FRflWKLiN Institute Library 
 
 Class 6 80. Book Accession 371.5. 
 
 Article V. — Ihe Library'sball be divided into two classes; the first 
 comprising such works as, from their rarity or value, should not be lent out, 
 all unbound periodicals, and such text-books as ought to be found in a 
 librarj' of reference, except when required by Committees of the Institute, 
 or by Members or holders of second class stock, who have obtained the 
 sanction of the Committee. The second class shall include those books 
 intended for circulation. 
 
 Article YI.--The Secretary shall have authority to loan to Members 
 and to holders of second class stock, any work belonging to the second 
 CLASS, subject to the following regulations: 
 
 Section 1. — Xo individual shall be permitted to have more than two books 
 out at one time, without a written permission, signed by at least two members 
 of the Library Committee ; nor shall a book be kept out more than two 
 WEEKS ; but if no one has applied for it, the former borrower may renew 
 the loan. Should any person have applied for it, the latter shall have the 
 preference. 
 
 Sectioji 2 — A fine of ten cents per week shall be exacted for the de- 
 tention of a book beyond the limited time; and if a book be not returned 
 within three months, it shall be deemed lost, and the borrower shall, in 
 addition to his tines, forfeit its value. 
 
 Section 3. — Should any book be returned injured, the borrower shall pay 
 for the injury, or replace the book, as the Library Committee may direct; 
 and if one or more b^oks, belonging to a set or sets, be lost, the borrower 
 shall replace them or make full restitution. 
 
 Article YII.— Any person removing from the Hall, without permission 
 from the proper authorities, any book, newspaper, or other property in 
 charge of the Library Committee, shall be reported to the Committee, who 
 may inflict any fine not exceeding twenty-five dollars. 
 
 Article VIII. — No Member or holder of second class stock, whose 
 annual contribution for the current year shall be unpaid, or who is in 
 arrears for fines, shall be entitled to the privileges of the Library or Reading 
 Room. 
 
 Article IX — If any member or holder of second class stock, shall 
 refuse or neglect to comply with the foregoing rules, it shall be the duty of 
 the Secretary tr- report him to the Committee on the Library. 
 
 Article X — Any Member or ,holder of second class stock, detected 
 in mutilating the newspapers, pamphlets, or books belonging to the Insti- 
 tute, shall be deprived of his right of membership, and the name of th« 
 offender shall be made public. 
 
Digitized by 
 
 the Internet Archive 
 
 
 
 in 2015 
 
 
 
 https://archive.org/details/youngmechanicconOOIuki_0 
 
JUST IMPORTED, 
 
 The Lathe and its Uses; 
 
 OR. 
 
 INSTRUCTION Dl THE ART OF TUENfflG IN WOOD AND METAL, 
 
 rKCLUDIKQ 
 
 A DESCRIPTIOX OF THE MOST MODERX APPLIANXES 
 FOR THE ORNAMENTATION OF PLANE 
 AND CURVED SURFACES. 
 
 BY THE 
 
 AUTHOR OF "THE YOUNG MECHANIC." 
 
 8vo., Cloth. $6. SO. 
 
 G-. P. PUTNAM & SONS, NEW YORK. 
 
YOUNG MECH^I^iSz 
 
 CONTAINING 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOR THE USE OF ALL KINDS OF TOOLS, 
 
 AND FOR THE 
 
 CONSTRUCTION OF STEAM ENGINES AND 
 MECHANICAL MODELS, 
 
 INCLUDING 
 
 THE ART OF TURNING IN WOOD AND METAL. 
 
 BY THE 
 
 AUTHOR OF "THE LATHE AND ITS USES/' 
 "THE AMATEUR MECHANICS WORKSHOP," &c. 
 
 FROM THE ENGLISH EDITION, WITH CORRECTIONS, c-r. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 G. P. PUTNAM &^SONS, ASSOCIATION BUILDINC;. 
 
 1S71. 
 
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year iSji, by 
 
 G. P. PUTNAM & SONS, 
 in the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 
 
INTRODUCTION TO THE AMERICAN EDITION. 
 
 In presenting the American edition of this little work^ to the 
 public, we believe we are supplying a want that has long been 
 felt by the Young Mechanics of this country, and many others 
 who desire to become versed in the practical use of tools. We 
 know of no other book published in this country or England, in 
 which the method of using tools is so clearly explained ; and 
 although written more especially for boys and beginners, it contains 
 much information that will be of great value to the practical 
 mechanic. The author is evidently thoroughly acquainted with 
 his subject, and understands how to communicate his ideas in a 
 simple and concise manner. 
 
 The first six chapters are devoted to the description of Tools 
 for working wood and the manner of using them, beginning with 
 the simplest operations, requiring but few tools, and gradually 
 leading on to the more difficult, giving examples of all the 
 methods of joining and finishing work that are in common use 
 among good workmen, and in this connection we would like to 
 call attention to the small number of tools the author requires 
 for performing all these difierent operations, the idea among 
 amateurs and boys generally being, thab if you only have tools 
 enough you can make anything. This is not so, and if the begin- 
 ner will follow the advice of the author, and buy a few good 
 tools, and learn the use of them thoroughly, and gradually add 
 to his stock as his knowledge of their use increases, he will find 
 it greatly to his advantage. 
 
 The next five chapters relate to the lathe, and the art of turn- 
 ing. The author follows the same plan as in the first part of the 
 book, and gives more practical information in these few pages 
 lhan we have seen in any other book on the subject, most of them 
 being written apparently for finished mechanics, and not for 
 beginners. The Art of Turning as an amusement, is beginning 
 to attract considerable attention in this country, but not so much 
 
IT 
 
 IXTRODrCTIOX. 
 
 as it deserves and '^\'ould obtain, if it were more generally known 
 liow many beautiful and useful articles can be produced in the 
 lathe. The expense of the necessary tools has deterred many 
 from attempting to learn this branch of mechanics ; but vre believe 
 if any one has the time and patience to devote to the work, they 
 will never liave occasion to regret the money spent for this 
 purpose. 
 
 The last four chapters contain practical instruction in model- 
 making and working in metal. This part of the book we vrould 
 particularly recommend to inventors who desire to make their own 
 models, as it contains information in regard to files, drills, and 
 the various small tools used on metal, and also directions for lay- 
 ing out work, which are invaluable to a novice in such operations, 
 and will save him much time and trouble. 
 
 As this book was originally published in London, where the 
 facilities for getting many kinds of small tools are better than in 
 this country, perhaps a little advice as to the best way of getting 
 such tools as may be required will not be out of j^lace. In most 
 of the large Hardware Stores, carpenters' tools will be found, put 
 up in chests, at prices varying from five to fifty dollars or more ; 
 but we should net advise the amateur to buy any of these, as the 
 quality of the tools is not always reliable, and as they are usually 
 fitted up to make as much show as possible for the money, they 
 contaia many tools which are of very little use. The best way 
 is to make a list of the tools required, and select them for your- 
 self. The most important thing is to have the Cutting tools of 
 good quality. We give below the names of some of the best 
 makers of tools ; if you purchase any of these, you may be sure 
 of the quality. 
 
 On Saws, — Henry Disston, Groves & Sox. 
 On Chisels and Gouges, — Buck Bros, Moulson Bros. 
 On Plane Irons, — Moulsox Bros., Wm. Butcher. 
 On Files, — P. S. Stubs, Greaves & Sox, Earl & Co. 
 On Pvules and S(]uares, — St axle y Pa'LE axd Level Co. 
 
INTRODUCTION. Ill 
 
 If you live in the City, you will probably find no difficulty in 
 procuring some of the above makes ; but if you cannot find lliem? 
 there are some others that are good, and you must rely somewhat 
 on the dealer. In regard to the probable cost of the tools, a set 
 such as is described on pages 29 and 30, would cost from fifteen 
 to twenty dollars. 
 
 Of Foot Lathes, the following are some of the makers : 
 
 N. H. Baldwin, Laconia, N. H. 
 GooDNOW & WiGHTMAN, Boston, Mass. 
 American Tool Co. " " 
 
 G. L. Cady, Lowell, Mass. 
 Exeter Machine Co., Exeter, N. H. 
 Jas. Stewart's Sons, New York. 
 
 From some of the above the amateur will probably be able to 
 select a Lathe to suit him in size and price. The lowest price at 
 which a serviceable lathe can be bought is about forty dollars; 
 this is without tools or chucks. About fifteen dollars more would 
 be required for these. Lathes can be bought from this price up 
 to hundreds of dollars, according to the style of lathe and the 
 number of chucks, but of course the beginner would not need 
 an expensive lathe, and seventy-five to one hundred dollars would 
 buy a lathe and tools suitable for all kinds of small work in 
 wood, ivory, or metal. 
 
 This vokime being- an exact reprint of the English edition, it may be 
 well to explain that the material called Deal in England is much the same 
 as oiir Pine. The article called in England a " Carrier," is with us called 
 a dog (see pp. 112, 114, 115). Articles priced in English currency would 
 cost here now about 85 cents to the English shilling, or iJ7 per £ stg. 
 
Preface. 
 
 F all people in the world who must not be 
 neglected are, first and foremost, Our Boys," 
 and, of all boys, mechanical hoys deserve a very 
 high place in onr estimation. Whatever others 
 may be, these, at any rate, are possessed of sound heads, 
 and willing hands. Therefore, to help these to carry out 
 their designs, appears to be a special duty of those who, 
 once mechanical boys themselves, have lived to become the 
 j)rogenitors of others. In fulfilment of this very duty I 
 have taken up the pen, and with special reference to young 
 mechanics, but without entirely forgetting those of maturer 
 growth, I have thrown together a few hints upon that 
 absorbing question, " How to make and how to use ? " In 
 doing this, I have endeavoured to carry out the plan of 
 
IV 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 small beginnings^ goi^S' from the simplest and easiest to tlie 
 more complicated and difficult work, although here and 
 there, of sheer necessity, a somewhat different order has been 
 observed. The workshops of King's College School prove 
 the capabilities of boys to do high-class mechanical work 
 when their efforts are rightly directed by a master's hand. 
 Where the latter cannot be obtained, guide-books must, 
 however insufficiently, take his place ; but whether instruc- 
 tion in mechanical art be oral or otherwise, practice and 
 perseverance are the secrets of success. 
 
 " Qui studet optatam cuxsu contingere metam, 
 Multa tixlit fecitque puer ; sudavit et alsit." 
 
Content 3. 
 
 CHAP. PAGK 
 I. INTRODUCTORY, .•.•«.« 1 
 
 II. HOW TO MAKE A CAGE, . , j « , .15 
 
 III. MORTICE AND TENON JOINTING, , «... 29 
 
 IV. HOW TO MAKE A TABLE, . , . . - , 49 
 T. DOVETAILING AND MITRING, , . « . , 66 
 
 VI. REBATING, TONGUEING, AND GROOVING, . c , , 89 
 
 VII. THE YOUNG MECHANIC AT THE LATHE, « c , . 103 
 
 VIII. ON WOODS AND MATERIALS FOR TURNING, , . .122 
 
 IX. SHARPENING AND SETTING TOOLS, . . . .144 
 
 X. HAND-TURNING IN WOOD, . « . . . 163 
 
 XI. HARD-WOOD TURNING, ...... 203 
 
 XII. HOW TO MAKE A STEAM-ENGINE, ..... 226 
 
 XIII. watt's ENGINE, ....... 264 
 
 XIV. HOW TO MAKE AN ENGINE, . , , . .281 
 
 XV. HARDENING AND TEMPERING TOOLS, .... 825 
 
Chapter I. 
 
 HERE never was a time when a taste for practical 
 mechanics was so general among boys as it is 
 now, in this year of grace 1870. There are 
 comparatively few homes in which evidences of 
 this hobby are not apparent in every odd nook and corner, 
 in the shape of carpenter's tools, not always in first-rate 
 condition, nor. by any means generally in their proper 
 places. A saw here, a hammer there, a gimlet, bradawl,, 
 or chisel elsewhere. 
 
 This probably results from the giant strides which have' 
 been made of late years in mechanical enterprise, and the 
 introduction of machinery into every department, as a means 
 of saving labour and facilitating the production of the- 
 various necessaries of life. 
 
 Man is an imitative animal, and in this as in other things 
 " the child is father to the man; " and hence it comes to 
 pass that the boy whose eyes are continually resting upon 
 machinery of one sort or another (agricultural implements, 
 
 A 
 
2 THE YOUNG MECHANIC, 
 
 if a villager ; engines for planing, sawing, turning, and so 
 forth, if resident in a town) sooner or later feels an innate 
 "desire to construct models of these gigantic mechanical 
 labourers, by whose iuces&ant but unfelt toil our several 
 'daily needs are so cheaply and plentifully supplied. 
 
 Even if the youthful mind does not always display 
 highly-developed inventive faculties, there is very gener- 
 ally manifested a desire of personally constructing some 
 ■one or more of those articles which conduce to the gratifi- 
 cation of a particular hobby. If the boy has a taste for 
 natural history, cases and cabinets will be made, for the 
 reception of eggs, butterflies, and insects, or to contain 
 stuffed specimens of animals and birds. If he has within 
 him the elements of a sailor, his ingenuity will be 
 ■exercised upon model boats and shijjs. If fond of dumb 
 pets, rabbit hutches, dove-cots, or cages will afford him 
 -opportunities for the exercise of his constructive powers, 
 and thus the young mechanic frequently lays the founda- 
 tion of future eminence in that particular line of life to 
 which his tastes naturally lead him. 
 
 There are few boyish hobbies in which assistance has 
 not of late years been given by instruction books and guides 
 of a high degree of excellence — natural history, botany, 
 gardening, rearing and breeding all manner of pets — to 
 each of these, well-written volumes have been devoted 
 by able and experienced writers, but mechanical and 
 
SMALL BOYS NEED EEW TOOLS." - 3 
 
 constructive art lias been somewhat neglected. •: Here and 
 there, in periodical magazines, a few pageg^\are dedicated 
 to the subject, but no book about practical itreebanics, 
 written expressly for boys, has yet appeared. 
 
 The author of the present volume, himself father of four 
 lads, all of whom in turn occasionally try their hands at 
 this kind of work, and who has himself for many years 
 practised the mechanical arts of carpentry, turning, and 
 model-making, hopes that the hints contained herein may 
 prove valuable to those young friends whom he now ad- 
 dresses. Some of the following chapters will be arranged 
 for very little boys, some for those who are older, while it 
 is believed that other parts of the work may not prove 
 altogether useless to those who have dropped jacket and 
 knickerbockers and rejoice in the vigour of manhood. 
 Thus the little boy, who receives the book as a present, 
 will find it a fast and faithful friend as his years, and, we 
 trust, knowledge and bodily powers increase. 
 
 " Small boys need few tools ^ but much perseverance,'''' 
 Let this be their motto, as it will stand them in good 
 stead. A pocket-knife, gimlet, hammer, and a few nails 
 will generally serve their purpose ; but there is one other 
 tool, namely, a square, which is of great importance, and 
 of which it is well to learn -the use as early as possible. 
 A small saw and a bradawl may also be added to the list, 
 and likewise a chisel half an inch wide. Thus equipped, 
 
4 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 a very youthful carpenter can do a good deal, and, let me 
 tell him, a good deal has been often done without even 
 this moderate supply of tools. It must be taken for 
 granted that the knife and chisel are sharp, because blunt 
 tools make bad work, and by far the best plan for small 
 boys is to get some friend to sharpen them when blunt, as 
 the operation is not easy and requires practice. It is a very 
 foolish plan to try and work with a blunt knife, for the 
 fingers are just as much in danger; and a boy who intends 
 to learn how to use tools must learn at the commencement 
 to use them with due care, so as not to damage himself. 
 
 There are small boxes of tools sold, containing generally 
 a wooden mallet, saw, plane, chisel, and gimlet, at 
 about 3s. 6d. or even 5s. Such a box is simply useless. 
 The tools are of iron — will not take a good edge, and are 
 generally disposed to bend and twist. Avoid these, and 
 buy, or get a friend to buy, those I have named, of good 
 quality, and be sure to take care of them, for which pur- 
 pose you may try your hand at making a box. For this 
 purpose, you will require some thin board (half-inch thick) 
 planed on both sides. (The carpenter will })repare this for 
 you.) Let us see how much you will need. Measure your 
 longest tool, the chisel or saw, if the latter is quite a small 
 one fit to go into a little box ; if not, it can be hung on a 
 nail, and you can make j^our box to contain your knife 
 and chisel and gimlets. I daresay if the box is 9 inches 
 
IfOlV TO MAKE A BOX. 
 
 5 
 
 long, 4 inches wide, and 3 inches deep, it will be large 
 enough to take these few tools, for I have just now mea- 
 sured such a hammer and chisel as I have recommended, 
 and find them each about 9 inches in length. The top and 
 bottom of a box should project a little all round, so that 
 you will want them about an inch and a half wider and 
 longer, which will also allow for the thickness of the wood ; 
 for you must remember we have given the size of the box 
 inside. To make this clear, I shall here give a plan of the 
 bottom of the box (Fig. 1). 
 
 io tmchcs io\n ^^in ^tn 
 
 Fig. 8. 
 
 It is 10 A- inches long, and 5 J inches wide. The broad 
 black line shows where the edges of the sides and ends will 
 come, these being half an inch thick, so that there is a 
 quarter of an inch all round the outside as a border. 
 Reckon across and yon will understand this better. A 
 quarter of an inch outside, half an inch for the black line 
 (equals three-quarters of an inch), 4 inches for the i?iside 
 
6 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 "width, half an inch again for the black line, and a quarter 
 of an inch outside as before, — altogether making 5^ inches. 
 Isow reckon the length. A quarter-inch border, half an 
 inch for the black line, 9 inches inside, half inch for the 
 second black line, and another quarter outside — making 
 10|- inches. You require, therefore, two boards 10 J- inches 
 long and 4^ wide for the top and bottom. Kow the two 
 long sides and the ends are to be 3 inches wide to forna 
 the depth of the box, and here j^ou want no extra width^ 
 but as the inside of your box is to be 9 inches long, and 
 the sides are usually nailed over the ends, like Fig. 2, 
 where I have shown them put together, you see that you 
 must have the sides as much longer than 9 inches as will 
 allow them to lap over the ends ; that is, half an inch at 
 each end where I have made them black, or altogether, one 
 inch; so that you will want two pieces 10 inches long and 
 3 wide. The ends will be also 3 inches wide and 4 inches 
 the other way, and here no additional size is needed. Now, 
 the usual way to cut the sides is to get a narrow strip 
 of board of the required width and thickness, and long 
 enough to make both the sides and ends, just such a piece 
 as Fig. 3, on which are marked the lines where it will have 
 to be cut across, and you will easily perceive that you re- 
 quire 28 inches in length and 3 in width. 
 
 But you must understand that when you cut with a saw 
 you waste a little of the wood, which falls in the shape of 
 
A CARPENTER'S RULE. 
 
 sawdust, and so if you did not allow for this, your box 
 would be too small. The waste depends on the thickness 
 of the edge of the saw, where you will, if you examine it, 
 see that the teeth spread out right and left to prevent it 
 from sticking fast as it is used. Probably, you would 
 waste three-eighths of an inch, which is nearly half an inch 
 in cutting off the pieces, so that instead of a piece exactly 
 28 inches long, you must have it 28^- inches, or even a 
 little more. 
 
 I want you to understand all this before you set to work, 
 even though at first you may get a carpenter to measure 
 and cut it for you; because most small boys take no trouble 
 of this kind, and consequently they are sure to make their 
 boxes too large or too small, and they look very bad when 
 done. However, as I said before, I expect my young 
 readers to understand what they are about, and they must 
 set out their work carefully, or they will never get on so as 
 
 Fig 4. 
 
 to be able to make good use of the later chapters of this 
 book. A carpenter's rule is made like this (Fig 4). 
 
8 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 Sometimes there is a brass slide, to add to its length 
 when necessarj', and sometimes it is hinged so as to fold up 
 again. If you want one for your box, you can get it so 
 made, when it will go in nicely. It is 2 feet long — 1 foot 
 on each side of the central joint. A foot is 12 inches ; the 
 whole rule, therefore, is 24 inches. I^ow, you will see that 
 each of these inches is divided by short lines into eight 
 equal parts, called eighths ; at the second, the line is rather 
 longer, this being a quarter of an inch : at the fourth, there 
 is a still longer line, this being the half-inch ; then comes 
 another eighth, then the three-quarters, another eighth, and 
 the inch is made up, — eight-eighths being equal to one 
 whole inch. Very likely you will find one edge of the rule, 
 or sometimes only one inch^ divided into smaller parts, 
 which are sixteenths, or half-eighths ; and sometimes, but 
 not very often, divisions still smaller are used, which are 
 half-sixteenths, or thirty-seconds, because thirty-two such 
 divisions make the complete inch. Three feet make one 
 yard, but carpenters always reckon by the foot and inch, 
 and by eighths and sixteenths of an inch. In some trades 
 the inch is divided into a hundred parts, and work is mea- 
 sured up and fitted so carefully, that it would be considered 
 faulty if a mistake of less than a thousandth of an inch were 
 made ; but you will not yet understand how it is possible 
 even to measure so very small a quantity. You should 
 certainly learn and understand how to measure with a 
 
THE SQUARE. 
 
 9 
 
 common two-foot rule, and wlien you can add one 'to your 
 box of tools, do so. 
 
 !N^ow, let us examine the tool called a square, without 
 which the marks could not readily be drawn as a guide for 
 the saw, where the strip of board is to be cut to make the 
 sides and ends of the proposed box. Here is a drawing of 
 one (Fig. 5). 
 
 It is a handle and a blade, like a knife half opened, the one 
 being fixed exactly square, or at right angles with the 
 other. The blade is thinner than the handle, and when 
 the latter is placed as in Fig. 6, a line marked across the 
 board against the edge of the blade will be, of course, 
 square to the side, so that when cut off, the piece will be 
 like the end of Fig. 6. This is not the shape which the 
 sides of boxes generally have when made by small boys, 
 because they have not a square, and do not know how to 
 work properly. Nevertheless, if one end of a board is cut 
 square, you might get the piece right by measuring the same 
 
 Fig 6. 
 
 Fig. 6. 
 
10 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 distance on each side (say 10 J inches), and drawing a line 
 across from jDoint to point, as a guide for the course of the 
 saw. But, then, as it is absolutely necessary that the end 
 of the board should be square to the side, to do this you 
 had better get a proper square at once, and learn how to 
 use it. You will, indeed, find this tool most necessary for 
 all kinds of work, and you w411 be quite unable to do with- 
 out it, even though you only have^ besides, a knife and 
 gimlet. 
 
 Now, if you want to cut off a piece of board with the saw, 
 you must neier cut out the line you have marked as a guide 
 by the help of your square^ because if you do, you will get 
 the piece too short, owing to the width of the saw-cut 
 which I explained before. Cut, therefore, j/^^s^J beyond it, 
 leaving it upon the piece you are going to use for the side 
 of your box, or other article. At first, you will find it 
 difiicult to saw neatly and close to the line, but you will 
 get used to it very soon ; and if the saw does not go quite 
 straight, you can trim the piece with a sharp knife neatly 
 up to the line, which you see you could not do if you cut 
 out that line by sawing exactly upon it. All these direc- 
 tions in little matters are very important, because you will 
 find that, by attending to them, you will work well, and 
 the various things you make will look neat and trim, and 
 be fit to show to your friends. 
 
 Now, let us go on with the box, which was laid down 
 
HOW TO MAKE A BOX. 
 
 II 
 
 j^ist to allow a little explanation about the carpenter's rnk 
 and square. I shall suppose you to have cut off all the 
 pieces quite squarely and neat, and that the edges are also 
 square to the sides, which you must take care to insure by 
 keeping the blade of the saw upright when you use it. It 
 is a good plan to measure and mark both sides of your 
 board for this purpose, and to mark the edges from one of 
 these lines to the other. You will then have guide-marks 
 all round, and, by keeping close to these, you will be sure 
 to cut your work truly. It would not so much signify if 
 the long sides were cut a trifle too long, as I shall explain 
 presently ; but the ends must be square and true to mea- 
 sure, 4 inches by 3 inches. You must now proceed to nail 
 them together. This m.ust be done with small brads^ which 
 are fine nails, and which for the present purpose may be 
 one inch long. If your pieces are all exact to measure, 
 draw a pencil line across the two side pieces, a quarter of 
 au inch from the ends, by the help of the square, as if you 
 wanted to cut off a quarter of an inch at each of those 
 parts, and with your bradawl make two or three holes 
 (three will be best) along those lines. Do not make the 
 first and last too near the edges, or you will split the wood, 
 and spoil the box. Now set up one of the short pieces, and 
 place upon it the piece which you have bored holes in. If 
 you have a bench with a vice, you can screw up the short 
 piece into it ; but it will stand up very well upon the 
 
12 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 Fig. 7. 
 
 Hold it thus, and run the bradawl a little way into the 
 lower piece, through the holes already made in the upper. 
 Drive a brad through the middle hole first, which will hold 
 it together, and then through the other two holes. If you 
 have been careful, you will find this corner square and 
 neat, and the wood not split in the least. Do the same 
 with the other short piece, and then nail on the long side 
 that is left. The frame of the box will now be complete. 
 I told you a short time ago, that it would not much 
 
BOW TO MAKE A BOX. 
 
 13 
 
 signify if the sides were cut too long. The reason is this : 
 Suppose B to be the side half an inch too long. You 
 would mark off 9 inches of the middle by two lines drawn 
 with the square as before, which would be the length of 
 the inside of the box ; you would then place the inner 
 edges of the end pieces against these lines, and nail them 
 on like A, and afterwards neatly saw off the two pieces 
 which lap over these at each end. If the wood is likely to 
 split when the holes are made for the nails, or if the work- 
 man is pressed for time, he very frequently does his work 
 in this way, and then cuts it off and planes it neatly. It is, 
 however, better to work as directed, only be sure to bore 
 holes carefully for the nails, so as never to split the wood. 
 
 ITo very special directions are needed about putting on 
 the bottom. Leave all round an exactly even border of a 
 quarter of an inch, and after it is nailed, you may neatly 
 round off all its edges, to give it a finished appearance. 
 
 The cover is, of course, to be attached by a pair of small 
 hinges. Brass hinges are the neatest, and when you buy 
 them, ask for screws to match. The hinges may be three- 
 quarters of an inch long, and they will be, when shut, 
 about half an inch wide, which is the size you need. Lay 
 them (shut up) upon the edge of the back, about two inches 
 from the ends, and with a hard pencil cut to a fine point, 
 or with the point of your bradawl, make a mark at each 
 end, as if you were measuring the length of the hinges on 
 
14 
 
 7HE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 the edge of the box. Between these marks you have to cut 
 out pieces like Fig. 8, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 \:;.;;SS'!l'i;'-'''''*'' 
 
 
 Sir ■ 
 
 Ik 
 
 
 
 
 Fig. 8. 
 
 which will be just the length of the hinges, and deep 
 enough to allow them, when shut up, to fit and lie even 
 with the top edge of the box. Open them, make holes 
 with the bradawl, and put in the screws. K you have not 
 a screwdriver, you can turn them with the end of an old 
 knife ; but you may as well get a small screwdriver, for if 
 you intend to do good work, you will often use screws in- 
 stead of nails. Hinges are always screwed on. Now lay 
 the cover in place carefully, mark its position, so that you 
 have some sort o^ guide-line to direct you, and then by 
 laying the cover flat on the bench, and standing the (open) 
 box on its side, you can screw on the hinges upon the 
 cover. Eound all the edges of the cover as you did the 
 bottom, but keep the edges of the box square and sharp ; 
 and so you have now a really well-made little tool-chest. 
 A little brass hook and eye will do to fasten it, for a lock 
 is rather difficult for a small boy to put on. 
 
Chapter II. 
 
 ^HE method of constructing a simple box has been 
 given in the first chapter, because so many 
 other articles are made upon exactly similar 
 principles. The rules laid down comprise two 
 or three essential points, the neglect of which render the 
 ordinary carpentry of boys so essentially bad. Foremost 
 of these is the use of the square. There is no tool of more 
 general use in the hands of workmen in wood and metal, and 
 yet, generally speaking, either none at all, or a very faulty 
 one is added to the collection of tools ordinarily supplied to 
 boys. In the next place, I have insisted upon accuracy in 
 measurement. The carpenter's rule is not at all difficult 
 for a young boy to understand; but even if he is not in 
 possession of such at his first attempts, he should always 
 be induced to work by measure of some kind. This causes 
 him of necessity to exercise his mind as well as his hands, 
 and teaches him to consider well at starting as to what he 
 must allow for thickness of wood, the difference between 
 
l6 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 inside and outside measurement, and so forth; all this will 
 greatly conduce to his success, and consequentlj^ satisfac- 
 tion in his work, and will lessen the chances of his begin- 
 ning a number of articles and casting them aside unfinished 
 — a propensity too common in all boys. 
 
 I shall now resume my directions in the first person, 
 which I think is the more easy method both for master 
 and pupil. The next specimen I propose, because it re- 
 quires even more care than a box, but is at the same time 
 perfectly within a boy's powers, is a birdcage. Of these 
 there are such a number of varieties that it is difficult to 
 settle upon the best kind to begin upon. I think, how- 
 ever, a wire cage will on the whole be the easiest to con- 
 struct, only you must take great care in boring holes in the 
 thin strips of wood, and, indeed, if you can get a birdcage- 
 maker's awl besides the one you have, it will save both time 
 and trouble. It is not made round with a fiat end, but is 
 three-cornered with a sharp point, so that it has three 
 edges, and when it is carefully used and twirled round and 
 round by the fingers in making holes, it will hardly ever 
 split even very thin strips and pieces of wood. However, 
 if you cannot get one never mind, you must use the com- 
 mon bradawl according to directions here given. 
 
 I shall suppose you now in possession of a carpenter's 
 rule, and that you have carefully learned all I told you of 
 the inches and eighths, so that you may be able to measure 
 
HOW TO MAKE A CAGE. 
 
 17 
 
 and mark your work very truly. The front of tlie cage 
 is represented in Fig. 9, before the projecting roof-boards 
 have been put on. 
 
 Fig. 9. 
 
 Here you see two upright strips at the corners, which shall 
 be 8 inches long. These are 12 inches apart, outside 
 measure. They are | (three-eighths) of an inch square,, 
 and you must get them ready planed from the carpenter. 
 There will be four of them required, as they are at the four 
 corners of the cage ; so that, as they are each 8 inches long,, 
 you can get a strip 36 inches in length by three-eighths 
 wide, and this being 4 inches more than you need, vrill 
 allow fur waste. At the lower part of the drawing, you see 
 the edge of the bottom board, which projects a little all 
 round. As the outside of the front pillars are 12 inches 
 
 B 
 
THE YOUNG MECHANIC, 
 
 •apart, this board may be 13 inches long, which will allow 
 .a border of \ an inch (half an inch), and it may be 8 inches 
 wide. It need not be thicker than a quarter of an inch. 
 A little above this board (say half an inch) is another 
 (board from one pillar to another, which is to be \\ 
 inches wide and three-eighths of an inch thick. As the 
 pillars are also three-eighths thick, and their outside edges 
 12 inches apart, you must take f (six-eighths) of an inch 
 from 12 inches to find the length of this board. 
 
 If you look at the divisions upon your rule, you will see 
 that six-eighths of an inch amounts to exactly f (three 
 quarters), so that your board must be 11 inches and one 
 •quarter long. This will also be the length of the board at 
 the top where it falls between the pillars, and this too 
 must be three-eighths thick. 
 
 I shall now show you how to mark and cut this top 
 piece into the shape here sketched. Cut the board first 
 of all into an oblong, and mind that you mark it by 
 your square, so that the ends shall he square to the 
 sides. Let it be 2\ inches wide. Here it is (Fig. 10). 
 Meagi.n'e a length of 6 inches from either end to the middle 
 at A, and make a mark at that place. Draw a line, C B, 
 one inch from the opposite side, the whole length of the 
 board, and mind you draw it correctly. You should measure 
 an incli at B, and at C, and then draw a line from one 
 |)oint to the otiier along the edge of your rule. You must 
 
HOW TO MAKE A CAGE. 
 
 19 
 
 now draw two lines from the spot you marked at A to the 
 ends of this line (where you see the dotted lines). In 
 
 A 
 
 B 
 
 order to cut this piece, you must begin at A, not at B or 
 C, or else if the saw should stick you will be sure to split 
 off a strip right across the piece; but if it should stick 
 when you are cutting from A, you will only split off a bit 
 of one of the three-cornered outside pieces, which would 
 not signify at all. 
 
 When you are sawing, be sure, as I told you before, not 
 to cut into the line you have marked, but saw just outside 
 it, so that the lines will be left upon the two sloping sides 
 of the board. You may cut as close to it as you can, but 
 you must not destroy it, and then you can with your knife 
 neatly shave off the rough edges which the saw has made, 
 until you have pared the wood quite neatly all along the 
 line. If you cut this line out, you will no longer have any 
 guide to work by. Cutting out guide lines is a very com- 
 mon fault, not confined to small boys or big ones. You 
 will find it easy to pare this sloping side if you begin to 
 
20 
 
 THE YOUNG ME C FT A NIC. 
 
 work from A downwarcU to B and C, but yon cannot cut it 
 in the other direction. A carpenter would, of course, run 
 his plane down tlie slope, and so will you by and by ; but 
 planing is difficult, and it is better you should wait for a 
 time before you buy a plane ; for, remember, those foolish 
 little things in boys' tool-boxes are no use at all. 
 
 You had better now prepare the holes into which the 
 wires are to be put as you see in the drawing. You can 
 use either iron wire or brass, but the first is cheapest. These 
 will have to be a quarter of an inch apart. Both the top 
 and bottom strips, you will remember, are 11 J (eleven and 
 a quarter) inches long. Xow, 11 inches will be 44 quar- 
 ters, and one more will be 45 ; but as the first hole must be 
 a quarter of an inch from the ends, you will find that 44 
 holes will be required. Look at your rule and count this. 
 You must mark all tliese by little dots with a pencil on one 
 piece, and then laying the other upon it, mark the rest 
 exactly even with the first. Do this with great care, or 
 the wires will not stand upright when the cage is finished. 
 The space between the top and bottom pieces will be oj 
 inches, so that if you allow the wires to enter a quarter of 
 an inch at the top and bottom, you will want 44 wires 5| 
 inches in length — you may say, 6 inches. You can have 
 them all cut and straightened for you, but if you have a 
 pair of pliers with cutting edges, you can do it yourself, 
 and it is almost necessary you should get a pair, or borrow 
 
BO IV TO MAKE A CAGE, 
 
 21 
 
 them, if you intend to construct wire birdcages. You will 
 want a few less in each side of this cage, as it will not be 
 there so wide as it is in front. We shall presently see how 
 many it will require. 
 
 You may put together the front of the cage at once and 
 set it aside, or proceed to cut out the rest of it. Gener- 
 ally speaking, it is the best plan to cut out and prepare all 
 the main parts of your work before proceeding to fix them 
 in their respective places ; but the front of such a cage as 
 I am describing, being complete in itself, you may do as 
 you like about it. Yi e will begin with the wires. Insert 
 the ends one after the other in a row in one of the pieces, 
 laying it upon the bench, or fixing it on its edge in a vice, 
 but taking care not to bend them. When one piece is 
 thus stuck full of wires, lay it flat on its side, and put the 
 other ])iece in its place, and one by one insert into it the 
 other ends of the wires. A pair of pliers will help you 
 greatly in doing this. I daresay the two pieces of wood 
 will not be very parallel, but will be closer at one end than 
 at the other. This does not matter, because you will set 
 it right in nailing on the upright strips or corner pillars. 
 This, therefore, is the next thing you must do; and you 
 must have two brads top and bottom, each an inch long, 
 but as fine as yoa can get. Nail to the top board first, 
 and then place the other in position half an inch from the 
 bottom of the pillars. If you have no carpenter's vice. 
 
22 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 you had better work with the front of the cage laid down 
 flat and near the right hand edge of the bench or table, so 
 that the pillar almost overlaps it. In this position, you 
 can bore the two holes and nail it together ; but be guarded 
 as to splitting the pillars. 
 
 You ought now to have the front well and firmly put 
 together and standing square and true as in the sketch; 
 only the bottom board, of which you see the front edge, is 
 not to be attended to at present. 
 
 There is another way of going to work, namely, to put 
 the whole frame-work of the cage together and add the 
 wires afterwards. In this case (the holes having all been 
 made beforehand as directed here) the wires are in turn 
 
 Fig. 11. 
 
 inserted at the top, and then being slightly bent are put 
 in place in the bottom piece— each wire being completely 
 
HOW TO MAKE A CAGE. 
 
 23 
 
 fixed before the next is added. Either way may be tried, 
 but in that given above the wires are not bent at all, and 
 therefore have not to be straightened. Adding them, how- 
 ever, afterwards is the common practice among the cage- 
 makers. Indeed, it generally happens in large establish- 
 ments that one set of workmen make the woodwork, and 
 another set add the wires — such division of labour proving 
 more advantageous. 
 
 Attention is now to be given to the sides, of which Fig. 
 11 is a drawing. Here you need not make any corner 
 pillars. You have only to cut out the top and bottom 
 strips — the lower one. If inch wide, to match that in front ; 
 
 Fig. 12. 
 
 the top, 1 inch wide, to match the straight part of the 
 ends of the upper front piece or gable, as you see in Fig. 12. 
 
24 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 You will also see by this drawing that you must nail the 
 side pieces inside the corner pillars, and not upon them, so 
 that the nails go in from the front of the cage into the ends 
 of the two side pieces which carry the wires. I have shown 
 by dots (Tig. 12) where the nail holes are, and they must 
 be carefully made, avoiding the places where the other 
 two nails come, which you hammered in when you fitted 
 together the front. The side strips, A B (Fig. 11), may be 
 8 inches long. Both sides of the cage are to be made 
 exactly alike. I have told you to make the lower side-rails 
 If inch wide, because they must come to the bottom of 
 the pillars, for no half -inch space is required at the sides 
 between these rails and the bottom of the cage. It is so 
 left in the front, because a tray, or cleaning-board, has to 
 be slid in there. You had certainly better put together 
 the side pieces by means of the wires, as in Fig. 11, before 
 you nail them in their places. 
 
 You now require a piece of board for the back, and 
 quarter-inch stuff will do very well. Bought cages are 
 made of much thinner wood, generally mahogany, but at 
 first it will be easier for you to use thicker boards. If you 
 round off the edges, they will not appear so thick. Very 
 thin deal will warp or bend after it is made up ; and, in- 
 deed, it is quite possible the back of this cage will do so. 
 Get the wood, however, as dry as you can, and the top 
 boards, when nailed on, will probably prevent it. 
 
HOW TO MAKE A CAGE. 
 
 25 
 
 To cut out this back board, you may lay down upon the 
 piece from wliich it is to be cut the whole front of the cage, 
 and draw a pencil round it, only, when you come to the 
 bottom of the side pillars, you must draw a line straight 
 across from one to the other. Then cut from the point at 
 the top, as you did before. Let the grain of the wood run 
 up and down, not across , the back. Nail the back thus cut 
 to the side strips, as you nailed on the front, and you will 
 then only have the roof to put on, and the bottom. 
 
 This roof may consist simply of a thin board, cut square 
 and true, nailed on to the two gables, and it will look much 
 prettier if it is made to project beyond the front. If you 
 measure down the slope of the front or back top-piece, you 
 will find it 6 inches long, and a little more. Your board 
 should therefore be 7 or 8 inches wide, because, although 
 the roof pieces meet at the top, they should come down a 
 little beyond the sides of the cage. As the sides are 8 
 inches wide, cut the top 11 inches long, which will allow it 
 to project in front 3 inches. 
 
 If you look at the cage at the end of these directions, 
 you will understand this. You must slope, or bevil off, the 
 top edges of these roof boards, to make them fit neatly 
 together along the ridge ; and as you will paint the cage, 
 you can glue on a narrow strip of paper, to make it quite 
 water-tight. The door of these cages is generally in the 
 back. You merely mark and cut out a square hole about 
 
26 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 3 inches square. You then fit a piece in, and hinge it 
 either with wire, or (which is easier) by sticking on a strip 
 of calico down the edge of it, and fasten with a wire hook. 
 As the back is but a quarter of an inch thick, you will be 
 able to cut out the hole (before nailing on the back), with 
 a sharp pocket-knife; and again I say, don't cut out the 
 guide-lines — cut inside them, and then neatly pare exactly 
 up to them. Make the bottom 13 inches long, and 10 
 wide, which will allow it to project in front, and also half 
 an inch on each side. 
 
 You have now to make the tray, to slide into the space 
 left in the front below the bottom front rail. This is to 
 hold sifted sand, and is made loose, because it requires to 
 be taken out and cleaned every day (Fig. 13). It is merely 
 
 Fig. IS. 
 
 a flat thin board (one-eighth of an inch will be quite thick 
 enough), with a strip nailed on, or glued on, in front, to fit 
 the space left for it, and other smaller strips glued on all 
 round it, so as to form a very shallow tray or drawer. The 
 
now TO MAKE A CAGE. 
 
 27 
 
 small strips csn be glued on flat upon the top of the board, 
 but to fasten on the front, you must first glue on a similar 
 strip to those round the sides, and just such as you made 
 the pillars of, but not quite so thick, and then glue, or nail 
 on with very small brads, the front piece, nailing or glu- 
 ing it to this strip. This will make it very firm, and will 
 do well enough for your first cage. A, Fig. 13, shows a 
 part of the drawer, C is the front, and D the strip it is 
 glued to. The handle of this drawer or tray is to be made 
 of wire, unless you can find some little knob or other that 
 will do. If you succeed in making this cage, you will have 
 learned a good deal, because, although not really difiicult, 
 it requires care and consideration ; and if you are in a 
 hurry, you will split the wood, or make it crooked, or cut the 
 pieces too short. It should be neatly painted in oil-colour 
 — greeii is a favourite colour — but the top boards may be 
 red, and the wires should be left clean and bright, because 
 the bird often pecks at them. If you paint the inside of 
 the woodwork, it should be white. 
 
 I have not here put any feeding-boxes, or seed-drawers, 
 because glasses are the best ; but you will see two holes (Fig. 
 11), one inch across, in the lower side pieces, for the bird to 
 put its head through to get at the seed and water. A bit 
 of wire, forming half a hoop, supports the glasses or trays. 
 These ought to be cut with a centrebit — a tool you have 
 not, and the carpenter had better do it for you. Here is 
 
28 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC, 
 
 the cage complete (Fig. 14). You can do without making 
 holes in the sides, if you put two wires longer than the 
 
 rest, and bend them, you see at B in Fig. 13, before 
 putting them in place. 
 
. Chapter TIL 
 
 HE previous chapters were devoted to such exceed- 
 ingly simple and easy specimens of carpentry 
 as can be made by any boy of eleven or twelve 
 years of age, or even younger, who has the 
 necessary perseverance, and will take sufficient care in 
 measuring and fitting. In both and all similar cases, it is 
 better for such to buy pieces of board already planed, and 
 of nearly the desired size ; but I shall no longer presuppose 
 such necessity, but advance the young mechanic to the 
 dignity of a plane, and a few more of the more necessary 
 and useful tools. The list may therefore now comprise — 
 
 1 Hand Saw, 16 inches or so in length, a full-sized one being almost beyond 
 
 the powers of a boy, 
 8 Firmer Chisels, quarter, half, and one inch wide. 
 
 1 Mallet. — Chisel handles should never be struck with a hammer, which 
 splits the handles. 
 
 1 Hammer. — This should be light. The best way is to buy a hammer-head, 
 and make the handle. A heavy one can be added, but will hardly 
 be required at first, and is useless for light work. 
 
 1 Jack Plane, 1 Smoothing Do. — The jack plane is not usiially added to 
 a boy's tool-phest, but it is impossible to plane up a long straight 
 
THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 edge without it ; and as these planes can be had from 12 inches in 
 
 length, I should certainly recommend one, say 12 to 15 inches. 
 3 Gimlets, 3 Bradawls. — One of each of these should be as small as can be 
 
 obtained. Add a medium and a larger one. 
 1 Screwdriver, 1 Pixcers, 1 Cutting Pliers. — Screwdriver should be of a 
 
 medium size ; the pliers such as are used by bellhangers. 
 
 1 Compasses. — These should be light carpenter s compasses, not such as ara 
 
 made of brass and steel. They are very useful. 
 
 2 Gouges. — Carperder'' s gouges, not turner's. They will answer for tlie pre- 
 
 sent, in many cases, to make round holes in boards. The centrebita 
 
 and braces are expensive. 
 1 Oil-stone. — There is a cheap and quick-cutting stone called Nova Scotia 
 
 which will answer the purpose well. 
 Mortice- gauge. — The use of this will be shown presently. 
 1 Square, 1 2 Foot Rule, Glue Pot, and Brush. — These are, as before stated, 
 
 indispensable. The rule need not have a brass slide ; the square may 
 
 be made entirely of wood, or with a metal blade 6 to 9 inches in 
 
 length. 
 
 The above, with the addition of a carpenter's brace and 
 bit, two or three augers, about three mortice chisels, and a 
 hatchet, would suffice for a very large amount of good work. 
 Indeed, it represents almost a complete set of tools, the 
 only additional ones that are at all likely to be needed being 
 a longer (trying) plane, rebate plane, and pair of match, 
 or tongue and groove planes. Without any of the latter, 
 the young carpenter will find it easy to carry out a good 
 many light specimens of his ingenuity. 
 
 It is much better, in general, to work with a few tools, 
 and contrive to make them answer all sorts of purposes, 
 liian to lay in a larger and more expensive set at starting, 
 for the latter are sure to be abused and kept in bad order, 
 because, if one chisel gets blunt, another is taken up, in- 
 
MORTICE AND TENON JOINTING, 
 
 Btead of sharpening the first ; and planes and other tools 
 are treated in a similar manner, and a carelessness is en- 
 gendered fatal to success. It is astonishing how much may 
 be done with few and inefficient tools, but then the utmost 
 patience and industry have to be exercised, much as we 
 see prevailing among the native workmen of India and 
 America, who execute the most beautiful and delicate work 
 with tools which, in the hands of a European, would be 
 generally simply useless. 
 
 The next work that should be attempted by the young 
 mechanic should be mortice and tenon jointing, as used in 
 constructing frames of various kinds for doors, window- 
 sashes, tables, and other articles of everyday use. Perhaps 
 one of the simplest and easiest examples will be a towel- 
 horse, which, at any rate, will be of use when completed. 
 
 Now, it may be at once stated, that for work of this kind 
 especially, but generally also for all work, it is essential to 
 be able to square up truly the several pieces required. This 
 will require practice — long and careful practice — and the 
 beginner will meet here with his first and chief difficulty, 
 but he must not despair. 
 
 It has been presupposed that a strong work -bench, table- 
 plank mounted upon trestles, or some sort of tolerably 
 efficient and firm bench has been obtained, or is accessible, 
 and, in addition, a strong stool upon which to saw, cut out 
 mortices, and so forth. A small carpenter's bench, with a 
 
32 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 wooden vice, is most handy and serviceable, but is not 
 absolutely necessary. It will be easy to make one by and 
 by ; for the present, any available substitute must be used. 
 The height of the proposed towel-rail may equal the length. 
 About 2 feet 6 inches will be a fair size, and it may be of the 
 simplest possible form, such as is here delineated (Fig. 15). 
 
 Fig 15. 
 
 Tlie upright sides may be made of strips of pine, one inch 
 wide and three-quarters of an inch thick— the rails IJ wide 
 and three-eighths of an inch thick. The feet will be con- 
 
now TO MAKE A TOWEL-RAIL. 
 
 sidered presently. If careful attention is given to tlie fol- 
 lowing directions, not only will the result be certainly 
 satisfactory, but the way will be paved for the workmanlike 
 construction of a great number of similarly useful articles. 
 
 The size of the rough material must always be greater 
 than that ultimately needed, to allow of the necessary waste 
 in sawing and planing. Pine boards, however, are usually 
 cut of certain general widths and thicknesses; and although 
 we have here set down stuff of one inch by three-quarters, 
 it may be cut from inch board, because very little will be 
 wasted by the plane, and the finished work will be suffi- 
 ciently near to the above measure for the intended purpose, 
 one-sixteenth of an inch or so being of no practical import- 
 ance in the construction of such an article as a towel-rail.. 
 Get, therefore, from the carpenter, a strip of pine 1 incli 
 wide and 6 feet in length, cut from a board 1 inch thick, 
 and also a strip for the rails (of which there will be three), 
 4 inches wide and 2 feet 9 inches long, cut from a half-inch 
 board. The rails you are to saw yourself from the latter 
 strip, which will give you practice in sawing a straight" 
 course, and the work is easy in half-inch stuff. You may 
 therefore begin by cutting these, for which purpose jow 
 will want guide-lines dividing the strip into three of equal 
 width. There is a very simple way of marking these by 
 means of a chalk line, which I will here describe. 
 
 The width of the board I set down at 4 inches, because 
 
 c 
 
.34 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 the rails, when finished, will be IJ inches each, or, in all, 
 :3| inches. As each contains eight eighths, as already 
 .explained, 4 inches will contain thirty-two eighths. Divid- 
 ing by 3, we shall have ten eighths for each strip, or IJ 
 inches, and two eighths, or a quarter of an inch, to spare 
 for waste. Take the compasses, therefore, and open them 
 to IJ and a little over (rather less than to the next division 
 on the rule), and take it off at each end of the board 
 (Fig 16, A B). 
 
 o- 16. 
 
 Take off, again, from this to mark the width of the next 
 strip, and the board will be divided with sufficient accuracy 
 for our present purpose. Take a piece of twine, long 
 enough to stretch from end to end of the plank, and some- 
 thing over, and tie a knot at one end. Stick a bradawl 
 through the string, close to this knot and into the board, 
 as seen at C of the same figure. Take a lump of chalk, 
 and chalk the line from end to end. Then strain it down 
 the board, holding it by the left hand, so that it is stretched 
 
PLANING, 
 
 35 
 
 from one mark to the other, where the saw-cut is to be 
 made. With the finger and thumb of the other hand, raise 
 it a little in the middle, and let it suddenly go, when it 
 will make a perfectly clear and straight line upon the 
 board. Make a similar and parallel line for the next saw- 
 cut. In the present case, you need not mind cutting this 
 chalk mark out. Try and saw right down, so as to split it. 
 
 You now have your strips cut out, but they require to be 
 planed. You might, indeed, with advantage, have planed 
 the whole strip on both sides before marking and cutting 
 it, but it is equally easy to do it afterwards. The jack 
 plane is the one to be used for this purpose. I must sup- 
 
 pose it to be sharp and in good order ; if not, ask some 
 carpenter to set it for you for the present, but I will soon 
 tell you how to do it for yom-self. Indeed, you will have 
 
 Fig. 17. 
 
36 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 to learn how to sharpen all your tools before you can be 
 called a good workman. If the plane is properly set, the 
 cutting edge will project very slightly only from the 
 bottom; so that when held as in Fig. 17, and the eye 
 directed along the sole, only a narrow shining slip of 
 metal will appear. If too far out, it will hitch and make 
 bad work ; if not far enough, it will not cut at all ; but 
 the common fault of beginners is to have it too far out, 
 because from their imperfect handling of this tool they 
 often fail to make it cut, when in the hands of a carpenter 
 it would work well. Xow, if the iron projects too far, hold 
 it as shown, so that you look along the sole, and give it a 
 tap with your wooden mallet on the upper face at A, and 
 this is also the way to loosen the wedge and irons for 
 removal. By a blow at B, you can send the cutting edge 
 forward to cut more deeply, or in this case you may tap 
 the iron itself with a metal hammer, but tajDping the end 
 of the wood is better. 
 
 To plane the edges of these strips, you ought to have a 
 bench with a vice, but there are ways and means to do 
 without it, and one is so good that I shall speak of it here, 
 although it necessitates a somewhat abrupt break-off in my 
 description of the towel-rail. It is a kind of vice that is 
 fixed to a board which is laid upon the work-bench when 
 required. 
 
 In Fig. 18 is a drawing of one of two kinds of such vices 
 
HOJV TO MAKE A VICE. 
 
 37 
 
 which I will explain. This first consists of two pieces of 
 wood (ash will be better than pine) about 9 inches long 
 
 IllillllllllllllllllllllllPlllilPIII 
 
 Fig. 18. 
 
 and 2 inches thick. They are cut in the shape given in 
 the drawing, and screwed to the board, not tightly, but so 
 as to move freely upon the screws. The board should be 
 an inch thick to give the screws a firm hold. You can see 
 by the figure that the tails of the pieces cross each other 
 sometimes when in use. To allow of this, they are cut like 
 B and C, so that one can go inside the other. Now, if you 
 consider a little, you will understand that if we stand a 
 strip of board between the two, and push it forward against 
 the insides of the tails of these curiously-shaped blocks, it 
 will make the opposite knobbed ends close nearer together, 
 and these will grip the piece of wood, and the harder we 
 
38 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 push it forward, the more closely it will be gripped and 
 held ; but the moment w^e draw back the piece, the two 
 jaws will open to let it go free. You can try first of all 
 upon a thin piece, which can be shaped by your knife, and 
 make a model of this vice, and then if you can't manage to 
 cut out such a one of thick wood, the carpenter would do it 
 for you, and it will be handy for many purposes. If you 
 have nothing of this kind, nor a vice to your bench, drive 
 in two pins or pegs of wood, or two nails, a little way apart, 
 so as to allow^ your strip of wood to stand upon edge be- 
 tween them, and drive two more a little way from these ; 
 then one at the end to form a planing stop. A tap at the 
 
 Fig. 19. 
 
 sides of these nails will cause them to hold the strip edge- 
 wise, quite well enough to allow you to plane it. There 
 
PLANING. 
 
 39 
 
 are other ways, and I shall describe them by and by. In 
 the meantime use nails, or any other plan that will answer. 
 
 I shall suppose, therefore, that one of the narrow strips 
 is thus set on edge upon your bench ready to be planed. 
 Grasp the handle of your plane firmly with the right hand, 
 and lay hold of it in front of the iron with the left. Draw 
 it back, and then send it steadily forward, pressing it 
 downwards at the same time. Kow the advantage of a 
 long plane is, that it does not descend into the hollows of 
 the work, but rests upon the projections, as in Fig. 19, A. 
 A short plane would do as seen at B, and therefore would 
 never make a long straight edge. You have two special 
 points here to attend to. You have to plane a level line 
 from end to end, and also keep the edges square to the 
 sides, which is by no means easy at first. You must keep 
 trying it with your square, as I have shown you in Fig. 20, 
 
 Fig. 20. 
 
 and not rest satisfied until the handle fits close to the side 
 of the strip, and the edge lies also close upon that of the 
 strip anywhere along its length. I daresay you will think 
 this of no importance in such a common thing as a pine 
 
40 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 towel-horse ; but I may tell you this is the very secret of 
 carpenter's work, and when you can saw and plane truly, 
 and work to square," you can make almost anything. It 
 is true that the strips for the rails are not of great import- 
 ance in this case, but the upright side pieces are, and if 
 these are out of truth, the holes cut through them for the 
 rails, which are called mortices, will be out of truth also, 
 and you will See the towel-horse, when it is made, all 
 twisted and awry, and nothing you can do will make it 
 stand firm or look well. It is, in short, no use to pretend 
 to learn carpentry unless you at once make up your mind 
 to succeed, and therefore you must always use the square 
 and try your work as you go on. All the difference between 
 the usual work of carpenters, and that of boys or men who 
 do not know how to work, consists of the squareness and 
 good fit of what the former make. Boys never seem to 
 trouble themselves about such things, and so you see their 
 boxes and rabbit-hutches look twisted, and being badly 
 fitted, they soon go to pieces. 
 
 Having planed up the sides and edges of the rails as 
 square and true as you can, cut the other long strip in half, 
 and square up this also, taking care that both pieces are 
 alike and both truly worked. If your bench is sufficiently 
 long to take the whole strip, plane it up before you cut it 
 across, and you will be sure to have the sides of your towel- 
 rail equal in size. You have now to make your first essay 
 
MORTICING, 
 
 41 
 
 in cutting mortices. Follow these directions, and you will 
 not fail. I shall not limit the description to these special 
 mortices, but giTC you general directions. 
 Fig. 21 represents a bar of w^ood — the side of the towel- 
 
 Fig. 21. 
 
 horse, for instance — with a mortice cut through it at A, 
 and others marked out ah^ c d. Below, at B, is a gauge, 
 of which the construction and use will be explained pre- 
 sently. F shows how the feet are to be attached and cut. 
 They are morticed while in a squared-up " condition, and 
 shaped afterwards according to fancy ; sometimes they are 
 left square, and knobs screwed below to make two feet. 
 
 These mortices may, of course, be of any desired length 
 or width. Those required for the towel-rail sides will be 
 \\ inch long by half an inch wide nearly. The planing of 
 the strips may have reduced them more or less below the 
 exact size specified, try therefore with the compasses what 
 the precise thickness is of the ends, and measm-e that 
 
42 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 thickness on your two-foot rule. You now want to draw 
 the lines a which I have represented as extending the 
 whole length of the strip, and as all the mortices are to be 
 alike, you may so mark them. The gauge B is of two 
 parts, a sliding piece, C, and a rectangular bar of wood 
 about 9 inches long and half an inch square. This slides 
 stiffly through the mortice in C, and is fixed at any part 
 by the small wedge D. This gauge you can easily make. 
 It is not a mortice gauge properly so called, because the 
 latter has two marking points instead of the one seen at ^, 
 and which may be the point of a brad driven in and filed 
 up to an edge. Loosen the wedge slightly, and draw back 
 the rectangular bar, or push it forward, until you think that 
 the space between the sliding piece and the point is about 
 that which is required on each side of the mortices, so that 
 if you set the wedge firm, and resting the sliding piece 
 against the edge of the board, cause tlie point to make a 
 mark, and repeat this on the other side of the same face of 
 the wood, there will be left between the marks thus made 
 the exact width of the required mortice. Try it, and if not, 
 give a tap to the instrument, and adjust it until the space 
 is exactly correct. Then fix all firm, and holding it so that 
 the little point will mark the wood, while the head or slid- 
 ing piece is against the side of the board, run the tool from 
 end to end, or run it along just where the mortices are 
 required, using both hands. You will thus make the two 
 
MORTICING, 
 
 43 
 
 long lines between which the mortices have to be cut. Now 
 turn the wood over, and do the same on the other side. 
 You are now quite sure that these lines, on opposite sides 
 of the piece, agree exactly in position, which is the object 
 of using a gauge ; and as you have planed up a second strip 
 to exactly the size of this first, you have but to repeat the 
 process (no measuring being necessary) upon that ; and 
 you may be satisfied that thus far the two sides of the 
 towel-rail will tally. You now set ofi" with the compasses 
 upon one of these lines the lengths of the mortices in their 
 proper places, and at the points thus marked, using your 
 square for the purpose, mark the end lines of these mor- 
 tices ; but when so doing, carry the lines across, as a (5, 
 and down the sides and across the opposite side. With the 
 square this will be easily done, the blade of it being laid 
 fiat^ so that its edge becomes the ruler, while the handle 
 becomes the guide or gauge resting against the side of 
 the wood. At E, Fig. 21, this position of the square is 
 shown. 
 
 By thus carrying round all the lines, you will have the 
 mortices marked on both sides in exactly the same relativ^e 
 position, so that you can (and must) cut them half from 
 one side and half from the other, using the chisel nearest 
 to the size required, but always of less width (or length) 
 than the mortice, because you must never cut out the guide 
 lines, but must keep within them, only carefully paring 
 
44 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 the wood at last close to them. You will never cut mor- 
 tices correctly, unless you thus mark the position on both 
 sides, and work as directed. 
 
 The ends of the cross rails will not have to be cut into 
 tenons, as they will fit as they are, only requii-ing to be 
 glued into their places, when, if you have worked carefully, 
 the whole will look well, and will be square and true, 
 without twist ; but if you did not plane up the sides square, 
 you will find the towel-rail awry and unworkmanlike. 
 Although, however, there is no necessity to make regular 
 tenons in the present case, the usual way is to do so, and 
 to fix with wedges, as in Fig. 15. After a mortice has 
 been cut straight through a piece as directed, this mortice 
 is slightly eased, or sloped off", as seen at a which is a 
 section of one. The rail or tenon c is put through after 
 being brushed with glue ; and when in exact position, two 
 wedges are glued and driven in at each end, as seen in 
 the drawing. After all is dry, these wedges being firmly 
 united to the rail, as seen at ^, prevent it from being 
 drawn back or moved. Nearly all mortice and tenon joints 
 are fixed in this way. 
 
 As I am describing this kind of work, I may as well 
 explain the method of marking and cutting tenons, as it 
 will answer not only for affixing the feet, as shown in Fig. 
 21, but for all similar work. 
 
 In Fig. 22, I have illustrated the mode of marking out 
 
TENONING, 
 
 45 
 
 tenons, and at D is a double tenon, which is in wide pieces 
 often substituted for the single, and makes an excellent 
 
 ocy 
 
 I 
 
 FiR. 22. 
 
 joint. The longitudinal lines ^, y, are marked as 
 
 before with the gauge, whether for single or double tenons ; 
 the line a with the assistance of the square ; the cheeks, 
 c and are then cut off entirely with a fine saw, called on 
 this account a tenon-saw, — and care must be taken as before 
 not to cut out the guide lines. If, instead of the outer 
 cheeks, the piece between them is to be removed to make a 
 double tenon, this must be done with mallet and chisel, 
 after carefully sawing down the lines x y ; and the chisel is 
 to be used first on one side and then on the other, by which 
 means the shoulder will be cut true to the guide lines. If, 
 however, the cut across should curve a little downwards 
 like it will not much matter, so long as the edges fit 
 closely. It is nevertheless better to cut straight across. 
 
•-.4^ THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 : — , 1 
 
 The outer cheeks of this will be marked and cut as in the 
 single mortice (Fig. 22). 
 
 If a workman has to cut many mortices on pieces of the 
 same size, he frequently constructs a rough mortice gauge 
 with double points, which marks both sides of the mortice 
 at once, like K.' A fixed block at K, the right distance 
 from the points, I of two nails, is sufficient when all the 
 mortices are to be alike. There is, however, a regular 
 double-pointed gauge, made generally of ebony, plated 
 with brass, and a brass rule to which one of the points is 
 fixed, and which is acted on by a screw at the end, which 
 can be turned by the thumb and finger. This has the efiect 
 of separating or closing the two points according to the 
 desired width of the mortice, its distance from the side of 
 the piece being regulated as before by the sliding head fixed 
 by a wedge. This is an expensive tool, and need not be 
 purchased. There are also, let me add, many costly tools 
 of various forms and uses ; but let the boy's motto (and 
 man's, too, for all that) be, Do as nell as you can rcith- 
 out.^'' You have no idea how a little ingenuity and con- 
 trivance will save your pockets, and that, too, without in 
 the least tending to spoil your work. All you require are 
 a few of the most generally useful tools in first-rate condi- 
 tion — chisels, saws, and planes, sharp and well set, and fit 
 for work at any moment. 
 
 With regard to uniting two pieces of wood or other 
 
GLUE. 
 
 material with glue, it must be remembered that if you use . 
 this substance in a thick semifluid state, and tn-qua^^tity-, ' 
 its effect will be lost. Make it a rule to put on as thin a 
 coat as possible, and let it be not thicker than cream, so 
 that it will freely flow into corners, and spread evenly over 
 the surfaces to be united. Make the wood also quite warm,, 
 so that the glue shall not be suddenly chilled, and let it be 
 used boiling. Always heat it either in a proper glue-pot, 
 or at any rate, place the vessel which contains it (a small 
 gallipot, for instance) inside another vessel in which water 
 can be kept boiling. 
 
 The glue, which should be thin and transparent, being 
 broken into small pieces, should be put into such a vessel 
 as suggested, and covered with cold water, and it should 
 be allowed to remain thus until swollen and softened. 
 Then bring the water in the outer vessel to the boiling- 
 point, and do not use the glue until it is entirely dissolved 
 and of one uniform consistence. It should be stirred while 
 boiling with a piece of stick, and a brush used to lay it 
 upon the pieces to be joined. It very generally happens 
 that pieces glued by boys fall apart almost directly. This 
 is almost entirely due to the fact that the glue is used thick 
 and clotty, and in too great quantity, while the wood is 
 never made warm as it should be. If two pieces are pro- 
 perly joined in this way, it is almost impossible to separate 
 them at the joint — the wood itself will give way and split 
 
THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 before the glue will yield to the strain. Carpenters use 
 various forms of clamps or vices to hold work together 
 until the glue shall be dry ; but for boys by far the best 
 plan, where any such holdfast is needed, is to bind the 
 parts together with twine, and then to set them aside for 
 twelve hours at least. It is seldom that articles once 
 united by glue and separated will unite firmly a second 
 time. 
 
Chapter IV. 
 
 HE exercise of a boy's mecliaiiical tastes upon 
 works of practical utility is, of course, far pre- 
 ferable to its expenditure upon mere trifles, made 
 one day to be cast aside and destroyed the next ; 
 and as there is scarcely any household that does not need, 
 its furniture repaired or added to from time to time, I shall 
 now give directions for the construction of one or two 
 articles that seem to be within fair scope of a young 
 mechanic's abilities. The first is a plain, useful table, with- 
 out a drawer, and with square legs, because without a lathe- 
 the latter cannot be made ornamental ; and lathe work 
 will occupy some future pages, since it is necessary first to* 
 give the young mechanic a fair insight into the principles 
 and practice of plain carpentry and joiner}^ 
 
 The very young mechanic, so far as my experience of 
 liim goes (and it is rather extensive), makes his early 
 attempt by sticking the points of four nails into the cor- 
 
 iiers of any tolerably square piece of board he can lay hands 
 
 i> 
 
50 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 ■on. His next attempt, wlien he has risen to the dignity 
 •of a knife and gimlet, is to place four wooden legs at the 
 'Corners of a similar board, which, if the said legs are glued 
 iin (by which a wonderfal mess is always made of the 
 structure), is considered a great feat, and worthy of the 
 admiring patronage of fond parents and playmates. Now, 
 a table does not consist of any such arrangement of pieces, 
 although I certainly have seen sometimes, in the cottages 
 of the poor, a three-legged affair of this nature, which is 
 just nothing more than a magnified milking-stool. We 
 cannot content ourselves now with anything of the kind. 
 We shall have to work away with plane and chisel and 
 square, and with neat tenon and mortice joints first con- 
 struct the frame upon which the top will be placed, and 
 then finish it secundum artem^ the English of which, as I 
 am writing to boys, I shall not reveal. 
 
 The table shall be 3 feet long, 1 foot 8 inches wide, 2 
 feet 4 inches high : the top board being half an inch thick 
 when planed and fitted, for which it will therefore be re- 
 quired to be three-quarters of an inch in the rough. The 
 legs demand attention first. Plane up strips cut from a 
 2-inch board, and let them be exactly 2 inches wide. These 
 must be worked up with the greatest possible accuracy, or 
 it will be impossible to fit the framework so as to make the 
 table stand truly or bear inspection. After four such strips 
 iiave been planed up, cut a piece from a half-inch board, or 
 
no IV TO MAKE A TABLE, 
 
 51 
 
 from a board that will plane to half an inch. Let this be 
 4 inches wide and 9 feet long, and be sure to plane this 
 also truly, and to make the edges square to the sides. 
 
 If you have no strip that will answer of 9 feet long, you 
 can cut two or more instead, remembering that you will 
 require two pieces each 18 inches long and two of 2 feet 9 
 at the least, all as nearly alike in width as possible. You 
 have now all that you will need for the framework of your 
 table — the top may be left till the rest is fitted. Now you 
 
 may proceed to cut the requisite mortices in the legs, which 
 you will understand by sketch Fig. 23, which represents 
 one corner of the table before the top is added. There is 
 
 Fig. 23. 
 
52 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 no more difficulty in this than in the previous work, except 
 perhaps that somewhat more care is requisite in squaring 
 up the several pieces and cutting the mortices with accuracy. 
 Use the gauge as before in marking the mortices, trying it 
 until it is so fixed that it will leave the proper width of the 
 holes, namely, half an inch (which is the thickness of the 
 strips which are to form the framework). This is upon 
 the supposition that your gauge has but one marking 
 point : but to explain its use. 
 
 I shall now introduce to your notice a regular mortice- 
 gauge of two points, which is vastly more convenient. 
 This is represented in Fig. 24. The main stem is grooved 
 
 Fig. 24. 
 
 along its length on one side with a dovetailed slit, that is, a 
 groove which is wider below than above. This is generally 
 made in a brass plate attached to the stem of the gauge, 
 but sometimes in the wood itself. In this slides a slip of 
 brass which can be drawn back by pulling the knob A, or 
 by i^irning a thumbscrew at one end, as in the more expen- 
 sive gauges. One of the marking points is fixed in the end 
 of this slide, the other in the wood (or metal) beyond it, at 
 
no IV TO MAKE A TABLE. 
 
 S3 
 
 B, and when these are allowed to be together they form 
 but one point, being flattened on one side, so that they will 
 fit accurately against each other. Thus it is easy to separate 
 the two points at pleasure to the exact width of the required 
 mortice. By means of the wedged sliding piece C, we now 
 have merely to determine how far the edge of the mortice 
 is to be from one side of the piece. Thus, suppose that in 
 the present case we should prefer to have the side of the 
 frame nearer to the outside edge of the legs than to the 
 inside, we can so arrange it easily ; but we must then take 
 care to gauge all alike, either from the inside edge or the 
 outside. We do not, therefore, with this kind of gauge 
 work from both edges, and leave the space between the lines 
 for the width of the mortice, but we work from one edge 
 only of the piece of wood, and mark the mortice at once in 
 any desired position. I need hardly repeat, that for any 
 particular job, a very good substitute for. such gauge can 
 be made by driving two small nails into a strip of wood cut 
 with a projecting piece to serve instead of the movable 
 head. 
 
 Let us now proceed with the work in hand. One of the 
 legs of the table, before being worked into shape, is shown 
 in Fig. 25 ; the dotted lines show how it will be eventually 
 sloped off below the mortices which carry the top frame. 
 These mortices must not now go through the legs, and 
 therefore you will have to be very careful to hold the chisel 
 
54 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 upright, so as to insure the squareness of the frame when 
 put together. The mortices being in adjacent sides, will of 
 
 Fig. 26. 
 
 course meet, hut it will be advantageous to cut those which 
 are intended to receive the two longest strips, viz., the 
 front and back, rather deeper than the other two. First 
 set oflP an inch from the top of the leg at the line A B. If 
 less than this intervenes between the top of the mortice 
 and the end of the leg, you will probably break the piece 
 out and spoil your work. As the side boards are 4 inches 
 
jffOlV TO MAKE A TABLE, 
 
 55 
 
 wide, and must come flush with the top of the legs, you 
 will have to cut them like C, and there will be 3 inches left 
 for the tenon, all of which may be left, as the wider this is 
 the more hold it will have on the legs into which it is to be 
 glued. It is plain, therefore, that the mortice will be 3 
 inches long and half an inch wide; and when you have 
 marked it to this size, take care to cut it accurately, be- 
 cause if it is too small, you will break out the piece between 
 the mortices when you try to force in the frame pieces, and 
 if too large, you will scarcely get the whole to remain secure. 
 Work therefore exactly to gauge. It is usual to keep these 
 side and end pieces more to the outside of the legs than the 
 inside, as F, where you are supposed to be looking at the 
 inside corner; and if you look at D (which shows the top or 
 cross section of a leg, as if after the pieces were fitted you 
 had sawn off the leg close down to the mortices, exposing 
 them to view), you will see that by thus keeping near the 
 outside edges you get both mortices deeper than if you cut 
 them, like E, in the middle of the sides of the leg. Of 
 course, the deeper these tenons are let into the legs, the 
 stronger their hold will be. There will now only remain to 
 warm all the pieces and glue them into their respective 
 places, with the precautions before stated as to the thin- 
 ness of the glue and speed of the operation. See that all 
 stands square and true ; if not, a tap here and there as 
 required will set it straight, and then let all stand till dry. 
 
56 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 I have told you to cut tlie side and end j^ieces 18 inches 
 and 2 feet 9 respectively, so that if the mortices are \\ 
 inches or so deej), your frame will be about 1 foot 6 inches 
 wide, and 2 feet 6 inches long. The top, which is to over- 
 lap as usual, will be now prepared as follows. It will not 
 be possible to make this of a single width of board ; and 
 nothing will more fully test the young workman's skill, 
 than planing the edges of two pieces so that they shall nt 
 accurately together. It must, nevertheless, be attempted. 
 
 Cut two pieces of three-quarter-inch board, and j)laue 
 the sides as accurately as possible. Then set them up 
 edgewise, either singly or together, and plane the edges 
 with steady, long strokes of the longest plane you have, 
 set fine — that is, with the cutting edge projecting but 
 slightly. Try each singly with the square from end to 
 end, and then lay them on any perfectly flat surface, as on 
 your bench, or on a table, and see whether the edges lie 
 close all along. Remember, too, that they may do so 
 when one surface is upwards, and not when turned over, as 
 will occur when the edges are not square to the sides. In 
 cutting out the pieces, therefore, — which, when finished, 
 are to be together 1 foot 8 inches, — you should make them 
 1 foot 9, so as to allow you a whole inch to waste in plan- 
 ing and fitting. When both are as true as you can get 
 them, lay them down near together, and brush the edges 
 with boiling hot glue. Then immediately put them to- 
 
no IV TO MAKE A TABLE. 
 
 57 
 
 getlier, and rub them a few seconds one against the other, 
 till they seem to stick slightly. Then leave them in their 
 exact position, and drive a couple of nails into the bench 
 against the outside edges, so as to keep them together, or 
 in any other way wedge them tightly in position until they 
 are quite dry. When the glue is hard which has been 
 squeezed out along the joint, you may run a plane all over 
 the united boards, and you ought hardly to see the joint, 
 which will be nearly as strong as any other part. 
 
 This top has now to be attached to the frame, as follows. 
 Cut some pieces like K in Fig. 25, and glue them here and 
 there along the inside edges of the frame, so that one side 
 of them shall come quite flush with the upper edge. To 
 these the top has to be glued. Lay it, therefore, with its 
 under side upwards, upon the floor (I suppose the short 
 pieces glued and dry on the frame), and having also glued 
 the sides of the short pieces which will touch the under 
 side of the table top, turn the whole upside down, with its 
 legs in the air, adjusting it quickly. Its own weight will 
 keep it in position until dry ; or, if not, it is easy to lay an 
 odd board or two across, and put some weights' upon them. 
 When dry, turn over your table, and plane round the edges 
 where necessary ; and, if it does not stand very well, trim 
 the bottoms of the legs. Clean ofl" glue, and rub any rough 
 places with sandpaper or glasscloth, filling up any acci- 
 dental holes with putty, after which it will be fit for receiv- 
 
 I 
 
THE YOUNG MECHANIC, 
 
 ing paint or stain, if it is not considered desirable to leave 
 it white. The corners and edges of the top may be rounded 
 off, to give a finished appearance. 
 
 I showed by dotted lines the usual shape of the squared 
 legs. They are planed off, tapering from below the frame, 
 and this should be done after the mortices are cut, and 
 before fitting the parts together. The best way to insure 
 equal taper of all the legs, is to prick off at the bottom of 
 each equal widths from the corners or edges, and to run a 
 pencil line from the point where the taper is to begin to 
 these marks. Then plane exactly to the lines thus made. 
 
 Let us now consider what errors of construction are most 
 likely to occur in working out these directions. First, it 
 is possible that the framework may be out of square. This 
 may proceed from two causes. In the first place, the side 
 or end pieces may not be of equal length between the legs, 
 owing to some one or two being driven further into their 
 mortices than the others. To avoid this, which is not un- 
 common in many works of a similar nature, it is well 
 always to mark the length that each is to be, hrespective 
 of the part within the mortices, as Fig. 26, A and B. 
 If the space on each between the dotted lines {carefully 
 marked hy means of a square) is equal, it is no matter 
 whether C and D are also equal. We have only to take 
 care to let them into the mortices to a greater or less depth, 
 until the line comes exactly even with the inside edge of 
 
HO W TO MAKE A TABLE. 
 
 59 
 
 the legs. Again, it is possible tliat when the table is 
 placed upon its legs, these may not rest truly on the floor. 
 
 c 
 
 A 
 
 B 
 
 D 
 
 
 
 A 
 
 B 
 
 
 c| 
 
 D 
 
 i 
 1 
 I 
 
 
 o 
 
 Fig. 26. 
 
 Probably one or two of the frame pieces run up like E, 
 instead of standing at right angles to the legs. This re- 
 sults from the mortice not being cut correctly ; and as you 
 cannot, in this case, mark both sides and cut from both, 
 as you did in making the towel-horse, this is not unlikely 
 to happen. It will not, therefore, signify much if you 
 purposely cut your mortices a little too long^ and then, 
 when you have placed the table on its legs, after gluing 
 up the frame, and before it is dry, you can force it to stand 
 
6o 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 truly, and then wedge up with glued wedges where neces- 
 sary. You cannot, however, do this with the sides of your 
 mortices, because you require these to fit exactly ; you 
 must therefore use extra care in keeping these as true as 
 possible. In many cases you can Avedge the ends of tenons 
 to correct a bad fit, but never the sides. These are the 
 probable, or I will possible, faults against which to be 
 on your guard. 
 
 In making a similar table with a drawer, the same opera- 
 tions have to be gone through, but the upper frame is some- 
 
 Fig. 27. 
 
 what difi'erently constructed, and the corners of the drawer 
 are united with dovetails. Plane up the legs as before, 
 
HOW TO MAKE A TABLE. 
 
 6i 
 
 but cut mortices as at A. Fig. 27, which represents the 
 right-hand hinder leg as you would see it standing in front 
 of the table, and before the framework had been fitted in 
 its place. B is the other hind leg, with the tenoned strips 
 just ready to be driven in. The piece E is made as before, 
 as is also C and its opposite piece at the ends of the table. 
 But this pair of mortices, you see, are made shorter than 
 before, and the strip C is notched at the bottom as well as 
 at the top, forming a regular tenon^ as it is called. Below 
 this first is a second mortice, cut the other way, the longest 
 side standing across the leg to receive a strip, D, upon 
 which afterwards another strip, X, will be nailed or glued, 
 forming the rebate in which the drawer will slide, and of 
 which the upper surface must be level with that of the strip 
 M. There is a plane for cutting out rebates without the 
 necessity of adding a strip, but I do not suppose you as 
 3^et to have such a one. When these pieces, C and D, are 
 driven up close into their places, they will touch along 
 their sides, so that on the outside they will appear as one 
 piece. Of course there will be a similar pair on the right- 
 hand side of the table. D ought to be tenoned, so that the 
 side on which X is to be nailed will lie flush or level with 
 the corner of the leg, so that the strip X shall project 
 wholly beyond it. 
 
 The left-hand front leg is shown at P, with its mortices, 
 and the tenoned strips between which the front of the 
 
62 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC, 
 
 drawer will lie, closely fitting when shut. These front 
 strips should be each 2 inches wide, the mortices 1 inch 
 long, or as long as you can safely cut them ; you must 
 tenon the cross pieces, of course, to fit these. 
 
 All the rails may be of half-inch board. Mark all tenons 
 across with the square as before, so as to give the exact 
 inside dimensions, and you cannot well go wrong. These 
 lines, too, will guide you in keeping the framework square 
 and true ; for if you have planed the legs correctly, and 
 your strips are inserted exactly to the aforesaid lines, it 
 stands to reason the work will be satisfactor3% To make 
 the drawer, observe, first, that it is not like a box as mo^t 
 boys would make it, for when turned upside down, as in 
 Fig. 28, Fig. B, you will find the sides projecting beyond 
 the bottom, which projections rest in the rebate, X, of the 
 last figure, and take the whole weight of the drawer, en- 
 abling it to slide easily and smoothly in and out, especially 
 if those surfaces which are in contact are rubbed with soap 
 or blacklead, or a mixture of the two. At C you have a 
 drawing of the same, with the bottom removed. This, you 
 see, is a square or oblong frame dovetailed together, and 
 when it is glued and dry, the bottom is slid in along the 
 grooves in the sides (one of which is seen at x x)^ and a 
 couple of brads driven through it into the back rail, K, 
 fixes it completely. The front board of the drawer is cut 
 and planed to fit exactly between the two rails which were 
 
now TO MAKE A DRAWER. 
 
 63 
 
 morticed into the legs, as shown in the last fig., and is 
 always of thicker stuff than the sides or bottom. It may, 
 in the present case, be half-inch, and the rest quarter-inch. 
 
 e 
 
 Fig. 28. 
 
 If you look at C, you will observe that the front and 
 sides of the drawer are of the same depth, and that only 
 the back is narrower. (Remember that in this cut the 
 drawer is seen from below, the groove x x being near the 
 bottom of the sides, and level with the bottom of the back.) 
 
 To cut dovetails is not difficult, but requires neatness 
 and care— a fine saw (dovetail or light tenon-saw) and a 
 really sharp chisel; and, above all things, remember not. 
 
64 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC, 
 
 to cut out the lines which have been drawn as guides. H is 
 the end of the front of the drawer ; L the left side. Having 
 cut out the latter, and planed it up nicely, draw a line, by the 
 aid of the square, one quarter or three eighths of an inch 
 from the end across it. This will be the line o p of the bottom 
 of the dovetails. Then mark and cut out two or three, as 
 seen in the drawing, using the saw where you are able, and 
 clearing out with the chisel in other places. From o 
 measure the exact inside width of your drawer, and beyond 
 the second line made across at that distance, leave a quarter 
 of an inch for the second dovetails, and cut them out as 
 you did the first. Xow, prepare a second precisely similar 
 piece for the opposite side. IN'ext lay L in place upon H 
 very truly, and with a fine-pointed hard pencil, or a scriber 
 (a sharp-pointed steel marker), trace round the dovetails, 
 marking them on the end of H, and with a sharp chisel 
 cut them in a quarter of an inch deep, which will allow 
 them to take the side piece exactly flush and level. Mark 
 these two which have been so fitted, and proceed to do the 
 same at the other end of the front piece, tracing these, as 
 before, from the dovetails of the opposite side, which are to 
 be tliere inserted. You do exactly the same with the back 
 ]>iccc : but as this is both narrower and thinner, the dove- 
 tails will be cut quite through it, and will be seen on both 
 pieces after being glued up, and there will only be room 
 for one dovetail, instead of two. When all are cut, lay the 
 
HO W TO MAKE A DRA WER, 
 
 pieces in position, glue quickly, press all together, and 
 contrive to wedge up or bind round tlie whole until dry, 
 testing with the square and adjusting, as maybe necessary. 
 We shall return to dovetailing again, but these not requir- 
 ing excessive neatness, will be a good beginning, and show 
 you in what special points care is needed in such work. 
 Nothing remains but to plane a piece for the bottom, and 
 slide it into place. 
 
 / 
 
Chapter V. 
 
 N the last cliapter we entered a little npon the 
 matter of dovetails, but as the mode of uniting 
 the angles of boxes, drawers, and such like, is 
 of almost universal application, it will be as well 
 to devote a separate short chapter to the subject. 
 
 There are several different kinds of dovetails used, accord- 
 ing as it may be desired to let them appear upon the finished 
 work, or wholly or in part to conceal them. Carpenters 
 generally use the kind which is visible on both sides, 
 cabinetmakers, as a rule, take special pains to conceal it, 
 only using the other form upon work that is to be after- 
 wards covered with veneer (a thin covering of some 
 ornamental and more expensive wood glued upon the 
 surface of that which is of less value, and of which the 
 article is made). 
 
 The dovetail described in the last chapter, as proper for 
 the attachment of the sides to the front of a drawer, is not 
 that which is ordinarily used by the carpenters, but the 
 
DOVETAILING, 
 
 67 
 
 following, whicli is somewhat more easy to make, and is 
 the same as would be used for the other corners of such 
 a common drawer as that described. 
 
 I must at the outset remind my young readers once again 
 of the standard rule, without due attention to which they 
 have no hope of success in this neat and delicate operation 
 of carpentry. Never cut out your guide lines, but leave them 
 upon your work, and use your square diligently upon the 
 edges of your work, the bottom of the dovetails, sides of the 
 same, and upon the sides of the pins. Never mind the 
 time necessary for this. You are doing work, remember, 
 that is to bear inspection, — work that will stand wear, and 
 be really useful in the household to which you have the 
 honour to belong. You v»^ould not therefore like to see 
 open spaces here and there, requiring to be filled up with 
 putty, or the side of the box not truly square to the back 
 and front. And it may be noted here, that if dovetails are 
 properly fitted together, the box or other article will stand 
 firm, even before the glue is added ; but if the same are 
 badly cut, and put together carelessly, no amount of glue 
 will avail to hold the work securely ; and it would have been 
 as well or better never to have attempted dovetailing, as 
 such bad work would be stronger united by nails, and in 
 any case is but a disgrace to the young amateur mechanic, 
 whose motto should always be, TVhatever is worth doing at 
 all is worth doing welV 
 
68 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 You will remember how you were taught to wedge up 
 mortice and tenon joints with glued wedges, which, becom- 
 ing part of the tenon, and rendering it larger below than 
 
 
 D 11 
 1 
 
 
 N 1 
 
 
 H If 
 
 
 
 
 7 W 
 
 
 H 
 
 
 above, prevents it from being withdrawn from the mortice. 
 Fow, a single dovetail has the same effect, and is in point 
 of fact of the same shape and size as the tenon with its 
 
DOVETAILING. 
 
 69 
 
 wedges attached. See Fig. 29, A and B, the first being a 
 wedged tenon, the second a dovetail. 
 
 We shall begin with a single dovetail, which is applied to 
 the construction of presses nsed by bookbinders and others, 
 and also domestically for house-linen. In these there is a 
 strong tendency to draw the sides upwards, and to tear them 
 from the bottom — a strain which this form of joint is exactly 
 calculated to withstand. The same is also used in making 
 many kinds of frames, where similar strength in one 
 direction is necessary. If you have no special need of such 
 at present, you should nevertheless make one or two for 
 practice, and to give you a better insight into their con- 
 struction. Indeed, if you cannot make single dovetails 
 well, you will hardly succeed in making a whole row of them 
 exactly alike, for joining together other articles, as drawers, 
 boxes, and cabinets. C of this fig. represents a bar of wood 
 truly squared up, and ready for being marked out. The 
 square is laid across it as seen, and a line drawn on each 
 side by its assistance, as far from one end as is the thick- 
 ness of the other piece to which it is to be attached, and a 
 little over (say one-eighth of an inch) which will afterwards 
 be neatly planed off. This is allowed merely because the 
 extreme angles at e e sometimes get damaged in cutting 
 out the dovetail, and if they are, they will have to be 
 removed. Having drawn the above line all round the 
 piece, divide it into three by the aid of your compasses, as 
 
70 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 shown, on what we may call the front and back, and then 
 on both these sides draw lines, e to the angle. You now 
 have the dovetail, or rather the pin of the dovetail, marked, 
 and with a fine saw yon have only to cut out this piece as 
 you see at D, taking great care to cut accurately close to 
 the lines, but to leave them, nevertheless, on the edge of the 
 piece you are about to use. 
 
 If you can saw truly, you should not have to touch these 
 pieces with a chisel, but if not, you must take a ver}/ sharp 
 one, and pare the wood exactly true to the lines which you 
 have marked. Now the dovetail made by dividing the 
 width of the stuff into three, as given here, will not answer 
 so well for pine, which is liable to split off in the line H H 
 of the fig. D ; but for ash, beech, elm, and such like, it is a 
 good proportion. If the material, therefore, is pine, divide 
 it into fom' instead of three, as seen at E, and draw lines to 
 the angles from the two outer marks ; or, without any such 
 division, set out equal distances from each side, so as to 
 give about this proportion to the pieces which are to be 
 cut out. 
 
 Where there are a row of dovetails to be made (as in 
 cabinet work), even this latter measurement into four would 
 make them too angular, as you will learn presently. You 
 must now fijx upright in your vice the piece in which is to 
 be cut the dovetail to receive this pin ; and laying the latter 
 in place as it will be when the frame or other work is put 
 
DOVETAILING, 
 
 71 
 
 together, draw round it with a sharp pencil or scriber, as 
 seen on the end of K (the lines c at such distance from 
 the end of the piece as is the thickness of the pin, and the 
 perpendiculars, a are to be drawn with the square) ; and 
 if the angles of such pin do not reach, the angles of that in 
 which the dovetail is to be cut, as will ofcen be the case, the 
 lines on the opposite side similar to a b must be also drawn 
 with the square. So j^ou see that I was quite right in 
 directing you to add a square to your box of tools, even 
 before many other requisites of carpentry. 
 
 If it is not considered desirable that the dovetail 
 should reach the extreme angles of the pieces, as a b^ fig. 
 K, the pin piece is first marked as if for an ordinary tenon, 
 and the dovetailed pin marked on this, as M. When the 
 fellow-piece is cut out, it will then appear as K The effect 
 will be the same as the last, except that the end of the pin 
 will be more conspicuous. A great deal depends upon the 
 material, and on the intended use of the finished article, 
 therefore you must use your own judgment, or consult that 
 of others better acquainted with the art than yourself. 
 L shows the dovetailed joint complete as last de- 
 scribed. 
 
 We now recur to the row of dovetails and pins — or dove- 
 tails and sockets, as the part is often called which is to receive 
 the pins. The most common kind is that represented by A 
 B, Fig. 30 ; and as you ought now to be thinking of a larger 
 
72 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 tool-box, and would not like it roughly nailed together like 
 the first, Toii might try your skill by constructing one 
 more worthy of the name, and w^ith a drawer or two in it. 
 
 Fig. 30. 
 
 Yon must begin, as before, by marking the two lines across 
 your work by the edge of the square, or, if you prefer it, by 
 your gauge, which, when set to the thickness of one piece, 
 will mark the others correctly ; and remember to mark both 
 
DOVETAILING. 
 
 73 
 
 sides. Then set out your dovetails, but do not make them 
 so angular as you did the single one ; for remember you 
 have a whole row of them to assist in holding the work 
 together, and when glued, this will be of necessity a very 
 strong and reliable joint, if well made. 
 
 Always make the pins before the sockets, and mark- 
 round them as closely as possible, and take great care when 
 sawing not to break them, and if possible keep their angles 
 also very sharp and clean. It is solely care in these parti- 
 culars, and accurate cutting just to the gauge lines and no 
 further, that makes carpenters' work generally so superior 
 to that of amateurs, and boys especially are generally care- 
 less, and in too great a hurry to get the work done, that 
 they may go to something else. Remember, therefore, that 
 when you begin to hurry your work, you begin to spoil it. 
 
 I have made the drawings of the three principal dove- 
 tailed joints so plain as to render special description almost 
 unnecessary after the remarks already made. The second 
 and third, however, may need a few words, as they differ 
 slightly from that used in the drawer, of which a description; 
 has been given, chiefly because the piece in which the 
 dovetails are, is, in this case, as thick as that used for the 
 sockets. 
 
 Suppose the dovetails and pins marked out ready to be 
 cut. Take your marking-gauge and set the slide about a* 
 quarter of an inch frop^ the point, and run a Kd''. across the' 
 
74 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 ►ends of the two pieces at A B, and at C D, and also at E F 
 Stop at A B when you cut the sockets, and take care to get 
 the bottoms of these quite square and even. Cut the dove- 
 tails or pins as directed in making the drawer, but stop on 
 the lines e y and g h (the latter also to be made with the 
 •gauge on both edges of the work), thus the two pieces will, 
 of necessity, fit nicely together, and only a single line will 
 aj)pear a little way from one corner. If all lines are made 
 with gauge and square, this form of dovetail may require 
 neatness and care, but will not be beyond the skill even 
 ■of a young mechanic. I should indeed advise that every 
 opportunity be taken of joining pieces of wood with tenon 
 or with dovetail, because, after all, these are the chief 
 difficulties to be encountered. If you can square up your 
 work, and make true-fitting joints, there is little in carpen- 
 i^ry and joinery that you cannot accomplish. 
 
 The third example is worked exactly like the second, but 
 instead of leaving square the pieces projecting beyond the 
 dovetails and pins, these are sloped ofi" or bevelled carefally 
 from the extreme corners down to the pins and sockets. 
 The result is, that when put together, no joint appears, as 
 it is exactly upon the angle. There is no neater or stronger 
 method than this of joining the sides of drawers, boxes, 
 trays, and such like articles. The cabinetmaker employs 
 no other for heavy work ; only when it is very light does he 
 onake use of a plan, the appearance of which is (when 
 
MITRING. 
 
 75 
 
 finished) like the last-described, but it is less trouble to 
 make, and less strong, yet sufficiently so for many pur- 
 poses. This method is called mitring^ and is accom- 
 plished in the following way. 
 
 The wood (let it be for a small tray) is prepared as usual, 
 truly and evenly, and the ends exactly square to the sides. 
 If you use stuff about a quarter or half an inch thick, or 
 even an eighth (the first or last being suitable for such 
 light work), you can make a mitred joint with the help of 
 the gauge alone, but frequently a mitre-hoard or mitre-hox 
 is used, which saves some trouble in measuring and mark- 
 ing. It is well, however, that you should begin with this 
 trouble, and take up the easier method afterwards ; espe- 
 cially as it will in this case give you a simple lesson in 
 mathematics, and teach you some of the properties of the 
 figure called a square. Let us commence with this lesson. 
 
 A, B, C, D, Fig. 31, is a square; the lines at the 
 opposite sides are parallel, — that is, they are exactly the 
 same distance apart from one end to the other. To make 
 this clear, E and F are given, which are not parallel, for 
 they are further apart at one end than they are at the 
 other. And as A B is parallel to C D, and A C parallel 
 to B D, so A B is perpendicular to B D and to A C, or 
 what we have called square to it, as you would find with 
 your square, which is made, as you know, to prove your 
 work in this respect. The consequence is, that the angles 
 
76 
 
 THE YOUXG MECiIAXlC. 
 
 (or corners) are all alike, and are called right angles. 
 Understand what is meant by angles being the same size 
 or alike. M and H are alike, though the lines of one are a 
 
 X 
 
 Fig. SI. 
 
 great deal longer than tho^e of the other ; but though the 
 lines of K and H are the same length, the angle K is 
 much smaller than that at H. 
 
 As I have gone a little into this subject, I will go a 
 little further, for it is as well that you should learn all 
 about the sizes of angles, and I only know of one way in 
 which to make the matter clear 
 
MITRING. 
 
 11 
 
 Every circle, no matter how small or large, is supposed 
 to be divided into 360 equal parts, called degrees. That 
 large circle which forms the circumference of the earth is 
 considered to be so divided. Now, if we draw lines from 
 all these divisions to the centre, they will meet there, and 
 form a number of equal angles. I have not divided the 
 circle P all round, because it would make so many angles 
 that you could not see them clearly ; but I have put 3(50 at 
 the top, and then 45, which means, that if I had marked 
 all the divisions, there would be 45 up to that point. 
 Then at 45 more I have marked 90, and so on, marking 
 each 45th division, and from these I have drawn lines to 
 the centre of the circle. Now, if you understand me so 
 far, we shall get on famously. Look at the line from 360 
 to the centre, and that from 90°, and see where they join. 
 This is a right angle, and this is the angle at each corner 
 of a square. At N, I. have drawn this separately to make 
 it clear, and you see I have taken a quarter oi the circle, 
 or the quadrant J as it is called, of 90°. And you now see 
 that I might extend the lines beyond the circle to any 
 extent, but it would make no difference, — we should still 
 have 90° of a circle, only the circle would be larger, as 
 those which are partly drawn with the dotted lines. 
 
 Now, all angles are thus measured by the divisions of 
 a circle ; the line at 45, which meets the line from 360 at 
 the centre, makes with it an angle oi 45°, which is half a 
 
78 . THE YOUNG MECHANIC, 
 
 rio:lit ano:le. A line drawn at 30° would make an anole of 
 30 with the same line from 360, and so on right round ; 
 only when two lines come exactly opposite one another, as 
 360 and 180, or 270 and 90, these make no angles — they 
 are but one straight line passing through the centre, and 
 are called diameters of the circle, a word which means 
 measure through^ or across the circle. Now, the corners of 
 a square frame, or of a drawer or box, are right angles of 
 90°. At R, I have drawn such a corner of a frame, and if 
 I place one point of a pair of compasses at e, and draw a 
 circle cutting through tlie lines of the sides of the frame, 
 you see I should make it 90°, or a quadi-ant, like 
 Moreover, if I draw the sides of the frame as if they 
 crossed as at ^ R, I draw a small square, and the line 
 ^ R is the diagonal of such square : e ^ is the mitred 
 joint I have to cut. Look at T S and you will see this, 
 as here the two sides of the frame are represented as cut 
 ready to be joined together. 
 
 A square has another quality : all its sides are equal, 
 and this is very important, and will help us in cutting out 
 the work, x Y represents the strip of wood to be properly 
 sloped off for a mitred joint. With a gauge such as that 
 just above x, or your regular marking gauge, set off on 
 the side Y a distance equal to x x (the mdth of the 
 pieces) ; join .r ^ by a line, and yott will have the right 
 slope. A\ hy ? Because when you measured with the gauge 
 
MITRING. 
 
 79 
 
 you marked the two equal sides of a square, and x h is the 
 diagonal of it, wliich is exactly the same as you had at 
 e E. By measuring in this way, therefore, you can, if 
 your strips are already truly squared up, always mark out 
 a mitred joint correctly. The two little angles at x and b 
 are also, I should point out, equal — each half of a right 
 angle or 45°, and the other strip or side of the frame will 
 make up the other half right angle, or complete the exact 
 square of 90°. 
 
 In all this I have clearly laid down the principles of 
 mitred joints, and given you a lesson in mathematics. I 
 shall now, therefore, go on to the work of practical con- 
 struction (Fig. 32). You must be very careful to make the 
 edge B square to the side A, as in all other work which I 
 have explained to you ; or, if this side is moulded like the 
 front of a picture-frame, you must square the edge with 
 the back. After having cut all the pieces, you have to 
 glue them and fasten them together. Warm them, and 
 use the glue boiling, as directed before, and quickly lay the 
 pieces together. To do so effectually, you must place them 
 flat on a board or on your bench, and having adjusted 
 them, you can tie a strong cord round the whole, putting 
 little bits of wood close to the corners, so that the string 
 shall not mark your work, if such marks would be of con- 
 sequence. Or you can wedge up strongly in another way. 
 If you look at C you will see a square representing a frame 
 
THE YOUNG MECHAXIC. 
 
 with eight spots round it. These are nail heads, aad mark 
 the position of eight nails driven round but not touching 
 the frame into the bench. Then, having prepared eight 
 small wedges, di'ive them in between the frame and the 
 nails. 
 
 You will find this as simple and easy a way of keeping the 
 frame together as any, and all must remain till the glue is 
 dry and hard — ^probably till the same hour on the following 
 day ? Then remove the wedges and take up your frame, 
 which should be trim and strong. Nevertheless, you are 
 now to add considerably to the strength of it in one or both 
 of the following ways. 
 
 AVith a mitre-saw or tenon-saw cut one or two slits at 
 each angle, as seen at D, Fig. 32, e and /. Cut little pieces 
 
 .1 
 
 Fig. 32. 
 
 of thin wood, and having glued them, drive them into these 
 slits. If you saw them slanting, some tending upwai-ds 
 and some downwards, it will be better than cutting straight 
 into the frame. Then, when all is dry, neatly trim off 
 
MITRING. /' ' - ■ . 
 
 \ Tlx.* • 
 
 tliese pieces even with the frame. You nia};: ^so, if the 
 work is of a more heavy kind, as a large picture -frame, 
 finish with keyed mitres, g. Cut a place with a chisel of 
 the shape here shown, ahout one-eighth of an inch deep, 
 half into one j^iece and half into the other. Then cut out 
 a key of the same form of thin hard wood, to fit exactly, 
 and glue it in. The shape of the key prevents the joint 
 from coming apart, and makes it very strong and durable. 
 A very large number of light boxes are made with mitred 
 joints, as workboxes, water-colour boxes, compass-boxes, 
 and such like ; and you can examine these for yourself ; but 
 you will not often see the keys at the angles, because most 
 of such boxes are veneered, or covered when finished with 
 a thin layer of some ornamental wood. 
 
 I shall now proceed to show you how these joints can be 
 cut at once without the trouble of gauging and measuring 
 to find the proper angle. Therefore I shall let you into the 
 secret of mitring boxes and mitring boards, which, if you 
 had much to do of this kind, would shorten j^our work 
 considerably. 
 
 Fig. 33, A, represents a mitring-board, B a mitring- 
 box. We must go into a little mathematics again, and try 
 to understand these, because, if you do so, you may devise 
 others, occasionally more suitable for any special work you 
 have in hand. 
 
 First, look at D of this figure. You have a line, a 
 
MITRING BOARDS AND BOXES, 
 
 83 
 
 standing upon another C D, and perpendicular to it — that 
 is, it leans neither to the right nor to the l^ft. It makes 
 two angles at one on each side of a and these are 
 angles of 90°, or right angles, as I explained. Now, if one 
 line like a h stands on another, these two angles are 
 together equal to 180°, or twice 90°, whether this line is or is 
 not upright or perpendicular to the other. Look at fig. C. 
 Here you have the line x and standing on it several 
 others ; one, a is upright or perpendicular, making with it 
 two angles of 90° each, or 180° together. Now, take f and 
 suppose this to make 45° on the right-hand side, you see it 
 makes therefore a proportionately larger angle on the other. 
 It makes, in fact, an angle of 135°. But 135° added to 45° 
 equals 180°, which is the same as before, and whichever 
 line you take, the angles together made by it at b will 
 equal 180° of the circle — that is, they will equal two right- 
 angles. 
 
 Now, if I take the fig. D again, and carry on the line 
 a b right through c where it is dotted, two angles will be 
 made on the other side of c dj which will each be right 
 angles of 90° as before, so that all the four angles thus 
 made are equal. It follows from this, that whenever any 
 two lines cut each other — E Q and R S for instance — the 
 angles at T equal four right angles, no matter whether the 
 lines are or are not perpendicular to each other : and what 
 is more (and what I specially want you to note), the 
 
84 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC, 
 
 opposite angles are equal — Le^ the two small ones, or the 
 two large ones. 
 
 The action of a mitre-block or mitre-box depends upon 
 the principles h^e laid down, so j^ou see that although few 
 carpenters understand much about mathematics, and simply 
 work as they were taught, without knowing or caring why, 
 those who planned the method of work, and invented 
 mitre-boards and such like devices to shorten work and 
 lessen labour, must have understood a great deal about 
 such things. And so it is generally, as you will find with 
 inventions : things look easy enough, and natural enough, 
 when we see them every day ; but it has taken a great deal 
 of thought and sound knowledge to invent them in the 
 first place, and a great deal of practical experience to con- 
 struct them so neatly. Even a common pin goes through 
 such a number of processes as would surprise you, if you 
 have never been able to see them made. 
 
 Look carefully at A. It represents a block of wood, 
 about 1^ or 2 inches thick, and 3 or 4 wide, firmly screwed 
 on the top of a board 1 inch thick. The length is about 
 18 inches. Two saw-cuts are made with a tenon-saw, right 
 through the block to the board, at angles of 45° with the 
 line a b. These are guides for the saw to work in. The 
 wood to be cut is laid against the edge of the block, and 
 rests on the board, and the saw is then applied in one of 
 the gi'ooves while the wood is being cut by it. Let 11 be 
 
MITRING BOARDS AND BOXES. 
 
 85 
 
 such a piece. If the saw is put in the left-hand slit, it will 
 cut it like y ; if in the other, it will cut it the other way, 
 like x; and thus, if a piece is taken off at each end, it will 
 be as you see, ready to become one side of a frame. ]S[o\y, 
 examine K, which shows all the lines or edges of the 
 mitring-board, as seen fram above, with the strip a h sawn 
 across in the line c a. The lines a h and c a cross each 
 other, making the opposite angles equal ; and as one angle 
 is 45° the other must be 45° also, so that the right-hand 
 side of the strip is correctly cut. But so also is the other 
 end, and if we turn it over, it will exactly fit, and the two 
 will form two sides of a square. I cc uld prove to you that 
 the second strip contains angles exactly similar to the first, 
 but you ought to be able now to detect the reason for your- 
 self, and I do not want to teach you more mathematics at 
 present, as I am afraid you are tired of these, and will 
 want to go on with the real work of fitting and making. 
 I have, however, said enough, I think, to make you compre- 
 hend why the two saw-cuts must be at an angle of 45° with 
 the edge of the top board. 
 
 Perhaps you wish to make your own board, however, and 
 would like to know an easy way to get the saw-cuts at the 
 right angle ? I shall therefore show you how to do this, 
 but you must be very exact in your workmanship. A B, 
 Fig. 34, is the piece of thick board as seen from above, and 
 close to it is a perspective view 01 the same which show? 
 
S6 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 the thickness. Set off a distance, A E, equal to A C, and 
 join C E. The dotted line shows you that C E is the 
 diagonal of a square, and the angles at C and E are con- 
 sequently each 45°; but we do not want this line to end at 
 C, it is too exactly at the corner for convenience. Measure, 
 therefore, a distance, E h and C equal, and join a 3, 
 which will be the place for the saw-cut ; and the other can 
 be marked out in exactly the same way. a Xj in the per- 
 spective view, must be carefully marked b}^ the help of the 
 square. Take care to mark the line on the bottom board, 
 where the edge of this upper thick piece will fall, and screw 
 tlie two firmly together. If the edge and face of the thick 
 piece are not truly square to each other, the mitres cut thus 
 will not be correct ; but, if all is well made, they may be 
 glued at once together, no paring of the chisel being neces- 
 sary or desirable. 
 
 The mitre-box, Fig. 33, B, is on precisely the same prin- 
 ciple, but is chiefly used to cut narrow strips not over 2 
 inches wide ; it should be neatly made of mahogany, half 
 m inch thick. There is also generally made a saw-cut 
 straight across, at right angles to the length of the box or 
 board, which is convenient in sawing across such strijDs of 
 wood, as it saves the necessity of marking lines against the 
 edge of the square : of course, it is specially used where a 
 large number of strips have to be cut square across. In all 
 tliese you observe one saw-cut leaning to the riglit, the 
 
MITRING BOARDS AND BOXES. 
 
 87 
 
 other to the left. This is necessary when picture-frames 
 or moulded pieces have to be cut to 45°, because you can- 
 not, of course, turn such pieces over and use either side, 
 which you can do when the piece has no such mouldings. 
 
 Several modifications exist of mitring-boards ; some 
 arranged for sawing, and some for planing ; and where 
 thousands of frames have to be cheaply made, the angles 
 are cut off with circular saws, of which I need not speak 
 
 A E Z B A B 
 
 Fig. 34. 
 
 particularly here, but which I shall probably have to 
 describe in a future page. In Fig. 34, K, I have shown 
 one corner of a simple picture-frame, covered with what is 
 called rustic work, that is — short pieces of oak, ash, or 
 other wood cut from the tree, left with the bark on, or 
 
88 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 peeled and varnished. These are nailed on with small 
 brads ; and, if well assorted and arranged, this will have a 
 very neat appearance, suiting well for rooms fitted up in 
 oak, as many studies and libraries are. In picture-frames, 
 however, a rebate (called rabbit) has to be made at the 
 back, like L, in which the picture with its glass and back- 
 board has to rest ; and this requires a special plane. The 
 front also is always either sloped off or moulded. I shall 
 therefore make this kind of work the subject of my next 
 chapter, and describe the operations of rebating, grooving, 
 tongueing, and moulding. 
 
Chapter VI. 
 
 HESE operations, wliicli are frequently required' 
 in carpentry, are done on a small scale by 
 planes. On a larger scale, circular saws and 
 
 other machinery are widely and extensively 
 made use of for the same purpose, as being much more 
 rapid and economical. Of course, the young mechanic will, 
 employ the more usual method, and the present chapter 
 will therefore treat of the planes necessary for the above 
 work, and the method of using them. 
 
 The common rebate or rabbit plane comes first. This is- 
 of various widths ; an inch being a very useful size. It is 
 different in many respects from the smoothing-plant, being 
 made with a single iron only, which is so arranged as to 
 reach into angular recesses, which could not be touched by 
 the ordinary plane, of which the iron does not extend quite 
 to either side of the sole. Fig. 35, A and B, will illustrate 
 
90 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 this. A represents the plane as seen from above and at 
 one side, B gives the perspective view of the sole, C repre- 
 sents the iron, D the wedge. Let us suppose a rebate 
 jequired upon a strip 1 inch thick, the same to be half an 
 
 Fig. 35. 
 
 inch wide and deep. A gauge is first set to the required 
 •distance, and a line is marked on both faces, as a guide for 
 the action of the plane. After a little practice it will be 
 found easy to guide the entr}^ of the plane with the left 
 hand, grasping it so as partly to overlap the sole, and thus 
 determine the width of the cut, which must not at first be 
 carried to the full width required, but may be brought 
 within an eighth of an inch of such gauge line, and the 
 material removed sometimes from one face of the rebate 
 ;and sometimes from the other, taking care to keep it nicely 
 square. 
 
 At first it is an easier plan to nail on with brads a 
 
REBA TE-PLANES. 
 
 9^ 
 
 strip of wood accurately planed, which in this case, as the 
 sole of the plane is 1 inch wide, must cover it from end to 
 end to a width of half an inch. This will prevent the pos 
 sibilitj^ of going too deep into cut, and insure the correct- 
 ness of the rebate. Fig. 35 H. The injury to the sole will 
 not be gre,at if small brads are used, but at the same time 
 it is better to learn the art of using the hand as a guide, 
 which is the more general method of the working car- 
 penter. As for the use of rebates, there are few pieces of 
 cabinet-work or joinery in which they are not found, and 
 as stated in the previous chapter, no picture-frame can be 
 made without them. The shavings which escape from the 
 rebate-frame do not rise out of the top, as in the smoothing- 
 plane, but from the side, which is hollowed out for the pur- 
 pose, as seen in the drawing. 
 
 The skew rebate-plane is made like the preceding one, 
 but the iron, instead of standing at right angles to the 
 sides, is placed at an angle. With this you can plane 
 across the grain of the wood. 
 
 The next plane to be noticed, is that with which 
 grooves are cut, such as you wall often see in the sides 
 of book-shelves, in which the several shelves slide. The 
 same is done where two boards are to be joined length- 
 wise, and there is danger of their becoming separated 
 as the wood shrinks in drying. The panels of doors, 
 too, are slid into similar grooves in the styles and 
 
92 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC, 
 
 rails of the frame- work, and there are innumerable other 
 cases in which this mode of work is carried out. These 
 grooves are generall}' cut with the plough, a curious-looking 
 tool, by no means like a plane in appearance, but of great 
 use to the carpenter. Of course, we require various widths 
 of such grooves, according to the special purpose intended, 
 and these are determined by various widths of the cutting- 
 irons, which, however, all fix into the same stock ; a dozen 
 or more of such irons are sold with a single plane. 
 
 In Fig. 36 is a set of drawings explanatory of the above 
 tool. The central part, or stock, is that which corresponds 
 
 to the same in other planes, and it is only modified to suit 
 the other parts, which simply act as guides or gauges regu- 
 
 Fig. 36. 
 
THE PLOUGH. 
 
 93 
 
 lating the distance of the grooves from the edge of the 
 board, and the depth to which they are to be cut. When 
 the arms, A A, are removed, you have the plane as it appears 
 with a brass fence, at one side, which can be raised or 
 lowered at pleasure, and set at any point by the screw C; d 
 is an iron plate which acts as the sole of the plane, the 
 cutting edge being set to project a very little way below it. 
 
 The arms A A carry the fence ^, which is flat on the 
 inside next the plane, and moulded (merely for appearance 
 sake) on the outside. The arms slide in two holes in the 
 body of the plane, and can be drawn out at pleasure, and 
 fixed by little wooden wedges, e e. Thus, while in use, the 
 fence rubs along the edge of the board, while the groove is 
 being cut at such distance as the fence is fixed, and to such 
 a depth as is allowed by the position of the brass check 
 or guide. Complex, therefore, as this tool appears, it is * 
 not so in reality. We shall presently describe a chest of 
 drawers or cabinet calculated to receive small tools, or 
 specimens of coins, shells, and such like, in which another 
 kind of grooving-plane has to come into use, called (with 
 its fellow, which makes a tenon to fit such groove) a match 
 plane. This is of extensive use, less expensive than the 
 plough, and on the whole more likely to be useful to the 
 young mechanic. Indeed, although the plough has been 
 here described and illustrated, it is not by any means to' be 
 considered essential, and its purchase may well be deferder 
 
94 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC, 
 
 until other tools of greater importance has been effected. 
 The side or sash fillister to be presently described, for in- 
 stance, would be more useful. 
 
 Fig. 37 is such a cabinet, with six drawers, dovetailed at 
 the corners as usual. The bottom, however, projects be- 
 yond the sides, so that the latter are not made lower than 
 the back, as was the case with the table-drawer previously 
 
 Fiff. 37. 
 
 described. The top and sides may be of mahogany, the 
 back and bottom of pine (stained or not at pleasure), or if 
 cost is an object, the whole may be of any other wood ; but 
 the grooves in which the drawers slide, can be cut more 
 
HOW TO MAKE A CABINET. 
 
 95 
 
 sliarply and neatly in harder wood than pine — bhch, for 
 instance, which is very fit for the purpose, and will take a 
 good polish. The outer case is first made like an open 
 box. The dimensions may be regulated according to the 
 intended use, but generally the drawers increase in depth 
 downwards. The top and bottom overlap the sides, the 
 latter to a somewhat greater width than the former. The 
 sides can therefore only be dovetailed to the back ; the 
 bottom may be attached with screws, and the top likewise, 
 but the holes must then be plugged to conceal them. If 
 the whole is of deal, and to be painted or veneered, this 
 would be the best plan ; but if the top is of mahogany, it 
 is not so easy to fill up the holes above the heads of the 
 screws so as to thoroughly conceal them. If, however, you 
 have no plough to cut a groove to let the sides and back a 
 little way into the top, glue alone will not hold sufiiciently. 
 In this case smaller holes may be made to admit 2-inch 
 brads to assist the glue, such holes being easily filled with 
 putty stained to imitate mahogany. 
 
 The peculiarity of the drawers consists in their meeting 
 each other quite closely when shut, without the inter- 
 mediate divisions ordinarily seen. Hence the necessity for 
 a difi'erent arrangement of the sliding surfaces as before 
 referred to. The insides of the case have Jive grooves 
 ploughed across them, as seen at C of this figure, the 
 sixth drawer only being made as usual to slide upon the 
 
96 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 bottom of the case, and having its sides made lower than 
 the back for this purpose. 
 
 In the grooves thus cut, the projecting part of the 
 bottom of the drawers is made to fit and slide, and they 
 will run more smoothly if cut so that the grain of the 
 w^ood shall run across the bottom, from front to back, and 
 not from side to side. The bottom of the drawer must not 
 come below the level of the front, but either the front 
 should be rebated to take one edge of it, as seen at E, 
 which is the best way, or a slip of wood should be glued 
 along as at F, on which that edge may rest, and to which 
 it can be attached. D exhibits this distinctly, as it is 
 drawn as if the nearest end was removed to show the 
 position of the other parts. The bottom, therefore, will be 
 let into the front, and nailed under the back and sides, and 
 will project rather less than half an inch each way, to fit 
 the grooves in which it is to slide. Another way to effect 
 the same is to make the drawers as usual, with no such 
 projections, and to nail a strip to run in the grooves in 
 the middle of the side pieces, or, if preferred, near the 
 top. The effect is, of course, the same, and such strips 
 being planed up nicely, with the grain running length- 
 wise, will cause the drawers to work in and out very 
 smoothly. 
 
 Tliere is no neater way than this to make a cabinet ; and 
 sometimes the whole is closed with a panelled door, for 
 
THE SASH FILLISTER, 
 
 97 
 
 which i3urpose the case is left to project beyond the 
 drawers. Unless well su2323lied in the matter of planes, 
 which is hardly to be expected, you will not be able to cut 
 the grooves in the side of the outer case in any way but 
 the following, which, however, will answer very well when 
 the piece in which they are to be cut is not above 9 inches 
 or 1 foot wide. Mark out the places, spacing them with 
 the greatest care, and cut just within the lines with a tenon- 
 saw ; then cut out with a chisel the narrow piece which 
 intervenes. There is a plane called a routing-plane used 
 for this by cabinetmakers and joiners, but you may as well 
 exercise your ingenuity to do without it. If you have a 
 plough, you may remove the fence, and let it follow up the 
 saw and chisel, but it will be hardly required if you use the 
 chisel carefully. 
 
 I shall now introduce to your notice another very excel- 
 lent plane, called a side or sash fillister, for cutting rebates 
 of any required depth and width. It is very like the plough 
 in appearance, with a similar wooden guide or fence on two 
 arms to regulate the width, and another of metal, moved 
 by a screw at the top, to regulate the depth of the cut. 
 Fig. 38, A, shows one side of this plane, and B the other. 
 The cutting edge comes down to the level of c dm fig. A ; 
 the fence, of which the edge is seen at will draw up to the 
 level of a b, or lower to that of the edge. This plane, 
 therefore, is but a more complete rebate-plane, fitted with 
 
 G 
 
98 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 guides for depth and width. It does its work veiy per- 
 fectly, and is of extensive use. 
 
 I have given descriptions of these planes, although the 
 young mechanic will not at first possess them, as they are 
 
 Fiz. 38. 
 
 somewhat expensive, because I feel it as well to let him 
 know how work is done by the trade, and why it is that 
 such work is effected more rapidly and better than he him- 
 self can do it ; but at the same time it is far better that he 
 should, for a long time, work at a disadvantage, by using 
 
THE MATCH-PLANE. 
 
 99 
 
 few tools, and those of the simplest construction, before 
 taking in hand others which cost a good deal of money, 
 which might often be better spent. A look back over these 
 pages will show that with a long (or jack) plane, a smootli- 
 ing-phine and a rebate-plane, all the work previously 
 alluded to can be done. As, however, I am writing upon 
 the subject of planes, I may as well mention two more — 
 match-planes and beading-planes — to which may be added 
 those for moulding, being an extension only of the last 
 named. Match-planes are always in pairs. Their use is 
 to cut, the one a groove, Fig. 39, A, the other a tenon or 
 tongue, or feather, as it is sometimes called, as Fig. 39, B, 
 down the long sides (with the grain) of boards that are to 
 be joined lengthwise (Fig. 39). If the plough is used, a 
 groove is cut in both pieces, and a slip of board planed up 
 
 Fig. 39. 
 
 to fit them ; either method will answer equally well. 
 When boards joined thus shrink, the tongue or slip fills up 
 space. 
 
 There is no necessity for illustrating the planes used for 
 
ICO 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 beading and moulding after the description already given 
 of others. The irons, instead of being flat, are filed into 
 grooves and hollows of the required pattern, and of course 
 transfer their own form to the wood upon which they are 
 used. They are held on the slope of the moulding to be 
 cut. When blunt, they have to be sharpened with slips of 
 oilstone, which can be. had for the purpose, of square and 
 round section ; sometimes they are sufficiently soft to be 
 filed into shape, but a keen edge cannot thus be obtained. 
 Mouldings, however, are generally finished off with fine 
 sandpaper. They are always planed lengthwise of the 
 grain in long strips, and are cut to the required lengths 
 (generally with mitres). When very broad, they are made 
 ap of several narrower ones, glued side by side. The 
 young mechanic had better get them cut for him .by some 
 friendly carpenter, as it is hardly worth his while to 
 buy planes for which he will have comparatively little 
 use. 
 
 I shall conclude these papers on carpentry by describing 
 the method of making such a door as would suit the cabinet 
 already described, especially as it will explain the way in 
 which all panelling is done, whether for doors, shutters, or 
 other similar articles. Panelling is indeed of very general 
 application in every household, and it is well worth while 
 even for the young mechanic to learn how it is accom- 
 plished. It is absolutely nccc^-aiy, however, that he 
 
PANELLING. 
 
 lOI 
 
 should be possessed either of a plough or match-planes for 
 routing out the grooves in which the panels slide. 
 
 Nearly all panels have a beading or a moulding running 
 round them as a finish. 
 
 Fig. 40 illustrates the method of panelling. A, B, C are 
 the styles, D, E, F, G the rails. The mortices and tenons 
 
 Fig. 40. 
 
 are cut as usual. The inside edges of C, B, D, G are then 
 grooved with the plough, and both edges of the other 
 pieces. The panels are carefully squared up, and then 
 bevelled off at the edges so as to fit the grooves. To put 
 such a door together, A, D, G, E, and F would be first 
 
102 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 arranged, then the panels slid in from the outside, and 
 afterwards the styles B and C put in place. The part 
 beyond the outer mortices in the latter pieces, which are 
 left for safety in cutting these mortices, and to prevent 
 splitting when D and G are driven home, are not cut off 
 until the glue is dry. The process is simple, but it requires 
 great care, both in setting out the various measurements, 
 and in squaring up the different pieces composing the 
 whole. After the whole is dry, strips of moulding, cut to 
 mitre-joints at the corners, are nailed on with brads round 
 the panels to give the whole a finished appearance. 
 
 In the above examples, in which I have gone from the 
 more simple to the more complicated, are comprised the 
 main principles of the art of carj^entry. At any rate, when 
 the young mechanic can do as much^ he will be able to 
 accomplish a great deal more. 
 
Chapter VII. 
 
 HERE are a number of useful and ornamental 
 articles which cannot be made with the carpen- 
 ter's tools alone, but which need a lathe for their 
 construction. Wooden boxes of circular section, 
 wooden and metal wheels and pulleys, ornamental chair and 
 table legs, and a countless number of similar articles, all 
 depend upon the skill of the turner. Models too of engines 
 and machinery of all sizes and shapes, bring the lathe into 
 constant requisition. 
 
 No one can say to whom this machine is to be attributed. 
 Probably it has been developed by slow and imperceptible 
 steps, from the potter's wheel to its present elaborate and 
 perfect form. As for the part that old Dsedalus had in it, 
 I believe he had just as much to do with it as he had with 
 the saw, which he is said to have invented from seeing the 
 backbone of a fish. Now, the backbone of a fish is not a 
 
104 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 bit like a saw, but the jaw of a shark is, and very quickly 
 it amputates legs, arms, and heads, when unfortunately 
 the chance is giyen to it. We need not, howeyer, stay to 
 discuss this unimportant point ; we will leaye it to the 
 researches of the Antediluyian Society, or Noahican Breth- 
 ren, or any other known or unknown learned body, and 
 proceed to consider the lathe as it is now generally con- 
 structed — the ambition of boys, the delight of adult 
 possessors, and, to the writer, gem of gems ! " 
 
 At the yery time I write, I am engaged in fitting up two 
 lathes ; one of which is for just such a young mechanic " 
 as this book is intended to instruct. The bed will be ot 
 dry hard beech, the fly-wheel of iron turned up with fiye 
 grooyes or speeds, as they are called. The heads, which are 
 the only really important part, are to be made by a well- 
 known London maker, whose work is sure to be the best 
 possible at the price afforded. Xeyertheless, this lathe will 
 vost seyeral pounds, although it is to be fitted for hand- 
 turning only, and it is possible in London to find a much 
 cheaper (not better) article. 
 
 When I was myself a young mechanic," so many years 
 ago that I find I do not quite like to count them, I had a 
 lathe at £2, rather shaky, wooden fly-wheel, wooden head — 
 not at all the thing to recommend. Then I had another 
 made by a gunsmith — all iron — for it was what is called 
 a trinnglc-bar lathe ; the bed being a bar of triangular 
 
THE TURNING-LATHE. 
 
 section, on which the heads or poppits slid, and also the 
 rest. I think now it was not a bad lathe ; but I am afraid 
 the work I did on it was scarcely first-class ; and I sold the- 
 machine one fine day tinder the impression that if I had a 
 better I should do better work. This, however, proved ai 
 terrible fallacy ; so I set myself upon high as a warning to 
 young mechanics, who always fancy that their clumsy, bad 
 work is due to some fault in their tools, whereas, after all, 
 it IS generally their own. 
 
 Well, I had a succession of lathes, after that triangle-bar 
 one had passed into oblivion, by various makers ; some 
 good, some indifferent, some for heavy, and some for light 
 work ; and I fancy I am now fairly able to give an opinion 
 upon the merits or demerits of any particular lathe which 
 may come under my notice. 
 
 I was going to write a piece of advice, Don't give too 
 much for a lathe ^''^ when I remembered that I was scrib- 
 bling for the edification first of boys : and experience tells me 
 the caution is by no means generally necessary, few boys' 
 pockets beingvery heavily lined, owing to the constant claims 
 upon them for peg-tops, knives, string, and etceteras — not 
 to say lollipops and bulls' eyes, and similar unwholesome 
 luxuries. 
 
 I suppose, however, I must give some idea of cost, if 
 only as a partial guide ; but all depends upon the special 
 object for which the lathe is to be used. If for models, for 
 
7 HE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 instance, it would not be so expensive as if it was desired 
 for elaborate ornamental work in wood or ivory, when the 
 young mechanic has grown whiskers, and become an adult 
 enthusiast at this delightful recreation. For there are all 
 kinds of lathes to be had ; some that will answer well for 
 beginners, and for rough work in after years ; some beauti- 
 fully finished, intended to be used first for simple hand- 
 turning, but which are of best construction, and therefore 
 worth adding to from time to time ; and if carefully used, 
 will descend in good order from father to son. Then there 
 are latlies for heavier work, and for screw cutting and 
 engine making, fit for engineers ; and others of minute 
 size and exquisite finish, adapted to the special require- 
 ments of watch and clock makers — lathes you could put 
 in your waistcoat pocket. 
 
 Now, if I were sure you would be very, very careful, I 
 should like to recommend a good lathe, worth adding to as 
 you grew more and more experienced ; but these, even of 
 simplest make, are costly, and not within reach of half my 
 readers. I shall therefore say — get a good, plain, strong 
 tool that will bear a little rough usage, and which will cost 
 you as little as it is possible to make them for : and if you 
 find, after a year or two, that you are becoming a proficient, 
 and therefore not so likely to damage a good lathe, you can 
 set this, your first, on one side, and let it become your hack 
 to do any odd jobs, and buy yourself both a larger and a 
 
THE TURNING-LATHE, 
 
 107 
 
 better one. I know this will be a double outlay ; but ex- 
 perience tells me it will be the best way and the cheapest 
 in the long run. Perhaps you may like to go on as you 
 are. Your small lathe may prove an accurate one, and 
 quite suflficient for your need. In such case, of course, a 
 new one will not be required at all. But if it should be 
 otherwise, and circumstances allow you to improve upon 
 it, you may rest assured your old friend will be ever a 
 handy assistant, and save your better lathe very consider- 
 ably in many ways. 
 
 You can get a lathe for about $20 to $25, with iron 
 bed complete ; and I really think it impossible to obtain a 
 cheaper one. Of course it will be small, and of the plainest 
 possible construction. It will, nevertheless, answer for 
 light work in wood and metal, being designed to assist the 
 young mechanic in making model engines and similar 
 curiosities. From this you may go, pound by pound, to 
 good, serviceable tools ; and these to a £300 lathe for rose 
 engine-work, and elaborate ornamentation in ivory and 
 other costly materials. Most probably I shall be able to 
 give you a catalogue or two at the end of this book, pub- 
 lished by makers of such lathes, and you can then judge of 
 the probable cost of your workshop. The drawing of the 
 lathe (Fig. 41) will be readily understood even by those 
 boys who have had no opportunity of seeing any work of 
 this kind. There are, however, few towns or villages in 
 
io8 
 
 THE YOUyG MECHAXIC, 
 
 which a lathe does uot exist, and may not he examined by 
 any boy who desires to learn its construction and use. Its 
 
 Fig. 41. 
 
 object is to give rotary movement to any material it is 
 desired to form into a circular or cylindrical shape. 
 
 Motion being given to the fly-wheel by means of the 
 
THE TURNING-LATHE. 
 
 109 
 
 treadle and crank, is communicated to the pulley upon 
 the mandrel. Upon the screw of this mandrel, B, the work 
 is fixed ; being usually held in a chuck suited to its par- 
 ticular form, but sometimes it is screwed directly upon the 
 mandrel. The rest, C, is then fixed near it, and the tool is 
 supported thereon and held firmly while the work revolves 
 against it. All this is easy to understand — it is not so easy 
 to carry it into practice. Attention to the following direc- 
 tions will enable the young mechanic to become a good 
 turner in course of time ; but the art cannot be practically 
 learned in a day, and it needs experience and considerable 
 practice to become anything like a proficient. 
 
 If the construction of the lathe itself is understood, the 
 first consideration is what tools and chucks are necessary. 
 I shall speak of the latter first, as little or nothing can be 
 done without them. First comes the prong-chuck, for soft 
 wood (Fig. 41, A). This, like all others, is made to screw 
 upon the mandrel. Its use is to hold one end of any piece 
 of wood while the other is supported by the point, E, of the 
 poppit, H, which poppit can be moved at pleasure along 
 the lathe-bed, and fixed at any given place by a hand-nut 
 below. The point itself can be advanced or drawn back by 
 turning the handle, K. A piece of wood thus mounted 
 must of necessity revolve with the mandrel, because, 
 although it can and will turn round upon the point of the 
 back poppit, it cannot do so upon the fork or prong, which 
 
I 10 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC, 
 
 enters and holds it securely. This chuck, or one of the 
 same nature, is always used for cylinders of soft wood, 
 which can be supported at both ends, such as tool-handles, 
 chair-legs, and other work not requiring to be hollowed 
 out. 
 
 It sometimes happens, however, especially if the work is 
 at all rough, or considerably out of truth, that the piece 
 slips round upon the fork or prong, especially if it does 
 not enter deeply enough; and in addition, tool-handles and 
 round rulers, and many articles that have to be similarly 
 supported at both ends, are made of hard wood, into which 
 this prong will not readily enter. 
 
 In such cases, and indeed as a general substitute for the 
 first, a chuck called a "cross-chuck" is to be used (Fig. 
 41, L, M). The centre of the little cross (which is of steel, 
 and fits into the same square or round hole in the socket 
 which carries the prong, and which is also used to hold 
 drills, pieces of iron rod which are to be tiu-ned, and other 
 articles) is made to revolve in the precise axial line of the 
 mandrel, or to run true with it, as it is called. The arms 
 of the cross are to be imbedded in the work, which is best 
 eff"ected by making in the latter two saw-cuts at right 
 angles with each other (Fig. 41, N), which represents a 
 piece ready for mounting. 
 
 The next chuck is equally necessary (Fig. 41, 0). It 
 is a taper screw of steel, fixed in a socket which can be 
 
THE TURNING-LATHE. 
 
 II 1 
 
 attached to the mandrel. Two sizes of this chuck would be 
 useful for a large lathe, but for such a one as will probably 
 be purchased by the young amateur, one only, with a screw 
 of medium size, will suffice. The use of this chuck is to 
 hold pieces which only require to be supported at one end, 
 so that a tool can be used to work upon the other, either to 
 mould it into the required form, or to hollow it out for a 
 box or bowl. Of course you might screw such work on the 
 mandrel-nose itself, but it would make a very large hole in 
 the end, whereas this taper screw only requires a moder- 
 ately sized gimlet-hole. It is therefore a much more con- 
 venient way of attaching work to the mandrel, and is of 
 extensive use. 
 
 The cup-chuck is the last required. It is sketched at P, 
 and is sometimes of iron, but generally of brass. There 
 are several sizes made and sold with lathes, but you need 
 not have at most more than one or two, as I shall show you 
 how to make wooden ones, which answer as well, if not 
 better. The flat plates, R, R^, can scarcely be called 
 chucks, but they generally come into the list of such. The 
 latter has five projecting points, which, sticking into such 
 a thing as a flat-board (like a bread-platter, or round 
 pulley), hold it sufficiently firm when the back centre is 
 brought up against the other side of the piece, to allows of 
 its being turned. The other is merely a flat plate with 
 holes in it, through which screws can be passed from 
 
! 12 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 behind into any odd bit of wood of 2 or 3 inches in thick- 
 ness, whereby a chuck can be quickly made to suit any 
 required purpose. Two or three of these would be con- 
 venient, one of which should be nearly as large a»the lathe 
 will carry ; and in this one a great many holes and slots 
 should be made. This is called a face-plate, and, in addi- 
 tion to the ordinary screws, whereb)^ pieces of wood are 
 attached to it, it is fitted with clamps and bolts of various 
 forms, for the purpose of holding securely upon its face all 
 kinds of flat works in wood or metal, — such as cog-wheels, 
 which have to be bored out and faced. The young model- 
 maker will find a face-plate of great service. The larger 
 one should be of iron, as it will be cheaper than brass. 
 
 We now pass on to chucks for metal turning. These are 
 of various shapes. First in order comes the centre chuck 
 and dog, for holding rods of iron which can be sup- 
 ported at both ends. The commonest form is represented 
 in Fig. 41, S, T. S is such a face-plate almost as I have 
 described, but it has a pin projecting from it, and also a 
 steel centre-point. The latter is often made to screw out 
 and in, which is the best plan. The pin can be slid to any 
 point in the face-plate, and clamped by a nut at the back. 
 T is called a dog, and of these two at least will be re- 
 quired, if the young mechanic intends to work in metal. 
 
 The way of using these is shown at T^. The rod of iron 
 has a hole drilled at each end, as nearly in the centre as 
 
THE TURNING-LA THE, 
 
 possible. It is first indented with a punclij then a drill is 
 put into the drill chuck, and one end of the rod brought 
 against it as it revolves, while the back poppit centre-point 
 is screw^ed against the indentation at the other end. A 
 little oil is applied to the drill to assist its working, and the 
 rod itself is prevented from turning round either by grasp- 
 ing it with the hand or screwing a hand- vice upon it, so 
 that this comes against the bed or the rest ; or it can be 
 lield in the hand, which has one advantage, namely, that 
 the operator can feel exactly what is the resistance caused 
 by the drill, and can regulate the pressure accordingly. The 
 screw of the poppit is, of course, to be very slowly and 
 steadily advanced during the process. All drilling in the 
 lathe is done in this way, but in boring out long holes, the 
 action is often reversed, the work being kept in motion 
 while the tool is advanced, without being allowed to revolve. 
 You need not bore more than one-eighth of an inch for 
 light work, but must do the same at each end of the rod. 
 The holes thus made should be of such a size as not to let 
 the extreme end of the back centre-point touch the bottom, 
 or it will soon be worn down and blunted ; — remember this 
 in all future work. 
 
 Supposing the rod to be thus bored at each end, place 
 the centre-chuck upon the mandrel, instead of the drill- 
 chuck, and mount the bar between this and the point of the 
 back-centre. Thus placed, it will be accurately supported ; 
 
 H 
 
114 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 but if the lathe is put in motion, it will not turn round 
 I^ow come into use the little dogs. Kemove the bar, 
 and choosing a dog of which the open part is tolerably 
 ]iear the size of it, slip it over the end about half an inch, 
 and there fix it by tightening the little screw, which, you 
 observe, will drive the bar as far as possible towards the 
 smaller part of the opening, and when it can go no farther, 
 will secure it as in a vice. It is a good plan to file a slight 
 flat upon the bar, just where the screw of the carrier will 
 come, l^ow replace the bar, and when the lathe is put in 
 motion, the tail of the carrier should come against the 
 projecting pin in the face of the face-plate, which will 
 compel the iron to go round with it. This is the way all 
 bars of metal are mounted. I shall not tell you yet how 
 they are to be turned, because this would interfere with 
 the order of my description. 
 
 To mount in the lathe such pieces as cylinders of engines, 
 which require to be bored, or any other objects which have 
 to be turned on one or both faces, the young mechanic 
 must make wooden chucks, and bore them out exactly to 
 fit the article and hold it securely. There are metal chucks 
 expressly made to take all work of this kind, and which 
 are so contrived that they will also hold it truly central ; 
 but they are costly, and need not be obtained with the first 
 lathe — at any rate, not until absolutely required^ and that 
 will be, I know, a long time hence ; ay, a very long time ; 
 
TURNING TOOLS. 
 
 for many good workmen have never even seen^ much less 
 possessed one of them. Perhaps I may draw and explain 
 one in a future page, as well as some other chucks, which 
 it is not necessary to notice here. 
 
 The chucks then absolutely necessary are these — 
 
 1. Square Hole Chuck, which will take the prong, the cross, the drills, and 
 
 short bits of iron to be turned. 
 
 2. The Taper Screw. 
 
 3. Flange or Face Chucks, one with five points, and two with holes for 
 
 screws, also one larger for a face-plate. 
 
 4. Two or three Cup-chucks (I can, however, scarcely call these absolutely 
 
 necessary). 
 
 5. Chuck for Iron, viz., face-plate with centre-point, and two dogs to 
 
 take iron from 1 inch diameter down to quarter-inch. These should 
 have pear-shaped openings, not round ; any blacksmith can make them, 
 but somehow they do such work generally in a clumsy fashion ; and 
 they cost but 35 to 75 cents, according to size, beautifully made with 
 turned screws. 
 
 Kow as to tools. Their name is legion — tools for iron, 
 brass, ivory, hard and soft wood ; and many an odd shilling 
 Will be well laid out from time to time in adding to the 
 stock. Happily those most needed are not costly — about 
 $3 a dozen without handles, which latter may be had at 
 10 cents each and upwards, according to the material and 
 finish, all with iron or brass ferules, so necessary to pre- 
 vent splitting. You may buy your first few simple tools 
 handled, but after you have these you can turn as many 
 handles as you like, and you can buy ferules of all sizes at 
 any regular tool-shop. 
 
w6 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 I may as well tell you that in a great many countrv 
 towns you will be unable to obtain turning tools except 
 gouges and chisels, so that when you buy your lathe in 
 London, as you will find the best plan (or in Manchester, 
 Birmingham, or other manufacturing town, if nearer to 
 you), you must lay in a little stock of tools at the same 
 time, and take future opportunities of getting more. In 
 regular tool-shops you will have them laid before you by 
 dozens of every conceivable shape and size, so that your 
 great difficulty would be what to pick out if it were not for 
 some such directions as I am now about to give you. 
 
 • First, you will want gouges and chisels. Begin with two 
 sizes of each — one of half an inch, the other of 1 inch in 
 width. These are to be mounted in long handles. 
 
 Now, with these alone you can do all the plain work in 
 soft wood which does not require to be hollowed out, tool- 
 handles, chair-legs, legs of towel-horses, round rulers, and 
 all sorts of things, and to a certain extent you can turn out 
 the insides of wooden chucks, bowls, and boxes, but not 
 very easily with these alone. Hence you must add some 
 of those shown in Fig. 42. These I shall endeavour to 
 assort as follows : — 
 
 A to F are for hollowing out hard woods ; G and H are 
 hook-tools (very difficult to use) for hollowing out soft 
 wood boxes and bowls. 
 
 I and K show the edge and side of a parting tool for 
 
ii8 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 cutting off the ends of cylindrical pieces, separating the 
 turned from the unturned parts, and for all similar work. 
 [A teuon-saw held still against a piece revolving in the 
 lathe will often serve to cut it in two, but parting tools 
 must also be had,* and two are better than one, as a thick 
 one should be kept for common woods, and a thin one 
 for ivory and precious materials ; sometimes one with a 
 notched edge is used for cutting off soft wood.] 
 
 L to 0 are for tm'ning iron and steel. The first is a 
 graver^ of which all sizes are made ; one of a quarter inch 
 width on either face is large enough. It is a square bar of 
 steel ground off cornerwise so as to form a lozenge-shaped 
 face. This is an essential tool for iron, and will do all 
 sorts of work. 
 
 M is a hook or heel tool, made sometimes with a flat 
 edge and sometimes with a rounded one, the latter being 
 most useful. It is a very powerful tool, much used by 
 some, especially for heavy work — I don't think you need 
 get one at present. If I am able to teach you to use a 
 graver it will do almost as much work, and is a neater tool. 
 If you use a tool of the nature of heel-tools at all, I think, 
 on the whole, the nail-head tool, N, either round or square, is 
 the best. It is at all events handy for roughing dowTi work, 
 and when it is reduced nearly to the size required, and is 
 partly smoothed, the graver will finish it, 
 
 0 is an inside tool for hollowing out iron. There are 
 
TURNIJSIG TOOLS. 
 
 119 
 
 different shapes of this used, each turner giving the prefer- 
 ence to some particular pattern to which he has habituated 
 himself. None of these tools for metal have sharp edges — 
 at least they would not appear so to an ordinary observer. 
 The angle of the edge is 60° to 80°, or even 90°, which is, as 
 you know, a right angle, and is that most generally used 
 for the cutting edges of tools intended for brass, as U, Y, 
 W, of which y is a most useful pattern. Those for hard 
 wood have edges a little more keen, but after all they 
 scrape rather than cut ; the only tools for wood with keen 
 edges being the gouge and chisel. 
 
 P are callij)ers for measuring the outside of work of all 
 kinds. Q and R are the same, arranged for in and outside 
 work. The first is an ordinary pair closed until the ends 
 have crossed, which they will all do ; bat if the inside of 
 hollow work to be gauged is small, they will not enter it. 
 In this case none are so generally useful as the in-and-out 
 callipers, E, for when accurately made (and if not you can 
 easily correct them with a small file), the one end will 
 measure the external diameter of work, and at the same 
 time the other end will be found to have its points separated 
 to such a distance, that if you were to turn a box or chuck 
 to this inside measure, the cylinder first turned will exactly 
 fit it. Thus if you turn a box-cover, and take the size of 
 it with the straight end of the callipers, and then turn 
 down the rim of the box until it is just the size indicated 
 
120 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 Ly the curved ends, the one will exactly fit the other. In 
 turning- a piston to fit the cylinder of an engine, you would 
 work with this useful tool. 
 
 S is the turner's square. The blade slides stiflly and accu- 
 rately in a slot in the brass, being kept by a spring at one side 
 from working loose. Tliis square is used to gauge the depth 
 of boxes and other works which are to be turned to an exact 
 size, and it also serves to test the squareness of many kinds 
 of work. Suppose, for instance, you had turned a box, you 
 would put the blade of this tool against the bottom and 
 press ujDon it till the brass rested across the rim, touching 
 it in two opposite places. Now possibly the inside may be 
 smaller at the bottom than at the top. Test it by bringing 
 the steel blade edgewise against it. You will see whether 
 the brass still touches in two places across the mouth of 
 the box. The squareness of the outside with the top or 
 bottom can be tested in a similar way. ^^^e shall have 
 occasion to recur to this when we come to boring and fit- 
 ting engine cylinders. 
 
 is another small square, which is often serviceable 
 where the carj)enter's square cannot be used. If you intend 
 to make models, you will want both of these ; at the same 
 time, it is quite possible to make the latter of iron, or even 
 thick tin, if you have the former, as an acctu-ate guide to 
 work by. 
 
 T represents a pair of spring-compasses or callipers. 
 
TURNING TOOLS. 
 
 121 
 
 They are used to set off distances, and have the advantage 
 of not being liable to shift their position when once they 
 are set to any required width. You will require a pair of 
 compasses of some sort, and if not already provided, these- 
 are the best you can have. 
 
 There are many other tools, which, though not absolutely 
 turning tools, are more or less used in connection with the 
 lathe, but these need not now be further alluded to, and I 
 shall go on to describe as clearly as possible the method of 
 working at the lathe with hand-tools, commencing with the 
 operation of turning soft wood with the gouge and chisel ; 
 but I must first give a short chapter upon the nature oi 
 woods used. 
 
Chapter VIII. 
 
 S different materials require somewjiat different 
 management, and even in the matter of wood 
 alone this rule holds good, it may be as well 
 to have some idea of what is meant by hard 
 and soft wood. 
 
 The young mechanic has most likely hitherto considered 
 all wood under one head ; but there is a vast difference, 
 nevertheless, in the internal structure, even of such kinds 
 as grow in England; and the woods of foreign countries 
 differ again from these, some being of such close texture 
 that it is almost impossible to work them with ordinary 
 tools, and some (such as the palm) being little else than 
 gigantic ferns, and in structure like that much-di'eaded 
 implement of flagellation — the schoolmaster's cane. 
 
 In England the hardest wood found is that of the box- 
 tree, the chief place of which is in Surrey, at Box Hill; it 
 
MATERIALS FOR TURNING. 
 
 is, nevertheless, found scattered here and there in all parts 
 of the country, but not generally of a size greater than 3 
 inches in diameter. It is of very slow growth, and our own 
 country would not nearly satisfy the demand made for it 
 by various trades. Hence a large quantity of box, of larger 
 growth, and generally of harder and better quality, is im- 
 ported every year from Turkey, to be used in the construc- 
 tion of blocks for engravers, who alone require many 
 tons weight annually, and for carpenters' rules, mallets, 
 turned boxes, and tool-handles ; to which I may add the 
 important item of peg-tops. I fear some of my readers 
 may think I should have placed these first on the list ! 
 Opinions, however, I imagine, differ in this particular, as 
 in most others, and upon all subjects. 
 
 The grain of boxwood is so close and even that it is one 
 of the most valuable turning materials we possess. It 
 takes excellent screw-threads, provided they are not too 
 fine ; is a very general material for boxes of all kinds, and 
 also for chucks, although there is really no reason why it 
 should be wasted in so applying it, when other woods oi 
 less value make such efficient substitutes. Probably its 
 use for this purpose arose from the facility with which a 
 screw can be cut in it to fit that on the mandrel, and that 
 it is so hard as not to allow the collar beyond the screw to 
 make much impression upon it. In consequence, when it 
 is well fitted, such a chuck can be screwed on many times 
 
124 • • THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 exactly to the same point, and will continue to run true. 
 But I myself have found that if the mandi el-screw is not 
 very coarse, the threads cut in the inside of the chuck are 
 apt to break off. 
 
 Somewhat similar in texture, though by no means 
 generally used, is the wood of the Elder, which is quite 
 different, be it observed, from the Alder, although I often 
 hear the names confounded together. The wood I allude 
 to is that of the tree which bears umbels of sweet, white 
 blossoms, which give place to those jet-black berries we 
 find upon them late in summer, and which are made into 
 elder-wine, for home consumption at Christmas, when, no 
 doubt, most of my readers have drunk it, hot and spicy and 
 ' sugary, to keep out the wintry cold. From the same tree 
 are commonly made those harmless engines of mimic war- 
 fare — pop-guns ! 
 
 If it were not for the presence of the pith, which is in 
 fact the very quality which makes it valuable to boys for the 
 latter purpose, this wood would certainly have been eagerly 
 seized upon by turners. Even with this defect, it is used 
 instead of box for the inferior kinds of carpenter's rules 
 and other purposes, and the larger pieces will make very 
 good chucks, if a little care is exercised to prevent splitting 
 them. It is indeed a wood that might be far more exten- 
 sively used in this way than it is. 
 
 The Yew, perhaps, should come next in order, for this toe 
 
MATERIALS FOR TURNING.., . 125 
 
 _ . 
 
 is very close-grained and very beautiful, and wjmn- highly 
 polished it will bear comparison with many foreign woods 
 which we import at a high price ; it is, however, brittle and 
 apt to splinter. 
 
 Walnut varies considerably in quality, some being 
 harder and richer in grain than others. This wood, how- 
 ever, is not to be classed among those which are properly 
 speaking hard^ as it can be cut with ease, and can only be 
 planed and worked as deal would be, viz., rcith the grain; 
 whereas the hard woods work with almost equal facility in 
 either direction. This indeed in a great measure consti- 
 tutes the difference between soft and hard woods, in the 
 turner's sense of the words. If you were to hold a chisel 
 flat on the rest, so as to let it scrape a cylinder of wood as 
 it revolved in the lathe, you would find in some cases that 
 it would tear out the fibres in shreds — these are soft woods. 
 In other cases it would leave the surface rough but other- 
 wise tolerably even, and with some it would leave the same 
 fairly turned. 
 
 I cannot call to mind any English wood but box that 
 can be turned by a chisel held so as to scrape it, but the 
 greater number of foreign woods are always turned in this 
 manner, being hard and close in the grain. 
 
 Birch. — Oh, once-dreaded tree ! birch ! with its long, 
 swaying, switchy boughs, drooping as in sorrow at the 
 mean uses to which it was applied! It is nevertheless a very 
 
126 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 useful tree, and the young mechanic can take full revenge 
 upon it bv cutting, and -chipping, and turning it into all 
 sorts of useful articles. It is, however, now more generally 
 used in cabinetmaking, for wardrobes, bedsteads, chests ot 
 drawers, and such like, as it looks very neat when planed 
 and varnished. Perhaps, as a wood for the exercise of the 
 turner's art, it must give place to 
 
 Beech, which is a common and excellent material for 
 the essays of beginners, who can turn tool handles espe- 
 cially from the small trimmed billets of it which are kept 
 by the chairmakers, and which can generally be bought for 
 a trifling sum in any town, and in many villages. If not, 
 the wheelwright may be applied to for a supply, as he uses 
 it rather extensively for the felloes of his wheels. It is 
 peculiarly liable to the attacks of the little worm, weevil or 
 maggot, who drills such innumerable and such beautifully 
 round holes in furniture that stands long unused. 
 
 Beech is often used for the screws of carpenters' benches, 
 as it takes very well a thread of such size as is required for 
 that purpose. It will also, for the same reason, answer 
 very well for chucks, for which it has the recommendation 
 (,f cheapness and toughness. 
 
 Ash seems to come next upon the list. It is probably 
 the most useful of all English woods, and where toughness, 
 pliability, with moderate hardness, are valuable qualities, 
 no English wood can exceed it. For frames of carts and 
 
MATERIALS FOR TURNING. 
 
 127 
 
 carriages, shafts, agricultural implements, wheelbarrows, 
 and smaller articles of husbandry, it is precisely what is 
 needed, and in the workshop of the turner it is equally 
 valuable. Tool-handles of ash are very durable, and hold 
 the tool with great firmness, owing to the natural elasticity 
 of the material. It may be stained and polished, and is 
 then, for real work^ preferable to the more costly hard 
 woods of which handles are very generally made for th^^ 
 workshops of rich amateur mechanics. 
 
 Oak is little used for turning, the grain being too coarse. 
 The young mechanic need never make use of it for this 
 purpose, and the same may be said of the elm. 
 
 Elm is, nevertheless, used by turners for the wooden 
 buckets of pumps, and is a generally useful wood. Bulk 
 for bulk, it is lighter than beech, and it makes a good 
 material, it is said, for lathe beds, though beech is more 
 frequently used. It will answer for chucks, as indeed 
 most woods will that can be cut into screws ; it is very 
 tough. 
 
 Evergreen Oak, or Holm Oak, as it is called, is very 
 different to the forest tree, and might be classed among 
 shrubs. When dry, it is by no means a bad wood to turn, 
 and will take a good screw thread, and make excellent 
 chucks. 
 
 Acacia is an excellent wood. It is of a yellowish brown 
 colour, tolerably hard, and will take a good polish. It is 
 
[28 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 most certainly to Le set down among the woods valuable to 
 the turner. 
 
 Sycamore is white, very soft until old, when it becomes 
 much harder. This is also a turner's wood, and used ex- 
 tensively for wooden bowls, backs of brushes, turned boxes, 
 and what is generally called " turnery." A little of tliis 
 will be useful to the young mechanic. It will make excel- 
 lent bread platters, stands for hot water jugs, and such 
 like. 
 
 Holly. — The Christmas garland, with its red berries 
 decorating even the poorest homes in midwinter, is a tree 
 well worth the attention of the young mechanic. It is his 
 substitute for the more precious material ivory, and from 
 it he will turn the white draught or chess men, boxes, and 
 many small articles. But it is necessary that this material 
 should be perfectly dry, and to get it in perfection, care- 
 fully preserved to insure its whiteness, it will be generally 
 necessary to procure it ready for the lathe at some lathe- 
 maker's, or at first-class cabinetmakers'. K cut green, it 
 requires long seasoning, during which it shrinks consider- 
 ably. In fact, it takes some years entirely to rid it of the 
 great quantity of moisture which it contains. It is well 
 worth procuring, nevertheless, for it is nearly as white and 
 free from grain as ivory. 
 
 Many of the fruit-trees of our orchards and gardens 
 supply good material to the turner. Apple. Pear, 
 
MATERIALS FOR TURNING. 
 
 Cherry, Plum, and some others, are all more or less 
 useful. The grain of the first is rather dark, the fibres 
 often twisted. It looks well when polished. 
 
 Pear has a very fine, even grain, and is largely used 
 for making the curved templates (or patterns of curves for 
 architects and engineers) ; it will make good boxes, and is 
 fairly serviceable to the turner. Its colour is light brown,, 
 but darkens by exposure. 
 
 The Plum has a wood veined very like that of the elm, 
 but is a finer and better wood for the lathe. This is the 
 wild plum, and not the grafted fruit-tree of our gardens,- 
 which is not nearly so good. The wild plum is excellent 
 for small boxes, and looks well when nicely turned and. 
 polished. 
 
 Cherry is a very excellent wood, and naughty, fast boys, 
 
 who take to smoking, like young Americans, when they 
 
 ought to be filling their young brains wdth knowledge 
 
 instead of narcotics, know very well that it is made into 
 
 pipes and stems of pipes. Happily this is not its only 
 
 use, for it is fit for many other purposes ; and for light, 
 
 elegant furniture, it is scarcely to be equalled. Dipped in- 
 
 lime-water, it darkens, and by doing this here and there, a 
 
 beautiful mottled appearance is given to it. It takes an 
 
 excellent polish, and should be among the stores of the 
 
 young mechanic. 
 
 We now come to another soft, white wood. The Lime, 
 
 1 
 
T30 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC, 
 
 which, as it is more even in grain, more easily cut in 
 any direction than most woods, is greatly used by carvera 
 and pattern-makers {i.e,^ those who make wooden patterns 
 of wheels, or lathes, or machinery, which are to be cast in 
 metal). [The pattern is pressed into damp sand, and then 
 removed, and the melted metal is then poured into the im- 
 pression thus made. If the sand is too wet, the process 
 will not only fail, but the hot metal will be scattered on all 
 sides, inflicting dreadful burns and injuries ; but with care, 
 the young amateur may make castings in tin or lead, as will 
 be explained by and by.] Even with a penknife alone, 
 very pretty ornaments may be carved from the wood of the 
 lime, and also /lom that which follows. 
 
 Willow. — This is even softer than the last, and will 
 plane into long, thin shavings, which are made into hats. 
 (Once on a time I should have said " and bonnetSj^ but in 
 these days no one would recognise such articles. They are 
 fast fading out of existence ; but I think quite as much 
 sound sense used to be found under them as is now found 
 under the very inefficient substitutes worn by ladies of the 
 present day.) This wood will, of course, turn very easily, 
 but requires very keen tools. In fact, skcerp gouges and 
 chisels are invariably necessary for soft wood turning. 
 Get some dry willow by all means, if you can. 
 
 The last wood of English growth which the young 
 mechanic is likely to meet with is the thorn. This grows 
 
MATERIALS FOR TURNING, 
 
 to a tolerably large size, and is hard, close-grained, white, 
 and altogether a good and serviceable wood. It will 
 make capital chucks, taking a clean screw-thread, is easily 
 procured, and is therefore strongly recommended to the 
 notice of the young mechanic. The woods above named, 
 except box, are all to be considered soft woods, and will 
 work with gouge and chisel; but box, thorn, elder, and one 
 or two of the more close-grained, will turn pretty well, and 
 can be smoothly hollowed out, with hard wood tools held 
 horizontally upon the rest. 
 
 HARD WOODS. 
 
 All those woods, properly called hard^ including the best 
 box, are of foreign growth, mostly coming from the Tropics. 
 I do not know why they should be so much harder than 
 those of temperate climes, but so it is. There are, however, 
 woods in New Zealand, of which the temperature is similar 
 to that of our own country, which are also exceedingly hard 
 and difficult to work. A very large number of foreign 
 woods are yearly brought to England in logs or billets or 
 planks, some of very large size, and all of great weight. 
 They are mostly liable to one defect, viz., rottenness of the 
 core or heart, which limits the size of the pieces which can 
 be cut from them. They can all be procured from the 
 London lathe and tool shops, and there are also dealers in 
 these woods (Jacques of Covent Garden, Mundy & Berrie 
 
THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 of Bunhill Row, and some others). It is almost impossible 
 to procm-e them in the country, but rosewood, ebony, king- 
 wood, &c. , may be sometimes had in such small pieces as 
 the young mechanic may require, at the cabinetmakers'. 
 Among the most useful are — • 
 
 Ebony, of which there are two or three kinds, some 
 harder and more close-grained and blacker than others, 
 and one which is called green ebony, which is like lignum- 
 vitae (an English wood, but which grows to a larger size 
 abroad ; indeed, many so called English woods are not 
 really so, but have been brought from other countries to be 
 grown here). The general colour is green, but the veins 
 are rather darker. Bowls and skittle-balls are made ot 
 it. It is not, however, of the same general use as the 
 black ebony, which is very largely used both for cabinet- 
 work and turning. 
 
 Black Ebony is very close and hard, and, of course, pro- 
 portionately heavy. It splits readily, but when chopped, 
 the chips come off more like charcoal, showing no con- 
 sistency. This is the kind imported from the Indies, and 
 especially from Madagascar and Mauritius, and is the best 
 for all kinds of turned work. Portugal affords another 
 kind, which bears the same name, but is more brown than 
 black, and softer, less compact in grain, and generally 
 of less value. Ebony will bear eccentric work, and all 
 kinds of beautiful carving and ornamentation in the lathe. 
 
MATERIALS FOR TURNING. 
 
 Rose-wood is very commonlj^ used for furniture and 
 turned work. It is a rich red wood, grained with black. It 
 is not very hard, less so than ebony, and has more evident 
 grain or fibre. It turns well, and some pieces are very 
 handsome. 
 
 African Black-wood is in appearance similar to ebony, 
 but it is even more close and compact, and is the most valu- 
 able of all to the ornamental turner. When this or ebony is 
 set off by being inlaid with ivory, or even holly, it is very 
 lovely in its intense and brilliant blackness. Either this 
 or ebony is used for black pieces for the chessboard or 
 draughtboard, though stained boxwood, being less costly, 
 is sometimes made to take its place. 
 
 African Cam-wood is a very beautiful material when 
 first cut. Its rich red tint is diversified with the most 
 brilliant yellow streaks. Unfortunately, however, these 
 are not lasting. Exposed to the air, they gradually become 
 darker, until they become red like the rest of the wood. 
 This material, however, has a fine, close grain, is a genuine 
 hard wood, and of general use to the turner for ornamental 
 articles of various kinds. 
 
 Tulip-wood is not very hard. Cut across the log, the 
 appearance is fine, owing to the rings of growth being 
 wavy and irregular, in dark and light red alternations, that 
 reminds one of the flower after which it is called. This 
 tree, indeed, which grows to a large size, bears flowers 
 
134 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC, 
 
 similar to those of our gardens imported from Holland, 
 which grow upon short perpendicular stems. The centre or 
 core of tulip-wood is generally rotten. It sucks up a good 
 deal of polish before the grain shows out brightly and 
 strongly, from being less hard and more fibrous than many 
 others named above. 
 
 Partridge-wood is a nice, hard, and very pretty wood, 
 rather dark or gray. The fibres seem to run both ways, 
 giving a mottled appearance when turned. 
 
 Coral-wood is bright red, hard, and close in grain, well 
 suited for red chessmen, where that colour is preferred to 
 black. It looks very handsome in the midst of other 
 coloured specimens; otherwise, like all material of one 
 tint and free from veined lines, there is too much uniformity 
 of appearance to make it pleasing to the eye of one who is 
 gifted with appreciation of colour. 
 
 It is not necessary for me to go in order through a long 
 list of foreign woods. The very young mechanic, unless 
 living in London, will seldom meet with many of them ; 
 and a very good selection for the advanced turner will be 
 composed of the following : — 
 
 Black Ebony. 
 
 Cocoa or Cocus, which is not the cocoa-nut tree, this 
 being a palm, the wood of which is stringy like a fern or a 
 cane ; whereas, cocoa or cocus is firm, hard, and excellent. 
 
 Black- wooDjWhich cuts finely with tools for eccentric work. 
 
MATERIALS FOR TURNING. 135 
 
 King-wood, a good and useful wood, something akin in 
 appearance to rosewood. 
 
 Satin-wood, pale yellow grain, like watered silk, turns 
 very well, but is by no means hard ; there is also a red 
 satinwood. 
 
 Rose- WOOD, already described ; it loses colour after 
 exposure, and is most beautiful newly cut. 
 
 If the above are added to the most useful of the English 
 woods described above, it will scarcely be worth while to 
 add to them except as specimens. It is, however, very 
 interesting to collect and arrange these, and it is an em- 
 ployment well worthy of the attention of the young 
 mechanic. Thin slices cut across the grain, and some- 
 times, or in addition, slices cut with the grain, should be 
 arranged in order after being trimmed to shape (round, 
 square, or triangular, or even six-sided). They should be 
 very carefully polished to bring up the grain, and labelled 
 with the common and Latin (or botanical) name. The 
 country from which procured, with short notes relative to 
 the size and general growth of the tree, should be added. 
 This will compel inquiry, and a great deal of information 
 will be thus gained and stored up. A similar collection of 
 English woods may be made, and, of course, with much 
 greater ease. 
 
 It will be observed that I have said nothing of the pines, 
 deal, and larch. They are extensively turned in the lathe ; 
 
THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 the gTcater part of the common painted furniture being 
 made therefrom ; but deal is, nevertheless, not a turning 
 wood. It splits easily, has an open grain, with fibres 
 loosely connected, and although it can be cut into mould- 
 ings with sharp chisels and gouges, it generally needs a 
 little rubbing with Dutch rush, fish-skin, or glass-paper ; 
 after which, a handful of its own shavings held against it 
 as it revolves rapidly in the lathe, is the best polisher. Ot 
 course, however, it may be varnished, and of late years it 
 has become fashionable, when thus finished, for bedroom 
 furniture. It is, however, in this case generally improved 
 and embellished, by having thin strips of coloured woods 
 inlaid in its sm^face. It is useless for hollow work; and 
 wood that cannot be hollowed out satisfactorily, is not to be 
 classed among those suitable for the turner. 
 
 Whenever you have time to spare, and are not inclined 
 to turn, yet feel disposed to wander into your workshop, it 
 is a good plan to trim and prepare pieces of wood for the 
 lathe. You need a chopping-block, which is the end of a 
 stick of timber sawn evenly across, and stood up in some 
 out-of-the-way corner where chips will not be much in the 
 way, and a light axe or adze, which latter is said to be the 
 best. It is called the Jbassoohlah or Indian adze, but I 
 never had one, nor ever saw it mentioned, except in one 
 very excellent book by the late Charles Holtzappftel of 
 London, who, indeed, keeps these tools. But a light axe is 
 
THE PARING-KNIFE. 
 
 137 
 
 easily obtained, and will do very well. Take care to saw 
 tlie pieces off truly square — I mean straight across the log, 
 and not slanting either way. Cut some from your ever- 
 green oak, or beech, or elm, for ciiucks, remembering to 
 have length for the mandrel screw, beyond what you will 
 probably need for hollowing out, to take the pieces to be 
 turned. Cut some longer than others, and from larger or 
 smaller pieces ; from 2-inch diameter to 4, which is a useful 
 general size. But your lathe of 5-inch centre will take 
 chucks or work of nearly 10 inches, so you can cut some 
 few pieces rather larger. Probably, your only work of 6 to 
 9 inches diameter will be an occasional bread-platter, or a 
 .stand of some sort ; your general work will be much less. 
 Besides chucks, of which the number is in time very great, 
 you will be constantly wanting tool-handles. Cut some 
 for these, and placing one end on the chopping-block, trim 
 them to something like the required size, but a good deal 
 larger round than you think necessary, because you will 
 find that the size will deceive you frequently. 
 
 For finally trimming up short pieces, a peculiar knife is 
 used by the lathe and tool makers ; and when you can spare 
 the money you should get one, as you will find it easy to 
 use, and it will save you many a cut from the axe. In 
 fact, I never advise very young mechanics to make use of 
 the latter tool. It requires practice, strength, and a good 
 deal of skill to use it well ; and nothing is more easy than 
 
138 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 to lop off the end of a finger or thumb, and, unfortunately, 
 nothing is more difficult than to repair the diimage. The 
 paring-knife for short thick pieces mentioned above, is 
 made like D, Fig. 43. It consists of a long and curved 
 
 Fig. 43. 
 
 handle, turned up at one end to fit under a staple, E, with a 
 cross piece of wood for the hand at the other end, and a broad 
 strong blade with one bevel in the middle — (by one bevel I 
 mean, that the edge is not like that of an axe, but like that 
 
THE DRA WKNIFE. 
 
 139 
 
 of a carpenter's chisel, the bevel or sloping part being out- 
 side). C is the piece of wood to be pared, A the bottom 
 board or platform, B a block fastened to it, and made on a 
 slope to prevent the tendency of the wood to slip away from 
 the knife. The whole of this may be screwed down to the 
 bench, or to a heavy stool when in use. The hook and 
 ferule should not be made so large and loose as in the 
 drawing, and a better joint is that of an ordinary hinge. 
 If made loosely, the blade twists about too much from side 
 to side, escaping from the wood. There is no danger to the 
 fingers from this useful tool, which the young mechanic 
 should add to his workshop as soon as he can. 
 
 Another useful and easily-constructed apparatus for the 
 preparation of long pieces is the shave -stool, used by 
 coopers and chairmakers to hold the pieces securely while 
 they are being shaped by the double-handled shave or 
 drawknife, as it is often called, a tool omitted from our 
 list, but very useful all the same. This is sketched at B, 
 Fig. 43. It is often very roughly made, the chief necessity 
 being that it shall be strong. It answers also for a sawing- 
 stool. Upon the stool or bench. A, is fixed a sloping block, 
 B. A swinging frame, C, is hinged or pivoted at D, so 
 that if the lower part is pushed back from left to right, 
 the upper cross-bar, E, will come forward and almost touch 
 the highest part of the sloping block, B, so that any piece 
 of wood, such as F, will thereby be pinched and held tightly 
 
T40 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 between the rail, E, and the block. The workman sits 
 astride of the stool at A, facing the block, and his feet are 
 l)laced on the bar C. When he wishes to hold the wood 
 which is to be shaved by the draw-knife C, he presses from 
 him with his feet the lower part of the frame, and he can 
 instantly loosen the wood by drawing his feet towards 
 liim. The movement is made in a moment, and the wood 
 shifted round as required, and alternately turned about and 
 held tight, while the drawknife is used almost ceaselessly. 
 A very few minutes generally suffices thus to pare down 
 a rough piece for the lathe. The cross-bar, E, should be 
 tolerably strong, and is better if not rounded very nicely, 
 as the edges help to hold the wood. The latter is sure not 
 to slip away, because the pull of the drawknife tends to 
 draw it up higher on the slope of the block, which pulls it 
 into a still narrower opening. Nothing can exceed the 
 ease with which this appliance is used, and the rapidity 
 with which the required operation can be carried on. No 
 wood-turner's shop should be without one. 
 
 ORDER AND ARRANGEMENT OF TOOLS. 
 
 I must say a word or two as to neatness and order, 
 especially in the arrangement of tools and appliances for 
 the lathe. Whether you have a dozen tools or a hundred, 
 always put them in the same place ^ so that any particular 
 article can be found instantly, no time being wasted 
 
TOOL- RACK. 
 
 141 
 
 hunting up and down, or examining a long row of tools for 
 the one requii-ed at that particular time. Turning tools, 
 moreover, should be kept distinct from those used for 
 carpentry, and in a special rack by themselves. The best 
 tool-rack, I think, which can be made, is one like Fig. 44. 
 
 Fig. 44 
 
 This may be made of deal, but the pieces between the holes 
 are thus liable to get split off, and beech or ash is therefore 
 preferable. The whole frame is made to be screwed to the 
 wall ; or, if the latter is damp, the frame should be first 
 screwed to a board covered with baize, and this, in turn, 
 fixed to the wall. Thus arranged, it will have a very neat 
 
142 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 appearance, and the tools being kept dry, will remain 
 generally free from rust. Tliey should, nevertheless, be 
 carefully looked over once a week and wiped, when those 
 requiring to be ground should be subjected to that opera- 
 tion, and thus be ready for future use when required. They 
 are bad workmen who allow blunt or damaged tools to ac- 
 cumulate, instead of at once setting them in order. The hori- 
 zontal bars are bored with holes by means of a centrebit. 
 The holes must be arranged as to size by the measurement 
 of the ferules of the tool handles, some being larger and 
 some smaller, so that when the tool is placed in any hole, 
 the handle will drop in to the depth of the ferule and fit. 
 Thus the tools will all stand upright, instead of leaning 
 from one side or the other. After the holes are made, a 
 piece is cut out (see fig. B) at the front edge, because the 
 blades of some tools are wider than the ferules, and, in 
 addition, if this were not done, the difierent tool-rails must 
 be as far apart as the whole length of the tool (handle and 
 all included), to allow of the latter being lifted sufficiently 
 high to drop into the holes. 
 
 The strips for the holes should be about 2 inches wide, 
 the lower one, for the larger chisels and gouges, rather 
 wider than the upper ones. Sometimes these tool-racks 
 are fitted up inside a cabinet, whose doors have similar 
 racks ; thus all can be shut in out of the reach of dust and 
 dirt. Holtzappffe], the great lathemaker of London, fits 
 
TOOL-RACK. 
 
 up such cabinets complete in oak or mahogany, all the 
 tools being handled in hard wood and turned to one 
 pattern. The cost, however, £5 and upwards, renders 
 such less desirable to ti e young meolionic, who can rig up 
 a common tool-rack, which will serve his purpose equally 
 well. It is also far more satisfactory, in looking round 
 your workshop, to feel that you have at all events been as 
 little extravagant as possible, for amateurs get no return 
 for outlay as tradesmen do. 
 
Chapter IX. 
 
 f^-^'HERE is no operation in wliich tlie young 
 mechanic is so miicli at fault as in that of 
 [^L ^ grinding and setting in order the various tools 
 he has to use. Nevertheless he will never be- 
 come either an independent workman or a good one, if he 
 has to depend upon others for this necessary labour. 
 
 No doubt, to sharpen a tool which is in very bad order 
 is a tedious and tiresome job ; but it is not so wearisome 
 an affair to keep tools in condition for work, after they 
 have been once thoroughly sharpened by one who under- 
 stands how to do it. Never, therefore, use a blunt tool, but 
 at once go to the hone or grindstone with it, and put it in 
 first-rate order. Time thus employed is never wasted, but 
 rather saved ; and the result will appear invariably in the 
 work which you are engaged upon. You must, in the first 
 place, understand precisely what it is you have to do ; and 
 
THE ANGLES OF TOOLS. 
 
 145 
 
 although the following details may be by some considereil 
 more adapted for advanced students than for young me- 
 chanics, a little attention to the explanations will render the 
 matter clear to any boy of age and intelligence to take in 
 hand, with reasonable prospect of success, the tools of the 
 carpenter, turner, and fitter. I can only say, that boys of 
 this generation are wonderfully well off in having these 
 things explained to them. Twenty years ago young me- 
 chanics had to grope along in the dark, ignorant to a great 
 extent of 'principles of work, and almost equally unin- 
 structed in the practical part of it. 
 
 In Fig. 45 are represented similar angles to those already 
 explained to you, and you will quickly understand how use- 
 ful is a little knowledge of the elements of mathematics. 
 Suppose A to be a tool, the angle of the point is a right 
 angle, or 90°. B is another of 60° at the point, and I have 
 drawn a line across to show you that the three sides of this 
 figure (called a triangle) are equal. So remember that if 
 you want an angle of 60°, you have only to draw a triangle 
 of three equal sides, and each of these angles will be 60°. 
 Again, I may as well remind you that three times 60° equals' 
 180°, which is equal to two right angles^ so we find here that 
 the three angles of an equal-sided triangle equal two right 
 angles, and even if the sides are not equal, the same thing 
 is true. For instance, look at the first tool, across which I 
 have also drawn a line to make a triangle. The point we 
 
146 THE YOUNG MECHANIC, 
 
 know is 90^, and if the sides, a b, are equal (although, the 
 third line is not equal to either), the two small angles are 
 
 45 
 
 
 
 A 
 
 
 
 K 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 A 
 
 
 B 
 
 
 C 
 
 
 D 
 
 Fig. 45. 
 
 each 45°, i.e., 90° between them, so the three angles again 
 equal 180°. 
 
THE ANGLES OF TOOLS. 
 
 147 
 
 The third tool (which we may suppose a turner's chisel 
 held edgewise) is shown to have an angle of 30°, and I have 
 added one more which has an angle of 45°. Now all tools, 
 if w^/^ ground, are ground to a certain known angle, accord- 
 ing to the material which they are intended to cut. Tools 
 intended to cut soft woods, like deal, are ground to an angle 
 of 20° to 30°, like the chisel seen edgewise. I shall have a 
 word to say presently as to the direction in which such 
 tools are to be held, in order to make them cut' as well as 
 possible. A tool for hard wood is given next at E. The 
 angle is now at least 40°, and it ranges up to 80°, giving a 
 stronger, thicker edge, but not so keen a one. AYe have, 
 therefore, more of a scraping tool than a cutting one, — at 
 least, in the way it is usually held. Then we come to the 
 tools with which iron is turned and steel also. Fig. F is 
 one of these, and the usual angle is 60°, and thence it 
 ranges to 90°. Thus you see, advancing from soft wood 
 tools to those for hard wood, and thence to a substance still 
 harder, we have increased the angle of the edge, beginning 
 at 30° and ending with 80° or 90°. But now we come to a 
 material Avhich is harder than wood and not so hard as 
 iron, yet we use tools with an angle of 90°, which is still 
 greater, and 70° is the least angle ever used for this metal. 
 
 Experience only has taught the proper angle for tools, 
 and it is found, that if brass and gun-metal are turned with 
 tools of a less angle than 70°, they only catch into the 
 
148 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 material, and do not work at all satisfactorily. Yoii can, 
 however, scrape brass, as a finish, with the thin edge of a 
 common chisel ; but then the tool is held so as to scrape 
 very lightly and polish ; and its edge will not remain many 
 minutes, unless the maker (intending it to be so used) has 
 made it much harder than he would make it for sofc wood 
 cutting. 
 
 If you buy your tools at any good shop, you will find that 
 they are already ground to nearly the angles named, and 
 when you re-grind them, you must endeavour to keep them 
 to the same. The bevel, as it is called, of many tools need 
 not be ground at all, as they may be sharpened solely by 
 rubbing the upper face on a hone, or grinding it, holding it 
 so that the stone shall act equally on all parts of it. If, 
 however, the tool should become notched, you must grind 
 the bevel of it, and then you must try and keep the 
 intended angle. One tool, however, or rather one pair of 
 tools, viz., turning-gouges and chisels, are very seldom 
 ground with a sufficiently long bevel when they first come 
 from the maker. The usual shape of the edge is like G, 
 whereas the angle should be much less, as seen at H. This 
 you must correct when you first grind the tools for use, and 
 keep the same long bevel and small angle of edge continu- 
 ally afterwards, for you will never make good work on soft 
 wood if your chisels and gouges are ground with too short 
 a bevel. 
 
THE ANGLES OF TOOLS. 
 
 149 
 
 I must also guard you against another common error, 
 which, however, is very difficult to avoid at first, and only 
 long practice will enable you entirely to overcome it. I, is 
 the chisel (held edgewise as before) ground as it ought to 
 be ; K is the same tool ground as it generally is by young- 
 hands ; or, even if it is correctly formed at the grindstone, 
 one or two applications to the oilstone almost invariably 
 round it off as shown. The bevel of all tools must be kept 
 quite flat and even, and when the tool is afterwards rubbed 
 on the oilstone to give a finish to the edge, another flat, 
 even bevel should be made. In the same figure at L is an 
 exaggerated view of the chisel, with its first long bevel 
 formed at the grindstone, and the second very small 
 bright bevel seen at the extreme edge of all such tools 
 when they have been set upon the oilstone. This second 
 bevel, slight as it is, you will at once understand makes 
 the angle of the edge a little larger, therefore you must 
 allow for it, and grind a little keener edge than you really 
 require. 
 
 Now, all this is very simple and easy to understand, and 
 when you have mastered this much, you will be in a fair 
 way to understand more. The second part of the subject, 
 nevertheless, requires very close attention, and very likely 
 may not become quite clear to you when explained. I shall 
 therefore draw a line here, and make this lesson a special 
 paragraph, which you can look back to some other day, 
 
THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 when you are grown from a boy-mecbanic to a man, and 
 have bad more experience in cutting and turning wood and 
 metal. 
 
 HE tools above described bave tbeir cutting 
 edges formed by tbe meeting of two planes 
 at a given angle, — these planes being the 
 flat bevels (or the flat top and one bevel) 
 formed by the grindstone. But in some tools three planes 
 meet to form an edge instead of two, and the angle of the 
 cutting edge is not the same as that of either of these, 
 although it depends upon them, and can be nicely calcu- 
 lated. This calculation, however, requires a knowledge of 
 some higher branches of mathematics than the young 
 mechanic is supposed to be acquainted with, and therefore 
 a table is added instead, by which, when the angles of two 
 of these planes are known, the third may be at once 
 seen, which last determines, of course, the angle of the 
 edge. 
 
 As an example, take the graver, of which you will find a 
 drawing among the other tools, but which I give again in 
 this place. M, Fig. 45, is the tool, looking at the face or 
 bevel which has been ground upon it, making a lozenge-shape 
 or diamond. But this face is a third plane and the cutting 
 
THE ANGLES OF TOOLS. 
 
 edges, a and depend for their angles upon all three of 
 these. Now, for iron we want an angle of 60°. How are 
 we to make the edges, a of that exact size ? The bar is 
 first of all square in section, like which would be its 
 shape before the third face or bevel is ground, and all the 
 angles are now right angles of 90° each. But instead of 
 this, we want two of them 60**, the other two being of no 
 importance. We simply proceed thus : — Determine which 
 angle is to become the point of the tool (it is no matter in 
 the present case, as all are alike), then grind away under- 
 neath till the new bevel forms an angle of 45° with the 
 back (by which T mean the edge which runs along from the 
 sharp point towards the handle — the edge x in fig. 0). 
 Trigonometry enables us to find out that an angle of 45° is 
 the one required, but you will find it in the table annexed 
 to this chapter, and an explanation of this table is also 
 given to enable you to use it easily. Thus ground, the 
 edges a h of fig. 0 will be each formed of two planes 
 meeting at an angle of 60°. You can make a gauge of 
 card or tin, P, to work by, of the required angle. 
 
 In order to understand the use of this table, it is necessary 
 to give names to the several angles of a tool. That upon 
 the front or face of the tool, as A of the point-tool, is 
 called the plan-angle ; that made by the upper surface and 
 the front edge, as B (a, being the angle in question), is 
 called the section angle, because, if you were to saw rig] it 
 
THE YOUXG MECHANIC. 
 
 through the central line lengthwise, this is the angle that 
 would appear at the point, viewing it sideways. Now, if 
 
 TABLE OF ANGLES FOR CUTTING TOOLS. 
 
 LA 
 A 
 
 ANGLE 
 
 PLAN 
 ANGLES. 
 
 SECTION ANGLES. 
 
 
 140° 
 
 79° 5" 
 
 69° 
 
 58" 
 
 
 120° 
 
 78° 5" 
 
 ■ 67° 
 
 55' 
 
 
 100° 
 
 77° 
 
 63° 5' 
 
 49° 5' 
 
 
 90° 
 
 76° 
 
 61° 
 
 45° 
 
 
 70° 
 
 72° 5" 
 
 53° 5" 
 
 29° 
 
 Will give cutting edges 
 
 80° 
 
 70° 
 
 60° 
 
 Fig. 46. 
 
 we look at C, Fig. 47, we shall be able to understand how the 
 front line, h c, is obtained, which constitutes one side of the 
 section angle of a tool. It results from the meeting of the 
 two diamond-shaped planes at the sides formed by the 
 
 6 -. 
 
 B 
 
 ':3o 3« 
 
 Fig. 47, 
 
 grindstone, but is dependent also on the plan-angle. These 
 t wo side-planes are to be generally ground at an angle of 
 
THE ANGLES OF TOOLS, 
 
 about 3° from the vertical, which is to give the clearance of 
 the tool if held in a fixed position, as in the tool-holder of 
 a slide-rest, the tool being supposed horizontal. This is 
 in accordance with what I have before told you, viz., that 
 the cutting edge should be presented to the work at the 
 smallest possible angle, 3° being very small indeed. This 
 angle is generally measured by placing the side ground in 
 contact with a cone of wood or metal, turned to an angle 
 of 3°, such as D, — k being a tool the front of which is 
 evidently 3°; or a piece of tin, cut to the same angle, 
 and stood on its edge, will answer the same purpose. By 
 3°, I mean an angle of 3° measured on the circumference of 
 a circle, as I have already explained in a former page, such 
 angle being of course at the centre of the circle where the 
 lines drawn from the several degrees on the circumference 
 meet. 
 
 Now, when you have ground these two surfaces, the line 
 (5 c of B (or C) will have a certain slope or inclination 
 depending on the plan-angle of the point. The exact 
 inclination of it may be therefore said to be accidental ; but, 
 whatever it is, it becomes of great importance in the final 
 result, being one side of the angle which will give any par- 
 ticular angle of cutting edge. And here the table comes 
 into use : — Suppose I wish to have an edge of 60°, for 
 cutting iron. Measure the j»/a7z-angle, — say it is 90°, 
 which is that of the graver ; then, on the table, under the 
 
154 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC, 
 
 words " plan angle,'* you will see 90°, and opposite, above 
 60° of cutting edges," you will see 45°. You have only 
 to grind back the upper face of the tool, until it makes an 
 angle of 45° (section angle) with the front edge or line, h 
 and the edges x x will be angles of 60°. Or take the tool 
 E, of which the plan angle is 120°, and suppose you want 
 cutting edges of 80°, for brass, opposite 120°, and above 
 80°, is 78° 5''. Grind back the top face to an angle of 
 78° 5" (or 78J) with the point line, and it is done. 
 
 Until you have practically proved it, you can have no 
 idea of the vast importance of having correctly-formed 
 cutting edges, and of placing them within a hair's -breadth 
 of the proper position. But it is in slide-rest work espe- 
 cially, and in cutting metal with tools held rigidly in one 
 position, that this is of such paramount importance. It 
 makes all the difference between cutting off a clean shaving, 
 and tearing from the material by main force a quantity of 
 disjointed particles, the latter process leaving a rough 
 unfinished surface, the former producing one as smooth and 
 polished as a sheet of glass ; and the advantage of this 
 short table is, that you can at any time shape your own 
 tools for the particular work in hand. 
 
 After you have had some practice in turning, you should 
 certainly learn to shape your tools from square bars of steel, 
 worn files, and broken steel tools of various kinds ; and 
 before you have arrived at sufficient dexterity to do this 
 
POSITION OF TOOLS. 
 
 155 
 
 entirely by yourself, you will get them roughly shaped for 
 you by the blacksmith, and then with grindstone and file 
 you will further perfect the angles for use. Steel does not 
 require, and must on no account be subjected to, a white 
 heat, or you will spoil it hopelessly ; and you can always 
 heat it in a common fire, or in the little stove that I shall 
 describe in a subsequent chapter, to a temperature that 
 will allow you to bend it into any required form with the 
 hammer and anvil — a bright red being the utmost heat it 
 must be brought to. 
 
 POSITION OF CUTTING TOOLS. 
 
 We must now consider the mode of applying the edge of 
 a tool to the work, so as to produce the best efiect. First, 
 we will consider the case of a gouge and chisel acting upon 
 soft wood. 
 
 In Fig. 48, A represents a piece of wood in the lathe, as 
 you would see it if you stood at one end of it, and a chisel 
 is being held against it. The arrow shows the direction in 
 which the wood is supposed to be revolving. Held thus, 
 the chisel would scrape, and its edge would be carried off 
 at once ; it could not possibly cut. But, held as at B, it 
 would cut ofi" a clean and continuous shaving as the wood 
 revolved against it, and this shaving would slide off along 
 the upper face, 5, of the tool, so that you can see that this face 
 ought to offer the least possible resistance to it. The tool 
 
POSITION OF TOOLS. 
 
 157 
 
 acts, in fact, like a very tliin, sharp wedge, which divides 
 the material by pressure, which has to be great or slight 
 according as the edge is sharp and thin or the contrary. 
 Now, if you again look at A, you will see that this wedge- 
 like action cannot take place , so that the tool is in its 
 worst possible position. 
 
 Between the two positions, however, here shown, are 
 several others at a greater or less angle to the surface ot 
 the wood ; but the smallest possible angle it can make is 
 the best, so long as the thickness of shaving removed will 
 •suffice for your purpose. This rule holds good with all 
 tools, whether carpenters' or turners', which are made with 
 sharp-cutting edges. Care must be taken, however, that 
 the lower face of the tool does not rub against the work, 
 which, again, it is evident, limits to a given degree the 
 angle at which the cutting edge is to be applied to the 
 work. 
 
 We now pass on to C, which represents the ordinary tool 
 for turning iron, held flat upon the rest, the position it 
 usually occupies. We see at once that in this case also we 
 have a scraping tool only, and that, although the angle of 
 the edge is far greater than that of the chisel, it must soon 
 be ground off by the action of the metal to which it is ap- 
 plied, or of the hard wood, which is also cut in this way. 
 But with this form of tool we shall find it impossible to 
 apply it so as to cut in the best way ; because if we lower 
 
/ 
 
 158 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 the handle, as we did that of the chisel, the part below the 
 edge will rub against the work, while the edge itself will 
 be moved out of contact with it. Thus we are obliged to 
 hold the tool in the position first shown ; but we may 
 therefore conclude that the tool itself is a badly formed one 
 for the intended purpose ; and so it is, although you will 
 see it in almost every workshop in the kingdom. Let us 
 see what can be done to improve it. At D, I have repre- 
 sented the same tool, but the blackened part shows what 
 has been filed away from the upper face, and the dotted 
 lines show that, when this has been done, a tool is made 
 very similar to the chisel for wood, and that it is also now 
 in a good position for cutting {not scraping)^ although it is 
 still held horizontally upon the rest. Shavings of iron 
 curl off the upper face of this, as wood shavings curl off 
 upon a chisel. 
 
 If the angle, however, is too small, the edge will soon be 
 broken off, and the tool will dig into the work ; hence the 
 necessity of knowing at what angle a tool ought to be 
 ground to cut any particular metal successfully. 
 
 Such a tool as the last named, which is intended only to 
 cut with the front edge, and which is represented in E, is 
 called a single-edged one, because it only cuts in one 
 direction, but many others are double-edged, cutting the 
 shaving at oiice on the flat and edge — that is, paring it off 
 from the material below and also from the side. For 
 
POSITION OF TOOIS. 
 
 159 
 
 instance, F is a cylinder of iron, from which a shaving is 
 supposed to be in process of being cut. It has to be re- 
 moved from the shoulder to which it is represented as still 
 adhering, and also from the flat surface, e b, around which 
 it was, as it were, once coiled. But this requires two cut- 
 ting edges, both acting at the same time, but in different 
 directions ; and good mechanics therefore so form the tools, 
 and so use them, as to cut in both directions, which leaves 
 the work beautifully smooth and even. 
 
 These tools are mostly used in the slide-rest, where their 
 true position, once determined, can be accurately main- 
 tained; and it is, perhaps, only with the slide-rest that 
 perfect work can be done. There is, however, no reason 
 why you should not use tools of all kinds intelligently, and 
 understand exactly how they should be formed, and how 
 held. Suppose you have a tool correctly made by the aid 
 of the table of tool angles already explained, still looking at 
 fig. F, you can see that the smaller part of the roller is that 
 which is to be left finished, and that it ought to be quite 
 smooth, but the shoulder at a is not of the same degree of 
 importance. A tool fit for such work would evidently be 
 shaped on its plan-angle or face, like H in fig. C or I ; and, 
 if held as seen, both edges would be brought into action at 
 the same time, as will be at once evident on inspection. 
 In practice, however, the two edges would not be allowed 
 to touch for their whole length, or the angle on the right 
 
i6o 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC, 
 
 would leave a scratch upon the finished work ; therefore it 
 would be eased off a little, as at K, L. But this is evidently 
 as nearly as possible the shape and position to be given 
 to such a tool, and the edge which has to leave the 
 finished surface should, as it were, follow the other ; the 
 right-hand angle being just and only just kept out of 
 cut. 
 
 The hand-tools you will generally use are the heel-tool, 
 M, held on the rest as shown, which, you see, brings the 
 edge into cut at the least possible angle to the work, and 
 the nail-head, which is in fact a heel-tool of four faces, or, 
 if round, a heel-tool all edge, and which can be rolled over 
 as it gets blunted. To these add the graver, of which I have 
 already spoken. I have tried to show its position at 0, with 
 the bevel of the face pointed in the direction of the shoulder, 
 and downwards ; but it can be held face upwards also, and 
 in one or two other positions. Always remember that the 
 cutting edge is to be presented at a small angle with the 
 work, and you cannot go wrong if the tool is well formed. 
 The nail-head and heel-tools are single edged, and easily 
 ground without the table of angles, but the graver is a 
 double-edged tool, properly speaking, although only one 
 edge may perhaps be used. 
 
 Having explained the principles upon which you have 
 to work as regards grinding your tools and holding them 
 when in use, I shall merely add a few remarks as to the 
 
GRINDING AND SETTING. i6i 
 
 action of the grindstone and oilstone, and the proper way 
 of using them. 
 
 Always let the stone revolve towards you, as if you had 
 to turn it smooth with the tool you have to sharpen, except 
 when you cannot possibly do so without cutting grooves in 
 it. Chisels, knives, axes, planes, and all similar tools 
 w4th flat edges, are to be ground with the stone running in 
 that direction, by which means you will avoid giving them 
 a wire edge, as it is called {ix.^ a ragged-looking edge), 
 and it will instead be even and sharp ; the filament of 
 metal being, as it were, driven back into the substance of 
 the tool, instead of drawn away from it. Gouges may be 
 ground in the same way, but must be rolled about to keep 
 up the form of edge. It is indeed the easiest way with 
 these to hold them across the stone, in the same direction 
 as its axis, and then, by rolling them over backwards and 
 forwards, you can give a very good shape to the edge, which 
 should run slightly to a point, or rather tend to one. They are 
 never to be ground square across, like that of the carpenter. 
 
 It is generally necessary to have some sort of rest upon 
 which to lay the tools during the operation of grinding,, 
 but do not trust to special contrivances for holding them 
 at the precise angle needed; rather trust to your own skill,, 
 which will increase more and more by being severely exer- 
 cised. Always remember to grind your tools to a sharper 
 angle than will be ultimately required, that the final angle- 
 
 L 
 
t62 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 may be given by the oilstone. Of the latter there are 
 many kinds. Nothing probably can surpass a Turkey 
 stone, if good, but this varies considerably in hardness and 
 other qualities. There is a very quick-cutting, slightly 
 coarse stone from Nova Scotia, which is very serviceable, 
 as it does this tedious work with great rapidity, not, how- 
 ever, putting on the tools a very fine edge, but one that 
 admirably suits for such as are to be used on metal. With 
 the rest, a rub or two on Turkey, or Arkansas, or Chorley 
 Forest stone, will impart a finish. Arkansas stone, how- 
 ever, may be had coarse as well as fine ; it is much liked 
 by some, but I prefer the Nova Scotia, as it cuts more 
 keenly, and even with the sharpest stone, setting tools is a 
 most laborious process. 
 
 The young mechanic will find it very difficult at first to 
 hold the tool steady, and to move it to and fro upon the 
 oilstone so as not to give it any rolling movement, by 
 which the edge and bevel would be rounded, as I before 
 explained, which would in efi'ect enlarge the angle of the 
 cutting edge, besides preventing it from being held at a 
 sufficiently small angle to the work to cut effectively. 
 Nothing but practice will overcome this difficulty ; I shall 
 not therefore attempt to describe exactly how the tool 
 should be held and the sharpening effected, such descrip- 
 tion being not only difficult, but, as experience has proved 
 to me, impossible. 
 
Chapter X. 
 
 E now enter upon the actual work of the lathe, 
 which should be comparatively easy to under- 
 stand after the foregoing observations. 
 Your raw material having been chopped or 
 shaved into a rough cylindrical form, you have to mount it 
 in the lathe. I may suppose it a piece of beech for a tool- 
 handle. If you have the cross-chuck, you should use it ; 
 if not, you may use the prong instead. In either case, 
 centre the wood as truly as you can, so that, when the rest 
 is fixed near it, the piece may not be much farther from it, 
 as it revolves, in one place than another. Mind and screw 
 down the back poppit tightly upon the lathe-bed, and also 
 the rest, putting the latter as near the work as you can 
 without touching it. Now set the lathe in motion, — this 
 is tolerably easy, but to keep it in motion will probably 
 not be easy at all. It is one of those operations which 
 
THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 require practice, because wliile your leg is at work upon 
 the treddle, your body must be firm and still, so that you 
 feel yourself free to use the tools without giving much 
 attention to what your leg is doing. After a while yon 
 will do this with perfect ease. The wood is, of course, to 
 rotate towards you, and the surface will come in contact 
 with the edge of the tool as the latter is held tightly down 
 on the rest. Now, this is, after all, the real difficulty, for 
 every projection striking the tool tends to jerk it off the 
 rest, and this has to be resisted with some force. There is, 
 however, this advantage in hand-tools, viz., that they may 
 be held rigidly yet be allowed some slight play, according 
 to the peculiar exigencies of the work ; and at first you 
 will save the tool by allowing it to yield slightly until the 
 roughest part has been cut away. Afterwards, there is to 
 be no movement except that required to make it follow the 
 curves or level parts of the work. Do your best first to 
 produce a cylinder, i.e.^ a straight, even piece of wood, as 
 long as the required handle, and as large round as the 
 largest part proposed to be given it. It is the best plan at 
 first to copy a well- shaped handle, and to turn as many as 
 you want of that size exactly to the same pattern. This 
 will give you such an amount of practice in copying form, 
 as will stand you in good stead in after days ; for it is not 
 easy at first to turn even two things exactly to pattern 
 and to size. 
 
HAND-TURNING IN WOOD. 
 
 165 
 
 You must not expect to be able to run your tools along 
 the work like a professional or old hand at the lathe ; you 
 must do the best you can. Hold the handle in the right 
 hand, and with the left grasp both rest and tool together, 
 and you will hold it firmly. Then you ought to run it 
 along right or left at the right speed and the right angle, 
 but you will be unable to do so yet ; — never mind. Ee- 
 member the principle I have laid down as to the position 
 and angles of cutting tools, and trust to time and per- 
 severance to make you a good workman. 
 
 The gouge is the easiest and best tool to use at first ; 
 and you can do a fair amount of smooth work with it if you 
 know how, although smoothing and levelling is the special 
 work of the chisel. The gouge, however, is used for all 
 sorts of curves and hollows, and though the actual point 
 will onlj^ turn a groove if held still, the side of the cutting 
 part will, if the tool is steadily advanced, turn very fair 
 surfaces indeed. I strongly advise practice with this tool 
 before attempting to use any other. Your early work is of 
 little importance, and you may make up your mind to cut 
 several pieces into shavings and chips without very grand 
 success, even though you use a chisel ; so I repeat, stick to 
 the gouge only for some time, until you can use it towards 
 left or right, and with either hand grasping the handle. 
 
 With the chisel, far more care is required than with the 
 last named. It is altogether a more ditfirnlt tool to use. 
 
i66 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 Its position may be described as follows, but practice alone 
 will render its use easy. Lay it first flat on the rest as you 
 would the gouge, and let it point upwards at a similar 
 angle, until it also is in the position the gouge would take, 
 ready to cut the piece of wood in the lathe, already turned 
 to the cylindi'ical form by the latter tool. You will find 
 one point or angle of the edge, the sharpest, reach the wood 
 before the other, and will see at once that this would be 
 liable to catch in, if the lathe were in motion — and so it 
 would. I shall suppose that this shai-pest angle is on the 
 right-hand side as it lies flat on the rest, and against the 
 wood. Raise that angle so that the tool lies a little edge- 
 wise on the rest instead of quite flat, when the angle of the 
 tool that is highest on the wood will be also raised off it ; 
 the lower angle and remainder of the edge still being in 
 contact with it. This is its proper position, with the upper 
 angle out of contact with the work. You may turn it over 
 so that the keenest angle is the lower one, but then you 
 must raise the other, which is now the upper one, for under 
 no circumstances must the one that is uppermost touch the 
 wood. The chisel, therefore, never lies flat on the rest or 
 on the work, but always slightly raised to clear the upper 
 point, and in this position you have to keep it, making it 
 descend into hollows, and rise over mouldings, and cut 
 level places, almost without stopping an instant ; and for 
 wood, especially soft wood, the lathe is always itself to be 
 
HAND-TURNING IN WOOD. 
 
 167 
 
 run at a very high speed, by putting the cord on the largest 
 part of the fly-wheel and smallest part of the pulley. 
 
 To return to the supposed tool-handle. Having turned a 
 cylinder, begin at the ferule, which you must cut off a 
 brass or iron tube, or, which is easier, buy by the dozen or 
 by the pound ready cut. You will want them three-quarters 
 of an inch for your largest tools, and about three-eighths 
 for the smallest, with some of half an inch, and you can 
 then bore your tool-rack exactly true with centrebits of 
 these sizes. Turn the place down for the ferule, and take 
 care that you make a tight fit. Gauge with the callipers 
 first of all, and turn almost to size, then try it on once or 
 twice until it fits exactly. 
 
 If you use the cross-chuck, you have this one great 
 advantage — you can take out your work to put on the 
 ferule, and replace it exactly as it was before, and it will 
 continue to run true. As, however, the piece in the present 
 case is but partially turned, it can be replaced with 
 sufficient accuracy upon the prong-chuck, especially if you 
 mark the side of the chuck, and of the piece of wood, and 
 take care to replace them in the same relative position. 
 You must now try with gouge and chisel to imitate the 
 pattern handle, remembering always to work downwards 
 from right and left into the various hollows — (you cannot 
 cut the fibres neatly if you try to go up-hill) ; and where 
 the two cuts meet in the hollows, you must do your best not 
 
[68 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 to leave the least ridge or mark. You will be sure to need 
 a little glasscloth to finish off yom- work, but do without it 
 as much as possible, because it spoils the shape of mould- 
 ings, rubbing off the sharp angles, which in many cases add 
 beauty to the work. If the piece of wood is longer than 
 necessary, cut it off with the chisel. In any case, you 
 must cut off a piece at the chuck end ; and this being the 
 end of the handle which you will hold in your hand, the 
 ferule being at the end next to the back poppit, you will 
 cut it off neatly with the chisel in finishing it to the 
 required shape. 
 
 You would hardly suppose it possible to turn off the end 
 of a piece squarely and accurately with the gouge, but it is 
 a good tool for the purpose. You must lay it on its side 
 upon the rest, so that its back or bevel rests flat against 
 the end of the piece from which the superfluous wood is to 
 be taken ; the edge or point of the tool is then allowed to 
 cut the work by a slight movement of the handle. You 
 can only do it in this way, with the bevel against the piece 
 from which the cut is to be taken. Turned over to its 
 usual position, it will hitch in and spoil the work in a 
 moment. In the same way you can face up a bread-platter 
 or similar flat work; but such articles as these are not 
 mounted between centres, but screwed upon the taper 
 screw-chuck or the flat plate with the screw-holes, so that 
 you can get to the face of them. At first, however, until the 
 
HAND-TURNING IN WOOD, 
 
 i6o 
 
 work gets tolerably level, you may bring up the back-centre, 
 whkili will prevent the taper screw of the chuck from being 
 accidentally bent; and when all the rough part is cut 
 away, and the rim turned down, you can remove the back- 
 centre to finish the facing up. In this work, however, the 
 back and face do not need much turning, because the 
 platter is turned from plank wood, planed up truly on each 
 side, and cut roughly into the form of a circle. If accur- 
 ately planed, it will run true at once, and the small amount 
 of facing may be done with the gouge held as directed. 
 Afterwards it may be necessary to take a light scrape with 
 a carpenter^8 chisel, which answers well for this. Then 
 finish up with glass or sand paper. Take care to make a 
 neat moulding to the edge, which will be about an inch 
 thick, and will therefore look very heavy unless turned off 
 so as to thin it down. A platter is a very good and useful 
 work for a beginner. 
 
 In turning a platter you will certainly learn one lesson 
 in mechanics. You will find that it is very hard work to 
 turn anything that is larger than the pulley of your lathe, 
 and you will only be able to take a very light cut. Prob- 
 ably you will find it the easiest plan to set the lathe in 
 rapid movement, and apply the turning-tool only for an 
 instant, and then to remove *it until the work has recovered 
 its impetus, thus cutting it, as it were, by repeated brief 
 applications of the tool, instead of by one continuous cut. 
 
THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 I do not mean that tlie tool is to be removed from the rest, 
 but only eased off for a second from the work. If the 
 latter is very large, and the pulley on the mandrel much 
 less in size, you can only work in this way, finishing with a 
 very light cut. There is a tool for the face of such flat 
 works, called a broad. It is like a broad chisel with the end 
 turned up at right angles to the side, only the edge is a 
 bevelled one and thick. They work well in hands accus- 
 tomed to them, but the gouge and chisel are sufficient for 
 your present need. 
 
 I shall sketch here (Fig. 49) one or two articles not re- 
 quiring to be much hollowed out, which will help you to 
 decide upon such work as is suitable to a young mechanic 
 desiring, by steady practice and application, to become a 
 proficient at the lathe, and as soft-wood turning will 
 teach you more than that in hard wood, I shall direct 
 all the following to be made of it by gouge and chisel 
 alone. 
 
 These examples are not given as specimens of the rich 
 work which can be done in the lathe, but as easy examples 
 of elementary turning. No. 1 is a stand for an urn or hot 
 water jug, and a slight recess may be made in the upper 
 surface, in which a piece of cloth, or carpet, or oilcloth can 
 be glued, which will make a neat finish. No. 2 is a bread- 
 platter, showing how a little neat moulding takes away the 
 clumsy appearance of the thick board necessary for this 
 
172 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 purpose. No. 3 is a candlestick. The lower part or stand 
 is to be turned from a separate piece of thick board screwed 
 upon the taper-screw chuck. While it is in the lathe, the 
 hole must be made in the centre (or marked, if the piece is 
 not very thick) by holding a pointed tool a little on one 
 side of the centre, so as to describe a circle of the requisite 
 size. Into this will be fitted a tenon, fig. 3 b, which is 
 turned on the pedestal, and which is to be glued into its 
 place. By and by you will learn how to cut a screw upon 
 such a tenon, which is a far more satisfactory method of 
 proceeding ; at present glue will answer just as well. You 
 can make the upper part separate, forming the junction at 
 the line C (Fig. 49, No. 3), if you prefer it, or if your wood 
 is not long enough ; but as you will not hollow out the top, 
 you may as well let it be cut out of one piece with the 
 pedestal. Turn the top quite level, drive in a piece of 
 stout wire, and point the end of it. Cut out a round piece 
 of tin to fit, and make a hole in the middle of it to let the 
 wire through ; drop it over the point, and let it rest on the 
 candlestick; a wax candle can be spiked upon the wire, 
 and will stand firm. 
 
 Figs. 7 and 8 are drawings of tool-handles. These are 
 the best shape to grasp in the hand, and they look neat 
 in the tool-rack. Tool-handles wkh a number of mould- 
 ings, are not only absurd, but are uncomfortable to hold, 
 and not at all suited to their intended purpose. 9 and 10 
 
HAND-TURNING IN WOOD. 
 
 173 
 
 are other forms of mouldings, and are given merely to show 
 how angular and rounded forms should be combined to 
 produce a good efiect. If these were to be made in hard 
 w^ood, they might be turned with beading and moulding 
 tools similar to those at A, B, C, D of this figure ; such 
 tools are bevelled only on one side, and being held flat upon 
 the rest, cut the curves and hollows rapidly, and clean. 
 Sometimes a number of these are arranged side by side, so 
 as together to make up the outline of the intended mould- 
 ing, and being held in position by a handle designed for the 
 purpose, are presented all at once to the work as it revolves. 
 In other cases, a flat plate of steel is filed into shape, and 
 bevelled to form a compound moulding tool. Of course, 
 such contrivances greatly help the turner, especially if he 
 has to turn a number of articles of exactly the same pat- 
 tern, such as the pawns of a set of chessmen, or a set of 
 draughtsmen; but none of these tools answer upon soft 
 wood, because, as already explained, tools which have to be 
 held horizontally wdll cut and tear up the fibres of all 
 woods that are not very hard and compact in grain. 
 
 Fig. 6 is a profile of a draughtsman, and fig. 6 b shows 
 how they ought to be made, but for this you cannot use 
 soft wood, and had better make them of box and ebony, or 
 holly and ebony — (and, by and by, of black-wood and 
 ivory). A cylinder is first turned, then marked off as shown 
 with grooves cut by a parting-tool. The pieces are then 
 
174 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 separated with a fine saw, and a chuck is hollowed out t(» 
 fit them so that each can be readily turned upon the face. 
 The desired mouldings having been made on one side, the 
 disc is turned over in the chuck, and the other side operated 
 upon in the same manner. 
 
 It is quite possible^ you must understand, to cut these 
 out of soft wood, even pine or deal. We often see boxes of 
 toys, children's wooden plates and cups, turned very neatly 
 of this material ; but it is not worth while to use it if you 
 can obtain boxwood. Moreover, box can be stained black to 
 imitate ebony, and is very often made to serve instead of it. 
 
 Figs. 4 and 5 are ring-stands for the toilette-table — very 
 useful presents these to mothers, sisters, and, last but not 
 least, lady cousins, and other young ladies too, perhaps, who 
 are not cousins. These can be made in a variety of ways, 
 and give great scope for the exercise of your powers of 
 design. The first is a simple pedestal on a stand, turned 
 quite smooth in an elegant and simple curve. The stand 
 is also made without elaborate mouldings, giving altogether 
 a chaste and elegant appearance to the design. The ex- 
 tremity is tipped with ivory, and an ivory ring surrounds 
 the bottom of the pedestal. If this is made in plain deal, 
 and thoroughly well finished and varnished, it will look 
 very well. The nicest soft English wood, however, for this 
 is certainly yew, some of which is beautifully fine in grain ; 
 and as it will take an excellent polish, it always looks 
 
HAND-TURNING IN WOOD. ' 175 
 
 well ; moreover, it can be turned entirely with' gouge and 
 chisel. 
 
 This ring-stand will be made in two parts ; the pedestal 
 being separately turned at one end, a tenon will have to be 
 made as in the case of the candlestick, and just above it 
 the wood is to be turned off a little as if you were going to 
 make a larger tenon. Over this a ring of ivory may be 
 slipped and glued on, and the two can then be turned 
 together. A carpenter's chisel will do for the ivory, which 
 will be scraped into form by it. It may be polished with 
 a little chalk on a moist rag or flannel. You can buy odds 
 and ends of ivory from the turners in rings and solid 
 pieces, which will come in for all sorts of decorations, and 
 you should save all old handles of knives, tooth-brushes, 
 and such like, for a similar purpose. Both ivory and bone 
 smell very disagreeably when in process of being turned. 
 To tip such articles with ivory, you can drill a small hole 
 in the top of the pedestal with great care, and fit the ivory 
 after being turned into it; or you can, if the work is 
 larger, bore the ivory and slip it on the wood ; — much 
 depends upon the size and nature of the work. 
 
 The second ring-stand is of rather more elaborate construc- 
 tion. The baskets are made of little turned pedestals fitted 
 into a round piece of wood to form the bottom, and into a 
 ring which makes the rim. Baskets of this form (even 
 apart from the ring-stand) are very neat and useful 
 
176 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 It is very easy to turn rings of any size. Mount a piece 
 of board in the lathe on the taper screw chuck — it need not 
 even be cut to a round form ; then determine the size of 
 the proposed ring, and, holding a parting-tool upon the 
 rest turned round to face the work, mark two circles, 
 and deepen the cuts, until the ring falls off. Take care 
 that the outer one is cut through first. The ring thus cut 
 may be afterwards placed upon a cj^linder turned to fit it, 
 and finished upon the outside, and then placed inside a 
 chuck of wood bored out to suit the work, and neatly 
 rounded off upon the interior surface. Of course, if you 
 have to make rings of bone or ivorj^ which are already 
 hollow, you can at once run a mandrel or spindle of wood 
 or metal through them and subject them to the various 
 operations required. 
 
 Mandrels, or tapered cylinders of bras? or iron, fitted as 
 chucks to the mandrel of the lathe, are sold on purpose for 
 this work, but a wooden rod answers just as well, and costs 
 nothing. Turn such a rod a little tapering, and take care 
 not to drive the work too far upon it, because, although at 
 first you can safely drive it on very tightly, if it is of ivory or 
 bone, you will frequently find your ring suddenly split and 
 open when its thickness has been reduced to the required 
 standard. If a number of equal rings are required, it is 
 the best plan to turn a hollow cylinder and then saw off 
 the rings as you are directed to saw off the draughts- 
 
HAND-TURNING IN WOOD. 177 
 
 men. They will, of course, have to be finished in a 
 chuck. 
 
 If you look round any fancy warehouse in which Swiss 
 carvings are sold, you will see how beautifully soft white 
 pine can be worked in the lathe by keen tools and clever 
 hands. In Tunbridge, too, many thousands of soft-wood 
 articles are manufactured yearly, some plain and merely 
 varnished, and some curiously inlaid with coloured woods, 
 so that you need not despise such materials as willow and 
 sycamore and the various pine woods, which are all capable 
 of being made into pretty articles of one kind or another. 
 The varnish, however, for these is such as to coat them 
 with a glassy layer which does not sink into the wood. 
 Common rosin dissolved in turpentine or in linseed oil, 
 kept on the hob so as to get warm, answers well for these 
 deal articles, and is extensively used where the slight tinge 
 of yellow is not considered important. There are many 
 other much paler varnishes for works of greater value, or 
 where the white wood is to be carefully preserved. Any of 
 these can be had at oil and colour shops. 
 
 You will certainly find a difficulty in turning all exactly 
 alike the little pillars of these baskets. You should turn 
 several at once out of the same piece, separating them 
 afterwards. Thus your pattern will always be close to the 
 half-executed copy, which will somewhat assist you. Do 
 your best in this respect, but be specially careful, at any 
 
 M 
 
178 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 \ 
 
HOW TO MAKE A BACK-STAY, 
 
 rate, to make all exactly the same length. One pillar is 
 shown separate, but you can design a pattern for yourself. 
 
 Begin by turning a long cylinder; then set off the 
 respective lengths of the pillars. Turn one complete as a 
 pattern, and set the callipers to the largest part of it. 
 Then go to work upon a second, using callipers freely at 
 all parts of it. As these pillars will all be slender, you 
 will be in great danger of breaking them; therefore use 
 your tools lightly, taking only a very slight cut. But with 
 all your care you will find it difficult to turn a row of more 
 than two or three of the size wanted for such little baskets. 
 I shall therefore show you how to make a support to fit at 
 the back of the bar you are at work upon to support it 
 against the pressure of the tool. 
 
 Fig. 50 gives a representation of one or two such sup- 
 ports, which are often required in turning. The first is the 
 most simple, and is the one most generally in use, because 
 easy to make and to apply, and it answers tolerably well. 
 A is merely a piece of wood, about three-quarters of an inch 
 thick, cut as shown. This is stood up between the lathe-beds, 
 like C, and fastened with a wedge before and behind. It 
 allows the work in 'the lathe to revolve in the notch which 
 is cut in it, as is evident from the drawing. One, two, or 
 more such may be used if necessary. They must be carefully 
 adjusted, so as not to bend the piece which is to be turned, 
 and which is to be just supported, but no more. Where 
 
iSo 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 the hack-stay^ as this contrivance is called, comes in contact 
 with the work, the latter is to be left of the size it was when 
 this was adjusted to it as long as possible. It must then 
 be shifted a little, and that part which formerly rested 
 against it finished. 
 
 B is another simple form of back-stay, capable of nicer 
 adjustment. The foot is that of a common rest, but if you 
 have not a spare one, any wooden support is quite as good. 
 Into this fits a turned part of the upright x y, — the upper 
 part, of this being planed flat. Neither should be of deal; 
 ash or elm is preferable. Thus the part x y can be raised 
 and lowered at pleasure in the rest-socket. The top part 
 is made of a half-inch board, about 2 or 2J inches wide ; 
 a slit is cut in it, and it is fastened to ^ ?/ by a short bolt 
 and nut. Thus it is easy to raise and lower the end of this 
 part, and to put it nearer to, or farther from, the work in 
 the lathe, against which it can be adjusted with great 
 nicety. Although there are several forms of back-stay, of 
 more or less complicated construction, I know of none more 
 generally serviceable than this last, which the young 
 mechanic can make for himself. The notch should be 
 lubricated with soap, or, if the blackness is not of import- 
 ance (as when this part, which rotates in the notch, has 
 finally to be cut away), with a mixture of soap and black- 
 lead. This, remember, is always to be applied to wooden 
 gm-faces that are to work easily upon each other. 
 
THE CONE-PLATE, 
 
 i8i 
 
 It will sometimes happen that you require to bore a hole 
 through a long piece of wood, as would be the case in 
 making a wooden pipe, flute, bodkin-case, and many similar 
 articles. To hold these in a chuck only would be often 
 impossible, because the hole in the chuck would have to be 
 as deep at least as half the length of the piece to be 
 bored. 
 
 For this kind of work, therefore, and for turning up a 
 point on the end of a cylinder of iron or steel, like that of 
 your back poppit, the following contrivance is used, which 
 is called a boring-collar or cone-plate. It is represented in 
 Fig. 50, D and E. This consists of a circular plate of 
 metal, three-quarters of an inch thick, turning upon a large 
 screw or pivot at its centre, by which pivot it is attached to 
 a short poppit head, fitting between the bearers of the lathe 
 as usual. There are six or eight conical holes bored round 
 the circular plate, each of a different size ; and these are so 
 arranged as to height, or distance from the centre, that th^ 
 top one (being in a perpendicular line passing through its 
 centre and that of the bolt) is exactly as high as the axis 
 of the mandrel. Thus, if it is clamped in that position, 
 with the largest side of the conical holes next the mandrel, 
 a piece of wood might be held at one end in a chuck, while 
 the other might rest in such hole as was best suited to its 
 size, not actually passing through it, but resting in the 
 inside of the conical hole, in which it would rotate almost 
 
iS2 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 as freely and as truly as if it were supported by the ordin- 
 ary point of the back poppit. 
 
 Sometimes it may be preferred to allow the end of such a 
 piece of work to project through the cone-plate, a collar 
 being turned on it to prevent it from going too far. A 
 tool-handle, for instance, of the pattern before given, may 
 be beautifully bored in Ihe lathe by allowing the ferule to 
 rotate in one of the holes of the cone-plate, the shoulder 
 behind preventing it from going too far. The rest is 
 brought round in front of the end of the handle, and a hole 
 bored by a drill for wood ; or, the point of a drill is brought 
 against it, while the other end (having had a slight hole 
 made by a centre-punch for the purpose) is allowed to 
 centre itself on the point of the back poppit. The screw of 
 the latter is then advanced, and the drill being prevented 
 from itself revolving either by being grasped by the hand 
 or a vice, a beautifully straight and even hole is rapidly 
 made. 
 
 Fig. 50, F, shows the position of the various pieces. 
 The drill is here kept from rotating by a small spanner, the 
 handle of which comes against the bed of the lathe. A 
 great deal of work, both in wood and metal, is always 
 drilled in this way. 
 
 For wood, a small nose-bit, or auger-bit, or one of the 
 American twist-drills, can be used, and this may be suc- 
 ceeded by a larger, until the hole will allow of the intro- 
 
 ) 
 
THE CONE-FLATE. 
 
 183 
 
 duction of a finishing-tool of some kind, held in the hand. 
 Of course the latter is not necessary in boring out handles 
 for the tang of a tool, but only in turning boxes for pencils, 
 needles, or other articles, which require to be neatly finished 
 inside as well as out ; all these are to be bored before the 
 work is cut free from the superfluous wood out of which it 
 was turned. You can even use the cross-chuck for this 
 work. 
 
 It matters little, when using the cone-plate, whether you 
 finish the turning of the outside before or after the boring 
 is done. Very generally the box or other article is bored 
 first, quite in its rough state, except that a short piece is 
 turned down to fit into a hole of the cone-plate; and, 
 keeping the latter in its place all the while, the wood is 
 turned down and polished before removing it from the 
 lathe. Sometimes, especially with metal, which is in no 
 danger of splitting, the cone-plate is removed as soon as 
 the hole has been made and replaced by the back-centre, 
 the point of which, entering the hole, retains the work in 
 its place while the outside is being fashioned. This of 
 course insures the exterior surface being exactly concentric 
 with the inside, which is often absolutely necessary in parts 
 of machinery ; but if wooden articles are finished in this 
 way, there is great danger of their being split by the pres- 
 sure of the back-centre as the work grows thinner and 
 thinner under the action of the tools. Moieover, it must 
 
7 HE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 be remembered that the back-centre, being itself of a 
 conical form, will injure the form of the hole in metal b}* 
 making it wider at the mouth if used in this way, and 
 sometimes this may be of importance. 
 
 There is a fault in the cone-plate which boys will under- 
 stand, and men, too, I imagine. It costs money! Therefore 
 I shall now show you how to make a substitute, which will 
 cost something under a shilling, if you do not mind a little 
 trouble ; but, if you do, you will never make a good work- 
 man, nor will you be good for much, I fear, in any way! A 
 metal cone-plate for a 5-inch lathe costs £2 at least. 
 
 I shall suppose you want a cone-plate in which to 
 bore your tool-handles, for it is not easy to do this with 
 a gimlet, so that the tools, when inserted, shall stand 
 straight in their handles. If you have a 5-inch centre 
 lathe, i,e,j a lathe in which the central line or axis of 
 the mandrel is 5 inches from the lathe-bed (in which 
 case you can turn anything nearly 10 inches in diameter), 
 cut out of a piece of beech, 3 inches thick, a short 
 poppit 3-|^ inches high, of some such shape as seen in the 
 fig. G; and in the lower part (which must be cut to fit 
 between the lathe-bearers, and must be made square at the 
 sides and true, so that the whole will stand squarely across 
 the lathe-bed), either cut a mortice, a, for a wedge, or bore 
 a hole for a screw, which must have a plate and nut to fasten 
 under tlie bed like other poppits. Near the top, and exactly 
 
HO IV TO MAKE A C ONE-PLATE, 
 
 185 
 
 in the centre, bore a hole to receive the bolt K, similar to 
 that in the metal cone-plate already described, and which 
 will be tightened by a nut at the back. This supplies the 
 place of the short iron poppit, and now you have to con^ 
 trive something to replace the circular plate of holes. Cut 
 two or three strips of any tolerably hard wood, H (beech 
 will answer very well), 6 inches long, half an inch thick,, 
 and 2 inches wide. Cut in these a slot and a round hole, 
 which must be carefully made with a centrebit. This hole 
 is to be for one of those in the usual round plate, so be 
 careful in making it. Work thus: Plane up the piece- 
 from wood rather more than the half inch required ; draw a 
 line exactly down the middle of it on both sides e^f;. 
 choose a centrebit of the size you require ; put the point 
 upon this line, about inches or more, according to the 
 size of the required hole, and bore steadily a little way 
 into the wood. Then turn it over, measure carefully so as 
 to get the precise spot right, and finish from that side. If 
 the centrebit is sharp, and the wood sound, you will now 
 have a neat round hole. Let tJie slot be also cut from both- 
 sides of the piece of wood with a sharp chisel, taking care 
 that the centre of it agrees with the line that you made for 
 a guide. 
 
 Three or four of these should be made, each with a dif- 
 ferent sized hole, or more if required ; but you can add new 
 ones at any time. The bolt, K, is to be made with a large 
 
i86 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 head flat on the under side, and the upper part, above the 
 screw, is to be square for three-eighths of an inch, and the 
 slot in the pieces of wood must just fit this squared part 
 Now, as this is three-eighths only, and the thickness of the 
 wood is four-eighths or half an inch, it is plain that the 
 nut will draw, and the head of the screw clamp this tightly. 
 You can, if you like, however, make the hole in the poppit 
 square also, and then let the squared part of the screw be 
 long enough to reach almost entirely through both pieces. 
 Then slip a washer (an iron plate with a hole in it like L) 
 over the end of the screw, and fix all with the nut. Thus 
 you have a boring collar with one hole, and this you can 
 raise or lower the length of the slot so as to get it exactly 
 the right height, and when it is so arranged, one turn of 
 the nut at the back will fix it. 
 
 This you will find a very simple form of boring-collar, 
 easy to make, and of practical use. If you really take all 
 the care you can, and follow the directions I have given, I 
 do not see how you can possibly fail in constructing one. 
 You should have a sli ding-plate with a hole for each size 
 of tool-handle ferule used, as you will frequently be making 
 these. 
 
 HOLLOWING OUT WORK, 
 
 As I have spoken of boring, I will go on to treat now of 
 the general practice of hollowing out chucks and boxes, 
 and such like. If this is to be done in soft wood, such as 
 
HOLLOWING OUT WORK. 
 
 187 
 
 willow, no tool will answer so well as the hook-tools, of 
 which I have given drawings. But these are very difficult 
 indeed to use, owing to their tendency to catch in, or take 
 suddenly a deeper cut than was intended. Nothing but 
 practice will teach exactly how to use these tools ; but then, 
 when the difficulty of so doing is once mastered, nothing 
 can be more rapid or more satisfactory than the work 
 which they will do. Small bowls are hollowed almost 
 instantaneously by their means in skilled hands ; whereas, 
 with other tools, it becomes not only a tedious job, but if 
 it is done at all, it is but roughly, the wood having to be 
 rather scraped out than cut. Using, however, the back of 
 the gouge as explained before, in the directions given for 
 squaring up the end of a cylinder with this tool, it is 
 possible to hollow out soft wood with it, but not very 
 satisfactorily. In any case, other tools (generally a car- 
 penter's chisel) must be used to work into the angle which 
 neither the gouge nor hook-tool can, of course, reach. 
 Hence it is generally so much easier to cut out boxes and 
 such like articles in box or hard wood, that this is nearly 
 always used by amatem's. 
 
 The ordinary way to turn a box is as follows : — Prepare the 
 wood as usual, turning it cylindrical, using any chuck you 
 please for this work ; cut off with the parting-tool rather 
 more than the box and its cover together will require, and 
 drive the piece thus separated into a cup-chuck. [You 
 
i88 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 ma}', if you prefer it, screw upon the nose of the mandrel, 
 or upon the taper screw-chuck, the rough piece of the 
 proper length, instead of first turning a cylinder to cut 
 from. If you have several boxes to make of one size, the 
 cylinder method is to be preferred.] Turn it up again 
 quite true, for although it was correct before you cut it off, 
 it will not be so now. Square up the end, and turning 
 round the rest so as to stand across the face of the wood, 
 begin to hollow out the coxier. Use either the round end or 
 pointed tool at first, and then a carpenter's chisel or flat 
 tool to finish. Be very careful that the sides (I must call 
 it by this name, although a circle has not more sides than a 
 plum-pudding) are turned square to the bottom, or else, 
 when the cover is put on, it will perhaps fit just at the 
 entry, and be quite loose when fairly on ; or, it may be 
 that it will be easy at first, and when you press it on, it 
 will be tighter and become split, — a very common but 
 unpleasant occurrence. Do not, moreover, turn down 
 these sides as thin as they will ultimately be ; because, 
 after the box is hollowed and the cover fitted on, both will 
 have to be slightly turned together to finish them nicely. 
 Moreover, you may not wish your box to have plain sides, 
 but may prefer to mould them into a more elegant form. 
 All these little questions have to be duly considered in 
 turning, for a mistake is often made, and the work spoiled, 
 for want of a little timely consideration. 
 
HOW TO MAKE A BOX. 
 
 189 
 
 The next point on which you have to be on jom guard is 
 this, — having turned out the cover, you have to cut it off, 
 not with a saw, but with your parting-tool. Now, be sure 
 to leave thickness enough for the top of the cover ; or, just 
 as you thijik yoii have nearly severed the latter from the 
 rest of the piece of wood, you will see a beautiful little 
 ring tumble off, — sad relict of your box cover, which has 
 come to an untimely end. 
 
 The sliding square of the turner, of which I gave a 
 description among the list of tools, will always enable you 
 to gauge both the depth to which the work is hollowed out, 
 and also the squareness of the inside to the bottom. But 
 if you have no turner's square, you can easily gauge the 
 depth inside, and thus see how much is necessary to be 
 allowed for the thickness of the top. Keep the parting- 
 tool edgewise on the rest, which should be raised to such a 
 height that, when this tool is laid horizontally across it, it 
 will point nearly to the centre of the work, i.e., the axis of 
 it. After the parting-tool has cut into the wood a little 
 way, widen the groove a little, and continue to give the tool 
 a little play right and left, unless its end is so much wider 
 than its blade generally that it will clear itself perfectly as 
 it goes deeper and deeper into cut. If it should bind, it is 
 almost certain to break, for it is a very thin tool ; and it is 
 better to waste a little more of your material than to have 
 to replace a spoiled tool. 
 
190 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 I shall suppose that you have now succeeded in cutting 
 off the cover ; nek it up and lay it near you. Directions 
 are given generally to turn down next the flange upon 
 which the cover of the box is to be fitted, but this is not to 
 be wholly done yet, and you may proceed to hollow it out 
 as soon as you have turned down just so much of this flange 
 as will show you how much to leave in hollowing out the 
 box. If you fit the cover before you have hollowed out the 
 box, you will have the mortification of finding it a great 
 deal too loose when the box is finished, because the latter 
 will contract in size as soon as ever the solid (!ore is 
 removed from it. After you have hollowed it out, you must 
 gauge the inside of the cover, and the outside of the place 
 that it is to occupy, with the in-and-out callipers, or with a 
 common pair, and turn the flange till it is almost correct 
 to this gauge, and only a very little larger than it ought to 
 be. When this is the case, do not trust any longer to the 
 callipers, but try on the cover again and again until you 
 get a nice fit. You must finish the flange with a chisel, 
 held flat ; and again I repeat the caution about keeping it 
 truly square, so that the cover will hold equally tight in all 
 positions. When this is the case, leave it ou, and give a 
 last touch to both box and cover together, when you ought 
 barely to be able to see the joint. 
 
 You have now only to cut off the box as you did the 
 cover, using the same precautions. Before it is quite 
 
SCRE WS AND TWISTS. 1 9 r 
 
 severed, however, you should give it a polish. Pick up 
 a handful of shavings, and while the work is revolving 
 as rapidly as possible, hold them with some pressure 
 against it. Every fibre will be at once laid smooth, and it 
 will look nice and bright at once. You can varnish it 
 afterwards if you like, or French-polish it. Varnish is 
 best for boxwood, and French-polishing requires special 
 directions, which I shall give you separately in a future 
 page. 
 
 To be able to make a box well, with its cover well fitted, 
 is to be able to do all kinds of similar work. Yet in these 
 may be special details deserving notice. Probably, there- 
 fore, when speaking in a future page of particular objects 
 which have to be turned, such special details will be more 
 fitting than if given here. I shall therefore pass on to 
 another part of the subject, namely, screwed and twisted 
 work. 
 
 SCREWS AND TWISTS. 
 
 Neither of these can be very accurately made without 
 special and somewhat expensive apparatus ; but both can 
 with practice be done tolerably well by the young mechanic 
 with ordinary simple means. I need not describe a screw, 
 for all boys know what it is ; and sporting boys, of which 
 in these days there are many, know what sort of animal a 
 screw is. Well, never mind. I am always riding a screw, 
 I believe, for it is my hobby, and there is a great deal of 
 
THE YOUNG MECHANIC, 
 
 science in a screw; and as for the variety of the manufactured 
 article, there is plenty of it. There is the corkscrew, which 
 is, after all, not a screw, but a twist, — and this is often the 
 means of making men screwed ; and the miserly screw, who 
 skins fleas for the sake of their fat ; and there is the 
 mythical, invisible, moral (and im-moral) screw, which 
 hard-fisted men inflict upon their weaker brethren; and 
 there is the gigantic screw of the Great Eastern steamship ; 
 and the minute, microscopic screw of the lady's tiny 
 jewelled watch. 
 
 There are several modes of cutting screws, in the lathe 
 and out of it. The small ones required for holding together 
 the difierent parts of machinery, as well as larger ones for 
 the same purpose, are always cut with stock and dies. 
 The very small ones used by watchmakers, and all below 
 one-eighth of an inch diameter, are made by the screw- 
 plate. But when either large or small screws are required 
 of great accuracy, they are invariably cut in the lathe, and 
 with the aid of mechanical appliances of the most delicately 
 accurate description. These are all metal screws. But the 
 young mechanic will often wish to put screwed covers to 
 his boxes, and to join various parts of his work by screwed 
 connections instead of glue ; and all these may be cut in the 
 lathe by simple hand-tools skilfully applied, although the 
 operation is sufficiently fraught with difficulty to require a 
 great deal of practice before it can be done with certainty 
 
SCREWS AND TWISTS. 
 
 193 
 
 of success. At the same time, my young friends cannot 
 possibly do better than practise this operation, for there are 
 numberless cases in which screws cannot be conveniently 
 cut in any other way, and it is, further, an accomplishment 
 that will at once stamp them as skilful workmen. 
 
 The tools required are represented at A, B, Fig. 51. A 
 is an outside, and B an inside screw chasing-tool. These 
 
 Fig. 51. 
 
 are always made in pairs, of exactly the same pitch, Le,^ 
 
 the outside tool being applied to the inside, the respective 
 
 notches and points will exactly fit into each other. If you 
 
 were to examine the under side of these tools, shown at C, 
 
 you wwald notice that the notches do not run straight, but 
 
 slanting. They are in fact parts of screw threads ; and you 
 
 N 
 
194 
 
 7 HE YOUNG MECHANIC, 
 
 could make a tool of this kind out of a common screw nut, 
 as I liave shown you at D, only it would be too much hol- 
 lowed out to make a good tool. 
 
 Now, supposing you were to hold the tool A flat on the 
 rest, while a cylindrical piece of wood revolved in contact 
 with it, you would cut a series of rings only ; but if you were 
 at the same time to slide the tool sideways upon the rest, so 
 that by the time the wood had revolved once, the first point 
 of the tool would have just reached the spot which was oc- 
 cupied by the second when you started, you would have 
 traced a screw thread of that particular pitch. This is what 
 3^ou have to learn to do always, and with certainty, no 
 matter what pitch of tool you may be using, and it is easy 
 to understand how difficult the operation must be to a 
 beginner. Indeed, there are numbers of otherwise good 
 turners who have never succeeded in mastering this work. 
 Nevertheless it can be done, and, although difficult, it is 
 not so much so as might be supposed. Indeed, at first sight 
 it would hardly be believed possible, because each different 
 pitch of tool, and each different-sized piece of work, 
 requires a different speed of traverse to be given to the 
 tool. But a practised hand will strike thread after thread 
 without failure, and those whose trade is to make all sorts 
 of screw-covered boxes and similar articles, will execute 
 the work with as much speed and apparent ease, as they 
 would any ordinary operation of turning. I shall tell you 
 
SCREWS AND TWISTS. 
 
 195 
 
 by and by, however, of several ways to escape tbis diffi- 
 culty of screw-cutting, — lathes being fitted in various 
 ways to insure good work, in some cases by carrying 
 forward the tool at exactly the right rate of traverse, and 
 at others by moving along the work itself at the proper 
 speed, while the cutting tool is held immovably fixed in one 
 position, — and I will give one tool of great service which 
 will guide you in starting the ordinary chasing-tool; and 
 a good start is here truly half the battle." 
 
 The chasing-tool must run from right to left for an 
 ordinary right-handed screw (and a left-handed one is very 
 seldom required), so that the young mechanic need not 
 trouble himself about it. Precise directions cannot be 
 given further than to have a rest with a very smooth and 
 even edge, which will not in the least hinder the traverse 
 of the chasing-tool, and to get the lathe into steady, 
 equable motion. Then hold the tool lightly, but firmly, 
 keeping it at right angles with the work. Allow it only 
 just to touch until you find you have got into the right 
 swing. It is all a matter of knack and practice ; and if you 
 succeed quickly, you may congratulate yourself. 
 
 The inside chasing-tool is used in precisely the same 
 way, running it from the outer edge of the hole inwards. 
 To some this is an easier tool to use than the outside 
 chaser. I cannot say that I find it so ; especially as one 
 has to work more in the dark ; unless the work is of large 
 
THE YOUXG MECHANIC. 
 
 diameter like tlie cover of a box, and even then the work is 
 sufficiently difficult owing to the shallowness of the lid, 
 which necessitates the instant stopping of the tool for a 
 fresh cut. For you must understand that you have to 
 deepen tlie screw-threads very gradually, and it will take 
 several traverses of the tool to cut them to a sufficient 
 depth. 
 
 The chasers require to be very sharp to cut wooden screws 
 neatly, but observe you must only rub the upper flat face 
 upon the oilstone, or, if a notch has been made by using 
 the tools upon metal (they will cut brass well with care), 
 grind them in the same way ; the great secret being to hold 
 the tool quite flat on the stone. You will thus, even by 
 continual grinding, only thin the blade of the chaser, 
 which will thus last for a long time. A practised hand 
 will even cut a good thread with any flat piece of steel 
 filed into equal notches, but a screw-chaser is the only tool 
 really fit for the purpose. 
 
 The most effectual remedy for the screw-cutting diffi- 
 culty, is unfortunately rather expensive in its best form. 
 But in another, it is by no means costly ; and although it 
 may not look so well as the first, it is equally eff"ective, and 
 extensively used by the ttirners at Tunbridge Wells, who 
 make those beautiful little inlaid boxes and other articles. 
 I shall explain this to you, therefore, first : — 
 
 A, is a lathe-head, something like the one I have already 
 
CHASING SCREWS, 
 
 197 
 
 described, but you will notice that the mandrel is a much 
 longer one, and has several short screws cut upon it, each 
 one being of a different ^' thi-ead " or pitch."* This 
 
 fc'ig. 52. 
 
 mandrel runs through two collars, so that, besides turn- 
 ing round, it can be pushed end-wise. Now, supposing 
 
 * In the drawing, they are all accidentally drawn of the same pitch. 
 
THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 I was to hold the point of a tool firmly against either of 
 the screws, and at the same time was to turn the -pulley 
 and mandi-el, you will understand that it would run back- 
 wards or forwards in its collars, at such a rate as the 
 screw-thread compelled it to move. This is the plan of 
 the traversing mandrel ; and now supposing that you had 
 a box held as usual in a chuck, and while the mandrel was 
 compelled to move end-wise as described, you were to hold 
 a pointed tool against it, the tool would evidently cut a 
 screw-thread of exactly the same pitch as that upon the 
 mandrel against whi6h the pointed tool first spoken of was 
 applied. But in practice, a single-pointed tool held against 
 the mandrel would not answer very well, and so the follow- 
 ing plan is adopted instead, which answers perfectly. 
 
 Fig. 52, C, is called a half-nut. It has a set of screw- 
 threads, cut where the semicircular hollow is, which threads 
 fit one of the screws on the mandrel. A whole row of these 
 half-nuts are fitted to tm-n at one end upon a long bar, 
 so that either one can be raised up at pleasure to touch the 
 screw upon the mandrel, which has threads of the same 
 pitch as itself, B. These, then, are ranged under the 
 mandrel, and when it is desired to make it traverse in its 
 collars, one of these half-nuts is raised and kept up by a 
 wedge placed underneath it. When no screw is required, 
 a somewhat similar half-nut, but with merely a sharp edge 
 instead cf a tliread, is raised, and this edge falls into n 
 
CHASING SCREWS. 
 
 199 
 
 notch or groove turned upon the mandrel, or sometimes a 
 back centre-screw is added like D, and when no screw has 
 to be cut, this is run up against the mandrel like an 
 ordinary lathe. 
 
 In the more expensive traversing mandrels, although the 
 principle is the same, there is a little difference in the ar- 
 rangement of the different parts. The mandrel is not very 
 much longer than usual ; and it has no screw-threads cut 
 upon it. But a number of ferules like K, are made each 
 with a screw upon its edge, and one of these of the desired 
 pitch is slid upon the end of the mandrel at ^, fig. P, 
 and is there held by a nut or otherwise, so that it cannot 
 move out of its place. The half-nut is seen at a. It con- 
 sists of a piece of brass or steel of the form shown with a 
 hole in the middle, and a screw cut upon each hollow^ so 
 that it is a circle or set of half-nuts of different pitches. 
 This slips over a pin at a, and when the screw h is turned, 
 it draws up this pin and the nut attached, until the latter 
 comes in contact with the ferule upon the end of the 
 mandrel. This is very neat but expensive. Now, by far 
 the cheapest and best way for the young mechanic, is to set 
 boldly to work to conquer the difficulty of chasing screws 
 by hand. There are even disadvantages in the expensive 
 form of a traversing mandrel, which render it by no means 
 a desirable mode of fitting up a lathe, and after all, the 
 length of screw which it enables one to cut is very limited. 
 
200 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC, 
 
 and in addition, it is not every day, nor probably once a 
 month, that screw-cutting will be necessary at all. My 
 advice, therefore, is, do not get a traversing mandrel until 
 you can cut screws well with the chaser. When you can 
 do this, you will be able to judge of the advantage or dis- 
 advantage of one. 
 
 By far the greater number of common screws are cut 
 without the lathe, by screw-plates, or stocks and dies, 
 and the nut, or hole into which such screws are to fit, 
 is cut with a tap. A screw-plate is a simple affair, — 
 a mere flat plate of steel, in which several holes are 
 drilled, which are afterwards threaded by screwing into 
 them taps, or hard cutting steel screws of the size re- 
 quired; the plate is then hardened by being heated red- 
 hot and suddenly cooled, after which being much harder 
 than brass, iron, or steel which has not gone through such 
 process, it will in turn cut a thread upon any of these by 
 simply screwing them into it. But although this will 
 answer for small and common screws, it is not at all suit- 
 able for better ones, because the thread is burred up, not 
 cut cleanly as it would be with a proper tool. A far better 
 plan is a stock and dies; the latter being practically a 
 hardened steel nut sawn in half, and fitted so that the two 
 halves can be pressed nearer and nearer together as the 
 screw thread becomes deeper. The dies are screwed up 
 by means of a thumbscrew opposite to the handle. 
 
A SCREW-BOX, 
 
 20I 
 
 To use it, a piece of iron is filed up or turned to the 
 required size, whicli must be exactly tliat of the finished 
 screw. The dies are then loosened and slipped on to the 
 end of this screw-blank as it is called, and are then slightly 
 tightened upon it. All that is now required is to keep 
 turning the tool round and round upon the pin, which it 
 will soon cut into a screw thread. When the stock is at 
 the bottom or top, you may tighten the dies, and so work 
 up or down ; but never tighten them in any other part. If 
 iron or steel is to be cut, use oil with the tool, but brass 
 may be diy. If the screw is of steel, heat it red-hot and 
 let it cool very gradually, to make it as soft as possible. 
 
 The hole or nut, into which the screw is to fit, is to be 
 drilled so as just to allow the taper tap to enter about a 
 couple of threads ; a wrench, or, if small, a hand-vice is 
 then applied to twist it forcibly into the hole, when the 
 thread will be completed. Take great care to hold the tap 
 upright, or else, if it is a screw with a flat head which has 
 to fit into it, it will not lie correctly, but one side of the 
 head will touch while the other is more or less raised. 
 
 There are other modes of screw cutting, but at present I 
 need only mention one, which is used for wooden screws 
 alone. It is called a screw-box, and is only made to cut 
 one size, a tap being always sold to match. You can, how- 
 ever, purchase any size you like, from a quarter of an inch 
 to 2 or 3 inches ; but tlie latter are only intended for very 
 
202 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 large screws, such as are used for carpenters' benclies and 
 various kinds of presses. A screw-box looks like a small 
 block of wood with a hole in it, but if you take out two 
 screws you will find a blade of a peculiar shape, which 
 forms the thread by cutting the wood as it is screwed into 
 the hole in the box. 
 
Chapter XI. 
 
 HARD-WOOD TURNING. 
 
 E now discard almost entirely the gouge and 
 cHsel used for soft woods, and fall back upon 
 an entirely different set of tools, similar to those 
 used for metal, but ground to rather more acute 
 angles. These tools are held horizontally upon the rest, 
 because depressing the handles causes the bevel below the 
 edge to rub upon the work ; and in addition, the grain of 
 hard foreign woods is such that it cannot well be cut by 
 placing the tool at a more acute angle, as would theoreti- 
 cally be required. Hence we can only regard these as 
 scraping tools ; but as such they will do excellent work in 
 skilful hands. I have said that we discard the gouge, but 
 there are some woods that will bear this tool, to take off the 
 roughest parts of the work, before the application of others. 
 The roughing-tool, however, may now be considered to be 
 the point-tool, and the round-end tool, or " round " as it is 
 
204 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 often called; a narrow one makes a good tool for this 
 purpose. 
 
 Hard wood is easier on the whole to work than soft, 
 because we have for the purpose a large stock of tools ot 
 all shapes, suitable to the various mouldings required. 
 Hollows, round-beading tools, compound and simple 
 moulding tools of various sizes, to say nothing of those 
 which are made for use with ornamental apparatus, such 
 as are required for fluting, beading, and eccentric work, 
 spirals, and so forth. It is indeed in hard wood that most 
 amateurs are accustomed to work ; ebony and ivory, 
 singly or in combination, being more extensively used 
 than any other. 
 
 To turn a cylinder, or any work requiring to be held at 
 both ends, you will invariably find the cross-chuck the best 
 to use, — the fork or prong not taking hold in the hard 
 material. Kough down to shape as before, using the gouge 
 if it will work, but keeping the rest as close as possible, 
 and only taking a light cut. Then finish roughing with a 
 round-tool, and proceed generally as in soft wood turning, 
 except inasmuch as you have to scrape instead of cutting 
 the work into form. 
 
 In addition to the tools already described, you will have 
 to obtain a few beading- tools, if you want to do very good 
 work, for these give far more beautiful mouldings than you 
 can cut in any other manner. Fig. 53, A to C, represent 
 
SIDE-PARTING TOOL 
 
 these. The bevel is on the under side, and it is better to 
 interfere with it as little as possible, by always sharpening 
 the flat face only. If it should be necessary^ however, to 
 touch the bevil, it must be rubbed by a slip of oilstone, 
 rounded on the edge, as used for sharpening gouges. 
 Conical grinders, revolving in the lathe, are also used, 
 especially for small beading-tools, to be fixed in the slide- 
 rest. In the same figure, D and E represent another useful 
 hard- wood and ivory tool. It is - called the side-parting 
 tool ; and it is usual to have several of these, the hooks 
 increasing in length. The edge is only on the extreme end 
 of the hook. These tools are used for economy's sake to 
 cut solid blocks of ivory and hard-wood from the inside of 
 boxes, instead of cutting the material into a heap of useless 
 shavings. Similar tools, G, H, curved instead of rectan- 
 gular, serve to cut out a solid piece from the inside of a 
 bowl. In ivory work it is essential to use these tools, 
 because such material is very costly ; $2.50 a lb., and up- 
 wards, being a common price. 
 
 K is given to show what are meant by headings. If 
 these are exactly semicircular in section, they are far 
 more beautiful in appearance than if of such curves as can 
 be roughly cut by a chisel. The bead-tools are beautifully 
 formed for this very purpose. To use the same side-parting 
 tool, you must proceed as follows, which you will under- 
 stand by the fig. L : — A common straight parting -tool or 
 
THE RING-TOOL, 
 
 207 
 
 narrow cliisel is first applied to the face of the work to cut 
 a deep circular groove or channel, as shown by the white 
 space at N, and in section at L. This allows the narrowest 
 of the hooked tools to be applied to under-cut the solid core 
 X, This being withdrawn, a rather longer hook is applied, 
 the hook being held downwards as at 0, until it reaches 
 the spot where it is to work, when it is gradually turned 
 up (bevel below). Eventually, it is plain that the solid 
 core or centre block x will fall out entire, which may be 
 used for other purposes. M shows how a similar but 
 curved block can be removed from the inside of a 
 cup or bowl, the curved tool not requiring an entry to be 
 made for it, as it cuts its own way entirely from first to 
 last. 
 
 P and Q show a ring-tool and the method of using it. 
 A recess is turned in the face of a piece of wood as if 
 it was intended to hollow out a box. The ring-tool is 
 then applied bevel downwards, and with the left cutting 
 edge a bead is cut half-through from the inside. The 
 right edge is then applied to the outside, and when the 
 cuts meet the ring neatly finished, will fall ofi; With this 
 tool you can turn them very rapidly, and they will require 
 only a rub of sand-paper to finish them. 
 
 R, S, T are three more tools for hard wood. The first 
 two cut on the outside of the curved part all round. These 
 would be used to hollow out humming-tops and all similar 
 
2o8 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 articles, and to finish the insides of bowls, for which T is 
 also designed. Indeed, I might go on to describe all pos- 
 sible shapes of curved tools, each intended for some special 
 work; but you will not do better than to go to Fenn, Buck, 
 or any tool-maker in London, or elsewhere, and pick out at 
 7s., or so, per dozen, all shapes and sizes, or if you live at 
 a distance and write to either of the above, they will select 
 you the most useful ; and you can trust these tradesmen 
 and all first-class ones to send you no tools which are not 
 of the best quality. 
 
 In finishing best work in hard wood, be very careful of 
 all sharp edges of mouldings. Sand and glass paper round 
 off these, and spoil the beauty of the work. If you are 
 obliged to use such substances, touch off again the edges 
 with very keen tools, which ought to leave brighter and 
 more beautiful surfaces than any sand-paper can produce. 
 Indeed, the secret of finished work in hard wood is to have 
 tools whose edges and bevels are polished. In ornamental 
 eccentric and rose-engine turning, where to use sand-paper 
 would be to ruin the appearance of it, the little drills and 
 cutters pass through three stages of sharpening, being 
 ground on the oilstone, finished on a slab of brass, fed with 
 oil and oilstone powder, and polished on a slab of iron with 
 oil alone or oil and rouge. After this every cut that is made 
 with them reflects the light; and as the surface is otherwise 
 purposelv srailed or dulled by cutting a series of fine light 
 
TURNING IN METALS. 
 
 209 
 
 rings with a point tool, tlie pattern itself shows out clearly 
 and lustrously. 
 
 TURNING BRASS AND OTHER METALS, 
 
 I shall now teach you how to turn iron and brass, which,, 
 though harder than wood, are not very difficult to cut, if 
 you go to work in a proper manner and understand how to 
 use your tools. What these are like I have already told 
 you, and also how to mount a bar in the lathe by using the 
 driver or point-chuck with a carrier. If the piece to be 
 turned is not a bar, you will have to drive it into a chuck 
 of wood, or clamp it upon a face-plate, or in a self-centring 
 chuck if you have one. 
 
 I shall suppose, first of all, a mere straight bar of iron,, 
 centred at the ends, as I have shown you. Take off the lathe- 
 cord that you use for wood, and fit one to go upon the largest 
 part of the mandrel pulley, and the smallest upon the fly- 
 wheel. When you now put your foot upon the treadle to work 
 at your usual speed, you will find the mandrel turn quite 
 slowly ; but I may at once tell you, that what you lose in 
 speed you gain" in power. Set your rest for iron (which is 
 not that used for wood, but one with a broad, flat top) so 
 that it stands a little below the central line of the lathe 
 mandrel and work, which will bring the edge of the tool 
 exactly upon that line. This is always tlie position of the 
 tool for metal-turning, at any rate for iron. 
 
 O 
 
2 10 
 
 2 HE YOUNG MECHAMC. 
 
 Begin by trimming the end of tlie bar next to tlie back 
 centre. Use a graver, held as I directed you; that is, with 
 the bevel flat upon the face of the iron, which is in this case 
 the end of it. Only let the point cut, and a very little of 
 the edge beyond it, and do not expect to take a deep cut so 
 as to bring off a thick shaving. In metal work you will 
 always have to proceed slowly, but nothing is more pleasant 
 when once you can do it well. 
 
 You will at first have to experimentalise a little as to the 
 exact angle at which to hold the tool, but you will soon find 
 out this ; and the advantage of hand-tools is, that you can 
 always feel as well as see how they are working, and can 
 ease them here and there to suit the material. It is rather 
 difficult at first to hold the tool still in metal-working, but, 
 like all else, it becomes easy by practice ; so much so, that 
 to hold the tool steadily in one hand is not only possible, but 
 is the mode always followed by watchmakers. While you are 
 about it, you should turn the graver over and try it in other 
 positions ; for although the two sides of the bevel nearest to 
 the point are the only ones to be used, these may be applied 
 in either direction, because they are both sharpened to angles 
 of 60°, and so long as you present them at the correct angle 
 (the smallest possible in respect of the work), it matters not 
 which face of the tool lies uppermost. After squaring ( ff 
 one end, the approved plan is to remove the carrier, reverse 
 the bar, and do the same to the other end. Then begin to 
 
TURNING IN METALS. 
 
 211 
 
 turn from the right hand. Place the graver as before, witli 
 the point overlapping the end very slightly (so as only to 
 use the extremity of the cutting edge close to the point), 
 and take off a light shaving along the bar for a distance 
 of about half an inch, or even a quarter, keeping the edge 
 of the graver which is on the rest in one position, and 
 moving the tool, not by sliding it along the rest, but by 
 using the point upon which it lies as a pivot. It is very 
 difficult to describe this exactly, but Fig. 52, 0, will help to 
 explain it. The tool is to rest upon one spot, and the point 
 to move in short curves like the dotted lines, being shifted 
 to a new position as you feel it get out of cut. The left 
 hand should grasp the blade and hold it tightly down upon 
 the rest, while the right moves the handle to and fro as 
 required. The curved dotted lines are necessarily ex- 
 aggerated, but the principle of the work is this, whether 
 you use a graver or a heel-tool. You should turn about 
 half an inch quite round, and then go on to the next, by 
 which you will always have a little shoulder upon the work 
 for the tool to start upon, and this will be nice, clean, bright 
 metal, and will not blunt the tool. But if you go to work 
 differently, so that the edge of the tool comes continually 
 in contact with the rough outside of the iron caused by 
 the heat of the fire, and which is exceedingly hard, the 
 point of the tool will be quickly ground down, while the 
 iron will not be cut into at all. 
 
2 12 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 I need tell you no more about turning a bar iron in 
 the latlie, because the above directions apply in all cases ; 
 but if you have to turn the face of a piece of metal that is 
 carried in a chuck of some kind, you should always work 
 from the middle towards the edge, and if the graver is 
 used, its bevelled face will lie towards you during the pro- 
 cess. Take care to chuck the metal very firmly, for it is 
 most annoying to have it suddenly leave the chuck or shift 
 its i^osition after you have been at the trouble of turning 
 part of it truly. In such case it is very difficult to replace 
 it exactly as it was before, and all your work has in con- 
 sequence to be gone over again. When taking the final 
 cut, or before, if you like, dip the end of the tool into water, 
 or soap and water, and see the efiect. The surface turned 
 in this way will be highly polished at once, and the tool 
 will cut with much greater ease, so that a large, clean 
 shaving will come ofi*. When using a slide-rest, you will 
 find it always better to keep water just dripping upon the 
 work and point of the tool; but there is a drawback, never- 
 theless, to this plan, for, as might be expected, it makes a 
 mess and rusts the lathe, and sometimes the work as well, 
 so the water must be constantly wiped off it. 
 
 THE SLIDE-REST. 
 
 I shall now pass on to describe a mechanical arrangement 
 called a slide-rest, of which there are two separate and dis- 
 
THE SLIDE-REST. 
 
 213 
 
 tinct forms, one for metal and one for ornamental tm^ning 
 in ivory and hard wood. The ornamental work that can 
 he done I shall pass by for the present, because few boys 
 are provided with the costly apparatus required, and I am 
 rather addressing those young mechanics whose tastes in- 
 cline them to model machinery and to practise the various 
 operations of mechanical engineering on a small scale. To 
 such a slide-rest is an almost necessary addition to the lathe, 
 for there is a great deal of work which, I may say, cannot 
 be done without it ; for instance, boring the cylinders of 
 engines (except small ones of brass), turning the piston- 
 rods and various pieces which require to be accurately 
 cjdindrical and of equal size, perhaps for the length of a 
 foot or more. Hand-work has accomplished something in 
 this way in olden days, but the inability of workmen to 
 advance beyond a certain standard of perfection with hand- 
 tools alone, became such a hindrance to the manufacture of 
 the steam-engine, as improved by Watt and others, that 
 had not Maudsley, Nay smith, and others developed the 
 principle of the slide-rest and planing machine, we should 
 not yet have lived to see those gigantic engines which tear 
 along like demon horses with breath of fire, at the rate of 
 sixty miles or more in as many minutes. So likewise 
 would various other machines, which now appear absolutely 
 necessary to supply our various wants, have stood in their 
 primitive and imperfectly developed forms; for it is necessary, 
 
214 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC, 
 
 before constructing a machine, to have the means of turning 
 cylindrical parts truly, and producing perfectly level plates 
 where required. 
 
 The object of a slide-rest is to provide means for holding 
 a tool firmly, and giving it a power to traverse to and fro 
 and from side to side, so that by the first we may be able 
 to cause such tool to approach or recede from the work, 
 and by the second we may cause it to move in a perfectly 
 straight line along its sui'face from end to end. This is 
 accomplished in the following manner : — The drawing 
 being a representation of one of the first machines con- 
 structed for the purpose. A rectangular frame, A, of iron 
 is carried by a pair of strong uprights, B B, fixed to the 
 sole-plate, C, by which it is attached by a bolt to the bed 
 of the lathe. Lengthwise of this frame runs a screw, pre- 
 vented by collars from moving endwise, but which can be 
 turned round by the winch-handle, D. Thus a nut through 
 which this screw passes, and which only has endwise 
 motion, will, when the latter is turned by its handle, 
 traverse it from end to end in either direction, ac- 
 cording as the screw may be turned from right to 
 left or the contrary. This nut is attached to the under 
 part of a sliding-plate, E, which has a part projecting 
 between the sides of the frame, and also two others on its 
 outside, by which it grasps the same with great accuracy, 
 and is prevented from any shake or play as the whole 
 
THE SLIDE-REST. 
 
 with the nut is made to traverse to and fro along the 
 frame. 
 
 Lengthwise of this sliding-plate, that is, in a direction 
 the opposite to that of its own traverse, are two bars bevelled 
 underneath, fixed exactly parallel to each other, which are 
 so arranged to guide the cross traverse of another plate 
 with chamfered edges to fit the bevels of the guide bars. 
 This second plate has on its upper surface two clamps 
 which secure the tool. It is plain, then, that by this ar- 
 rangement the two required movements are attained, the 
 lower plate sliding along in one direction parallel with the 
 lathe-bed, and the other across it. In the original rests, 
 this upper plate with the tool was moved by hand, and in 
 the modern rest for ornamental turning (which this was 
 also constructed for) the same is done, but a hand-lever is 
 added for the purpose. 
 
 But although a similar arrangement is needed for metal, it 
 is plain that the top plate should have a more easily regulated 
 motion, and that we should be able to advance the tool as 
 near the work as may be desired, and then to retain it 
 securely at that distance while giving the necessary move- 
 ment in the direction of the length of the object to be turned. 
 The method of efiecting this is at once suggested by the 
 screw and nut of the lower part, and by merely adding to 
 the top a similar arrangement, the desired end is at once 
 attained. 
 
2lG 
 
 7 HE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 The actual construction of sucli rest varies somewliat, 
 but Fig. 54, H, shows it in its most ordinary form. The 
 lower part is, of course, to be clamped down securely to the 
 
 Tig. 54. 
 
 lathe-bed, there being a projection below which is made to 
 fit accurately between the bearers similar to that beneath 
 the poppits. This projection secures the correct position 
 of the rest, of which one frame or plate will travel length- 
 
THE SLIDE-REST. 
 
 2L7 
 
 wise of tlie bed, while the other will move exactly at right 
 angles to it. But in the compound slide-rest, which is very 
 general, there is also a third circular motion, by which the 
 upper part can be set at any angle with the lower, instead of 
 being permanently fixed at right angles to it. By this the 
 tool can be made to approach the work more and more as 
 it passes along it ; and it will therefore cut deeper at one 
 end of its traverse than at the other. The result will be 
 that what is thus turned will not be a true cylinder, but a 
 cone, i.e.^ it will be larger at one end than the other, 
 although otherwise smooth and even. 
 
 We are thus provided with the most valuable addition to 
 the lathe ever devised by mechanics, and it is no longer a 
 question of the strength and skill of the workman whether 
 we can produce a perfect piece of work, but simply of the 
 accuracy with which the lathe and rest are constructed, and 
 of the form and condition of the tools to be used. The latter 
 are not exactly like those ordinarily used, although the 
 principle of the cutting angles already laid down needs to 
 be adhered to even with more unfailing attention than that 
 required for the correct formation of hand-tools. Moreover, it 
 is plain that — here we shall no longer feel whether the tool 
 is working as it ought to do — we shall be unconscious of 
 the precise amount of strain that is being brought to bear 
 against its edge, and if it is by chance working in a bad 
 position, at a wrong angle, we cannot re-adjust it in a 
 
THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 moment as we could a hand-tool by a slight movement of 
 the fingers or wrist. 
 
 Hence you will see at once how very important it is that 
 tools for the slide-rest should be shaped with the mo8t rigid 
 adherence to correct principles ; and, further, that they 
 should be so fixed in the slide-rest as to meet the work at 
 the precise angle, and at the height exactly suited to the 
 material of which it is composed. As regards the latter 
 point, it may be taken as an almost invariable rule that the 
 work should be attacked on its axial line (that is, a line 
 that would run from end to end of it dividing it lengthwise 
 into equal parts, or, as it would commonly be named, its 
 middle line). If the tool meets it above this, it is most 
 likely that it will rub against it, and the point will be out 
 of cut. If it meets it below, there will be a tendency for 
 the point to catch in, and the work to roll up upon the face 
 of the tool, which, in fact, it very often does with careless 
 workmen, and then there comes a smash of some kind — 
 lathe centres snapped ofi", the tool broken, the bar bent 
 beyond remedy, and possibly the operator's toes made un- 
 pleasantly tender. 
 
 The most common slide-rest tool for outside work is 
 that given at H^. It is made straight, as shown, or bent 
 sideways to right or left to cut shoulders on the work, or 
 enter hollows, or creep sneakingly round corners, or any 
 other of those crooked ways in which man delights ; but 
 
THE SLIDE-EEST. 
 
 whether straight or not, these tools have all most com- 
 monly the cranked form shown here. This gives the tools 
 a slight degree of elasticity — not very much, because that 
 would only injure the perfection of the work ; therefore 
 they are not very considerably cranked. The angles are 
 ground as directed in the table of tool-angles, and if the 
 point is too low, slips of iron are placed below the shank 
 upon the tool-plate of the slide-rest ; if too high, the grind- 
 stone must be resorted to ; and the advantage of these 
 cranked tools is, that they can be ground down several 
 times without being brought too low to be packed up with 
 iron slips to the right level. Thus a cranked tool is by far 
 more advantageous for the slide-rest than one made straight 
 like those used for hand-turning. For inside work, how- 
 ever, or holing," the crank form is not possible, unless 
 the hole is of large size, and so, for this purpose, straight 
 side-tools are used, like K. 
 
 If the tool is well placed, as well as correctly made, 
 nothing can be more easy and delightful than slide-rest 
 work. You merely advance the tool to take the required 
 cut (beginning generally at the right-hand end of the bar), 
 and then gently turning the other handle, you will see it 
 traverse along, as if work was a pleasure to it, as it ought 
 to be to all young mechanics. Not infrequently, however, 
 instead of this even, steady work, the tool jumps and 
 catches, or rubs and shrieks : it is out of temper, I sup- 
 
220 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC, 
 
 pose ; at any rate, in some one or more particulars it needs 
 correction. 
 
 Although with the slide-rest you can generally venture 
 upon taking a deeper cut than you could with hand- tools, 
 it is by no means well to hurry the work. At first, 
 especially before it has become cylindrical, the tool will 
 only cut partly round its surface, and the work is done in 
 an uncomfortable, jerking, dissatisfied sort of way, and the 
 deeper you drive the tool the worse it is ; but as soon as 
 the outer skin is oft, and the work has become cylindrical, 
 a long, clear, bright shaving curls off pleasantly from end to 
 end, and the surface ought, if the tool is wetted, to become 
 at once of a finished appearance. 
 
 You should always, with a slide-rest, take the whole run 
 of the piece from end to end to a certain depth, and then, 
 commencing again at the end, repeat the same process, and 
 so on until the required size is almost attained. When it 
 is, take out the tool with the pointed end which has been 
 in use, and insert one freshly sharpened with a broad point, 
 getting it so placed as to cut the shaving both from the 
 surface below, and from the shoulder to which it is attached 
 at the side, as I explained to you in the chapter on grind- 
 ing and setting tools, and which must be well understood 
 before you can hope to make good work with tools rigidly 
 fixed in a slide-rest. With this tool, kept wet with soap 
 and water (or soda water, which is better for this than for 
 
THE SLIDE-REST. 
 
 22 i 
 
 your stomacli), take a venj light shaving from end to end, 
 taking especial care to turn the handle which gives the 
 traverse slowly and evenly. If you stop, or almost stop, 
 the tool will be sure to draw a little deeper into cut, which 
 will make a scratch upon the work, or, it may be, plough 
 a groove, and so far spoil the appearance of it. 
 
 Whenever you finish turning any bar that has been 
 centred at each end, be careful to leave the centre marks 
 just as they were when the work was in the lathe. The 
 ends will have been otherwise trimmed off at the very com- 
 mencement, and it may happen that at some future day it 
 may be desired to re-mount the piece for repair, when, if 
 these marks are gone, and new centres have to be drilled, 
 the whole will run so much out of truth that it will have to 
 be entirely re-turned from the commencement. Do not, 
 therefore, fancy that these centre marks are unsightly, and 
 forthwith file them out, but be content to leave them. 
 
 Slide-rest tools, made in the ordinary way, are so far 
 troublesome in use that if they get broken you must have 
 them re-forged, and few country smiths know anything 
 about such matters. I have a tool now lying by me made 
 by a smith (true, it was a Welsh smith), and although I 
 stood by and explained how it should be done, and cut one 
 out of a piece of wood, it never arrived at a proper shape, 
 and was never even placed upon the rest. I keep it as old 
 Izaak Walton kept the Londoner's artificial fly, viz., to 
 
222 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 laugh atj" and as a caution to all concerned, never to go 
 to a country blacksmith for slide-rest tools. The following 
 plan answers very well for many kinds of outside work, 
 and is on the whole a plan that may be satisfactorily fol- 
 lowed by the young mechanic. 
 
 Instead of having the tools constructed from a large bar 
 of steel half an inch or so in the square, they are made of 
 short pieces about an inch long, fitted into a peculiar 
 holder. 
 
 The advantage of this arrangement consists in the ease 
 with which you can make your own tools out of broken 
 round, triangular, or square pillar files, small chisels and 
 such like. These can be shaped by the grindstone alone, 
 and the blacksmith will not have to be called into requisi- 
 tion. I shall give you two forms of tool-holders, more 
 or less simple, because I may suppose my young mechanic 
 to be fast growing into an old hand, and able to appreciate 
 differences in these arrangements. 
 
 Fig. 55, A, B, represents two of such holders, one for 
 round, the other for flat steel cutters. Yc'\ can see at once 
 that when these are upon the bed of the rest, they form a 
 tool with cranked end, as previously described, and can 
 therefore be used in precisely the same manner. I shall 
 give no directions for making these tool-holders, which are, 
 nevertheless, very simple affairs, and can be readily under- 
 stood from the drawings here given. 
 
SLIDE- REST TOOL-HOLDERS. 
 
 223 
 
 Another form is sliown at C. The part is a clamp, 
 which is separatcij drawn at f. This, like the last, enables 
 one to use all sorU of odds and ends for tools. There are 
 
 Fig. 55. 
 
 several other patterns of tool-holders, arranged either to use 
 the little pieces of square, round, or triangular steel bars, 
 so that one side, at least, of these may remain without 
 grinding, and others in which two entirely new faces must 
 be given to the tool by the grindstone. The latter are, 
 perhaps, generally the best, because you can then, with the 
 
224 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC, 
 
 aid of tlie table of tool-angles, shape your cutters very 
 accurately to the work required of them. 
 
 Although such tool-holders and cutters are generally 
 used for metals, there are others intended for wood ; and 
 constructed to hold miniature gouges and chisels, which 
 perform their work admirably. A capital tool for outside 
 work, Fig. 55, E, which was used extensively at Portsmouth 
 dockyard for brass turning, is made simply by filing off at 
 an angle of about 45° a round short bar of steel. This 
 angle, however, is unusually small for brass and gun-metal, 
 80° being better. For iron it will answer better, because 
 though filed, or rather ground at 45°, the cutting edge, a 
 little way from what may be called the point of the tool, 
 is nearer 60°. 
 
 Similar to these last are the tube gouges, short bits of 
 steel tube ground off and sharpened. These fixed in a 
 holder answer beautifully for soft wood, and do not catch 
 in." If the holder is bent so as to bring the tool into 
 proper position, inside work can be rapidly effected by 
 these, such as hollowing out large bowls and similar heavy 
 work. All this can, of course, be done rapidly with the 
 slide-rest, so far as regards the removal of the greater part 
 of the wood. But in the case of a bowl, in which a curve 
 predominates over a straight line, hand- tools must be used 
 to finish it (generally the inside hook-tool). Tliis last is, 
 in fact, almost identical with the tube gouge ; for the 
 
SLIDE-REST. 
 
 225 
 
 slide-rest, and that wliicli makes it so difficult a tool to 
 use, is that, being a hand-tool, and subject to slight un- 
 intentional changes of position upon the part of the work- 
 man, it catches in, and is either wrenched out of the hand, 
 or a piece is chopped off the wood. Eigidly held in the 
 slide-rest, the exact angle, once found, is of course main- 
 ained. 
 
Chapter XU. 
 
 NOW propose to assist the young mechanic in 
 special work, instead of continuing general 
 directions. This will enable me to explain to 
 him various lathe appliances, and other details 
 of mechanical work hitherto passed bj. 
 
 Of all models which boys (and very big boys too) are 
 desirous to construct, the steam-engine holds the chief 
 place, and deservedly so ; for every boy calling himself 
 mechanical, ought to know how this is made, and the 
 general principles of its construction as well. However, I 
 am aware, from experience, that many a youngster, who is 
 even in possession of a model engine, is utterly ignorant of 
 the cause of its motion; although it is a great delight 
 to them to see the steam puffing out, and the wheel 
 revolving nineteen to the dozen," as schoolboys say. 
 Now, an engine is a very simple affair, and can be easily 
 explained ; and, as I wish my readers to work rationally, 
 
HOW TO MAKE A STEAM-ENGINE. 227 
 
 I shall show them what they have to do before I tell them 
 how to do it. 
 
 Fig. 56. 
 
 A, Fig. 56, represents a cubical vessel of tin or any 
 
228 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC, 
 
 other substance. By cubical, I mean that all its sides are 
 squares, and all exactly equal ; each side in the present 
 case is to be 1 inch wide and long, or a square inch. B is 
 a similar vessel, 1 foot cube. It contains, therefore, 1728 
 cubic inches, or is 1728 times as large in capacity as the 
 first. !Now, if I were to fill the little vessel with water and 
 tip it into the second, and put a lamp under it, the water 
 would all soon boil away, as it is called. It would be 
 converted into steam ; and the quantity of steam it would 
 produce would exactly fill the larger vessel, without excit- 
 ing any particular pressure upon its sides. 
 
 Steam, thus allowed plenty of elbow room, is like a lazy 
 boy ; it will play and curl about very prettily, but will do 
 no work. We must put some sort of pressure, therefore, 
 upon it — confine it, and we shall soon see that, by strug- 
 gling to escape, it will serve our purpose, and become a 
 most obedient workman. We have, therefore, only to put 
 double the quantity of water into our larger vessel, that is, 
 two cubic inches. We will put on a cover tightly, adding 
 a pipe through which to pour in the water. Soon we shall 
 have the steam formed as before; but it has no longer room 
 enough, and out it comes fizzing and roaring, verj^ savage 
 at having been shut up in so small a cage. And we can 
 make it work too, for if we set up a little fan-wheel of tin 
 right in its way, we shall see it spin round merrily enough ; 
 or if we cork the tube lightly, we shall find this cork soon 
 
FORCE OF STEAM. 
 
 229 
 
 come out with a bang. We have, in fact, already con- 
 structed a steam-engine and a steam-gun on a small scale. 
 The pressure in this case is, indeed, not great, but what it 
 is I must now try to explain. 
 
 The air or atmosphere, which surrounds us on all sides, 
 exercises a pressure upon everything of 15 lbs. on every 
 square inch of surface. If our little cubical inch box of 
 tin had no air inside it, and no steam, but was absolutely 
 empty, each side, and top, and bottom would have 15 lbs. 
 pressure upon it ; which would be evident if it were not 
 very strong, for it would sink in on all sides directly, just 
 as much as if you were to add a weight of 15 lbs. when it 
 was full of air, as it would ordinarily be. 
 
 When I spoke of the larger box being exactly filled 
 with steam from the evaporation of the cubic inch of water 
 poured from the smaller box, I supposed it empty of air. 
 The steam from that quantity of water, occupying the place 
 of the air, would also be of the same pressure, 15 lbs. per 
 square inch of surface ; and as this only balances the pres- 
 sure of the atmosphere, which would be, in such a case, 
 pressing in on all sides, the steam would not show any 
 pressure ; just as, if you put equal weights into each scale of 
 a balance, the beam of it would remain horizontal, neither 
 scale showing to the outward senses that it had any pres- 
 sure upon it. But in the second case, we have doubled the 
 quantity of steam, but cor^pelled it to occupy the same 
 
230 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 space: therefore we have now real, visible pressure of 15 lbs. 
 upon each square inch ; and if we again halve the space 
 which the steam has to occupy, or double the quantity of 
 water, we shall obtain a pressure of 30 lbs. beyond the 
 pressure of the atmosphere. 
 
 Let us now disregard atmospheric pressure, and fit up 
 such an apparatus as Fig. 56, D. Here we have first our 
 small box, closed on all sides, and from it a small tube 
 rising and entering into the bottom of a larger one, which is 
 very smooth in the inside ; in this is a round plate or disc, 
 called a piston, which fits the tube nicely, but not so tight 
 as to prevent it from moving up and down easily ; and let 
 a weight of 15 lbs. be laid upon it. Let us suppose this 
 large tube or cylinder to be 1700 times larger than the 
 cubic inch box, into which water is to be poured till full. 
 Now we heat it as before, and when 212° of heat are 
 attained by the water (which is its boiling-point) when it 
 begins to be converted into steam, the piston will be seen 
 to rise, and will gradually ascend, until quite at the top of 
 the tube, because the steam required exactly that amount 
 of room. 
 
 Now we have arrived at the same conclusion which we 
 came to before ; for you see that not only has the cubic inch of 
 water become a cubic foot of steam {about 1700 to 1 728 of its 
 former volume), but it is supporting 15 lbs. weight, which 
 represents that of the atmosphere, and if we could get rid 
 
FORCE OF STEAM. 
 
 231 
 
 of the latter, a solid weight of 15 lbs. would be thus sup- 
 ported. Now, still neglecting the atmospheric pressure, 
 suppose instead of 15 lbs. we add another 15 lbs., making 
 the weight 30 lbs., down goes our piston again, and stands 
 at about half the height it did before. We have thus, as we 
 had previously, a cubic foot of steam made to occupy half a 
 cubic foot of space, giving a pressure (which is the same as 
 supporting a weight) of 30 lbs. 
 
 I ought, perhaps, to add in this place, however, that 
 under 30 lbs. pressure, or atmospheric weight and 15 lbs. 
 additional, the water would not become steam at a tempera- 
 ture of 212°, but it would have to be made much hotter, 
 until a thermometer placed in it would show 252^ 
 
 So far we have seen what a cubic inch of water will do 
 when heated to a certain degree, and at first sight it may 
 not seem a great deal. Far from being light work, how- 
 ever, this is actually equal to the work of raising a weight 
 of 1 ton a foot high. Let us prove the fact. Suppose the 
 tube or cylinder to be square instead of round, and that 
 its surface is exactly 1 square inch, how can we give 1700 
 times the room which is occupied by the water ? It is plain 
 that the piston must rise 1700 inches in the 1-inch cylinder 
 or tube, carrying with it, as before, its weight of 15 lbs. — 
 that is, it has raised 15 lbs. 1700 inches, or about 142 feet. 
 But this is the same as 15 times 142 feet raised 1 foot, 
 which is 2130 lbs. raised 1 foot, very nearly a ton, the latter 
 
232 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 being 2240 lbs. So, after all, you see tbat our little cubic 
 incli of water is a veiy good labourer, doing a great deal of 
 work if we supply him with sufficient warmth. 
 
 Now this is exactly the principle of the ordinary steam- 
 engine : we have a cylinder in w^hich a piston is very nicely 
 fitted, and we put this cylinder in connection with a boiler, 
 the steam from w^hich drives the piston from one end of the 
 cylinder to the other. In the first engine that was made, 
 the cylinder actually occupied the very position it does in 
 our sketch ; it was made to stand upon the top of the boiler, 
 a tap being added in the short pipe below the cylinder, so 
 that the steam could be admitted or shut off at pleasure. 
 But it is plain that although our little engine has done some 
 work, it has stopped at a certain point ; there is the piston 
 at the top, and it cannot go any farther ; we must get it 
 down^again before it can repeat its labour. 
 
 How would you do this, boys ? Push it down, eh ? If you 
 did, you would find it spring up again when you removed 
 your hand, just as if there were underneath it a coiled steel 
 spring ; by which, however, you would learn practically 
 what is meant by the elasticity of steam. Besides this, if 
 you push it down, you become the workman, and the engine 
 is only the passive recipient of your own labour. Try 
 another plan ; remove the lamp, and see the result — 
 gradually, very gradually, the piston begins to descend. 
 
 Take a squirt or syringe, and squirt cold water against 
 
THE FIRST ENGINE CONSTRUCTED. 
 
 tlie apparatus. Presto ! down it goes, now very quickly in- 
 deed, and is soon at the bottom of the cylinder. But we 
 may as well try to get useful work done by the descent of 
 the piston as well as by its ascent. 
 
 Set it up like Fig. 56, E. Here is a rod or beam, h a Cy 
 the middle of which is supported like that of a pair of 
 scales. From one end we hang a scale, and place in it 15 
 lbs. ; and as the piston sinks the weight is raised, and exactly 
 the same work is done as before. Thus was the first engine 
 constructed; but instead of the scale-pan and weight, a 
 pump-rod was attached, and as the piston descended in the 
 cylinder this rod was raised, and the water drawn from the 
 well. This, however, was not called a steam-engine, because 
 the work is not really the effect of the steam, which is only 
 used to produce what is called a vacuum {i.e.^ an empty 
 space, devoid of air) under the piston. In fact, the up-stroke- 
 of the piston was only partly caused by steam, and the rod! 
 of the pump was weighted, which helped to draw it up. 
 
 I must get you to understand this clearly, so that the- 
 principle may become plain — clear as mud," as Paddy 
 would say. I told you that the air pressed on every square 
 inch of surface with a force of about 15 lbs. "We do not 
 feel it, because we are equally pressed on all sides — from 
 within as well as from without — so that atmospheric pres- 
 sure is balanced. Sometimes this is a very good thing. 
 We should, I think, hardly like to carry about the huge 
 
234 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC, 
 
 weight pressing upon our shoulders, if something did not 
 counteract it for us, so that we cannot feel it. Indeed, if 
 it were otherwise, we should become flat as pancakes in no 
 time — totally chawed up." 
 
 But sometimes we should prefer to get rid of the ait 
 altogether — and I can tell you it is not easy to do so, unless 
 we put something into its place; and we want perhaps 
 simply to get rid of it, and make use of the room it occu- 
 pied. We require to do this in the present instance, and 
 in fact we have just done it. If the whole space below the 
 piston, when we begin to work, is filled with water, it is 
 plain there can be no air below it ; and when the steam has 
 raised it, there is still no air below it, but only steam. 
 We then apply cold to the cylinder by removing the lamp 
 and squirting cold water against it, which has the effect of 
 reducing the steam to water again, which will occupy 1 
 inch of space only. We, therefore, now have a space of 
 1600 cubic inches with neither air nor water in it; and 
 so, if the piston is 1 inch in size, there will be the 15 lb. 
 pressure of the atmosphere upon it, and nothing below to 
 balance it, for we have formed a vacuum below it, and of 
 course this 15 lb. weight will press it rapidly down. It did 
 so; and we therefore were enabled to raise 15 lb. in the 
 scale-pan. You will know, therefore, henceforth, exactly 
 what I mean by a vacuum and atmospheric pressure. It is, 
 you see, the latter which does the work when a vacuum is 
 
ATMOSPHERIC ENGINE. 
 
 235 
 
 formed as above; but you can easily understand that it 
 might be possible to use both the atmospheric pressure and 
 the pressure of steam as well, which is done in the con- 
 densing steam-engine. 
 
 In the earliest engine, called the Atmospheric for the 
 reason above stated, the top of the cylinder was left entirely 
 open, as in our sketch; but the condensing water was 
 not applied outside the cylinder, but descended from a 
 cistern above, and formed a little jet or fountain in the 
 bottom of the cylinder at the very moment that the piston 
 reached its highest point. Down it, therefore, came, draw- 
 ing up the pump -rod. When at the bottom the jet of 
 water ceased. Steam was again formed below the piston, 
 which raised it as before ; and the process being repeated, 
 the required work was done. A boy, to turn a couple of 
 taps, to let on or off the water or steam, was all the attend- 
 ance required. 
 
 For some time the atmospheric engine, the invention of 
 Newcomen, was the only one in general use ; and even this 
 was, in those days (1705-1720), so difficult to construct 
 that its great power was comparatively seldom resorted to, 
 even for pumping, for which it was nevertheless admirably 
 suited. The huge cylinder required to be accurately bored, 
 while there were no adequate means of doing such work ; 
 and although the piston was " packed," by being wound 
 round with hemp, it was difficult to keep it sufficiently 
 
236 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 tight, 3Tt at the same time to give it adequate " play.*' 
 Then, another drawback appeared, which, though of less 
 importance in some districts, absolutely prevented the 
 introduction of this engine into many parts of the country. 
 Tlie consumption of coal was enormous in proportion to 
 the power gained. We can easily understand the reason of 
 this, when we consider the means used for producing a 
 vacuum in the cylinder below the piston. The water intro- 
 duced for the purpose, chilled, not only the steam, but 
 cylinder and piston also ; and therefore, before a second 
 stroke could be made, these had to be again heated to the 
 temperature of boiling water. The coal required for the 
 latter purpose was therefore wasted, causing a dead loss to 
 the proprietor. 
 
 So matters continued for some time, until a mathematical 
 instrument-maker of Glasgow, named Watt, about the year 
 1760, began to turn his attention to the subject ; and having 
 to repair a model of Newcomen's engine belonging to the 
 University of Glasgow, the idea seems to have first struck 
 him of condensing the steam in a separate vessel, so as to 
 avoid cooling the cylinder after each upward stroke of the 
 piston. This was the grand secret which gave the first 
 impetus to the use of steam-engines ; and from that day to 
 this these mighty workmen, whose muscles and sinews 
 never become weary, have been gradually attaining perfec- 
 tion. Yet it may be fairly stated that the most modern 
 
JAMES WATT'S INVENTION. 
 
 237 
 
 form of condensing engine in use is but an improvement 
 upon Watt's in details of construction and accuracy of 
 workmanship. For Watt did not stand still in his work ; 
 but after having devised a separate condenser, he further 
 suggested the idea of closing the top of the cylinder, which 
 had hitherto been left open to the influence of the atmos- 
 phere; and rejecting the latter as the means of giving 
 motion to the piston, he made use of the expansive power 
 of steam on each side of the piston alternately, while a 
 vacuum was also alternately produced on either side of it 
 by the condensation of the steam. 
 
 The atmospheric engine was thus wholly displaced. 
 The saving of fuel in the working of the machine was so 
 great, that the stipulation of the inventor, that one-third 
 of the money so saved should be his, raised him from 
 comparative poverty to affluence in a very short time. 
 Watt, however, had still to contend with great difficulties 
 in the actual construction of his engines. He was in the 
 same "fix" as some of my young readers, who are very 
 desirous to make some small model, but have little else 
 than a pocket-knife and gimblet to do it with. For there 
 were no large steam-lathes, slide-rests, planing and boring 
 machines, procurable in those days, and even the heaviest 
 work had to be done by hand, if indeed those can be called 
 hand-tools which had frequently to be sat upon to keep 
 them up -to cut. It was therefore impossible for Watt to 
 
THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 carry out his designs with anything like accuracy of work- 
 manship, else it is probable that he would have advanced 
 the steam-engine even further towards perfection than he 
 did. In spite of these drawbacks, however, this great 
 inventor lived to see his merits universally acknowledged, 
 and to witness the actual working of very many of these 
 wonderful and useful machines. 
 
 The first necessity which occurred from closing the 
 cylinder at both ends was the devising some means to 
 allow the piston-rod to pass and repass through one end 
 without permitting the steam to escape. This was effected 
 by a stuffing-box, which is represented in Fig. 57, A, B, — 
 the first being a sectional drawing, which you must learn 
 to understand, as it is the only way to show the working 
 details of any piece of machinery. We have here a 
 cylinder cover, a, which bolts firmly to the top of the 
 cylinder, there being a similar one (generally without any 
 stuffing-box) at the other end or bottom of the same. On 
 the top of this you will observe another piece, which is 
 marked 3, and which is indeed part of the first and cast in 
 one piece with it. Through the cylinder cover, is bored 
 a hole of the exact size of the rod attached to the piston, 
 which has to pass through it, but which hole, however well 
 made, would allow the steam to leak considerably during 
 the working of the piston-rod. 
 
 To obviate this, the part h is bored out larger, and has 
 
THE STUFFING-BOX, 
 
 239 
 
 a Clip-shaped cavity formed in it, as you will see by in- 
 specting the drawings. Into this cavity fits the gland, 
 which also has a hole in it, to allow of the passage of the 
 piston-rod. This gland is made to fit into the cavity in h 
 
 A. 
 
 Fig. 57. 
 
 as accurately as possible ; and it can be held by bolts as in 
 the fig. A, or be screwed on the surface as shown at B, in 
 which latter case the greater part of the interior of h is 
 screwed with a similar thread. The piston-rod being in 
 , place, hemp is wound round it (or india-rubber packing- 
 
THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 rings are fitted over it), and the gland is then fitted in 
 upon itj and screwed down, thus squeezing the hemp or 
 rubber tightly, and compelling it to embrace the piston- 
 rod so closely, that leakage of steam is wholly prevented. 
 Whenever you have, therefore, to prevent steam or water 
 escaping round a similar moving-rod in modelling pumps 
 or engines, you will have to efi^ect it in this way. The 
 piston was also packed with hemp or tow, either loosely- 
 plaited or simply wound round the metal in a groove 
 formed for the purpose. In Fig. 57, C and D, I have 
 added drawings of a piston, so made, partly for the purpose 
 of again explaining the nature of sectional drawings. In 
 this one, C, you are shown the end of the piston-rod 
 passing through the piston, and fastened by a screwed nut 
 below, a shoulder preventing the rod from being drawn 
 through by the notion of this nut. The hemp packing is 
 also shown 11 section, but in the drawing D the groove is 
 left for the sake of cleajness. 
 
 In all your smaller models you wiU have to pack your 
 piston in this way, except in those where you entirely 
 give up all idea of jpower. The little engines, for example, 
 sold at $1 and upwards, with oscillating cylinders, have 
 neither packed pistons nor stuffing-boxes; the friction of 
 those would stop them, and escape of steam is of no great 
 consequence. It will, however, be found advantageous to 
 turn a few shallow grooves roimd these unpacked pistons 
 
KEWCOMEN'S ENGINE. 
 
 241 
 
 after they have been made to fit tlieir cylinders as accu- 
 rately as possible, like fig*. C. These fill with water from 
 the condensation of steam, which always occurs at first 
 until the engine gets hot ; and thus a kind of packing is 
 made which is fairly effectual. 
 
 In Fig. 58 I have given a drawing of New com en's 
 engine, in case you would like to make a model of one ; 
 but I do not think it will repay you as well for your labour 
 as some others. There is the difficulty of the cistern of 
 cold water and the waste- well; and the condensation of the 
 steam is a troublesome affair in a small model , so that, on 
 the whole, I should not recommend you to begin your 
 attempts at model -making with the construction of one 
 of these. I shall, however, add a few directions for this 
 work, because what I have to say about boring, screwing, 
 and so forth, will apply to all other models you may de^iire 
 to construct. 
 
 The cylinder, in this case, will be more easily made by 
 obtaining a piece of brass tubing, which can be had of any 
 size, from 3 or 4 inches diameter to the size of a small quill. 
 The first you will often use for boilers, the latter for steam 
 or water pipes. You can also obtain at the model makers — 
 Bateman, for instance, of High Holborn — small taps and 
 screws, and cocks for the admission of water and steam, 
 and all kinds of little requisites which you would find" 
 great difficulty in making, and which would cost you more 
 
IfOJV TO MAKE A BOILER. 
 
 243 
 
 in spoiling and muddling than you would spend in buying 
 them ready made. 
 
 The drawing is given on purpose to show the best and 
 easiest arrangement for a model. It has all parts, there- 
 fore, arranged with a view to simplicity. A is the boiler 
 made of a piece of 3-inch brass tubing, as far as a, 
 the bottom being either of brass or copper at the level of 
 a, b ; the upper domed part may be made by hammering 
 a piece of sheet brass, copper, or even tin, with a round- 
 ended boxwood mallet upon a hollowed boxwood block, of 
 which T, T is a section. You should make one of these if 
 it is your intention to make models your hobby, as it will 
 enable you to do several jobs of the same kind as the pre- 
 sent. Probably you will not be able to make the dome semi- 
 circular, or rather hemispherical ; but at all events, make it 
 as deeply cupped as you can — after which, turn down the 
 extreme edge one-sixteenth of an inch all round to fit the 
 cupped part exactly. This requires a good deal of care and 
 some skill. If you find that you cannot manage it, make 
 your boiler with a flat top instead. Whichever way you 
 make it, a very good joint to connect the parts is that 
 shown in section at V.* The edge of the lower part is 
 turned outwards all round ; that of the upper part is also 
 turned outwards, first of all to double the width of the 
 other, and is then bent over again, first with a pair of pliers 
 
 * The parts so jointed are hxglily ox;iggerated ; wheu hammered down, the 
 joint only forms a light bead!ing. 
 
244 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 and afterwards with a hammer, a block or support being 
 placed underneath it. All this is done by the manufac- 
 turer with a stamping machine on purpose, and would be 
 completed by the Birmingham brass-workers before I could 
 write the description. It can, however, be done without 
 any more tools than shown. 
 
 You will often need a tinman's boxwood mallet with one 
 rounded end and one flat one, which, of course, you can now 
 turn for yourself, as it is an easy bit of work. With the 
 rounded end you can cup any round piece of tin ; but it 
 requires gentle work ; do it gradually by hammering the 
 centre more than the edges. I will show you presently how 
 to do similar work by spinning in the lathe, which is a 
 curious but tolerably easy method of making hollow articles 
 of many kinds from round discs of metal without any seam. 
 
 After you have hammered the joint of the upper and 
 middle parts together, you must solder them all round with 
 tinman's solder. For this purpose you require a soldering- 
 iron represented at W. This is a rod of iron, flattened and 
 split at the end, holding between the forked part a piece of 
 copper, which is secured to the iron by rivets. I should not 
 recommend a heavy one, not so heavy nearly as what you 
 may see at any blacksmith's or tinman's shop, because your 
 work will be generally light, and such irons are all top heavy 
 to use. The end, which may be curved over as shown, will 
 require to be tinned^ for without this it will not work at all 
 
THE ART OF SOLDERING. 
 
 245 
 
 well. File the end bright, and heat it in the fire nearly red 
 hot. Get a common brick, and with an old knife or anything 
 else, make a hollow place in it — a kind of long-cupped recess 
 like a mussel shell, if you know what that is, and put a little 
 rosin into it. Take your iron from the fire, and holding it 
 down close to the brick, touch it with a strip of solder, which 
 will melt and run into the cavity. Now rub the iron well in 
 the solder and rosin, rub it pretty hard upon the brick, and 
 presently you will see it covered with bright solder, from 
 which wipe what remains in drops with a piece of tow. 
 The iron is now fit for immediate use ; but remember, the 
 first time you heat it red-hot, you will burn off the tinning, 
 and you must file it bright again, and repeat the process. 
 So when you want to solder, heat the iron in a clean fire, 
 until, when you hold it a foot from your nose, you find it 
 pretty warm ; and avoid a red heat. You will now find, 
 that when the soldering-iron is hot, it will not only melt 
 but pick up the drop of solder ; and as you draw it slowly 
 along a joint (previously sprinkled with powdered rosin, or 
 wetted with chloride of zinc, or with Baker's soldering 
 fluid), the solder will gradually leave the iron, and attach 
 itself to the work in a thinly-spread, even coat. 
 
 The secret of soldering is to have the iron well-heated, 
 and wiped clean with a bit of tow, and to apply it along 
 the joint so slowly and steadily that the tin or other metal 
 will become hot enough just to melt solder. Try to solder, 
 
246 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC, 
 
 for instance, a thick lump of brass ; file it bright if at all 
 tarnished — for this must invariably be done with all metals. 
 You will be unable to do it at first, for the moment the 
 solder touches it, it will be chilled, and rest in lumps, which 
 you can knock ofi" directly when cold. Now place the brass 
 on the fire for a few seconds until hot, and try again ; the 
 solder will flow readily as the iron passes along it, for it is 
 kept up to the melting-point until it has fairly adhered. 
 This is why in heavy work a large iron is required ; it 
 retains heat longer, and imparts more of it to the metal to 
 be soldered. But you will find it often better to use a light 
 soldering-iron, and to place the brass-casting upon the bar 
 of the grate for a short time. You may, indeed, often work 
 without any soldering-iron as follows : — 
 
 Heat the pieces to be soldered (suppose them castings 
 and not thin sheets of metal) until they will melt solder. 
 Take a stick of the latter, and just dip it in one of the solder- 
 ing solutions named, and rub it upon the work previously 
 brightened. The solder will adhere to both such pieces. 
 Now, while still hot, put them together and screw in a vice, 
 or keep them pinched in any way for a few minutes, and 
 you will find them perfectly secured. In making chucks 
 for the lathe, and in forming many parts of your models, 
 you will find it advantageous to work in this way ; but, 
 notwithstanding, you will often require a light soldering- 
 iron, and sometimes also a blowpipe, which I shall likewise 
 
THE STOP-COCK. 
 
 247 
 
 teach yoruto use, as also how to make a neat little fire-place 
 or furnace to stand on your bench by which to heat the iron. 
 
 I must now suppose that you have carefully soldered the 
 dome to the middle of your boiler ; and as the solder will 
 be underneath, the joint will be concealed even if (as is 
 likely) you should not have made a very neat piece of work. 
 Before you put on the bottom of the boiler, you will have 
 to make two holes in the top — one for the steam-pipe 
 three-eighths of an inch in diameter, the other for the 
 safety-valve also three-eighths — because this will require a 
 plug of brass to be soldered in, which plug will have a hole 
 drilled through it of a quarter of an inch diameter. These 
 may be punched through from the inside, or drilled; they are 
 easily made, but should be as round and even as possible. 
 
 Take a piece of three -eighths-inch tubing, with a stop- 
 cock soldered into the middle of it. I shall suppose you 
 have bought this. It need not be over an inch in length 
 altogether ; and you must put it through the hole in the top 
 of the boiler, and solder it round on the inside of the same. 
 The nearer you can get the stop-cock to the bottom of the 
 cylinder the better the engine will work, because the steam 
 will have to rise through whatever water is left in this pipe 
 from the jet used to cool the steam. You will see that it 
 cannot run off by the pipe C into the pump well, like that 
 which collects in the cylinder itself. In a real engine the 
 steam-tap was a flat plate which slid to and fro sideways, 
 
248 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 level with the bottom of the cjdinder ; but this ^^oa would 
 not make easily at present. 
 
 The plug for the safety-valve you must turn out of a 
 little lump of brass. It must be about three-eighths of an 
 inch long ; and you must drill a quarter-inch hole through 
 it, and countersink one end of the hole (that is, make it 
 wider and conical by turning a rose-bit or larger drill round 
 in it a few times), to make a nice seat, as it is called, for the 
 valve itself, which need not be now attended to. Remem- 
 ber you can buy at Bateman's, or any model-maker's in 
 London, beautiful safety-valves ready-made, as well as any 
 part of a model engine that you cannot make yourself ; 
 and indeed it is so far a good plan at first that it saves you 
 from becoming tired and disgusted with your work, owing 
 to repeated failures. If you buy them, therefore, you must 
 do so before you make the holes above alluded to, but in 
 some respects it will be more to your advantage to try and 
 make all the details for yourself. I cannot call it making 
 an engine, if, like niany, you buy all the parts and have 
 little left to do but screw them, or solder them, together. 
 Don't do this, or you will never become a modeller. 
 
 Your boiler from c to a is, in height, maybe 2 inches, 
 the dome 1^ or thereabout. This will slip inside the part 
 that you see in the drawing, and which I here sketch again 
 separately.* 
 
 * The bottom joint must therefore be hammered close ; the upper oue will 
 become a ledge for the boiler to rest on. 
 
Fi-. 59. 
 
THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 A is the boiler lifted out of B, the outer case or stand, 
 which you can make out of tin, and paint to imitate bricks. 
 It is almost a pity to waste sheet-brass upon it, because it 
 IS not very important, its object being only to carry the 
 boiler. It is like D before being folded round and fastened 
 (not with solder, which would soon melt, but) by a double 
 fold of the joint, similar to that which you made round the 
 boiler itself, but turned over once more and hammered 
 down. The holes are punched with any round or square 
 punch with a flat end, and are intended to give more air to 
 the lamp C, which should have three wicks, or two at the 
 least, to keep up a good supply of steam. I have shown 
 the fiat piece of tin with three legs only, which is as well 
 as if it were made with four ; but you can please yourself in 
 this matter. 
 
 The lamp I need hardly tell you how to make, for it is 
 easier than the boiler, being merely a round tin box, in the 
 top of which are soldered three little bits of brass tube for 
 the wicks, and a fourth for the oil to be poured in — the 
 latter being stopped with a cork. 
 
 You should remember that no soldered work, like the in- 
 side of the boiler, must come in contact with the heat of 
 the lamp, unless it has water about it, because if the water 
 should at any time entirely boil away, the boiler will leak 
 and be spoiled. A little care in this respect will insure 
 the preservation of a model engine for a long time ; but 
 
HOW TO MAKE A CYLINDER, 
 
 25» 
 
 boys generally destroy them quickly by careless treat- 
 ment. 
 
 Let us now turn our attention to the cylinder. Cut off 
 a piece of three-quarter-inch brass tube, 2J inches in 
 length — you can do this with a three-square file — mount it 
 in the lathe by making a chuck like Fig. 59, E, of wood, 
 the flange of which is just able to go tightly into one end 
 of the tube. The other end will probably centre upon the 
 conical point of the back poppit, over which it will go 
 for only a certain distance. If your back centre will not 
 answer on account of its small size, you must make a 
 similar flange to go into the other end ; but take care that 
 when the back centre is placed against it, it runs truly. 
 If the chuck is well made, it will do so. You can now 
 with any pointed tool turn off" the ends of the tube quite 
 squarely to the side; but you should only waste one-quarter 
 of an inch altogether, leaving it 2\ inches long. When 
 this is done, take it out of the lathe, and in place of it, 
 mount a disc of brass rather more than one-eighth of an 
 inch thick, or if you have none at hand, take an old half- 
 penny or penny piece, which is of copper, and lay it upon 
 the flat face of a wooden chuck, driving four nails round 
 its edge to hold it, and with a point-tool cut out neatly the 
 centre, of a size to fit inside your tube. You will scarcely, 
 however, efiect this perfectly without further turning; so 
 take care to cut it too large ; but before you cut it com- 
 
252 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 pletely throiiglij make the hole for the tube which you 
 soldered into the tojD of the boiler, which is three-eighths 
 diameter. This you can do beautifully in the lathe with a 
 pointed tool, or with a drill, centred against the point of 
 the back poppit, as I showed you before. 
 
 Cut the disc quite out (too large, mind) and then turn a 
 spindle like Gr, mount the disc upon it as shown, by its 
 central hole, and turn the edge with a graver or flat tool, 
 such as is used for brass, until it will exactly fit the brass 
 tiibe. You can cut out round discs of one-eighth or one- 
 fourth sheet-brass by mounting any square piece on a 
 wooden face chuck, keeping it down by four nails or 
 screws, and then with a point-tool cutting a circle in it 
 until the disc falls out. You will often save time by so 
 doing. You now have a disc of brass or copper with a hole 
 three-eighths of an inch wide in it; and as the disc is 
 three-fourths of an inch in diameter (e.^., six-eighths), you 
 will have three-eighths remaining, or three-sixteenths, each 
 way on the diameter between the edge of the hole and that 
 of the disc. This will just give room for the two small 
 holes required, one on each side of the central one, for the 
 pipes from the cold-water cistern and to the well below the 
 pump. These must both be of brass ; and the first should 
 be turned up and end in a jet, like a blowpipe, so as to 
 make the water rise in a spray under the piston ; the other 
 should be as long as can be conveniently arranged. 
 
THE PISTON-ROD. 
 
 253 
 
 The bottom of the cold-water cistern is drawn a little 
 above the top of the cylinder, which is 2J inches high, h 
 jet would theoretically rise in the cylinder to nearly the 
 height of the level of water in the cistern ; but with a small 
 pipe, and other drawbacks inseparable from a model, you 
 must not reckon on more than about half that height, 
 which should be sufficient to condense the steam. The 
 piston had better be nicely fitted, but not packed. You 
 cut a disc of brass as before, drill the hole for the piston, 
 make a spindle, or put in the piston-rod, and centre this as 
 a spindle, which is the best plan, and then with a flat brass 
 tool turn the piston accurately to fit the tube. Or, if you 
 think it easier, or wish to fasten the piston with a nut, as 
 drawn, you can, if you like, turn it on a separate spindle ; 
 and thirdly, you may tap the hole in the piston, and screw 
 the end of the piston-rod. The great thing to attend to is, 
 to turn the edge of the piston square to the sides. 
 
 For the piston-rod, a steel knitting needle or piece of 
 straight iron wire will do very well ; but it will have to be 
 flattened at the upper end, or screwed into a little piece of 
 brass, which must be sawn across to make a fork by which 
 the chain can be attached which goes over the beam. Do 
 not solder the cistern pipes in just yet, but go on to other 
 parts. 
 
 The cistern itself can be made out of any tin box. A 
 seidlitz -powder box will answer well, or you can make one 
 
254 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 about that size, say 4 mches long, 2J wide, and 2 deep. 
 The cistern for the pump will, of course, require to be the 
 same size or a little larger ; it may stand on legs or be 
 fastened to the bed-plate direct. 
 
 This bed-plate is shown below the picture of the engine. 
 It is merely an oblong plate of iron one-sixteenth inch thick, 
 or in this particular engine may be of tin neatly fastened to 
 a half-inch mahogany board, which will keep all firm. The 
 white places show the position of the boiler and of the 
 pump cistern, the inner rounds indicating the lamp, and 
 pump, and cylinder. The square is merely made to show 
 a boiler of that shape, which some prefer; — it is not so 
 good as a cylindrical one. 
 
 Whenever you have to make an engine, you should draw 
 upon the bed-plate the position of each part, as I have done 
 here, because it will serve you as a guide for measurement 
 of the several pieces. The four small circles at S S show 
 the positions of the legs of the support C, which carries 
 the beam. In the drawing only two are given, but there 
 would be a similar triangular frame upon this side. This 
 may be made very well of stout brass wire, but in a bought 
 engine it would be a casting of brass, painted or filed 
 bright. 
 
 The beam itself should be of mahogany, 6 inches long, 
 half an inch wide (on the side)^ and a quarter of an inch 
 thick. The curved pieces you will turn as a ring 3 inches 
 
THE SAFETY-VALVE. 
 
 255 
 
 diameter with a square groove cut in the edge for the 
 chain. You can then saw into four, and use two of these, 
 morticing the strip of mahogany neatly into them. Then 
 finish with four brass wires, as shown, which will keep the 
 curved ends stiff and give a finished appearance. The pin 
 in the centre should be also of brass, as a few bright bars 
 and studs of this metal upon the mahogany give a hand- 
 some look to the engine. 
 
 The pump will be of brass tube, made like the cylinder, 
 but the bucket may be of boxwood, and so may the lower 
 valve, each being merely a disc with a hole in it, and a 
 leather flap to rise upwards. The bucket, however, should 
 have a groove turned in its edge, to receive a ring of india- 
 rubber, or a light packing of tow. The end of the pump- 
 rod must be s})lit to make a fork like Y, to allow the valve 
 to rise. You can get just such a fork ready to hand out of 
 an umbrella, if you can find an old one ; if not, and you 
 cannot split the wire, make the rod rather stouter, and 
 bend it, as shown, so as to form only one side of a fork, 
 which will probably answer the same purpose in so light a 
 pump. 
 
 The valve in both of these may be made of a flap of 
 leather — bookbinder's calf, or something not too thick — 
 and it may be fastened at one edge by any cement that 
 will not be affected by water, or by a small pin, — cut off 
 the head of a pin with half an inch of its shank, and point 
 
256 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 it up to form a small tack. If the valve-box is of box- 
 wood, you must drill a bole ; — you may make it, if pre- 
 ferred, of softer wood. 
 
 There is no support shown in the drawing for the cold- 
 water cistern; but you must stand it on four stout wires, or 
 on a wooden (mahogany) frame, which can be attached to 
 the bed-plate. As this last is always of some importance, 
 I shall add it again in this place (Fig. 60), to a scale of 
 three-quarters of an inch to the foot, showing the position 
 of each part. 
 
 Always begin with a centre line and take each measure 
 from it, and draw another across for the same purpose, at 
 right angles to the first. You will quickly see the use of 
 this. We draw two lines as described A, B, C, D, crossing 
 in 0. The longest is the centre line of beam, cylinder, 
 and pump. The beam is to be 6 inches long to the outside 
 of the middle of each arc, whence the chain is to hang. 
 "^Ve, therefore, from the centre point, set off 3 inches each 
 way. At the exact 3 inches will be the centres of the 
 cylinder and pump ; — set these off, therefore, on the plan. 
 The end of the tank we must have near the cj^linder, 
 because we have to bring a pipe fi'om it into the bottom 
 of the cylinder. Set off, therefore, the end of the tank 2\ 
 inches — i.e^ \\ on each side of the central line, and draw it 
 4 inches in length. N shows the position of the pipe close 
 to the end and on the line. The centre of the boiler is the 
 
THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 same as that of the cylinder, so we draw a circle round it 
 with a radius of \\ inches, which gives us the 3-inch 
 circle of the boiler. Then we may set off equal distances, 
 N, N, for the extremeties of the legs of the frame which 
 is to support the beam, and we complete our plan. M is 
 the waste pipe, and K is the opening for the water to flow 
 into the tank. We now find, therefore, that the bed-plate 
 must be 13 inches long and 6 inches wide to take the 
 engine of the proposed size, and we may, of course, extend 
 this a little, if thought desirable. Mark off on the bed all 
 the lines of the plan as here given, and always start any 
 measurement from one of the two foundation lines, or else, 
 if you make one false measure, you will carry it on, pro- 
 bably increasing the amount of error at every fresh 
 measurement. Let this be with you a rule without ex- 
 ception. It is plain that if you work all parts of your 
 engine to size, you can set it up on the marked bed-plate 
 with perfect accuracy. 
 
 The description I have given will not only enable you to 
 make a Newcomen engine with very little difficulty, but 
 will give you an insight generally into this kind of work ; 
 and you will learn, too, a practical lesson in soldering, turn- 
 ing, and fitting. I must, nevertheless, help you a little in 
 putting your work together. 
 
 You had better begin by soldering into the bottom of the 
 cylinder the end of the steam-pipe^ which you have already 
 
PUTTING TOGETHER. 
 
 259 
 
 fixed upright in the middle of the dome of the boiler, taking 
 care that it stand- .quarely across the pipe, or your cylinder 
 will not be upright. Then place the boiler in position, and 
 you may fix it by turning out slightly the ends of the legs, 
 and putting a tack through, or screwing, if the bed-plate is 
 of iron, — or with help of Baker's fluid you can solder; but 
 this is hardly safe work, and you had better have a wooden 
 plate, covered with tin, and tack down the legs. I have 
 drawn you a circular lamp, and given three and four legs to 
 the boiler-stand; but take care that you so arrange size 
 of lariip and openings of the stand as to enable you to 
 withdraw the former for trimming and filling. Now fit in 
 the two small pipes, previously bent as required. To bend 
 them, if hard soldered or brazed, fill with melted lead, and 
 then bend ; after which melt out the lead again. If soft 
 soldered, you must fill with a more fusible metal. There is 
 a composition called " fusible metal," very convenient for 
 this work, and well worth making, because you will often 
 need to bend small pipes into various forms. Melt 
 zinc, 1 oz. ; bismuth and lead, of each the same quantity 
 — this will melt in hot water ; 8 parts bismuth, 5 lead, 
 and 3 tin, will melt in boiling water. You can buy 
 these at any operative chemist's, either mixed, ready 
 for use, or separately. Rosin and sand are also used 
 for bending tin pipes, the sole object being so to fill 
 them that they will become like a solid strip of metal, and 
 
26o THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 thus beDcl slowly and equally, witli rounded and not sliarp 
 angles. 
 
 Pass the two pipes through from beneath the bottom of 
 the cylinder, and solder them on the upper side of it, so 
 that when the cylinder itself is added these two joints will 
 not be visible. Then set up the cold-water cistern ; block 
 it up with anything you like so as to keep it in position, 
 and, inserting the pipe from below, solder this also from 
 aboN'e, i.e.^ on the inside of the cistern. ISTow, arrange the 
 frame that is to support it, either stout wire or wood, and 
 set it up so as finally to secure it in its place. Now, you 
 had better set up the pump cistern, so as to secure the other 
 small pipe in position, and prevent it from becoming dis- 
 placed by any accidental blow. Fix this cistern therefore 
 also, but leave the cover off for the present, that you may 
 be able to solder the small pipe imide it. 
 
 You will now, at all events, have secured the position of 
 the most imjDortant parts, and you may drop the cylinder 
 into place, and solder this also round the bottom. This 
 would be facilitated by turning a slight rebate. Fig. 60, S, 
 round the disc which forms the bottom of the cylinder, so 
 that the smaller part of it will just fit inside it ; but j^ou 
 will be able to manage it without. Let the cylinder project 
 a very little beyond the bottom, just to allow a kind of 
 corner for the solder to run in; it w^ill not show when all 
 is fixed. Do this as quickly as you can, so as not to melt 
 
PUTTING TOGETHER. 
 
 261 
 
 off the solder round the small pipes. Now, make the pair 
 of A-shaped supports for the beam. Measure the height of 
 your cylinder top, above the bed-plate, and allow about 
 another inch, and you will get the perpendicular height to 
 the axis of the beam. Allow 3 inches more for each side, 
 that is, in all for each side, 3 inches longer than if it was to 
 be perpendicular instead of spreading. Take enough brass 
 wire, about as thick as a small quill, to make two such legs. 
 Bend it in the middle, like T, Fig. 60, and flatten the bent 
 part by hammering, so as to allow you to drill a hole to 
 take the pivot on which the beam is to oscillate. If you 
 like to flatten all of it, and then touch it up with a file, 
 so as to 'get quite straight edges, it will look much more 
 handsome. Make two such pieces exactly alike, and, at 
 distances alike in each, put cross-bars. File a little way 
 into each, making square, flat notches, which will just take 
 two flattened bars of the same wire ; heat them, and solder 
 very neatly, so that no solder appears on the outside ; file 
 all flat and true. In this way you can make almost as neat 
 supports as if they were of cast brass, and you are saved all 
 the trouble of making patterns. By and by, nevertheless, 
 you must do better. 
 
 As I have directed you in this instance to put a wooden 
 bed-plate to your engine, you may point the ends of the 
 wires, and, making holes sloping at the same angle in the 
 wooden stand, drive the wires into them. You have an 
 
262 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 advantage here, inasmuch as you can raise or lower your 
 stand until the position of the beam comes exactly right, 
 and you find the ends drop over the centre of the cylinder 
 and jDump-barrel as it ought to do. When this is the case, 
 you can cut off any wire that projects below the stand and 
 file it level, for it will not be likely to need more secure 
 fixing. The pump may now be soldered into the cover of 
 the cistern (before the cover itself is fastened on), and a 
 hole must be then cut to receive the water that will flow 
 from the spout, and then the cover can be fitted on. There 
 is no need to solder it, if it is made to jit over-tightly ; and 
 you may wish, perhaps, to get at the lower valve of the 
 pump now and then. 
 
 The only thing left to do is to arrange the safety-valve 
 of the boiler, which is in many cases the place through 
 which the water is poured to charge it. In this engine it 
 is, however, plain that you can fill the boiler by turning 
 both the taps at the same time. A little will run off by the 
 waste-pipe, but not enough to signify, because the tube 
 below the cylinder is so much the larger of the two. The 
 safety-valve is a little bit of brass turned conical to fit the 
 
 iseat," made by counter-sinking the hole. It is shown at 
 K, Fig. 59, N being the seat, 0 P the dome of the boiler, 
 and close to 0 is the gauge-tap for ascertaining the height 
 of water in the boiler. L M is a lever of flattened wire, 
 pivoted to turn on a pin at L, — L 0 being an upright wire 
 
PUTTING TOGETHER. 
 
 263 
 
 soldered to the boiler. A notch is filed across the top of 
 the valve, on which the lever, L M, rests. The weight is 
 at M. One, as large as a big pea, hung at the end of a 
 lever 2 inches long, the valve at half an inch from the 
 other end, will probably suffice for this engine. 
 
Chapter XUh 
 
 watt's engine. 
 
 HAVE already told you that Watt suggested 
 the use of steam alternately on each side of the 
 piston ; and carried it out by closing the top of 
 the cylinder, and allowing the r6d of the piston 
 to pass through a stuffing-box or gland. I now have to 
 explain to you how this alternate admission of the steam 
 may be effected. 
 
 You evidently require first an opening at the top and 
 bottom of the cylinder, communicating with the boiler, one 
 only being open at a time ; but in this case, where is the 
 steam to escape that was on one side of the piston when 
 the opposite side was being acted upon? It must go 
 somewhere, but evidently must not return to the boiler. 
 Hence, some method has to be contrived by which, when 
 one end of the cylinder is open to the boiler, the other 
 may be open to the air or to the condenser (in which the 
 
WATT'S ENGINE. 
 
 265 
 
 Fig. 61. 
 
266 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 steam is cooled under Watt's plan). Fig. 61 will, I think, 
 render clear one or two of these arrangements. 
 
 The first is the four-way cock, a very simple contriv- 
 ance, easily and frequently used in models. You must 
 first understand how a common water or beer tap is made. 
 Fig. 61, A, represents one in section, turned so as to open 
 the passage along the pipe to which it is attached ; C is the 
 pipe in which is the tap, a conical tube of brass set 
 upright, and with a hole right and left made through it, 
 fixed into a short horizontal tube (generally cast with it 
 in one piece). Into this fits very exactly the conical plug 
 B, also with a hole through it sideways. When this is put 
 into place, no water or other liquid can pass, unless the 
 hole in the plug is in the same direction with the hollow 
 tube forming an open passage. If a key is put on the 
 square part of the plug, and it is turned half round, the 
 passage through the pipe will be closed. A steam tap 
 would be made in a similar manner, if its only office were 
 to open and close a passage in a tube. But we now want 
 two passages closed and two opened, and then the alternate 
 pair closed and opened. This is cleverly efiected by a four- 
 way cock. 
 
 At D is shown a section of the steam cylinder and piston, 
 with the stuffing-box and all complete. A pipe enters this 
 at the top and bottom, and another crosses it in the middle, 
 making four passages. Shaded black is the four-way cock, 
 
THE FO UR- IV A Y COCK. 
 
 267 
 
 the white places showing the open channels through the 
 plug. When this plug stands as at D, steam can pass from 
 the boiler to the top of the cylinder only, above the piston, 
 which it drives downward ; the steam below the piston 
 escapes through the other open-curved channel into the air, 
 or to the condenser. Just as the piston reaches the bottom 
 of the cylinder, the tap is turned, and the passage stands 
 as seen at E. Steam now passes to the bottom below the 
 piston, driving it upward, and the steam above it, which 
 has done its work, passes outward through the other open 
 channel of the tap. 
 
 You must understand that when Newcomen first set up 
 his engine, a man had to turn the taps at the proper 
 moment ; and it is said that one Humphrey Potter, a boy, 
 being left in charge, and getting tired of this work, first 
 devised means to make the engine itself do this, by con- 
 necting strings tied to the handles of the taps to the beam 
 that moved up and down above his head. Beighton and 
 others improved on this, and very soon it became unneces- 
 sary for the attendant to do anything but keep up a good 
 fire, and attend to the quantity of water in the boiler, and 
 the pressure of the steam. 
 
 In the model I gave you of IS'ewcomen's engine, I pur- 
 posely left the taps to be moved by hand ; but F of the 
 present figure shows how, by bringing them near together, 
 and adding cogged wheels or pulleys, you would make one 
 
268 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 handle answer for both ; and I shall leave you to devise an 
 easy method of making the engine work this one handle for 
 itself. When Watt made his first engine, therefore, this 
 work had been already done, and he only had to improve 
 upon it, and to make it work more accurately to suit the 
 engine designed by himself. 
 
 If you should chance to pay a visit to the Museum at 
 South Kensington, you may see, I believe. Watt's original 
 engine, if not ^^'ewcomen's. The cylinders are so large and 
 cumbrous, that the wonder is they were ever bored by the 
 inefficient means then in use; and the beam is a most 
 unwieldy mass of timber and iron, that looks as if no 
 power of steam could ever have made it oscillate. Yet it 
 was in its day a successful engine, the wonder of the age ; 
 and did good work for its inventor and purchaser. I 
 strongly advise my readers to try and visit Kensington, 
 for there are many interesting models there, besides engines 
 and appliances of older days. They will thus learn what 
 rapid progress has been made since the days of Savery, 
 Newcomen, and Watt ; not only in the improvement of the 
 arrangement of the parts, but in the workmanship, which 
 last is mainly due to the invention of the slide -rest and 
 planing-machine. 
 
 We must now return to the double-acting or real steam 
 engine, and consider a second means whereby the steam 
 can be alternately admitted and exhausted. 
 
THE LONG SLIDE-VALVE. 
 
 269 
 
 Tlie four-way cock, already explained, was found to wear 
 very considerably in practice, and hence work loose, and a 
 new contrivance, called the slide-valve, soon took its place. 
 Of this there are two patterns, the long D-valve and the 
 short one, which latter is used for locomotives. There is 
 also a form called a tappet-valve, often used for arge 
 stationary engines, but which is noisy and subject to rapid 
 wear. I shall describe the long D first, in the form in 
 which it would be most easily made for a model engine. 
 
 The two ports by which steam passes to the cylinder are 
 shown at ^, of H, Fig. 61. C is the passage to the 
 boiler, K is that to the condenser. These are openings in 
 a tube smoothly bored within, and having at the top a 
 stuffing-box like that on the cylinder. Within this tube 
 works an inner one, having rings or projections at the 
 ends fitting perfectly, and which are packed with india- 
 rubber, hemp (or, in modern days, with metal), to make 
 a close fit. In a model, two bosses of brass, K, soldered 
 on the tube and then turned, make the best packing. 
 These packed portions of the inner tube form the stoppers 
 to the steam ports, e alternately, at the top and bottom. 
 The upper part of the inner tube has a cross arm, 3, 
 affixed, from the centre of which rises the valve-rod by 
 which it is moved up and down. In the position 1, the 
 steam can pass from c round the tube to and thence to 
 the top of the cylinder to which d is attached. The exhaust 
 
270 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC, 
 
 steam passes from e below the piston by k to the condenser. 
 In the second position, 2, the steam is evidently shut off 
 from c/, but can pass out at ^ ^ below the cylinder, while 
 the communication is still open to the condenser from r/, 
 through the middle of the tube to K. This is a very good 
 form of valve, because the exhaust is always open, and the 
 motion is smooth and equal. 
 
 There are many mndifications of the long D -valve, but 
 the principle of all is the same ; I shall therefore describe 
 the short slide-valve which is nearly always used in the 
 models which are purchased at the shops. This, too, is 
 the usual form of valve in locomotives, traction-engines, 
 and the majority of those in use for agricultural and 
 similar purposes. A, Fig. 62, is the cylinder as before 
 in section with piston. A thick piece is cast with the 
 cylinder, on one side of it, having steam ports also cast in 
 it, which are here lefc white. The two as before go to the 
 top and bottom of the cylinder, and have no communi- 
 cation with the central one, which is bored straight into 
 the boss, and generally is tm-ned at right angles and con- 
 nected with the condenser, or with a pipe opening into the 
 chimney of the engine to increase the draught by means of 
 the jets of steam, as is the case always in locomotives, or into 
 the air, which is less usual. Seen from behind, these ports 
 are like B, being cast and cut rectangular ; and the face, B, 
 is planed quite level, which is absolutely necessary to the 
 
THE SHORT SLIDE- VAL VE. 
 
 Fig 62. 
 
272 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC, 
 
 proper action of the slide-valve which has to work upon 
 it. This valve is a box of iron, C, with a wide flange or 
 rim, this flange being of sufficient width to close either 
 port. If this valve is placed as it stands when the engine 
 is at rest, h covers the upper steam port, and a the lower ; 
 while the exhaust or middle port is open to the hollow part 
 of the box. ITow, if we slide the valve downwards until the 
 upper port is open, the other two will be in communication, 
 being united b}^ being both together in the inside of this 
 box or valve. Suppose the valve then cased in, and that 
 steam is admitted from the boiler into the case, it is 
 evident that such steam could freely pass to the top of 
 the cylinder above the piston to force it downwards, while 
 that which was below would escape by the lower port into 
 the box, and thence pass to the condenser. If, instead of 
 pushing down the valve, we had drawn it upwards, the 
 lower port would have been opened, and the upper and 
 middle would have been brought into communication in- 
 side the valve, and the contrary eflect would have been 
 produced upon the piston. 
 
 This is the arrangement adopted, and which will be 
 clearly understood from the following sectional drawing, 
 D. a, a, is the thick casting upon the cylinder, with the 
 upper and lower steam ports, which end towards the middle 
 of the cylinder, with the third port lying between ; then h 
 is a section of the valve, in such a position that the flange 
 
THE SHORT SLIDE- VAL VE, 
 
 273 
 
 of it no longer covers the lower steam port, while the other 
 two are open together on the inside of the valve. The 
 latter is cased in by the valve-box, e in the back of 
 which is the steam pipe f coming from the boiler. The 
 valve-rod, which is moved by the engine, passes at a 
 through a stuffing-box. It is evidently necessary that 
 this slide-valve should fit, and work very smoothly and 
 correctly against the face of the ports, so as not to allow 
 any escape of the steam. It is not, however, packed in 
 any way at the ba'ck (although springs have been some- 
 times added), because, as the back is subjected to the frJl 
 pressure of the steam from the boiler, this keeps it qu te 
 close to its seat. The rod, however, by which it is worked,, 
 might prevent this close contact of the two surfaces if it 
 was screwed into the valve ; it is therefore made with a 
 cross, E, at the end, which falls into a notch in a boss 
 cast upon the back of the valve as seen at F. This allows 
 a certain degree of play in one direction, and permits the 
 steam to press it close even after it has become worn by 
 use. 
 
 You will, I think, now clearly understand how steam 
 can be admitted alternately to the top and bottom of a 
 cylinder, and how the exhausted steam that has done its 
 work escapes. I must therefore now tell you how the rod 
 of the slide-valve is moved up and down by the engine,, 
 but to do this, I must draw such engine complete. 
 
7 HE MOVEMENT OF THE PISTON-ROD. 275 
 
 The cylinder, A, is screwed down on its side upon the 
 bed-plate, E, R, out of which are cut two holes, one for 
 the fly-wheel, P, of which part only appears for want of 
 space, the other for the crank, L, on the end of the axle, 
 M M, running through bearings, N K The slide-valve-box 
 is at B, C being the steam-pipe from the boiler. The piston- 
 rod has necessarily to move only in a straight line in the 
 direction of its length, but the crank which it has to work 
 to turn the fly-wheel must needs move round in a circle. 
 Hence, a poker -and-tongs joint, F 0 F, is arranged. 
 The connecting-rod, H, which is attached to the crank by 
 brasses at K, divides or i§ attached to a forked piece, at 
 the lower end of which are a pair of bearings or brasses, 
 F F. The piston-rod carries the piece 0, the cross-bar of 
 which is turned, being, in fact, the pin which passes into 
 these bearings at F F. This forms, therefore, a hinge- 
 joint at this place, so that although the piston-rod cannot 
 leave the right line, and can only slide in the guide, E, 
 the rod, H, has an up-and-down motion upon this hinge, 
 allowing the revolution of the crank-pin to take place. D 
 is the valve-rod, in which is a hinge at S, which suffices for 
 the slight movement required in the rod, as it rises and 
 falls by the action of the eccentric, T, the motion and effect 
 of which I now have to explain. 
 
 Y is a round disc of metal with a recess on its edge, so 
 that it is like an ordinary pulley, but large in proportion to 
 
276 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 its thickness. A bole for the main crank axle, to which it 
 has to be firmly kej^ed, is made through it, but not in its 
 centre (hence its name, eccentric — out of the centre). As 
 the axle revolves, it is evident that this disc revolving with 
 it will carry any point, Y, of its surface round in a circle ; 
 the centre of v/hich is on the central line or axis of the 
 crank-shaft. I have drawn such cii'cle as described by the 
 point Y, farthest from the axis ; but any and all points 
 describe larger or lesser circles round the same centre. 
 The point Y may, therefore, be considered as the centre of 
 a crank-pin ; and the eccentric might, so far as its effects 
 are concerned, be replaced by a crank. Kow, if you turn 
 the fly-wheel of your lathe by hand, the crank will revolve, 
 but the treadle will rise and fall only in a straight line ; 
 and you will presently see how the eccentric, in its revolu- 
 tion, gives just such a to-and-fro motion to the rod D, 
 and consequently also to the slide-valve, which it has to 
 move. 
 
 Round the disc Y, closely encircling it, is a flat ring, 
 shown separately at X, with a rod, W, attached to and part 
 of it. This ring is generally made in separate halves, 
 united by bolts passing through projecting lugs or ears. 
 The ring also fits into the groove turned on the edge of the 
 disc Y, so that it cannot slip off sideways. This outer ring 
 is turned quite smooth and true on the inside, so that the 
 eccentric disc can revolve within it. In doing so, it is 
 
THE ECCENTRIC. 
 
 277 
 
 plaiu that the whole ring will rise and fall, and that the 
 rod W will move up and down, or to and fro, like the 
 treadle of the lathe, thereby giving motion to the valve- 
 rod, which is a continuation of the rod W. As the upper 
 end, however, of this rod has an oscillating, or up-and- 
 down motion, this is imparted, in a certain degree, to its 
 other end, at the farthest distance from the eccentric ; and 
 hence the necessity for a hinged joint at S, to prevent the 
 valve-rod from partaking of this movement. It is, how- 
 ever, very slight, so that the rod of the valve is not often 
 made to pass through guides like the piston. The whole 
 movement of the valve-rod is very limited, its traverse only 
 being required to be sufficient to shift the valve the width 
 of one of its ports at each stroke. The length of stroke or 
 traverse which can be obtained by the eccentric is always 
 equal to twice the distance between its real centre, and that 
 on which it turns, which will always be a guide to you in 
 making an engine. 
 
 The drawing here described is a plan, i.e,^ a drawing 
 viewed directly from above ; therefore I cannot show you 
 the perspective view of the. parts, which are, indeed, in 
 many cases only suggested by the shading. I have, there- 
 fore, added a second drawing of the several details. This 
 engine is, in construction, the simplest that can be devised 
 with a slide-val . e, there being no additions beyond what 
 are absolutely necessary to make it work ; the exhaust-port 
 
278 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC, 
 
 Fig. 64. 
 
 previous drawing. This is cast witli forked ends, Xy and x 
 
DETAILS. 
 
 279 
 
 Y (the latter being F F of Fig. 63). These ends receive 
 brasses in the following way, the end x being represented 
 on a larger scale at B, with such brasses in place ; of these 
 there are two shaped like D. One of these lies in the fork 
 of the connecting-rod end. A second similar one lies in 
 the strap of iron C, which reaches beyond the first. A 
 cotter or key, which is, in fact, a wedge of iron, is then 
 passed through a slot in the strap, and a similar one in the 
 rod ; and being driven home, draws the two brasses tightly 
 together, causing them to embrace the crank-pin, L, Fig. 
 63, or any similar bearing. All shafts that revolve in 
 bearings are made to pass through brasses, and whenever 
 these occur at the end of a rod, they are fitted as here 
 described. E is another bearing of cast-iron, also fitted with 
 brasses ; but in a case like this, a plate lies on the upper one, 
 and is screwed down by bolts and nuts as required. This 
 bearing would do very well at E, Fig. 63, as a guide fo.r 
 the piston-rod; but in models such guide is commonly 
 made without brasses, like F or G of the present drawing. 
 
 At H, I have shown the part F 0 F of the drawing 63. 
 The middle is of brass or iron ; if of the former, g g must 
 be separate, as these gudgeons would not be substantial 
 enough, unless of iron or steel. It is essentin^ '^at K L, 
 the piston-rod, should be in one right line; but, if this is 
 attended to, they need not necessarily be one piece ; and 
 frequently the piston-rod, L, is fixed into one end of the 
 
280 
 
 THE YOUXG MECHANIC. 
 
 central casting, and another rod, K, is screwed into the 
 other. In a model, the piston-rod should pass quite 
 through, and g g should be two separate gudgeons screwed 
 in, and then turned together in the lathe, to insure their 
 being exactly in one line. These go into the brasses in 
 the forked ends of the connecting-rod, to form a hinge at 
 that part, as will be understood by a reference to Fig. 63. 
 
 At M, I have shown another simple eccentric and rod, 
 which is less trouble to make in a model than the other. 
 In this the ring is made in one piece, with a round rod 
 screwing into it. The disc has a slight groove turned in 
 its edge, and a small screw, P, passes through the ring and 
 falls into this groove. This suffices to prevent the ring 
 from falling off sideways, and of course is not screwed 
 down so tight as to prevent the disc from revolving. This 
 is a very easy way to fit the eccentric, and is generally 
 followed in small engines. The lattice eccentric rod is 
 nearly always used in large beam engines. 
 
 I do not think the reader w411 now have any difficulty in 
 understanding the precise arrangement of the various parts 
 in the simple horizontal engine of which I have given a 
 sketch. It is a neat and convenient form, easily arranged 
 as a model, and I shall proceed at once to the practical 
 work of constructing this, and engines in general, presup- 
 posing a knowledge of the use of the lathe, and of the few 
 tools required. 
 
Chapter XIV. 
 
 HOW TO MAKE AN ENGINE. 
 
 HE very first mechanical work of difficulty, but of 
 pre-eminent importance, in making an engine, 
 is boring the cylinder, that is, if the same is a 
 casting, and not a piece of tube ready made and 
 smooth on the inside. This is, properly speaking, lathe 
 work, yet may be done in a different way. Suppose you 
 have bought your entire set of castings, which is the best 
 way, and that the cylinder is half an inch diameter inside, 
 which is a manageable size to work upon. Get a half-inch 
 rosebit, which is very like the countersinks sold with the 
 carpenter's brace and bits. Mount it in the lathe in a 
 chuck, A, Fig. 65. Unscrew the point of the back poppit, 
 and slip over the spindle a boring-flange, B, which is 
 merely a flat plate like a surface chuck, only the socket is 
 not screwed but bored out, generally large enough to slip 
 over the spindle. Sometimes there is, however, a screw at 
 
282 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
HO W TO MAKE AN ENGINE. 
 
 283 
 
 the back, to screw into the spindle, the same as the points 
 or centres. On the face of this lay a piece of board of equal 
 thickness, but it is as well if not planed, as its object is 
 partly to prevent the cylinder from slipping about during 
 the operation, as it is sometimes inclined to do upon the 
 smooth metal flange, and partly to prevent the borer or 
 rosebit from coming in contact with the flange when it 
 has passed through the cylinder. Grasp the latter in the 
 left hand, and you can easily prevent it from revolving with 
 the drill, which will go through rapidly, and leave the hole 
 beautifully finished and quite true from end to end, — 
 indeed, I have bored iron also, rapidly and with great ease, 
 with this tool. 
 
 It is absolutely necessary, remember, that this hole bored 
 in the cylinder should be at right angles to the ends of the 
 same, and to secure this you must now make use of it to 
 mount the cylinder in the lathe to turn these ends or 
 flanges. I will show you a simple and easy way to do this. 
 C is a bar of iron or steel, preferably of the latter, about 6 
 inches long, and three-eighths diameter, filed into six sides. 
 It is a good plan to have three or four sizes of such bars, 
 with centre holes drilled carefully into each end, so that 
 you can mount them with a carrier-chuck, as you would if 
 you were going to turn them. Taking one of about the 
 size named, mount upon it a piece of wood, and turn this 
 down until your cylinder will just go tightly upon it 
 
284 
 
 2BE \OU^G MECHANIC. 
 
 Being a six-sided bar, it is easy to mount the wood upon it 
 by boring the latter with a gimlet and then driving the bar 
 into it. It will hold tightly, and not turn round upon the 
 metal. The cylinder being fixed in this way, you must 
 turn the two flanges with a graver if the cylinder is of iron, 
 but with a flat tool or the four-sided brass tool if of the 
 latter metal ; and also turn the edges of the flanges. The 
 rest of the cylinder will be left in the rough, and may be 
 painted green or black. I should advise you always to bore 
 the cylinder first when possible, and then to mount it as 
 described and turn it on the ends, which are thus sure to 
 be correctly at right angles to the bore. Some cylinders, 
 however, especially short ones, may be squared up first, and 
 then mounted on a face-plate and bored. Unless, however, 
 you have either a grip-chuck, which is self-centring, or 
 some clamps properly constructed for this particular work, 
 you will find the first method the easiest, especially for 
 small light work. 
 
 You should now make the ports for steam and exhaust. 
 Mark them upon the flat part of the casting, after you 
 have filed this as level as you can, and do not mark them 
 so long as not to leave you room beyond the ends of the 
 ports for the steam-box or case which has to be placed here. 
 The upper and lower ports are to be the same size, but the 
 middle one may be a trifle larger with advantage. In 
 larger engines these are cast in the metal, and have only 
 
HO W TO MAKE AN ENGINE. 
 
 285 
 
 to be trimmed and faced ; but in the small models you have 
 to drill them out in the boss cast on the cylinder. Drill 
 down from the top, as shown at D by the dotted lines, but 
 take great care not to go farther than the ^?^^^^6r ports, which 
 are to be therefore first made, so that you can tell when the 
 drill has gone far enough. If you pierce the middle port 
 from either end, the cylinder is spoiled. To cut the middle 
 one, you merely drill a hole straight in towards the cylinder, 
 and meet it by another drilled from the side, into which the 
 pipe for the exhaust is to be screwed. You also drill 
 straight through into the cylinder at a and you then 
 plug the end of and that at the other end of the cylinder. 
 Your port faces, however, are generally oblong, and not 
 round. Make a row of holes with the drill, and then, with 
 a little narrow steel chisel and light hammer, chip out 
 the superfluous metal, and finish with a small file. You 
 can always make narrow channels with squared sides by 
 thus drilling two or more holes, and throwing them into 
 one with a file ; but in reality, for these small engines, it is 
 very little matter whether the ports are round in section or 
 square. 
 
 The bottom and top of the cylinder demand our next 
 attention. E and F show these. They are easily and in- 
 stantly mounted in a self-centring chuck, but can be held 
 very well in one of wood carefully bored with a recess of the 
 right size and depth. You must here, nevertheless, b avery 
 
286 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 particularj else you will get your work untrue at this point, 
 and then your piston-rod will stand awry, and all your 
 subsequent fitting will be badly done. I therefore give you 
 at G a section of the chuck bored to take the cover truly. 
 Recess the part down to the line a to fit the cover exactly, 
 taking care to level very carefully the bottom of the recess. 
 Below this cut a deeper hole, to allow the flange in which 
 the stuffing-box will be to go into it. It need not, how- 
 ever, the flange. The rough casting will hold very well 
 in a chuck like this, even if it is of iron. You now care- 
 fully face the bottom of the cover, and turn the slight 
 flange exactly to fit into the cylinder ; then reverse it in the 
 chuck, so as to get the stuffing-box outside ; and in doing 
 so, take the greatest care that it beds flat upon the bottom 
 of the chuck. Turn off level the top of the flange first at x 
 of fig. E, and then place a drill with its point against the 
 middle of this, and its other end (with a little hole 
 punched in it to keep it steady) against the back poppit 
 centre, and carefully drill a hole down to the level of 
 large enough to admit the gland of the stuffing-box or nearly 
 so : but remember that you must not go too far, because 
 the rest of the hole must only just allow the piston-rod to 
 go through it. Therefore, after you have di'illed about 
 three-fourths of the distance, replace this drill by a smaller 
 one, and with it bore quite through. The advantage of be- 
 ginning in this way is, that you can now bring up the back 
 
HO W TO MAKE AN ENGINE, 
 
 287 
 
 centre of your lathe to steady tlie cylinder cover while you 
 finish turning it ; and as you will have to make a cliuck 
 only to take hold of the flange while you turn the edge, 
 you will need probably some extra support of this kind. I 
 have, nevertheless, turned an iron cylinder cover 2\ inches 
 diameter without any such support ; the actual strain not 
 being very severe, provided you understand how a tool 
 should be made and held. 
 
 The above directions apply equally to the cylinder bottom, 
 the great secret in this and all similar work being to take 
 care to bed the work well and truly against the bottom of 
 the recess, turned in the chuck ; this being neglected, will 
 result in the two faces not being parallel, which will terribly 
 throw out of truth the rest of your work. Indeed, in all 
 fitting of this kind, it is absolutely necessary to be exact 
 in the squaring and truing of each several piece that has 
 to be turned or filed ; otherwise no planning or clumsy 
 arrangement will make your mechanism work as it ought 
 to do. Take a week, if necessary, over any part, and don't 
 be content until it is well done. 
 
 Your cylinder ought now to have a finished appearance • 
 when the cover and bottom are placed in position, but the 
 latter have to be permanently attached by small screws, 
 and these I strongly advise you to buy. They cost about 
 50 cents a dozen, including a tap with which to make a 
 thread in the holes made to receive them ; or, if you prefer 
 
288 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 it, you can buy miniature bolts and nuts at almost as 
 cheap a rate, which would cost you much time and trouble 
 to make for yourself, if, indeed, j'ou succeeded at all. You 
 will want four of these for the top, and the same for the 
 bottom, the holes for which you will make with a small 
 archimedean or other drill. 
 
 The mention I have made of this reminds me that I am 
 gradually adding considerably to your list of tools, and it 
 is necessary to do so if you take up model-making. Set 
 down, at any rate, the following : — 
 
 Archimedean Drill-Stock and 6 Drills. 
 Table -Vice. 
 
 Hand - Yice or Pin - Vice. 
 
 Small Brass-Back Saws for Metal. 
 
 Pair of Small Pliers. 
 
 And for use in the lathe, either two or three sizes of rose- 
 bits, or engineer's half-round boring bits, of which I shall 
 have to speak presently; and, unless you buy all screws 
 and nuts, you will want screw-plate and taps, or small 
 stock and dies. Files of square, round, and oblong section 
 are matters of course. Remember, too, that after a file 
 has been used on iron and steel, it is useless for brass ; so 
 use new ones on the latter metal first, and after such use 
 they will answer for cast iron and then for wrought iron. 
 You will find the cost of files rather heavy unless you 
 attend to this. Have neat handles to all your smaller files, 
 with ferules to prevent splitting. 
 
THE VALVE-BOX. 
 
 289 
 
 When you purchase the castings of the engine, jou will 
 find a valve-box to enclose the slide and become a steam- 
 chest, as explained. It is like a box with neither top nor 
 bottom, but with a flange, or turned-ont edge all round, for 
 the screws by which it is to be attached to the valve-lacings 
 of the cylinder. This box must have its flanges filed up- 
 bright on their flat sides and edges — the rest may be painted- 
 It will exercise your skill to get the two faces flat and true, 
 to fit upon the cylinder ; and at last you will find it ex- 
 pedient to put a brown paper rim or washer between the 
 surfaces, or a bit of very thin sheet lead, to make a sten:n- 
 tight joint. Do not solder it, if it is possible to use screws,, 
 because this is nearly certain to get melted off; and, if not, 
 it is not nearly so neat and workmanlike a way of uniting- 
 the parts. You should, indeed, in all models, put them 
 together in such a way as to be able at any time to 
 separate the different pieces again, either for the purpose 
 of cleaning or repair ; and, if you solder, you cannot easily 
 do this. 
 
 The valve-casing and its back are generally put on 
 together ; four screws at the corners passing through the- 
 back and both flanges into the flat side of the cylinder.. 
 This depends, however, upon the exact shape of these- 
 difFerent pieces ; and I can give you no special directions 
 for a particular case unless I could see the castings which 
 you have to fit together. The stufling-box you will make 
 
 T 
 
THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 ■quite separate, both its outer and inner part, and screw oi 
 solder the former into place. It is seldom cast upon the 
 valve-casing, because of the difficulty of chucking a cubical 
 object safely so as to turn any part of it. 
 
 You are not to screw or solder the valve-box to the 
 cylinder until you have carefully filed up the valve itself to 
 slide upon the port face, without the possibility of any escape 
 of steam taking place. This needs the greatest possible 
 care ; and probably, after doing what you can with a flat 
 file^ you will have to put a little emery and oil between 
 the surfaces, and grind them to a perfect fit, by rubbing 
 them together. This grinding with emery is an operation 
 frequently required in mechanical engineering. Lathe- 
 mandrels are fitted in this way into the collars ; the 
 cylinder is also ground into the back poppit-head. It is 
 not a very long or difficult operation, but whenever you 
 have had to use it, take care to wipe ofi" the emery, or it 
 will keep on grinding. It is indeed very difficult to do 
 this perfectly ; and for very fine work, such as fitting the 
 mandrel of a screw-cutting lathe (ix.^ a traversing mandrel), 
 oil-stone powder and crocus are used, in place of emery. 
 These, however, cut very slowly, making the operation of 
 grinding exceedingly tedious ; and in the present instance, 
 emery will answer quite well enough. In very small 
 engines, a stroke or two of a file is all that is needed to fit 
 the valve, w^hich is so small as hardly to be worthy of the 
 
PISTON AND PISTON-ROD. 
 
 name ; but in an engine with cylinder of 1 or 2-inch bore, 
 it will be impossible to do with file alone, as well as you 
 can with grinding. 
 
 The piston and piston-rod should be turned at the same 
 time, as already suggested in treating of the atmospheric 
 engine of Newcomen. By this, you will avoid getting the 
 piston " out of square" with its rod, as if you had bored 
 the hole for the latter askew — a not unusual occurrence. 
 
 I do not mean to say that it is absolutely necessary for 
 you to turn the piston-r^>(^ at all, for, in models, it is gener- 
 ally of round iron or steel-wire, which is as cylindrical as 
 you can possibly make it. Knitting-needles are in general 
 use for this, as being well finished and equalised from end 
 to end. But these are rather hard, being tempered only to 
 about the degree of steel-springs ; therefore you must never 
 attempt to cut a screw on them until you have first heated 
 the end to be screwed red-hot, and allowed it to cool again 
 very slowly. If you do this, a screw-plate will put a sufii- 
 ciently good thread to allow you to attach either the piston, 
 or the small piece of brass necessary to form the hinge, 
 upon the other end of the rod — that is to say, the piece 
 marked H in Fig. 64. Leave this for the present, how- 
 ever, not attempting at present to cut either the piston-rod 
 or valve-rod to its intended length. You cannot do this 
 until you have laid down the exact plan of the engine, and 
 marked on the bed-plate the position of all the parts. 
 
THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 I sliall now suppose that you liave finished the cylinder, 
 with its slide-valve, casing, stuffing-boxes, and piston, so 
 that you have these in exactly the state in which you might 
 buy them at Bateman's and elsewhere, if you preferred, to 
 spare yourself the trouble of boring the cylinder and fitting 
 it. You can buy them just in this condition, with the rest 
 of the castings in the rough ; but I rather hope you may 
 prefer to try and do for yourself the not very heavy or diffi- 
 cult work which I have described. 
 
 I suppose you, indeed, to have bought the forked con- 
 necting-rod, either arranged for brasses, or with holes 
 drilled (or to be drilled) in the ends, which would probably 
 be the case for a model of the size named, and also the 
 various bearings, guides, and so forth required — some of 
 which would have to be turned, and some filed, but which 
 ought now to present little difficulty to our young 
 mechanic. 
 
 Try to keep sharp edges to all your filed work, unless em- 
 dently intending to round them ; for surfaces pretending to 
 be flat, but partaking of a curved sectional form, charac- 
 terise the workman as undeniably a bad hand with the file, 
 and not worth his wages. Still I may tell you at once that 
 nothing is so difficult as to use a file well. It has a knack 
 of rounding off edges, which always get more than their 
 proper share of its work. But this being the case, you will 
 know what to try and av( ' .1. Therefore, always endeavour 
 
THE ECCENTRIC. 
 
 293 
 
 in filing a flat surface to make it slightly hollow in the 
 middle, which it is scarcely possible, however, for you to 
 do ; but the endeavour to effect this by filing the middle 
 more than the edges will help you wonderfully in keeping 
 the latter sharp. Those, for instance, on the fork of the 
 connecting-rod, especially the inside ones, should be as 
 straight and sharp as possible ; and if you round the out- 
 side edge, take care to do it so that it shall be evident you 
 intended it; and so with all edges, whether turned or 
 filed. 
 
 The disc of the eccentric can only be turned by letting it 
 into a chuck to something less than half its thickness, and 
 levelling one side and half the edge, and then reversing it; 
 unless you prefer to drill and mount it on a spindle upon 
 its centre. If you do this, you will of course eventually 
 have two holes in it ; because this first one is not that by 
 which it will be mounted when in place. This second hole 
 is not, however, of the least im23ortance, and may be left 
 without plugging, and, if preferred, may become in part 
 ornamented by drilling additional holes, and filing them 
 into some pattern ; or if it is desired to conceal the one it 
 was turned upon, this can be plugged and faced off, and 
 will then not be the least apparent. If the outer ring, or 
 strap, as it is called, is to be made in two pieces, with pro- 
 jecting lugs, it is evident the outside edge cannot well be 
 turned ; and, unless you have that most useful addition to 
 
^94 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 the lathe, a grip or jaw-chuck, you will have some little 
 difficulty in letting the ring into a wooden chuck, so as to 
 turn the inside. The solid ring is, therefore, preferable (if 
 you use the first, however, you turn it up as a single riug, 
 and then saw it across through the lugs), which can be let 
 into a common chuck, with a place chiselled out to allow 
 the boss to project, into which the eccentric rod has to be 
 screwed. This boss also has to be drilled and turned on 
 the outside. There are several modes of chucking it which 
 can be applied, but the simplest is to use the carrier-chuck, 
 and to let the ring become its own carrier by coming against 
 the pin, as shown in Fig. 66, A. 
 
 "When the ring is very small, I should first drill the hole 
 for the wire rod, and then screw and mount it upon a little 
 wire spindle, as in fig. B, aiding this, if necessary, by the 
 back centre. But the smallest models require to be put 
 into a watch-maker's lathe or thi'ow, and, except as curi- 
 osities, are scarcely worth making. 
 
 I have already told you never to undertake engine-mak- 
 ing without first laying down a full-sized plan on paper, 
 ^ith centre lines through the principal parts, from which 
 to take all measurements, and to mark these upon the base- 
 plate, as a guide to the perfect adjustment of the various 
 parts. Some of these are capable of a little extra adjust- 
 ment after being put in place : the eccentric rod, for 
 instance, can be lengthened or shortened by screwing into 
 
THE FLY-WHEEL. 
 
 295 
 
 or out of the eccentric ring; and the piston-rod, too, may 
 be similarly lengthened or shortened slightly ; but try to 
 work as near as you can to precise measure without such 
 adjustment. 
 
 To turn the fly-wheel, which is the last operation (in- 
 cluding the crank-axle), it is better carefully to drill the 
 boss, if not already done, marking the centre on each side, 
 and working half through from each, so as to insure the 
 squareness of the hole with the side of the wheel, which is 
 very important. Then mount it at once upon its axle, pre- 
 viously turned slightly conical, where the wheel is to be 
 placed, and run both together in the lathe. This will 
 insure the wheel running true when the engine is put 
 together. 
 
 In the horizontal engine which I have sketched, the 
 crank is quite separate from the axle ; and this is the easiest 
 way to make it. The crank itself is filed up, like C of fig. 
 66, and drilled for the axle and the pin upon which the 
 brasses on the connecting-rod work. Turn down the end 
 of the crank-shaft very slightly conical, until the crank 
 will almost go over it. Then heat the crank, which will 
 expand it and enable you to slip it on the shaft. Dip it in 
 cold water, and it will be as firm as if made in one piece 
 with the axle. This is called shrinking it on, and the 
 operation will often stand you in good stead, and save the 
 trouble of filing key-ways and making the small wedges 
 
2)) 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 caF-cd keys. The pin D can in this case be turned 
 up separately, and screwed in, which will complete the 
 work. 
 
 The eccentric must evidently be placed in position before 
 the crank is added, and this, too, might be shrunk on, were 
 it not that it cannot easily be fixed in a' model until the 
 engine is set up. The best wa}', therefore, is, in this case, 
 to turn the eccentric with a little projecting boss to take 
 a set screw, E, Fig. 66. 
 
 Where the axle has to pass through bearings, it must be 
 turned down at these parts, so that the whole will be like F. 
 First on the right is the journal, <?, then the place for the 
 fiy -wheel, very slightly conical — the smallest part being 
 towards e — then the second journal, and then another 
 slightly conical part, the smallest end towards o^, to take 
 the eccentric and crank. The fly-wheel you will key on shaft, 
 thus : — G represents the boss or centre of the wheel bored 
 for the axle, and a key-way or slot filed on one side at a. 
 There is a flat place filed on the axle, and the wheel is 
 turned round to bring this opposite to the key-way. A 
 wedge or key, 3, is then driven in, which keeps the wheel 
 secure, and prevents it from turning round or working 
 loose on the axle. If inconvenient to turn a boss and add 
 a set-screw to the eccentric, this also may be keyed in its 
 place after its position has been found ; but, for the latter 
 purpose, it should fit rather tightly on the axle, so that it 
 
Fig. 66. 
 
298 
 
 ..THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 can be just moYed round with the finger stiffly until its 
 position with respect to the crank is ascertained. 
 
 This position I shall now endeavour to explain, using a 
 diagram from an American work, in which this generally 
 supposed difficult point is thus ably and satisfactorily ex- 
 plained. First, put your engine together as if for work, 
 and having cut the eccentric rod to about the length you 
 seem to require, judging from your plan drawn upon the 
 bed-plate, turn round the eccentric, with your fingers upon 
 the crank-shaft, and, having removed the cover of the 
 valve-box, so that you can see the action on the valve, 
 watch the motion of the latter. Doubtless, the result will 
 be that one of the steam-ports will be opened clear to the 
 exhaust-port, while the other is nearly or entirely shut. 
 The rod is then too long or too short. If in a horizontal 
 engine the port nearest to the crank is wide open and the 
 other shut, the rod is too long, and must be shortened half 
 the difierence only (^you will do this by screwing it farther 
 into the eccentric hoop). When the valve runs square,'* 
 or opens and shuts the ports correctly, set the eccentric as 
 in the diagram, H, in respect to the crank, i.e.^ with its 
 widest part at right angles to it. By running square is 
 meant that when the eccentric is turned round as described, 
 the valve opens the ports equally, and does not afi'ect one 
 more than the other. The line a of the diagram shows 
 that the position of the eccentric may advantageously be a 
 
THE BOILER. \ \^^^\\^ - 299 
 
 little beyond right angle to the crank^^-toL give what is 
 called ^^lead," Le.^ to open the valve a little before the 
 piston commences its return-stroke. 
 
 The boilers of model engines are made of tin, sheet-brass, 
 or copper ; seldom of the latter, which is, nevertheless, by 
 far the best material, and one that you can braze, rivet, or 
 solder satisfactorily, or bend into any shape with a hammer 
 or wooden mallet. When polished, too, its rich red colour 
 is very handsome. Brass is chiefly used from the facility 
 of obtaining tubes of it ready brazed or soldered, from 
 which any desired length can be cut. A brazed copper 
 boiler will stand a great deal of pressure ; will tear, and 
 not fly into pieces when it bursts ; and may be heated after 
 the water has boiled away without sufiering any injury. It 
 would certainly not be worth while to make one for a model 
 engine with a half-inch cylinder, but for one of 1 inch dia- 
 meter and 2\ stroke ; and for larger sizes, it will amply repay 
 the trouble ; and I will show you how to make one, with a 
 tube or flue inside to add to the heating surface. 
 
 I shall endeavour presently to give the proper dimensions 
 of boilers to work cylinders of given diameters, but the 
 general directions here subjoined apply to all boilers of 
 models, whether large or small. The main body of the 
 boiler is generally cylindrical, and is, in fact, a tube of 
 sheet-metal, with riveted, brazed, or soldered seams, the 
 last greatly predominating in the toy engines ; the result of 
 
THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 which is, that the first time the water gets too low, out 
 drops the bottom, or, at the least, divers leaky places appear," 
 and the boiler is obliged to go to the tinman's for repair, 
 its beauty being ever after a thing of the past. It is diffi- 
 cult to braze in an ordinary fire ; because even if, by blowing 
 it with a pair of bellows, you get sufficient heat, you cannot 
 always manage to apply your work in a good position, as 
 you can over the hot coals of a forge fire, where there are 
 no bars, hobs, or other parts of the grate standing in the 
 way. Moreover, you often want both hands free just as the 
 solder commences to run," and forge-bellows will keep up 
 the blast for a few seconds afcer your hand is taken from 
 the staff or handle of them. Still, if you have no forge, 
 which is probable, you should make a fire of cinders or coke 
 (the latter if possible) ; and if you can contrive a grate by 
 putting together a few bricks in some out-house, with a 
 bar or two of hoop-iron below for the coke to rest upon, you 
 will have a far more convenient fire to work at than can 
 possibly be obtained in any ordinary household grate or 
 stove. You will require a pair of light tongs, which ought 
 to be something like A, Fig. 67 ; but it is quite possible to 
 do without these if you can hold your work in any other 
 way ; as, for instance, with a loop of iron wire twisted 
 round it and left long enough to form a handle. 
 
 The first thing to do is to cut a strip of copper large 
 enough to make the required tube. A piece 6 inches wide 
 
THE BOILER. 
 
 301 
 
 will roll up into a cylinder of about 2 inches diameter (the 
 circumference of a circle being nearly equal in all cases to 
 three times its diameter, or measure through the centre). 
 Ifj therefore, you want one 6 inches across, which is the 
 smallest size that can be advantageously fitted with a flue 
 or internal tube, you must cut it out 18 inches wide, and if 
 it is 8 in length to the bottom of the steam dome, it will 
 be a large and serviceable boiler, fit to work an engine with 
 a cylinder of 1| bore by 2 J or 3 inch stroke, which would 
 drive a small lathe. But observe that if you really have 
 pluck and skill enough to try your hand upon an engine 
 that will give you real power ^ you must take care to remem- 
 ber that " the strength of anything is the strength of its 
 rceiJiest part." So don't make the very common mistake 
 of having a good boiler and ample cylinder, and then fit 
 the engine with piston-rod, valve-rod, and such like, too 
 small to bear the strain which you propose to put upon the 
 engine. Eemember that every screw and nut and pin upon 
 which strain is liable to fall, must be of sufficient size and 
 strength to bear it safely : if not, your engine will not only 
 come to grief in the heavy trial, but it is quite possible that 
 you also may become subjected to a bad scald or other 
 disagreeable consequence of your error. 
 
 Whatever sized strips of copper you use for a boiler, the 
 edg£s have to come together to form what is called a butt- 
 joint; i,e.^ they do not overlap like the ordinary joints you 
 
302 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC, 
 
 see made in tin. Before you coil up the strip into a tubular 
 shape, you have to cut out holes for any boiler fittings you may 
 wish to add, such as safety-valve, steam-dome, and gauges 
 to ascertain the level of the water. These, however, do 
 not all come into the cylindrical part of our present boiler; 
 the gauge-taps and glass water-gauge alon^ having to be 
 provided for. The man-hole, too, which is added to all 
 large boilers, may be dispensed with, its object being to 
 enable one to get at the inside, which will scarcely be 
 necessary if our work is well done at first. A boiler of the 
 proposed size should be heated with charcoal, as it would 
 require a very large lamp ; but where gas can be obtained, 
 it may be preferably used, a ring gas-burner being placed 
 below within the furnace. The object of a steam-dome, 
 which, in a horizontal boiler, would have to be placed 
 somewhere on the tube itself, is to prevent what is called 
 priming, e.^., the carrying into the cylinder water as well 
 as steam, which arises from the spurting caused by the 
 violent boiling of the water. The dome merely provides 
 a chamber for dry steam above the general level of the 
 boiler, the steam-pipe passing from it direct to. the cylin- 
 ders. Our present boiler will be vertical like the last, but 
 with a flue up the middle, and a grate fitted below. It 
 is shown complete in Fig. 67, B, with all the fittings 
 usually attached. 
 
 Having coiled up the tube by hammering it over a 
 
BRAZING. 
 
 303 
 
 cylinder of wood turned for the purpose, a little smaller 
 than the intended size of the boiler (the edges having been 
 previously filed up bright, and a width of a quarter of an 
 inch of the upper being similarly cleaned on the inside all 
 along the seam), a few loops of iron wire are tied round 
 it, at intervals of 1 inch or 1^ inches ; there being a short 
 piece put round, and twisted together at the ends by a 
 pair of pliers. ^The object of these is to prevent the seam 
 from opening on the application of heat, which it is other- 
 wise certain to do by the expansion of the metal. Some 
 borax, pounded in a mortar, and heated to drive off the 
 water of crystallisation, is next mixed with a little water 
 to form a creamy paste, and smeared along the inside of 
 the tube, upon the brightened part, the full length of the 
 seam. It is generally better to heat this salt first suffi- 
 ciently to dry it (or rather fuse it), because it swells 
 prodigiously by the first application of heat, and if the 
 spelter is laid on it, it often carries it off; after once 
 fusing, it only melts quietly. 
 
 Before applying the little lumps of spelter, turn over 
 the tube to heat the part opposite to the seam, so as to 
 equalise the expansion. Then hold it in a pair of light 
 tongs, lay the spelter all along upon the borax, and expose it 
 without actually touching the coals to the heat of the fii'e, 
 urofed bv a strono: blast. Continue this until a blue flame 
 arises, which shows that the spelter has melted ; this blue 
 
3^4 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHAyiC. 
 
 flame being, in fact, that caused by the burning of tlio 
 zinc in tlie solder — spelter being copper and zinc fused 
 together, or, if requu'ed softer, brass, tin, and zinc. The 
 former is generally used, however, on copper. TThen the 
 blue flame arises, the solder runs into the joint, and the 
 work is done. With the hardest of these spelters, a red 
 heat will not seriously affect the joint, and, therefore, if at 
 any time the water should get below the lii^e of this seam, 
 so that it becomes exposed to the heat, no harm will be 
 done. Nevertheless, this ought never to occur, as a gauge 
 should be attached to every boiler to show the exact 
 position of the water at any given time. 
 
 The inside tube of this boiler will be seen, from the 
 section, to be conical up to the level of the lower part of 
 the chimney. This is of copper, brazed lilvC the cylindrical 
 part, and is 2 inches wide below, and 1 inch above ; con- 
 sequently, the strips to make it must be 6 inches wide at 
 one end, and taper to 3 inches at the other. If tlie dome 
 rises 2 inches from the level of the top of the cylinder, it 
 will be sufficient ; and as this is a difficult piece of work 
 for a boy to manage, a coppersmith should be asked to 
 hammer the dome into the required form, as he will know 
 from experience the best size of circular disc to use for the 
 purpose. This part is so far remgved from the action of 
 the fire that it may safely be soldered, but it is, never- 
 theless, as well to rivet it, turning out both the edge of the 
 
RIVETING AND BRAZING. 
 
 305 
 
 cylinder and that of the dome. Use copper rivets, and 
 make tlie holes half an inch apart. If you find any 
 leakage, you can run a little solder into the joint on the 
 inside. The bottom of the boiler may be quite flat and 
 brazed, a few rivets being first put in to hold the parts 
 accurately together. The same may be said of the tube 
 which passes through both this and the dome. There is 
 nothing equal to riveting and brazing for this kind of 
 work. 
 
 I may as well state however here, that as such a boilcF 
 as I have now described is worth very good work, it would 
 be a great pity to spoil it ; and it will be better to content 
 yourself with smaller boilers and engines soldered, where 
 necessary, until you have had some practice in brazing. 
 This indeed is not difficult in reality, but, at the same time, 
 requires great care, because sometimes the solder and the 
 work melt at so nearly the same temperature, that, like a 
 bad tinker, you will sometimes make two holes instead of 
 mending one. The brass, for instance, used for beer-taps 
 is very soft, and contains lead, and to a certainty would 
 itself melt before ordinary spelter, and could not there- 
 fore be brazed ; but the best Bristol brass, or yellow metal, 
 will braze easily. A blacksmith, brazing a key or other 
 iron article, will braze it in a different way, using brass 
 wire, with which he will envelop the parts thickly which 
 
 are to be united, after securing their position with iron- 
 
 u 
 
BOILERS, 
 
 307 
 
 binding-wire. He tlien sprinkles with borax, and beats 
 the work until the wire runs into the joint ; after which he 
 files and cleans off level. This makes a very good medium. 
 
 I have spoken of riveting in this place. There is no 
 difficulty in this work. You can buy copper rivets of all 
 sizes, and have only to punch holes, put a rivet in place, 
 and hammer it so as to spread the metal to form a second 
 head. If the rivets are heated before being applied, they 
 will draw the parts closer together, because they shrink 
 in cooling. All large boilers are made in this way, but 
 smaller ones of iron are often welded^ where such a mode of 
 junction is possible. When you can rivet boilers water 
 and steam tight, you will find no difficulty in constructing 
 them, for you can make riveted joints where brazing 
 would be difficult or impossible. 
 
 Fig. 67, B, is a half-section of such a boiler as I have 
 just described. Fig. 68, A, is the lower part, which is 
 separate, and forms the furnace in which the boiler stands, 
 fitting it closely. This is drawn to scale, and is half the 
 real size, a is the steam-pipe, fitted high up in the dome, 
 the tap, ^, serving to turn on or ofi" the supply of steam for 
 the cylinder ; c is the safety-valve shown in section, and 
 care must be always taken to make the conical part short 
 and of a large angle, or it may stick fast, and cause an 
 explosion ; d is the glass gauge, to show the exact height 
 of the water in the boiler. Its construction will be under- 
 
BOILERS. 
 
 stood from the other which is attached, where the boiler is 
 seen in section. There is no need to have two, anJ this is 
 added solely to explain the nature of glass-gauges. The 
 top and bottom are of brass, being tubes screwing into the 
 boiler, or fastened by a nut inside ; a tube, of thick 
 glass, connects these two, so as to form a continuous tube, 
 one end of which opens into that part of the boiler which 
 is full of steam, the other opening below the water-level. 
 Thus the tube forms practically part of the boiler, and the 
 level of the water is clearly seen. The lower tap is used 
 for blowing off water, to insure the communication being 
 kept open, as it might get stopped up with sediment. 
 
 Gauge-cocks, ^, y, are generally added, even where the 
 glass water-gauge is used. One of these should always 
 give steam, the other water, — the level of the latter being 
 between the two. If the upper one gives water, the boiler 
 is too full; if both give steam, the boiler needs to have 
 water added. With these fittings, even a soldered boiler 
 ought never to get burnt, and will last a long time with 
 care. 
 
 The lower part. Fig. 67, is made like that before described, 
 except that, being intended for charcoal, a circular grate 
 is used, which simply rests upon little brackets fixed by 
 rivets for this purpose. The flame and heat play upon the 
 bottom of the boiler, and also pass up the central tube — 
 the latter adding greatly to the quantity of steam produced. 
 
THE YOUXG MECHANIC. 
 
 Tliis furnace, when lighted, may be fed with bits of coke as 
 well as charcoal, about the size of filberts, and will give 
 plenty of heat. If the di-aught, howeyer, is deficient, turn 
 the waste steam into the tube, so as to form a jet at each 
 stroke, and it will greatly increase it. It is in this way 
 that the locomotive engines are always fitted, George 
 Stephenson haying first suggested the arrangement. Pre- 
 viously to this a fan had been fitted below the grate, which 
 was put in r^pid motion by the engine, and thus a sufii- 
 cient drauo'ht was obtained. 
 
 o 
 
 THE SAFETY-YALVE. 
 
 To find out what pressure is exerted by the safety-valve, 
 it must be clearly understood upon what principle it acts. 
 I have in a previous chapter told you that the atmospheric 
 pressure equals 15 lbs. on each square inch, so that if the 
 surface of the valve which is exposed to the air is I inch 
 in area or surface, it is pressed down with a force of 15 lbs. 
 The steam, therefore, inside the boiler will not raise it until 
 its elasticity exceeds this atmospheric pressure. If, there- 
 fore, we desire to have only just 15 lbs. per square inch 
 pressing against the inside of the boiler {ix.^ a pressure of 
 
 one atmosphere," as it is called), we have only to load 
 the valve so that, inclusive of its own weight, it shall 
 equal 15 lbs. But it is plain that we must not load it at 
 all in reality ; for a flat plate, 1 inch square, oi no 7v eight, 
 
STEAM PRESSURE. 
 
 is all that is needed, the atmosphere itself being the load. 
 Suppose, then, that we do load it with 15 lbs. in addition to 
 the 15 lbs. with which nature has loaded it, we shall not 
 find the steam escape until it presses with a force of 30 lbs. 
 on the square inch, or two atmospheres (which, however, 
 is not 30 lbs. of useful pressure upon one side of the piston, 
 if the cylinder is open as in an atmospheric engine, but 
 only 15 lbs.) This is not the strain which the boiler has 
 to stand, because the atmosphere is pressing upon it and 
 counteracting it up to the 15 lbs., so that this strain tend- 
 ing to burst it is but 15 lbs. The number of pounds, there- 
 fore, which is straining the boiler can readily be seen ; being 
 always that with which the safety-valve is loaded, and this 
 is also the useful pressure for doing any required work. Un- 
 fortunately, however, even in the best constructed engines, 
 a pressure of 15 lbs. upon the boiler by no means represents 
 that in the cylinder. ]N"ow it would be inconvenient to 
 place weights upon the safety-valve itself, and therefore a 
 lever is added, as seen in the sketch, with a weight hung 
 at one end of it. This is shown at B, Fig. 68, where a 
 section of the valve is given with its stem passing through 
 a guide to insure the correct motion of the valve. The 
 lever is hinged at one end ; and the rule of the pressure or 
 weight which is brought to bear upon the valve is, that it 
 is multiplied by the distance at which the weight hangs 
 from the valve, compared with its distance from the hinge 
 
312 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC, 
 
 or fuloriim. If a weight of 7 lbs. is hung at 1, i.e.^ at a 
 distance as far on that side of tlie valve as the fulcrum is 
 on the other side of it, 7 lbs. will be the actual power 
 exerted ; at 2, where it is twice the distance, it will be 
 doubled, and, as shown in the drawing, a pressure of 14 lbs. 
 will be brought to bear upon the valve ; while, if the weight 
 is hung at 3, it will exercise a force of 21 lbs. This is very 
 easy to understand and to remember. Sometimes (always 
 ia locomotives) the weight is removed and a spring balance 
 is attached at the long end. Upon this is marked the 
 actual pressure exerted ; there being a nut to screw down, 
 and thus bring any desired strain upon the spring. Mind, 
 however, in case you should try this in any of your models, 
 that the scale marked on the balance when j^ou buy it must 
 be muidplied. as before, according to the length of your 
 lever. Thus, u i attach such a balance at 3 of the draw- 
 ing, a real weight of 5 u^. shown by the balance will be 
 3 X 5, or 15 lbs. upon the valve, and a balance made for 
 such engine would be marked 15 lbs., to prevent the possi- 
 bility of dangerous error. 
 
 ENGINES WITHOUT SLIDE-VALVES EASY TO MAKE. 
 
 Having been led on from the atmospheric engine to that 
 of Watt's, and to slide-valve engines generally, I am now 
 going backward a little to a class easier to make, because 
 they have no slide-valves, nor even four- way cocks ; and 
 
OVERCOMING DIFFICULTIES. 
 
 313 
 
 tlien I sliall have done witli engines. But I dare say some 
 of my readers will wonder why I have said so little about 
 condensers and condensing engines. I am sure they will 
 wonder at it if they understood what I explained of the 
 advantage of a vacuum under the piston; so that 15 lbs. 
 pressure upon the piston means 15 lbs. of useful work, in- 
 stead of 30 lbs. being required for that purpose. But con- 
 densing engines are utterly beyond a boy's power. They 
 require not only a vessel into which the steam is injected 
 at each stroke, but there must be a pump to raise and 
 inject cold water to condense the steam, and a pump to 
 extract from the vessel again this water, after it has been 
 used, and a cistern, and cold and hot wells ; and all this is 
 difficult to make 80 as to act; and I am sure no boy cares for 
 a steam engine that will not work. Moreover, I have given 
 you difficult work as it is — work that many of my readers 
 will no doubt be afraid to try — yet I did it on purpose; 
 because if small boys are unequal to some of it, their big 
 brothers are not, or ought not to be ; and mechanical boys 
 must look at difficulties as a trained hunter looks at a 
 hedge — ^viz., with a strong desire to go over it, or through 
 it, or any how and some how to get to the other side of it. 
 Indeed, you must ride your mechanical hobby very boldly 
 and with great pluck, or you won't half enjoy the ride. 
 However, I am quite aware that I have led you into several 
 difficulties, and therefore now I propose to set before you 
 
314 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 some easy work as a kind of holiday task whicli will send 
 you with fresh vigour to what is not so easy. 
 
 The engines without slide-valves have also no eccentrics 
 and no connecting-rods. There is just a boiler, a cylinder, 
 piston, piston-rod, and crank, and you have the sum total, 
 save and except the fly-wheel. These are direct-action 
 engines, the cylinders of which oscillate like a pendulum, 
 and the piston-rod itself is connected to the crank, doing 
 away with the necessity for guides. 
 
 Fig. 69, A, shows one of these engines, and you see that 
 the cylinder leans to the left when the crank is turned to 
 that side ; and if you turn the wheel to the right, the crank 
 will presently cause it to lean the other way ; and thus, as it 
 turns on a pin, or trunnion," as it is called, it keeps 
 on swinging from side to side as the wheel goes round. 
 
 Now, when it is in its first position, the piston is at the 
 bottom of the cylinder, and it then needs to have the steam 
 admitted below it to drive up the piston ; but when this 
 has passed its highest position, and the cylinder is turned 
 a little to the riglit^ the piston must be allowed to descend, 
 and, therefore, we must let out the steam below it. We 
 ouglit^ at the same time, to admit steam above the piston 
 to force it down ; but, in the simplest models, which are 
 sailed single-action engines, this is not done. The fly- 
 wheel, having been set in motion, keeps on revolving, and, 
 by its impetus, sends doY\^n the piston quite powerfully 
 
OSCILLATING CYLINDERS. 
 
 315 
 
 enough to overcome the slight resistance which is offered 
 by the friction of the jiarts. 
 
 ^sTow, you can, I daresay, 
 easily understand that it is pos- 
 sible to make this to-and-fro 
 motion of the oscillating cylin- 
 der open first a steam-port to 
 allow steam to raise the piston, 
 and then an exhaust-port to let 
 it blow off into the air. This 
 is exactly what is done in prac- 
 tice, and it is managed in the 
 following manner : — 
 
 B, of Fig. 69, shows the 
 bottom of the cylinder, which 
 is a solid piece of brass filed 
 quite flat on one side, and 
 turned out to receive the end 
 of the brass tube, which, gener- 
 ally speaking, is screwed into 
 it to form the cylinder, this 
 being the easiest way to make 
 it. In the middle of the upper 
 part of the flat side you see a 
 white steam-port, and below it 
 a round white spot, which is the position of the pin, or 
 
3i6 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 trunnion, on which it oscillates. Fig. 69, C, is a similar 
 piece of brass, which is fixed to the top of the boiler. In 
 this, on the left of the upper part, is also a port, which is 
 connected with the boiler by a hole drilled below it to 
 admit steam. On the right is also a port, which is merely 
 cut like a notch, or it may go a little way into the boss, 
 and then be met by a hole drilled to meet it, so as to form 
 the escape or exhaust port. Between and below these is 
 the hole for the trunnion. 
 
 Now, you can, I think, see that if the cylinder stands 
 upright against this block, as it does when the crank is 
 vertical (or upright) and on its dead points, the port at the 
 bottom of the cylinder would fall between the two on this 
 block of brass, and, as they are both flat and fit closely, no 
 steam from the boiler can enter the cylinder. i^"or do we 
 want it to do so, because, if the crank is on a dead point, 
 no amount of steam can make the piston rise so as to move 
 it. But now, if we move the cylinder to the left, which we 
 can do by turning the wheel, we shall presently get the 
 crank at right angles to its former position, and, also, we 
 shall bring the steam-ports in the cylinder and block 
 together, so that steam will enter below the piston. Bat, 
 practically to get as long a stroke as possible, steam is not 
 allowed to enter fully until the crank is further on than in 
 a horizontal position, that is, approaching its lower dead 
 point ; and this is the position in which to put it to start 
 
DOUBLE-ACTING ENGINES. 
 
 tlie engine. By altering the shape or the position of the 
 port a little, we can so arrange matters as to let steam 
 enter at any required moment. 
 
 Steam having entered, the piston will rise rapidly, forcing 
 up the piston, and presently, by the consequent revolution 
 of the fly-wheel, the cylinder will be found leaning to the 
 left, and at this moment the piston must evidently begin 
 to descend. At this very time the steam-ports will have 
 ceased to correspond, but the port in the cylinder will come 
 opposite the exhaust-port in the brass block, and this port 
 is made of such size and shape that the two shall continue 
 to be together all the time the piston is descending ; but, 
 the moment it has reached the end of its downward stroke, 
 they cease to correspond in position, and the steam-port 
 begins again to admit a fesh supply of steam. 
 
 The pillar attached to the brass boss has nothing to do 
 with it, but is one of the supports of the axle of the fly- 
 wheel, as you will understand by inspection of A of this 
 same drawing. 
 
 Such is the single-action model engine, of no power ^ but 
 a very interesting toy and real steam engine. 
 
 The double-action engine is very superior to the foregoing, 
 which, I may remark, has no stuffing-box, and of which the 
 piston is never packed. I may also add, that the crank is 
 formed generally by merely bending the wire that forms the 
 axle of the wheel, and putting the bent end through the hole 
 
THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 of a little boss or knob of brass, screwed to the end of 
 the jDiston-rod. Here you have no boring of cylinderg 
 to accomplish, but the cylinder cover, piston, and wheel 
 (often of lead or tin) require the lathe to make them neatly. 
 Many an engine, however, has been made without a lathe, 
 and I have seen one with a bit of gun-barrel for a cylinder, 
 and a four-way cock of very rough construction, that was 
 used to turn a coffee-mill, and did its work very well too. 
 
 But I must go at once to the double-action oscillating 
 cylinder, in which, although a similar mode of admitting 
 steam is used, it is arranged to admit it alternately above 
 and below the piston, the exhaust also acting in a similar 
 manner. 
 
 After the explanation I have given you, however, of the 
 single-action engine, you will, some of you, I think, jump 
 at a conclusion almost directly, and perhaps be able to plan 
 for yourselves a very easy arrangement to accomplish the 
 desired end. All boys, however, are not " wax to receive, 
 and adamant to retain " an impression ; for I have known 
 some who need an idea to be driven into their brains with a 
 good deal of hard hammering. Stupid ? — No. Dull ? — No, 
 only slow in getting hold, and none the worse for that gener- 
 ally, if the master will but have a little patience ; for when 
 they do get hold, they are very like bulldogs, they won't 
 let go in a hurry, but store up in most retentive minds 
 what they learned with such deliberation. 
 
CIRCULAR PORTS. 
 
 319 
 
 THE DOUBLE-ACTION OSCILLATING ENGINE. 
 
 The cylinder of the double-action engine is of necessity 
 made with ports very similar to those of the horizontal 
 engine already described. There is a solid piece attached 
 to the cylinder as before, which is drilled down to the upper 
 and lower part respectively of a central boss, turned very flat 
 upon the face, and which has to work against a similar flat 
 surface as in the last engine. But the ports in the latter 
 are four instead of two, and in an engine with upright 
 cylinder would be cut as follows, and as shown in Fig. 
 70, C. 
 
 Those on the right marked 8t are steam-ports, which, being 
 drilled into one behind, are connected with the boiler. The 
 other two marked ex^ are similarly exhaust-ports opening into 
 the air. The spaces between a h and c d fig. C must be 
 wide enough to close the steam-ports in the cylinder, when 
 the latter is perpendicular and the engine at rest. When 
 the cylinder leans to the left, oscillating on the central pin 
 between the ports in the middle of the circle, the lower port 
 of it will evidently be in connection with the steam-port in 
 C, while the upper port of the cylinder will be opposite to 
 the exhaust. As the cylinder is carried over towards the 
 right, the upper steam-ports will come into action in a 
 similar way, while the lower exhaust-port is also carrying 
 off in turn the waste steam. The impetus, therefore, of the 
 
320 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 v-wheel has here only to cany the ports over the spaces 
 ah^ c and to prevent the crank stopping on the two dead 
 points. This, therefore, is a genuine double-action engine, 
 
 To£ of J3 oiler 
 
 ' 1,1 
 
 ■ : Jl rid 
 
 ■ 
 
 c d 
 
 Fisr. 70. 
 
 and will answer, even on a large scale, very satisfactorily. 
 If you do not quite understand the action of these ports, cut 
 out two pieces of card, E F. Let E represent the cylinder. 
 Draw circles, and cut two ports. Cut another piece of card 
 
DETAILS, 
 
 321 
 
 to represent tlie brass block, with ports, c d; pin them 
 together throngh the centres of the circles, and they will 
 easily turn on the pin. Mark the ports, so that you will 
 see at a glance which are steam and which exhaust. Now 
 cut out the ports with a penknife, and as you work the two 
 cards together, swaying that which represents the cylinder 
 to and fro upon the other, you will see when the ports in 
 each card agree with one another, and which are opposite to 
 which. This will teach you far better than any farther 
 written explanation. You will also see that, instead of 
 making the steam and exhaust ports respectively with a 
 division between, the two steam-ports may be in one curve 
 united, and likewise the two exhausts ; but take care not to 
 unite the exhaust with the steam-ports. There is no way 
 so easy as this of reversing the action of the steam; it is, in 
 fact, a circular sli(ie-valve, but wonderfully easy to make^ 
 because you have no steam-case to make, nor any attach^ 
 ments whatever. 
 
 The faces of the valve are kept in close contact in one of 
 two ways — either the centre-pin is fixed into the cylinder 
 face, and after passing through the brass boss with the 
 ports, is screwed up with a nut at the back ; or else there is 
 fixed a small pillar or upright on the opposite side of the 
 cylinder, and a little pointed screw passing through this 
 presses against the cylinder, and makes a point of resist- 
 ance, against which it centres, and on which it turns. This 
 
 X 
 
THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 is shown at fig. A. A small indentation is made where the 
 point comes in contact with the cylinder. 
 
 In a locomotive engine there are two such cylinders, 
 working against opposite faces of the same brass block 
 containing the ports. The cranks are also two, on the 
 shaft of the driving-wheels, and are at right angles to each 
 other; so that when one piston is at the middle of its 
 stroke, the other is nearly or quite at the end of it. Tlius, 
 between the two there is always some force being exerted 
 by the steam; and the dead points of one crank agree with 
 the greatest leverage of the other. In locomotives, too, the 
 cylinders generally are made as in the present drawing, 
 viz., to oscillate on a point at the middle of their length; 
 but it is just as easy to have the two ports meet at the 
 bottom instead, so that the point of oscillation may be low 
 down, like the single-acting cylinders of the last sketch, 
 and this is generally done when the cylinder is to stand 
 upright. 
 
 There is no occasion for me to draw an engine with 
 double-acting oscillating cylinders, because in appearance 
 it would be like the single-acting one; but whereas the 
 latter is of absolutely no use, seeing that the greater part 
 of its motion depends on the impetus of the fly-wheel, the 
 former can be made to do real work, and is the form to be 
 used for marine and locomotive engines. For the former, 
 oscillating cylinders with slide-valves are used in practice ; 
 
TRUE LABOUR. 
 
 but for real locomotives fixed cylinders are always used. 
 Of course either will answer in models, and it will be good 
 practice to try both. 
 
 I have now given sufficient explanation of how engines 
 work, and how they may be made, to enable my young 
 mechanic to try his hand at such work. The double-action 
 oscillating engines especially are well worthy of his atten- 
 tion, as he may with these fit up working models of steam- 
 boats and railway trains, which are far more difficult to 
 construct with fixed cylinders and slide-valves. I shall 
 therefore close this part of my work with a description of 
 one or two useful appliances to help him in the manipula- 
 tive portion of his labour, — for here, as in most other 
 matters, head and hand and heart must work together. 
 The heart desires, the head plans, the hands execute. I 
 think, indeed, I might without irreverence bring forward 
 a quotation, written a very long time ago by a very clever 
 and scientific man, in a very Holy Book : '^Whatsoever thy 
 hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might." Depend 
 upon it success in life depends mainly upon carrying into 
 practice this excellent advice. If you take up one piece of 
 work, and carelessly and listlessly play at doing it, and 
 then lay it down to begin with equal indifference something 
 else, you will never become either a good mechanic or a 
 useful man. If you read of those who have been great men 
 — lights in their generation — you will find generally that 
 
324 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 they became sncli simply by their observance, of that ancient 
 precept of the wise man. They were not so marvellously 
 clever — they seldom had any unusual worldly advantages ; 
 but they worked with all their might," and success 
 crowned their efforts, as it will crown yours if you do the 
 «anie. 
 
Chapter XV. 
 
 HARDENING AND TEMPERING T00L3« 
 
 PROMISED in a previous page to describe a little 
 stove for heating soldering-irons, and doing 
 other light work. It is made as follows, and 
 will be found very useful. 
 Fig. 71, A, is a tube of sheet-iron, which forms the body 
 of the little stove. Four light iron rods stand out from it, 
 which form handles, but these are forked at the ends, and 
 thus become rests for the handles of soldering-irons, or any 
 light bars that are to be heated at the ends. Below is a 
 tray, also of sheet-iron, upon short legs to keep it off the 
 table — for this is a little table-stove. C is the cast-iron 
 grate. You can buy this for a few pence first of all, and 
 then you fit your sheet-metal to it. It will rest on three 
 or four little studs or projections riveted to the stove in- 
 side ; or you can cut three or four little places like D, not 
 cutting them at the bottom line, a but only on three 
 sides, and then bend in the littie piece so as to make a 
 
326 
 
 7 HE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 shelf. If the stove is about 4 inches high above the grate, 
 and 2 or 3 inches below it, and 6 inches diameter, it will 
 be sufficiently large for many small operations ; but that 
 the fuel may keep falling downwards as it burns, the lower 
 part should be larger then the upper, and, to admit plenty 
 of air, should be cut into legs as shown. Round the top 
 are cut semicircular hollows, in which the irons rest. To 
 increase the heat, a chimney or blower, B, is fitted, which 
 has also openings cut out to match those of the lower part, 
 so that the soldering-irons can be inserted when this 
 chimney is put on. If, however, this is not required, but 
 only a strong draught, by turning the chimney a little, all 
 the openings will be closed. A still longer chimney can 
 be added at pleasure. A hole should be made at the level 
 of the grate to admit the nozzle of an ordinary pair of bel- 
 lows. This stove you would find of great service, and it 
 may be fed with coke and charcoal in small lumps. Now 
 you may make the above far more useful. It will make a 
 regular little furnace, and not burn through, if you can line 
 it with fireclay. In London and large towns you can 
 obtain this ; and it only needs to be mixed up with water, 
 like mortar, when you can plaster your stove inside an inch 
 thick or more, making it so much larger on purpose. 
 There is no need to do this below the level of the grate ; 
 but if you cannot get fireclay, you may do almost as well 
 by getting a blacklead-meltingpot from any ironfoundry, 
 
DETAILS OF CONSTRUCTION 
 
 327 
 
 and boring a few holes round the bottom for air, and fitting 
 it inside your little iron stove. In tliis j^ou can obtain 
 heat enough to melt brass, and it will last a great deal 
 
 Fig. 71. 
 
 longer than the iron alone, which will burn through if you 
 blow the fire much ; but for general soldering, tempering 
 small tools, and so forth, you need not blow the fire, as 
 the hood and chimney will sufficiently increase the heat. 
 There is no danger in the use of this little fireplace, but 
 of course you would not stand it near a heap of shavings, 
 unless you are yourself a very careless young " shaver." 
 
 HOW TO TEMPER TOOLS. 
 
 There is no reason why the young mechanic should not . 
 
3^8 
 
 2HE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 be told how to make his own tools, and how to harden and 
 temper them, because he ought to be a sort of jack-of- all- 
 trades ; and perhaps he may break a drill or other small 
 tool just in the middle of some special bit of work, or his 
 drill may be just a little too small or too large, and there 
 he will be stuck fast as a pig in a gate, and unable to set 
 himself right again any more than the noisy squeaker 
 aforesaid. But to a workman a broken drill means just 
 five minutes' delay, and all goes on again as merrily as 
 before ; and as we wish to make our young readers work- 
 men and not bunglers, we will teach them this useful art 
 at once. 
 
 Drills are made of steel wire or rods of various sizes. 
 In old times they were made square at one end, to fit lathe- 
 chucks or braces, but now, for lathe-work, they are gener- 
 ally made of round steel, and fastened into the chuck with 
 a set screw on one side. In this way they can be more 
 easily made to run true. But there are so many kinds of 
 drills that I suppose I had better go into the matter a 
 little — only I have not room to say much more. 
 
 Look at Fig. 72, and you will see some of the more usual 
 forms of drills used, but these are by no means all. You 
 will not indeed require such a collection ; and yet, if you 
 should grow from a young mechanic into an old one, I dare- 
 say you will find yourself in possession of several of them. 
 The first, labelled 1, is the little watchmaker's drill, of 
 
DIFFERENT DRILLS. 
 
 320 
 
 which, nevertheless, this would be considered a very large 
 size. It is merely a bit of steel wire, with a brass pulley 
 upon it, formed into a point at the largest end, and into a 
 
 Fig. 72. 
 
 drill at the other. The way it is worked is this : At the 
 side of the table-vice — that is, at the end of its jaws or 
 chops or chaps— are drilled a few little shallow holes, in 
 which the watchmaker places the point at the thickest end; 
 the drill-point rests against the work, which he holds in 
 his left hand. A bow of whalebone, a, has a string of 
 fine gut such as is used for fishing, or, if the drill is very 
 small, a horse-hair ; and this is given one turn round the 
 
330 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC, 
 
 brass pulley before the drill is placed in position. The 
 bow is then moved to and fro, causing the di'ill to revolve 
 first in one direction and then in the other. The general 
 work is in thin brass, and therefore these little tools are 
 sufficiently strong for the purpose. Some of the drills and 
 broaches (four or five, or even six sided wires of steel) are 
 BO fine that they will bend about like a hair, and yet are 
 60 beautifully made and tempered as to cut steel. 
 
 No. 2 is a larger drill, even now much used. In prin- 
 ciple it is exactly similar to the last, but the pulley is 
 replaced by a bobbin or reel of wood, made to revolve by a 
 steel bow with a gut string, or a strong wooden bow. The 
 drills, too, are separate, and fit into a socket at the bottom 
 of the drill-stock. The large end is pointed, as in the last, 
 and is made to rest in one of the holes in a steel breast- 
 plate, which is tied to the chest of the operator, who, by 
 leaning against it, keeps the drill to its work, while both 
 bands are free to hold the latter steady. There is a modi* 
 fication of this tool, invented by a Mr Freeman, intended 
 to do away with the bow. The bobbin or reel is turned 
 without raised ends, and is worked by a flat strip of 
 wood covered with india-rubber, and turned at one end to 
 form a convenient handle. The having to twist the bow- 
 string round the drill, which is always a bother, is thus 
 done away with. 
 
 No. 4 is a drill-stock similar to the last, but in place of 
 
ARCHIMEDEAN DRILLS. 
 
 331 
 
 the breast-plate a revolving liead or handle is put to the 
 top, in which the point works. This is held in one hand, 
 while the drill-bow is worked by the other. This is also 
 generally held against the chest, as the hand alone does 
 not give sufficient pressure. Heavy work, however, can- 
 not well be done by these breast-drills, and they are liable 
 to cause spitting of blood from the constant pressure in 
 the region of the heart and lungs. 
 
 No. 3 is the Archimedean drill-stock, now very common, 
 but originally invented by a workman of Messrs Holt- 
 zapffel's, the eminent lathemakers of London. It now 
 comes to us as an American drill-stock. It is a long 
 screw of two or more threads, with a ferule or nut working 
 upon it. The upper end revolves within the head, which is 
 of wood ; .the lower end is formed into a socket to receive 
 the drills, which revolve by sliding the ferule up and down. 
 Some are 14 inches long, and others not more than 5. 
 The first are used with the pressure of the chest, the latter 
 with that of the left hand. For light work these are very 
 useful, and you wiU seldom need any other in the models 
 of small engines, &c. 
 
 No. 5 is another watchmaker's drill, but serves also as a 
 pin- vice to hold small pieces of wire while being turned or 
 filed in the little lathes which are used in that trade, and 
 which are worked by a bow with one hand, while the tool 
 is held in the other. This is by no means a useless tool, 
 
332 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 even witliout the pulley. It is made by taking a round 
 (or better, an octagon, or five or six sided) piece of steel, 
 drilling the end a little distance, and then sawing the 
 whole up the middle. The slit thus made is then filed 
 away to widen it, and leave two jaws at the end, which 
 grasp the pin or drill; a ring slips over, and keeps the 
 jaws together. 
 
 We now come to fig. 6, which represents the best of all 
 drills for metal. It is really American this time, and does 
 our Transatlantic cousins great credit, as does the machinery 
 generally invented or made by them (the Wheeler and 
 Wilson sewing-machines for instance). The steel of which 
 this drill is made is accurately turned in a lathe, and the 
 spiral groove is cut by machinery. This groove acts in two 
 ways — first, as allowing the shavings {not powdery chips) to 
 escape as the tool penetrates, but as forming the cutting 
 edges where they (for there are two) meet at the point. 
 These, however, require a lathe with a self-centring chuck 
 made on purpose. They are sold in sets upon a stand, 
 chuck and all complete, and each is one-thirty-second of 
 an inch larger than the other. Some are as small as a 
 darning-needle, or less, and they run up to an inch or so in 
 diameter. There are large and small sets. 
 
 We now pass to the old-fashioned smith's brace, fig. 7, 
 shown in position, drilling the piece e. Pressure is kept 
 up either by a weighted lever, or by a screw, as shown 
 
TO MAKE DRILLS. 
 
 333 
 
 here. The brace is moved round by the band of the work- 
 man. Yery often this tool is arranged on the vice-bench, 
 so that the work can be retained in the jaws of the vice 
 while being drilled. Sometimes it is mounted on a separ- 
 ate stand, having a stool below, and a special kind of vice 
 or clamp is added. Well made, this is not so bad a tool as 
 it looks, but those used ordinarily in smiths' shops are very 
 clumsy, and do not even run true, and the drills are badly 
 made, although by sheer force they are driven through the 
 work. 
 
 Whatever form of drill-stock is used, the main thing is 
 to have the drills properly formed. You will recognise k 
 and n as common forms, than which m is considerably 
 better. For cast-iron n would not be a bad point, because 
 the angle is great, much greater, you see, than k ; and the 
 bevels which form the cutting edges of a drill should also 
 not be too sharp, as they are generally made, for, as they 
 only scrape away the metal, their edges go directly. 
 
 The common way to make a drill is this : A piece of steel 
 wire of the required size is heated until red hot (never to 
 a white heat, or it would be spoiled). The end is then 
 flattened out with a hammer, and the point trimmed with 
 a file. It is then again heated red hot, and dipped into 
 cold water for a second. Then held where the changes of 
 colour, which ensue as it cools, can be seen plainly; and as 
 Boon as a deep yellow or first tinge of purple becomes 
 
334 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC, 
 
 visible, it is entirely cooled in water. It is then finished, 
 except as regards fitting it to the drill-stock, which may be 
 done before or after it is hardened, because care is taken 
 only to dip the extreme point. To get proper cutting 
 edges the drill is taken to the grindstone, and each side of 
 the point is slightly bevelled, but in opposite directions, so 
 as to make it cut both ways. It is not, however, left of 
 equal width, like but the flattened sides are ground away, 
 so as to make more of a point, like p and n. 
 
 IN'ow, this is all right enough as regards forging and 
 hardening, and tempering, and for the smallest di'ills this 
 is the only way to make them. (Only watchmakers heat 
 them in the candle till red, and then cool and temper by 
 running them into the tallow.) But if you want a good 
 drill that will cut well and truly, you should file away the 
 sides of a round bar like only spreading the point very 
 slightly indeed, just to prevent the drill sticking fast in the 
 work. Another drill, indeed, is spoken of very highly, 
 which is also carefully made like but the places which 
 are here flat are hollowed out or grooved lengthwise, the 
 section of the point — i,e.^ the appearance of the end of the 
 drill — becomes rather curious, like r. I am assured by those 
 who have used them, that these cut quite as well as the 
 twist drills which I have described already. These which 
 I am now speaking of are also American ; and I don't know 
 how it is, that somehow America is a far better place for 
 
FLOGGING BY STEAM t 
 
 improvements in tools and machines than our own Old 
 England. And if I had a wonderful invention — a new 
 birch-rod-making and flogging-machine for very trouble- 
 some boys, for instance — I am afraid I should go to America 
 to patent it ; but I daresay English boys would not object 
 to that. 
 
 To teach an idle boy to read, 
 
 His mind be sure to jog ; 
 But if he 's very bad indeed, 
 
 You '11 be obliged to flog. 
 
 Yet if you flog him day by day, 
 
 He '11 never learn to read ; 
 For boys require a lot of play 
 
 To make them work with speed. 
 
 But young mechanics, if they err 
 
 Or join the lazy team, 
 Would all, as I suppose, prefer 
 
 To be well flogged by steam. 
 
 If not, they had better not let me patent my flogging- 
 machine. Luckily it is not invented yet. 
 
 The cutting edges of drills come under the same rules as 
 other cutting edges. You might, for instance, hold a large 
 drill flat on the rest, and use either edge as a turning-tool. 
 You will see at once that these edges will not cut if 
 made in the usual way, but only scrape. The bevel wants 
 to be ground only to 3°, as before explained, to give 
 the proper clearance, and the cutting edge requires to be 
 then made by grinding back the upper ^ surface, which is 
 just the same in effect as is produced by twisting the metal 
 
33^ 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 or cutting a spiral groove, which hollows out this upper 
 surface and gives it cutting power. It is no use grinding a 
 sharper-looking bevel, or making more of a point — you 
 only weaken the edge \ m ox n quite pointed enough, 
 though the first is a right angle and the second greater ; 
 and, for cast-iron, a rounded point, showing no angle at all, 
 will do just as well, or better, when once it has begun to 
 penetrate. Do not be deceived, therefore, by making drills 
 look pointed and keen, for, I repeat, they are scraping tools 
 only, unless you file an edge by bevelling back the upper 
 fece of each side of the point. If you were to make a very 
 thick, strong drill, you might begin by grinding back the 
 two sides to 3°, to form the accidental front line of the point 
 or section angle, and then grind back, at ^h"" from this line^ 
 the upper face, by which you would do just what you did to 
 give the graver cutting edges of 60° — only a drill thus 
 formed must have a point of 90°. It would cut in two 
 directions, like one for a drill stock and bow. 
 
 1 hope my bigger boys will not pass over the remarks on 
 cutting edges interspersed in this book, for, once under- 
 stood, they will be found to be most valuable. Indeed, they 
 cannot work intelligently until they understand exactly 
 the nature and principles of the tools which they have to 
 use. In drilling iron, use water or oil, or soap and water, 
 or soda-water — either will do; but the holes are drilled in 
 th« ships' armour-plating with soap and water to cool the 
 
DRILLS AND BORING-BITS: '-^^^^ .^^ 
 
 drill; and very well it answers, for these plates are several 
 inches thick, but the holes are soon made. When workiuo- 
 in brass and gun-metal, use no water, but work the drill 
 quite dry. The same rules, in short, apply to drilling as 
 to turning or planing metal; and if you could see the 
 action of a well-made American twist-drill, you would re- 
 cognise this similarity, for you would see the metal come 
 forth in long, bright curls, as pretty and shining as those 
 of your favourite young lady or loving sister — one of which 
 you have, I daresay. 
 
 To give you some idea of what a straight course a drill 
 will take, if rightly made and skilfully used, I may tell you 
 that a twist-drill has been run through a lucifer-match 
 from end to end without splitting it ; and as to the fineness 
 possible, I have seen a human hair with an eye drilled 
 through it, by which, needle-like, it was threaded with the 
 other end of itself. 
 
 I told you how to bore a cylinder, which is but drilling 
 on a larger scale, and in Fig. 65 I sketched the method of 
 doing this in the lathe with a rosebit. But I did not ex- 
 plain another tool used just in the same way, but which will 
 bore holes in solid iron wonderfully. Fig. 65, L, H, K, is 
 one of these. This is an engineer's boring-bit, and is made 
 of all sizes, from that required to bore the stem of a tobacco- 
 pipe — (don't smoke, boys, it will dry up your brains) — to 
 that which would bore a cannon. A rod of steel is forged 
 
 Y 
 
338 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 with a boss or larger part at one end. This is centred in the 
 lathe, and the centre-marks are well drilled, and not merely 
 punched, especially that at the small end. The boss is then 
 tm'ned quite cylindrical, after which it is filed* away exactly 
 to the diametrical line, as you will see by inspection of L. 
 The end is then ground off a little slanting, to give, as 
 before, about 3° of clearance. The cutting edge thus ob- 
 tained, and the end in which the centre hole still remains, 
 are carefully hardened. You thus have a tool which will 
 bore splendidly, but you must give it entrance by turning 
 a recess first of all in the work, or drilling, with a drill of 
 equal size, a little way into the material. Used like the 
 rosebit, this tool will run beautifully straight, so that you 
 can bore very deep, long holes with it, and cylinders can 
 be most beautifully bored with it. I think you would be 
 able to make these tools with a little care; but, when you 
 harden them, only heat and dip the extremities, or it is 
 ten to one your steel rod will bend and warp in cooling, 
 and you will not be able to rectify it. If the ends are quite 
 hard, it is as well that the rest should be soft, as the tool 
 will not then be so liable to get broken. 
 
 There are many other tools used for boring iron and steel, 
 but you need not trouble yourself at present to learn any- 
 thing of them — they are no use to you now. 
 
 I have headed this chapter " Hardening and Tempering " 
 
 * In large tools this is not done by the file. 
 
tools, but as yet I have only partially explained the process, 
 which is a very curious one ; and though the result is highly 
 necessary in many cases, it is by no means well understood 
 what really takes place in the process, or why this effect 
 should occur in steel, but not in iron, or brass, or other 
 metals. 
 
 If you heat a piece of bright steel over a clear gas jet or 
 fire which will not smoke it, you will see several colours 
 arise as the metal gets hotter and hotter, until finally it 
 becomes red. These are due to oxidation, which is so long 
 a word that I am not sure I can stop to explain it thoroughly. 
 Let us see, however, what we can make of it. The air we 
 breathe contains two gases, oxygen and nitrogen, with a 
 small proportion of a third called carbonic acid. Neither of 
 these alone will support life, or kee|) the fire burning, or 
 enable vegetables to live and grow, but it is the first which 
 is in this the chief support. The second is only used by 
 Nature as we use water to brandy, viz., to dilute it and 
 render it less strong. If we breathed oxygen alone, we 
 should live too fast, and wear out our bodies in a few hours. 
 If we breathed nitrogen only, we should die, and so of car- 
 bonic acid. Now this oxygen seizes upon everything in a 
 wonderful and sometimes provoking manner. If you leave 
 a bright tool out of doors to get damp, down comes our 
 friend oxygen and rusts it. It combines with the iron and 
 makes oxide of iron, which is what we call rust. I suppose, 
 
340 
 
 The roif.vc MECHk^^fc. 
 
 however, this oxygen comes more from the water than the 
 air, because water is made also of two gases, hydrogen and 
 tl'.is same oxygen. It is certain that oxygen in this case 
 always finds any bright tools that we leave about in the wet, 
 and conts them with a red jacket very speedily. Then if 
 you look at a blacksmith at work, you will see scales fall 
 from the hot iron as he hammers it. These are black, but 
 our old friend has been at work, and united with the red- 
 hot metal and formed another oxide of iron, called black 
 oxide. We can understand this. If a man eats a good 
 deal, or drinks a good deal, he gets red in the face ; if he eats 
 till he chokes himself, he gets black in the face, and I sup- 
 pose it is much the same when oxygen eats too much iron. 
 Well, when we begin to heat the steel, down comes oxygen 
 and begins his work ; and first he looks very pale ; then he 
 gets more bilious and yellower ; then he gets hotter and 
 shows a tinge of red with the yellow forming orange ; then 
 he begins to get purple, then blue, then deeper blue ; and 
 finally black before he gets absolutely red and white hot. 
 
 Now to temper steel, we first heat it red-hot, not mind- 
 ing these colours, and then we cool it suddenly in cold water. 
 This renders it very hard indeed. No file will cut it, or 
 drill penetrate it ; but if we strike it, behold it breaks like 
 glass I This is too hard for general work, for the edge will 
 break and chip if it meets with any hard spot in the metal, 
 or cliances to bite in too deep. Its teeth are too brittle, and 
 
TEMPERING. 
 
 341 
 
 so get broken off. For this reason we have to " let down," 
 or temper, the tool, and we proceed as follows : The part 
 to be tempered is ground quite bright. It is then laid upon 
 a bar of iron heated red-hot, or if small, it is held over a 
 gas jet or in a candle ; heated, in short, in any way most 
 suitable and convenient. And now, first, our friend oxygen 
 puts on a pale yellow face as before. This will do for turn- 
 ing steel and iron, but is still too hard for general work. 
 Then comes the orange, and this presently tends sliglitly to 
 blue ; at which point, if the tool is instantly cooled in water, 
 it will be found to bear a good edge, hard, but sufficiently 
 tough for work. Most tools for metal and drills are let 
 down to something between the yellow and blue, and we 
 know that the more they approach blue, the softer they will 
 be. Thus we can easily manage our tools ; — some to bear 
 hard blows, like axes, which are tempered to a blue colour ; 
 some like files, which a blow will break, but which are 
 famous for their own special work — these are let down only 
 to a pale yellow ; others, like springs and saws, are let 
 down to a more thorough blue, because they are required 
 to be elastic and tough, but are not needed to be so par- 
 ticularly hard. Then tools like turnscrews, and bradawls, 
 and gimblets are left even softer, sometimes not tempered 
 or hardened at all, but just forged and ground to the re- 
 quired shape. 
 
 Now, I fancy some of my sharp boys will say that the 
 
342 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 first description I gave of the mode of hardening and tem- 
 pering was not exactly like this ; nor was it, yet in 
 principle it is the same. For instance, if you give a 
 drill to a smith to make, he will do as I then said. Ke 
 will heat the extreme point red-hot, then dip the point in 
 water, give a rub on the stone or bricks of the forge, and 
 watch the colours. This can be done when the tool is of 
 sufiicient substance to retain heat enough aicer the edge 
 has been dipped to re-heat that edge sufficiently. In this 
 case there is no need to chill the whole tool and then heat 
 it again. But in the case of small drills and tools, pen- 
 knife-blades, and other articles of this nature, there will 
 not be sufficient heat retained, after dipping, to bring up 
 to the surface the desired colours ; for oxygen likes a 
 hot dinner as well as you do, and if the iron is not hot 
 enough he will have nothing to do with it. 
 
 One great difficulty you would find if you had much 
 tempering to do, viz., that the articles bend under the 
 operation, some more than others. Try this : Take a thin 
 knitting-needle when the owner is not looking, and run ofi" 
 with it ; — it is all in the cause of science I Heat it red-hot, 
 and with a pair of pliers take it up and drop it sidewise in 
 a basin of water. It will bend like a bow. Heat again, 
 straighten it, re-heat, and thi^; time pop it in lengthwise — 
 endwise, point first — I mean (don't you see that a round 
 needle has no sides ^ and puts me into a perfect quaguiire 
 
DURING HARDENING. 
 
 343 
 
 of difficulty). However, yon will understand tliis, and 
 will find the needle not bent nearly so much as before, but 
 still it is not straight. As I explain most things as I go 
 on, I may as well explain why this bending occurs before 
 I tell you how to straighten your work again. All metals 
 expand with heat, and contract with cold. I am sure / 
 contract terribly in the winter until I have had plenty of 
 hot soup, and hot roast-beef, and plum-pudding ; and I 
 know my tempei improves, too, when I . get expanded and 
 warm. Well now, when you dropped your sister's knit- 
 ting-needle all hot on its side into the water, that side 
 contracted before the other, and consequently the needle 
 bent ; but when you put it in the water, end on., it was 
 cooled all round at once, and if you could but cool a piece of 
 metal equally all over, inside and out, at once., all parts would 
 shrink equally fast, and the article would remain straight. 
 
 But there is, unfortunately, another cause of this bend- 
 ing, which is, that all articles are not of such form that 
 the same quantity of metal is on all sides of the axial 
 line. Take a half-round file, for instance; one side is flat, 
 the other curved, so that taking these two surfaces into 
 consideration, one contains a great deal more metal than 
 the other, and will not cool at the same rate. These 
 articles are far more liable to bend than those whose sides 
 are parallel. Another result of the hot mass being cooled 
 most quickly on the outside is, that cracks are produced in 
 
344 
 
 THE YOUNG MECHANIC, 
 
 the latter, because, so to speak, the skin is contracted, and 
 can no longer contain all the expanded metal within it. 
 Hence, to make a mandrel for a lathe, it is common to bore 
 it out first, before hardening, to remove this mass of metal, 
 and to allow the water to touch it inside as well as out. 
 Such mandrels seldom crack or bend. 
 
 The only way to straighten articles which have warped 
 by hardening, is by what is called hacking or hack-ham- 
 mering, which is nothing more than hammering the con- 
 cave or hollow side with the edge of the steel pane of a 
 hammer. This spreads the metal upon the hammered side, 
 and, by expanding it, straightens the tool, for the hollow 
 side, remember, is that which was too much shrunk or con- 
 tracted. This is not an operation you will have to do, 
 especially if you only harden the extreme points of the 
 drills and little tools you make. 
 
 There is another way of hardening, not steel, but iron, 
 called case hardening," because it puts a case of steel 
 over the surface of the metal. Obtain a salt called prus- 
 siate of potash. It is yellow, like barley-sugar, but is 
 poison. Heat the iron red-hot, and well rub it upon this 
 salt, and then cool it in water. You will find that now a 
 file will not touch it, its surface being as hard as glass. It 
 is carbonised on its exterior, and made into hard steel. 
 This can be done in another way, as gun-locks, snufi'ers, 
 and many other things are case hardened. They are en- 
 
KING'S COLLEGE BOYS. 
 
 345 
 
 closed in an iron box, with cuttings of leather and bone- 
 dust, and the box is luted about with clay and put in the 
 fire. All the pieces get red-hot, and the leather chars and 
 blackens, and some of it combines as before with the hot 
 iron, and makes it into steel. And our friend oxygen is 
 considerably at a loss in this case to find his way in, or he 
 would make black scales again and spoil the work ; or com- 
 bine with the carbon (or charcoal) and make it into gas. 
 Probably, ho^wever, as we shut up a little oxygen with the 
 contents of the box, this change does take place, hxiijust as 
 the gas rises the iron seizes it^ and holds it fast. 
 
 And now, boys, I find it necessary to lay down the pen, 
 which I see has almost run away with me, and written a 
 good many more pages than I at first intended. Since I 
 began to write I have visited the workshops at King's 
 College, and seen a sight to gladden my eyes. Boys car- 
 pentering, boys turning, boys filing ; engines of real use, 
 with single and double cylinders, finished, and in course of 
 construction, and all these the work of schoolboys, whose 
 hands and brains are alike engaged in this delightful 
 branch of industry. Let no one, therefore, pretend that 
 boys are not capable of executing good work of this kind in 
 a masterly manner, or that what they do is always child's- 
 play, or I shall take up the cudgels in their behalf. I 
 have also seen, in the Working-Men's Exhibition, a very 
 
 neat little engine, made by a boy only twelve years of age, 
 
 z 
 
7HE YOUNG MECHANIC. 
 
 which makes me hope and believe that the few hints upon 
 wood and metal work which I have here thrown together 
 will neither be unacceptable nor useless to those whom I 
 address in these pages. In this hope I take my leave, and 
 sign myself, with gratification and pride — 
 
 The boy mechanic's faithful friend, 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
BUSmESS CIRCULAES 
 
 GOODNOW &L WIGHTMAN, 
 23 Cornhill, Boston, Mass. 
 
 MANUTACTCTRERS AND DEALERS IN 
 
 O O T LATHES. 
 
 AND ALL KINDS OF 
 
 TOOLS AND MATERIALS FOR AMATEURS, MODEL MAKERS, AND OTHERS. 
 
 SETS OF CABPENTERS' TOOLS. 
 
 The following Bets of Tools are not such as are usually sold in Boys 
 Tool Chests, but are first-class in every respect, and the same quality that 
 are used by our best mechanics, the only difference being in the size of 
 the tools; the cutting tools are all sharpened and ready for immediate use, 
 and any person who desires a small set of tools for actual use, and not 
 merely as a toy, will find it for their advantage to order of us. The tools 
 are not put up in chests, but will be packed so that they can be sent safely 
 by express to any part of the country. 
 
 No, 1 Set of Tools. Price, $5,00. 
 
 CONSISTS OF 
 
 1 SMALL SAW, 2 Gimlets, 2 Brad Awls, 1 Gouge, 
 
 Hammer, 2 Chisels, Eule, Cojipasses, 
 
 Try Square, Screw Driver, Mallet, Oil Stone and Oiler. 
 
 JSTo. 2 Set of Tools. Price, $10.00. 
 
 consists OP 
 
 1 Saw, 16 in., Plane, 
 SCmsELs, X"i.,Kin.,lm., 3 Gimlets, 
 Mallet, 3 Brad Awls, 
 
 Hammer, Screw Driver, 
 
 Pincers, Try Square, 
 
 Compasses, Rule, 
 
 2 Gouges, Glue Pot and Brusr 
 
 Oil Stone, Oiler. 
 
 Ko. 3 Set of Tools. Price, $15.00. 
 
 Hand Saw, 
 Back Saw, 
 
 3 Chisels, Xin.,>^ln., lin. 
 
 Mallet, 
 Hammkr, 
 Jack Plane, 
 Smooth Plane, 
 
 consists op 
 3 Gimlets, 
 3 Brad Awls, 
 Screw Driver, 
 Pincers, 
 
 Cutting Plyers, 
 Compasses, 
 
 2 Gouges, ^in., >^in.» 
 
 Oil Stone, 
 Oiler, 
 Gauge, 
 Try Square, 
 Rule, 
 
 Glue pot and Brush. 
 
GOODNOW WIGHTMAN, 23 ComMl, Boston, Mass. 
 
 iVo. 4 Set of Tools. Price, $20,00. 
 
 Consists of the same Tools as the No. 3 Set with the addition of 
 
 1 Hatchet, 1 Brrr Stock, 1 Cou>-tersink. 
 
 1 Spoke Shavk, 5 Center Biits, Kin., %in., ^in., andlin., 1 Reamer, 
 
 FIFTY DOLLAR FOOT LATHE. 
 
 (Made by N. H. Baldwin.) 
 
 We are prepared to fur- 
 nish Foot Lathes of all 
 descriptions, either with or 
 without sets of tools and 
 chucks. The above cut 
 represents a very desirable 
 Lathe for the use of ama- 
 teurs. It is built very strong 
 and compact; the arbors 
 and other parts exposed to 
 wear are made of steel, and 
 the frame of cast-iron. It 
 will turn 19 inches long and 
 6;^ inches diameter. The 
 whole length of the Lathe 
 is 31 inches, and it weighs 
 200 pounds. 
 
 Priceof Lathe with long and short Trest, spur chuck and centre key, $50 00 
 Black Walnut shelf and brackets to screw on the back part of Lathe, 1 05 
 Belt, 8 feet long, 80 
 
 Lathe and Set of Tools. Price, $70.00. 
 
 Consists of one Fifty Dollar Lathe as above, one Spur Chuck, one Screw Chuck, one Cup 
 or Hollow Chuck, one Plate Chuck, one Plate Chuck with points, one Drill Chuck and eight 
 Drills, one small Drill Chuck and six Drills, two Turning Gouges and two Turning Chisels, 
 one Parting Tool, one Square Graver, one Point Tool, two Round Point Tools, one Inside 
 Tool, two Square Point Tools, one pair Callipers, three Dogs (Jgin., >^in., ^in.), one Oiler, 
 one Oil Stone Slip. 
 
 We can furnish a Slide Rest to fit above Lathe for - - - ^14 00 
 Set of eight Slide Rest Tools for turning metal, - - - - 2 00 
 Self -Centering Chucks, holding from one-sixteenth to three inches, 13 00 
 
GOODN'OW& WIGHTMAN', 23 CornhiU, Boston, Mass. 
 
 FORTY DOLLAR FOOT LATHE. 
 
 (Made by Goodnow & WiGniiiAN.) 
 This is one size smaller than the 
 Fifty Dollar Lathe, but is equally well 
 made. It will turn 10^ inches long 
 and 6 inches ia diameter, and is a very 
 desirable Lathe for all kinds of small 
 work. It will stand in a space 21 
 inches by 30 inches, and can be packed 
 in a box 3 feet long, 18 inches wide, 
 and 6 inches deep, so that it can be 
 readily transported to any part of the 
 country. We believe this to be the 
 best and cheapest Lathe of the size 
 that is made. 
 
 Price for Lathe, with Bench, Foot-Wheel and Belt complete, $40. Price 
 for Packing Box, $3. 
 
 Zathe and Set of Tools. JPrice, $55,00. 
 
 Consists of one Forty Dollar Lathe, one Spur Chuck, one Screw Chuck, one Hollow or Cap 
 Chuck, one Plate Chuck, one Drill Chuck and six Drills, three Dogs or Carriers (>^in., %in. 
 lin.), two Turning Gouges, two Turning Chisel", one Parting Tool, one Square Graver, one 
 pair Callipers, one Oiler, one Oil Stone Slip. 
 
 Set of Tools for Model Making, or any small work in 
 Metal. Price $20. 
 
 One Table or Bench Vise, one Hand Vise, one Metal Saw, one Gear Drill Stock and Drills, 
 five Reamers, l-16in., 3-32in., %m.. 3-16in., >^in., one Pair Cutting Plyers, 2 Cold Chisel?, 
 Hammer, Center Punch, 1 pr. Round Nose Plyers, 1 pr. Spring Dividers, 1 pr. Spring Calli- 
 pers, Soldering Iron, 12 Files assorted. Flat, Half Round, Round, Square, 3 Square, and 
 "Warding — Screw Plate and 4 Taps, 1 pr. Hand Shears. 
 
 Complete Illustrated Catalogue of Tools, Lathes, &c. , wiU be sent to 
 any address. 
 
 ONE DOLLAR STEAM ENGINE 
 
 Working model of high pressure, single acting, oscillating steam engine, 
 warranted to run. Price $1 .00 each. 
 
EXETER MACHINE WORKS, 
 
 EXETEE, K H., 
 WM. BUKLINGAME, Agent, 
 
 HANTJFACTTJBER9 OF 
 
 STEAI-EIGIIES AID EOILEES, 
 
 FROM 1 TO 100 HORSE POWER. 
 
 The above cut represents an 8 Horse Power Engine, complete. 
 PRICE, $450. 
 
 We claim for our SECTIO^^AL BOILERS perfect safety, 
 ECONOMY OF FUEL, Smaller cost in setting np and repairs 
 than any other Boiler, and a reduction of insurance. 
 
 Small Engine Lathes, Back Geared Drilling and Hand 
 Lathes a specialty, 
 
 {See next page.) 
 
EXETER MACHINE WORKS, 
 
 EXETER, N. H., 
 
 MAKE A SPECIALTY OF 
 
 SMALL ENGINE LATHES, 
 
 AND EVERT DESCRIPTION OF LATHE. 
 Send for full description of our Small Engine Lathe. 
 
 BACK GEARED DRILLING- LATHE. 
 
 The cut represents Lathe, with Tail Stock having Side and Swivel Motion. 
 
 Small Hand Lathes with foot motion, from one foot in 
 length to any length desired. 
 
 Send for illustrated and descriptive circular of small Latfies and Tools, with prices