKING
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. if
The kinds of fasteners to be used should be determined by a
study of the strength required, appearance, kind of wood, etc.
Before any parts are permanently fastened together, the entire
project as near as possible should be set up to see that every-
thing goes together properly. Joints should be fitted together
squarely and held in that position until the nails and screws
are driven in or until the glue "sets."
In gluing up stools, tables, chairs, cabinets, etc., the sides
must be held square to the front and back. The framing square
and try square should be used freely in testing this squareness.
The legs of all such projects must stand flat on the floor.
Finishing. The kind of finish which should be given a pro-
ject depends upon a number of things. Generally speaking, all
projects used out of doors should be painted, while for indoor
work, if the wood is carefully smoothed and the grain exposed
produces an interesting pattern, staining and varnishing is more
satisfactory. See section on "Wood Finishes." If there is no
objection to covering the grain, paint can be used on indoor
projects. If lumber is knotty or otherwise of poor quality it
should be painted. Surfaces which are fuzzy or rough do not
finish well and they should first be smoothed. Some woods,
even after planing, appear slightly rough and need to be scraped
or sandpapered especially if the surfaces are soiled. All traces
of grease must be removed from the parts to be finished or the
paint or stain will not "anchor."
Paint is of such consistency that it will float into and fill
up the pores of wood, making it moisture proof, but if the article
is stained, these pores are still exposed and they should be
filled until the surface is smooth. Then the final finish of shellac,
wax or varnish applied. See paragraph on filler in section on
"Wood Finishes."
A special room should be provided for finishing projects
because dust particles will settle on the varnish or paint when
the shop room is swept and mar the finish. In a desire to get
a project completed, the worker often fails to put enough time
and care in properly smoothing and finishing the article, and
thus spoils the appearance of an otherwise excellent piece of
workmanship.
97
WOODWORKING PROJECTS
Since any project constructed of wood involves practically
the same fundamental operations, details concerning these have
been eliminated in the projects set forth in the following pages.
Only enough descriptive matter has been given to make the
drawings clear and the projects understood. In some cases
definite dimensions have been eliminated, it being left to the in-
dividual to work these out to fit his special need. In all cases
the dimensions given should be considered as flexible and they
can be modified or changed to suit any special emergency.
While the projects are grouped under such headings as
Sawing and Nailing, Planing, etc., by modifying the design
somewhat, a project suggested under one heading can be
brought under another classification. While the following pages
give only a limited number of definite projects, others are sug-
gested throughout the book under various general headings.
They can be located by name in the index.
While the drawings are complete enough for one to work
directly from the book, the construction of a working drawing,
including any individual modifications, will be found very help-
ful. We learn to read blue prints and working drawings best
by reproducing them or making original drawings of our own.
See the section on Mechanical Drawing for directions for mak-
ing and interpreting working drawings.
After the working drawing has been completed, a stock
bill should be made out and the cost of the materials computed.
The following form shows a simple stock bill for small shop
projects:
Project
Name
Date
Pieces
Thickness
Width
Length
Board Feet
Kind of
Lumber
Price per
Foot
'Cost
Total
If this bill is carefully made out from the working draw-
ing the pupil is less apt to make mistakes in cutting out his
materials.
WOODWORKING
I
1
7'
8
-4-*
1 1
-40
FLOWER Box FIG.
II
PLANT TRELLIS Fro. Z
99
SAWING AND NAILING PROJECTS
The projects in this group are either made of rough material
or of lumber already surfaced for use. They involve the three
processes of measuring, sawing and nailing. Since all of them
are planned for outdoor use, they should be painted in order to
preserve the wood.
WINDOW FLOWER BOX
Flower boxes are made in many different shapes and sizes.
The box shown in Fig. 1 is designed to rest on brackets below
a window on the outside of a house. The bottom board is 40"
long and 7/4" wide. The sides should first be squared up
40" x 8". A triangular block, of the dimensions shown in the
drawing, is sawed off the top corner of each side. The sides are
nailed to the bottom and the ends. A few holes should be bored
in the bottom to allow the surplus water to drain out.
For outdoor use, this box should be painted. See page 54
for directions for painting. The box may be used indoors, in
which case it may be either painted or stained. A flat pan
should be used under the box if it is used indoors to catch any
surplus water seeping through the holes in the bottom.
In this project as in the succeeding ones, the design is only
suggestive and should be modified to embody original designs
by the pupil.
PLANT TRELLIS
This plant trellis is made by laying out a 2 x 4 into 6 equal
strips and ripping down each division mark to the point B.
A bolt should be placed through the base just below the point
B to prevent the base from splitting when the strips are bent
out. Three or more cross strips should be nailed to these strips,
care being taken to properly space the strips. This trellis
should be made with a base long enough to allow it to be firmly
set in the ground. The height may be varied to meet the size
of the plant for which it is made. Instead of a 2 x 4, a 1" board
may be used in the same way. A board 6" or 8" wide will give
a much wider trellis and one of these widths should be used
when a large plant is to be trellised.
Many excellent projects in rough construction involving sawing and
nailing may also be found in the section on School-Home Projects.
100
WOODWORKING
H
c
c
i_LL
"2
?t I II
WASH TUB BENCH FIG. 3
TOMATO TRELLIS FIG. 4
SAWING AND NAIlxttfai fT3ift$;' <'*. 101
WASH TUB BENCH
\
A wash tub bench with a slatted top is much superior to
one with a solid top, because the water which is splashed over
the side of the tub drains off more rapidly. The top of the
bench shown in Fig. 3 is composed of four pieces %"x3"x42",
spaced 2" apart. These slats are nailed to two cleats which are
sunk level with the top of the side rail as shown in the illustra-
tion. The ends are nailed to these two cleats and also to the
two side rails to give solidity to the bench. A cross brace should
be placed in the middle and the side strips and top slats nailed
to it.
The height of the bench should be adjusted to meet the
requirements of the person for whom it is made. There are a
variety of designs for the ends, two of which are shown in the
drawing. The bench should be painted to preserve it and keep
the boards from warping under the alternate wetting and drying
processes through which the unpainted boards must pass.
TOMATO TRELLIS
Many schemes have been used to keep tomatoes off the
ground when they are ripening. Some gardeners drive stakes
by the side of the plants and tie the plants securely to these
stakes. Others put straw under the plants and thus keep the
tomatoes off the ground. The trellis shown in Fig. 4 is made
by nailing strips of box lumber or other waste boards to end
cleats as shown in the illustration. These end cleats should
be fastened together with a screw or nail at the joint. A wire
is used across both ends to hold the sides at the proper angle
and prevent the trellis from spreading too far. At the end of
the season, by loosening the wires the trellis may be flattened
out and stored away for the next season.
The tomato plant is trained through the opening in the
middle of the trellis and then allowed to spread out on the
frame. This allows the tomato plant to assume a natural posi-
tion and still be off the ground. This trellis may be made for
a single plant or may be made long enough to support several
plants.
Another type of tomato trellis is made in the form of a
ladder supported horizontally by two stakes at each end. Bolts
or heavy spikes are inserted in holes in these end stakes so
that the ladder is adjustable and may be raised as the plants
increase in height. This trellis requires less lumber than the
one described above.
102
WOODWORKING
WREN
O
Houses FIG. 5
WOODPECKER
MARTIN
W/fefor
fastening
house to
post
SAWING AND NAILING PROJECTS
103
5. BIRD HOUSES
The birds are our crop protectors. They eat a very large
number of insects each day and thus prevent a too rapid in-
crease of the enemies of our crops. We should show our appre-
ciation to our feathered friends by building houses for them.
Three simple designs of bird houses are shown in Fig. 5.
The red-headed woodpecker's house is made out of a hollow limb,
covered by a slab or board. The martin's house is divided by
means of partitions into 10 compartments. This house should
be constructed so that the top or ends may be easily removed
in order to clean out the old nests each Spring. This may be
done by fastening them with screws.
The proper sizes of the houses and the openings into them
suitable for several of our common birds are given in the fol-
lowing table :
DIMENSIONS OF BIRD HOUSES
BIRD
Inside
Width
in Inches
Inside
Length
in Inches
Inside
Height
in Inches
Height of
Entrance
in Inches
Diameter of
Entrance
in Inches
1. Wren.
4
4
w
5
1
2. Bluebird
5
5
g
6
1 14
3. Chicadee
4
4
9
g
\\L
4. Tree Swallow. . ,
5. Robin
5
6
5
g
6
g
5
Open Side
1%
Open Side
6. Barn Swallow. . . .
6
6
6
Open Side
Open Side
7. Martin
6
6
6
1
0x4
8 Flicker
7
7
18
16
014
9. Red-headed Woodpecker
10. Barn Owl
6
10
6
18
15
18
12
4
2
g
The placing of the entrance, so that it will leave room for
the nest and not be too high for the bird to reach when leaving,
is very important. Most bird houses should be nailed or wired
firmly to a tree, the side of a building or upon the top of a
pole. Some houses, such as the wren's, may be swung to the
limb of a tree by a wire. It has also been found that a perch is
not necessary and that sparrows do not bother houses so much
on which there are no perches.
Bird houses may be put up as soon as they are made. As a
matter of fact, birds prefer houses which have been exposed to
the weather for some time to those which are new or which have
been newly painted.
For additional information on bird houses see Farmer's Bulletin, No
609. TT. S. Dept. of Agriculture.
104
WOODWORKING
Tin
DOG HOUSE FIG. 6
ASH SIFTERS FIG. 7
SAWING AND NAILING PROJECTS 105
DOG HOUSE
Every boy who owns a dog is interested in building a suit-
able house or kennel for him. The size of the house will vary
according to the size of the dog, consequently Fig. 6 merely
shows a good design for a dog house, but does not prescribe
specific dimensions.
This house should be provided with a window in the back
covered with a screen. In the summer both the door and the
window may be left open to provide suitable ventilation. In
the winter the house may be put inside another building and
only the window left open for ventilation.
The dog house wiU have a much neater appearance and be
more durable if it is painted or stained. It should be painted
for outdoor use and either stained or painted if used indoors.
ASH SIFTERS
Many of the householders in the northern states are sift-
ing the ashes obtained from anthracite coal. This results not
only in thousands of dollars being saved, but also helps con-
serve our inadequate and rapidly dwindling supply of hard
coal.
Fig. 7 gives the details of a home-made ash sifter. This
sifter may be constructed of rough lumber, but it should be
accurately made. The box should be made about 24" square
and from 5" to 6" deep. The screen in the bottom is made of
%" hardware mesh. This screen is fastened in place by nailing
YZ" "x%" strips along the edges of the mesh on the bottom
of the box. The handles of the sifter should be slightly
rounded with a spokeshave or a draw knife.
A frame should be made on which the shaker may roll in
sifting the ashes. This frame should be about 30" high, 28"
wide and 32" long. It may be constructed out of 2" x 4" or
2"x2" material for the legs and %"x6" boards for the sides.
These sides should be securely nailed or screwed to the legs
so that the frame will be solid. The frame is easily moved to a
new location when the ash pile becomes too high. A broom
stick or any round handle about 3' long may be used as a
roller.
The lower drawing shows the same box mounted on wheels.
This is a very convenient form of sifter to use in the country
where the ashes are distributed evenly along a road or drive-
way to improve the roadbed.
106
WOODWORKING
CUTTING BOARDS FIG. 8
SANDPAPER BLOCK
F.G.9
JAR COVER FIG. 10
i
PENCIL 5HARPENER
FIG II
Top
End
NAIL Box FIG. 12
107
PLANING PROJECTS
Every beginner in woodworking needs practice in planing.
At the same time he should be making something that is useful
while he is getting this practice. A variety of useful planing
projects are described below.
CUTTING BOARDS
A cutting board serves a variety of uses and is always a
valuable addition to the kitchen equipment. The pupil should
plan the dimensions to suit his needs. The dimensions usually
vary from y 2 " x 7" x 10" to %" x 10" x 14". The board should
first be carefully planed to dimensions (see page 93). Fig. 8
shows a few suggestions for design after the board has been
squared up.
SANDPAPER BLOCK
The dimensions of the sandpaper block should be de-
termined by the sizes into which the worker wishes to tear his
sandpaper. They may be made either rectangular (Fig. 9), or
with beveled sides. Sandpaper blocks can be made from lum-
ber from the scrap box and thus convert waste material into
something useful.
JAR COVER
The jar cover (Fig. 10) is a project similar to the cutting
board. The vessel to be covered should be measured to de-
termine the dimensions for the cover.
PENCIL SHARPENER
The two pieces for a pencil sharpener may be made from
a lath or a piece of other thin material. No. sandpaper, the
size of each strip of wood, should be glued to the two inner
faces and the strips hinged together with small pieces of leather
fastened on with tacks. These leather hinges may be secured
from the tops of an old pair of shoes. A closing pencil sharpener,
as shown in Fig. 11, keeps the pencil dust from coming in
contact with other articles in the desk.
NAIL BOX
The nail box shown in Fig. 12 is merely a collection of 6
rectangular blocks, nailed together. No difficulty will be en-
countered if the parts are square and laid out exactly to
dimensions.
108
WOODWORKING
U I I
BOOK RACKS FIG, 13
PEN TRAYS FIG. 14
LETTER HOLDERS FIG. 15
109
SIMPLE JOINT AND CONTOUR PROJECTS
No attempt is made in this section to describe in detail
how each joint is made in each individual article. The methods
of laying out and constructing the various kinds of joints are
described on pages 90 to 91. In addition to the saw and the
plane, these projects involve the use of the chisel and spoke-
shave. These tools are described in detail on pages 12 and 13.
BOOK RACKS
No project in woodwork offers a better opportunity for
variation in design than the book rack. Fig. 13 shows a number
of suggestions for the ends of a book rack, on any of which may
be added an appropriate design by carving or using water colors,
provided the grain in the wood is not too pronounced.
The ends may be fastened in a variety of ways. They may
be screwed to the base with a simple butt or gained joint. This
construction may be used with the ends placed on top of the
base or at the ends of the base. If the book rack is to be
shipped or stored away, it will be more convenient to hinge the
ends so they will fold down on the base. The hinges should
be sunk in the bottom of the ends in a blind mortise.
PEN TRAY
Wood, which is easily gouged such as mahogany or black
walnut, should be used for the pen tray, shown in Fig. 14. A
gouge is used to hollow out the trough of the tray. A goose-
necked scraper or a cabinet scraper with one corner rounded
should be used to smooth the trough after it has been smoothed as
much as possible with the gouge. It should be finally finished
with sandpaper. Alternate strips of a light and a dark wood
about y?," thick glued together makes a beautiful tray. The
tray may be finished with square or chamfered edges as shown
in the illustration.
LETTER HOLDER
Fig. 15 shows two designs for simple letter holders with
two suggested designs for varying the shapes of the sides for
each. The sides should be fastened to the base with blued
screws and the bottom with common screws, countersunk so
that they will not scratch the library table on which the holder
is placed.
110
WOODWORKING
y^-butt joint
-2^ K2-
h 10" -
/Dado joint
BOOK SHELVES
Fie. 16
SIMPLE JOINT AND CONTOUR PROJECTS 111
BOOK SHELVES
A set of book or magazine shelves is a useful addition to
the equipment of any library or study. Fig. 16 gives a variety
of designs for the ends of such a set of book shelves.
End A should first be squared up 10" wide and 33" long.
From points 2" from each of the upper corners, slanting lines
are drawn to the corners of the lower end. Saw these strips from
the bottom of the end so that accidental splitting will not injure
it. The handhold in the top may be made by boring two holes
with an inch bit at each end of the opening and sawing out the
remainder with a compass saw. The edges of this opening may
be finished with a gouge and a round wood-file.
End B is made in a similar manner. The hand-hold is
more difficult to make. Most of the wood may be removed by
boring several holes with a bit along the center of the opening.
The chisel is used to finish the edges of this opening.
End C shows not only a different design but also shows a
trough shelf which may be substituted for the two lower shelves
of the rack as shown in the upper drawing.
End D shows a strip design. The outer pieces are %"x2"
and the "filler" may be made of either y%" or ^2" material.
The clover leaf design in the filler may be made by boring 3
holes which intersect as shown in the illustration and sawing
out the stem with a coping saw. Making this design on a
piece of scrap wood should be practiced before attempting to
work on the "filler." This design is a very good one for maga-
zine shelves where it is desirable to have wider shelves than
those needed for books. It also allows the shelves to be made
higher without spoiling the proportions.
The ends should be fastened to the shelves with 2%" No.
10 blued screws. Short screws will not give sufficient strength.
The "filler" in end D may be nailed on with brads or put on
with small blued screws. Care should be taken to have the
ends of the shelves square or this construction will not be
strong. Small angle irons may be used under the shelves for
extra braces if needed.
Instead of a butt joint as shown in the illustration, the
shelves may be fitted into the ends by means of dado or gained
joints. These joints will increase the strength of the construc-
tion. If these joints are made, the beginner should be extremely
careful not to cut them wider than the thickness of the shelves.
112
WOODWORKING
i
WAU. RACKS
i
B
REGISTER RACK
Side partly
dosed
C
Coppfr rivft
and burr
ffa/esfor
J
Detail -top v/ew
FLOOR RACK
CLOTHES RACKS FIG. 1 7
SIMPLE JOINT AND CONTOUR PROJECTS 113
CLOTHES RACKS
Three different designs for clothes racks are shown in Fig.
17. The upper drawing represents a wall rack to be hung over
the kitchen range for drying dish towels. It consists of three
or more arms swinging on a bolt fastened in a vertical position.
Several designs for shaping the back of the wall rack are shown
in the drawing. There is always a tendency for the arms of a
towel rack to warp on account of the alternate wetting and
drying. This construction enables one to easily remove any
warped parts and substitute new ones.
The register rack is designed to be placed over a floor
register or in front of a wall register of a hot air furnace. If
large dowels are not available for the cross bars, octagonal bars
may be made by planing off the arrises of bars which are about
1" square. If a lathe is available, the bars may be turned out
on it. The bars should be glued in holes in the frame. Addi-
tional strength will be secured if the ends of these bars are also
nailed in the frame. The remainder of the frame should be
put together with nails or screws.
The floor rack will afford much more drying space than
either of the others. The base is made of two pieces of 2" x 2"
material, joined together with a cross lap joint. See page 90
for a description of this joint. The post is fastened to the base
by a long screw, set in from the bottom of the cross lap joint.
The post should also be supported with braces. One design
for a brace is shown in the drawing. The arms consist of two
horizontal bars fastened to a vertical bar with copper rivets.
The horizontal bars are screwed to the post with brass screws
and brass or copper washers. Ordinary screws and washers
will rust and damage the clothing hung on the rack. The rack
may be folded by raising the arms up toward the center post.
If the screws and rivets are tight, the friction at the joints will
be enough to hold the arms in place when the rack is folded.
By boring sets of holes just below each set of horizontal
bars and stretching ropes around the four arms, the hanging
space of the rack will be greatly increased without interfering
with the folding of the rack.
The appearance of these racks will be much improved if
they are finished with a water-proof paint or varnish. There
will also be less danger of the bars getting water soaked and
warping if this is done.
114
WOODWORKING
19'
! f
23
DZD n~n
O Q
o=
5>
i
REVERSIBLE SLEEVE BOARD FIG. 18
r
T
jU,
\ Broom handle
SLED FIG. 19
60
IKON ING BOARD FIG. 20
SIMPLE JOINT AND CONTOUR PROJECTS 115
SLEEVE BOARD
A sleeve board enables one to press the sleeve of a gar-
ment without leaving a crease. A reversible sleeve board is much
more convenient than the common type of sleeve board because
pressing can be done on both boards, the large board bein^
used for pressing the sleeves of a man's coat and the small
board being used for pressing the sleeves of women's suits and
shirt waists. Both boards should be covered with some heavy
padding.
The curves at the ends of each board should be drawn with
a compass or dividers. The brace between the boards may be
designed in a variety of ways, a number of which are suggested
in Fig. 18. If a 2"x4" brace is not available, two 1" boards
may be glued together to make a brace of this size. When
pressing on the ends of the board, considerable strain is thrown
on the brace. A lag screw or bolt, countersunk in each board
will strengthen the brace and prevent it from splitting.
SLED
There is a much greater satisfaction in the possession of a
hand made sled of one's own construction than in one purchased
at a store. The sled shown in Fig. 19 is braced with two cross
pieces. Additional strength is secured by nailing the top to the
runners. Small angle irons, attached to the top and the run-
ners, will also help keep the runners from spreading or bending
in. These irons should be sunk level with the surface of the
runner so that they will not impede the progress of the sled
through the snow. This sled will be much improved if iron
runners are screwed to the bottom of the wooden runners.
These may be easily made if a forge is available.
IRONING BOARD
Fig. 20 shows an ironing board of convenient size which
may be supported on the backs of two chairs or between a table
and a chair. The strips across the ends are put on with a glued
tongue and grooved joint. If a plane for making this joint is
not available, these strips may be screwed or nailed to the
ends, the screws or nails being placed close together. A board
of this type is particularly desirable in pressing dresses because
the dresses can be slipped around the whole board. If the board
tends to warp one way due to the heat caused from the ironing,
the padding should be changed and the other side used.
116
WOODWORKING
EZI2J
MEDICINE CABINET FIG. 21
15
1
/id removed
COLUR OR HANDKERCHIEF Box FIG. 22
SIMPLE JOINT AND CONTOUR PROJECTS 117
MEDICINE CABINET
Every home and every school building should be provided
with a medicine cabinet in which are kept supplies needed for
giving first aid to the injured. Fig. 21 shows an easily con-
structed medicine cabinet. The bottom shelf is dadoed into the
sides, and strip A is nailed over the front edge of this shelf to
hide the joints. The top is fastened to the sides with a gain
joint. See page 90 for a description of the dado and gain
joints. The shelf may be gained into the sides or fastened with
small strips tacked beneath it to the sides. The center strip
in the front should be nailed to the top and bottom. The two
doors should be hinged to the sides and provided with catches.
This cabinet should be finished to match the finish of the
room in which it is to be used. If it is used in a bath-room which
is finished in white, it should be painted with a white enamel
paint. The catches on the doors should be selected to match
the finish of the cabinet.
COLLAR AND .HANDKERCHIEF BOX
The box shown in Fig. 22 makes a convenient collar box.
One side may be used for clean collars and the other for soiled
ones. The middle piece may be eliminated and the dimensions
made smaller if one wishes to use it for a glove box.
The ends and partition are fastened to the sides with dado
joints. If these joints are well made, glue will be sufficient to
hold this box together, but if desired, brads may be nailed
through the sides into the ends to strengthen the joints.
The bottom is nailed to the sides and ends with brads.
The top may be hinged or it may be kept in place by nailing
two strips about 2^" square to the lower surface of the top so
that they fit snugly against the ends and sides when the lid is in
its proper position.
The box will look much more artistic if the lower edges of
the top and the upper edges of the bottom are chamfered. The
top may also be decorated with a design. A number of designs
are suggested in the lower part of the drawing. These designs
should be outlined with heavy pencil marks and colored with
water colors. A wood, not having a pronounced grain, such as
poplar or basswood is best suited for this work because a pro-
nounced grain in the wood will interfere with the lines of the
design. A shellac finish should be given to the box when com-
pleted.
118
WOODWORKING
ir
_!! LL,
CJ
Foot rest
-is"
SHOE SHINING CABINET FIG. 23
[o
PLANT STAND FIG. 24
SIMPLE JOINT AND CONTOUR PROJECTS 119
SHOE SHINING CABINET
The ends and partitions of the shoe shining cabinet, Fig. 23,
are fitted into the sides with dado joints. The top is composed
of two boards, each 7 l / 2 " wide and 18" long. One of these
boards is fastened to the frame and the other is hinged to it in
the center. The partitions are not essential, but enable one to
keep the polish, brush and polishing cloths separated. A rest
for the shoe may be screwed to the lid and thus be out of sight
when the box is closed. The design in the end may be varied in
many ways.
This shoe shining cabinet makes a seat when closed and
should be finished in the same color as the rest of the furniture
of the room in which it is placed.
This design may be varied by using 2"x2" legs and mortise
and tenon joints for the ends and sides as shown in the con-
struction of the stool on page 132. By making a cushion the
same size as the top, this cabinet will make an excellent substi-
tute for a regular stool.
PLANT STAND
In homes where flowers or ferns are kept indoors, a plant
stand is much appreciated. The two circular shelves of the
plant stand, Fig. 24, may vary from 12" to 14" in diameter,
according to the height of the stand and the width of the
lumber that is available. In case only a limited amount of wide
stock is available, the lower shelf may be eliminated and two
strips with a half lap joint in the middle may be used instead.
The legs should be fastened to the shelves with dado joints
cut in the shelves and especial care should be taken to have
them fit accurately to make the stand as strong as possible.
Long blued screws should be used to fasten the legs to the
shelves. Small angle irons may also be used on the inside of
the legs and under the top if they are needed to properly brace
the stand. The dado joints may be accurately spaced by draw-
ing two diameters of the circle perpendicular to each, other.
The designs of the legs A and B show shapes which lighten
the appearance of the stand without weakening it structurally.
Leg C shows a cut out design and leg D a design to be applied
with water colors. If a design is applied to the top, it should
be kept around the outer edge as shown in the drawing so
that the flower pot will not cover it.
120
WOODWORKING
W/re
12'
.if
PUB
Weaving needle
WEAVING FRAME FIG. 25
STEP LADDER FIG. 26
SIMPLE JOINT AND CONTOUR PROJECTS 121
WEAVING FRAME
The weaving frame and the needle for weaving, illustrated
in Fig. 25, make excellent projects for a class which is organized
as a factory class. In that way large numbers of these articles
may be constructed for use by the pupils in the lower grades.
These frames should be made of a tough wood so that the
pieces between the saw cuts will not split out. The saw kerfs
should be spaced the same distance apart and be of a uniform
depth. Instead of using the saw kerfs to hold the warp, the end
strips may be made narrower and the brads nailed in at intervals
of ]/2 ff . The bottom strips should be sunk level with the lower
edge of the end and fastened with glue and screws. Pieces
of stiff wire should be used at the sides to keep the material,
which is being woven, of the same width throughout its length.
Otherwise the weaving will be drawn in at the center.
The weaving needle should be made of J^j" stock. The eye
of the needle may be made by boring two holes a short distance
apart and cutting out the wood that remains between.
STEP LADDER
The side pieces for the step ladder, Fig. 26, should be made
out of y%" boards, 4^" wide. To lay off the dado joints for
the ends of the steps, the T bevel should be set to give a slope
of about 2" in 7". The steps should be spaced about 12" apart.
The dado joints in the sides should be cut ^4" deep. Screws
about 2 l / 2 " long should be used to fasten the steps securely to
the sides. Some ladders are made very strong by putting srjlall
rods across the ladder under each step, with nuts on the ends
to clamp the sides securely together. See page 219 for directions
for cutting threads on the ends of the rods.
The back legs are joined by two cross cleats and two thin
strips are used as diagonal cross braces. This part of the ladder
is hinged to a board at the back of the top of the front legs. A
canvas or leather strip may be used as shown in the drawing to
prevent the ladder from spreading. Two wooden braces with
notches in the ends, hinged at the back and fitting on a shelf, may
be used to keep the ladder from closing.
If the ladder is made higher than the dimension given in
the drawing the width of the steps and the spread of the ladder
must be increased to give a larger base and thus increase the
stability of the ladder.
122
WOODWORKING
5
r "
fl.
a
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i
H
\
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J
t
on &ftnf/o/irod
6
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5
5
4
3
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.2
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4 'ft
10
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1
3- ft
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No brace on inside
fc
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JUMPING STANDARD VAULTING STANDARD
FiG.27 FiG.26
SIMPLE JOINT AND CONTOUR PROJECTS 123
JUMPING STANDARD
Track and gymnasium work are much more interesting when
suitable apparatus is available. The high jump is one of the
most interesting of the field events of a track meet. A suitable
set of standards should be owned by every boy who aspires to
be a high jumper.
Fig. 27 shows a convenient jumping standard. The base
consists of two 2 x 2s, 18" long and joined together with a cross
lap joint. These cross pieces should be rounded out on the bot-
tom as shown in the illustration so that they will not rock if the
ground is slightly uneven. The corners should also be rounded
to prevent a side jumper from stubbing his toe on the corner.
The base should be fastened to an upright 2x2 from 65" to
72" high and braced with 4 triangular blocks which may be
nailed or screwed in place.
Care should be taken in boring the holes for the pins 'to hold
the bar. They should be exactly perpendicular to the face of the
standard. A hole every 2" will be close enough between the 3'
and 4' marks and from 4' up they should be bored 1" apart.
Instead of boring holes in the upright 2x2, finish nails may
be nailed into the post to a uniform depth and a uniform dis-
tance apart.
VAULTING STANDARD
The base for the vaulting standard may be constructed the
same as the base of the jumping standard. The cross pieces
should be slightly longer, however, on account of the higher
standard. They will not be in the way because the pole vaulting
is done from the front. The hollow post of the standard is made
of 3/2" material, carefully planed so that the hollow is exactly
1" square throughout its length. An extension rod an inch
square and any desired length may then be inserted in this hol-
low. A pin to hold the bar is inserted in the top of this exten-
sion rod. The rod is raised and a pin inserted through the hol-
low post below the end of the extension rod. This frame may
also be used without an extension rod for high jumping up to
4' 6", and for higher jumps by using a short extension rod.
The heights of each hole should be plainly marked on the
standard to eliminate the necessity of measuring the height of
each vault. The length of the extension rod should be taken
into consideration in marking the heights.
124
WOODWORKING
Section A- A
Detail of
bracket
fa
d D
ELECTRIC TABLE LAMPS FIG. 29
SIMPLE JOINT AND CONTOUR PROJECTS 125
ELECTRIC LAMPS
A variety of designs and constructions are possible in elec-
tric lamps. The base A of Fig. 29 shows a square type of de-
sign. This base looks clumsy and uninteresting. It looks too
much like a collection of blocks. The base B is the same size
as base A with the design changed. The post is tapered and the
stop chamfers on the edges give it a very attractive appearance.
The block on the top is chamfered on the lower edges, giving a
holding up effect to the design. The chamfers on the upper
edges of the two base blocks and the stop chamfers on the lower
edge of the large block give a much more pleasing effect to that
part of the base. Fig. D shows another type of base in which
curved base boards are used instead of regular chamfers. A
better design is made in this case if one board is curved one
way and one the other.
Wire frames to be covered with silk or bamboo shades lined
with silk can be purchased for shades. These small frames
usually rest on the top of the light bulb. The shade should be
secured first in order that the base may be constructed with the
right proportions.
The insulated wire cord usually enters at the side of the base
board. A hole is bored horizontally to meet a vertical hole ex-
tending through the upright stock. If the stock is too long to
allow the hole to be bored all the way through, it should be bored
from both ends and then bored the rest of the way with a red
hot iron, slightly smaller than the finished hole.
A small pipe, with threads on it for attaching the lamp
socket, is fastened in the top of the hole in the top block.
Fig. 29, C shows a hollow stock made of four thin boards
glued together. This form of construction would look very bad
if it were not for the stop chamfers on the edges, which call the
attention away from the joint.
Instead of the frame resting on the top of the light bulb,
wooden arms may be screwed to the stock as shown in Fig. C.
The screws are countersunk with a bit and rounded end dowels
used to plug the holes. In cutting out these arms, the grain
should run lengthwise in each arm.
A floor lamp about 5' high may be constructed from a
standard 3" x 3" by sloping it to about 1$4" square at the top
and using the stop chamfers along the sloping edges. A base
modified from that used for the jumping standard may be used
for this type of lamp.
126
WOODWORKING
BREAD BOARD FiG.30
-Slot
Wash
Screw
'fhole
.31 at
Mbil batton
19
DRAWING BOARD FiG.3l
A-
aa
Section A- A
17
PASTRY BOARD Fic.3Z
127
EDGE JOINTING PROJECTS
Edge jointing should be done with a jointer plane. The
long base of this plane enables one to plane an edge true more
easily than can be done with a smoothing plane. In joining
large pieces together such as the boards in a table top, dowels
are usually used to strengthen the joints.
BREAD CUTTING BOARD
A very attractive bread board may be made by gluing
alternate strips of a white and a dark wood together. Pine and
redwood ; black walnut and hard maple ; or whitewood and
cherry make good color combinations for this project. Care
must be taken to get good joints and strips of uniform width.
The strips for this board should be about 16" long. After the
glue has set, the surface may be planed smooth and cut to the
desired shape.
An ellipse to fit any length and width may be drawn by
stretching a loop of cord tightly around small brads driven in
at the points b d d Fig. 30 C, and swinging a pencil around
in the loop as at D. Points d d are located and set off with a
piece of paper or compass as shown at B.
DRAWING BOARD
Drawing boards are usually made of thin lumber and need
some device to keep them from warping. Fig. 31 shows the
batten construction for one type of drawing board. Good edge
jointing is very important on account of cracks interfering with
the drawings. The battens are fastened by screws passed
through washers sunk in auger bit holes. The joints for the
screws on the outer boards should be elongated to allow for the
contraction of the wood as it dries out. Otherwise the screws
will break the glued strips apart and leave cracks.
PASTRY BOARD
A pastry board is apt to warp because it becomes damp and
then dries out. The boards forming the pastry board are first
glued together. The ends are then squared and a tongue cut
across each end. A strip in which the grain runs lengthwise and
having a groove corresponding to the tongue on the end of the
board is glued on to the tongue. It is very essential that well
seasoned lumber is used in this project.
128
WOODWORKING
CHECKER BOARD FIG. 33
'Stop chamfer
PEDESTALS FIG. 34
EDGE JOINTING PROJECTS 129
CHECKER BOARD
A checker board may be made by gluing four strips of a
dark wood, such as black walnut, alternately with four strips of
a white wood such as hard maple or birch. These strips should
be of a uniform width. If the strips are made 2" wide, they
should be about 19" or 20" long to allow for waste in sawing.
After the glue has set, one end should be planed square. Cross
strips the same width as the original strips should be laid off
across this glued up board as at A Fig. 33 allowing from j" to
jV f r the saw kerfs and squaring up the edges. These strips
should be planed to the required width. Care should be taken to
have the edges square so that they may be glued together.
Every second strip should be turned end for end as shown in,
B, Fig.. 33, so that the dark squares alternate with the light ones.
Care should be taken to get the strips planed exactly 2"
wide. Otherwise the edges will not match when the alternate
strips are turned end for end. This can be easily done by fixing
a jig so that the strips can only be planed to the desired width.
See page 155 for suggestions for making jigs.
Eight of these strips are needed to make a complete checker-
board pattern. A border of wood carefully mitered at the
corners should be added around the pattern and the entire top
and bottom planed smooth. The checker board should then be
finished with shellac.
PEDESTAL
A hollow pedestal demands very accurate edge jointing.
Fig. 34 shows two simple designs for pedestals. The columns
of each pedestal are made hollow by gluing four boards to-
gether. The top should be made of \y%" or 1^4" lumber. It is
fastened to the column by nailing a strip about an inch square
to both the top and the column, in the angle between the two,
forming a molding around the top of the column. In the column
with sloping sides, the edges of this angle strip must be beveled
to fit the angle formed by the side and the top.
The base may be attached to the column by screwing the
upper base board to the column and the lower board to the upper
board from the under side. The corner blocks should be glued
and screwed to the corners of the lower board. The height of a
pedestal varies from 28 to 40 inches, according to the use to
which it is to be put.
130
WOODWORKING
if
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x >i
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e ro//
5 :-r--
End rail
&utt joint"
Detail >->
KITCHEN TABLE FIG. 35
Handle
^ Soard
Detail A -A
SERVING TRAY FIG. 36
131
MITRE JOINT PROJECTS
The most frequent mitre joint is one of 45. Since a
diagonal of a square makes an angle of 45 with the sides,
such an angle can be easily laid off and sawed with a back saw.
A mitre box enables one to saw such an angle more accurately
than can usually be done without guides.
KITCHEN TABLE
The kitchen table shown in Fig. 35 is made with detachable
legs. The legs are fastened in the corner by a lag screw which
passes through a brace attached to the end and side rails. The
detail of this construction is shown in the illustration. The
braces across the corners have the ends mitred at an angle of 45.
The ends of each brace are then screwed to the end and side
rails. Some tables have these braces fitted into the rails with
dovetail joints. A lag screw inserted in one corner of a leg
through this brace will draw it tightly against the ends of the
rails.
The top of the table forms a good project in edge jointing.
The joints in the table top may be strengthened by jointing
them with dowels when they are glued together. The top is
fastened to the side and end rails by screws countersunk in the
tops of these rails from the inside in a slanting position.
SERVING TRAY
A serving tray may be made by using strips of wood with
the lower edges rabbeted as in a picture frame and the upper
edges beveled toward the glass. The sides and ends are put
together with mitre joints. See page 154 for suggestion for
making a clamp for mitre joints in a picture frame. The rabbet
is cut deep enough to allow for the thickness of the glass and a
piece of designed fabric under it. A thin board extends under
the fabric to the edges of the tray and is nailed to the lower
edge of the frame. A layer of felt should be glued to the bottom
of this board to eliminate noise when the tray is set down. Han-
dles should be screwed to this frame as shown in the detail at
Fig. 36.
A picture frame may be made in a similar way by cutting a
deeper rabbet in the frame, leaving off the handles and setting
a wood back in the rabbet instead of having it extend to the
outer edges of the bottom of the frame.
WOODWORKING
D
D
12"-
16"
See deta//'
A
1
B
/7^ which marks
Placed in holt
a/ready bored
Detail of dowel marker
FIG. 37
133
MORTISE AND TENON JOINT PROJECTS
The details for laying out and making a mortise and tenon
joint are given on page 90. This is one of the strongest joints
that can be made. It may be made more secure by boring a
hole through the outer piece and the tenon and inserting a
dowel in the hole. Fine furniture often has the dowels show-
ing on the outside to indicate the quality of construction.
H MISSION STOOLS
A mission stool offers many opportunities for variation in
structure and design. A, Fig. 37, shows a footstool 9" high,
13" wide and 16" long. It is joined with mortise and tenon
joints (See page 90). On account of the small size of the legs,
the tenons must overlap in the center of the leg. A portion is
cut out of the lower side of one tenon and a similar piece cut
out of the upper side of the other tenon as shown in the detail
of the joint in the illustration. This makes a much stronger
joint than cutting all of the lap from one tenon. A mortise and
tenon joint may be made much stronger by nailing or doweling
from the inside of each leg through each tenon after it has been
glued. The top of this stool may be upholstered or caned. For
the details of these processes see page 62.
A separate frame must be made for the top of design A when
it is caned. Design B is one which may have a woven or caned
top without making a separate frame for it. The side rail is set
low on the legs and a dowel is placed near the upper end for a
support for the woven top. This design makes a double seat.
Design C has the side rail eliminated and two dowels placed
on each side. This enables one to weave a seat consisting of a
single layer, because the ends can be carried around the lower
dowel and back up over the outside of the upper dowel.
Design D shows a dowel construction in which two dowel
pins are used in each butt joint instead of a mortise and tenon
joint. A set of dowel markers are desirable in using this con-
struction in order to get the holes in the legs and the ends of
the rails accurately centered. A dowel marker is placed in each
hole in an end of a side rail and the rail is tapped with a hammer
after it is in position over the leg. The spur on each marker
marks the center of each of the opposite holes in the leg. See
page 156 for doweling trick when dowel markers are not avail-
able. This design also shows a tapered leg and a variation in
the shape of the side rails.
134
WOODWORKING
With or without
mirror
burr BRACE
CONSTRUCTION
SLOT CONSTRUCTION
MORTISE
TENON
CONSTRUCTION
C05TUMER5 FlG 38
MORTISE AND TENON JOINT PROJECTS 135
COSTUMER
The common type of costumer consists of a square post,
usually containing four hooks, attached to a base having four
legs or projections which are braced to the post. This type of
costumer is so easily designed and constructed that a working
drawing of it is not given in this text.
Fig. 38 gives the details for a much more convenient cos-
tumer. This costumer consists of two side strips 1" x 3" x 69",
joined to three cross bars with mortise and tenon joints. The
space between the two upper cross bars may be left open or a
mirror may be placed in it. If a mirror is used, it should be pur-
chased before the frame is made so that the opening may be
made the right size to fit the mirror. A mirror 10" x 14" is a
standard size and works in well with this design. The edges of
the cross pieces and sides around the mirror should be rabbeted
before gluing them together. A thin board or pasteboard should
be placed over the back of the mirror to protect it.
The space between the lower and middle cross bars should
be broken with a group of "fillers," made of ^j"xl^" or
l /2"xl l / 2 " material. These "fillers" should be fastened with
shallow mortise and tenon joints and be grouped in a pleasing
arrangement. A group of three of these "fillers" is shown in the
illustration.
The side strips may be fastened and braced to the bases in
a variety of ways. These bases may be 3" x 3" pieces, hollowed
out on the lower side and attached to the side strips by means of
long screws. The bases may also be made of \%" boards with
blocks glued to the bottoms. The sides must be firmly braced
with the bases. A good design for braces for this kind of base
is also shown in the drawing. The two lower detail drawings of
bases show a slot construction fitting over a thin base board and
also a mortise and tenon construction for the base and side
strips.
From 3 to 6 hooks may be arranged on each side of the
costumer around the mirror. This gives much more room than
can be secured on a costumer with a single post. The hooks
should be of a finish that will harmonize well with the color
of the stain used on the woodwork of the costumer.
One can easily modify this design to include an umbrella
rack at the base. This should be placed on the side next to
the wall so that the front of the costumer is clear for hanging
long cloaks and overcoats on it.
136
WOODWORKING
f \
/ ^k Composition
\ I board fthick
v -___~
Detail of frame
d
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3
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1 .
MOVABLE. BULLETIN BOARD
|;^f ' ' FIG. 39 -
MORTISE AND TENON JOINT PROJECTS 137
MOVABLE BULLETIN BOARD
A movable bulletin board is a valuable addition to the equip-
ment of any school room. Fig. 39 shows a rectangular shaped
bulletin board with both sides available for mountings. A group
of these boards or frames arranged in a row and fastened to-
gether at the top makes an excellent space for a room exhibit.
Several rows of these boards, arranged in a large room will
provide enough space for an exhibit for a whole school. The
advantages of such a series of frames for exhibit purposes over
a wall exhibit are: (1) the frame lends itself to better advantage
for artistic decoration ; (2) the exhibit does not have to be hung
up in a hurry, but one frame may be finished at a time and set
away in a vacant room until the day of the exhibit; (3) more
time may be given to the artistic arrangement of the material;
and (4) the bases may be taken off and the frames crated for
shipment to a fair or other distant point where the exhibits of
various schools are placed in competition.
The main part of the frame is put together with mortise and
tenon joints. The sides and ends of this frame are grooved
Y*," wide and y 2 " deep and a panel of y" composition board
is set in this groove. The mortise and tenon joints are then
glued and doweled to make them firm and hold the frame square.
The bases are slightly hollowed out on the bottom to make
the frame more stable on an uneven floor. The bases are at
least 26" in length and are fastened to the bottoms of the sides
by long screws countersunk in the bottom of the base. Braces
are fastened on both the side pieces and the bases with blued
screws. The frames are easily packed for shipment in a crate
by loosening the bottom screw and the top screws of the
braces and sliding the braces off. When they are set up only
the bottom screw and those in the braces need to be set in
place and tightened.
This project makes an excellent factory project for a class
when a considerable number of these frames are to be made,
by having different groups of workmen perform different opera-
tions in the construction of all of the frames.
A stationary bulletin board to be attached to the wall may
be made in a similar way, leaving off the legs.
Both the frame and the mounting board should be painted.
A more artistic effect can be obtained by painting the frame a
darker color but one that harmonizes well with the color of the
composition board.
138
WOODWORKING
FLY SCREEN FIG. 40
FLY TRAP
FiG.4l
Screen w/'re-Jo/d on dotted lints
FLY SWATTER FIG. 42
MORTISE AND TENON JOINT PROJECTS 139
FLY SCREEN
Fly screens may be more quickly made with cross lap
joints, but a good workman prefers to make them with mortise
and tenon joints. The dimensions of a screen vary with the
size of the window casing. Fig. 40 shows a Well proportioned
screen. The cross bar in the middle is omitted in small screens.
The wire is usually put on first by tacking, then by nailing a
rounded strip over the edge of the wire. In placing the wire,
one end should be fastened first, care being taken that the
cross wires are parallel to the nailing strip. The wire should
then be stretched and the opposite strip nailed in place. The two
sides may then be nailed on in the same way. If an end and
then a side are nailed on before the next end is nailed the wire
is apt to "buckle." The bottom of a screen is beveled to fit
the sill of the window casing.
FLY TRAP
Not only is it desirable to keep the flies out of the house,
but it is also desirable to kill as many of them as possible. Fig.
41 shows a convenient and easily constructed fly trap. The
frame may be made with common butt joints and covered with
fly screening. The top should be made of boards, the central
one being movable so that the dead flies may be removed occa-
sionally. A conical projection of screen wire with a small open-
ing in the top is placed over a hole in the base, about 6" in
diameter. A dish of sweetened water is placed under this hole
to attract the flies. They fly upward and enter the trap through
the hole and will stay in the trap, because they will not crawl
downward through the hole.
FLY SWATTER
A fly swatter may be made out of a piece of screen wire
The wire should be folded on the dotted lines as
shown in Fig. 42. The laps should be sewed with strong string.
This swatter may be mounted in a handle in which a saw kerf
has been cut, by nailing or riveting the sides of the handle to-
gether over the end of the screen.
The edges of this swatter should be covered with binding
tape in order to prevent scratching the furniture when the
swatter hits it. The girls of the sewing class may co-operate
in making this project.
140
WOODWORKING
B
Drawer-
way
.
.c
Drawer detail
Section A
Sect/on B
S/de rail-
Drawerway
Bottom front
ra/7
Sect/on C
LIBRARY
FIG. 43
MORTISE AND TENON JOINT PROJECTS 141
LIBRARY TABLE
A library table is a difficult woodworking project and should
only be attempted after the worker has had a great deal of
experience in making smaller articles involving the same kinds
of joints.
The frame should be made first because the top will tend
to warp unless it is immediately fastened to the frame. The
legs of a library table should vary from 2^" square to 3" square,
depending on the design and size of the table. The standard
height of a table is 30".
The table top should be from 1" to 1J4" in thickness. It
may be placed on top of the legs or each leg may be beveled to
a point at the top and the top of the table set down level with the
lower edge of the bevel, the corners being cut out for the projec-
tions of the legs as shown at F, Fig. 43. The top is fastened to
the frame by rabbeted blocks, screwed to the top and turned into
grooves cut in the rails as shown in section A. These blocks
allow the top to contract and expand without pulling the joints
apart.
The design of a library table is affected to a large extent by
grouping and shaping the slats in the end. Four designs for the
end are shown in the illustration. The shelf may be mortised
into each cross piece and fastened with blued screws or it may
be mortised entirely through the cross pieces and fastened by
screws from the bottom of the cross piece. A much easier con-
struction than either of the preceding is to screw strips about
1" square and 2" less in length than the width of the shelf, to
the cross pieces below the end of the shelf and then screw the
shelf to these strips.
Plenty of drawer room is very desirable in a library table.
This design has two drawers occupying almost the entire space
in the table. They are separated in the center by a narrow up-
right strip which is mortised to the bottom and top rails. These
drawers slide on a rail which is fastened across the frame just
beneath the drawer. The front of each drawer is fastened to
the sides of the drawer by a blind dove-tail joint or a rabbet
joint in which the sides are nailed to the front strip. The rabbet
joint is the easier to make and is usually used on cheaply con-
structed tables. The bottom of the drawer is fitted into a
groove extending across the front and along both sides. The
back of the drawer is fastened to the sides with a dado joint
and rests upon top of the bottom.
142
WOODWORKING
fl
TOP Vitw
4
FRONT VIE.W
PORCH SWINGS
Fie. 44
i
] S 4
1
TAJ
MORTISE AND TENON JOINT PROJECTS 143
PORCH SWING
The essential features of a porch swing are: (1) that it is
strongly built and (2) that it is comfortable. There are two
general types of porch swings, one with vertical slats in the
back and the other with horizontal slats. Since the construction
with horizontal slats lends itself to a curved back and is there-
fore more comfortable, it is used in the design shown in Fig. 44.
The horizontal slats may vary in width to suit the design
worked out by the student. Those used in the swing shown in
the illustration are }/2"x3"x48", with 1" spaces between them.
These slats may be nailed on with heavy brads which are set
below the surface so that they will not catch on the clothing.
The side and end rails may be fastened to the upright 2 x 2s
with mortise and tenon joints or they may be bolted to these
rails as shown in end B in the illustration. The arm rest is
fastened to the uprights with screws. Slats may be used to fill
up the space in the ends between the arm rests and the bottom
rails.
The three cleats on the back are screwed at .the bottom to
the back uprights and the back rail. A notch is cut in the back
of the arm rests and the end cleats of the back bolted to the
backs of the arm rests. A strip across the top of the three
back cleats braces the back lengthwise. The cleats on the back
may be made straight or they may be curved as shown in the
design C in the drawing. The seat may also be curved in a
similar way to make it more comfortable.
Porch swings are usually swung by means of two chains.
These chains may be attached to the swing in two ways. The
detail at D shows a hook which may be attached to the uprights
with lag screws. This throws the points of support for the
chains high on the swing so that this type of attachment makes
the swing very stable. Directions for making these hooks are
given on page 225. If a forge is not available they may be made
by a blacksmith. The detail at E shows a ring hook for attach-
ing the chains to the projections of the bottom rails shown in
design B. The directions for making ring bolts are also given
on page 225.
Unless both ceiling hooks can be screwed into the joists of
the ceiling of the porch, a cross cleat should be screwed to the
ceiling and the hooks screwed through that to the ceiling in
order to give greater holding power to these hooks.
144
WOODWORKING
-JN
SAW BUCK FIG. 45
145
FARM PROJECTS
There are many useful farm appliances that can be made by
the beginner in woodworking. A few of the most practical of
these are described on pages 145 to 153. Additional farm projects
are also described in the section on School-Home Projects.
SAW BUCK
A saw buck is not as important an accessory of the wood
lot as it was before the advent of the power saw, altho it is still
a valuable piece of apparatus to have for repair work and saw-
ing small amounts of wood. Fig. 45 shows a substantial and
easily constructed saw buck. The legs are made out of 2" x 3"
material and are held together by a cross lap joint and a cross
brace on each end. The two pairs of legs are held together by a
cross bar in the center of each joint and two cross braces sunk
in the edges of the legs. One leg may be laid on top of the
other and the legs spread out to the given distance to mark the
slant for the joints. A bit hole from 1" to 1J4" m diameter
should be 'bored through the center of each lap joint and the
ends of the cross bar rounded to fit tightly in these holes. The
ends may be fastened by toe-nailing through the legs into the
cross piece.
SAW HORSE
Every woodworker should have at least two saw horses of a
convenient height. Fig. 46 shows a very convenient and sub-
stantial saw horse. The wide top allows space enough for a 1"
slit along the top, which may be used for ripping small pieces
by laying them lengthwise over this slit. The slit is made by
boring two holes about 19" or 20" apart with an inch bit and
sawing out the rest of the slit with a compass saw and a rip
saw.
The detail drawing at A, Fig. 46, shows how the cuts are
made for giving the proper slant to the legs. The legs and also
the cross braces on the ends should be fastened with screws as
nails will tend to work loose.
Saw horses should always be used in ripping a*board since
it is in a position for the saw to be held at the proper angle for
ripping (45). A saw should not be held perpendicular to a
board in ripping, which is the usual position when a board is
held in a vise to be ripped.
146
WOODWORKING
5/idina board
i_ ^*
X L
V
12 0'
DETAIL-GATE LATCH
FARM GATES Fio.47
FARM PROJECTS 147
FARM GATES
The making of a farm gate that will not sag is not a dif-
ficult problem if the braces are put on in a correct way. Fig. 47
shows two methods of bracing a gate. In gate B a single brace
is used. If only one brace is used, it should run from the upper
corner near the hinge diagonally across the gate to the lower
corner of the opposite end. This brace should be bolted to the
top and bottom boards and nailed to each of the other boards.
A brace put on in this way will exert a pull on the lower front
corner and also on each board to which it is nailed. This will
tend to keep the gate from sagging much better than if the
brace were slanted from the bottom to the top.
The system of bracing used in gate A is very good because
it makes use of the triangular construction which is used in
trussing the supports for large roofs and also in bridge work for
long spans. This design is more difficult to make than that in
which a single brace is used, but it gives a much more artistic
appearance to a gate and is particularly well adapted to long
gates.
These gates may be made out of ^s"x6" boards. Two
boards should be used on each end and in the middle of gate A.
These cross boards should be bolted to the ends of the long
boards at the top and bottom. Clinched nails will be strong
enough to hold the other joints.
The hinge shown in the illustration is a slot and pin type,
the details of which are given on page 225. These hinges should
be bolted to the top and bottom boards of the gate. The pins are
set in the post by boring a hole with a bit slightly smaller than
the pin and driving the pin in this hole. If. concrete posts are
used, these pins may be molded in the post at the proper dis-
tances from the ground.
A convenient latch for a farm gate is shown in detail in
the drawing at the bottom of the illustration. It consists of a
board sliding in the opening between two of the boards. Two
cross strips should be nailed across the space at the left end of
this slide. A wood pin is placed through the latch to move it
back and forth. A slot should be cut in the latch to allow it to
work back and forth over a bolt through the front boards. A
notch to fit the latch should be cut in the post opposite.
The post to which the gate is swung should be thoroughly
braced to prevent the free end of the gate from dragging on
the ground.
148
WOODWORKING
SIDE. BOARD
30" 1
-5
SIDE VIEW OF Box
'
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;
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:
^ Gafe rods
.
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$1 3
-
.
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JS
'v.
Stake
i Toot rest
-38" or 40'
END VIEW
SfaAe iron*
DETAIL-SIDE OF Box
v
END VIEW WITHOUT BED
DETAIL-STAKE IKON
COMBINATION WAGON Box
FIG. 46
FARM PROJECTS 149
COMBINATION WAGON BOX
The combination wagon box shown in Fig. 48 has three
uses. Side boards and end gates may be added, forming a
regular sized wagon box. Stakes may be placed in the end
irons and the bed, without the side boards, used as a wood
rack. By adding the high sides and end gates described on
page 187, the bed may be used to make a hog rack. These three
uses make this combination bed one of the most useful pieces of
farm equipment.
The bottom of this bed is made of the best grade of tongue
and grooved flooring, which is screwed to four cross cleats as
shown in the drawing. The width between the bolster stakes
of the running gears of a wagon varies. The width of the par-
ticular wagon for which this bed is made should be accurately
measured before its construction is begun. The sides of the box
are made of 2" x 6" boards, surfaced on sides and edges. These
side pieces are bolted to the bottom by four y^" bolts, the heads
of which are countersunk level with the tops of the sides. These
bolts extend through the flooring and the cleats. Additional
strength may be given to this construction by nailing the bottom
to the sides. Foot rests on the side of the box may be made by
extending the two middle cleats 5" beyond the sides and bolting
a I"x4" board to the ends of these cleats.
The irons for the sides are made with large slots so that they
will be large enough for the heavy stakes which are used for the
woodrack. The details for making these irons are given on
page 223. These irons are bolted to the sides, the heads of the
bolts being countersunk level with the inside surface of a side.
The side boards are made of %" boards nailed to 4 stakes
which fit into the iron slots. This makes the sides of the base
project 1" farther in than the inside surface of the side boards.
The end gates should be made as long as the inside distance
between the side boards, sawing out a notch in each end to allow
for the projections of the side pieces of the bed. These end
gates may be held in place by nailing cleats to the inside of
each side board and clamping the sides together with rods at
the end gates. A chain may be used across the sideboards in
the middle to prevent spreading when hauling grain in the
bulk.
This wagon box, as well as the other farm appliances which
are exposed to the weather, should be painted to increase its
durability.
150
WOODWORKING
PLOW DOUBLETREE Fis.49
5 r
19'
*J
f T~
THREE HORSE EVENER FIG. 50
k 6'
WAGON JACK FIG. 5 1
FARM PROJECTS 151
PLOW DOUBLETREE
A plow doubletree may be easily made in a farm workshop.
Fig. 49 gives the dimensions of a simple design. The evener bar
may be made of oak or hickory and the singletrees should be
made of hickory on account of the extra strength needed in
these parts.
The evener is 1>^>" x4^4" x42". Triangular strips may be
cut off the back side, thus making the evener lighter without
diminishing its strength to any considerable extent. The hole
for the clevis pin should be put near the front edge because the
strain is on the back side of the evener.
Single trees I^"x3"x32" may be constructed in a similar
manner. These singletrees may be fastened to the evener with
pieces of strip iron and bolts. The clips on the end are put on
by means of bolts extending through the end and braced by an
iron strip on the back side of the singletree. The construction
of these clips is described on page 225.
THREE-HORSE EVENER
The doubletree may also be used as a part of the three-
horse evener shown in Fig. 50. The clevis hole in this evener
should be bored 19" from the doubletree attachment and 38"
from the singletree attachment. This evens up the load equally
for the three horses. Longer irons must be used for the attach-
ment of the singletree. Instead of making the clips for the
singletrees they may be purchased and the ends of the single-
trees shaped to fit them.
> WAGON JACK
The handle of the wagon jack shown in Fig. 51 is bolted
to the uprights. The axle is held in a raised position by means
of a bent rod or heavy wire attachment. The notches for this
attachment may be made by boring holes with a bit along the
central line of an 8" board, A, Fig. 51, and then ripping the
board through the centers of these holes. The structure of the
base of this wagon jack is simple and gives a wider footing than
is usually found on a wagon jack and thus makes it more stable.
On account of the heavy strain on this piece of apparatus,
it should be made out of a hard, tough wood. See page 40.
152
WOODWORKING
B
II LL
BROOM OR HAY FORK RACKS FIG. 52
4'0'
-49
c
STONE. BOAT FIG. 53
FARM PROJECTS 153
BROOM OR HAY FORK HOLDER
A rack to hold brooms or hay forks is a convenience on any
farm. Fig. 52 shows three designs for such racks. Design A
consists of two horizontal bars nailed or bolted to an upright
piece wide enough to allow the handles of the brooms or forks
to be put between them, but not wide enough to let them slip
through. These bars may be lengthened to hold any number
of forks or brooms. Design B shows another type of bar, ar-
ranged on a vertical piece in the same manner. This bar is more
solidly braced than the one shown in A. The arrangement
shown in B, if made strong enough, may also be used for a
harness rack. Design C is the more conventional type of design
for a broom holder. This may also be used for a hay fork holder
by making the openings large enough.
Since these holders will be used indoors, they need not be
painted because they are not exposed to the weather. If one of
these designs is used in the house, however, it should be stained
or painted to match the woodwork of the room in which it is
used.
STONE BOAT
Many farms in the glacial region have large stones left on
the surface of the soil. Too much labor is required to lift these
heavy stones into a wagon. A stone boat, which is merely a low
sled consisting of two flat runners with boards nailed across
them as shown in Fig. 53, makes a convenient means for hauling
them off the land.
These stone boats are useful in other ways. They are very
convenient for use in hauling a plow or harrow to a field. Seed
wheat, oats, rye, etc., may also be conveniently hauled to the
field and save much useless lifting into and from a high wagon.
In the autumn, these stone boats are often useful in gathering
corn in low, marshy land when there has been a great deal of
rain and the ground is too soft to support a regular wagon. If it
is made long enough, stakes may be set in each end and it may
be used to haul in fodder from the field.
The runners may be made out of square timbers about
5" x 5" or they may be round pieces cut from a small tree. The
boards should be securely nailed to these runners. The curve
in the front should be gradual as the stone boat pulls more
easily than when the front is too blunt.
154
JIGS AND TRICKS
There are many ways of shortening the time and simplifying
the operations on wood working projects, provided an operation
is duplicated a sufficient number of times to make it worth while
to construct jigs for holding, guiding or controlling the laying
out or cutting of materials. Some jigs can be made adjustable
so that they will fit materials of different proportions, requiring
the same kind of operations. It is well to have such jigs avail-
able so that when a rush job is needed much time can be saved
in the laying out and making even if the design of the project
has to be slightly altered to suit the supply of jigs.
There have also been evolved many easy ways of doing cer-
tain operations or simple ways of holding materials while they
are being worked upon.
The drawings which follow offer a few suggestions as to
the use of jigs and tricks.
TENON CUTTING JIG
"D
B
BORING TRICK
Tenon Cutting Jig. A Saw. B Wood on which tenon is being 1 cut.
C Guide block. D Removable block. E Cardboard the thickness of saw
blade. .F Back block. G Saw kerf. H Saw kerf made in mitre box.
I Wing- nuts and bolts. By changing- the size of the removable block,
various sizes of tenons can be cut with this jig.
Boring: Trick. A Brace and bit. B Hand screws. C Boards to be
doweled together.
ADJUSTABLE MITERED FRAME CLAMP
Adjustable Mltered Frame Clamp. A Arms. B Holding blocks. C
Saw kerf to take up excess glue from joint. D Hand screw. E Frame.
7" Holes for changing position of holding blocks to fit any frame.
JIGS
155
EDGE PLANING JIG
SAWING JIG
Planing Jig. When a number of duplicate pieces are to be edged to a
given width, this jig insures a straight, square edge. A Plane track. B
Cutting limit of plane blade. C Side guides for keeping plane straight
and square. D Space for board. E Board being edged.
Sawing Jig. A Angle irons controlling depth of cut. B Saw slot.
C Block clamped against back of mitre box to control position of cut.
D Hand screw holding block.
MORTISE TEMPLET
BORING Box
Mortise Templet. A Table leg. B Metal templet for laying out
mortise. C Opening the size of the tenon.
Boring Box. A Guide wall. B Guide holes. C Brace and bit.
Clamp screw. E Guide block. F Stock being bored.
BORING GAUGE
B
Boring Gauge. A
Auger bit. B Stock
being bored. C Depth
gauge.- D Set screw.
Depth Gauges. A
Dado joint. B Depth
testing block. C Gauge
screws. D Auger bit
hole.
DEPTH GAUGES
156
JIGS AND TRICKS
Doweling Trick. A Small nails. B- Edges which have been jointed.
C Hand screw for guiding- the boards straight. D Nails with heads cut
off. E Holes punched by nails. F Pencil marks showing sides which
come together. When nails are pulled out, the locations for dowels are
marked on both boards.
PEG or CHECKER. SAWING JIG
WOOD FASTENING DEVISE
Peg or Checker Sawing 1 Jig. A Large auger bit hole. B Saw kerf.
C Distance between saw kerf and edge of hole, or length of peg to be
sawed off. D 'Dowel rod.
"Wood Fastening Device. A dowel rod inserted as above illustrated will
prevent screws from pulling out of end grain wood.
CURVE CUTTING TRICK
Curve Cutting Trick. Cutting to curved lines without a turning or
coping saw can be accomplished as above illustrated. A Saw kerfs. B
Chisel.
TRICKS
157
HOLDING TRICK
Holding Trick. When a board is too long to be held in a vise, a hand
screw clamped onto the end of the board as above illustrated will keep the
board in position.
CHAMFERING
BORING TRICK
Chamfering Trick. A board clamped in a hand screw and vise as above
illustrated, may be held at any angle.
Boring Trick. Narrow stock may be kept from splitting- when holes
are being bored through it, if it is tightly clamped between the jaws of a
hand screw or vise, during the operation.
SAWING TRICK
B
Sawing Trick. The edges of a dado joint can be accurately sawed if a
square edged block is clamped along the sawing line and the saw held
tightly against it. A shows the first cut. B shows the gauge block being
set to fit the stock. Once this is set, the stock is removed and the second
cut made.
158
THE FACTORY CLASS
In constructing a wood working project, one gets a fairly
good idea concerning the uses of tools even though he does not
have enough experience to become skilful in their manipulation.
Skill and speed are acquired only by repeated practice. If it is
desired to make a quantity of any one kind of project it can be
made more quickly and the results will be more uniform if the
class is organized as a factory, each workman to do his group
of operations on all projects rather than to make one complete
project. In this kind of a class the unskilful worker can be
given the easiest assignment while the most skilful worker can
be assigned the most difficult task.
Suppose, for example, it is desired to make twenty-five plant
stands according to the design on page 118 and that only ten
boys are in the class. The best all around workman can be
appointed foreman and he should make a complete cutting bill
showing how many pieces of each size it will take for the entire
order. This cutting bill should be checked by another workman
and finally by the teacher.
Next, the various operations necessary to transform lumber
into these finished stands must be tabulated. In this example
they are as follows:
1. Getting out material.
2. Laying out sizes.
3. Sawing out stock.
4. Surfacing broad faces.
5. Planing working edges of legs, in a jig.
6. Planing second edges of legs, in a jig.
7. Sawing working ends, of legs, in a mitre box.
, 8. Sawing legs to length, in a mitre box, with a jig.
9. Smoothing broad faces of tops and shelves.
10. Laying out shapes of tops and shelves.
11. Sawing away waste wood on tops and shelves.
12. Smoothing to exact dimensions.
13. Laying out joints in tops.
14. Cutting out joints in tops.
15. Locating points for screws in legs, using jigs.
16. Boring holes for screws.
17. Sandpapering, using care not to narrow the legs at the
joints.
18. Assembling.
19. Staining.
20. Shellacing.
21. Sanding.
22. Waxing.
THE FACTORY CLASS 159
23. Bookkeeping, tabulating time slips and recording ma-
terials used.
The assignments are then made. While some workmen are
getting out material, those unassigned can be making jigs for
use in some of the operations. Two planing jigs will be neces-
sary and, since so many pieces of the same size are to be used,
more than one workman should be assigned to planning in
order to keep the other "departments'* working.
It is interesting for each member of this factory class to
keep a record of the time, he spends on each operation, to see
if he increases his output in any given unit of time. It also
makes an interesting study to see how much time-it takes to
complete the entire job.
The foreman should keep a careful check on all pieces,
rejecting those which cannot be corrected and noting on the
workman's time slip the waste in material and the time lost.
As the work carries over frdm day to day, the workmen
can be shifted from one operation to another, or if a workman
proves to be inefficient in quality of work or speed, he may be
reassigned to a simpler task.
Bench hooks, bench stops, drawers for nail cabinet, window
ventilators, exhibit screens, etc., make excellent factory class
projects since they are always needed in quantities in the shop
or school.
The shop should be arranged so that the work is begun at
one end of the room and the materials passed from bench to
bench as each operation is completed. It is sometimes advis-
able to have the pupils work in pairs or groups on certain op-
erations, thus minimizing lost motion and also hastening the
production.
Much thought must be given to the construction of jigs,
and pupils should be encouraged to create jigs or design im-
provements in those already made. It should be pointed out
that the jigs in a class of this kind, take the place of the power
machinery in a factory. Pages 154 to 158 give examples of jigs
suitable for work of this kind.
Work carried on according to this factory organization,
if accompanied by a study of the jigs and tools used in a
factory, will prove to be of intense interest, especially if the
class can visit a factory in operation.
160
//OUStt Tray
Fig. 1
SCHOOL-HOME PROJECTS
GARDENING
Gardening is one of the most popular school-home projects
because it requires little equipment, can be carried on during
the summer vacation and yields quick returns. In connection
with gardening, one finds a variety of very interesting con-
structive projects.
In the northern states, many plants must be started in
house trays or hotbeds and
transplanted to the garden when
the danger of frost is past. Fig-
ure 1 shows a simple tray which
can be made from the lumber
in a dry goods box. This tray
should be kept in a room in
which the temperature does not
fall below 65 F. after the seeds
are planted. It should be kept
in front of a south window after
the plants are up in order to give them as much sunlight as
possible. The legs of the tray should be made the same height
as the window sill.
The seeds should be planted in rows 2" apart and the plants
later thinned to 2" apart in each row. The plants, which are
taken out in thinning, may be transplanted in other trays or
boxes. A tray with outside dimensions of 22" x 26" is large
enough to start about 100 plants. These plants may be trans-
planted, when large enough, to a cold frame and gradually
hardened to the weather. Transplanting develops more hardy
root systems and more thrifty plants are thus produced.
The hotbed is the method used by a large gardener for
starting his early plants. Two methods are used to furnish
heat for a hotbed. One is to run steam pipes in an air space
under the tray containing the plants. The other is to fill the
pit below the soil with manure which ferments and supplies
the necessary heat. Since the steam heating is only prac-
ticable when plants are raised on a large scale, the manure
type of hotbed is the one usually used by small growers.
Any style of glass sash may be used to cover a hotbed.
One can often buy old sash in the neighborhood which will
serve the purpose fairly well. Standard hotbed sash are 3' x 6'.
GARDENING
161
Permanent Hotbed Fig. 2.
straw or leaves to prevent it
These sash can usually be purchased more cheaply than they
can be made by hand.
Two standard hotbed sash will provide sufficient space
for plants for a small garden. An excavation 6' long, 6' wide
and 30" deep should be made for a permanent hotbed of this
size. Stakes may be driven in each corner about an inch from
each side of this excavation and boards slipped behind them
and nailed. The stakes at the higher end of the bed should
project IS" above the surface of the ground and the lower stakes
in front should project 12". Fig.""
2 shows a cross section of a
permanent hotbed. The end
boards should be carefully
marked at the proper slant and
ripped exactly on the line in
order that the sash may fit
tightly at the ends. Manure
from the horse stable should be
tramped in the pit to a depth
of about 24" to 26". This
manure should contain plenty o
from packing soggy. About 4" to 6" of soil, composed of 2
parts of loam and 1 part of well-rotted manure, should be placed
upon the manure. The sash should then be placed on the frame
and the hotbed allowed to heat for about three days. When
the temperature of the soil falls to about 80 F., the bed is ready
for planting.
Before planting, the soil should be firmly packed. The
seed should be planted in rows from 3" to 6" apart, according
to the size of the plants. After planting the soil should be
firmed with a smooth board. If the plants are too thick in the
rows, they should be thinned in order to prevent them from
becoming spindling.
A curtain of heavy muslin, a piece of old carpet or a board
cover should be provided to cover the hotbed in cold weather.
The seed should be watered often enough to keep it from
becoming dry but not too often because too much water will
exclude the air from the roots of the young plants.
Proper ventilation and plenty of light are necessary to
produce strong, hardy plants. The sash should be raised dur-
ing the day according to the temperature of the outside air
and closed at night. A hotbed should always be watered in
the morning to enable the plants to become dry before the
bed is closed at night. When the weather is warm enough,
162
SCHOOL-HOME PROJECTS
Fig. 3
the sash may be entirely removed and the plants allowed to
harden to meet outside conditions.
Concrete walls will last longer than board walls. See
page 197 for the description of a concrete hotbed.
A temporary hotbed may be constructed on the surface
of the ground by placing a pile of manure about 9' square and
about 18" deep on top of the
ground and thoroughly tramp-
ing it. A frame of the dimen-
sions shown in Fig. 3 may then
be placed on top of the pile of
manure and additional manure
banked around the frame to a
depth of about 6". A layer of
soil 4" to 6" deep should then
be placed on the manure in the
frame and the bed be allowed
to heat as described in the discussion on the permanent hot-
bed.
The long growing season of some vegetables makes it
necessary to start them in hotbeds. This is especially true
of plants such as tomatoes, eggplants, peppers and other
vegetables of the same type when raised in the extreme north-
ern parts of the United States. The following table shows the
proper time to start and transplant different vegetables which
are started in hotbeds:
COMMON VEGETABLES STARTED IN HOTBEDS.
Vegetable
Depth
to plant
Seeds for
row of 100 ft.
Start in
hotbed
Transplant in
garden
Ready for use
after planting
Early Cabbage
Cauliflower
Celery
Eggplant
Early Muskmelon
Pepper
Sweet Potato
Tomato
% in.
% in.
% in.
2 in.
1 in.
% in.
3 in.
% in.
V4. OZ.
% OZ.
}i oz.
% oz.
% oz.
% oz.
75 slips
% oz.
February
Feb. or Mar.
Mar. or Apr.
March
March
March
April
Feb. and Mar.
Mar. or Apr.
Apr. to June
May and June
Apr. and May
Apr. to June.
May and June
May and June
May and June
90 to 130 days
100 to 130 days
120 to 150 days
100 to 140 days
120 to 150 days
100 to 140 days
140 to 160 days
100 to 140 days
Plants in a hotbed as well as those in a house tray may
be hardened off by transplanting in a cold frame which may be
made in the same way as the board frame for a temporary
hotbed. No manure is used for heating purposes in a cold
frame. A cold frame will be much more efficient if placed on
the south side of a building where it will be protected. Plants
should not be placed in cold frames in very cold weather be-
cause they are apt to be frozen at night.
GARDENING
163
Qlath
pod
Fig.4
Transplanting: The sharpened stick which is used in
transplanting is called a dibble. A convenient dibble may be
made from the handle of an old shovel as ; shown in Fig. 4.
If an old shovel handle is not available, a dibble may be made
from a broom stick by sharpening one end of a piece about
10" long and padding the other end to prevent bruises or
blisters on the hand when forcing the dibble into compact ground
for setting a large number of
plants.
TJ J-UKI ff-"ff Dibbles
How to use a dibble cor-
rectly: A hole should be made
with the dibble deep enough to
set the plant and the roots of
the plant placed in this hole.
With the dibble held in a slant-
ing position as shown in Fig. 4,
the dirt should be pressed firmly
about the roots of the plant. If
the soil is dry, water should be
poured in the hole left by the last stroke of the dibble. After
the water is allowed to settle, loose dirt should be scraped into
the hole to cover up the wet dirt. This allows the water to
get to the roots of the plant more easily than when it is poured
On top of the ground around the plant after it has been leveled
off. It also leaves the wet dirt covered by loose dirt, which
prevents a rapid evaporation of the water from the surface of
the ground and thus holds it for use by the plant.
The seeds of most vegetables are sown by hand in , the
garden and not transplanted. A drill is generally used when
a large area is to be sown. Fig. 5 shows an excellent type
of hand drill. Note the roller behind the seed flute to pack
the ground over the seed. Note also the lever which controls
the seed opening, making it possible to stop the flow of seed
when turning at the ends of the rows.
The drill is much more economical in the use of seed ;
it distributes the seed more evenly than is usually done by
hand and is much quicker than hand sowing. The drill shown
in Fig. 5 has a marker which can be adjusted for rows from
6" to 20" apart.
In transplanting plants from the hotbed and in sowing
seeds by hand, it is desirable to have a marker to lay out the
rows. A marker enables one to lay off rows rapidly and also
to space them accurately. Cultivation with a one-horse garden
cultivator is much easier when the rows are accurately spaced.
164
SCHOOL-HOME PROJECTS
Garden Drill
Seed valve rod
Seed box
Fig. 5
Marker
Garden Marter
Fig. 6 shows a simple home-made garden marker. This
marker is made by cutting 1/2" gains for fitting on from three
to seven markers. The centers of the gains are spaced 12",
18", 24" and 36" from the center of the frame. The markers
are attached to the frame by carriage bolts, one in each marker.
This enables one to easily change the markers to give the various
spaces between the rows needed for the different kinds of vege-
tables.
The illustration shows the marker set to mark rows 12"
apart. This is a suitable distance for such small vegetables as
radishes, beets, onions and lettuce if they are cultivated with
a hand plow or hoe. This marker will also make five marks
18" apart and three marks either 24" or 36" apart. A stretched
cord should be used to get the first rows straight. The in-
side runner may then be made to trace the last mark to keep
the rest of the rows straight. If the pupil wishes to have rows
at other spaces than those indicated, he may cut his gains at
other intervals.
A roller is a valuable tool for any gardener to possess. Some
seeds as celery, turnips and onions are planted very shallow and
will not germinate well if the top soil is too loose and dries out.
A good hand roller may be made by cutting a wood cyl-
inder 15" to 18" long from a log 12" or 13" in diameter.
This roller will weigh about 50 or 60 pounds and will be
heavy enough for light rolling over newly planted seeds.
Two handles may be fastened to the log with machine bolts
as shown in Fig. 7. These bolts are preferable to carriage
bolts because they are round up to the head and thus make
a better axle. Holes should be bored in the center of each
end slightly smaller than the bolts that are to be used for the
axles. Hard wood strips will wear longer for the handles than
soft wood. The bolts used as axles should be kept oiled or
greased the same as any other axle.
GARDENING
165
Garden Roller
Fig- 7
Cucumber Screen
Screen wire
Fig.6
A I"x2" strip with the edges rounded with a spoke shave
will serve for a handle. One or two other boards should be
nailed to the handles for bracing as shown in the illustration.
This roller will be found about the right weight for rolling
the tops of sweet potato ridges when they have not had time
to settle before the plants are ready to transplant.
A heavier roller for lawns or tennis courts may be made
of concrete. See page 206 of the section on concrete for the
details of making a concrete roller.
Cucumbers and melons are often destroyed when they are
young and tender by a striped beetle. Where only a few vines
are raised for home use, they may be protected by a frame
covered by a screen wire or mosquito netting. These frames
should be made about 11" to 13" square and 4" to 5" high.
The screen should be stretched over the frame and nailed
on with wood strips to make sure that there are no openings
through which the small beetles may crawl. Boxes or waste
lumber should be used in making such projects in keeping
down expense. These cover frames should be removed when
the plants are sufficiently hardened to prevent destruction by
the beetle and stored for use another year. With proper care
these frames should last several seasons.
A garden, when used continuously, should be fertilized
yearly. In using garden manure, the ground should be cov-
ered with a thin coat which should be plowed or spaded under
to allow it to thoroughly rot. In applying commercial fertilizers,
the directions coming with these fertilizers should be strictly
followed, as too much of the commercial fertilizer will "fire"
the plants.
Proper cultivation is essential to success in gardening. A
plow, rake or hoe should be run over the surface ^every few
days to keep down the weeds and form a dust mulch on the
surface. This mulch conserves the moisture in the ground for
166
SCHOOL-HOME PROJECTS
the use of the plants by preventing too rapid evaporation of
the ground water.
Most vegetables are subject to attacks from insects and
disease. The ravages from these two sources may be prevented
by spraying with suitable materials from time to time during
the season.
The blights which affect such plants as the potato may
be prevented by spraying with Bordeau mixture, which consists
of 3 ounces of copper sulphate and 3 ounces of lump or hydrated
lime to 2^2 gallons of water.
Sucking insects may be destroyed by using a nicotine sul-
phate solution which consists of }/ ounce of nicotine sulphate
and 3^2 ounce of laundry soap to 2 gallons of water.
The eating insects may be destroyed with a solution of lead
arsenate, consisting of 1 ounce of powdered lead arsenate to
6 quarts of water. This may be applied with a sprayer, a sprink-
ler or an old whisk broom. This solution should not be used
on cabbage which is heading as it is poisonous.
The bushel crate is a very convenient means of gathering
and delivering such bulky crops as potatoes, onions and toma-
toes. A heaped bushel must be used in measuring such vege-
tables. A heaped bushel contains 2,747.07 cubic inches. To
hold a heaped bushel, a rectangular crate should be made
bushel Crate
17 Long) ' .
H W/dfll/ntde dimension*
OeepJ
Construction: The side slats are ^"x l^"x 18". They
are nailed together with cleats y 2 " x \y 2 " x 12^" with spaces
of 1" between. This leaves 1" at the base for nailing on
the bottom. The cleats are nailed flush with the ends of the
side slats. The end slats are l /2 rr x \ l / 2 " x 14" and are nailed
to cleats J4"x2"xl2^" with spaces of 1" between the slats.
The end cleats project 1" be-
yond the ends of the end slats
so that they will allow for the
side slats and be nailed flush
with the side cleats. The bot-
tom is made of 4 slats l />" x 3" x
18", nailed with intervening
spaces of I", to two cleats %" x
l*/2"x!5". The bottom cleats
are nailed to the corner cleats
and are reinforced at these cor-
ners with strips of tin. These strips of tin may be cut from
any old bucket or can. Thin box lumber may be used in con-
structing such crates and thus make the expense much less
than when new lumber is used.
Strips f X/r
Fig 9
167
CANNING VEGETABLES
There are three kinds of germs which cause decay in
fruits and vegetables, i. e., yeast, molds and bacteria. These
germs must be destroyed in a can of fruit or vegetables if
we wish to preserve it. Yeast and mold germs are easily de-
stroyed at the temperature of boiling water. Bacteria, then,
are mainly responsible for the spoiling of canned vegetables.
Certain kinds of bacteria can live and cause vegetables to spoil
even when air is not present.
A bacteria germ reproduces itself by dividing into two
parts or by means of spores which correspond to the seeds
of flowering plants. Spores will retain their vitality for a con-
siderable time at the temperature of boiling water and will
germinate after the water has cooled. In order to kill the
spores in a can of vegetables, it is necessary to boil it for about
three to five hours at one time or to boil it for an hour upon
two or three successive days. The boiling on the second day
kills the germs which have come from the spores which were
not killed in the first boiling. They are then killed before
they have had time to produce other spores. This process of
killing the germs and spores in vegetables and fruits is called
sterilization.
The sterilization of the jars of vegetables may be accom-
plished by placing the jars on a frame in a common wash boiler
with a tight cover. About 3" or 4" of water should then be
placed in the boiler. The steam from this water will sterilize
the jars of vegetables. The lids to the jars must be left slightly
loose to allow any steam, which forms in the jars, to escape.
Otherwise the jars may crack * due to the excessive pres-
sure inside. After the boiling
is completed, the jars should
be quickly removed and the
lids tightened to prevent any air
from entering because the out-
side air will bring fresh spores
with it. A frame with wire
handles on it as shown in Fig.
10 will make it easy to remove
the hot jars from the boiler.
This frame consists of thin slats,
nailed to cleats which are placed about 6" from the ends.
It is made the same shape as the boiler and slightly smaller to
allow it to be easily raised and lowered. A strip of galvanized
iron or hardware mesh should be tacked around the outside of
fig. 10
frame
fj/afe
168 SCHOOL-HOME PROJECTS
the frame to hold the jars in position when the frame is lifted
from the boiler.
How to can by the cold-pack method : After the vegetables
are cleaned and prepared for canning, they should be scalded
or blanched in steam or boiling water from 1 to 15 minutes,
according to the kind of vegetable. This process enables the
skins of such vegetables as tomatoes and beets to be removed
and also removes certain objectionable acids. Blanching may
be very conveniently done by placing the vegetables in a cheese-
cloth bag and lowering them in boiling water or by placing them
in a colander and putting them over boiling water in a covered
vessel. The steam process is best when the time of blanching
is very long because the volatile oils and other substances re-
main in the vegetables much better than they do when they are
blanched in boiling water. The following table shows the times
for blanching and for sterilization of certain typical vegetables:
Vegetable Time for Blanching Time for Sterilizing
Tomatoes 1 to 2 min. 18 to 22 min.
Pumpkin 5 to 10 min. 90 to 120 "
Sweet Corn 5 to 10 " 120 to 180 "
Beans 3 min. 90 to 120 "
Peas 3 to 5 " 120 to 180 "
"Cauliflower 3 min. 40 to 60 "
Beets , 5 " 80 to 90 "
Sweet Potatoes 3 to 5 min. 80 to 90 "
Greens 15 min. 90 to 120 "
The same time limits may be used for other vegetables of
a similar nature. For example, squash requires the same time
limits as pumpkins.
When the vegetables are removed from the blanching pro-
cess, they should be dipped into cold water and immediately
removed and drained. They are then ready to be packed into
jars, covered with boiling water, flavored with a teaspoonful
of salt and sterilized as described on the preceding page.
Instead of canning, most vegetables may be blanched as
described above and dried in the sun or by artificial heat. For
this purpose a rectangular tray with screen wire on the bottom
may be constructed. This tray should be set on bricks placed
in pans of water to keep out creeping insects if used for sun
drying. In artificial drying it may be placed in the oven with
the door slightly ajar or suspended above the top of the stove.
* Cauliflower should be soaked in brine for an hour before blanching
to remove any insects that may be hiding: in it.
169
SEED CORN
The selection, curing and testing of seed corn presents an
interesting and profitable project for any pupil who has access
to a field containing a good variety of corn. This work will
be more interesting if the pupil carries on this work in con-
nection with a corn raising project. There are always farmers
in every community who prefer to buy their seed corn rather
than take the trouble of selecting and caring for it, providing
they are sure they will get seed of the proper quality.
Experiments have shown that well preserved seed corn
will increase the yield per acre. In one experiment four bushels
of ears were divided into two equal parts. The part that was
well preserved gave an increase of 12% on poor soil and 27%
on good soil over the yield from the part that was placed in
the barn in the same way that the corn was put in a crib.
Seed corn should be selected before the first hard freeze.
Well-ripened ears should be celected from stalks that have
produced the most corn in competition with other stalks. Large
ears from single stalks with an unusual amount of space should
not be selected. After gathering, the ears should be imme-
diately placed in position for drying. This may be done by
tying heavy twine around several ears and hanging them from
some support on the ceiling. The rack shown in Fig. 11
will also furnish an excellent place to dry the corn. This rack
holds 400 ears or about 4 bushels of seed corn. Such a rack
also has an added advantage of being convenient when the ears
are being tested. It may be divided into 4 sections, each con-
taining 100 ears, the number above each ear corresponding to a
number of a square in the seed testing box. This frame should
be placed in a shed or room in which a good circulation of air
is maintained. The corn must be thoroughly dried before it
freezes or the germ will be frozen and injured.
The main standards of the frame are > made of 2x2's, 7' 9"
long. The slats for holding the ears are J/&" square and 5' 6"
long. These slats are spaced 3" apart. Wires are stapled to
the frame at intervals of 3", thus dividing the frame into 400
equal compartments.
The base boards may be made any convenient length, the
longer boards making the frame less apt to be pushed over.
If several of these frames are made, they may be connected
across the top and thus make a very stable set of frames. The
upright posts should be spaced about 3" apart. This will
allow ears 8" long to be supported on the slats which are
7" apart (inside measurements). It will not be necessary
to wire the back of the frame because the front wires will
170
SCHOOL-HOME PROJECTS
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SEED CORN
171
separate the ears. The open structure of this frame allows air
currents to freely circulate about the ears and is thus espe-
cially favorable for equal drying of all parts of the ears.
In the spring the ears should be tested before planting.
This testing may be carried on in two ways. The seeds may
be .planted in a box of sand and kept in a warm place. This
method has the advantage of being more nearly like natural
conditions. The second method is to germinate the seeds on
a cloth divided into squares corresponding to the number of
ears tested, above and below which is kept damp sawdust.
The seed testing tray shown in Fig. 12 may be used for
either method. This tray may be divided into 100 two-inch
squares.
In securing the ten kernels which should be selected from
each ear, one should begin about 1" from the base and go
around the ear in a spiral fashion to about 1" from the
tip as shown in Fig. 13. Only the ears from which all the
seeds sprouted should be kept. The kernels about an inch from
the base and an inch from the tip of the ear should be dis-
carded in shelling for seed. In testing seed corn, one should
be sure the conditions under which the seed were tested were
favorable for germination or ears may be thrown away which
would germinate under favorable conditions. Care must be
taken that the temperature does not fall below 65 F. during
the test. Any pupil, working up a reputation for first class
seed corn will soon have all the business that he can handle.
In years which are patricularly unfavorable for the produc-
tion of seed corn, ears which have a lower test may be sorted
into piles showing different per cents of germination and the
piles testing 80% or more used in case of a seed corn shortage.
Only in extreme cases should corn testing less than 80% be
used.
Fig. 12 Seed Corn Tester
Fig. 13
Manner of Removing Kernels forltsting
Atrne/3 rtmoved
172 SCHOOL-HOME PROJECTS
RAISING POULTRY
Everywhere, except in the thickly settled parts of a city,
one can find space enough to carry on a poultry project because
a minimum of only 35 square feet of yard space is required for
each fowl. More than this minimum amount is desirable, how-
ever.
A poultry project may consist of two lines of work: (1)
keeping hens for egg production and (2) raising poultry for
market. The breed of poultry to be selected depends upon the
aim of the project.
The three main breeds of chickens are: (1) the egg breeds,
such as the Leghorns and the Minorcas; (2) the meat breeds,
among which are the Brahmas, the Cochins and the Langshans ;
and (3) the general purpose breeds, the most common of which
are the Plymouth Rocks, the Wyandottes and the Rhode Island
Reds.
KEEPING HENS FOR EGG PRODUCTION
The first essential in keeping hens for egg production is a
good house. The building of a chicken house is an excellent
constructive project for any boy or for a group project for a
manual training class. The chicken house should be protected
by other buildings or placed on a slope facing the south. At
least 5 square feet of floor space should be allowed for each
fowl in order to provide sufficient scratching space.
The standard lengths of lumber must be considered in
planning a house so that there will be the least possible waste
in sawing the boards. Lumber usually comes in 10', 12', 14' and
16' lengths. A chicken house 12' x 10' will supply the right
amount of floor space for 24 hens and also leave very little
waste in cutting the boards.
The floor of a chicken house should be made of boards or
concrete because dirt floors can not be kept in a sanitary con-
dition without a great deal of work. A good concrete floor is
very durable and can be easily cleaned. Refer to the section
on concrete to find how to mix concrete for such a floor.
The house should be as low as can be conveniently used
because a low house is more easily warmed than a high one.
The chicken house shown in Fig. 14 is 12' long and lO' wide.
It is &y 2 ' high at the front and 4V 2 ' high at the rear. This gives
a slope for the roof of 4' in 12' or a pitch of y$. To wear well
a roof should not have a pitch less than y$ because the water
would not run off well and it would decay more quickly.
The advantages of a single sloped roof are: (1) it is easiest
RAISING POULTRY
173
Fig. 14
Poultry House
6' 'Projection
Front of frame Fi g. 1 5
to build and (2) it allows a high window in the front so that the
sunlight may reach the rear edge of the floor.
Construction of the frame: The frame of a house of this
size should be constructed of 2 x 4's. The front is put together
as shown in Fig. 15. The five studding should be sawed 8' 2"
long. The sill at the bottom and the plate at the top are 1(X
long. The easiest construction is to spike the sill and plate to
the ends of the studding before the front of the frame is raised
into place. The studding should be spaced according to the
locations of the door and window. Cross pieces should be cut
to fit the spaces as indicated and spiked to the studding.
The lower corners may be fastened in a variety of ways.
The detail of the front corner, Fig. 16, shows a method of
cutting the corner post and the two sills to make a strong lap
joint. Instead of this construction the bottom may be spiked
to the corner post and the side sill toe-nailed to the corner post.
A brace across the corner on the inside may be used in either
construction to strengthen the frame.
The back part of the frame consists of a rectangular frame
10' long and 4^' high. This requires the studding to be 4' 2"
long.
The side should be constructed as shown in Fig. 17. The
side sills are set edgewise to correspond to the rafters. The
corners should be squared and braced before an attempt is made
to cut the rafters.
How long will the .rafters be? The length may be found
by using a framing square. By placing one end of the rule on
the 4" mark and swinging the rule until it touches the 12"
mark on the other arm, the number of inches on the rule be-
tween these points will represent the number of feet in the
rafter from plate to plate for the slope of 4' in 12'.
"The rafters should be cut long enough to allow for a pro-
jection of 6" at the front and rear. The detail of the fastening
of the rafter to the plate is shown in Fig. 18. The rafters may
174
SCHOOL-HOME PROJECTS
Detail of Corner
Fig.16
p.^ j- >3e F/(j./8Jor detail
Side cf Frame
be held in position (edgewise) at one end of the plate and
marked for the cuts to be made as shown in the illustration.
Six rafters, spaced approximately 22" apart will be sufficient to
hold the roof of this house.
The roof: The type of covering used for the roof will
determine the method of putting on the sheathing (that layer
of boards between the rafters and the covering). If the roof
is to be shingled, the sheathing may be spaced about 2" apart
because a solid base is not necessary. On the other hand
a solid base is preferable if prepared composition roofing is used.
Shingles come in bunches of 250 each. When they are laid
with 4*^>" exposed to the weather, a thousand shingles will
cover about 125 square feet. Determining the number of shingles
needed for covering any house makes a very practical problem.
Shingling: The lower course of shingles may be laid straight
by stretching a chalk line across the rear about 1" from the
lower edge of the sheathing. This lower course should be laid
double. The main point in laying shingles is to have no joint
between the shingles in the upper course nearer than 34" to
a joint in the lower course. After this double course of shingles
has been laid, a point should be set off 4^" from the bottom
on each side, a chalk line, which has been well chalked, stretched
taut, and then snapped. Another line should then be chalked
4*^" above this line. By this means two courses of shingles
can be laid at once.
Two 3d nails should be put in each shingle, placing them at
least 10" from the base of the shingle. This is necessary
to keep the nails from being exposed by a crack, in which case
they will rust out and cause a leak in the roof. About 4 pounds
of 3d nails will be needed to shingle this roof.
By using 14' boards for the sheathing, the pieces sawed off
can be used for the droppings board which will be described
RAISING POULTRY
175
Detail cfKafkr on Plate
Fig. IS
Manner cf Laying Sh/'ng/es
Fig. 19
later. This will cause less waste and be much quicker than try-
ing to use the pieces in sheathing the roof.
If prepared roofing, such as tarred paper, is used, the sheath-
ing is laid solid. Prepared roofing is computed by the square.
The term square as used in this connection means 100 square
feet. How many squares of roofing are needed to cover the
chicken house?
Siding: The siding may be put on in several ways. Since
the house must be built as warm as possible, cracks must be
avoided. This may be done in several ways: (1) by using com-
mon boards and covering the cracks with battens ; (2) by using
tongue and grooved lumber; or (3) by using cheap common
boards and covering the sides as well as the roof with tarred
paper. A good problem in this connection is to find the rela-
tive costs of the three methods.
In sawing the boards for the sides, the bevel should be set
at the angle which the roof makes with the corner post and
the boards marked off at the proper lengths with this bevel.
The piece which is sawed from a 14' board for the long board at
the front of the side may be used in cutting the short board at the
rear. The piece from the second board at the side may be used
for the second board at the rear, etc.
The window: The window area in a poultry house should
not be too large because too much glass makes a house too cold
at night in extremely cold weather. One square foot of glass
should be provided for every 16 to 18 square feet of floor area.
Eight glass 10" x 14" set in a frame 24" x 5' 2" will provide the
right amount of window area for this house. This window
should be swung from the top so that it may be used to provide
extra ventilation in moderate weather by swinging it out at the
bcttom and bracing it with a prop.
Instead of making a window, an old frame of a suitable size
may often be purchased at a small expense from some one in the
neighborhood. In that case it is a good plan to buy the window
176
SCHOOL-HOME PROJECTS
Ventilator
Fig 20
/Vests suspended
under droppings
p/atform
frame before putting up the frame of the poultry house so that
the studding can be spaced to fit the size of the window frame.
The door should be made of the same material as the siding.
The illustration on page 91 shows how to brace a door properly.
The door should be swung as shown in Fig. 14 so that it may
be opened and fastened back in the daytime. An inner frame
door, something like a screen door, covered with heavy muslin
may be used in cold weather to furnish additional light and
ventilation.
Poultry need fresh air as well as other animals. A ventila-
tor 24" x 6" should be provided above the window. Slats sloping
downward as in Fig. 20 may be nailed in this ventilator to keep
out rain. It should always be left open, even in the cold weather.
In extremely cold weather a muslin or burlap cloth should be
tacked over the inside of the 'ventilator to allow ventilation to
go on and at the same time prevent draughts of cold air.
By providing the exit, 10" xl2", with a door covered with
wire netting and by an extra cloth in cold weather, it may also
be used for ventilating purposes.
A droppings platform should be provided under the roost
to keep the floor in a more sanitary condition. This platform
should be about three feet wide, made movable and suspended
about 2' 10" from the floor. As stated on page 175, the scraps
from the 14' sheathing may be used in constructing this plat-
form. The roosts may be made of two 2x2's nine feet long,
placed 15" apart. They may be mounted on boards or posts so
that they are at least 6" from the droppings platform. These
roosts should be on the same level for otherwise the hens will
overcrowd the higher roost because of the tendency of chickens
to roost as high as possible. v -
The rear roost should be at least 10" from the rear
wall. The top edges of the 2x2's used for the perches should
be slightly rounded to make them more comfortable. In very
RAISING POULTRY
177
Front of Nest Case
22
&ackq[Netf Case
door
cold weather a burlap or heavy muslin curtain may be lowered
in front of the droppings platform to make it warmer at night
and thus prevent the combs of the hens from freezing. Wire
netting may also be tacked to the lower edges of the rafters
and the 4" space above it may be filled with straw. The
same thing may be done on the sides of the house if it is not
lined with paper. The straw will not only make the house
warmer but also absorb any surplus moisture.
The nests should be in a dark place so that the hens will
not eat the eggs. A good place to put them is beneath the drop-
pings board with the openings toward the wall. This method of
suspension also leaves the floor space clear. Fig. 22 shows
a convenient row of 5 nests for suspension under the droppings
board. Partitions 6" high should be placed about 12" apart
to divide the box into individual nests. A strip 5" high will
be sufficient for the front of the nests. The board at the back
of the nests should be hinged so that the eggs may be taken
from the nests without going under the droppings board. The
top of this board may be fastened with wooden buttons or small
hooks.
FEEDING HENS FOR EGG PRODUCTION
A balance^ ration is necessary for high egg production.
The principal kinds of feed are: (1) scratch feed, consisting
of cracked corn, wheat, oats and other small seeds; (2) a dry
or wet mash, containing beef scrap, ground alfalfa or some other
nitrogenous materials; (3) oyster shell; (4) grit; (5) charcoal
and (6) green feed. Reference should be made to a good agri-
culture text or government bulletin to find the purpose and
proper proportions of these various kinds of feed.
Suitable feed boxes and troughs are needed for these feeds.
Scratch feed is thrown over the straw litter which should be
kept on the floor in order to give the hens plenty of exercise
as they scratch for this feed.
178
SCHOOL-HOME PROJECTS
Fig. 2 3 Grit box
tolijornia Dry Mash Hopper Fig. 24
Most of the feed boxes should be nailed to the wall at such
a height that the hens can conveniently reach them but still
high enough to prevent them from being scratched full of straw.
The grit box, Fig. 23, should be divided into three com-
partments, one containing grit, one oyster shell and the other
charcoal. These three elements are very essential, the oyster
shell to furnish mineral matter for the egg shell; grit to enable
the gizzard to grind the food more easily and charcoal to absorb
any objectionable gases arising from digestion.
A dry mash is usually kept constantly before the hens. This
mash contains beef scrap or other nitrogenous material needed
for making the whites of the eggs and thus balance the scratch
feed, which is richer in the elements used in making the yolks
of the eggs. The California dry mash hopper, Fig. 24, is
an excellent hopper for feeding a dry mash.
A more simple trough for feeding table scraps or a wet mash
is shown in Fig. 25. If a thin narrow strip is tacked on the
top of the inside of each side, it will help to prevent the hens
from scraping the food with their beaks over the sides of the
trough into the litter. The small slats nailed from the top strip
to the sides are to keep the hens from getting into the trough
with their feet. These slats may be made out of laths.
The water pan should be placed on a platform, made of
slats about 15" or 18" above the floor. This platform should
be large enough to allow the hens to stand on it while drinking.
A slat cover should be made for this pan so that the hens can
not step in the water and render it unsanitary for drinking
purposes. Dirty water often causes diseases to be spread from
one infected fowl through an entire flock.
One of the most important elements in winter feeding is
green food. This may be provided by storing cabbage and
other green vegetables for winter feeding. One of the best
winter feeds is sprouted oats. Several trays of convenient
RAISING POULTRY
179
Fig. 25 Feed Trougfi
Oats Sprout/ngTray Fig. 26
dimensions should be provided for sprouting the oats, the num-
ber depending upon the size of the flock. The oats should first
be soaked 24 hours and then spread out in a tray in a layer
about 24" deep. They should be sprinkled about twice a
day to keep them moist. If kept in a warm place they should
be ready for use in from 10 days to two weeks. Other trays
should be started at regular intervals so that one will be ready
as soon as another is used. An open rack to hold these trays
may easily be devised and made out 'of scrap lumber or crating.
If one is equipped with all the conveniences for properly
caring for poultry, the management of a flock of hens becomes
much more pleasurable and if scientific methods of feeding are
used, it results in greater profits for the manager. A flock of
12 Leghorn hens, when fed in a scientific manner, yielded a
profit of over $40 in a year.
RAISING POULTRY FOR MARKET
Many appliances are desirable for raising chickens for mar-
ket on a large scale which are too expensive for a small project.
Raising chickens by the natural method is the safest for the
beginner and also the more economical.
April and May are the best months for hatching, because
the chicks can then be placed in coops out of doors. Green
food and insects are plentiful and the expense of raising them
is thus lowered.
It is best to have a single nest for a sitting hen. The hen
should be moved after dark to this new nest for she will prob-
ably be less disturbed at that time. A square covered box
15" x 15" x 15" can easily be made from a packing box. Bar-
rels, placed on their sides, may also be used for this purpose.
A plentiful supply of whole grain such as corn, wheat and
oats should be supplied the sitting hen. Too much meat food
would tend to make her quit sitting and begin laying.
180
SCHOOL-HOME PROJECTS
Candter
V Shaped Coop
Fig. 26
The number of eggs that should be supplied to a sitting
hen varies from 11 to 15, depending upon the size of the hen
and the state of the weather when she begins sitting.
After the hen has been sitting 6 or 7 days, the eggs should
be candled. A candler similar to the one shown in Fig. 27
will be found convenient. Either a- lamp, a lantern or an elec-
tric light may be used to supply the inside light. If a lamp or
lantern is used an opening should be made in the top 'above the
chimney. A few air holes should also be bored in the bottom.
The opening for testing the eggs should be cut at the level of
the light. A piece of black felt, placed around the opening will
lessen the danger of cracking the shell and will add much to
the efficiency of the tester. The eggs that are not fertile will
appear clear while the fertile eggs will have a spider-like mass
in them. Should a large number of eggs not be fertile under
two hens set at the same time, the fertile eggs may all be placed
under one hen and a new supply placed under the other hen.
After the chicks are hatched they should be placed in a
warm box or basket until all the chicks are out and are strong
enough to be placed with the hen in an individual coop. The
easiest type of coop to construct is made by nailing boards to-
gether in a V shape. Two boards 12" wide and 30" long
for each side will make a fair sized coop. The ends should
be sawed slightly beveled so that the top edges will fit together
when the bottom is spread to 3'. The crack between the
side boards should be covered with a thin board or a lath to
make it water proof. The back should be boarded up solid.
The front end should be composed partlv of slats to let in the
light and give a place for the chicks to leave the coop without
the hen being able to leave. These slats should be about 3"
apart. A covered runway about 3' wide and 8' long will offer
plenty of space for the chicks when they are small and be a
RAISING POULTRY
181
Box Coop
Fig. 29
Feect/ng Crate
.. ^'Poultry netfinq
Fig. 30
protection against crows and hawks. This runway should be
made on a movable frame so that it can occasionally be moved
to a new grass plot.
A box typed coop gives a hen a better chance to move
about. This coop may be made any convenient size. For the
coop as shown in Fig. 29, an 8" board sawed diagonally
will furnish the two slanting boards for the sides. The top
boards should project about 3" at the front and back. A
loose floor should be constructed for either type 'of coop so
that the coops may be lifted off and the floor easily cleaned.
After the chicks are large enough, the hen should be released
from the coop and allowed to take the chicks over a wide range.
When the chicks are large enough for market, they should
be confined in a crate and fattened for about two weeks. By
confining the birds in a crate, they will not waste any energy
in useless exercise. The chicks are fed in a trough placed in
front of the crate, (see Fig. 30). The slats on the front should
be spaced 2" apart so that they will have plenty of room to
reach through for food. A crate of this size is large enough
to fatten 12 chicks. The chicks should be weighed before
placing in the crate and when sold, to determine the amount
of profit resulting from this method of feeding. It would make
an interesting experiment to compare the gain by this method
with that of another lot that was fattened while running over
a large lot but fed exactly the same amount and kind of feed.
In conducting either a poultry project for egg production
or raising poultry for market, an accurate account of receipts
and expenditures should be kept so that the profit of the ex-
periment may be computed. Inventories should be taken at the
beginning and at the end of the year and be included in the
account.
182
RAISING HOGS
Raising hogs is one of the most profitable industries in the
great corn producing states. When corn is plentiful, the farmer
can feed his corn to hogs and market it in the form of meat
instead of grain. To make the greatest profits, however, proper
methods of raising, fattening and selling must be followed.
The first important consideration in beginning a hog raising
project is to select the breed. There are two general breeds of
hogs: (1) the bacon type, represented by the Large Yorkshire
and the Tamworth and (2) the lard type including the Berk-
shires, the. Poland-Chinas, the Duroc-Jerseys and the Chester
Whites. Of these breeds, the Tamworth is considered the ideal
bacon type and the Poland-China is the deal of the lard pro-
ducing type. The Poland-China is not as prolific, however, as
some of the other representatives of the lard type such as the
Duroc-Jerseys. One should select sows from one of the best
breeds in his neighborhood and endeavor to get pure bred stock.
If the herd is composed of pure bred stock, one may often sell
the young sows for more than would be secured if they were
kept and fattened.
Pigs which are ready for market in October usually bring
higher prices than those which are marketed a month or two
months later. It is therefore to the hog raiser's interest to get
his pigs ready for the early prices. In order to have the pigs
ready for this fall demand, the sows must begin farrowing about
March 1. The farmer also has less work at that time and can
take better care of these early pigs than those coming two
months later. The early pigs are also large enough to begin
eating grass when it is ready in the spring. A large growth
is thus obtained from pasture, which has been demonstrated
to be the most economical feed in raising hogs.
Proper housing facilities must be provided for early pigs
or large losses will occur. The little pig has very little covering
Movable HOQ House
HOQ House Frame
Frorit
Fig.32
RAISING HOGS
183
and for this reason must be kept in a warm place. The individual
hog cot is probably the best type of hog house for the small
producer. The advantages of the portable individual cot are :
(1) it is simple to build and inexpensive; (2) it is more sanitary
for it may easily be moved from one location to another, thus
avoiding muddy feeding lots ; (3) it is more easily ventilated
than a large hog house ; (4) it lessens the dangers of contagious
diseases ; and (5) a renter may build and move such houses with
him to another farm. The disadvantages of the individual cot
are that a group of them are not so easily heated by artificial
means as one large house and it is more trouble to feed a large
herd in individual cots than in a large hog house.
The individual hog house shown in Fig. 31 is designed to
be warm and also furnish an abundance of light and ventilation.
The foundation for the floor of this house may be made by
spiking three' 2 x 6's, 6' 10" long, flatwise to five 2 x4's, 6' 8"
long. The 2 x 4's should be spaced 18" apart. The three 2 x 6's
are designed to serve as runners when the hog house is moved.
For this purpose the front ends should be rounded like sled
runners and wires attached to them to serve as a means of
attaching doubletrees when moving. The two end runners
should be allowed to project 2" beyond the ends of the joists.
The four corner posts should then be spiked to the ends
of the front and rear joists. These posts may be further
strengthened by spiking the 2" projections of the runners
to the bottoms of the posts. A 2 x 4, fitting between the bases
of the corner posts should then be nailed to the ends of the
joists. The remainder of the frame may easily be constructed
by referring to the drawings of the front, back and sides of the
frame.
Either shiplap or common 12" barn siding, battened at
the cracks is suitable for the siding. The inside of the house
should be lined with shiplap or some other cheap material ii
//ousc Frame I
Fig. 35
Sac*
Fig.34
Side
184
SCHOOL-HOME PROJECTS
the house is to be used in cold weather. A good quality of
flooring should be used to make the floor both warm and dur-
able. Straw or dirt may be banked around the outside of the
house temporarily to prevent the wind from blowing under the
floor in extremely cold weather. Plenty of straw should also be
provided for bedding.
A 2x4 support for the roof should be nailed between the
middle points of the two outside rafters. Either common barn
siding with the cracks tightly covered with battening and
painted, or shiplap covered with tarred paper, will furnish a
moderate priced and fairly satisfactory roof for such a house.
Chicken wire may be nailed to the under side of the rafters
of the hog house and the 4" space above it and the roof filled
in with straw. This will make the house much warmer, which
is a very desirable feature for early farrowing.
If 8" boards are attached to the walls about 8" above the
floor, they will provide a protection for the little pigs by pre-
venting the mother from crushing them against the wall when
she lies down. The illustration in Fig. 36 shows a method of
attaching such a fender to the wall. The same purpose is served
by a 2x4 scantling fastened so that the outer edge is 8" from
both the wall and the floor.
Two windows each about 24"x2'4" will provide plenty
of light and sunshine for a house of this size. Little pigs
must have plenty of sunshine. The angle of the sun's rays
with the earth depends upon the time of the year and also upon
the location of a place. The tops of the windows should be
placed at such a height that the noon sun will reach the rear
edge of the house. The following table shows the heights nec-
essary for the sun to strike the rear part of this house at various
altitudes on March 1 and April 1 :
Pig Tender
Fig. 36
Ventilator for Window
fastening button
Fig. 37
RAISING HOGS
185
Heights of windows for various latitudes for a hog house
6' in depth.
Location March 1
38 N. Latitude 5' 10"
40 " " 5' 5"
42 " " S r 1"
" 4' 9"
44 c
46'
4' 5'
April 1
9' 0"
8' 5"
7' 9"
7' 3"
6' 9"
From the preceding table it will be seen that the windows
will need to be located near the top of the front of the hog
house. The above table will be valuable in locating the win-
dows accurately for a certain locality when a definite time for
farrowing has been fixed.
By swinging the windows on hinges at the top, suitable pro-
vision can be made for ventilation. An excellent device may be
used on the windows in cold weather. A frame the same size
as the window may be covered with cloth and fastened to the
window sash as shown in Fig. 37. The braces at AA' may
be made of either wood or iron. A wooden button on the out-
side will hold the window shut and the cloth frame up out of
the way. A fastening peg on the inside will hold the window
sash open and the cloth frame in place as shown in the illus-
tration. This provides for ventilation and prevents any undue
draft on the pigs. If the window is low enough for the hogs
to reach it, the cloth frame must be protected by a wire screen
on the inside.
The door is about 24" wide and 34" high. It is made
by sawing the necessary number of boards in the front to give
the required width. A brace must be nailed , to the boards on
the inside above the door and two cross cleats nailed to the
boards forming the door. The door may then be swung as
shown in the illustration on page 182, attaching the hinges on
the outside opposite the cleats.
Hog Trough
Fig. 36
186
SCHOOL-HOME PROJECTS
Profitable hog raising requires not only proper housing
facilities but also economical methods of feeding. Many experi-
ments have shown that corn alone is not an economical feed
for growing hogs. Feeds containing protein, to form large
frames, should be fed in connection with corn. A good legumi-
nous pasture such as clover or alfalfa, together with corn pro-
vide a good growing ration. In the absence of pasture such
feeds as skim milk, wheat shorts, bran or tankage should be
used in connection with corn. Most of these feeds are fed in
the form of slops. This requires some form of trough. The
first requirement of a good trough is that it be constructed so
that it may be readily cleaned. The simplest and one of the most
substantial troughs is the V shaped type shown in Fig. 38.
The wide board in these troughs should be the thickness of
the lumber wider than the narrow one. The drawing shows all
of the details needed in its construction. The boards should
be planed so that they fit perfectly at the joint and securely
nailed. A triangular strip should be nailed in the bottom to
enable the hogs to reach the bottom with greater ease. No
cracks should be left to get filled with slop which will become
sour and foul. The length of the trough should depend upon
the number of hogs which will use it and whether it is to be
used from one side or two. A trough should be placed upon a
platform or on a high, dry location so that the pigs will not
get their feet muddy. Cleanliness is the first essential in secur-
ing good results in feeding slops.
Concrete troughs are growing in popularity because they
can be easily cleaned. For the method of making a concrete
trough, refer to page 198 in the section on concrete.
Pigs, when large enough, should be shut in a small pen and
fattened for about a month to prepare them for market. Corn
or some other fat-producing food should be made the basis of
their daily ration. This pen may be one composed of movable
Fig. 39
ffog Chute
RAISING HOGS
187
sections so that it may be easily changed to a new location or
it may be a permanent pen with a concrete floor, which can be
kept in a sanitary condition.
If the shipping point is only a short distance, the hogs may
be driven early in the morning while it is cool. If the station
is a considerable distance away, the hogs will have to be hauled
in wagons. This will require a loading chute and a hog rack.
The loading chute, Fig. 39, is made of 2x4 standards and
supports, 1x6 siding, 2x12 flooring and 1x4 braces. The
working drawing will enable any woodworker to construct such
a chute. Cleats, I"xl^"x3' should be securely nailed or
screwed to the floor at intervals of 8" to 10" to prevent the hogs
from slipping.
The hog rack shown in Fig. 40 is planned to fit the com-
bination box described on page 149. The stakes on the sides
should be spaced to fit the iron holders on the wagon bed. The
sides are composed of seven % x 4's, spaced 2" apart or six if
spaced 3" apart. The ends fit in slots formed by nailing two
I" x l}/2" strips an inch apart at each end of the sides. These
ends are securely held in place by two y%" rods in each end of
the rack. This rack is superior in hot weather to one set on top
of a regular wagon box on account of the better opportunity for
the circulation of the air due to the base of this rack being only
6" high instead of 12".
If one does not have the .combination box, this rack may be
made to fit a common wagon box by replacing the stakes by
two cleats 1" x 3" x 4', nailed on opposite sides of the boards and
using fewer boards for each side and the front end.
Wet sand, hay or straw, placed in the bottom of the hog
rack will tend to keep the hogs cool in warm weather while
they are being hauled to market. The driver should also prevent
the hogs from piling together in one end of the rack because
they are often smothered in that way.
40
S/rfe
- 10 10"
HOQ Rack
1
lit:
ai
tip
=nr
d&
^
zra
iri
^
} c i*4"
J Shafted tt> fit _ >
"
'2 Space
188
CONCRETE
Concrete is an artificial stone made by mixing together sand
and stone with cement and water in certain specified proportions.
Concrete is not a new invention because it was very extensively
used as far back as Roman times. Many of the concrete struc-
tures built by the Romans are still standing silent testimonials
of the lasting qualities of concrete. It is only recently, how-
ever, that the perfecting and cheapening of the process of making
Portland Cement has resulted in a widespread use of concrete
in this country.
Portland cement 1 is made by mixing limestone rock with a
certain proportion 2 of a material of clayey composition such as
clay, shale, cement rock, or blast furnace slag. The rock and
other raw materials are first mined, then dried, ground to a
coarse powder and stored in large storage bins. These materials
are then proportioned by weight and thoroughly mixed. This
mixture is then ground to a fine powder and fed into a revolving
kiln where it is subjected to a temperature varying from 2500
F. to 3000 F. This extremely high temperature fuses or melts
these materials into clinkers, varying in size from %" to about
1J^" in diameter. Gypsum is then added in the proportion of 2
pounds to 100 pounds of clinkers. The purpose of the gypsum
is to retard the setting time of the cement. This mixture is
ground into the fine Portland cement powder which is stored
in bins until ready for packing.
This cement is packed in three forms : wooden barrels, con-
taining 380 pounds ; cloth bags of 95 pounds and paper bags of
the same size. The cloth bags are the most popular on account
of being more easily handled than the barrels and not so easily
torn as the paper bags. The bag also offers a convenient measur-
ing unit for small "batches" of concrete.
The purpose of using the stone and sand with the cement
is to cheapen the cost of the concrete. The large spaces or voids
between the stones or gravel are filled with sand and the spaces
between the particles of sand are filled with cement. There
should be no voids in an ideal concrete mixture. Fig. 1 illus-
trates the proper proportions for a 1:2:4 mixture, consisting of
1 part of cement to 2 parts of sand to 4 parts of stone or gravel.
1 Portland cement was discovered by Joseph Aspdin, of England, in
1824. He named it "Portland" cement, because the mixture when hardened
resembled a stone found on the island of Portland, south of England.
2 Standard Portland cement contains the following- elements: silica
20 to 24%; lime 60 to 65%; alumina 5 to 10%; iron oxide 2 to 5%; magnesia
1 to 4%; and sulphur trioxide % to 1%%.
MIXING CONCRETE
189
Proportion of a 1: i: 4 Mixture
Sand
Stone
Concrete.
Various mixtures of cement, sand and stone or gravel are
made, depending upon the uses to which the concrete is to be
put. A 1:2:4 mixture is used for walls of silos and other build-
ings above the foundation. It is also used for reinforced floors,
beams, columns and other structures subject to considerable
vibration. A 1 :3 :5 mixture is not so strong but is usually used
for foundations and the lower course of a two-course sidewalk
or floor. A 1:2:3 mixture is considered best for troughs, tanks,
fence posts, roofs and one-course floors, walks or pavements.
If a very smooth surface is desired for ornamental work, the
stone or gravel is not used in the mixture. A mixture of 1 part
cement to 1 to 1^2 parts of sand is used for the top course of a
two-course floor. A 1:2 mixture is sufficiently smooth for the sur-
face of walks or pavements. This mixture is also used for the
facing surface of building blocks, while a less expensive mixture
is used for the remaining portions of the blocks.
After the kind of mixture has been selected, the materials
must be accurately measured and properly mixed. For the 1 :2 :4
mixture, two measuring boxes are needed. The sizes of these
boxes will depend upon the number of bags of cement which
are used in one batch. For a two-bag batch the sand measuring
box should be 2' square and ll^" high. The corresponding
box for stone or gravel should be 4' long, 2' wide and 11^" high.
These measuring boxes are constructed without tops or bottoms.
The usual form for the construction of these boxes is shown
in Fig. 2. Instead of this construction, a rectangular box of
the proper dimensions may be made and strips about 2" wide
nailed on the sides for handles.
How to mix concrete: A good platform or mixing box
must be provided for mixing concrete by hand. A platform 9'
wide and 1(X long is large enough for a mixing board for
small batches of concrete. The boards used in this platform
should be tongued and grooved. They should also be surfaced
on one side so that a smooth surface will be provided for shovel-
190
CONCRETE
Fig. 2 Measuring &ox
Fig. 3 Spading Concrete
Spade or
thin boar*
Spaded.
Ptot sfoac/ed
ing. One inch boards will be sufficiently strong for this platform
if they are properly braced and it will not be so heavy when it is
necessary for the platform to be moved. These boards with
tight joints should be nailed to five 2x4 cleats so that no cement
grout will be able to run through the cracks. In order to pre-
vent the concrete from running off the platform, a 2x2 strip
should be tightly nailed around the edges of the platform.
The sand measuring box should first be placed near one side
on the platform and filled with sand. After it is measured, the
sand should be spread out in a layer 3" or 4" deep. The cement
should then be spread as evenly as possible over the entire
surface of the sand. The pile of sand and cement is next
mixed by turning it over on the other side of the platform. The
sand and cement should not be dumped off the shovel but shaken
off the end and sides so that they are thoroughly mixed as they
fall. A second shoveling is usually needed to have the sand and
cement properly mixed. The mixture should then be spread out
and the stone or gravel measuring box placed on top and filled
with stone or gravel. After the box is removed, the stone should
be scattered out evenly over the pile.
The materials are now ready for wetting. About 10 gallons
of water should be used for a two-bag batch of 1 :2 :4 mixture for
a medium wet mixture. About three-fourths of this amount of
water should first be dashed over the stone, spreading it evenly
over the pile. The mixture should next be turned by dumping
a shovel full and dragging the shovel back over the stone. This
mixes the mortar with the wet stones. The remainder of the
water should be used to wet any dry spots that appear. About
three shovelings are required for this stage of the mixing. The
concrete is then ready for placing in the forms. Since concrete
"sets" in from twenty minutes to half an hour after being mixed,
it should be immediately placed in the forms which have been
previously prepared for it
CONSISTENCY OF CONCRETE 191
The mixing platform should be thoroughly cleaned by
scrubbing it with a broom and water after the day's work. If
this is not done, small particles of stone will be cemented to the
boards and this will make shoveling difficult the next time the
platform is used.
Power mixing machines are used when large quantities of
concrete are used as in pavements or extensive foundations. The
measuring for these machines is done by dumping wheelbarrow
loads of sand and gravel on the feeding chute and pouring on the
proper number of bags of cement.
Consistency of Concrete: There are three types of con-
sistency in concrete mixtures: (1) a very wet mixture; (2) a
medium mixture and (3) a dry mixture. A very wet mixture is
mushy and will run out of a wheelbarrow or shovel. This type
of mixture is used in thin walls or reinforced work. A medium
mixture is of a quaky consistency and is used for foundations,
floors, walks, fenceposts, etc. A dry mixture resembles damp
earth and requires thorough tamping until the water appears on
the surface. This type of mixture is used in foundations where
it is desirable that the concrete set as quickly as possible.
Spading concrete, as the name suggests, consists of running
a spade or thin board down the side of the form to force back
the coarse pieces of stone and gravel and allow the finer parts
of the concrete to flow to the outside and thus give a smooth
finish to the outside of the structure, Fig. 3. Should spading
not result in a smooth enough finish, a surface coat of pure
cement mortar may be used to accomplish this result. If the
pure cement mortar is not used, there is danger of the outside
coat peeling off.
Forms for concrete projects: Forms for concrete work
should be made of "green" lumber. Dry lumber will tend to
absorb moisture from the concrete unless it is thoroughly soaked
in water before it is used in the forms. It is very important that
the forms be very accurately constructed and that no cracks or
knot holes are present for the cement grout to run out. For this
reason a good grade of tongued and grooved lumber is favored
upon fine work. In laying foundations, cheap lumber is usually
used for the forms and then used on other parts of the building
where it is covered by other finished lumber. Clay may be used
to stop any cracks or knot holes. If the opening is large a board
should be nailed over the clay on the outside of the form to
prevent the pressure of the concrete from pushing the clay
through the opening. In order to insure an easy separation of
the form from the concrete, the inside of the form should be
painted with some mixture that will insure this separation. A
192 CONCRETE
mixture of boiled linseed oil and kerosene is used by many work-
ers for this purpose. It is not necessary to recoat the form each
time it is used. Any concrete which sticks to the mold should
be scraped off before it is used again.
Two kinds of forms are used in making concrete products,
one in which the concrete is molded in a solid mass in a one-
piece mold and a second type in which a second form or core is
used to make a hollow or opening through the concrete object
that is being molded in an outer form. Clay, plaster casts, and
lumber are used to make these inner forms.
Removal of forms: The forms should not be removed
from the concrete until it has thoroughly set. This usually re-
quires from 24 to 48 hours. Where it is convenient, it is well to
leave the forms for several days longer because they form a
protection against a too rapid evaporation of the water from the
surface. If it is necessary to remove the forms immediately after
the concrete has set, it should be sprinkled twice a day and cov-
ered by a piece of old carpet, canvas or burlap to prevent the
outside from drying out faster than the inside. Many excellent
pieces of concrete work have been marred by cracks that have
been caused by the lack of proper wetting of the surface during
the curing period.
A concrete sidewalk should be covered with a sheet of canvas
for a few days and kept wet in order to prevent it from cracking.
If a canvas covering is not available, a layer of damp earth may
be used to cover it after the surface has hardened.
Reinforcement: Concrete will resist great compression but
it does not have very much power to resist a bending force. For
this reason concrete posts, suspended floors and other concrete
structures subject to pulls and vibrations must be reinforced with
steel or iron rods which are strong in tensile strength.
Class Projects: Many of the projects described on pages
193 to 208 require the same kind of concrete mixture. If all the
forms are ready, a large batch of concrete can be mixed at one
time and all of the forms filled from this one batch. The concrete
can be more thoroughly mixed and will result in less waste if
mixed in large batches rather than each pupil mixing a small
amount for his particular project.
Community Projects: Sidewalks, floors and steps may be
made for patrons of the school for merely the cost of the materials
because this is an excellent opportunity to get a practical training
in that phase of concrete work. A movable mixing platform
should be made for this kind of work.
PROJECTS IN CONCRETE
193
Door Weight
lfe.4
Wirt
baseball fame Plate
-I*
Fig. 5
DOOR WEIGHT
Many glasses in doors are broken by the wind slamming
the doors shut. A door weight will prevent them from being
blown shut when they are left open for ventilation. This' is one
of the simplest projects that may be selected for work in con-
crete. The form for the door weight, shown in Fig. 4, consists
of a rectangular box which is 2" deep, 4" wide and 8" long
(inside measurements). A 1 :2 mixture of cement and sand
should be used for this project. Before filling the form with
concrete, the inside should be painted with the mixture of lin-
seed oil and kerosene to prevent the concrete from sticking to
the form.
By inserting two wires bent in the shape shown in the illus-
tration, a handle of leather or heavy cloth may be put on the
weight. This makes it much easier to handle. These wires
should be accurately spaced from the ends and sides and im-
bedded at least ^4" in the concrete at the time it is placed in
the form. The sides should be carefully spaded.
BASEBALL HOME-PLATE
Every school should be equipped with a home-plate for the
baseball diamond. The shape and dimensions of a home-plate
are shown in Fig. 5. The base of the form should be laid out
and squared up to the exact dimensions. Side strips may then
be nailed to the sides of the base, forming a box 2" deep.
The two mitred joints should be cut in the mitre box at an
angle of 45. A 1 :2 mixture of cement and sand should be used
and the top troweled very smooth so that the dust may be easily
brushed off during the progress of a game. The top edges
should be slightly rounded with an edger to eliminate sharp
edges. This plate should be sunk nearly level with the ground
so that the edges will not catch the feet of a runner when he
slides for the homeplate.
194 CONCRETE
Foot 5cra/>er
Sect/ on A -A
FOOT SCRAPER
A concrete base for a foot scraper, Fig. 6, also offers a
practical project for the beginner in concrete construction. The
'form for this base is a water-tight box with any convenient
dimensions. A box with inside measurements of 2" x 10" x 12"
makes a well proportioned base for a scraper. The lumber
should be put together with screws so that it may be easily
taken apart in removing the form. A triangular strip of wood
YT." wide should be nailed in the lower edges of the mold in
order to bevel the lower edges of the block.
The iron part of the scraper is made of a strip of X" x 1"
iron 10" long, welded to two upright pieces of the same material
7" in length. If a forge is not available this part of the scraper
can be made at a blacksmith shop. See page 225 for directions
for making the iron portion of the scraper. Note that an inch
at the base of each upright piece is turned at right angles to
hold the iron more firmly in the concrete.
Before placing the concrete in the form, the inside of the
form should be painted as described in the description of the
door weight. The iron scraper should be braced in the position
in which it is to remain. This may be done by nailing strips
across the top of the form, one on each side of the scraper.
The form should be filled with a 1 :3 mixture of cement and
sand. A trowel should be used to smooth the top of the block
and either an edger or a trowel used to bevel the upper edges to
correspond to the bevel made by the triangular wooden strips
that were placed in the edges of the bottom of the form. The
form may be removed in two days but the base should be wet
twice a day for 4 to 8 days to properly cure the outside.
Pupils should be encouraged to vary the designs of projects in this
section and also to design other simple concrete projects not described in
this book.
PROJECTS IN CONCRETE
195
or/7? for Concrete Posts
IA
FENCE POSTS
Concrete fence posts, if properly made will last much longer
than wooden posts and cost but little more. Concrete posts are
made in a variety of shapes. One of the most popular types is a
post 3" square at the top, 5" square at the base and 7' long. This
length allows the post to be set 2y 2 ' in the ground.
Fig. 7 shows a horizontal form for making 3 fence posts,
each being 3^2 " square at the top and Sy 2 " square at the base.
These dimensions are used to give a post of greater strength than
the one described in the preceding paragraph. On the other
hand, a barrel of concrete will only make 15 of these posts while
it will make about 19 of the 3" size. The form may be made
with the smaller dimensions instead of the ones given if the
worker considers the smaller posts strong enough to meet his
needs.
A platform 2'x8' of matched lumber nailed to 2x4s should
be made. Four pieces of 2" material 7' \ l /2" long are tapered
from 3^" at one end to 5^" at the other for the partitions and
sides of the form. The small end piece is 2" x 3y 2 " x 22". Grooves
3^" apart and ^ of an inch deep are cut across the side of this
end piece to exactly fit the ends of the tapering sides. A similar
strip 2"x5^"x29" is grooved at intervals of 5K" to fit the
other ends of the sides and partitions. Cleats are tacked at the
ends and sides to prevent spreading when the forms are filled.
Hooks are used on the ends to hold the form together. Small
triangular strips 4' long are usually tacked in the upper part
of the form to bevel the edges of the post which will be above
the ground.
A medium wet mixture of 1 :2:3 concrete should be used for
196 CONCRETE
fence posts. Since a fence post is subjected to considerable side
pull, it must be reinforced. Four heavy }4" wires or }4" rods,
bent at the ends and placed about 1" from each corner, are
usually used for this purpose. After about an inch of the mix-
ture has been placed in a form, two wires should be placed on
the concrete, each being about an inch from the edge and the
ends extending to within \y 2 " from the top and the bottom.
The mold is then filled to within an inch of the top of the mold
and the other two wires similarly placed. The mold is next
filled and leveled even with the top of the form. The sides should
be spaded to produce a smooth surface on the post. No gravel
or crushed rock larger than about 24" should be used on ac-
count of the nearness of the reinforcing rods to the surface.
Triangular strips the same size as those used in the bottom of
the frame should be pressed into the corners of the top edges of
the mold so that the post is uniformly beveled on all sides.
The tapering form of this post will make it possible to fasten
the fence to it by drawing a wire taut around a wire of the fence
and around the post. Twisted wires or staples bent at the ends
may be inserted in the post for fasteners but these usually break
or rust off after considerable use. Some manufacturers make
holes through the post by using greased rods when the posts are
cast. These holes tend to weaken the post and are not always in
the proper position for fastening the wires.
Another type of post is one 4" square at the top and
4"x6" at the base. One advantage of this type is that one can
mold as many in a single form as he wishes because they are all
4" wide and taper on only two sides. Not more than three
or four of the double tapered posts shown in figure 7 can be
molded in one form because the ends tend to become very
angling with the side's.
Corner posts should be about 12" square and be placed from
3' to 3 l /2 f in the ground. They should be built where they are
to be used on account of their great weight. A perpendicular
form should be used for these posts.
The posts should be removed from the form in about 24
hours and set in a vertical position so that they will dry uni-
formly on all sides. They should also be wet twice a day so
that they will cure properly. Many of the failures in making
concrete posts have been due to carelessness in proper curing
of the posts.
Steel forms, which may be used in batteries, varying from
four to ten may also be purchased. It is not profitable to buy
these forms, however, unless a large number of posts is made.
PROJECTS IN CONCRETE
197
Concrete Hotbed
fig. 6
fu f Strip
CONCRETE HOTBED
Any farmer or gardener, who is permanently located can
well afford to put up a concrete hotbed. It will last much longer
than one with board walls and be much cheaper in the end. The
fermenting manure does not affect the concrete but is very de-
structive to wood. A hotbed should be located, if possible, on
the south side of a building where the air will be warmest for
ventilating in the day time.
In making a permanent hotbed, the size of the sash must
first be found. Standard hotbed sash are 3' wide and 6' long. If
one wishes to make a hotbed to be covered with three standard
sash, the excavation should be made about 6' 9" wide and 9' 10"
long. This allows for walls 6" thick. Care must be taken to get
the sides of the excavation perpendicular and the corners square.
The forms for the walls are easily made. Some matched
boards should be nailed to three or four stakes the height of the
wall. These walls should be set so that the boards are 6"
from the dirt wall. These inner forms should be braced as
shown in Fig. 8. The outside forms may be braced as shown
in the illustration, with the inside face of the boards even with
the dirt wall. In order to. leave a notch for the sash, a strip about
an inch wide should be tacked to the top of the inside frame as
shown in the illustration.
The ends are made in a similar way, except that the top
boards must be slanted. A strip should be nailed to the top of
the slanting sides to furnish a depression in the ends for the
edges of the two outside frames. A 1 :3 :5 mixture of concrete
will be sufficiently strong for this project and will be less ex-
pensive than a richer mixture.
198 CONCRETE
Fig-9
Hog Trough Form
[ i
-1 4" 1-
u. 54" , -4-4".
i/\
Vv
1
r : V
/ \
/ V
HOG TROUGH
In making the hog trough, shown in Fig. 9, there are two
parts to be constructed for the form. The outer box is made
with a depth of 9", a width of 15" and a length of 6' (inside
measurements). An inside box must then be made for the
cpre. This box is made 4" wide at the bottom and 11" wide at
the top ; 5' 4" long at the bottom and 5' 8" long at the top. The
boards must be beveled to the proper angles to make water tight
joints. This core form should then be turned upside down in the
outer form and screwed to the bottom, leaving a space 2" around
the lower edges. Small triangular strips may be tacked in the
corners of the outer box to bevel off the sharp edges of the outer
walls.
After the form is completed, the inside surfaces should be
painted with the mixture of linseed oil and kerosene. The form
is then ready for filling. A 1 :2 :3 mixture, medium wet, and well
spaded should be used for this trough. Every trough should be
reinforced. Heavy wire or small rods may be used for this pur-
pose. These wires or rods should be bent so that they extend
around the core about an inch from the outside form. About 1"
of concrete should be placed in the form and one of the rein-
forcing wires or rods laid on top. About 3" more of concrete
and another reinforcing wire, and a third layer of concrete and
the third reinforcement should be placed. An additional wire
should be run through the center of the concrete above the core.
The form should then be filled, tamped until water shows on the
surface and leveled off with a straight edge. After about 48
hours the form should be carefully removed and the inside
painted with a pure cement mortar to leave a smooth surface.
The trough should be kept wet until it is cured.
If clay is available, the inside core of the mold may be shaped
out of clay instead of using a board core.
PROJECTS IN CONCRETE
199
Fig. 10
Water/ng Trough Form
CONCRETE WATERING TROUGH
The forms for making a concrete watering trough are^shown
in Fig. 10. These forms should be made of matched lumber to
make them water tight. The outside form is in the shape of a
rectangular box with inside measurements of 4' x 9'. The boards
are held in place by being nailed to stakes which have been
driven into" the ground. The end boards are also nailed to the
sides to make the outer form more secure. This form may be
made more rigid by bracing the stakes as shown in the illustra-
tion. The inner form which molds the depression in the trough
is 3'x8' at the top and 2'x7' at the bottom. There is less
danger of the trough being split by water freezing in it, if it is
built in this shape. The inner form is held in place by being
nailed to 2x4 supports resting on the top of the outer form.
The walls of this trough may be reinforced with wire mesh.
A form should be made out of this mesh with dimensions 6"
larger than those of the inner form. The outer form should be
filled to a depth of about 12" and the reinforcement placed in
position. The inner form may then be suspended in position and
the rest of the form filled. A 1 :2 :4 medium wet mixture will be
found suitable for making this trough. The sides of the concrete
should be well spaded to make the surface smooth in appearance.
The inside of the tank should be plastered with a coat of pure
cement to make the concrete water proof.
The same plan may be modified to make a tank of any
dimensions. If the builder wishes to save concrete, a form 2'
wide, 7' long and 9" deep may be made of old boards, placed in
the bottom of the outer form and filled with cinders or gravel.
The forms may be removed in two days but the concrete
should be kept wet for two weeks and covered with a canvas to
keep the outside surfaces from drying too quickly and cracking.
200
CONCRETE
Fig.ll
Flower 3 ox
v/fw o/tcf side Section of for r,
CONCRETE FLOWER BOX
The form for this concrete flower box consists of two boxes
with sloping sides. Consequently the bevel must be used on all
of the edges of the bottom boards to get accurate joints. The
T bevel should be set to give a slope of l l / 2 " in 8".
The top of the bottom board of the outer form, is 8" wide
and 37" long. The sides and ends of the outer form should be
6^5" high and be screwed to the base board so they may be
easily removed in taking down the form. Strips \ l /2 r> high
should be nailed to the tops of the sides and ends. They are
set out y%" from the inner edges to make the projecting rim
around the top of the box. The top of the outer form should
measure 11" wide and 3' 4" long. Designs may be made in the
sides and ends of the box by properly spacing and tacking T 4"
or y%" boards to the insides of the outer forms. The edges of
these boards should be beveled because it not only gives a neater
design but enables the outer form to be removed with greater
ease. The design in the illustration is merely suggestive.
The inside form is a box with outside measurements as fol-
lows : Top 8" x 37" ; bottom 5^" x 34^" ; height 6}^". This
form is suspended by two strips tacked to it and the top of the
outer form.
The flower box should be made with a wet mixture of 1 :2
cement and clean sand. Wire mesh may be used for reinforce-
ment for this box by bending it into the same shape as the inner
form but with dimension lj* greater, except the height which
should be the same.
The forms should be carefully removed after two days and
the box placed under water for several days to cure. If a smooth
finish is desired, the surface may be coated with pure cement and
rubbed down.
PROJECTS IN CONCRETE
Fig. 12
LAWN PEDESTAL
The lawn pedestals shown in Fig. 12 may each be molded
in one form or molded in three separate sections and put to-
gether with mortar.
The form for the base is a frame 15" square and 4" high.
The shaft of the pedestal is made in a form 13" square and 22"
high. This shaft may be molded hollow by inserting an inner
form about 6" square and 22" high in the center of the shaft
form. The design on the sides is made by thin boards, having
beveled edges, and which are tacked on each of the inner
faces of the form. The form for the top has sloping sides. It is
3" high, 17" square at the top and 14j/2 " square at the lower
edge on the straight sided pedestal and 11" square at the top
and 8" square at the lower edge on the sloping sided pedestal.
A 1 :2 mixture should be used in casting all of the parts of
the pedestal. If the three parts are cast separately, they should
be put together with mortar made by mixing equal parts of
cement and sand. The pedestal should either be immersed in
water or kept wet and covered with canvas for about two weeks
to allow it to cure properly.
The designs on the edges of the top are made with beveled
strips tacked to the insides of the top form. The shaft may
also be made with slanting instead of perpendicular sides. By
changing the height of the pedestal and increasing the depth of
the top, a bird bath may be constructed on fhe same general
plan with the addition of a form for making the hollow for the
bath. The designing of a flower urn or small square flower box
to be placed on this pedestal offers another interesting and
closely related project. Fig. 13 shows a design of an urn.
Be sure to have the forms thoroughly soaked in water before
using. Dry lumber will absorb moisture and cause the project
to dry too quickly and crack.
202
CONCRETE
. 13
Flower Urn
20
Urn form
/Clay Clay,
Base form
-iz
Section
FLOWER URN
The urn shown in Fig. 13 should be constructed in two parts.
To make the bowl, a circle with a radius of 8^2" should be laid
off on a board platform. On this circle a clay core 4^" deep
should be built up and rounded to make it the same shape as
the hollow of the bowl. A concave tin template should be cut
the shape of the outside curve of the bowl and used to give the
proper curve to the outside of this core.
For the outer part of the form, a board frame 20" square
and 6" deep (inside measurements) should be made. This frame
should be covered with y 2 " lumber. The diagonals of the in-
side of the box should be drawn and with the point of in-
tersection as a center, a circle with a radius of 2 l / 2 " laid
out. This circle should be carefully sawed out with a com-
pass saw and the sides and corners of the box filled with clay.
If a few nails are driven in the sides of the box before putting
in the clay, they will help hold the clay in place. The convex
template (left by cutting out the concave one) may be used to
shape the clay which forms the outside of the mold. This outer
part of the mold should then be inverted over the core, with ex-
actly \y 2 " left between the inner and outer parts of this form.
The circular form for the base, 12" in diameter, may be
made of cardboard or tin. The lower edge of the mold should
be filled with clay and shaped with a template cut to the proper
curve. A wood circle 5" in diameter and J^" thick should be
placed exactly in the center of the base to make the hollow for
the base of the bowl.
A 1 :2 wet mixture should be used for the urn. While the
concrete is still workable, the outer form should be removed
and the surfaces smoothed with a template. The two parts of
the urn may then be cemented together.
PROJECTS IN CONCRETE
203
Fig. 14
Lawn Seat
LAWN SEAT
The form for the slab of the lawn seat, Fig. 14, is merely a
box 2^4" deep, 16" wide and V 6" long. Small triangular strips
should be nailed in the four lower corners to bevel the edges of
the slab. Wire mesh should be placed about 24" from the bottom
of the slab to reinforce it. Two dowels should be set in the
bottom of the form 5" from each side and 8y 2 " from each end,
projecting 2" into the form. These dowels will leave holes in
which iron rods may be inserted to help brace the top to the legs.
The form for the end is much more complex. It consists of
a box 5" wide and 15*4" long. The side of this form is 11"
wide at the top and 14" wide at the bottom. The shape of
the end is obtained by nailing boards with beveled edges on
the sides and ends of the form. The design is made by
wooden figures nailed to a thin board which is tacked on
the face of one of the inserted boards. The inner surface of
each leg is plain. The wooden figures must be mounted back-
wards on the form because they print the same as type. Bolts,
the same size as the dowels in the top, should be placed in the
top of each leg and spaced to fit the dowel holes in the top slab.
A 1 :2 mixture of concrete should be used. A wet mixture
should be used for the legs but a much drier mixture may be
used for the top and thoroughly tamped. After a day or two the
top should be smoothed by rubbing it with a brick and fine sand.
The seat should be cemented to the legs where it is to be used
on account of the weight of the whole seat. Care should be
taken in curing this seat as mentioned in the discussions of the
previous projects.
If the legs are not removed before they dry out, they are apt
to crack. The forms for the legs should be removed after about
24 hours and the legs immersed in a tank of water to cure.
204 CONCRETE
Fig. 15 Concrete S/de Walk
Straight ecfee
Surface Jaytr
SfeAe
2 x 4 form
^-k
CONCRETE SIDE WALK
, The excavation for a concrete side walk should be made at
least 6" wider than the walk is to be and about 9" deep. The
lower 6" should be filled with cinders, gravel or crushed stone.
This will provide a drain under the walk and prevent an up-
heaval of the walk due to water collecting under the walk and
freezing. This sub-base of cinders or stone should be thor-
oughly tamped with a heavy iron tamper. On top of this sub-
base 2x4s should be placed for the sides of the form for the
walk. A stretched cord and a board gauge the width of the walk
should be used to accurately locate these sides. They should be
securely fastened in place by stakes driven on the outside at
intervals of 2' or 3'.
A medium wet mixture should then be placed in the form for
a base and leveled off with a base gauge (see figure 16). A 1 :3 :5
mixture should be used for this lower course. The lower course
must be tamped until water appears on the surface. A coat of
pure cement mortar should then be spread in a thin layer over
the top of this lower course in order to make a strong bond be-
tween the upper and lower courses. If this is not done, the top
coat may peel off. The remainder of the form should be filled
with a 1 :2 mixture of cement and sand for the top course and this
course leveled off with a straight edge.
The top of the walk may be smoothed with either a metal or
wooden trowel. A wooden trowel leaves a rough surface which
prevents the walk from becoming so slippery in rainy weather,
while a metal trowel leaves a smoother finish but one which is
apt to become slippery.
A jointer should be run across the walk at right angles to the
CONCRETE SIDEWALK
205
Fig. 16
Metal trowel.
S/de Watt Too/3
Jointer
sides at regular intervals varying from about 24" in narrow walks
to about y in wide walks. This can be accurately done by
laying a board with a straight edge across the walk at right
angles with the edge and running the jointer along the edge of
the board. These grooves divide the walk into sections, any one
of which may be easily removed and replaced if it cracks or is
damaged in any way. The walk should be finished by running
an edger along the edges to prevent them from being so easily
chipped.
A concrete walk should be wet every day for three or four
days and covered with a canvas in order to prevent the top sur-
face from drying too soon and cracking. If a strip of canvas is
not available, a covering of wet sand or sawdust may be used
after the concrete has thoroughly set.
Floors: Concrete floors for porches, basements, barns and
feed lots are coming rapidly into favor. They are more durable
and the ease with which they may be cleaned renders them much
more sanitary than board floors. Concrete floors should be con-
structed in the same manner as a side walk. On account of the
removal of the forms, concrete floors are laid in rows. After the
first rows are hard, the forms are removed ctnd the other rows
filled in. An outside floor should be laid with a slight slope so
that the water will drain off in the winter. A trench about 18"
deep should be dug around a hog feeding floor and a footing
placed in it to prevent the hogs from undermining it with hog
wallows. Light floors should be made 4" thick and floors which
are subject to heavy loads should be made 6"thick. If a floor
is large expansion joints should be provided to allow for the
contraction and expansion due to the changes in temperature.
These cracks may be filled with tar or asphalt.
206
CONCRETE
rod
Where edges
of metal meet
-Sheet iron
SawAerf-
Cap >K ^Hqle bored
tofit pipe
LAWN ROLLER
With the spring thaws come the rough lawns. The frost
coming out of the ground causes the sod to raise up in humps,
which, if not rolled out while the lawn is soft, will become set
and spoil the appearance of the lawn. Rollers used for smooth-
ing lawns are made either of metal, wood or concrete.
A concrete roller is easily made, is cheaper than one made
of metal or wood and can be designed to suit one's individual
needs. A roller about 18" in diameter and 24" long is of a
convenient size for general purposes and can be easily operated
by one person. A roller of this size will weigh from 525 to 600
pounds.
There are two methods of casting a lawn roller, one a form
made of metal and wood as illustrated in Fig. 17 and one where
the roller is cast in a sewer pipe set small end down on a wooden
platform. In either case the pipe or rod which is to be the axle
should be held in the exact center of the form while the roller is
being made. Otherwise the roller will travel unevenly when put
into use and be hard to operate.
The wood and metal form is constructed as follows: On a
square platform 6" or 8" larger than the diameter of the roller a
circle with the same diameter as the roller should be drawn,
LAWN ROLLER 207
Six boards should be arranged over this circle as shown in B Fig.
17 and nailed together. A circle of the same diameter should be
drawn on this form and the inside of the form sawed out and
smoothed to the circular lines. The curve in the base blocks can
be determined in the same way. The upper form is held in
place by four 2x4s as shown in A Fig. 17. A hole just large
enough to hold the axle rod or pipe is bored in the center of the
platform and also through the brace bar nailed across the top of
the form. A piece of sheet iron as wide as the length of the
roller and as long as the circumference -of the circle 1 is cut and
fitted into the form. This metal form is kept from bulging and
separating at the joint by hoops of No. 16 wire, formed round it
at intervals of 6".
Painting the inside of the form with a mixture to prevent
the concrete from sticking to the form should not be neglected.
A 1 :2 :4 medium wet mixture should be used to make a roller.
The sides should be carefully spaded to insure the outer surface
of the roller being smooth. In case a tile form is used the con-
crete should only come to the lower edge of the bell. The roller
should be allowed to set for 10 or 12 days before removing the
form. If a tile form is used it will be necessary to break the
tile in pieces with a heavy hammer and cold chisel, consequently
a defective tile should be used if ,it is possible to secure one
that will answer the purposes.
The handle can be made of wood and metal, as shown in
the illustration. A blacksmith will shape the pieces C and D
for a small charge if no forge is available.- In addition to the
hole for the pipe in the handle, a saw kerf in the direction of the
grain makes it possible for the bolts to grip the pipe firmly.
If a pipe is used as an axle, the handle is held on by caps.
If a rod is used, it must be threaded and a nut screwed on each
end. In either case it is advisable to have one or two washers
between the nut or cap and the handle, and between the handle
and the concrete. Since the roller is to be used with a back-
ward as well as a forward pull, to make sure that the nuts will
stay on the axle, the ends of the rod should be riveted after the
nuts have been screwed on. In case a pipe is used, the threads
of the pipe should be painted and the caps screwed on while
the paint is still wet. The roller should not be used until the
paint is thoroughly dry so that the caps will not come off when
the roller is pulled backwards.
1 The circumference of a circle is determined by multiplying the diam-
eter by 3.1416.
208
CONCRETE
Fig. 18
Cores
Cardboard __
fastened on tv/fo brads
Screws
AQUARIUM CASTLES.
A castle for an aquarium offers an excellent opportunity for
indoor concrete work. It will beautify the aquarium and supply
the fish with something which they enjoy. A-Fig 18 shows a
rock castle through which the fish can swim. Such a formation
is made by building up instead of pouring. A 1 :1 mixture of
cement and sand, with water enough added to bring it to the con-
sistency of mortar, is spread around the cores. Rocks of pleasing
color and shape are partly imbedded in the fresh concrete in such
a way that the exposed parts give a pleasing shape to the whole
castle. Rocks of irregular shape stick into the concrete better
than round rocks. The most effective results are obtained when
rocks of granite-like quality are broken and the newly exposed
surfaces placed toward the outside.
Unusual care should be used to see that the cores and mould-
ing board are thoroughly oil soaked. Otherwise water will soak
into them as the concrete is applied, causing them to expand
and crack the concrete as it dries. By notching one core into
the other, B-Fig. 18, the openings meet in the center of the castle.
A castle such as C-Fig. 18 can be poured in a form in the
same way as the flower box (Page 200), is poured.
TREE REPAIRING
209
Fig. 19
Box Scraper /f amrner paint truth]
Opening cf cavfy
Fig.ZZ
TREE REPAIRING
Another phase of concrete work deserving of much atten-
tion is the cleaning out, filling and sealing of the decayed por-
tions of trees. Shade trees are sometimes not fully appreciated
until they have been destroyed, either by being blown down or
by dying from decay. A good shade tree often adds several
hundreds of dollars to the value of a property. It takes years for
it to grow to a sufficient size to produce shade, while its destruc-
tion may be accomplished in a comparatively short time. People
are beginning to realize that decaying trees should 'be properly
cared for.
The growing part of a tree trunk is just under the bark.
(See section on Wood and Lumber.) Often a tree trunk is
snagged by the hub of a wagon or gnawed by a horse so that
the protecting bark and the growing part are broken, leaving
the heart wood of the tree exposed to the elements and to boring
insects. This frequenlty results in the inner portion of the tree
becoming decayed, only slightly at first, but in time to such
an extent that the tree trunk becomes too weak to stand the
strain of heavy winds.
210 CONCRETE
A limb, which has been broken and has been allowed to
remain without being properly pruned and treated, often absorbs
moisture and transmits it to the inner portion of the tree. To
all outward appearances the tree is sound, the crown is perfect
in shape and healthy in appearance but moisture seeping into
the heart wood has started a fungus growth, insects have been
attracted to the diseased part and before long large portions of
the inner part of the trunk are weakened or destroyed.
In order to repair or doctor a defective tree trunk, the
decayed or affected portion must first be removed. This should
be done during the summer when not much sap is passing
through the tree. If it is done at the season of the year when
the sap is flowing most freely, the sap will ooze out and its
strength be lost. It should also be done without destroying
any more of the trunk, especially the growing part, than is
necessary. One purpose of this work is to make the tree
stronger and cutting away too much would simply defeat this
purpose, however, all decayed wood must be removed!
The tools needed in addition to the concrete mixing tools
already mentioned are as follows : a heavy mallet, one or two
heavy socket gouges, a large auger or a brace and auger bit, a
box scraper, a rammer and a paint brush, (Fig. 19). If extremely
large cavities are to be filled, the work of removing the decayed
wood can be performed more easily and quickly if an adze is
used.
An opening is first made, with the gouge and mallet, through
the bark and growing part of the tree, directly in front of the
point where the wood is to be removed. Since the trunk con-
tains sap, it will be found that cutting it with the gouge is a
difficult matter as compared to chiselling seasoned wood. The
wood should be removed with clean cut chips. It should not be
split or torn out. Besides removing the decayed parts, the cavity
must be properly shaped so that once the concrete is placed in
it, it cannot fall out; in other words, the inner portion of the
cavity should be larger than the opening. Fig. 20 shows cavities
correct and incorrect in shape. The bark should be cut back
from the edge of the opening for about one-half inch in order
to prevent bruising it while cutting away the decayed portion.
If it is difficult to get back into any part of the cavity, the auger
may be used to rough out that part and the surface finally
smoothed with the gouge.
The walls of the cavity should be as smooth as possible,
paring them with the gouge in small places and surfacing them
with the box scraper in large places. After the cavity is made
the walls should be allowed to dry out for several days and
TREE REPAIRING 211
then, to protect them from further decay, they should be thor-
oughly painted with coal tar, melted pitch or creosote. This
coating should be allowed to dry out and harden for a week or
ten days and then the cavity filled with concrete.
The mixture for small and medium sized cavities should
consist of one part of cement to two parts of sand. Since only
a small portion of it can be placed in the tree at one time, the
mixture should be mixed dry and water added to a small part
of it as it is needed. The mixture must be quite dry as com-
pared to that used for other concrete work. A test for the
proper amount of moisture is to squeeze some of the mixture
in the hand. It should be just wet enough to retain the shape
or imprint of the hand without water being squeezed from it
and at the same time it should crumble when touched. Only
a small shovel full should be placed in the tree at one time.
This should be thoroughly tamped in with the rammer or a
blunt stick. The tighter this is pounded in the better. In other
concrete work, where the mixture is thin enough to flow, it
settles and becomes very compact, but with this slightly moist
mixture it must be made compact by pounding it together. The
cavity should be filled only to within one-half inch of the bark
line and the surface smoothed with a trowel. Ordinary mixtures
, of concrete shrink when they dry. This mixture being only
slightly moist retains the same bulk after it becomes hard. If
it were not for this fact, the concrete would not strengthen the
trunk. Several days will be required for the surface of this
concrete to harden and it will take many weeks for the entire
mass to become hard.
After the surface of the concrete has become thoroughly
dry, it should be painted over with tar to keep out the moisture.
It may also be painted a color to match the bark of the tree after
the tar has been thoroughly dried out.
If the tree is quite hollow and if it is necessary to have an
opening for any great distance through the bark and sap wood,
a long bolt should be placed through the tree from side to side,
3" or 4" from the edge of the cavity, Fig. 21. This bolt can be
placed in position to see that it fits and then removed while the
concrete is being placed below it.
Sometimes it is best to make two small holes into the cavity
instead of one large one, Fig. 22, but this makes it more difficult
to remove all of the decay. The growing part of a tree, properly
reinforced as above described, will in a few years time com-
pletely grow over the concrete filling so that it cannot be seen.
212
METAL WORK AND FORGING
Fig. 1
Swages
Soldering Iron
METAL WORK AND FORGING
As a preventative of much annoyance and loss of time when
metal parts of implements or machinery break, a repair shop
where metal can be drilled and forged is most valuable. A
building or room 12'xl8' will be large enough for both a wood
work and metal work repair shop.
Most all machinery is made of iron and steel. One must
be able to tell the different kinds of metal apart in order to be
able to secure a new part or repair the old one when it is broken.
Most every one knows what iron is but few know the difference
between cast iron, wrought iron and steel. The chief difference
between them is in the amount of a certain substance called
carbon which each contains. Wrought iron contains about .04%,
cast iron about 3.5% and steel about 1%. The more carbon
the metal contains, the more easily it may be broken, therefore
cast iron the least desirable for any project requiring strength.
Wrought iron is the most desirable where flexibility and tough-
ness are needed, and steel where hardness and keen edges are
desired. Bases or brackets of tools, implements, stoves, small
iron pumps, etc., are made of cast iron ; horse shoes, wagon
braces, andirons and window grilles are made of wrought iron,
and tools, springs, and parts of machines subjected to great
strain, are made of steel.
Cast iron will not bend because it is of a crystalline forma-
tion. Wrought iron bends easily and steel will bend under cer-
tain conditions. The more carbon the metal contains, the less
it will bend.
The repairing of cast iron is too difficult for a novice but
many interesting experiments, as well as practical problems, can
be undertaken in wrought iron and steel.
PROJECTS IN METAL WORK
213
Hearth
Sody
horn
Anvil
The work in metal can be divided into the following groups
of operations :
1. Bending.
2. Drilling.
3. Joining,
Cold
Hot
Steel
Iron
Riveting
Bolting
Welding
Soldering
4. Threading
5. Tapping
6. Forging
7. Tempering
The equipment needed for a metal repair shop should con-
sist of a forge, anvil, iron vise, drill press, taps and dies and
such small tools as hammers, tongs, swages, fullers, hack saws,
drill bits, wrenches, etc., Fig. 1. Some metal can be bent to
the desired shape while it is cold, holes drilled in it and parts
fastened together with bolts and nuts or rivets. The projects
described on page 222 are examples of this kind of work.
When metal is too thick or heavy to be bent cold, it should
be heated red hot and then pounded to shape over an anvil or
held in a vise and bent to shape. This heating can best be done
in a forge, Fig. 2, which is so constructed that the fire built
upon it can be fanned from a draft, from a bellows or a blower,
thus producing a hotter flame. If used in doors, the hood on the
forge should be connected with a chimney to carry off the smoke.
Both soft coal and coke are used in forging. Coke gives a hot-
ter fire than soft coal and does not give off the obnoxious gases
which come from coal. Coke is made by driving the volatile
gases out of soft coal and leaving only the carbon and ashes.
214
METAL WORK AND FORGING
Post -U Drill
Fig. 5
Bench Drill
V/ae
Combination Vise
Coke is made commercially by driving these gases from the coal
in large iron retorts from which the air is excluded. The gases
which are driven off are purified and made into illuminating gas.
It is necessary to have a hard surface over which to pound
and shape the metal. A good anvil serves this purpose. It has
a flat surface on which heavy pounding is done, and a horn or
rounded end on which curved bending can be done. There are
three types of anvils : the cast iron anvil used for light work,
an anvil with a cast iron body and a steel face and horn welded
to it, Fig. 3, and the all steel anvil. The cast iron anvil with
a steel face is very satisfactory and costs considerably less than
the all steel anvil. Anvils are sold by weight. One weighing
from seventy to one hundred pounds is a good size for light re-
pair work. It should be fastened to a heavy block of wood and
set within reach of the forge with the horn pointed to the work-
man's right. There is a square hole in the heel of the anvil to
hold such tools as the hardie, the fuller and the swage.
To heat the iron for bending, a good fire should be made
on the forge and the iron placed in it. In starting a fire, all
the clinkers and ashes should be removed from the hearth and
shavings and kindling placed over the tuyere in the hearth. This
material is then lighted and coal or coke placed over it and a
slight current of air from the bellows or blower used to make
the fire burn more quickly. If coke is not available, it can be
made by placing wet, green coal over the fire. The fire may be
kept for some time when the forge is not in use, by banking it
with wet coal.
Once a good fire is made, that part of the iron which is to
be bent is placed in the hottest part of the fire, with plenty of
coke on top of it. When it has reached a bright red heat, it
should be taken out and held over the anvil and pounded into
shape. It is necessary to act quickly, while the iron is hot, as
the anvil cools the iron rapidly. If the iron becomes too cool
before the desired shape is developed, it should be carefully
RIVETING
215
Fig- 7
Anv/k
Drfll-
studied to see wherein it is incorrect and where the blows should
be applied to force it into shape. Only experience and practice
will tell one where to strike the metal or how to hold it over the
anvil to make it come to any certain shape. If this is thought
out before the iron is placed back in the fire, it will be possible
to begin pounding it immediately after it is taken out of the
forge. The iron should not be heated any more frequently than
is absolutely necessary, as each time tends to burn away the
metal. Trying to shape metal which is not hot enough will
result in breaking or cracking it. Overheating will burn the
metal and destroy its shape.
Many broken articles may be mended by boring holes
through a strip of iron and also through points correspondingly
placed in both parts of the broken article, and bolting this strip
of iron securely across the break. While a hand drill such as is
shown on page 21 can be used for light work, a drill press is a
very desirable tool for a general repair shop. There are two
kinds of drills, the vertical, Fig. 4, and the horizontal, Fig. 5.
A vertical drill press should be mounted on a solid post in the
shop. When boring holes in wrought iron and soft steel, oil
should be used on the drill point to prevent the drill from over-
heating and destroying its cutting edge. The temper of a piece
of steel must be removed before attempting to drill through it
since it is practically as hard as the drill. A starting point for
the drill should always be made with a center punch, so that the
drill will center.
A shop should be equipped with a vise with wrought steel
jaws which will permit the hammering necessary to bend and
shape iron. A combination vise, anvil and pipe vise, Fig. 6, is
a desirable tool for a small repair shop and is especially well
suited to the automobile owner or one who repairs his own
plumbing.
A combination drill, vise and anvil, Fig. 7, can also be ob-
216
METAL WORK AND FORGING
-sunk
Fig. 8
jaw
Fig. 9
7 \ I A ' ; :
r fi '"^ w~v^/
Plain Washe/^Lock Washer
tained and will give very satisfactory service in a repair shop
where only light work is attempted.
One of the simplest methods of joining metals together per-
manently is by riveting them. After the pieces have been prop-
erly shaped, holes are drilled through the pieces to be joined, if
possible, holding the two pieces together in the vise while the
holes are being made. Rivets which fit the holes are selected.
They must be of sufficient length to protrude some distance
through the holes, thus allowing sufficient metal to form a head.
Rivets can be secured with flat heads, round heads or sloping
heads, Fig. 8. In using the sloping heads, the metal must be
countersunk to allow the head of the rivet to come flush with the
surface. The rivets are headed over with the ball "pien" (end)
of the hammer, the first blow being struck squarely in the cen-
ter of the rivet to spread it as at A-Fig. 9, and the remaining
blows directed to shape it as at B. and C., Fig. 9. In case a
smooth finished, round head is desired on both ends of the rivet,
a riveting tool, D-Fig. 9, is placed over the end of the rivet and
several sharp blows driven against it with the hammer, D-Fig. 9.
In case round head rivets are used, a riveting tool of the correct
size should be held in the vise and the under side of the work
held upon it, D-Fig. 9. Small rivets can be shaped cold but
large rivets such as are used in structural iron work and boilers,
must be headed over while they are hot.
Bolts are used in fastening parts together where it is some-
times necessary to be able to take the pieces apart. Twisting
the nut on a bolt has a tendency to cut into or mar the surface
of the material being bolted. A washer, placed underneath the
WELDING
217
Zdge Weld
Corner l/l/z/d
Fig. 13
nut, will overcome this. Since the bolts have a tendency to
work loose, they should be held on in some way. This may be
accomplished by the use of a lock washer, B-Fig. 10, a washer
which is split and has enough spring in it that it constantly
pushes the nut tight against the threads, or it may be held in
place with a cotter pin, placed through a hole drilled in the
threaded end of the bolt and through the slots in the top of a
castle nut, C-Fig. 10. The ends of the cotter pin should be spread
apart to prevent it from slipping out.
The most permanent way of joining metal together is by
welding. Welding consists of bringing two properly shaped
pieces of iron or steel together while they are at the fusing
point, known as a "weld heat," and pounding them together.
If properly done, from all outward appearances, and from the
standpoint of strength, the two parts are made into one. Not
all kinds of metal can be welded together, due to the fact that
it will only join when at "weld heat." Some metals become
softer gradually as the temperature is increased, while others
retain the same firmness for a long period and then suddenly
collapse or melt. Cast iron is in this latter class and cannot be
welded in a forge, while wrought iron is very ductile and can be
heated many times and pounded into intricate shapes.
In welding two pieces together, they must first be properly
shaped. If it is desired that the joint should not show, the
pieces should be "scarfed," that is, so shaped that when they
are joined, the total thickness of the two parts will equal the
original thickness of the metal. To prepare a scarf, the two
pieces to be joined must first be "upset," that is, made thicker
218 METAL WORK AND FORGING
at the place to be scarfed. This is done by heating the iron at
that point only and pounding on the end of it as at A-Fig. 12.
This increases the thickness of the iron at that point. It is then
squared and scarled. When the scarf is made the metal is
stretched back to its original length. Figs. 11 and 13 show the
various steps in making a weld. It is very necessary that the
scarf be shaped so that it is higher in the center, in order that
the two surfaces, when pounded together, will force the particles
of scale or iron oxide, out of the joint and permit the metal to
unite, while if hollow shaped in the center, these particles will
be held in and the metal will not hold.
In welding two pieces of iron or soft steel together, the por-
tions to be welded should be heated slowly so that they will be
heated entirely through the pieces and not merely on the surface.
If too much air is forced through the fire after the iron becomes
red hot, scales will form on the outside of the iron and prevent
a good weld. These scales are formed by the excess amount of
oxygen in the air uniting with the iron, forming a substance
called iron oxide. If the iron is heated too hot and too long, it
will all burn in this way and will be worthless. A good weld
heat has been reached when small, white sparks begin to fly off ,
the metal. The sparks are small particles of metal melting.
After a weld has been securely made the piece may be reheated
if it has cooled too much, and hammered into the proper shape.
The most permanent way to fasten tin, brass or copper to-
gether, is by soldering. In soldering a joint it is necessary to
have the two parts overlap since the solder itself possesses very
little strength. It acts on metal much the same as glue acts
on wood.
Solder is composed chiefly of lead and tin and it melts at
a very low temperature. Soldering is accomplished by the use
of a soldering iron made of a heavy copper bar held in an iron
and wood handle, Fig. 1. It is prepared for use by heating the
copper part to a sizzling heat, dipping the tip into soldering solu-
tion and while it is still hot, touching it to a bar of solder. Upon
coming in contact with the hot soldering iron, the solder will
spread over the point of the copper bar. By rubbing it upon a
clean rag, part of the solder is removed, but enough remains to
"tin" the iron. The soldering solution is composed of muriatic
acid and zinc.
The parts to be soldered must be thoroughly cleaned so
that no grease or rust is present. This is especially true of old
work. Unless all the dirt, rust and grease are removed, the
solder will not adhere. The surfaces are best cleaned by scrap-
ing them with an old knife or a file until the metal appears
SOLDERING 219
bright. The edges of the joint are painted with the soldering
solution. Since the muriatic acid out of which the soldering
solution is made, would burn or eat holes in cloth, care should
be taken not to splash any of the solution on the clothing. When
the metal has been cleaned and the iron heated and tinned, the
iron is again touched to the solder. If it is of the right heat, the
solder will melt and remain on the iron but if it is too hot it
will melt and run off the iron. If too cold the solder will not
melt. While the two parts being soldered are held tightly to-
gether, the point of the charged soldering iron is dragged slowly
along the joint. As soon as the iron warms the metal the solder
will flow off the iron and into the joint, cementing it together.
The soldered joint should be smooth. If it appears rough, the
iron, when used was not hot enough.
Many leaky buckets, wash boilers, tea kettles, etc., can be
repaired by soldering the hole or leaky joint.
Rods are held together or held in other parts of metal with
threaded nuts. A rod is threaded with a die, Fig. 14, which cuts
threads to fit those made in the nut with the tap, Fig. 15. This
tap and die are held in stocks, Fig. 17. In threading a rod, a
die of the right diameter and with the correct number of thread
cutters to the inch, must be selected. These cutters in the die
must also have the proper shape to match those in the nut to
be used. There are several kinds of threads, the most commonly
used ones being known .as United States Standard and V shape.
The end of the rod to be threaded must be slightly beveled
with a file in order to allow the die to start onto it. The rod
must be held firmly in a vise and the stock which holds the die,
gripped firmly in the hands. Care must be taken to see that
when the die starts to cut, its broad face is at right angles to
the side of the rod, otherwise the threads will cut crooked.
Once the die is started, it should be oiled frequently to keep it
from breaking as it is forced on the rod. After several turns
have been made, the stock is given a reverse turn to allow the
cutters to throw out the metal chips and allow the oil to lubri-
cate the cutters.
. In tapping out a nut or in threading a hole in a metal plate
so that a rod may be screwed into it, a hole slightly smaller than
the rod, Fig. 16 must be bored in the nut or plate. The nut or
plate should be held rigidly in a vise and the tap turned into it.
The tap tapers so that it starts into the hole easily. The first
cutters are small and they become larger as they near the shank.
This makes the tap cut the threads gradually. The hole must
be tapped square with the broad face, otherwise the rod will
220
METAL WORK AND FORGING
Die
Fig. 14
A-
B
Fig. 15
Rodsize
D/'e&'ze
Drillsiie
Fig. 16
A - Size at root of thread B - Number of threads to the inch C -Kind of thread
not enter. The sizes of dies and taps and also the kind of
threads each will cut, is stamped on them, Figs. 14 and 15.
The more metal is worked, that is, the more it is heated
and pounded, the tougher and harder it becomes. Tools made
of cast metal (metal melted and poured into a mould) break eas-
ily while forged tools (tools shaped by heating and pounding)
are strong and durable.
It is very necessary that metal which is being forged be
worked at the right temperature or heat. Overheating will draw
the temper of metal and burn it away, while if pounded into
shape when it is too cold, the metal will crack or break. The
best heat for forging is midway between a red heat and a weld
heat. The more metal is pounded after it is heated, the more
brittle it becomes. Tools such as knjves, chisels and screw
drivers, must have their edges "tempered," to suit the kind of
work each is to perform; for example, the screw driver does not
need to be hard enough to hold a cutting edge as does the chisel,
but it must be tough enough to stand the strain of twisting in
screws without chipping away and it must be hard enough to
keep from bending out of shape.
Wrought iron cannot be tempered, due to the fact that it
contains such a low per cent of carbon, but tool steel, when
heated to a cherry red and plunged into cold water, becomes
very hard. If allowed to cool slowly it becomes soft. Between
these two extremes it is possible to obtain the proper degree of
hardness to suit the need of the tool being tempered. This de-
gree of temper, in a tool is regulated by hardening it as above
stated and then drawing away some of the hardness, leaving the
tool with the proper amount. This is accomplished by polish-
ing with a bit of emery paper or cloth, those parts which must
be brought to any certain degree of hardness. The tool back of
the edge or part requiring the special temper is heated slowly
and by carefully watching that part which has been polished
bright, a change in the color will be noted. It will first turn a
THREADING 221
Die Stock
tfandk ^et screw ho/din g
<//e /n stock
Fig- 17
straw color, then purple, then blue. These colors would mean
nothing if the metal had not previously been hardened, but since
the metal has been hardened, these colors indicate that, as the
color changes from straw to black, the metal is becoming softer.
When the proper color is reached, the tool is quickly plunged
into cold water, or, in the case of fine edged tools, into oil. This
drawing hardened steel down to any one of the colors mentioned
is called "tempering." The following table shows the color to
which various kinds of tools should be tempered.
Light Straw Hammer faces, paper cutters, metal lathe and
planer tools.
Medium Straw ....Wood working edge tools, taps, dies, razors,
lathe and planer tools.
Dark Straw Large drills.
Brown Small drills, saws for metal, wood chisels.
Purple .Cold chisels, awls, wood boring bits, needles,
axes, hatchets, vise jaws, scissor blades, wire
cutters.
Dark Blue Saws for wood, springs.
Light Blue Blacksmith's punches, light springs.
Gray Too soft to hold an edge.
Black No temper.
METAL WORK PROJECTS
As in the case of wood working projects, many metal work-
ing projects involve like fundamental processes, therefore de-
tails concerning processes have been set forth on the preceding
ages and only working specifications have been given for the
olio wing suggested projects.
I
222
METAL WORK AND FORGING
Angle Irons
Bracket
Racket or Tub Hoop
Reirjforc/ng Plate
COLD BENDING
Drilling
Riveting
Angle Irons. Metal of the desired thickness and width is
cut to length, ends filed square and smooth, holes for screws
drilled and countersunk, and metal bent to shape.
Braces. Same as for angle irons. If twisted brace is used,
twist is made last.
Brackets. The metal for brackets after being cut to size, is
folded, the holes for the rivets bored in the brace piece, the
piece held in position and points for holes in outside strip lo-
cated. These holes are then bored and the two pieces riveted
together.
Hoops. Size obtained by measuring around tub or bucket
with a string allowing enough extra for over lap (to hold two
rivets) metal bent to shape, one hole bored through both pieces,
rivet placed and headed over, size tested, second hole made and
rivet placed.
PROJECTS
223
Wagon Bed Stake Iron
I I
SacA Holder
Detail I
>ench Trame
Corner Iron
I'lP
Lawn Holler
Handle Irons
HOT BENDING
Drilling
Bolting
Corner Irons. Metal cut to length, heated at bending point,
V shaped wedge cut out, iron bent to shape^over anvil, holes for
screws drilled and countersunk. Much stronger corner irons
are made by welding the seam.
Wagon Bed Irons. Iron heated at bending point, shaped
over anvil and holes made for screws.
Work Bench Frame. Made of angle iron, sawed to proper
length, ends filed smooth, heated and crimped at bending points,
reheated and bent to shape, holes for bolts drilled and all parts
bolted together.
Lawn Roller Handle Irons. Two pieces of metal cut to
length, heated and shaped, holes for bolts and rods drilled.
224
METAL WORK AND FORGING
fafogo/? End Gate Rod
Porch Sw/nqftooA
L ong &o/t
left hand thread Toy Wagon Axle night hand ihreod
SquareNut Hexooonal Castle Nut
Bar Nut /y u t
Metal Plate
THREADING
Wagon End-Gate Rod. Rod held in vise and threaded. If
castle nut and cotter pin are to be used, a hole drilled near end
of rod.
Long Bolt. \
Toy Wagon Axle. KSame as for wagon end-gate rod.
Ring Bolt.
TAPPING
Square Nut. Nut held in vise and threaded with a tap of
the right number and shaped threads.
Hexagonal Nut. \
Castle Nut. ^Same as for square nut.
Bar Nut.
PROJECTS 225
HeU
L
Toot Scraper Porch 3w ; ^^
Toy Wagon Axle ftinq
Gote p/ece
@s
Bar Nut >
n fir 5 1 R">?iiz't~
II 11 il wffiMHori
Gate End Rod
FORGING AND WELDING
Foot Scraper. Metal cut size, side pieces upset at welding
point, cross bar upset on end, ends of cross bar scarfed, side
pieces scarfed, all parts welded and shaped and lower ends bent.
Porch Swing Hooks. Metal heated and forged to shape.
Wagon Axle. Square stock cut to length, dimensions for
round ends laid off and marked with cold chisel, ends heated
and forged round and then filed smooth and true.
End-Gate Rod. Round rod cut to length (making sufficient
allowance for loop), upset on end and at welding point, scarfs
made at both points, ring bent to shape and welded.
Ring Bolt. Same as for end-gate rod.
Bar Nut. Piece of round stock heavily upset (extra length
should be allowed for this), shaped round in one direction, flat
in the other, hole drilled for tap and small end filed smooth.
Gate Hinge. Post Bar Gate end, (the end which will be
placed nearest the gate) upset, holes drilled, round rod inserted
and welded, post end pointed. Gate Piece Strap of iron bent
around mandrel, (slightly smaller than size of post bar pin)
welded, holes drilled for screws and also for post bar pin.
226
PAPER AND PRINTING
PAPER
Of the many large industries in this country that of paper
making and printing probably ranks about sixth. Everyone in
the civilized world has more or less to do with paper in some
form or other and the art of printing is ever before us in the
newspapers, magazines and books and in the advertising circular
and poster. In spite of this fact the majority of people know
little or nothing concerning these subjects which form so vital
a part of our daily experience. Imagine, if you can, the elimina-
tion from the world ,of paper and typography as the art of
printing with type is called. It would seem to be impossible
to get along without them.
It is believed that the first paper was made in Egypt from
the papyrus plant. This plant grows in shallow water. When
it is broken off or whipped by the wind so that it falls into the
water it soon becomes soft. The motion of the water so beats
it that it disintegrates and a fine, fibrous substance from it floats
about on the surface of the water. When this becomes engaged
in the grasses it piles up layer on layer and the result is a crude
paper. This fibrous substance is nothing more than cellulose
and the paper made in this accidental way is much like the paper
made today by machinery. It is believed that the discovery
of this papyrus product was responsible for present day products
and also for the name paper.
Fifty years ago paper was made almost wholly of rags, but
today the greater part of our paper is made from wood pulp.
Chemically, the substance obtained from wood pulp is about
the same as that obtained from rags, but it took a great many
years of experience to discover the fact that it was possible to
secure that substance from certain kinds of growing plants.
The fiber out of which paper is made is not manufactured
as is sometimes supposed. It is merely separated from other
materials and formed into sheets. This is the fibrous material
known as cellulose and is found in all sorts of plants in greater or
less quantities, perhaps more in cotton and flax than in any
others. This accounts for the almost exclusive use of rags in
making paper for so many years.
Some fibers of cellulose are longer than others and of course
the longer the fiber the stronger and tougher the paper produced
from it. Flax, from which linen is made, has the longest fiber,
therefore paper made from linen rags is very much harder and
tougher than that made from any other substance. For this
PAPER 227
reason all of the best papers used for writing papers are made
of linen rags.
The fibers which go to make up paper are so very fine that
one can hardly realize that paper is composed of them, but by
tearing a sheet of paper and examining the edge keenly, these
minute, hair-like pieces of cellulose can be seen with the naked
eye. Paper has grain the same as does wood, due to the fact
that during the process of paper making the fibers of which the
paper is composed are laid out on moving belts and naturally
arrange themselves in a lengthwise direction on the belt. The
direction of the grain can be discovered by tearing the sheet in
two directions. It tears easily and in a straight line in one
direction (with the grain) while in the other the line is more
irregular and the paper harder to tear.
A boll of a cotton plant (the seed pod) contains a greater
per cent of cellulose than any other growing plant. The cellu-
lose is more easily separated from the foreign matter in this
plant than in any other. Cloth made from cotton has already
had much of the foreign material removed and for that reason
it takes less machinery and less work to transform cotton rags
into paper. If one should take a small quantity of cotton or
linen rags, cut them up into very small bits arid boil them for
several hours in a comparatively large quantity of water, fre-
quently stirring them vigorously, then pour a portion of the
substance thus produced into a sieve or fine mesh which is kept
in constant motion, he would produce a sheet of paper almost
identical with the rough stock made in some of the paper mills
today. The fibers in the cellulose become so interwoven as the
water is drained through that they make a fine, web-like sub-
stance. By pressing this sheet of pulp with a fairly hot iron,
the surface might be smoothed down and the sheet would take
on the texture of the paper made in a mill.
Paper is made in the mills by exactly such a process as here
described but of course on a very large scale, never less than
two thousand pounds in one batch but frequently many batches
are made at the same time.
The greatest supply of cellulose which goes into the making
of paper is obtained from the trunk of the spruce tree. When
made from trees it is called wood pulp.
Practically all of the paper used today in books, magazines,
advertising circulars and newspapers is made of wood pulp.
Some idea of the enormous amount of raw material which it
takes to supply the world with paper can be gained from the
fact that it requires about seventy-six acres of spruce forest to
make the paper for a single Easter edition of a New York paper.
While in the experiment suggested, nothing but cellulose
228 PAPER AND PRINTING
was allowed to enter into the paper, some commercially made
paper contains other material, sometimes a pigment to color it,
sometimes a glue like substance to give it a slick surface and
sometimes clay to load up the sheet and make it heavier. The
latter is particularly true of cheap paper, but in the best paper
only the pure cellulose is used.
The cellulose, obtained from one source or another, is pre-
pared (that is, separated from other matter which would be
harmful to the paper) in huge, steam jacketed kettles, where,
by the aid of intense heat and certain chemicals, the cellulose
is formed into a pulpy substance.
Wood pulp must be made somewhat differently from that
made of other materials, because the cellulose in this form is
harder to separate from the foreign matter. The trees used for
wood pulp must be cut down in the early summer so that the
bark, which contains little or no cellulose, can be stripped off
easily. The tree trunks are cut into two and three foot lengths
and sent to the pulp factory where they are chopped up into bits
no larger than a silver dollar. These chips are put into huge
kettles and cooked in the same way as the rags are, but a dif-
ferent chemical is used to destroy the foreign matter. This
substance is then thoroughly mixed and bleached in
huge beaters. These beaters are enormous tubs containing
knives and paddles which revolve very rapidly through the pulp,
cutting and mixing the ingredients very thoroughly with the
water and chloride of lime, a solution which purifies and bleaches
it. It is then removed fr.om the beater and as it is carried away
it is thoroughly washed to remove all traces of the bleaching
solution. The water is then drawn off, causing the fibers to
form themselves into a thick blanket of pulp which may be stored
away for future use in making paper. When needed for paper
making, these blankets of pulp, along with such coloring mat-
ter, size, etc., as are needed to complete any certain formula, are
placed in a "stuff chest," a huge tub, holding about three times
as much as a beater holds. In the stuff chest an agitator which
resembles the paddles in an ice cream freezer, thoroughly mixes
the contents. The mixture is then drawn off and about 98 per
cent of clear water added to carry it to the "wet" end of the
paper making machine.
The Fourdrinier paper making machine is one of the best
known and most .complete of the kind. A study of it would be
intensely interesting if space would permit. Into it the paper
pulp, 2% fiber, 98% water, is fed at one end and the finished
paper taken off in huge rolls at the other. This machine is about
175 feet long. The processes performed by it are as follows:
PAPER 229
From the tanks into which it is first put, on the "wet" end of
the machine, the pulp is distributed over afi endless belt of fine
brass wire screen. The water is drained through this belt and
by the time the pulp reaches that point where the belt turns
back, the fibers are so matted together that they can be pulled
away from the screen in a thin layer. A close examination of
this layer of paper, especially if a magnifying glass is used, will
show one side to be rough and irregular while the other side is
more even and slightly marked with little cavities, regularly dis-
tributed over the entire surface. These little cavities resemble
little pin pricks. They are the imprint of the screen or belt.
The rougher side of the paper is considered the right side,
being more suitable for all purposes.
From the end of this belt the layer of paper passes between
a series of felt covered rolls which squeeze out a part of the
moisture and from there it passes over and under a series of
large steam heated rollers or drums. This dries out the paper.
If it is to be a machine finished paper, it finally passes under a
series of hot rollers, revolving much faster than it is passing.
This gives it a reasonably slick surface and when so finished it
is called machine finished paper.
If an extremely smooth surface is desired, this machine
finished paper then passes to the calendering section of the
machine where certain rollers, revolving in pans of sizing, come
in contact with the surface of the paper, applying an even coat
of "size." The paper then passes over rapidly revolving, alter-
nating iron and steel rollers which give it an extremely smooth
surface.
The paper is taken off of the machine in large rolls. As
one roll is completed it is removed by a simple device and a new
roll begun without stopping the machine. The machine must
be thoroughly and accurately adjusted before a run of paper is
attempted, for once the run is started it must continue until the
batch is finished. For this reason paper mills run continually,
day and night, from the beginning to the end of the week.
Some paper is sofd in rolls and some in sheets. The sheets
are made into packages, a ream to a package. A ream consists
of 500 sheets of most kinds of paper. Writing paper, however,
always comes 480 sheets to the ream.
The different kinds of paper made and the uses to which
they are put are shown in the accompanying chart.
230
PAPER AND PRINTING
PAPER
Kind Description
Print Made of wood pulp and
used paper.
Machine Finished Wood pulp, surface
Book (M.F.Book)smooth.
Antique Book Wood pulp,
'surface.
unfinished
Sized and Super Same as M. F. Book but
Calendered heavily sized and calen-
(S. & S. C.) dered.
Enamel Same as M. F. Book, coat-
ed with casein, glue and
china clay.
Bond Cheaper grades, part pulp.
Better grades, rags only.
Best grades, linen rags.
Ledger Heavier than Bond, made
of linen rags.
Cover Made of cotton, jute and
hemp.
Index Bristol Same as Ledger but very
much heavier.
Ply Board Two or more sheets of
paper glued together.
Cheap, grade, wood pulp.
Better grade, rags and
wood pulp.
Best grade, rags only.
Flat Writing Three grades same as ply
board.
Straw Board Made of straw pulp.
Tag Board Made of jute.
Blotting Made of pure cotton.
Use
Newspapers, cheap
posters, hand bills.
Book pages, circulars,
advertising folders, bill
heads.
Book pages, circulars,
advertising folders, bill
heads, drawing paper.
Book pages, circulars,
advertising folders, bill
heads, color prints.
Book pages, circulars,
advertising folders,
color prints.
Writing paper, type-
writer paper, blank
books.
Book keeping books,
record books, diplomas.
Covers for books and
boxes, tickets, posters.
Index cards, record
cards.
Posters, tickets, boxes.
Ruled stationery, legal
forms, blanks, envel-
opes.
Foundations for book
covers, boxes and
mounting boards.
Tags, large envelopes,
index files.
Blotters.
231
PRINTING
Printing with movable type dates back to the fifteenth cen-
tury. The first movable type was made of wood and it was
indeed a crude product as compared to the beautiful type faces
of today. When printing was in the early stages, the type was
set up and inked, the paper laid upon it, pressure applied, and
the paper bearing the imprint of the type pulled off. It is hard
to conceive of the development from that crude form of print-
ing to the present day cylinder press which can print forty-eight
full pages of a newspaper at one time, and not alone print, but
cut, fold and assemble the same. Seemingly this monstrous
printing machine, called a web cylinder press, needs very little
attention, but, while it does not take any great number of men
to operate it, it must be carefully watched and controlled.
After the invention of movable type, came the cast metal
type. This brought printing into particular notice, for once a
mould was made for a letter or character, any number of pieces
of type could be cast in it and they would all be alike, a thing
not possible in the wooden type.
Simultaneous to this metal type invention came improved
presses and now hardly a week goes by that does not develop
new improvements and devices for producing better work, or
for producing it more quickly or with more ease.
Present day practices in printing vary in different shops and
in different communities. There is the small shop which, for
lack of equipment, must still do things in an elementary way.
There is the large shop so highly specialized that one workman
in the plant could not carry on another workman's task. In
the small job shop the type is set by hand and sometimes the
presses are run by foot power, while, in the large shops prac-
tically all of the composition work, as setting type is called, is
done on the linotype and monotype machines, machines which
cast the type a line or a piece at a time as well as arranging it
in proper order. In the large shops the presses are operated by
power and recent developments have produced automatic feed-
ing devices so that even the man who formerly fed the paper into
the press to be printed is dispensed with, .at least it now takes
only one man to adjust the feeders which do the work formerly
done by a half dozen or more men.
There will always be a place for the small job shop, and
fortunate it is, for, with the complex organization of any large
business, it is hard for an individual to get an insight into very
many phases of that business. The processes necessary to com-
plete a printed job are about the same in the large and small
shops, but in one the job is handed on from workman to work-
232
PAPER AND PRINTING
face
Serif
Shoulder
Feet-
Tig. I
133^261880
IflA/AXAStf
VBCDEEGHIl
As they appear in type.
Fig. 2
ABCDEFGHIJ
KLMNOPQRS
TUVWXYZ&
abcdefehijklm
nopqrstuvwxyz
1234567890
A* they appear in print.
fig. 3
man, each doing his part toward producing the job, while in the
other the job is usually handled by a very few and sometimes by
only one person.
The first step in producing a piece of printed matter is the
designing or arranging of the copy. This may be only a mental
picture of the finished work, an idea, or it may be a sketch on
paper indicating details such as size and style of type, arrange-
ment, color, etc. After the design has been determined upon,
composition, the setting up of the type according to the design,
is the next step. In order then follow, pulling the proof, proof
reading, correcting (known as imposition), locking up, making
ready and press work. If it is a book or a booklet, it requires
in addition to the above mentioned, folding, collating and binding.
The type used today is made of a white metal, harder than
lead but not so hard as tin. It is cast in a mould a letter or a
character at a time. The body of the type is always the same
height but the size of the face and the height and width of the
letter vary with different styles and sizes of type. Fig. 1 repre-
sents a type body of the letter N with the names of the various
parts indicated upon it. The size of the type from the front to
back is indicated by points, a point (about 1/72 of an inch),
being a unit of measurement in type just as an inch is a unit of
linear measurement. Type sizes range in height from 3y 2 to
72 points.
The imprint made from type is different in appearance from
that of the type itself and the printer must become familiar
with the appearance of both. He must be able to read type as
quickly as he can read a printed page. Fig. 2 shows how the
letters of the alphabet appear in type while Fig. 3 shows how
the print made from the type looks on the printed page.
Type is kept in shallow trays called type cases. They are
so divided that there is a compartment, called a sort box, for each
letter, figure or character. There are many arrangements of
type cases but the most commonly used are the News and the
233
Lower Ne
Fig-4
Upper News
California Job
California job case, Fig. 4. To acquire skill in setting type, one
must become thoroughly familiar with the location of each char-
acter as it is not practicable to take time to look at the charac-
ters as they are taken from the case.
"Family" is the term applied to the design of the printing
face of the type. The family is indicated by some name such as
"Century," "Lining DeVinne" or "Post Monotone." It is neces-
sary to have type of different sizes for most every job of print-
ing, but it is seldom necessary, at least it does not produce the
best design to have different families of type in the same job.
The best examples of printing are done in one family of type,
variety of design being produced by using different sizes, by
the selection of different styles in that family such as bold, con-
densed, italic, etc., and by careful arrangement of spaces and
masses of type. Fig. 5 shows several families of type, several
styles of one family and several sizes of one style.
Blank type bodies which are not high enough to print, are
placed between words and sentences, the larger ones being
known as quads and the smaller ones as spaces. The face or end
of an em quad is square, no matter what point of type is used,
for example, in ten point type the em quad is 10 points from
front to back and 10 points from side to side, while in eight point
type the em quad is 8 points from front to back and from side
to side.
An em quad is square- _
A double quad is equivalent to 2 em quads Bi
A triple quad is equivalent to 3 em quads BBB
An en quad is equivalent to J of an em quad J
Three 3 em spaces are equivalent to 1 em quad I
Four 4 em spaces are equivalent to 1 em quad _..j
Five 5 em spaces are equivalent to 1 em quad \
Type is set in a composing stick, Fig. 6, which can be ad-
justed to various lengths. The compositor first sights the type
234
PAPER AND PRINTING
Families of Type
Styles of One family
Different Sizes of Type
Gushing Antique
Lining DeVinne
Century Oldstyle
Century Expanded
Century Expanded. Ital.w
Century Bold
24 Point
Post Monotone
Century Bold Italic
18 Point :
Clearface
fentury Bold Condensed
Adtype Series
Century Bold Extended
12 Point type
Bullfinch Oldstyle
Century Oldstyle
10 Point type
New Caslon
Century Oldstyle Italic
8 Point type
Bold Antique
Century Oldstyle Bold
6 Point type
Condensed Dorsey
Century Oldstyle Bold Italic
body he wishes to use, then picks it up with the right hand by
the face end of the type, twirls it between the thumb and fore
finger until the nicks are uppermost, and drops it into place in
the composing stick where the thumb of the left hand holds it
erect, Fig. 7. The eyes of the compositor should be kept on the
case and not on the stick if any sort of speed is to be acquired.
While the hands are placing the type, the eyes are sighting the
next sort box and type body. At the end of a word, ordinarily
a 3 em space is used, before a paragraph an em quad and be-
tween sentences an en quad. When the end of the line is
reached, if the line of words does not tightly fill the stick, the
spaces are exchanged for larger sizes so that the words are
"driven out" to the full measure of the stick. The method of
changing type bodies in the stick is illustrated in Fig. 8. With
the newly selected character the old one is pushed part way out,
the new one is dropped in its place and the old one removed and
returned to its proper sort box. If "in placing this type body it
binds, it should be started as in Fig. 9, and the entire line lifted
up at one end. This will make room for the type body to enter.
When an entire line has been set up it should be read to see
if the spelling and punctuation are correct, or if any other errors,
such as the use of different sizes or styles of letters, have been
made. If an error is found it is changed as above described and
the next line is set up.
When a stick is completely filled with type, it is taken out as
in Fig. 10, and placed in a galley (a small tray), Fig. 11, and
the next group of lines set up. If the type set up is not to be
printed from immediately, it must be tied to keep the type from
falling over and becoming disarranged. This so called tying is
done by winding a piece of cord around the type several times,
PRINTING
235
Fig. 6
End
Bottom
'Fig- 7
drawing it tight and tucking the ends under the whole group of
cords as in Fig. 12.
The next operation is taking the proof. Some printing ink
is placed on a piece of heavy glass or a sheet of metal and rolled
with a brayer, Fig. 13, until the ink is distributed evenly over it.
This inked brayer is then rolled over the faces of the type pre-
viously tied up until every exposed part of the type faces has
been inked. A piece of proof paper, usually a light, smooth sur-
faced paper, is laid over the inked type, the proof planer, Fig. 14,
placed on top of it and pounded lightly with a mallet. This
proof planer has a medium soft, felt covered surface which
pushes the paper down against every type face. The paper is
then pulled off. It should contain an imprint of every type face
showing how the finished job will look.
Next the proof is marked, that is the errors are located and,
with a series of symbols, they are marked as reminders of the
changes necessary to make the job correct. The marks used
are standard. Some of them are known as body marks and
some as marginal marks. Body marks indicate the location of
the errors and marginal marks show what changes it is neces-
sary to make. Figs. 15 and 16 show the most frequently used
proof marks and a sheet of proof properly marked.
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
236
PAPER AND PRINTING
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
G c//ey s ^ Furniture
Type.
Fig. 12
Fig. 14
brought
up tiaht/y behind
^S>-W a// cords
*sg^&&&2&sez
-First end held
fast by succeeding
wrappings
Fig. 13
The form, as this mass of type is called, is next corrected,
that is, the errors found and recorded on the proof are made right
in the type. If these are only minor changes, such as replacing
broken letters, they may be made with the form on the imposing
stone, but if any great amount of changing is necessary the
form must be put back in the stick otherwise the length of line
might accidentally be changed.
When the form is corrected, the chase is placed around it,
wooden sticks called furniture are placed between the form and
the chase and locked (wedged) in place with quoins, Fig. 17.
In order to make sure that all type faces are on the same plane
the form is "planed up," that is, a planer similar in shape to the
proof planer but without the felt covering, is placed on the mass
of type and pounded gently with a mallet. This will force any
protruding type down to the level of others around it. The quoins
must then be tightened. While the form must be securely locked
in order to keep it from falling out of the chase, extreme care is
necessary not to get it too tight or the form and furniture will
buckle and fly out of the chase. To test the "lock up" the corner
of the chase is slightly elevated and the hand rubbed over the
faces of the type to see if any of the type bodies will push
through. If it is possible to push down type bodies or a line of
type, it indicates that that line was not properly "justified," that
PRINTING
237
A PIECE OF WORK
I urn only a pieie of work.
After I leave your hands you may
People look in? at em, however, wilt
ese you and , so far as they are con .
cerned. I'll be you. H^
Put Into me your best so that I may
speak to all who see me and tell them
of the master workman who wrought
me. Say to them through me "I know
what good work is. '
If I am well done, I will good Into get
company and keed up the standard.
If I am Shabby and poorly I will get
into had company.
The" how through me yo"r joy In
what yo n do, so that I may go made,
the way of all good work, announcing
wherever
I go that Istand for a workman that
needct not to be as named
William Chandler smith.
y. A PIECE ^F WORK
c / X m only * pie / e ' work -
After I leave your hands you may
A they are coif,
& yo^and^ so far
Cerned, I'll be you.
Put into me your -** so that I may Arm.
speak to all who see me and tell them
of the master workman who wrought
Fig.16
me. A S.y to them^rough me A "l know +
what good work*is. X , , "/V
If I am well done. I will good Into get A.
> company and kee/ up the standard.
rVf/4 Jl I am^habby and poorly^ I will get *"/
Into had company
rf*h Thef^ow through me volr toy In 3 tt/3
'c, ' what yof do. so that I may^ma-deO <&r/<Jl/3
tot the\wayof all good work. an nounc i n ~ ^
^Jt wherever)
/4 ^T)co that Ist
m = Eh7ndler'7mlth. "
*!'
(2) Body mark
Fig. 15
Fig- 17
is, properly filled out to the full measure of the line. The error
must be corrected by increasing sufficiently the size of some
space or spaces in the line. This calls for very fine adjustment
because if the line is made the least bit too tight, the original
error is only multiplied : the corrected line will lock up tight
but others will be loose. The only safe way is to be sure that
all lines justify before the type is removed from the stick. If
all lines of type stay in place, the form is said to "lift" and the
work of putting it on the press can then proceed.
There are many kinds of job presses but perhaps the most
widely used is known as the Gordon press, Fig. 18. Before a
job is printed, the press should be thoroughly adjusted and prop-
erly oiled and the rollers placed in position. Good press work
depends largely on the condition of the rollers. Rollers are made
of glue, glycerine, castor-oil, borax and varnish, these materials
being melted together and cast in a mould around an iron rod or
core which is wound with a cord to keep the composition from
slipping off. There are winter and summer rollers, the propor-
tion of the ingredients in the composition being changed to meet
the condition of the season. To do good work, rollers must be
kept clean and their surfaces alive, that is flexible. If they be-
come hard and dead, they should be remade.
238
PAPER AND PRINTING
To ink the press, a brayer heavily inked as when taking a
proof, is run over the disk on the press. In the absence of a
brayer, small portions of ink may be placed on the right hand
side of the disk and the press operated with the rollers in place
until the ink is evenly distributed over the disk and rollers.
The platen, that part of the press on which the sheet of
paper is laid to receive the impression from the type, has to be
padded with paper to form a tympan. The building up of the
tympan to suit any particular form is called "making ready."
This is one of the most important operations in printing for,
without a proper make ready, good printing cannot be done.
In making ready a press, the lower bale is loosened and a draw
sheet of heavy, hard surfaced paper slipped under it and the bale
clamped down. Several sheets of paper called pad sheets are
next placed on the platen under the draw sheet and the draw
sheet is smoothed tightly over them and clamped under the up-
per bale, Fig. 19.
The ringers or grippers must next be loosened and moved
out to the edge of the gripper bar and fastened securely. The
chase containing the form is then lifted and set on the projecting
lugs on the bed of the press, and the clamp above the bed lifted
so that the chase can be slipped in place and the clamp made
tight. The chase should be shoved to the extreme left side of
the bed before being clamped permanently.
The fly wheel of the press is turned sufficiently to close the
press and as the tympan closes against the bed of the press, now
containing the form of type, close watch is kept to see that the
grippers are far enough out of the way to prevent them striking
the type. The throw off must also be adjusted so that the
tympan cannot come in contact with the type. The grippers
should be as close to the type form as possible without striking
it. The distance may be very small on the right side but on the
left at least one inch must be allowed in order to prevent them
from crushing the gauge pins.
PRINTING
239
Fig.20
Impression
mode on
draw sheet
Side Qa uge pin
-Imposition
Of paper
locating
bottom
gaugepms
Top bale
Fig.21
The press is run slowly until the platen closes a couple
of times. This will ink the type and then, while the press is in
motion, the throw off lever is shifted, allowing the tympan to
be closed against the form. This results is an imprint being
made on the draw sheet. The press is then thrown off (the
lever shifted so that even though the platen closes up again
no imprint is made). The imprint is then examined. If an even
impression is made it shows that the padding or the "make
ready" is just right. If parts are indistinct, in all probability
there is not enough padding, however it is hardly safe to judge
the make ready by the impression obtained on the draw sheet.
With a piece of stock on which the printing is to be done, the
position of each gauge pin is ; , located as shown in Fig. 20 and
the gauge pins inserted, two at the bottom and one at the left.
A piece of stock is set against the gauge pins and an impres-
sion made upon it. If, upon examination, the impression is
clear cut and even, the make ready is correct. If, when the sheet
is turned over, it shows that the letters have punched through,
the impression is too heavy and a pad sheet should be removed.
If, at any point, the impression is too heavy and at another it
is too light, the sheet will have to be "spotted" as follows. All
of that part of the proof where the impression is too heavy is cut
away with a knife. With the scissors is cut a piece of very
thin tissue paper which will just cover that part of the impres-
sion which was weak. This is fastened upon the proof with a
small quantity of paste. Too much will soften the paper. With
a little paste applied to the corners of this spotted proof it is
set against the gauge pins and permanently held in place. The
upper bale is then lifted and a pad sheet equal in thickness to the
proof sheet, removed and the bale replaced. A new sheet of stock
is then placed against the gauge pins and an impression made
upon it. If this impression is not uniform, the process of spot-
ting is repeated.
When an even impression is secured, a second draw sheet is
240 PAPER AND PRINTING
applied as follows. Holding the hand firmly against the tympan
so that the pad sheets cannot move, the lower bale is lifted, the
second or top draw sheet inserted and the bale clamped down.
The draw sheet is then pulled up over the gauge pins and by
rubbing gently on the top of the draw sheet, their positions can
be located on the new draw sheet. The gauge pins are removed,
the upper bale loosened, a pad sheet which is equal in thick-
ness to a draw sheet removed and the draw sheet laid smoothly
over the tympan and fastened under the top bale. The gauge
pins are then inserted in the new draw sheet. A sheet of stock
is placed against the gauge pins and an impression made upon
it. It may be found that the gauge pins will need slight adjust-
ment to make the margins equal or of the proper proportion.
Speed in press work can only be acquired by continued prac-
tice. Slow, deliberate motions, properly placed, produce more
work than hasty actions full of lost motion. The stock should
be placed in an even stack on the delivery table and picked up
a sheet at a time with the right hand and fed into the press.
After the impression is made, the printed sheet is removed with
the left hand while the right hand is picking up a new sheet of
stock to be fed into the press. In case the sheet slips, falls out,
or is in any way misplaced, rather than let the press close upon
it, the throw off lever should be shifted with the left hand, and
when the press again opens the sheet may be adjusted. This
is very important for, if the press closes without a piece of pa-
per to take the imprint, the imprint will be made on the draw
sheet and then when the next sheet of stock is fed into the press,
the draw sheet impression will "off set" onto the back of the
paper. While it is true that this can be washed off the tympan
with gasoline, or dusted with powdered chalk or talcum, so that
the work may be resumed without danger of offset, time is lost
in doing it and the make ready does not look well.
The selection of inks should be carefully made. Porous
paper takes a slower drying ink than a highly glazed paper.
Half tone cuts require a very fine ink which is rather quick
drying. Cover paper needs a very thick, heavy ink.
After a job is run, the chase should be removed to the
stone and the form, washed up with gasoline. The ink should
be removed from the disk on the press with gasoline and from
the rollers with kerosene.
After the form is washed up, the quoins unlocked, the furni-
ture removed and distributed to its proper place, a few lines of
the type are taken out of the form, nick side up as in Fig. 21,
and a word or two picked off with the right hand and dropped
a letter at a time into their proper sort boxes.
241
SHOE REPAIRING
Shoes are today usually made by machinery, but when they
need repairing that can be done by hand with a simple and inex-
pensive equipment. It is quite necessary to have a convenient,
well lighted place in which to work. If only a few shoes are to
be repaired, one can put up with inconveniences, but if a perma-
nent equipment is desired, a shoe maker's stool, Fig. 1, should
be obtained. This can easily be made. One should also have a
low table for holding the tools and materials. Fig. 2 shows a
cabinet of simple construction, well adapted for holding the tools
and materials on top when in use and providing a place for their
storage when not in service. The equipment and supplies needed
can be limited to those items in the following list. Fig. 3 shows
the designs and names of the tools used in this work.
EQUI PMENT SUPPLIES
**Iron Stand ^Carborundum Strop Leather
*Set of Lasts, Asst'd **Peg Awl Heel Nails, sizes 3-8 to 8-8
sizes, A, B, C, D *Slab Awl Clinch Nails, " 3-8 to 7-8
^Pinchers **Sewing Awl Wooden Shoe Pegs
*Nippers fCnspin Lap Iron Sand Paper, No. l l /2
^Cutting Nippers **Crispen Rasp Burnishing Ink
**Shoe Hammer tlnk Brush Shoe Maker's Thread
**Curved Lip Knife tHeel Slicker or Bristles
*Square Point Knife Burnisher Heel Ball (Shoe Maker's
*Sole Leather Skiver fKerosene Heater Wax)
*Scratch Bone fShoe Brush Leather Cement
Rubber Cement
**Individual tools.
*One tool for every four pupils.
tOne tool only for each shop.
Before undertaking the repairing of the shoe, it is very es-
sential that the names and purposes of the various parts of the
shoe be learned, Fig. 4. One must also become familiar with
the kinds of material used in these different parts and the differ-
ent forms of construction. Not all shoes are made alike, but the
chief difference is in the method of fastening the sole to the top
part of the shoe. There are three ways of doing this ; i. e., peg-
ging, nailing and sewing. Pegged shoes are not used as much as
they once were. New shoes are seldom nailed except on the
heel. Most of the shoe soles today are sewed.
There are three general ways of sewing on a shoe sole:
channel sewing, turned sewing and welt sewing. A channel
sewed shoe is sewed through and through from the inside of the
242
SHOE REPAIRING
Fig. 1
Fig. 2
shoe to the outside of the sole, Fig. 5. In turn sewed shoes, the
upper is sewed to the sole on the wrong side and then turned,
Fig. 6. A welt sewed shoe is made by sewing a welt (a strip of
leather) to the inner sole and upper, and then sewing the outer
sole to the welt, Fig. 7.
The outside or exposed portions of shoes are made princi-
pally ^of leather, although changing styles demand different ma-
terials, therefore, canvas, pattern fabrics, patent leather, rub-
ber, 'etc., are used. The kinds of leather used for uppers are kid,
calf, elk and alligator and sometimes in cheaper shoes, sheep
skin. The soles are made of ox or cow hide. The leather is
prepared by tanning. A liquor made from the bark of trees con-
taining tannic acid is used in tanning sole leather. The hides
of which the leather is made are sometimes salted and dried and
sometimes shipped to the tanners "green." There they are
soaked in water to remove all traces of the salt and then milled
or worked until they become soft and pliable. The hair is loos-
Stand-
Knife Sharpener Skiver
= =5 ^ -x
Hipper, C^=^>
Peg Aw/
Scratch bor,, \y^f ttlf >* ''(**"
LEATHER
243
Quarter
Vamp'
Shank
ened by soaking the hide in a lime solution. The hair is then
scraped off and the hide soaked in tan bark liquors of various
strengths, first a 3 per cent solution and finally a 20 per cent
solution. The first soakings swell or "plump" the hide and
allow the later soaking to penetrate the hide. The leather is
then partly dried and the outer sufface given a hard finish by
polishing it under revolving brass rollers.
Patent leather is a made leather. It consists of a backing of
canvas or a cheap grade of leather coated with a flexible, black,
glossy substance resembling a highly polished piece of leather.
Patent leather shoes are unreliable due to the fact that chang-
ing weather conditions make the surface crack. Once the sur-
face is broken, moisture seeps in at this point and rots the back-
ing and the leather breaks. There are also substitutes for
leather soles but the best of these do not compare with those
made of leather.
CHANNEL SEWED
Fig. 5
-Channel \
(open)
Fig. 6
TURNED SEWED
WELT SEWED
V Channel^ Outsold
barred felt
Xitches
holdina welt-
to otfso/e
244
SHOE REPAIRING
r Bend
(faestgivde half sole)
,
(Insoles and M/dd/e5o/es)
Repairing shoes can be divided into the following groups of
operations : half-soling, heeling, patching and sewing rips. Heel-
ing is the simplest and the easiest to accomplish. Heels usually
wear down on the back nearest the outside, due to the manner
in which people walk, that part of the heel striking first. It is
injurious to health to wear shoes "run down" (worn away) at
the heel, as it creates a strain on certain muscles in the foot and
ankle. Heels should be built up so that all parts of the heel
rest on the floor when the ball of the shoe is on the floor. The
best heels are made of leather, but some heels, especially high
heels for women, are made of beech or birch wood and covered
with leather. In half-soling and heeling shoes it is advisable to
use only the best grade of sole leather. Leather for soles and
heels should be cut out of the hide as shown in Fig. 8, and the
outside used as the outside of the sole. The difference between
the shape of the right and left sole should be studied and a piece
of leather slightly larger than the sole, cut out. A pattern of
the exact shape and size can be made if the shoe to be repaired
is set on a piece of paper, a line drawn around the old sole and
the paper cut out y%" outside of the line. Since leather is quite
porous it is best to soak the new soles in water for several hours
and then stand them up where the water can drain off. If al-
lowed to drain too long they will become too dry to work well,
but when that point is reached where the leather is pliable, they
should be pounded with a hammer over a lap iron or some other
hard, smooth surface until the leather is hard and compact and
"moulded" into the proper shape, cup shaped, curved two ways
as in Fig. 9. This moulding makes the leather "lift" or "half-
sole" come in close contact at the places where it is fastened to
the shoe, and as the leather dries out it shrinks and draws the
center part tight against the shoe.
To repair a worn heel, the top lift (the bottom layer of leather
HEELING
245
Fig. 9
Section E>-E>
Fig. 10
Tacked on
on the heel), should be torn off with pinchers. An iron last which
fits is slipped inside the shoe and placed on the iron stand and
the stand placed on the floor between the knees. The protruding
nails in the heel are cut off as close as possible to the heel and
the remaining part driven in. Pounding on the heel will have a
tendency to make the last jump off the stand. To prevent this
a small strap or light rope made in a loop may be slipped over
the shoe and last and under the right foot of the workman. If
more than the top lift has been worn off a small piece of sole
leather should be cut slightly larger than that part of the heel
worn down and so shaped and tapered that it will restore the
heel to its original shape. This piece of leather is fastened on
by first driving a peg awl through the piece into the heel and
then inserting and driving in a few wooden shoe-pegs. Nails
would hold just as well but if it is found necessary to trim
away any part of the leather, the nails would be in the way
while the pegs can be cut away just as easily as the leather.
A piece of tough sole leather properly moulded, and which
is about the size of the heel, is next cut and held in place tem-
porarily with about three heel nails. The entire heel is then
shaped and the pitch tested to see if the heel is of the proper
height. The lift is then fastened on permanently with heel nails
arranged as shown at F-Fig. 10. The sides of the heel are sand
papered smooth so that the new parts blend in with the old.
The surface is then "set up," that is, the edge of the heel is
sponged and while moist it is polished with a heel slicker or
burnisher, which should be heated about as hot as an iron for
pressing garments. It should be rubbed briskly back and forth
over the surface until the surface is made smooth. Black shoe
ink is then applied to the sides of the heel and when it is about
dry the heel is again burnished until it becomes slick and black.
The shoes should then be examined inside to see that no nails
246
SHOE REPAIRING
Fig. 11
Fig. 12
'/fee/ nails
Fig. 13
1HH
protrude and that the surface is smooth. - Fig. 10 shows the
various steps in heeling a shoe.
Rubber heels, Fig. 11, are put on in much the same way as
the top lift of a leather heel. It is necessary to remove enough
of the heel to give the shoe the right pitch after the rubber heel
is added. A heel of the right size must be selected as it is diffi-
cult to trim a rubber heel. Holes are already made for the nails
in a rubber heel. While they do not show, washers are also
placed in the heel so that the heads of the nails cannot pull
through. After the heel is properly shaped, both it and the
inside of the rubber heel are given a coat of rubber cement.
When this turns white the heel is placed in position and nailed.
It will be necessary to use a nail set to make the nails go in deep
enough, Figs. 12 and 13. The edge of the heel can be trimmed
if it does not fit perfectly but it cannot be burnished.
In half soling a shoe the forward part of the sole is cut
away, first by cutting across the sole midway between the ball
and shank of the shoe, holding the knife at an angle as shown in
Fig. 14. Care should be taken to see that the knife does not
penetrate too deeply and cut into the inner sole. After the in-
cision is made all the way across the sole, the lower part should
be cut away if the sole is sewed on, or pulled off with pinchers
if nailed on. That part of the sole remaining on the shank
should be skived, Fig. 15, so that it tapers gradually. In case
the shoe is so badly worn that a hole appears in the inner sole,
a thin piece of leather or tarred felt, cut and skived to shape,
should be set in so that the inner sole is of equal thickness
throughout. A piece of sole leather of the proper thickness and
shape, which has been previously prepared and moulded, is se-
lected and the shank end on the cupped side skived to a taper
which will lap over the taper on the shank. This must be skived
to' a neat edge but not too thin or the nails placed in it will not
hold. The place where these skived pieces overlap is called the
graft. The dust on the bottom of the shoe should be wiped off
with a damp cloth or brush. .
HALF SOLING
247
Cut at an ano/e
fig. 14
-Welt
Lon^oa the outride
Fia-15
S.
Fig. 16
The sole properly skived, is next held in place over the shoe
which should be on the stand and a row of clinch nails driven in
across the graft. These nails vary in size from 3-8 to 4^2-8 for
women's shoes to 4^2-8. to 7-8 for men's shoes. The bottom
part of the shoe must be held tightly against the iron last or the
pounding will drive it out of shape and the nails will not clinch.
A nail should next be driven into the middle of the sole near the
toe. This will hold the sole against the shoe while it is being
trimmed. In trimming the sole one should carefully control the
knife so that it will not cut into the middle sole, welt or upper.
The little curved lip on the lip knife is designed to protect the
upper part of the shoe while the sole is being trimmed. The sole
should be trimmed about T V' larger than the old sole to
allow for rasping to final shape. After the sole is trimmed, a
guide line for the nails should be scored parallel to the edge.
Fig. 16 shows a quick method of scoring this line, which should
be about 34" from the edge. The sole is securely nailed on
with clinch nails placed about ^" apart on the guide line.
After all nails are in, the whole row should be gone over with
the hammer to make sure that all are completely pounded in,
and clinched on the inside. The shoe should be removed from
the last and the inside examined with the hand to see that no
nail points protrude. The edge is next rasped to shape and
smoothed with No. 1^2 sandpaper. The edge should then be
wet with a sponge and "set up" by rubbing a warm burnisher
back and forth over it. Ink is then applied and wherf it is al-
most dry the warm burnisher is again rubbed over it until a
high polish is secured. The bottom is then rasped to make sure
that no nail heads protrude, and the sole sandpapered to give a
smooth, clean surface. This final rasping and sandpapering
should not be attempted until the leather sole is thoroughly dry.
Sewing on a half sole is much more difficult but the finished
results are much neater. Very strong flax thread prepared or
made into "ends" is used for sewing shoes. These ends are heav
248
SHOE REPAIRING
Fig. 17
Fig. 18
Fig. 19
ily waxed to give additional strength. Instead of a needle a long
hog bristle is used and since it does not contain an eye for the
thread it must be attached in a different way. This preparing of
the thread and attaching the bristle is called "making a waxed
end." The bristles used are about 4" long. They have the
advantage over a needle in that they will not break and at the
same time they are very small. Before they can be inserted
through the leather, a hole equal in size to the bristle must be
made through the leather with a sewing awl. The stitch used in
sewing leather is quite different from that used in sewing cloth.
In sewing leather a bristle is fastened to each end of the thread.
To make a waxed end, which should consist of from three
to eleven strands of flax, a piece of the correct length should
be broken off (not cut). Since flax shoe thread is twisted the
fibers in it so overlap and hold each other together that it makes
a very strong strand which is very hard to break. This, how-
ever, can be overcome by holding tightly with the left hand that
part of the thread which is to be broken off at the point where
it is desired to break it. With the right hand over that part at-
tached to the ball, rolling it forward over the knee as in Fig. 17,
the fibers separate and a quick jerk will break the thread. It
should be pulled apart gradually so that the end will taper due
to the fact that the fibers do not all break at the same place.
Several of the threads of the same length should be put
together, the number depending on the strength of the thread
needed, laying one just back of the other as in Fig. 18, so that
the ends when twisted together will make a very fine point.
They are twisted together in a very peculiar way. The group
of threads is separated for a distance of about 6" back from
the end as at Fig. 19, the two parts being as nearly equal
as possible. This divided end is placed upon the knee and given
a short reverse twist with the hand as when breaking the flax.
This gives the fibers in each part of the divided end an indepen-
dent twist. When they have been twisted to the dividing point
SEWING
249
Fig.22
in this direction, the motion is reversed and the threads twisted
in the opposite direction, thus bringing the two parts into one
and forming a gradual taper. The thread being twisted two
ways makes it very difficult to snarl or twist it when -in use.
The other end of the thread should be prepared in the same
way. After the strands are twisted tightly together, they should
be thoroughly waxed by holding a piece of shoemaker's wax in
the right hand and drawing the thread over it with the left hand,
starting near the middle of the thread and pulling toward the
end.
The bristles are next attached. The split end must be se-
lected as the one to be fastened to the thread. While holding
the blunt end of the bristle in the left hand, the other end should
be waxed as when waxing the thread, applying the wax to
within an inch of the head or blunt end of the bristle.
With the bristle between the first finger and thumb as in
Fig. 20, the pointed end of the thread is wound over the bristle
toward the blunt end for several wrappings and the bristle is
then twisted in the fingers so that the thread rolls tightly onto
the bristle in a reverse direction as in Fig. 21. To insure this
making a gradual taper, the fingers are held over the thread while
the bristle is being twisted. A hole is then made through the
thread about an inch from the thread or split end of the bristle
and the blunt end of the brittle is bent around and inserted
through the hole as shown in Fig. 22 and pulled tight, Fig. 23.
Any loose ends of thread or bristle should be trimmed away.
When the other end has been finished in a similar manner the
"waxed end" is complete.
In sewing on a shoe sole, the old sole is removed as already
described. The new sole is prepared and nailed on at the lap
or graft, the middle nail is slip tacked (tacked in part way to hold
the sole in place) and the sole trimmed to shape but slightly
larger than the welt. If the stitches are allowed to come through
on the under side of the sole, they will wear in two and let the
250
SHOE REPAIRING
Fig.Z4
Cork
Channel open
Fig. 25
-Thnod
Aw/,
-bristles
Fig.26
Channel closed-
sole come apart. Therefore, a channel must be cut in the out-
side part of the sole, in which the stitches can be imbedded.
The bottom of this channel should be placed as nearly as possi-
ble under the old stitches in the welt in order to insure the shoe
being the same size after it is repaired. The location of the
channel is made by gauging a line around the edge. The chan-
nel, Fig. 24, is cut and laid back with a knife held at a slant, the
cut being deep enough to make room for the threads.
The shoe is placed on its side over the knee and held in this
position with a strap which is passed around the shank of the
shoe and down under the foot of the workman. The upper side
of the welt should be thoroughly wet with an old tooth brush.
The sewing should start where the new sole overlaps the shank.
A sewing awl, having a point slightly smaller than twice the
thickness of the thread being used, is selected and a hole made
through an old stitch hole in the welt, Fig. 25, and on through
the sole into the channel. This awl hole must be large enough
to allow the two bristles to pass through it at the same time, but
small enough that the threads will bind slightJy. Sometimes a
curved sewing awl is needed and sometimes a straight one is
better. After a hole is made through the leather, one end of
the thread is inserted and drawn through to the middle of the
thread. The next hole is made about T V' from the first and
both ends of the thread inserted from opposite sides, to about
half the length of the bristle. With a bristle in each hand, the
threads are pulled briskly through the hole. It is best to pull
the entire length of the thread through until the stitch is made
because the thread is larger than the hole and if it is allowed
to stop before the stitch is completed, it will be hard to start
again. The thread must be pulled tight so that the stitch is
snug against the welt on the top and deep in the bed of the chan-
nel on the under side, Fig. 26. Succeeding stitches are made in
the same way. After the sewing is completed, the channel is
rubbed shut. The leather must be quite moist so that the chan-
nel cover will bend back into shape. The shoe is then allowed
PATCHING
251
Fig. 27
Fig. 26
Fig- 29
to dry and the middle tack pulled out. The sole is trimmed to
shape and rasped smooth and the edge sandpapered. The edge
is then "set up," inked and burnished until it is slick and bright.
Patching can be done in two ways, by cementing and by
sewing. The cement patch looks much neater but in places
where the parts are subjected to any great strain, the sewed
patch is necessary.
The shoe must be placed on a stretcher, Fig. 3, and thor-
oughly cleaned at the place where the patch is to be applied,
first by washing to remove all traces of shoe polish and grease
and then by sandpapering it to roughen the surface so that the
patch can stick. Unusual care must be taken to see that the
surface of the shoe is not sandpapered beyond the limit of the
patch. A piece of thin leather of the same color and texture as
the shoe, is selected and a portion large enough for the patch,
cut out. Square corners should be avoided in a patch, the round
or elliptical patch being much easier to apply.
The wrong side of the patch is skived all around to an edge
of paper thickness. An even coat of leather cement is then
applied to both patch and shoe and allowed to dry until it begins
to turn white. Both the patch and the shoes are then warmed to
an even temperature and placed in position and rubbed to a
close contact at all points. After the patch has thoroughly dried,
the stretcher is removed. If the leather was carefully matched
and the leather skived thin enough, a patch of this kind is hardly
noticeable, Fig. 27.
If the shoe upper is torn loose from the welt, it will be
necessary to sew a patch on. Fig. 28 shows how this should be
sewed to the upper and to the welt. The patch cannot be skived
as thin as for a cement patch because the stitches will pull
through. In sewing to the welt the stitches are placed far
back on the welt so that the patch will take the shape of the
upper. A patch of this kind should be sewed on the upper first.
A rip in the vamp may be repaired by placing a patch un-
derneath and sewing through it as illustrated in Fig. 29.
252
ELECTRIC WIRING AND CONSTRUCTION
Electricity is one of the greatest forms of energy yet dis-
covered. It has not yet been determined what it really is but
men have devised ways of using it. It is an invisible something
but the results of its power can 'be seen around us everywhere,
from the simple door bell or buzzer to the complex telephone
or telegraph instrument, the electric light, the electric stove, the
X-ray, the wireless and the powerful motor moving all sorts of
machines, elevators, boats, street cars, etc. We could not have
the automobile or the flying machine of today if it were not for
the control of the electric spark which ignites the gas in the
engine at just the proper time.
There must be a source of supply for electric energy.
Nature generates electricity in the moving clouds and we see
the results of it in the lightning. By rubbing a glass tube with
a piece of silk, or rubbing a piece of sealing wax with a woolen
cloth, the tube or wax will become electrified.
Electricity is produced for commercial purposes by means of
cells or mechanical generators. There are two types of primary
cells known as the closed circuit and the open circuit, the dry
cell being the most common of the open circuit type. They both
produce the same kind of electricity but open circuit cells become
dead (or polarized) if put into continuous service, while the
gravity type must have the continuous service to keep it from
getting out of order. Electricity produced by a mechanical gen-
erator can be used direct from the generator or it can be used to
store up energy for future use in a storage battery.
No matter what kind of supply it is, electricity always tries
to get away and run into the ground. Its power is peculiar in
that it moves only through certain objects while others repel it.
Ordinarily it is carried from the source of supply to the place
where it is to be used, through a solid wire, usually a copper
wire. Just how it moves has not been determined. Some
authorities even believe that it travels in the space around the
wire instead of in the wire itself. This seems possible because
of the discovery of the wireless telegraph and telephone, for
which no wires are used.
The movement of electric energy is known as current and
it is said to flow when it moves. Current may be made to flow
from a cell, generator or battery, when the wire coming from
the source of supply is attached to the ground or to some
metallic substance which is connected with the ground or to the
negative terminal of the battery or generator. This makes what
is known as a circuit and allows the current to flow in the direc-
ELECTRICITY 253
tion it desires. It always seeks the shortest route to the ground
or to the negative terminal of the battery. To prevent current
from getting away before the desired destination is reached, the
wire is sometimes covered with such materials as thread and
paraffine, rubber, woven braid and weather proof compound.
Wire covered in this way is known as insulated wire, Fig. 1.
If current is to be carried through space where interference is
not likely to occur, it is not necessary to use insulated wire, but
it is necessary to insulate the connections at the places where
the wire is fastened. Dry wood is a non-conductor of electric
current and a wire nailed to a dry wooden post would not be
short circuited (the current shunted to the ground before the
desired place is reached), but water is a conductor (distilled
water excepted) and if rain should fall, the post would be so
rilled with moisture that the current would flow through it. Glass
or porcelain holders are used to insulate the wire from the pole.
In the cell, generator or battery, there are two terminals.
One is where the electricity comes out and is known as the posi-
tive terminal. The other, where the current returns, is known
as the negative terminal. In case a wire is run out from the
positive terminal and instead of being connected to the ground,
is connected to the negative terminal, it makes the circuit and
the current will flow. For this reason the negative side of the cell,
generator or battery is sometimes spoken of as the "ground."
The wire or any other material through which the current
will flow is known as a conductor. The smaller the conductor
the harder the electric current has to work to get to its destina-
tion, just as water in a creek is swift and turbulent when it
passes through a narrow channel and slow moving and peaceful
when its creek bed is wide and deep. This smallness of the
conductor is said to offer resistance to a current passing through
it and because of the extra energy used in forcing itself through,
the current generates heat just as a person, by performing stren-
uous work,' becomes overheated. It is this idea of resistance
that is used in the electric devices producing heat, such as the
toaster, flat iron, hot plate or stove, curling iron, glue pot, etc.
In these devices, a material which offers great resistance but
which will carry the current, is used as a conductor and when
the current is allowed to pass through it, the conductor becomes
hot. This same principle is applied to the incandescent light.
A very fine filament of carbon or tungsten metal can be seen in
the bulb. It looks black but when the electric current is allowed
to pass through it, it instantly becomes very hot, almost a white
heat, and as a result gives off light. When metal is heated to
254 ELECTRIC WIRING AND CONSTRUCTION
Fig. 1
Light wire
Tine
Mre'
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
a white heat in the open air, it melts and flows. To prevent
this filament from melting or burning in two, all of the air is
drawn out of the bulb, thus forming a vacuum, and the end of
the bulb tightly sealed.
There is another form of energy which is not the same as
electric current. It is known as magnetic force. Instead of
flowing through a wire, or some other form of conductor, mag-
netic force goes out unseen through the air. That point or place
from which it comes is known as a pole. Fig. 2 shows a bar
of steel which has been magnetized, and lines indicating the
direction in which the magnetic force is moving.
This magnetic force is limited and reaches out only to a
limited distance. The more powerful the magnet the greater
the "field" its force will cover. Anything possessing this mag-
netic force tends to draw to it anything made of steel, iron or
nickel. The opposite ends of a magnet are known as north and
south poles. Fig. 3 shows a horseshoe magnet. This is the
same as the bar magnet except that it is bent around so that
the poles are near each other. Either end of the bar magnet
will attract a nail, tack, knife blade or any piece of steel but
because of their positions, not at the same time, while in the
horseshoe magnet, both ends being near each other, attract in
unison and consequently have greater pulling power. Magnets
will also attract each other if unlike poles are brought close
together, but two like poles will repel each other as shown in
Fig. 4. Once a piece of steel is pulled against a magnet, it is
difficult to pull it away. In a magnet there is great power, but
in order to utilize the power, it is necessary to have some other
force working in conjunction with it or there is only one move-
ment, that of pulling something to the magnet.
It will be found by experimenting that steel can be perma-
nently magnetized, that is, so filled with magnetism that it will
remain magnetized indefinitely. An experiment to prove this
BELL WIRING
255
Fig. 4
p3s
Direction of
current
can easily be made by rubbing a small piece of steel very slowly
over the end of a magnet. This rubbing should be in one direc-
tion, that in which the magnetic force moves. If the same ex-
periment is tried with a bit of iron or iron wire (hay baling
wire), it will be found that the wire does not become mag-
netized. However, if a group of these same iron wires are made
into a bundle, an insulated copper wire wound around them as
in Fig. 5, and an electric current made to pass through the cop-
per wire, the iron wires become magnetized, but only for the
period during which the electric current is passing around them
through the insulated copper wire. A magnet thus produced
is known as an electro magnet and its use makes possible the
door bell, buzzer, telephone, telegraph and wireless.
BELL WIRING
Fig. 6 shows a drawing of an electric bell (with cap re-
moved) having two electro magnets. The binding posts are the
places to which the wires are attached, + in the illustration
indicating positive or where the current goes in and indi-
cating the negative or where the current comes out. When the
current goes in at the -f- terminal (binding post), it goes around
and around the soft iron core of the first magnet, then around
the second magnet and then to the contact point. The armature
spring pulls back the iron armature so that contact is made
between the set screw and the contact spring. From there the
current flows out through the terminal. When the current
is turned on, the magnetic force set up in the soft iron cores of
the two coils, pulls the armature over to the magnet in exactly
the same way as the horseshoe magnet pulls an iron plate, but
in the bell the instant this armature is pulled against the mag-
net, the electric current is broken at the contact point. With
the current cut off, the cores cease to be magnets and they fail
to hold the armature against them. When this magnetic pull
256 ELECTRIC WIRING AND CONSTRUCTION
Fig. 6
Homrne,
Contactpoint
Setscrew-
Contact
Armature
Armature
bindingpost
Fig- 7
Fig. 8
is gone, the spring pulls the armature back into the original
position and as soon as it reaches this original position, the elec-
tric connection is again made, the cores again become mag-
netized, the armature is again pulled over and again the current
is broken. This of course takes place very quickly, perhaps
hundreds of times per minute, and because the hammer rod is
attached to the end of the armature, the result is that the ham-
mer moves back and forth against the bell. The dotted line in
Fig. 6 shows the course of the electric current. A buzzer, Fig.
7, is similar to a bell, the chief difference being that the noise is
made by the vibration or movement of its parts instead of by a
hammer striking a bell.
To install a door bell in a house, one must have an electric
bell, one or two cells, (preferably dry cells as they are less apt
to get out of order), a push button for making the electric con-
nection at the door, and enough No. 18 insulated bell wire to
reach from the door to the battery and to the bell-: also enough
wire staples, preferably those which are insulated, to securely
fasten the wires at intervals of every two feet.
The cells should be placed on some shelf where they will be.
out of the way. If the basement under the house is not too
damp or too hot, they may be placed on a shelf made by nailing
a board to the under side of the joists under the floor near the
point where the bell is to be placed, thus saving in the amount
of wire needed. If two cells are used they should be connected
with a short piece of wire, with one end of the wire connected
to the positive or carbon terminal of one cell and the other end
to the negative or zinc terminal of the other cell. The end of
a piece of wire long enough to reach from the battery to the bell
should then be connected to the remaining terminal of one cell,
while an end of another wire long enough to reach to the door
where the push button is to be installed, is fastened to the
unused terminal on the other cell. These wires, after being
BELL WIRING
257
Fig. 9
Fig. 11
V/ire
securely fastened to the cells, are fastened with staples to the
joists as shown in Fig. 8. If it is necessary to take the wires
to the other side of the joist, this may be done by drawing them
through a hole bored through the joist, or they may be carried
around the joist as shown by the dotted line in Fig. 8.
The bell should be fastened to the wall with screws. If
placed on a plastered wall it will be more secure if part of these
screws penetrate one of the studs, the 2"x4" uprights, to which
the laths in a frame house are nailed. The studs are always
16" apart from center to center and their location can be deter-
mined by sound, when tapping a hammer lightly over the wall
in the proposed location of the bell. The spot over the stud
gives off a more solid, higher pitched sound. If the visible wires
are not objectionable they may be tacked along the edge of the
window casing, base board or picture molding. If the wires of
the bell are to be hidden, they must be "fished" through the
hollow wall. This of course makes a neater job. In order to
get the wire through the wall, a y\" hole should be bored just
under the bell, but far enough to the side to miss the stud; in
other words, this hole must be an opening into the space be-
tween the two studs which run from the point where the bell
is located to the basement, if that is where the battery has been
placed, or to the attic if the battery is there. Sometimes the
battery can be placed on a shelf in a closet near the bell in which
case the wires can be carried around the picture molding or
perhaps through the wall. If the wires are to be fished, the
loose end of a wire or a small chain long enough to reach to
the basement (assuming that to be the location of the battery),
is shoved through the hole beside the bell, Fig. 9. One can
usually tell by the feeling of the wire or chain whether it is
going down or whether some obstruction is stopping it. Wheij
enough of it has been shoved into the wall to reach the base-
ment, a helper should be there to see if it is coming through.
258 ELECTRIC WIRING AND CONSTRUCTION
Fig. 12
Push button
fig. 13
Wires crossing
Fig. 15
By listening carefully while it is moved back and forth by the
upstairs workman, the one in the basement can tell what
progress is being made.
If the space below the bell is boarded over so that the wire
or chain cannot be reached, a hole should be bored through the
obstruction with a 1" auger bit. By making a hook of a stiff
wire and pushing it upward through this hole, it is possible to
engage the end of the wire or chain pushed down from above,
and pull it through, Fig. 10. Sometimes in partition walls the
studs are set up and nailed on the floor after it is laid. In that
case it may be impossible to fish the wire all the way. If it is
found to be impossible to get the wire through the floor, the wire
may be fished out through a hole slightly above the base board
and then sent down through a hole in the floor as in Fig. 11.
Once the wire is fished through, the ends of two insulated
wires are fastened securely to it and pulled back through the
wall to the bell. One of these wires should be the end of that
wire which is to be attached to the battery and the other must
be long enough to reach from the bell to the push button. The
insulation is scraped off of both the ends of wire and the wire
which comes from the battery is fastened to one terminal of the
bell and the other wire is fastened to the other terminal of the bell.
The wires for the push button at the door are fished through
a hole directly underneath the push button. The push button
is usually 30" from the floor. The hole should be small enough
that the push button will cover it. One wire should come from
the bell to the push button and the other from the battery to the
push button. Care should be taken to see that all connections
are made tight, that the wire is properly fastened and that all
slack has been taken up. If the bell fails to ring when the but-
ton is pushed, all connections should be inspected to see that
none of the wires are grounded, that is, touching any object
which would conduct the current to the ground and thus cause
TELEGRAPH CIRCUITS
259
Fig. 16
Fig. 17
G?// or battery
(gravity Type)
the current to run out of the battery into the ground. This
would soon exhaust the battery.
A diagram of a bell wired in this manner is shown in Fig.
12. This is easily read but when a different arrangement, such
as Fig. 13 is made, it looks more complicated but is really the
same kind of circuit. To read a "wiring layout" one should
start at the positive terminal of the battery and follow the cir-
cuit around to see that it is complete, that it connects at the
right places and that it returns to the negative terminal of the
battery. The solid lines in Fig. 14 show a bell wired so that it
can be rung from either of two buttons. The dotted line shows
a push button incorrectly wired. Pushing the button on the
dotted line circuit would only close the circuit between the but-
ton and the battery without going through the bell, while either
of the other two buttons on this diagram will close a circuit
through the bell. Fig. 15 shows how to wire two bells so that
they both ring when either of the two buttons are pushed. This
kind of an arrangement is suitable where one bell is desired
down stairs and one up stairs, or where one bell is in the house
and the other bell in the barn or garage.
TELEGRAPH CIRCUITS
A different type of battery known as the gravity or closed
circuit type, C-Fig. 17, must be used in telegraph circuits which
are used continuously. The open circuit type loses its power
when used continuously. The receiving instrument or sounder
works on the same principle as the bell. It has two electro
magnets. The current is turned on by pushing on the knob of
the transmitter, sometimes called the key. Pushing on this key
closes the circuit. This allows the magnets in the sounder to
draw down the metal bar (or armature) causing a click to be
made at the sounding point A-Fig. 16. When the current is
turned off, a little coil spring pulls the armature back to the
original position and causes a click to be made at the second
260 ELECTRIC WIRING AND CONSTRUCTION
sounding point, B. It is the length of time between the clicks
made when the key is pushed down and when it is released, that
is known as an "element." A short element or interval between
clicks is known as a dot; a long interval as a dash. By a com-
bination of dots and dashes, letters are represented and words
can be spelled out. The symbols made by groups of these ele-
ments (dots and dashes) are known as a code. The following
table gives the Morse and the International codes.
International Morse International Morse International Morse
A._ - . N _ . . ____ !.__.
.. ___ 2 . . _ . .
_ _ 3 . . . _ .
_ ..... _ 4 . . . . _
. ..... 5 .....
. . . B _ . .
. _ . C . . .
D - . .
E .
. _ . F . _ .
_ . G _ _ .
. . . H . . .
I . .
J _ . _
K_ . _
_ . . L _
M_
_ O
_ . P
. - Q
. R
. S ,
T .
_ U
. _ V
_ w
. _ X
_ Y
. z
;__
8 _
( ).
.- ._ .-(,).- ._
. . __ . .(?)
The telegraph instruments should be wired as in the illus-
tration and diagram, Fig. 17. If it is desired to have a tele-
graphic connection with some one at a distance, it is necessary
to have a key and a sounder at each place but it is not necessary
to have two pairs of wires, in fact one wire is all that is neces-
sary, provided it is connected at each end to a metal plate or
pipe which is run into the ground. In a long circuit there is
such a loss of current that the magnets in the coils in the
sounder are not strong enough to hold down the armature
unless a very large number of cells is used. This difficulty is
overcome by wiring the circuit with relays and local batteries.
A relay, Fig. 19, is constructed something like a telegraph
sounder, but the coils are made with many turns of much finer
wire, thus producing a much stronger magnetic force. In this
TELEGRAPH CIRCUITS
261
Fig. 21
Fig. 20. 1- Wooden base. 2-Wooden bracket. 3-Wooden bar. 4-Wire or brad.
5* Electro magnets. 6-Iron armature. 7-Iron yoke. 8-Flat head wood screws.
9-Round head wood screws and washers. 10-Brass spring or rubber band. (9' is used
as a binding post).
* Detail of coil. A-Bolt or soft iron wire : must be the latter if gravity battery
is used. B-Thin paper tube. C-Consecutive turns of No. 20 or 22 cotton insulated
wire. D-Wood or fiber ends.
Fig. 21. 1-Wooden base. 2-Brass or tin key strip. 3-Metal connector plate.
4-and 4'-Metal switch closed. (Dotted line shows switch open). 5-Wooden knob. 6-Flat
head wood screw. 7-Round head wood screw and washer. (6' and 7' are used as
binding posts).
way a weak current sent through the coils in a relay will draw
down an armature as easily as a strong current in a telegraph
sounder. The wiring diagram at Fig. 18 shows a circuit in
three units. When the key, A, is closed, the electricity passes
from the battery, B, along the main line through the relays,
C-C, to the ground, D, at the other end of the line. In passing
through the relays, the armatures are pulled up by the electro
magnets, closing the local circuits. When the current in the
main line is broken, the springs on the relays break the contact
in the local circuits, cutting off the current from the sounders.
Each circuit is complete in itself, that is, the current in one cir-
cuit does not flow into another, one merely operates the other.
The current in the main circuit only closes the connection at
the relay so that the current in the local battery (which may
consist of as many cells as needed to regulate the strength of
the sound) flows through the sounder, reproducing the sound
made by the key at the sending station. The switch on the
key must be kept closed when the line is not in use, thus enab-
ling an operator at either end of the line to open the circuit for
the purpose of sending messages.
A simple form of key and sounder which can be made with
a limited equipment is shown in Figs. 20 and 21. In making the
coils the wires should be wound smoothly, just as thread is
wound on a spool. Care must also be taken to see that the
core is properly insulated with paper from the wires wound
around it.
262 ELECTRIC WIRING AND CONSTRUCTION
Fig. 22
Fig. 23
ELECTRIC MOTOR.
As has been stated, one cannot see the flow of electric cur-
rent, but results from electric current can be seen. The electric
motor, Fig. 22, is another illustration of electric motive power.
The electro magnet is again the moving force. A simple type
of motor which can be easily made and which thoroughly illus-
trates the principle on which the larger motor works, is shown
in Fig. 24.
In this simple motor, when the current from the battery is
turned on, it travels around the iron core (5), causing it to
become an electro magnet. The current then travels through
one of the brushes (1), to the commutator (2), then around the
armature (3), out through the other brush, then to the battery.
When the armature is turned to a certain point, the brushes
exchange contact with the metal plates on the commutator and
therefore the flow of current is reversed. This reverses the
polarity of the armature magnets. In this way alternate attrac-
tion and repulsion is produced between the armature magnets
Fig. 24
Bg.25
Fig.26
Fig. 24. 7- Wooden base. 8-Wooden coil support. 6-Tin, copper or brass arma-
ture support. 2-Commutator. 1-Brushes. 5-Field magnet, soft iron. 4-Field coils, No.
18 cotton covered wire. 9- Armature magnets, flat head wood screws-. 3-Armature coil,
No. 22 cotton covered wire. 10-Cork. ll-% "dowel rod. 12-Pins.
ELECTRIC MOTORS
263
Fig.27
Wood molding
and field magnets, first a pull and then a push being given to
the armature. With each new contact between the brushes and
the armature plates, magnetic force is again set up and the arm-
ature is given another pull, only to have the pull cut off by the
brushes. It is this chasing game, played in a motor, which
makes the armature revolve continuously as long as the switch
is closed and the current allowed to flow.
In making a motor like the illustration, the field magnet
must be wound so that one end becomes a north pole and the
other one a south pole. The armature magnets must also be
wound in this manner. The polarity of a magnet can be deter-
mined by grasping the coil with the right hand so that the
fingers point in the direction of the current; the north pole will
then be in the direction of the extended thumb as illustrated
in Fig. 5. The plates on the commutator must be placed so
that the brushes make a contact when the armature is in the
position shown in Fig. 26, the reason being that, in this illus-
tration, the north pole in the armature is nearest the south pole
f 1
/f/to6~~^
Fig.32 2
p s o
C^
io/n/,
/TTN ( ) n O J?
( )
vHX, n ' -/
^ Single pole swiTch
fi0.34( %
&& /'\ W ^ U
s 1 ; ^ LJ n
o
^Doub/e pole switch
Fig. 32. Three electric lights in multiple: turn-off switch at each lamp.
Example lights in different rooms or on diffrent parts of an electrolier.
Fig. 33. Three lights in multiple: single pole switch controlling all lights.
Example same as Fig. 32 except that all lights can be turned on or off from one
point, provided the individual switches have been left turned on.
Fig. 34. Same as Fig. 33 except that switch bridges across both wires.
Example same as Fig. 32.
264 ELECTRIC WIRING AND CONSTRUCTION
Fig. 35
Fig. 36
IT
took-
switch
v,y o
O n
C) n O
_
Q
O T_
Q L_D
Connection
Tube
Fig. 35. Three-way switch control (circuit closed in above diagram). Turning
either switch will break the connection. When both switch bars bridge over the same
wire, the current is turned on.
Example light at' head of stairs can be turned on or off either from the switch
down stairs or the one up stairs.
Fig. 36. Double branch circuit. Switches at individual lamps.
Example one circuit up stairs and one down.
of the field magnet, making the pull easier. It will be remem-
bered that like poles repell each other: consequently in Fig. 25,
even though one pole in the armature is near a pole of the field
magnet, it will not be attracted to it because the polarity in each
is the same. A pulley placed on the end of the armature is the
means of using the power developed in a motor.
ELECTRIC GENERATOR.
The strength of a battery is determined by a measure called
a volt. The ordinary dry cell, when new, usually tests about
1.5 volts. A 1.5 volt light bulb attached to a cell will give off
light equivalent of 2 to 4 candle power, but for a limited length
of time only. Its light will gradually grow weaker and weaker.
The light bulb usually used for ordinary lighting purposes,
requires 110 volts. To operate one of these bulbs, it would take
70 new dry cells, connected in series, and then the bulb would
give off light for only a few minutes. When current is needed
in great quantities and for continuous use, it is generated in a
mechanical way rather than by chemicals. This mechanical
means is known as a generator, dynamo or magneto. A gen-
erator is practically the same as a motor, but instead of being
operated by an electric current passing through it, the armature
is revolved by some other power, and as this is done a current
is induced in the armature and sent out through the brushes.
While it is true that the magnets are only electro magnets,
enough magnetism remains in the magnets of a well constructed
generator, to start the current flowing. Once the start is made,
a part of the new current generated passes around the poles of
the magnets and increases their magnetic power and additional
voltage is produced and current is sent out through the brushes
or commutator. Fig. 23 shows a generator capable of furnish-
LIGHT WIRING
265
A
B
C
() i C
)
O
O /7p\
fo?
D
c,
o [@j
( )
C)
E 1
f
jgj
to
1
1 (
1
Fig- 37 1
O
<3
Fig. 37. Double branch circuit.
Example-^-Lights A-B-C and D down stairs, D connected with wall switch; E-F
and G upstairs circuit, G controlled by two three-way switches, one at top and the
other at bottom of stairs. (Latter circuit closed, in diagram).
ing sufficient power to operate electric lights, motors, etc. Of
course to be made to generate electric current, the armature
must be revolved rapidly. This is usually accomplished by
steam or water power.
LIGHT WIRING.
For ordinary house wiring for electric lights, much heavier
wire than that used for an electric bell, known as B. and S. No.
14 insulated wire must be used. The current must be of suffi-
cient voltage to make the filament in the lamp hot and bright.
If the wire is not properly insulated, it is dangerous to handle
and if short circuited it would set fire to objects around it.
Connections must always be tightly made, and, in addition to
being properly twisted together, they should be soldered and
taped, Figs. 38, 39 and 40. The wires, instead of being tacked
or stapled, must be wired to or passed through insulating knobs,
Fig. 27. If wires must pass through the joists or studding,
porcelain tubes, Fig. 29, are used. In places where the wires
are fished through walls as in bell wiring, it is dangerous to
allow the wires to hang without being fastened to insulators.
Since it is impossible to get at the wire to do this circular loom
(flexible tubing) Fig. 28, containing insulated wire is fished
through. In some instances, instead of wires being fastened
to knobs, they are run in moldings, Fig. 30, which are usually
used in wiring old buildings, or through conduits, Fig. 31, which
are usually placed in the walls at the time the building is con-
structed.
Light wiring diagrams look much like bell wiring diagrams.
The method of reading them is the same, the symbols only being
different. Fig. 32 shows three lights on an electric circuit
One wire may be considered as + and the other . The lights
are places between these wires, bridging a part of the current
266 ELECTRIC WIRING AND CONSTRUCTION
Fig. 41
Attachment P/ug
Pull Socket
across the two wires. The filament in a light bulb offers so
much more resistance than the ordinary wire that it becomes
hot and bright, thus giving off light, but it does not consume
all of the current in the wires. Lights wired in this fashion are
said to be wired in multiple. Fig. 33 illustrates three lights
wired in multiple but they are all controlled from one switch.
The wiring diagrams, Figs. 32 to 37 inclusive, show various
ways of wiring different circuits.
Splices and taps must be carefully made. Fig. 38 shows the
method of making a Western Union splice and Fig. 39 a branch
tap. After a tight connection has been made, the joint should
be soldered, Fig. 40, and then insulated, first with rubber tape
and then with friction tape. Connections inside of switches and
sockets must be securely made or short circuits will result.
Since it takes at least 110 volts of current to operate the ordi-
nary electric light bulb, experimenting with light wiring circuits
is dangerous. False moves or faulty connections may not alone
cause fire but are dangerous for the workman. Fig. 41 shows a
key socket, a pull socket and an attachment plug. In fastening
wires to sockets, switches, etc., the insulation should be peeled
back just far enough to give enough bare wire to fasten under
the fastening screw. The end of the wire should be bent around
tfie screw in a clockwise direction.
INDEX
Adze 16.
Anvil 214.
Axe 16.
Bell wiring 255.
Bench hook 24.
Bits 20.
Blue prints 84.
Bolts 47.
Brace 20.
Brad awl 20.
Cane webbing 06.
Caning 63.
Canning 167.
Carborundum 31.
Chickens, common breeds 172.
Chisels 13.
Clamps, cabinet 25.
Coke 213.
Common joints 90.
Concrete 188.
Concrete, consistency of 191.
Concrete mixtures 189.
Corrugated fasteners 51.
Corundum 30.
Countersink 22.
Cutting bill 86.
Dividers 18.
Dowels 48.
Drawing instruments 75.
Drill, garden 163.
Drill presses 215.
Dynamo 262.
Electric motor 262.
Electricity 252.
Emery 30.
Escutcheon pins 151.
Factory organization 158.
Filler 56.
Finishing woodwork 96.
Floor plans 89.
Forge 213.
Framing square 17.
Gardening, projects in 160.
Getting out stock 93.
Glass 58.
Glazing 60.
Glue 47.
Gouges 13.
Grinding tools 32.
Growth in trees 30.
Half-soling 246.
Hammers 26.
Hand drill 21.
Hand screws 24.
Hatchets 16.
Heeling shoes 244.
Hinges 49.
Hog rations 186.
Hogs, breeds of 182.
Hotbed 160.
Iron 212.
Jigs in woodworking 154.
Job press 237.
Knives 15.
Knots, cause of 38.
Lettering 81.
Light wiring 265.
Locks and catches 50.
Lumber, grades of 39.
Lumber measure 39.
Lumber, plain sawed 38.
Lumber, quarter sawed 38.
Magnetic force 254.
Mallets 27.
Marking gauge 17.
Measuring and laying out 93.
Mechanical drawing 73.
Metal operations 213.
Mill bills 88.
Mitre box 25.
Nails 42.
Paint 53.
Paper, how made 226.
Paper, kinds and uses of each 230.
Patching shoes 251.
Patent leather 243.
Planes 9.
Planing, steps of 93.
Plates, metal 51.
Portland cement 188.
Poultry rations 177.
Prepared seatings 71.
Printing 231.
Proof reading 237.
Putty 61.
Quads and spaces 233.
Rasp 29.
Riveting 216.
Rubber heels 246.
Rush seating 67.
Sandpaper 52.
Saw horse 23.
Scraper, cabinet 29.
Screw drivers 28.
Screws, wood 44.
Screws, lag 46.
Seed corn, selection of 169.
Selecting stock 92.
Sewing shoe soles 241.
Shingling 174.
Shoe repairing 241.
Shop equipment 3.
Soldering 218.
Spading concrete 190. .
Spoke-shave 10.
Spraying mixtures 106.
Stain 55.
Steel 212.
Staples 51.
Sterilization 167.
Tanning 242.
Tapping a nut 219.
T bevel 19.
Telegraph circuits 259, 2CO.
Telegraph codes 260.
Threading a nut 219.
Transplanting 163.
Tree repairing 209.
Tricks in woodworking 154.
Try square 17.
Type 232.
Type cases 232.
Type setting 233.
Upholstering 69.
Varnish 57.
Vises 24.
Wax, finishing 57.
Waxed end 248.
Welding 217.
Whetting tools 33.
Wood, qualities of 40. '
Wood, uses of 41.
Wood and lumber 35.
Wrenches 28.
INDEX Continued.
Woodworking Projects.
Ash sifters 104.
Barn door 91.
Bench hook 23, 74.
Bench stop 23.
Bird houses 102.
Boiler frame for canning 167.
Book racks 73, 108.
Book shelves 110.
Bread board 12G.
Broom holder 152.
Bulletin board 13G.
Bushel crate 166.
Chair 68.
Checker board 128.
Chicken coops 180, 181.
Clothes racks 112.
Collar box 116.
Combination wagon box 149.
Concrete measuring boxes 190.
Concrete forms 193 to 208.
Costumer 134.
Cucumber screen 1G5.
Cutting boards 10G.
Dibble 163.
Dog house 150.
Doubletree 150.
Drawing board 12G.
Dry mash hopper 178.
Egg candler 180.
Electric lamps 124.
Farm gates 14G.
Flower box 98.
Fly screen 138.
Fly swatter 138.
Fly trap 138.
Footstool 73.
Garden marker 164.
Garden roller 1G5.
Hay fork -holder 152.
Hen's nest case 177.
Hog chute 18G.
Hog house 182.
Hog rack 187.
Hog trough 185.
Hotbed 161, 162.
House plant-tray 160.
Ironing board 114.
Jar cover 106.
Jumping standard 122.
Kitchen table 130.
Letter holder 108.
Library table 140.
Medicine cabinet 116.
Mission stools 67, 132.
Mitre box 24.
"Nail box 106.
Oats sprouting tray 179.
Pastry board 12G.
Pedestals 128.
Pen tray 108.
Pencil sharpener 106.
Plant stand 118.
Plant trellis 98.
Porch swing 142.
Poultry feed trough 179.
Poultry feeding crate 181.
Poultry grit box 178.
Poultry house 173.
Sandpaper block 52, 106.
Saw buck 144.
Saw horse 23, 144.
Seed corn drier 170.
Seed corn tester 171.
Serving tray 130.
Shoe shining cabinet 118.
Sled 114.
Sleeve board 114.
Step ladder 120.
Stone boat 152.
Telephone stand 87.
Three horse evener 150.
Tomato trellis 100.
Vaulting standard 122.
Wagon jack 150.. '
Wash tub bench 100.
Weaving frame 120.
Concrete Projects.
Aquarium castles 208.
Baseball home plate 193.
Concrete floors 205.
Door weight 193.
Fence posts 195.
Flower box 200.
Flower urn 202.
Foot scraper 194.
Angle irons 222.
Bench frame 223.
Bolt 225.
Brace 222.
Bracket 222.
Foot scraper iron 224.
Gate hinge 224.
Hoops 222.
Lawn roller handles 223.
Hog trough 198.
Hotbed 197.
Lawn pedestal 201.
Lawn seat 203.
Roller 206.
Side walk 204.
Tree repairing 209.
Watering trough 199.
Metal Projects.
Mending broken irons 216.
Mortise templet 155.
Porch swing hooks 224.
Reinforcing plate 222, 225.
Ring bolt^-225.
Sack holder 223.
Toy wagon axle 224.
Wagon bed stake iron 223.
Wagon end-gate rod 225.
Half -soling 246, 247.
Heeling 244, 245.
Shoe Repairing.
I Patching 250.
Electric Wiring and Construction.
Bell wiring circuits 258.
Electric motor 262.
Insulating 266.
Light wiring circuits 263, 264,
Splicing a wire 266.
265.
Tapping a wire 266.
Telegraph circuit 259, 260.
Telegraph key 261.
Telegraph sounder 261.
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