FARM SHOP WOEK Class Book Copyright }I°_ COPyRFGHT DEPOSn> FARM SHOP WORK PRACTICAL MANUAL TRAINING BY 1^ GEORGE Mf BRACE DIRECTOR OF MANUAL TRAINING, CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA AND D. D. MAYNE PRINCIPAL OF SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURE AND PROFESSOR OF AGRICULTURAL PEDAGOGICS, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY C. A. PROSSER SECRETARY OF THE NATIONAL SOCIETY FOR THE PROMOTION OF INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY NEW YORK CINCINNATI CHICAGO 31 Copyright, 1915, by GEORGE M. BRACE and D. D. MAYNE FARM SHOP WORK E. P. I JUN-5i9l5 ^OIA4 06!60 INTRODUCTION By C. a. Prosser Secretary of the National Society for the Promotion OF Industrial Education This book is written primarily for pupils taking agriculture in elementary and secondary schools, and for pupils in the practical arts work of schools in rural communities ; but it also has suggestions of great merit for farmers and others who have to deal in any way with the varied repair and construction problems of farm and village life. Not until the rural schools realize that their manual training and shop work must be entirel}^ different from that of the city schools will they serve properly the vocational needs of the children who are to spend their •lives on the farm or in the village. The aim of the practical arts courses in agricultural communities should be to give the boy at least an elementary experience in every form of manual work required to make an independent and successful farmer on his home acres. Such training will make the farm more attractive. It will also equip the farmer for more successful work in agriculture, both because he is pre- pared to meet the everyday demands of his calling and because he is saved the time and expense of relying on the village mechanic for much that the school should prepare him to do. /^_^ i^c:/0/7 iv INTRODUCTION In most of our thinking to-day on the subject of manual training or practical arts in the rural schools, we have stopped with the idea of woodwork. Too often this woodwork is taught with little reference to its connection with the home life and agricultural career of the boy. The courses and methods have been borrowed all too frequently from the work of the city schools. The farm boy and man must work in wood : in the making of fences, in the repair of tools and machinery, and in the repair and construction of farm implements, conveniences, and buildings. It is far more important that he should know how to deal with wood in these things than that he should be highly skilled in the making of mission furniture. It is training in the work of the ordinary rough carpenter rather than in that of the finished furniture maker that will be most beneficial to the farmer. He needs to know how to handle all the ordinary tools of the carpenter and how to put wood together. His practice should be on farm things and should result in a usable output of farm things. An outfit of ordinary farm implements of the simplest kind can be constructed for the use of the school. Pu- pils should be encouraged to bring from home articles that need to be repaired. They should also be en- couraged to set up a workshop on the farm and to do more extensive and ambitious repair and construction jobs, as supplementary to the school instruction. It goes without saying that successful results can only be secured when the teacher in charge of this training is not only able to sense the demands of the farm home INTRODUCTION v by having actually experienced them, but is also able intelligently to direct the efforts of the boy. The farmer must know how to shape iron for uses in all sorts of things. The school should be equipped with a small forge, and the boy be trained in the forg- ing and tempering of iron, the cutting and soldering of sheet metal. He should be trained to think his problem through by making at least rough diagrams of his plans in dealing with material of all kinds. He should be able to meet successfully emergency repairs on harness and belting. This means that the school should give him an elementary experience in the cutting, shaping, fitting, and sewing of leather, which can only result from training in actual repair problems. The use of cement on the farm is increasing enor- mously. The ordinary farmer can now with some in- struction use it successfully for most of the purposes for which it is employed in the country home. Hence it follows that the school should give the boy instruction in such things as the making of molds for cement work, the laying of foundations and the construction of posts, floors, and walks. One of the most difficult questions confronting the work in industrial education to-day is the kind of in- dustrial training which should be offered in villages and small towns. The diversified character of its in- dustrial hfe, sometimes the entire absence of manufac- turing, together with the certainty that only a small number of persons would care to be, or should be, trained for any one occupation, make it impossible for these small communities to undertake any program of industrial education which aims to give specific vi INTRODUCTION preparation for any one industry or trade. This has, in many cases, prevented such places from under- taking any work whatever of this character. The solution of the problem in my opinion lies in a course in the practical arts in the upper grades and in the high school, which will serve a double aim. It will give the village boy an experience in manual work from which he will derive all the customary values, and which will fit him to be a ''jack of all trades," if he so elects. At the same time it will give the boy from the farm a training in a range of activities which will fit him to meet, as a "jack of all trades," the ordinary everyday demands of farm life. This book has been written from such points of view as the foregoing, and will find its largest field of useful- ness as a text or reference book in the hands of pupils of rural elementary and secondary schools. It offers a course of instruction in farm shop work which includes working the four fundamental materials used on the farm — wood, metal, leather, and cement. All the jobs under- taken by the pupil deal in a very practical way with the repair or construction of things which are used in the actual work of the farm. For example, the woodwork- ing covers instruction in the making of the bench hook, level square, sawbuck, porch chair, clothesrack, clothes- tree, seed testing box, sheep feeding trough, trap nest, chicken feed box, wagon-jack, hammer handle, plank drag for roads, sewing horse, trussed ladder, combina- tion ladder, farmer's level, corn rack, cattle rack, hog cot, wagon box, workbench, tool chest. The treatment of each task which the pupil is to undertake is excellent from the standpoint of good INTRODUCTION vii teaching. Throughout the language is simple and the explanations and directions clear. Each new article to be made is described and its use explained at the outset. Numerous illustrations illuminate the text. From the outset, the pupil is engaged in the making of usable things. The assignment of work is by separate jobs or projects to individual pupils. The aim is to lead him to an understanding through prac- tice rather than through either theory alone or through unapplied exercises. The realness and usefulness of the work performed will undoubtedly appeal to the interest of both the bo}^ and his parent. The pupil is led gradually to rely more and more upon the text and less upon the teacher, which promotes self-help, an indispensable asset to the worker on the farm and in the farm shop. The book offers on every page ex- cellent suggestions to the boy who has unoccupied time on his hands and makes possible school credit for shop work done at home. Practice and thinking about the practice, doing useful things while at the same time the work is directed and interpreted — this is the cardinal principle on which the treatment of practi- cal arts work has been based throughout. The farmer will find the book a mine of information as to all such things as the care and use of shop tools, the repair and construction of farm implements, devices and buildings of all kinds. School boys will have in it an admirable guide in undertaking to make either at home or at school useful things which have a definite and helpful place in country, village, and town life. It should give them a genuine interest in the repair and construction of new as well as familiar things and make viii INTRODUCTION them self-reliant workers relieved from dependence on the specialist for much of the ordinary mechanical work of the country district. The book carries a special message also to the teacher who is in any way engaged in the teaching of manual training, practical arts, or shop work in the rural, consohdated, or agricultural high school. Throughout, the vocational opportunities of practical arts work in its application to agricultural life are emphasized. Teachers are too often singularly lacking in a concep- tion of the purpose and possibilities of farm shop work as it has been taught in the schools. When they have been trained in manual training classes deahng almost entirely with the problems of the work in cities or with more or less traditional courses, they find it difficult to adjust their courses and methods to meet rural condi- tions and requirements. They need, as all of us as teach- ers do, to have their work interpreted in terms of its use in the fives of their students, as the authors have done. Even the unskilled teacher of the country school en- tirely without experience in handfing the matter, will find in the book a wealth of suggestions as to what country boys might do, and how they can be helped to do it. The authors have brought to their task a long, varied, and intimate experience in deafing with the farm and school problems of the great agricultural state of Minnesota. They have sensed a real need of the rural schools and have offered what in my opinion is the only sound basis for the solution of *'prevoca- jtional," "practical arts," "manual training," or "in- dustrial training" for the children of our small towns and rural districts. PREFACE The purpose of this book is to provide a series of projects in woodworking, blacksmithing, cement and concrete work, and harness mending. These exercises will not only furnish valuable training in the practical arts, but will also result in the making of many things that are of great use on the farm. In case the time devoted to industrial work is too short for the class to do all the regular exercises pro- vided in this book, the teacher should select those that involve the uses of the most common tools and the description of the most important processes. If more time is allotted to industrial work than is necessary for the regular exercises, the supplementary projects may be undertaken. The making of furniture should not be commenced until the pupil has mastered the woodworking tools. The pupil should be required to make in pencil a complete working drawing with full-size details of the project he is about to make. Plans for farm buildings should be required as supplementary work in drawing. The teacher should standardize his work by requiring a definite procedure to be followed in tool operations. After a standard of manipulation has been adopted, the work of the class should be held to that standard. The authors are indebted to C. G. Schulz, Superin- tendent of Public Instruction, Minnesota, to A. V. X PREFACE Storm, Professor of Agricultural Education, University of Minnesota, and to many teachers of manual training in the rural communities of Minnesota for their help- ful suggestions in the preparation of the manuscript. Credit for the exercises given under the subject of Blacksmithing is due Mr. A. D. Johnston, Instructor in Forging, Agricultural College of Minnesota. Thanks are due the several publications which have granted permission to use the designs accredited to them in the text. CONTENTS WOODWORKING LESSON ^'^'^'^ I. Bench Hook i II. Level Square lo III. Sawbuck 20 IV. Folding Sawbuck 27 V. Porch Chair 3i VI. Clothes Rack 36 VII. Clothes Tree 39 VIII. Seed Testing Box 44 IX. Sheep-feeding Trough 49 X. Chicken Feed Box 56 XI. Trap Nest 61 XII. Wagon Jack 66 XIII. Hammer Handle 71 XIV. Plank Drag for Roads 75 XV. Sewing Horse 79 XVI. Trussed Ladder 85 XVII. Combination Ladder 89 XVIII. Farmer's Level 96 XIX. Leveling Rod 105 XX. Three Horse Evener 109 XXI. Farm Gate ■ . .113 XXII. Corn Rack ^ . .118 XXIII. Cattle Rack 122 XXIV. Hog Cot 127 XXV. Wagon Box . . . ' i33 XXVI. Work Bench 138 XXVII. Tool Chest 146 XXVIII. Timber IS9 XXIX. Woodworking Tools ....... 165 xi Xll CONTENTS LESSON XXX. Uses of the Steel Square XXXI. Glue in Woodworking XXXII. Filing Saws and Grinding Edge Tools 177 185 189 BLACKSMITHING XXXIII. The Forge and Anvil 198 XXXIV. Staple 201 XXXV. Gate Hook 204 XXXVI. Bolt 207 XXXVII. Chain and Hook 210 XXXVIII. Swivel 217 XXXIX. Tongs 221 XL. Wrench . 224 XLI. Harness Hook 227 XLII. Irons for Wagon Jack 229 XLIII. Irons for Three-horse Evener .... 230 XLIV. Irons for Plank Drag 234 XLV. Irons for Combination Ladder 235 XLVI. Iron for Leveling Rod 237 XLVII. Irons for Farm Gate 238 XLVIII. Irons for Cattle Rack and Corn Rack . . . 239 XLIX. Irons for Wagon Box 240 L. Tool Steel • . . . . 242 CEMENT AND CONCRETE WORK LI. Cement and Concrete 246 LII. Sidewalks and Floors 252 LIII. Foundation Walls and Steps 256 LIV. Concrete Troughs . . . . . . 259 LV. Fence Posts » 264 LEATHER WORK LVI. Harness Mending 269 SUGGESTIONS FOR ADDITIONAL WORK .... 275 INDEX . 287 WOODWORKING LESSON I BENCH HOOK Stock I pc. white pine J''X4l''x8i'' 4 screws ij'', No. 8, F. H. B. I pc. white pine |"Xif"X4i'' (F. H. B.=flat head, bright) I pc. white pinef Xif'X4'' Tools Rule Marking gauge Plane Try-square Saw Brace and bit Screw driver Operations I. Laying out. 2. Surfacing one side. 3. Planing one edge. 4. Squaring one end. 5. Laying out length, width. thickness. 6. Planing to thickness. 7. Sawing to length. 8. Planing to length. 9. Sawing to width. 10. Planing to width. 11. Making blocks. 12. Laying out screw holes. 13. Boring screw holes. 14. Assembling. In explaining this first exercise, it is assumed that WOODWORKING the pupil knows nothing about the operations. Even though he has performed some of them many times before, it will be to his advantage to follow directions as carefully as though it were the first time he ever ± /' Fig, I. — Working Drawing of Bench Hook. MH e held tools in his hands. Follow directions carefully. Do not hurry. I. Lay out the dimensions on a piece of white pine board. Some allowance must be made for squaring up, so the pieces should be laid out a little larger than the finished dimen- sions. (Laying out means marking the lines that represent the shape and sizes of the various pieces which, when cut out and put together, or as- sembled, make the exer- cise.) The first opera- tion in laying out is to select an end nearly square with one edge of the board. If neither end is square, square a •^1 I*/' T \ 1 \-I ii^ Fig. 2. — Working Drawing of Bench Hook. Top and Side Views, BENCH HOOK line across one end with a try-square and saw on this hne. With the rule measure off S^" from this end. In measuring with a rule, do not lay it flat down on the board ; stand it on edge so that the marks on the rule meet the surface of the board. In this way the knife blade can touch the mark on the rule and the wood at the same time. (See Fig. 3.) If this method is followed al- ways, there will be no excuse for making mis- takes in measurements : if the rule is laid flat, p^^ ^ the measurements will likely be inaccurate. When it is necessary to make more than one measurement, if the rule is not raised from the work, the chance of making mistakes is there- by lessened. If the board is too wide, the width should be meas- ured also. With the try-square on the 8J'' mark, line across the board. If the board is wider than the length of the blade of the try-square, use a car- penter's steel square, or extend the length of the blade as shown in Fig. 4, by placing a rule on Position of Rule in Measuring. Fig. 4. — Squaring across a Wide Board. WOODWORKING the board against the blade of the try-square, and Uning across with this. In using the try- square place the knife blade on the point ; move the blade of the Fig. 5. — Placing THE Knife Blade ON Point. try-Square Up tO the knife blade and Kne across. (Figs. 5 and 6.) 2. Surfacing one side. — Select a surface that is flat and without wind ; with this surface up, lay the board on the bench with one end against the bench stop, which is some kind of a wooden or iron plug projecting from one end of the bench ; and with the plane, plane the surface smooth and flat. Test the sur- face across the grain and with the grain by the try-square as in Fig. 7. (Wind is a twisting curve or warp in some boards.) 3. Planing one edge, —r When one surface is planed smooth and true, two witness marks (see Fig. 7) are Fig. 7. — Testing Surface of Board. made On this SUr- FiG. 6. — Using the Try-square. BENCH HOOK 5 face near one edge ; this edge is next to be trued up square with the surface. Place the board in the vise Fig. 8. — Using Try-square to Test a Square Corner. and plane until the edge is square with the surface just finished. Its truth can be tested by the try- square. (See Fig. 8.) When true, two more witness marks are drawn on the edge end- ing at the surface. 4. Squaring one end. — In squaring up one end, place the board up- right in the vise with the finished edge next to the body ; when planing across the grain, to prevent the blade from splintering off pieces from the farther FARM SHOP WORK — 2 Fig. q. — One Method of Preventing Splintering in Using Plane. 6 WOODWORKING edge, either place a block of waste material back of the farther edge and on a level with the end of the board, B, Fig. 9, and plane across this, allowing the splinters to come from the waste material ; or, if there is enough waste material in the board, chisel off one corner on the edge farthest from the body. (See Fig. lo.) The end must be made square with the finished edge, also with the finished surface. 5. Laying out length, width, thickness. — When one end is Fig. 10. — Another Method of Preventing SCJUarecl up, lay OUt Splintering in Using Plane. ^J^g length by measur- ing 8'' from the squared end and square across with a knife and try-square, resting the beam against the finished edge. Lay out the width with the marking gauge ; set the guide of the gauge at the 4'' mark on the beam and, with the guide resting against the finished edge, gauge the entire length of the board. The thickness is laid out with the marking gauge set at f . The proper way to set the guide of the marking gauge is to measure with the rule the distance required from the guide to the spur, as shown in Fig. 11. In holding the gauge for lining. Fig. 12 shows how the tool is grasped in the hand with the thumb in front of the spur and the first finger over the guide. Tip the beam so the spur just touches the wood. In laying out the thickness of the board, measure off f '', and with the guide resting against BENCH HOOK Fig. II. — Setting the Guide of the Marking Gauge. the finished surface gauge around on all four edges. The gauge should be used in laying out the width. Where large measurements are required, it is very difficult to hold the gauge so it will score accurately; and, besides, the beam is not long enough for very large measurements. 6. Planing to thick- ness. — When the thickness has been gauged, the board should be planed to this thickness. The same care that was used on the other sides should be exercised in planing this surface. 7. Sawing to length. — When this work is done, the piece should be sawed to length, sawing just outside the knife mark made in laying out the length. It is necessary to leave a little wood outside the line so it will be possible to plane the end down smooth and square without making the board too short. 8. Planing to length. — The end should be planed after it is sawed and the same precautions should be observed as were indicated in Operation 4. Using the Marking Gauge. 8 WOODWORKING 9. Sawing to width. — The next operation is to saw to width, sawing just outside the Hne. 10. Planing to width. — The operation of planing to width must be carefully done in order to get the edge square with the surface, and at the same time not to plane below the line. 11. Making blocks. — The next operation is laying out the two blocks, one to be used on the upper side and one on the lower side of the board. The method of laying out, sawing, and planing these pieces is the same as that used in finishing the board, so the directions will not be repeated here. 12. Laying out screw holes. — After the two blocks are finished, the screw holes must be located. With the ruler or try-square, measure in from each end |'' and mark; then set the gauge at J'' and Fig. 13. — Location of Screw line across these marks, gauging ^^^^' from the opposite edges at A and B, Fig. 13. 13. Boring screw holes. — The next operation is boring the holes. Select a gimlet bit the same size as the screws and bore through the pieces at the places marked. In boring, place the screw point on the mark and hold the brace so that the bit is perpendicular, then with the left hand on the knob and holding the sweep with the right hand, place the forehead on the left hand, pressing down so as to make the bit cut. 14. Assembling. — The last operation is assembUng ; this is putting together the various pieces, completing the project. Place the shorter piece on one end, as in Fig. 14, and clamp it in the vise with one edge flush. k//H BENCH HOOK 9 or even, with one end of the board, and one end flush with the left-hand edge of the board. Put the screws in and screw them down with a screw driver until the head is flush with the surface of the wood. Turn the board over and fasten the other piece on the opposite side of the other end, with one edge flush with FiGril- Bench Hook Assembled. the end of the board. If the work has been done accurately, the pieces will fit nicely, and when placed in position will be square with the edges of the board, and the longer piece will just reach from edge to edge of the board. No holes are needed in the board for the screws, as the wood is soft white pine ; but if it were to be made of hard wood, it would be necessary to bore holes in the board, a trifle smaller than the screws, and the holes in the pieces should be countersunk. (Countersinking is ream- ing out the edge of the bored hole to fit the head of a wood screw.) QUESTIONS 1. Why does the gauge mark more easily when held at an angle than when held vertical ? 2. Why should the point of the gauge be sharpened like a knife point rather than like a round point ? 3. Why do you bore holes through the small pieces and not into the board ? 4. Why are the screws placed on opposite edges of the small pieces instead of on the same edge ? LESSON II LEVEL SQUARE Stock I pc. white pine f' X 2Y' X 25'' Brads f" Glue I pc. white pine I" X 2{'' X 13'' Tools Rule Marking gauge Plane Try-square Saw Chisel Operations 1. Laying out. 2. Surfacing one side. 3. Planing one edge. 4. Squaring one end. 5. Laying out length and width and thickness. 6. Planing to thickness. 7. Sawing to length. 8. Planing to length. 9. Sawing to width. 10. Planing to width. 11. Laying out halved joint. 12. Sawing halved joint. 13. Trimming halved joint. 14. Gluing. 15. Squaring up corners. 16. Laying out scale for plumb bob. LEVEL SQUARE II Requirements. — The pieces are to be of the exact length, width, and thickness called for in the drawing. The two ends halved are to be fitted together so the surfaces are flush with each other, and the outside and inside corners square. When two pieces of wood of equal thickness are to be fitted together so that the surfaces are flush, the halved joint is commonly used. In making this joint, one half of the thickness is cut out of each of the pieces for a distance equal to the width of the pieces. There are two methods com- monly used ; in one, the joint is laid out according to measure- ments, and in the other, the laying out is done by super- imposing, which is laying one piece on the other and marking , the width by hning along the ^ { edges. The latter method is not so accurate, because when the ^'^- 15. -Working Drawing OF Level Square. pieces are cut along the Imes marked out, the cut is too large, and the two parts make a poor fit. In order to prevent this, it is neces- sary to cut inside the lines with the saw and trim with the chisel. This makes a " cut and try " method, which is not recommended. If the work is laid out accurately, if all measurements are exact, and if the cuts are on the Hnes, the pieces will fit together with the pressure of the hands, requiring no forcing, neither will they be so loose as to fall apart. 12 WOODWORKING ^4 i-io. First Ten Operations. — Lay out the pieces f " X X 2^" and \" X 2\" X \^" so as to leave enough stock for planing, and follow in order the directions for the first ten operations given in Lesson L II. Laying out halved joint. — In laying out the halved joint, lay oflF 2" from one end and square across one surface and two edges. Then set the gauge at f " and gauge across the end and along both edges to the knife lines. In gauging, be careful to keep the guide against the part to be removed in one piece and against the part remaining in the other piece. It is necessary to take great care in making any joint, both in lay- ing out and in cutting. 12. Sawing halved joint. — If the pupil feels confident that he can do careful and accurate work with the saw, he may follow the direc- tions given under a. If not quite sure, it will be wise to follow the directions given under h. a. Hold the piece perpendicular in the vise, as in Fig. 16. Hold the thumb nail of the left hand in the groove made by the marking gauge and set the teeth of the rip saw so that they will just touch the thumb nail, and so will split the line. Saw very carefully down to the line squared across Fig. 16. First Cut in Making Halved Joint. LEVEL SQUARE 13 Fig, 17.- •Second Cut in Making Halved Joint. the edge. In this operation watch the back of the piece as carefully as the front. Place the piece on the bench hook, and with the cross- cut saw split the line squared across the surface, making the shoulder down to the saw cut already made. Be sure that the saw cut, or kerf, is alwaj^s made in the material to be removed. (Fig. 17.) If these sawing oper- ations have been made carefully and accu- rately, the two pieces will fit together without any further trimming and fitting. b. This operation is to be recommended unless the pupil is certain that he can do very accurate work in sawing. It is expected that the pupil, after a little practice, will be able to saw all joints where sawing is possible. The advantages of the sawed joints are that glue holds the parts together better, and time and labor are saved in the extra operations. The work should be held just the same as in 12, a, but instead of splitting the lines, the saw should be held at such a distance from the lines that the teeth just miss touching it. 13. Trimming halved joint. — Remove with the chisel the stock left between the kerf and the line. Hold the piece on the bench hook or in the vise and with an inch chisel cut down through the scored line, taking H WOODWORKING Fig. i8. — Testing Squareness of Shoulder. care not to cut off the line. Test the squareness of the line with the try-square, as in Fig. i8. If this shoulder is not exactly square, it will be impossible to fit the two arms together so that they will be square. Do not use a narrow chisel, for it is more difficult to chisel a straight line with it than with a wide one. After the shoulder is chiseled square, place the piece in the vise, and chisel the inside of the tongue down to the line. (See Fig. 19.) Square up this surface to see that it is flat in all directions. If the grain of the wood is crooked so that it will split down below the line if chiseled in this way, then use the following method. Place the piece edge- wise against a waste piece, and put both of them in the vise so that the piece will lie horizontally, and chisel across the grain of the wood, as in Fig. 20, down to the line. 14. Gluing. — Hold the two pieces of the halved joint in the vise and test both inside and outside angles with the try-square. In gluing this joint, rub the glue on to Fig. 19. — Chiseling Inside of Tongue. LEVEL SQUARE 15 Fig. 20. — Chiseling across the Grain. the surface of one piece, and on the shoulders of both pieces. In forcing the pieces together, be sure to force the edges up against the two shoulders ; then fasten securely with the f brads, leaving enough of the heads projecting so that the brads may be pulled out again after the glue has set. If hot glue is used, it will set in a few hours ; but if cold fish glue is used, it will require 24 hours to set. 15. Squaring up corners. — When the glue is set, re- move the brads and trim off the surplus glue with a chisel, taking care not to cut the wood. Test the squareness of the corners and the flatness of the sur- faces with the try-square. Take off a thin shaving with the plane to true up and make a neat appearance. Drive the brads back in place and clinch them. 16. Laying out scale for plumb bob. — Drive a brad in the free end of the longer arm of the square, and attach to this a fine silk thread as long as the arm ; split a buckshot or BB shot and attach to the thread at a point so near the corner just clear the bench top when placed as Fig. 21. — Plumb Line and Bob. that it wi] in Fig. 21. In laying out the scale for the plumb bob, select a surface that is perfectly level by a spirit level, and standing the square on this make a mark under the i6 WOODWORKING thread. A spirit level is a small straight piece of wood or iron in one edge of which is placed a glass tube containing alcohol or spirits, and this is used in deter- mining horizontal surfaces. When a second tube is placed across one end, it can be used in determining vertical sur- faces also. If no level surface can be found, stand it on a sur- J I face that is slanted sufficiently ""rr^^^ ^S^r-. to allow the thread to incline considerably towards one side Fig. 22. — Laying Out Scale i mark under the thrpad • FOR Plumb Bob. First Step. ^"^ marK Unuer tne tnteaO , then reverse the position of the shorter arm so the thread inclines the same distance in the opposite direction, and mark again. (Figs. 22 and 23.) A point halfway between these two marks is the place at which the thread will be when the lower arm is level and the upright arm is plumb. To complete the scale several marks can be made equidistant from the center line. Use of the chisel. — In using a ,^-_jzzi::^--|J chisel, never place either hand in y—^-*— --~~~^~^^ 1 front of the cutting edge, as a sUp fjg. 23.— Laying Out of the tool may cause a serious Scale for Plumb Bob. . -ri 1 • 1 11 Second Step. accident, i he chisel must be kept very sharp ; the method of sharpening will be given later. The action of the chisel in entering the wood is like that of a wedge, and unless the wood on one side gives way to the pressure, the fibers on each side will be forced back and crushed as in ^, Fig. 24. If LEVEL SQUARE 17 there is room for a shaving to be pushed to one side, as at B, then the fibers back of the chisel will bear the pressure without being crushed. Therefore, when it is necessary to take a heavy cut and to use the mallet, do not place the chisel on the line, for it will force Fig. 24. — Action of Chisel in Entering 1 111 Wood. the wood back over the line and make the work inaccurate ; leave enough wood in front of the line so that a light paring cut can be made, trimming down to the line. In horizontal paring, the work should be placed in the vise so that the two hands are free to handle the tool. Place a piece of waste material back of the piece to be pared, and take a Hght cut with the bevel or slanting surface of the tool up. If the waste piece were not placed there, the pressure of the chisel would splin- ter a piece off the farther Fig. 25, — Chiseling from Both Sides , ... , , toward the Middle. edge, SpOlimg gOOd WOrk. i8 WOODWORKING Fig. .26.- •A Shearing Cut with a Chisel. Another method that does not require a piece of waste material back of the chisel is to cut partly through from one side, then re- verse the block and finish from the other side. (See Fig. 25.) In taking the finishing cuts, turn the chisel a little to one side, giving a shearing cut, which in- sures a smooth surface, and also requires less force in pushing the tool. (See Fig. 26.) A shear- ing cut is made by mov- ing the chisel to one side while pushing it into the wood. In cutting across the end grain, it is almost necessary to use this shearing cut unless a mallet is used. Do not attempt a heavy cut on joint work, but rather sev- eral light cuts. QUESTIONS 1. Why is it necessary to gauge from opposite sides of the two pieces when gauging the thickness for the halved joint ? 2. Why is a halved joint made with the saw better than one made with the saw and chisel .'' 3. When about to trim the halved joint with a chisel, how will you determine whether the grain is crooked ? 4. Why is it necessary to place a piece of waste material back of the piece when chiseling across the grain ? 5. Why do you use a wide chisel instead of a narrow one in trimming the shoulder of the joint ? 6. Why is the double angle at the edge of the chisel better than a single angle ? LEVEL SQUARE 19 7. Why is a smaller angle at the chisel edge better for soft wood than for hard wood ? 8. In gluing up stock, which is preferable, cold, warm, or hot glue, and why ? 9. In gluing the end grain, why is it better to put on two coats of glue, allowing the first to dry before applying the second ? 10. Would you use glue of the same consistency in gluing oak that you would in gluing maple ? Why ? LESSON III SAWBUCK X 2\" X 2S" 4 pes. red oak 2" X 3I 2 pes. red oak i I pc. red oak i" X 6" X 18" I pc. round hickory 2" X 20'' Stock : 36" - 12 screws 2", No. 10, F. H. B. Tools Try-square Chisel Drawknife Bevel square Brace and bit Spokeshave Saw Screw driver Marking gauge Carpenter's square Rule Operations 1. Laying out. 2. Surfacing one side. 3. Planing one edge. 4. Laying out length, width, thickness. 5. Planing to thickness. 6. Laying out angles at ends of legs. 7. Sawing the angles at the ends of the legs. 8. Planing to width. 9. Laying the angles of the halved joint. 10. Sawing the halved joint. 11. ChiseHng the halved joint. 12. Fastening the legs together. 13. Laying out the holes for the crossbar. SAWBUCK 21 14. Boring the holes for the crossbar. 15. Trimming the ends of the crossbar. 16. Wedging the ends of the crossbar. 17. Laying out the braces. 18. Sawing the braces. 19. Chiseling the braces. 20. Fastening the braces in place. Follow the directions given in Lesson L for Operations I to 5 inclusive. 6. Laying out angles at ends of legs. — In this operation you will need a carpenter's steel square Fig. 27. — Method of Setting Bevel, and a bevel. Lay the carpenter's square on the bench, and place a straightedge (which is a straight stick of any kind) so that one edge touches the 15'' mark on the longer arm, called the blade, and also the <^" mark on the shorter arm, called the tongue. These dimensions, as you can see by the drawing, represent the perpendicular height of the joint from the ground and half the distance between the legs. Have some one hold the straightedge in place while you set the bevel square to this angle, holding the beam of the bevel against the carpenter's square, and adjust the blade to the straightedge ; then fasten the blade by tightening the thumbscrew, as shown FARM SHOP WORK — 3 22 WOODWORKING in Fig. 27. Lay out the angles on one leg by lining across, as in Fig. 28 ; and placing the bevel on the oppo- site edge, lay out the angle on the other end. With the try-square line across the edges at the points where the bevel cuts the corner. 7. Sawing the angles at the ends of the legs. — When the angles have been laid out, they can be sawed, using a hacksaw and bench hook. Care should be Fig. 28. — Laying Out Angles on Legs of Sawbuck. taken in following both lines. The planing to width in Operation 8 is the same as in former lessons. 9. Laying out the angles of the halved joint. — Meas- ure up from points a^ a, Fig. 29, on each leg ij" to points hy by and mark ; now lay one leg over the other so the points hy h touch each other, and spread the lower ends until the points a^ a are 18'' apart ; hold in this position and adjust the bevel square so the beam lies on one leg and the blade along the other leg. Tighten the set screw, and, removing the leg, line across at this point on both legs, but on opposite sides. In order to locate the other point it will be necessary to measure on a SAWBUCK 23 Fig. 29. — Working Drawing of Sawbuck. line perpendicular to the first line. Lay the end of the rule along the blade of the bevel, as in Fig. 30, and move the bevel down the leg until the 1" mark touches the mark already lined across. With the bevel, line across at this point, and repeat the opera- tion on the other leg. With the try-square, line halfway across the edges at the ends of the lines already drawn, as in Fig. 30. With the marking gauge set at one half the thickness of the legs, gauge on both edges of both legs between the lines ; being sure to hold the gauge guide against opposite surfaces of the two legs so that the amount of wood to be removed from one leg will exactly equal the material that is left in the other leg. Repeat these operations on the other pair of legs. 24 WOODWORKING 10. Sawing the halved joints. — In sawing the halved joint, aWays split the lines and saw in the material to be removed. 11. Chiseling the halved joints. — In chiseling the halved joints, follow the directions given under Use of the chisel in Lesson II. 12. Fastening legs together. — In fastening the legs together, it would be useless to use glue, as the sawbuck will be in the rain many times, and the water would dis- FiG. 30. — Laying Out Width of Halved Joint. solve and wash out the glue in the joint. Therefore, it would be better to use screws. It will not be necessary to lay out the screw holes by measurement ; locate them with the eye as in the draw- ing, and, selecting a gimlet bit the size of the screws, bore through one leg. Place the screws in place, and, fitting the joint together, drive the screws into the other leg just far enough to mark their location. Selecting a bit about one half the size of the screws, bore into, or nearly through, the other leg at the marks made by the screws. Fasten together by screwing the screws into place, after countersinking the holes. 13. Laying out the holes for the crossbar. — All SAWBUCK 25 that will be necessary to locate the hole for the cross- bar is to draw diagonals from the four points of inter- section and locate it at their intersection. 14. Boring the holes for the crossbar. — In boring these holes, use an expansion bit and set it at i^" ; bore until the spur comes through, then re- verse and finish from the oppo- site side. In this way you msure a clean-cut hole. 15. Trimming the ends of the crossbar. — The ends of the hick- ory crossbar should be rounded off for a distance of about 3'' from each end. (Fig. 32.) If the bar is considerably too large, it will be necessary to use the drawknife and spokeshave, but if only a little is to be removed, the spokeshave only need be used. First, with the compass set at j'', locate the center of the end by the eye, and lay out the circles I J'' in diameter. Trim off the ends with the draw- knife, and finish with the spokeshave. Fig. 31. — Trimming Ends of Crossbar. 26 WOODWORKING i6. Wedging the ends of the crossbar. — Saw slits in the end of the crossbar to a depth of about 2^', as in Fig. 32, and make two wedges also of hickory similar to that shown in Fig. 32. Drive the crossbar into the hole and wedge. Repeat for the other end and saw off the projections flush with the surface of the legs. 17. Laying out the braces. — Lay the two cross braces in place on the legs of the sawbuck, as in the drawing, and set the bevel square for the halved joint c, Fig. 29, following the directions given in Operations 9, 10, 11, 12. The 6'' brace on the underside of 32. —Wedging Ends the legs Opposite is fastened on OF Crossbar. with screws as are the others. QUESTIONS 1. In laying out the angles at the ends of the legs, wh^ are the dimensions 9" and 14!" used ? 2. In laying out the angles 30 and 60 degrees with the carpenter's square, where will you hold the beam in each case ? 3. In laying out the halved joints for the legs and the cross braces, do you lay them out on the same or opposite sides of the members, and why ? 4. In boring the holes for the screws, why do you select bits of different sizes for the two pieces ? 5. In boring the holes for the crossbar, why do you use an ex- pansion bit instead of an auger bit ? LESSON IV FOLDING SAWBUCK Stock 4 pes. maple or birch x" X 3'' X 36'' 14 screws 2'', No. 10, 2 pes. maple or birch z" x \" X 25'' F. H. B. I pc. maple or birch \" x 2" X 22'' I pc. round hickory z" x 22'' I pc. round hickory 2" X 18" Tools Same as in Lesson IIL Operations 1. Laying out. 2. Surfacing one side. 3. Planing one edge. 4. Laying out length, width, thickness. 5. Planing to thickness. 6. Sawing ends square. 7. Planing to width. 8. Laying out holes for crossbars. 9. Boring holes for crossbars. 10. Trimming ends of crossbars. 11. Wedging the legs to the crossbars. 12. Laying out braces. 13. Sawing braces. 14. Chiseling braces. 15. Fastening braces. 16. Attaching rope to cross pieces. 27 28 WOODWORKING Follow the directions given in Lesson I for Opera- tions 1-7. Fig. 3s. — Working Drawing of Folding Sawbuck. 8. In laying out the holes for the crossbars, measure up from one end of each leg 20'' for the upper crossbar, and for the lower crossbar measure up 2" from the lower end of each of the inner legs. Square across at these points and find the middle of each line. With the com- pass, describe i^^' circles at these points. 9. In boring the holes for the crossbars, follow the directions and remember the precautions given in the preceding lesson. 10. In trimming the ends of the lower crossbar, follow the directions given in the previous lesson ; but in trimming the ends of the middle crossbar, draw a line around the bar 4'' from each end; lay out ij'' circles at each end with the compass, and saw along the Hne to a depth of about j' clear around the bar. Trim down to the circle at the end as in the previous FOLDING SAWBUCK 29 lesson and with a chisel trim up to the saw kerf, making a shoulder at this point. (See Fig. 35.) In this lesson more care must be taken in trimming the ends, for they must be perfectly cyHndrical and smooth. It will be necessary to use sandpaper in smoothing up the work. Hold the piece as shown in Fig. 34. The two outer legs are to be wedged in place as described in Lesson III. The two inner legs are to lit snug against the outer legs and inside against the shoulders cut in the upper crossbar. They must be free to rotate on the crossbar, and so it will be well to sand- FiG. 34. — Sandpapering End of Crossbar. Fig. 35. — Trimming End of Crossbar. 30 WOODWORKING paper that part of the ends a trifle smaller than the outer 2" . 11. In wedging the legs to the crossbars, begin with the inner pair, place them on the upper bar up against the shoulders ; then fit the lower bar in place in the holes bored 2" from the lower end. Wedge this lower bar in place as described in the preceding lesson, and saw off the projecting ends close to the legs. Place the other pair of legs on the upper crossbar snug up against the inner pair of legs, and wedge in place. 12, 13, 14, 15. In laying out the braces, in sawing, chiseling, and fastening to the legs, follow the directions given previously with the exception that the braces are attached to the legs in diflr'erent places, as shown in Fig- 33- 16. Attach a small rope to the lower brace and bar of the legs to keep them from spreading too far. If the legs are not parallel and the braces are not square, the sawbuck will not fold together or stand straight. If the ends of the upper crossbar are not cylindrical and smooth, the legs will not fold easily. LESSON V PORCH CHAIR Stock 2 pes. oak, maple, or birch i" X 2'' X 50" 2 pes. oak, maple, or birch i" X 2" X 45'' 2 pes. oak, maple, or birch i'' X 2" X 23" 2 pes. oak, maple, or birch |'' X 2'' X 19" 2 pes. oak, maple, or birch f' X 2" X 12'' 2 pes. oak, maple, or birch f' X 2" X n'' I pc. oak, maple, or birch i'' X 6" X 28'' 1 strip canvas 2' X 5°'' 6 carriage bolts i" X 2^'' 2 carriage bolts i" X 3f'' 8 washers J'' 4 screws i'\ No. 6 Large tacks Tools Try-square Saw Brace and bit Bevel Plane Chisel Marking gauge Sandpaper Operations 1. Planing strips to size and sawing to length. 2. Laying out and boring holes. 3. Laying out and chamfering ends. 4. Making rounds. 5. Shellacking and sandpapering. 6. Assembling. 3^ WOODWORKING ^/ Fig. 36. — Details for Porch Chair. (Two pieces of each dimension.) Permission of American Carpenter and Builder. .2^ T" T 1 > .0 "0 u ^L L=J ■7^1 1- C- [^ i w k I. Planing all strips to size and sawing to length. — All strips are to be planed square and smooth. After squaring, strips A, B, C, and D are \" thick and 2" wide, with the corners slightly rounded (Fig. 36). Pieces E and F are f thick and 2" wide. Cutting PORCH CHAIR 33 off two or three shavings from the corners prevents the possibiHty of shvers. When planed to size, saw to the following lengths : A, 49i;; B, 442'' C, zz" A 181" F, loi" 2. Laying out and boring holes. — On each of pieces A lay out at one end a hole i" in diameter, the centers of which are i\" from the end. At the other end lay out a similar hole i\" from the end. i8|'' from the first end la}^ out a \" hole, and i^^" from the other end lay out a \" hole. On each of pieces B lay out at both ends i" holes, i\" from the ends. 12'' from one end lay out a \" hole. 7I'' from the other end lay out a i'' hole with the center on one edge. 3f from this hole lay out a similar hole, and continue until 4 such holes have been laid out on this edge. On each of pieces C lay out 2. i" hole i\" from one end, and a Y' hole the same distance from the other end. 7f'^ from this end lay out a J^' hole. On each of pieces D lay out a \" hole i\" from one end and 5'' from the other end lay out a \" hole. . On pieces E lay out \" holes if from each end. On pieces F lay out one hole i\" from one end, and another hole ^" from the other end. These should be of the size to admit No. 6 screws. In boring the half holes on pieces B, place the two 34 WOODWORKING pieces together edgewise in the vise and bore with the screw of the bit in the crack between the pieces. To prevent spHtting, all pieces should be held in the vise when boring the i" holes. 3. Laying out and chamfering the ends. — Lay out \'^ chamfers on both ends of pieces A, B, and C, and on one end of pieces D ; on the other end of pieces D lay out a bevel 3'' from the end down to i'' at the end. To chamfer, cut off the angles made where two surfaces meet. This cut is usually made at an angle of 45°. On pieces E lay out f " bevels on the edges only of the two ends. These bevels will be at a 45-degree angle made with the bevel. On pieces F lay out 45-degree bevels of h'^ on the edges only Fig. 37. — Porch Chair Assembled. % i i of the two ends. Chisel the I'' chamfers. Saw, and chisel or plane the bevels larger than Y'. 4. Making rounds. — Make the five rounds from the board whose dimensions are i'^ X 6'' X 28'', accord- ing to the directions given in the lesson on the Combina- tion Ladder. 5. Shellacking and sandpapering. — Shellac over all pieces, sandpaper, and shellac again. PORCH CHAIR 35 6. Assembling the pieces. — (i) Fit and glue the rounds into A and B (Fig. 37). The distance between pieces A when fastened together should be 2' 3'', inside measurements. The distance between pieces B should be 2' ^" , outside measurements, as this pair must fit inside the first pair. (2) Fasten pieces A, B, and E together with the carriage bolts ^\" long, heads outside. (3) Fit round to pieces C so that they are 2' ^" apart, inside measurements. (4) Fasten the other ends of pieces C to A with carriage bolts 2^" long. (5) Fasten pieces D to pieces C with carriage bolts 2\" long. (6) Fasten pieces E to pieces D with carriage bolts 2^" long. (7) Fasten pieces F to pieces D with screws. (8) Fasten the canvas to the upper round of pieces A and B with heavy tacks, doubling under the canvas while tacking. LESSON VI CLOTHES RACK Stock 1 pc. oak lY' X li'^ X 60'' 16 screws i'', No. 6 R. H. Bl. 2 pes. oak i'' X 12'' X 12'' 16 screws f ', No. 6 R. H. Bl. 16 pes. poplar f X i^ X 24'' 32 washers for screws 4 pes. poplar i" X iF' X 60'' 8 screws 2'', No. 8 R. H. Bl. (R. H. Bl. means round head, blue.) Tools Rule Plane Turning saw Try-square Brace and bit Cabinet file Saw Screwdriver Sandpaper Operations 1. Laying out and planing center post, uprights, and bars. 2. Boring holes for screws. 3. Laying out and cutting braces. 4. Shellacking. 5. Assembling. I. Laying out and planing center post, uprights, and bars. — The center post should be of some hard wood, as oak, and should be planed lY^ square and 60'' long; square up both ends with the block plane. The four 36 CLOTHES RACK 37 uprights should be of some soft wood, preferably poplar, but basswood will do (Fig. 38). Plane up to size and square the ends. The bars are to be f X li'' X 24", of the same wood as the uprights, / r- ■■ , '0 D > , ,1 1 -? 1 ) ^ 1 4' p u 'i 1 1 _jv~. J ^ ^' ) Oeta./ a ' A Fig. 38. — Working Drawings of Clothes Rack. and planed square. Take pains to have all the bars of the same length. 2. Boring holes for screws. — Lay out the holes f " from each end of the 16 bars; bore the holes the size of the screws. Locate the screw holes on the center post and uprights, by placing the bars in position with the ends flush with the edges of the center post and up- rights, then drive the screws just hard enough to make a mark on these pieces. Repeat these operations for all four bars on one up- FARM SHOP WORK — 4 38 WOODWORKING right and one side of the center post. Then placing the other three uprights beside the first one, square across them from each screw mark. Square around the other three sides of the center post from the screw marks on the first side. Find the middle of all lines thus squared on the center post and uprights, and bore the holes a trifle smaller than the screws. The holes in the uprights should be nearly through; those on the center post should be about J'' deep. 3. Laying out and cutting braces. — The four braces can be cut from two pieces of oak, each i'' X 12'' X \i" . Lay off a line from one corner to the opposite corner, and from the center draw a circle 8'' in diameter. Saw along the line from corner to corner, and then saw out the curves with a turning saw. Smooth the edges down with a cabinet file and sandpaper. Bore holes for the screws in the braces and center post. 4. Shellacking. — Shellac each piece thoroughly. Sandpaper down smooth with No. i sandpaper, and cover with another coat of shellac made thinner than the first coat by the addition of some alcohol in about the proportion of one tablespoonful to a teacup of shellac. It is advisable to fasten the braces to the up- right with screws before shellacking, and then remove them for sandpapering. This avoids covering the joints with shellac, which would prevent the glue from holding. 5. Assembling. — Assemble the rack by first fasten- ing the braces to the center post with glue and screws ; then fasten the bars to the center post with screws and washers ; finally, fasten the bars to the uprights with screws and washers. LESSON VII CLOTHES TREE Stock 1 pc. oak 2i" X 2¥' X 5' 2'' 2 pes. oak r X I's" X i'4'' Glue, stain, filler, varnish, sandpaper Tools Rule Plane Chisel Try-square Turning saw Spokeshave Saw Brace and bit Operations 1. Laying out and planing upright. 2. Cutting mortises and boring dowel holes. 3. Laying out, planing, and sawing legs. 4. Laying out, planing, and sawing hooks. 5. Staining, filling, and varnishing. 6. Assembling. 1. Laying out and planing upright. — The upright is a square piece tapering from 2 J'' at one end to if at the other. Plane 2J'' square from end to end ; then at one end lay off a square i^'' on a side, and plane down to this square from the other end. The smaller end is beveled, as shown in Fig. 39. 2. Cutting mortises and boring dowel holes. — Mor- 39 40 WOODWORKING ■^.^s^- tises are holes cut in wood to receive the tenons in a mortise and tenon joint. The tenon is the tongue of wood that fits into the mortise. Dowel holes are holes bored in wood to receive the dowel pins in a doweled joint. The dowel pins are round pins of hardwood made to fit the dowel holes, and cor- respond to the tenons of a mor- tise and tenon joint. The first pair of mortises is cut lo" from the top. By the section draw- ing (Fig. 40) you can see that the mortises are laid off center; that is, one mortise f wide is f from one edge and f from the other edge. The mortise on the opposite side is laid off according to the same dimen- sions, but they are taken from opposite sides, so that when the tenons are introduced they will lap. The reason for lapping the tenons is to allow longer and i-^z: — J — *' consequently stronger tenons to Fig. 39. — Working Drawing of be USed ; then, tOO, in this Case Clothes Tree. ^^^ teuous are glucd in place and nailed together with brads, as shown in the section on ah, Fig, 40. The second pair of hooks is placed i^\" from the top. Cut the mortises in the same way as the first two, but on the other two sides, so there will be one hook on each of the four sides. CLOTHES TREE 41 ; bore ¥' bit jecf/on on a.b. Fig. 40. — Hooks of Clothes Tree. Two dowel holes are placed in each of the four sides of the post ; the lower set of dowel holes is placed 3'' from the lower end of the upright them with a ^ and \" deep. The second set of holes is c)" from the lower end and bored the same depth. 3. Laying out, planing, and sawing legs. — The dotted lines of Fig. 41 show how two legs may be laid out on one piece 15'' X 16" with the least waste of lumber. The curves are not arcs of circles and so must be laid out free hand, after locating the points as indicated in Fig. 41. In sawing the legs, use the turn- ing saw or keyhole saw, and finish with the spokeshave and sandpaper. 4. Laying out, planing, and saw- ing hooks. — The hooks can be cut from the two corners left on each board after laying out the legs. Be careful that the grain of the Fig. 41. — Method or Cut- , , . r u U 1 ^ TING OUT Legs of Clothes WOOd runs lengthwise Ot the tlOOkS. '^^^^- Fig. 40 shows how the hooks are to be laid out. Two hooks are to be just Hke those in the drawing, and the other two are to be the same, except that the tenons will be on opposite surfaces. Be careful 42 WOODWORKING ^ not to make a mistake in this, or the work will be spoiled. Cut the tenons before the rest of the outline, and chamfer the ends after tapering from \" to %'\ 5. Staining, filling, and varnishing. — It will be easier to do good work in finishing this piece, if it can be done before assembling ; but if any of the finishing materials get into the mortises or dowel holes, or on the wood where the shoulders are to be glued, the glue will not stick. The pupil may do as he pleases about finishing before or after assembling. If done before, then fit all parts together and stain; then take the pieces apart, and wipe off all the stain that can be removed with a cloth. Assemble the parts again and fill. — Filling consists of rubbing into the pores of the wood a pasty substance called wood filler, to make a level smooth surface which may be polished. Take apart and wipe off all surplus filler. Allow to dry for twenty-four hours, and sandpaper with No. i sand- paper until smooth ; be careful not to remove any stain in this operation. If you should sandpaper off some of the stain, go over the spots again with a rag moistened with the stain. Assemble the tree and cover with a coat of shellac ; when this dries, which will be in about twelve hours, sandpaper smooth with No. i sandpaper moistened with oil to prevent gumming and sticking. Steel wool can be used Fig. 42. — Clothes Tree Assembled. CLOTHES TREE 43 in this work to advantage, as it does not gum up or scratch. The final coat of shellac or varnish should be given after the clothes tree is assembled and glued. 6. Assembling. — In assembling the various parts and gluing them in place, it will be necessary to glue them on in pairs, using blocks of wood shaped so that you can get the pressure where you want it when clamp- ing. The pressure must come along the line ah, Fig. 39, in the hooks so as to force the tenons in the mor- tises square, and the shoulders flush with the upright. The pressure on the legs must be such that the dowels will be forced in place with equal pressure, and the edges flush with the surface of the upright. Here is a chance for the pupil to exercise some ingenuity in cutting out the blocks. QUESTIONS 1. Why are the hooks set in pairs at different heights on the up- right .? 2. Why are the tenons lapped ? 3. Why are not the legs tenoned ? 4. Why is the upright tapered ? 5. Why is it better to square up the upright before tapering it .? 6. Why are the hooks tapered ? LESSON VIII SEED-TESTING BOX A seed-testing box is used for the purpose of testing seed corn before planting. The bottom of the box is covered about 2" deep with wet sand. Over this is laid a white cloth, also wet, on which have been drawn with a soft lead pencil, lines three inches apart, crossing each other at right angles. Each square is numbered, and six ker- nels of corn aretaken from an ear and placed in a square, there being as many ears tested at once as there are squares on the cloth. The ear from which the kernels have been placed on square No. I is hung on a nail driven into a board or rack, and numbered i, so that at any time the kernels can be identified with the ears from which they were taken. Over the kernels is placed another wet cloth, and the seeds are allowed to germinate. 44 Fig. 43. — Working Drawing of Seed- Testing Box. SEED-TESTIN(i BOX 45 Stock 4 pes. white pine i" x 3Y' X 25'' Screws 2'', No. 8 F. H. B. 4 pes. white pine i'' x 6|'' X 25'' Tools Rule Saw Brace, bit, and countersink Try-square Plane Screwdriver Marking gauge Chisel Hammer Operations 1. Laying out. 2. Surfacing one side, 3. Planing one edge. 4. Squaring one end. 5. Laying out length, width, thickness. 6. Planing to thickness. 7. Sawing to length. 8. Planing to length. 9. Sawing to width. 10. Planing to width. 11. Laying out halved joint. 12. Cutting halved joint. 13. Laying out screw holes. 14. Boring screw holes. 15. Assembling. 16. Trimming. i-io. Operations i-io are similar to those given in Lesson L II. Laying out the halved joints. — In laying out the halved joints at the corners, set the marking gauge at I" and gauge both ends of the four pieces, gauging from the tv7o edges as at ^, b, <:, d (Fig. 44), then gauge across the ends as at ^,/, g, being careful that both ends of each 46 WOODWORKING piece are gauged alike and that the pieces are gauged in pairs. Gauge across the ends as well as on both sur- faces. The material to be removed is marked x. 12. Cutting halved joint. — In cutting the halved joint it is best to saw down the gauge lines, bearing in mind the rule that the saw kerf must be in the material Fig. 44. — Halved Joints of Seed-Testing Box, to be removed, which means in this case to saw along a, but on the x side of the hne. Also saw along ^, but on the x side ; then along c, d,f, gy on the x side of these lines. In cutting out the block X, it will be necessary to bore two holes, after sawing a and h, through the block so that the bit just touches the hne e, and then chisel along the hne e from both sides towards the center. (See Fig. 45.) If the joints have been carefully cut, the tongues, or tenons, will fit tight into the mortises. If they do not fit, use the chisel in trimming down whichever piece is too large. SEED-TESTING BOX 47 13. In laying out the screw holes, locate them by diagonals drawn from the four corners of the pro- jecting tongues. Lay out the holes for the bottom boards about G" apart, but be sure that each board has at least two holes in each end. 14. Bore the screw holes with a gimlet bit just the size of the screws ; it will be unnecessary to bore into the second piece, as the screws will hold better if forced into the soft wood with- out previous boring. Fig. 45. Method of Cutting Mortise, Fig. 46. — Seed-Testing Box Assembled. 15. In assembling, fit the four corners together tight, start the screws with the hammer, and finish with the screwdriver. If the shoulders of the joints have been cut square 48 WOODWORKING with the surfaces, the corners will be square when as- sembled. After the corners have been fastened, lay on the bot- tom board with ends and edge flush with the sides of the box, and fasten with screws ; continue this operation until the bottom is covered. 1 6. Trimming. — It will be necessary to do a little trimming with the plane after the box is assembled, to remove any projecting edges or tenons. Be careful in trimming the ends of the tenons, always to plane towards the box and never away from it, or you will sphnter it. QUESTIONS 1. Why should the seed be tested before planting? 2. Why do you select kernels from different parts of the ear ? 3. Why should the sand and cloths be wet? 4. Why is it necessary to cut the shoulders of the joints square ? 5. How does the method of fastening this joint make it one of the strongest ? 6. Why is it easier to cut the mortise after boring than without boring ? 7. Why is it unnecessary to bore holes in both pieces of wood in assembling these joints ? LESSON IX SHEEP-FEEDING TROUGH Stock 13 board feet white pine |'' thick, S2s i lb. 8d nails 2 bolts 2^' X f '' and washers (s2s means ''surface two sides," or planed on the two sur- faces.) Tools Carpenter's square Saw Hammer Try-square Plane Chisel Gauge Brace and bit Operations 1. Laying off width and length of bottom, sides, and ends. 2. Sawing and planing. 3. Nailing in place. 4. Laying off width and length of supports. 5. Laying out mortises. 6. Laying out bases. 7. Sawing and planing to size. 8. Cutting mortises. 9. Nailing bases to uprights. 10. Laying off width and length of brace. 11. Laying out tenons. 12. Cutting tenons. 13. Laying off wedges to size. 49 so WOODWORKING 14. Cutting to size. 15. Trimming holes for wedges. 16. Assembling. ■1&2 - -r^-* I. Laying off width and length. — Lay off the width of the bot- FiG. 47. — Working Drawing of Sheep- feeding Trough, torn 1 1 J'' and length 3' 9I". Lay off the sides 6'' wide and 3' 11" long. Lay out the ends 8'' wide and 13" long; 2" from one edge of the ends, gauge a line from end to end ; find the middle of the length and on the same edge lay off the middle line; if on each side mark <2, a, and draw lines to h, h on the ends (Fig. 47). 2. Sawing and plan- ing. — Saw out the mem- bers just outside the lines, leaving enough ma- terial to plane the edges smooth and straight, and yet leave them full size. 3. Nailing in place. — Nail the two ends to SHEEP-FEEDING TROUGH 51 the bottom first, then nail the sides to the bottom and ends, 4. Laying off supports. — Lay off the supports, 1" wide and 24'' long. 5. Laying out mortises. — Lay out the mortises in the supports as follows : 'j" from the lower ends square a line across ; 2\" from this line square an- other line across ; but instead of measuring the 2\" from the first line, a better way is to measure up from the lower end ^\" and square across. The reason for preferring this method in measuring is that the liability of mistakes is reduced because mistakes are seldom repeated. Find the middle of the supports by measuring \\" from each edge. As the brace is \" thick, you should make the mortise the same thickness ; in laying it out, measure one half of this thickness on each side of the middle line ; therefore measure -^q" on each side of the middle line and with the marking gauge scribe each side of the mortise. (To scribe means to mark with a knife or other sharp instrument.) In gauging the first line, set it at \^^" , but in gauging the second line, do not gauge the same distance from the other edge. This would be all right if the supports were exactly the right width, but so seldom are all dimen- sions exact, that a better way is to gauge both sides of the mortise from one edge of the support ; so for the second fine, set the gauge at \\%" and gauge from the same edge as before. Lay out the mortise on both sur- faces. 6. Laying out bases. — Lay out the bases of the sup- ports &' in width ; rip along this fine and plane. Square 52 WOODWORKING one end and lay off 15'' for the length, square across and lay off the length of the second base. Gauge a line i" from one edge ; find the middle of the length of each base and from this middle line measure off \\" on each side, and line to the ^" mark on the ends, just as in lay- ing off the ends of the box. 7. Saw and plane the members to line. 8. Cut the mortise by boring %" holes inside the lines ; chisel from both sides, commencing with the ends, then trim down the sides. Be sure the edges of the mortise are square with the surfaces, and chisel from both sides towards the center. In testing the sides, or cheeks, of a mortise, use the try-square if it is possible to get the blade in the mortise ; if not, lay the blade of a nar- row chisel against the cheek of the mortise and test with a try-square. 9. Nail the bases to the uprights by starting the nails in the bases and locate them where they belong on the uprights ; then drive one nail through, with the try- square or carpenter's square against the edge of the up- right ; square the bottom of the base with this and drive a second nail through, then the others, and clinch on the inside. This insures the bases being square with the supports. Be sure to stagger the nails. 10. Lay off the brace ^' in width and 55^'' in length, saw, and plane. 11. Lay off the tenons by measuring in from each end 2\" and square around on all four sides ; then find the middle of the width, and from this line measure on each side \^' and gauge from the ends to the ^\" fine. In this case set the gauge at \" for the first line and at 3 J^' for the second line. Lay out the holes in the tenons SHEEP-FEEDING TROUGH 53 before cutting the tenons. The hne squared across 2I" from the end is called the shoulder ; f from this shoulder, square a line across, and another, if from the shoulder. Measure ^ □5 tJU ra-1 f on each side of the middle Hne, and gauge lines between the two cross lines just drawn, as in Fig. 48. Lay out on both surfaces. 12. Cuttin g the tenons. — ^ First, bore three Y' holes inside 'hq the lines marking the | holes, and chisel out r 1 1 • J o^i Fig. 48. — Mortise and Tenon Joint. rrom both Sides. 1 he hole is cut first, as the piece will not be so likely to split as it would be if the tenons were cut first. Second, saw from the edges along the shoulder from a to by then rip from c to ^ ; smooth up the edges with the chisel ; gauge y from the edges of the ends, and chamfer with the plane (Fig. 49). 13. The wedges are laid off 2J'' long and f thick and taper- ing from lY^ to l'\ Both ends are chamfered on three sides, as shown in the drawing. 14. Saw and plane on four sides. 15. Trimming holes for wedges. — Fit the tenon of the brace into the mortise of the upright support and drive FARM SHOP WORK 5 Fig, 49. — Cutting the Tenon. 54 WOODWORKING the wedge into place in the hole. The taper of the wedge will not allow it to fit into the hole because the Fig. 50. — Method of Trimming Hole for Wedge. sides of the hole are square and one edge of the wedge tapers. The wedge binds on the side next the larger end of the wedge and there is a crack on the side oppo- site. With a pair of divid- ers, measure the width of the crack a^ Fig. 50, then measure the same distance h ; chisel down from this line in- side, making a taper inside that will fit the taper of the wedge. If the hole is not slanted this way, the wedge will not fit tight and will not hold the supports firmly against the shoulder of the brace. Fig. 51. — Sheep Feed Box Assembled. SHEEP-FEEDING TROUGH 55 16. Assembling. — Locate the holes for the bolts by measuring down from the top of the supports ^" along the middle line ; bore a \" hole. Also \" down from the top of the ends of the box along the center line, bore a \" hole. Connect the supports by the brace which is mortised in and held in place with the wedges. Place the bolts in place, supporting the box, and screw on nut. Carriage bolts are used here because they have a square shank near the head, which, when driven into the wood, holds the bolt while the nut is being screwed on. QUESTIONS 1. Why is the bottom fitted inside the sides and ends ? 2. Why is the cross piece mortised into the uprights ? 3. What advantage has a swinging trough over a fixed one.? 4. How do you lay out a mortise for a wedge ? LESSON X CHICKEN FEED BOX Stock White pine 22 board feet, |" thick, S2S. I lb. 8d nails. I pair hinges z" butts. Tools Carpenter's square Plane Screwdriver Bevel Hammer Chisel Saw Gauge Try-square Operations 1. Laying out two ends, three partitions, back, bottom, top, front, trough. 2. Making cleats. 3. Sawing and planing members. 4. Assembling. I. The laying out of this exercise Is the most impor- tant and difficult part of the operations. Care must be taken to use no more lumber than is neces- sary. For the two ends you need Fig. 52. — Ends of Chicken Feed Box. a board \0^' 56 CHICKEN FEED BOX 57 wide and 3' \" long. Beginning at a. Fig. 52, see if the end is square with the edges ; if not, square it up. From a measure 3f along one edge ; square across about one half the width of the board ; measure on this line i^\" to h. From a measure along the edge 15'' to <:, scribe a line from b to c. From c measure j" to d and square across the board to e. Scribe a line from c to e. From e measure 15" to/ and square across the board. Meas- ure back from / 3!'^ to g and scribe a line about half- way across the board. From g measure on this line 4I" to h and scribe a Hne from h to e. For the three partitions you need a board 4' 8'' long and loj'' wide. Square up the end at k, Fig. 53, and measureon this line S"toL Along the ^ ^^^^^^ "^ edge measure 14'' to m. Scribe a line from /torn. Square across the board to ^^ ^ ^ 17 td Fig. 53. — Partitions of Chicken Feed Box. n and from this point measure y" to 0. Scribe a line from m to 0. Measure from i^" to r and square across to q. On this line measure off 5'' r to p and scribe a line from to p. In the same way lay out the third partition from the remainder of the board. You need for the back enough boards 24'' long to make a width of 22|''. Square across one end of each board and accurately measure from these ends 24'' and square across these ends. One edge of the top board is to be beveled. Scribe a line ^" down from the edge on one side with the marking gauge and then bevel. You need for the bottom enough boards 24'' long to 58 WOODWORKING make a width of 12''. Lay out by the same method that was used for the back, but do not bevel. For the top you need enough boards 2\" long to make a width of i^V - Lay out in the same way as the back and bottom are laid out, except that two bevels are to be laid out, each of \" , on opposite surfaces of the top. For the front you need enough boards 24'' long to I I I M j j j Fig. 54. — Working Drawing of Chicken Feed Box. make a width of 15'^ Lay out in the same way, ex- cept that there are two notches cut on the lower edge, each 2" deep and Y' wide. The top edge is also beveled \" down from the edge. The front of the trough consists of a board 24'' long and 3J'' wide. Square up one end, measure 24'', and square up the other end. 2. Making cleats. — The top is held together by two cleats 2" wide and ()" long. The thickness is the same CHICKEN FEED BOX 59 as the rest of the lumber. Gauge down Y' on the sur- face and edges, and plane down to these hues for the bevel, planing the edges first and the ends afterwards. 3. Saw outside all lines and leave the planing of out- side edges until the box is assembled. Plane the edges square except where bevels are required. Fig. 55. — Chicken Feed Box Assembled. 4. Assembling. — First, locate the three partitions by measuring on the back and squaring lines across at each point on both surfaces of the back. The inside line serves to locate the partitions and the outside Hne serves 6o WOODWORKING to locate the nails which are to be driven in from the back into the partitions. Second^ nail on the two ends in the same way. Thirds nail the bottom to the two ends. Fourth, square lines across the front similar to the lines on the back and for the same purpose, and nail the front in place in the same way. Fifth, nail on the front strip of the trough, nailing it to the two ends and from the bottom into the front strip. Sixth, the boards of the top are held together by two cleats nailed on the underside 2" from each end, the cleats being g" long and one end placed 2" from the back edge of the top. These nails will go through the top and can be clinched. Seventh, using screws, fasten the top on the back with two hinges placed 2'^ from the ends. Be sure to place the middle of the hinges on the crack between the top and back. Trim all projecting edges with the plane. QUESTIONS 1. Why is the top made to slant down ? 2. Why is the front made slanting instead of perpendicular ? 3. Why does the top project over the trough ? 4. Why does the front project into the trough ? LESSON XI TRAP NEST Stock 12 board feet white pine f by ^ I pair brass hinges z" X \" 4 3 sq. ft. chicken wire Brads Tools Carpenter's square Rule Hammer Chisel Try-square Saw Plane Operations 1. Laying out and cutting bottom, sides, and end. 2. Laying out and cutting partition and nail in place. 3. Laying out and cutting cross piece. 4. Laying out and cutting blocks. 5. Laying out and cutting door, attaching strips. 6. Laying out and cutting brace. 7. Laying out and cutting strip. 8. Laying out and making frame for top. 9. Assembling. I. Lay out the bottom 24" long by 1 5 J" wide, the two sides 24'' long by \\%" wide, and the end \^\" long by lof" wide. These four pieces are sawed square on the 61 4-1 O 3 13 tT 1) _c < 1 c q=l 1^ <3 bl) 03 S' o C > O B C 03 o .S2 < Q c c 03 Pi -JS j_i 3 H OS O (U § j:: 03 'i o (A .M c c g a. I-S o a; r\ \ across the surface ; then measure i' 7'' from the Fig. 71. — Seat of Sewing Horse. same end, if the jaws are full 4.'' wide, and square across. Compare with the lay-out shown in Fig. 71. Measure in 2'' from each edge on line ab and from these points draw two lines 82 WOODWORKING parallel with the edges cd and ef. Lay out the curve of the seat as indicated by the figure. In laying out the holes, measure in from each edge 2\" and again ^" from each edge. At these four points draw lines parallel to the edges and between lines gh and ij. Bore i" holes at the opposite corners a and h, Fig. 72. With the keyhole saw, saw along the adjacent sides. When both holes have been sawed out, chisel out Fig. 72.-CUTTING Holes in Seat. ^j^^ -^^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^.j ^j^^^, are the same bevel as the notches in the bottom plank. A cross section through the holes is shown in Fig. 73. The sides of the two holes are beveled in the opposite directions. In cutting out the curve of the seat either use a turning saw, cutting just outside the line and finishing down to the line with the spokeshave ; or with the handsaw, saw down to the bottom of the concave curve and chisel from both sides down to this kerf, then finish with the spokeshave. Saw off the corners and with the drawshave cut down to . b ^ the lines. E^ ^mwwmwwm If you have a turning saw, ^lo. 73.- Section through , . . „ Seat, Showing Holes. use that m cuttmg all curves, turning the handles whenever the frame hits the board. The top of the curve is rounded with the spokeshave to make it more comfortable. 4. Laying out and cutting jaws. — The lower ends of the jaws will have to be beveled at the same angle as SEWING HORSE 83 the edges of the notches ; so if you have the bevel still set at that angle, use it ; but if not, then set it from the board you laid out, not from the angle of the notches. (Always take measurements and angles from some one pattern or measure. Never take measure- ments from each piece of work finished, or the last piece will be far different from the first piece or pattern.) Bevel the lower ends of the jaws, and also the upper ends at the same angle, but from opposite surfaces. Then with the compass set at 2" strike a curve at the upper ends and chisel down to this curve ; and finish with the block plane. Bore holes in the lower ends of the jaws for the 2od spikes so the ends will not split when the spikes are dFiG. 74. — Sewing Horse Assembled. riven m. 5. Laying out and cutting cleats and boring screw holes. — The cleats are laid out and planed \" X 2" X \2" . Square up and bore 6 holes for the screws, staggering the holes, as shown in the drawing. 6. Assembling. — Firsts nail the end board on to the plank. Second, screw the cleats to the top of the seat on each side of the holes, as shown in the drawing. Third, fasten the seat to the end board with the strap hinges on the under side. Fourth, place the jaws through the holes in the seat and nail the lower ends to the plank. 84 WOODWORKING By lifting the seat, the jaws can be opened ; by sitting on the seat, the jaws can be closed with considerable force. QUESTIONS 1. Why is a 2" plank better for the bottom than a i" board ? 2. Why are cleats necessary across the top of the seat ? 3. Why are the tops of the jaws rounded ? LESSON XVI TRUSSED LADDER Stock 4 pes. white oak i" X i" X lo' lo pes. white oak i" X 5'' X 12" 2 pes. white oak i'' X i" X 12'' Shellac 12 earriage bolts I" x 6" 8 earriage bolts i" X 4'' 4 earriage bolts J'' X 3" Tools RuIeS Saw Try-square Braee and bit Keyhole saw Spokeshave Marking gauge Sandpaper Operations 1. Squaring up side strips and eutting taper at ends. 2. Squaring up steps and eutting notehes. 3. Making rungs. 4. Laying out and boring holes. 5. Assembling and shellaeking. I. Squaring up side strips and cutting taper at ends. — The side strips are planed i " square and are then clamped to two blocks 3'' wide, placed about 3' from each end. The ends are OVerlaoned and ^^^' 7^- — Overlapping Ends of Side Strips. held in place with clamps, as shown in Fig. 75. Then a line ab is drawn from where the pieces cross each other. FARM SHOP WORK — 7 85 86 WOODWORKING Saw the ends of the strips along this Une and plane smooth. 2. Squaring up steps and cutting notches. — The steps are all squared up to the same size and planed smooth. After the ladder is assembled temporarily, some of the steps near the end will be found extending out beyond the strips. Cut six steps as shown in Fig. 76, with the o Fig. 76. — Working Drawings of Trussed Ladder. \" X \" notches cut at each corner. Two of the re- maining four steps will be cut with the notches \\" deep, and the other two with the notches 2" deep. The tenons between these three kinds of notches are 3'', z" ^ and \" wide respectively. 3. Making rungs. — The two rungs, one for each end of the ladder, are made \" in diameter and \2" long, by the method given in Lesson III. 4. Laying out and boring holes. — Locate the holes as TRUSSED LADDER 87 follows. 5'' from one end square a line across the strips ; 10'^ from this line square across another line, and re- peat every 10''. The last line will be 5'' from the farther end of the strips. With the gauge set at J'^ gauge lines across each of the lines squared across ; these lo- cate the Y' holes that are to be bored for the bolts which will hold the strips together. Place the ends of two steps between the strips and clamp in place with car- riage clamps, as in Fig. 75. Be sure that the steps are centered on the Hnes squared across, and that the shoulders of the steps are up tight against the strips. Bore a I" hole through the strip and halfway through the step ; reverse and bore from the opposite side, meet- ing the first hole in the center of the step. This insures a straight hole. As soon as the hole is bored, place a bolt in it, and screw on a nut and washer. Continue this until all steps are in place. The steps near the end will project beyond the strips. Mark them along the edge of the strips, so that they can be taken out and cut down to size. The}/^ are to be cut the same shape as the full-sized steps, but of course all dimensions should be reduced. When all the steps have been fitted, fasten the ends of the side strips together with large screws. Bore i'^ holes for the rungs at the place marked out for them, and then bore I" holes for the j^ bolts that hold the rungs in place. Fasten the rungs in place with ^ bolts. 5. Assembling and shellacking. — When the ladder has been fitted, screw all the nuts tight and give the whole a coat of shellac. Follow this with a sandpaper- ing, and a second coat of shellac. Then the ladder is ready for use. 88 WOODWORKING QUESTIONS 1. Why is it necessary to clamp the strips in place before laying out the taper for the ends ? 2. Of what use are the notches in the ends of the steps ? 3. How do you lay out an octagon in laying out the rungs ? 4. Why not bore all the holes straight through the strips instead of boring them after the steps have been fitted in place ? 5. Why is it necessary to fasten the ends with screws before boring the i" hole for the rungs ? LESSON XVII COMBINATION LADDER A combination ladder is one which can be used as a step ladder and also changed into a longer ladder of the common type. S OCK 2 side strips oak f X 4'' X 5' 2 side bars elm i" X 2" x 4' 6" 5 steps oak I" x 5'' X i' 5'' I step oak f' X 6" X l' 10'' 5 rungs oak i'' round X i' 6'' I J doz. screws f , No. 8 2 doz. screws 2", No. 10 I bolt X I' 7 Chain and screw eye 2 bolts f 2 iron plates 2 iron straps 3 iron hooks X2r Steel square Try-square Bevel Keyhole Saw Tools Saw Plane Brace and bit Sandpaper Operations Screwdriver Chisel Marking gauge 1. Laying out and cutting side pieces. 2. Laying out and boring side bars. 3. Laying out and cutting steps. 4. Laying out and making rungs. 5. Making iron plates and straps. 6. Cutting the curve in the ends of the side pieces. 7. Assembling and shellacking. 89 90 WOODWORKING I. Laying out and cutting side pieces. — The side pieces are f" X 4^' X 5^ made of oak or some other hardwood and planed smooth with the edges and ends squared. Lay out the bevel for the top and bottom and steps in the same way as in Lesson XV. Fig. 77. — Working Drawings of Combination Ladder. Lay out, half size, a side piece on a board in the fol- lowing manner. Measure along the edge of the board ^' 2" and from this point square in i' 3^' from the edge. Draw a line from the corner of the board to the point just located. This hne represents the in- clination of the side pieces when the ladder is standing. COMBINATION LADDER 91 Set the beam of the bevel against the end of the board and adjust the blade along the inclined line. Beginning at a. Fig. JJ, lay off the bevel ae and meas- ure up from point a ()" to h. Lay off another bevel, then measure \" to r, and lay off another bevel. Con- tinue this operation until all steps are laid off. On the other side piece repeat the operation, but on the reverse side; that is, so that when both pieces are laid off and placed together, face to face, the Unes will all coincide, or touch each other. At the points where these bevel lines touch the edges, square across the edges with the try-square. With the marking gauge set at \", gauge between the lines along both edges, holding the guide against the inner surface of the piece. This means that the grooves are to be \" wide and \" deep. With the hacksaw, saw very care- fully inside the lines. A method very often used when accurate work is desired is as follows : select a small strip of hardwood about 6'' long and i'' square; lay this on the outside of the line with the edge j ust covering the line and .fasten in place with two carriage clamps ; hold the blade of the saw against the piece and saw down to the required depth, \". When all grooves have been cut, chisel out the grooves with a J^' chisel. Chisel from both edges towards the middle so as not to get the groove too deep. Test the bottom of the groove from time to time by laying the edge of the chisel along the bottom. 2. Laying out and boring side bars. — The side bars are i" x 2'' x 4' ^" • Elm makes better side bars than any other wood because of its toughness. Plane, 92 WOODWORKING square up the edges and sides. With the compass set at i" radius, draw semicircles at each end of the bars. Saw along each semicircle with a keyhole saw. Lay out the holes as follows : i" from one end square a line across the surface; lo'' from this hne square another line across ; <^" from this line square another line across, and so on every g" until five holes have been located. This brings the last hole ly from the end of the bar. Set the marking gauge at i" and gauge a short line cutting each of the five lines drawn. Repeat these operations on the other bar. Set the gauge at \" and gauge from both edges be- tween the first two holes ; this is for a slot which is to be cut 8J'' long and J'' wide. The slot begins at a point \" from the edge of the first hole. You must lay this out accurately or the ladder will not work properly when you want to make the change from a step ladder to an extension ladder. Whpn the work is all laid out, bore the holes for the rungs, using a I" bit and boring from both sides so as to insure clean holes. For the slot, use a f bit and bore a row of holes in- side the gauged lines as close together as possible ; then chisel out the slot smooth, chiseling from both sides. 3. Laying out and cutting steps. — Surface the steps, square up the edges and the ends so that they are all exactly of the same dimensions, — f X 5'' X i' ^\" . As the grooves cut for the steps are only f wide, it will be necessary to plane the thickness a trifle over f ", which we will call f full, so as to insure the steps fit- COMBINATION LADDER 93 ting tight enough to make it necessary to drive in with the mallet. Some workmen advise planing down the ends of the steps until they fit the groove. This method is not ad- vised, as it does not give strong joints where strength is needed ; and it is a sort of cut-and- try method, which is not recom- mended in any work where it can be avoided. If the steps are not all the same / / / length, the longest ' / / / will prevent the others from fitting properly. The top step is longer and wider than the others, being i' lO^' long and &' wide. 4. Laying out and making rungs. — In making the rungs ^^^- 78. — Detail at Top of Step Ladder. saw out the strips \" square and \' G' long; square up on all four sides with the plane until the pieces are exactly \" square. Lay off on each stick an octa- gon in the following manner. Firsts measure across the diagonal of the end of the stick. Second, set the gauge at one half this distance and gauge from all four sides in both directions, which will leave two fines on 94 WOODWORKING "^-^ each surface. Third, place the square piece in the board made for this purpose, which is shown in Fig. 125, page 155 ; plane each corner down to the gauged lines and you will have an octagon. Fourth, lay the octagonal pieces on the bench against the bench dog and make about three cuts with the plane on each of the eight corners remaining. Fifth, hold the stick in the vise and with coarse sandpaper cut off the re- maining corners, turning the stick frequently so as to insure even cut- ting. In this way it is possible to make a stick nearly as round as it would be if turned in a lathe. Trim down the ends to fit the holes and split them with a saw for the wedges. 5. Making iron plates and straps. — The ironwork is described under Blacksmithing. 6. Cutting the curve in the ends of the side pieces. — In cutting the curve under the top step, lay a side piece on the bench and place a block against the edge near the acute angle of the top of the piece. Gauge a line i '' from the edge of the block that rests against the side piece and set the compass at 2" ; scribe an arc similar to the one in the detailed drawing, Fig. 78. Saw this out with a keyhole saw and smooth with sandpaper. 7. Assembling and shellacking. — First, fit all steps in place and fasten with 2'' screws ; and fasten on the top Fig. 79. — Detail showing Attachment of Hook. COMBINATION LADDER 95 step. Second, drive the rungs in place so that the saw kerfs in the ends are perpendicular to the sides of the bars, otherwise driving in the wedges will be apt to split the bars. Then drive in the wedges. Third, put the iron straps and plates in place, and fasten the two parts of the ladder together with the bolt. Fourth, the hooks are to be fastened to the side bars where the next to the top step is located, as shown in the detailed drawing. Fig. 79. Take out the screw ; saw a slit deep enough to admit the hook ; and replace the screw through the eye of the hook. Fifth, fasten the chain and the screw eye in place so that the ladder can be spread the proper distance. Sixth, shellac and sandpaper. QUESTIONS 1. Why are the steps let into the sides ? 2. Why is the top of the support ironed ? 3. Why do you bore holes from both sides.? 4. How do you lay out an octagon ? LESSON XVIII FARMER'S LEVEL The farmer^s level consists of a tripod and a turn- table composed of a crosspiece holding two uprights, to which are fastened two glass tubes connected by a rubber tube. The turntable is fastened to the tripod head by a pivot screw, which enables it to rotate in any direction. TTffjm^ Fig. 8o. — Method of Using Farmer's Level. Water is poured into the tubes until within an inch or so of the top. When the tripod is set up, one can be sure that the water in the tubes is at the same level, and so a line sighted across the water surfaces is horizontal or level. Suppose it were required to find the difference in level of two points A and B, Fig. 80. Set the level about midway between A and B and sight across to the leveling rod placed at A. When the target is raised 96 FARMER'S LEVEL 97 so it can be seen on a level with the water surface, then it is at the same level as the surface of the water. Note the height of the target above the ground at A. Place the rod at B and raise target until it is level with the surface of the water in the tubes. The difference be- tween the height of the target when at A and when at B is the difference between the level of the ground at A and B. If the target at A stood at 2', and the one at B 6\ then the point B is 4' lower than A. Without mov- ing the level one can determine the heights of several points by turning the turntable in different directions. Stock I pc. white pine I" X 8'' x 4' 1 pc. hard wood |'' X 6'' square 2 glass tubes 6^' x f diameter I rubber tube to fit glass tubes 18 screws i'\ No. 38, F. H. B. 5 screws i|'', No. 38, F. H. B. 4 screws \'\ No. 3, R. H. Bl. Tools Rule Try-square Marking gauge Ripsaw Plane Brace and bit Turning saw Screwdriver Gouge Chisel Cabinet file Sandpaper Carpenter's square Operations Legs of Tripod 1. Laying out the legs. 2. Ripping the legs. 3. Planing the edges of the legs. 98 WOODWORKING 4. Laying ofF the middle lines on the legs. 5. Squaring up the ends. 6. Locating and boring holes for hinges. 7. Pointing the smaller ends of the legs. Tripod Head 1. Surfacing one side. 2. Gauging to thickness. 3. Surfacing other side. 4. Laying off the circle. 5. Cutting the circle. 6. Laying off and boring screw holes for hinges. 7. Boring hole for pivot. Turntable 1. Surfacing one side. 2. Planing one edge. 3. Gauging to thickness. 4. Surfacing other side. 5. Planing other edge. 6. Laying out length. 7. Sawing to length. 8. Planing ends. 9. Boring the holes in the uprights. 10. Gouging the groove in the crosspiece. 11. Boring the screw holes and pivot hole. All Parts I. Assembhng. Legs of Tripod I and 2. Laying out and ripping the legs. — There are several methods of laying out the legs, but the one given here is economical in both material and labor; FARMER'S LEVEL 99 and in making large or small pieces it is advisable to be as economical in lumber and time as possible. Select a pine board that has been surfaced or planed Fig. 8i. — Working Drawings of Farmer's Level. on both sides and is about |'' thick. Measure off 4' in length. (See Fig. 82.) From one corner a measure off '}," to b. From the other corner c measure off 1" to d. Draw a Une between h and d. ^-L ■Ufa '^. ViG. 82. — Laying off Legs of Tripod. Before laying off the other legs, this one should be ripped off; for the reason that if all the legs were laid off at once and then ripped, they would be too small. Therefore, lay off one leg and rip, being careful to saw lOo WOODWORKING in the material to be removed. Plane the edge of the board just ripped before laying out the second leg; and lay off the second leg with the point e ^" from c and the point/ \" from h. Rip this off and plane the edge of the board before laying off the third leg ; and then lay off ^ 3'' from/ and k \" from e and rip. You will notice that the legs have been laid off so that the least possible material has been used and the least possible number of saw cuts, which leaves enough material for the turntable. 3. Planing the edges of the legs. — One edge of each leg will be left rough by the ripsaw and should be planed down smooth and to the required dimensions. 4. Laying off the middle lines on the legs. — It will be necessary to lay off middle Hnes on each leg before Fig. 83.— Hinge for the ends Can be squared up. Select Farmer's Level. . . , , j 7 j a pomt midway between a and b and another midway between c and d and connect these points with a line. 5. Squaring up the ends. — With a carpenter's steel square placed so that its inner edge touches the middle Hne, square across the wider ends of all three legs. The narrow ends do not need squaring up as they are to be pointed. It is unnecessary to plane the ends smooth. 6. Locating and boring screw holes for hinges. — The hinges should be of the pattern indicated in Fig. 83. The strap leaf should extend along the leg, and the other leaf should be fastened to the tripod head. It is better not to fasten the hinges to the legs until the screw holes have been bored in the tripod head. FARMER'S LEVEL lOI 7. Pointing the smaller ends of the legs. — Measure up i" from the smaller end of the legs and square around on four sides. From these marks, chisel towards the center line on the two surfaces and towards the middle from the two edges. Tripod Head 1. Surfacing one side. — Select a hard wood, as maple, birch, or oak. It will be necessary to have a board at least 6" square and f thick. Sur- face one side. 2. Gauging to thickness. — Gauge to thickness on all edges. 3. Surfacing other side. — Surface the other side, planing down to the gauge lines. 4. Laying off the circle. — Draw Fig. — Laying off Circle. Fig. 85. — Method of Hoi.ding a Turn- ing Saw. FARM SHOP WORK — 8 diagonals from the four corners of the board. Locate the center and then draw the circle with the compass set at 3'' radius. (See Fig. 84.) 5. Cutting the circle. — There are two methods of cutting the circle. If you have a turning saw, use it and saw about -^q" outside the hne, holding the saw as illustrated in Fig. 85. Then it is nec- essary to smooth the edge I02 WOODWORKING Fig. 86. Cutting out Circle with A Chisel. down with a cabinet file and sandpaper. Take pains to keep the edge square with the surfaces. The second method is to saw off the corners and chisel down to the hne as in Fig. 86. This method can be followed when no turning saw is available. Be careful to place a board under the piece so as to prevent the chisel cutting the bench top. Always chisel in the direction of the grain and not in the crosswise direc- tion, to avoid splitting the wood. Be sure the under board is flat, or you will be apt to spHnter the under side of the piece. 6. Laying off and boring screw holes for the hinges. — There are three legs to be fastened to the tripod head. In order to locate them equidistant it will be necessary to divide the circle into three equal parts. Draw a diameter through the center of the circle and with one leg of the compass at point <3, scribe points c and b. The distance be- tween the legs of the compass must be equal to the radius of the circle. These two points with d divide the circle into three equal parts. (See Fig. 87.) From points c and h draw lines to the center ; on these hnes locate the three hinges by placing the center Fig. 87. — Points at WHICH Hinges are Attached. FARMER'S LEVEL 103 of the hinges on the hnes and the edges equidistant from the edge of the circle, as at e. Mark the screw holes and bore them with a gimlet bit a trifle smaller than the screws to be used. 7. Boring hole for pivot. — To bore the hole for the pivot screw, select a bit a trifle smaller than the screw and bore a hole in the center of the circle nearly through the board. Turntable 1-8. — For the turntable, use the fourth piece of pine cut off from the legs. The operations 1-8 are the same as those of Lesson I and need not be repeated here. 9, Boring the holes in the upright blocks. — When the two short blocks have been properly squared up, fasten them together in the vise, end gram p^^ 88. — Sltpport for Glass Tubes. Uppermost. Lo- cate the center by drawing diagonals from the corners, and bore the larger hole first, halfway through the block. Reverse the ends and bore the smaller hole the rest of the way, meeting the other hole in the center. (See Fig. 81.) The smaller hole is the size of the glass tubes, and the larger hole the size of the rubber tubing after it has been attached to the glass tubes. 10. Gouging the groove in the crosspiece. — The part of the rubber tube that connects the glass tubes must have a groove in which to he ; so the crosspiece I04 WOODWORKING must be grooved with a half-round gouge to a depth equal to one half the diameter of the rubber tubing. II. Boring the screw holes and pivot hole. — The up- rights are to be fastened to the crosspiece, as in Fig. 88, with screws from the under side, two screws in each end. In the center of the crosspiece and at the bottom of the groove bore a hole the size of the pivot screw, and countersink. All Parts I. Assembling. — In assembling, first fasten the hinges to the under side of the tripod head ; then fasten the legs on the hinges with screws. Next fasten the turntable to the tripod by a pivot screw through the center. Now fasten the tubes and rubber tubing to the uprights by strips of leather or tin held in place by small, round-headed, blue screws. QUESTIONS 1. In laying out taper legs, why do you reverse every other piece ? 2. Why do you plane down one edge before laying out the next leg? 3. Why is a middle line on each leg necessary ? 4. Which method of cutting a circle do you prefer ? Why ? 5. Why is it best to have a groove in the crosspiece for the rubber tubing ? LESSON XIX LEVELING ROD Stock I pc. pine i" X 2'' X 5' i pc brass, 16 gauge, 7" X 4'' I pc. Dine i" X li" X 5' ^" i PC- spring brass 4'' X i'' 1 pc. pine i'' X i¥' X 5' 6'' 2 screws f^'. No. 6 2 pes. pine i'' X ¥' X 5' 6'' 4 screws i''. No. 8 2 pes. pine r' X i" X 5' 6^' i lb. i" brads I pc. pine Y' X 6'' X 6^' i lb. i'^ brads Glue and shellac Tools Rule Try-square Marking gauge Plane Hammer Sandpaper File Drill Operations 1. Gauging and planing stock to size. 2. Assembling all pieces and shellacking. 3. Laying off graduations. 4. Making the target. I. Gauging and planing stock to size. — If the lum- ber comes in the rough, it should be a quarter over size to allow for surfacing. This exercise requires a con- siderable degree of accuracy in measuring and plamng. Plane up the piece a, Fig. 91, to size, following the directions given in previous lessons as to plamng up 105 io6 WOODWORKING stock. The dimensions of this piece will be i'' X 2" X 5' 6''. As it is a thin, nar- row piece, it is apt to buckle and break in planing. To prevent this, fasten the two ends to a board, as shown in Fig. 90, by- boring \" holes through the piece and board and driving hardwood pegs in flush with the top of the piece to be planed. Very thin lumber can be surfaced this way, and all the pieces in this exercise can be planed on the same board with the same pegs and board. Each of strips d, e, /, and g, Fig. 91, are \" thick and so can be planed in one strip and cut apart afterwards. In cutting apart the strips, some lumber will be wasted, as the edges must be planed, so it will be neces- sary to allow for this waste and make the piece from which they are cut i\" wide, although the sum of the widths is only i J". It will be almost impossible to cut off the narrow strips with the saw, so the Fig. 89.— Level- following method is recommended. File iNG Rod, Front , p , , . -i . AND Side Views, the spur ot the matkmg gauge until it resembles the point of a knife, and set the gauge at a little over \" and gauge on both surfaces as deeply as possible ; the spur will cut nearly through, so that a jackknife drawn along the groove will easily cut them apart. Next ^ plane up the two edges \ x and cut the second strip _ ., . Fig. 90. — Holding a Thin Strip for the same width, rlane Planing. LEVELING ROD 107 3// 8 > and cut two more ^'i up the edges, set the gauge at strips in the same way. 2. Assembling all pieces and shellacking. — Strip c should now be glued and nailed to strip b in the posi- tion shown in Fig. 91, end view. Then strips/ and g should be glued and nailed together and fastened to strip a ; Hkewise strips d and e. Care- fully wipe away all glue that squeezes out from the joints, as it would prevent the sliding of the strips if allowed to harden. The whole should be sand- papered smooth, shellacked, then sandpapered again. Be sure that cb is in position when you fasten de to a, or it will not fit ; but be sure to with- draw it soon, or it will be glued by the excess glue that squeezes out from the joint. 3. Laying off graduations. — Lay off the graduations with .^ waterproof India ink. Begin- l ning at the bottom of strip f, y^q gj lay off feet, inches, and half inches up to 5'. On the bottom of the second strip a lay off the same graduations, but begin where the others left off, that is, at 5'. Shellac over the graduations. In using the leveling rod the height of the target is read directly from the scale on a. If the height is 7', the bottom of strip c rests on the y' mark of strip a. ffh cjlued jomh Details of Leveling Rod. io8 WOODWORKING 4. Making the target. — Make the target round and G' in diameter. Plane both surfaces smooth before cutting out the circle ; then lay out the circle and chisel around, beginning with the grain of the wood and chisel- ing towards each end. Place a piece of coarse sand- paper on a block and smooth down to a perfect circle; then finish with No. i sandpaper. Draw two diameters at right angles to each other, and with black shellac color alternate quarter circles black; then shellac all over with white shellac. Sand- paper down to a smooth finish. Bore a i'' hole in center of target so that you can see the graduations. Make a brass stirrup so it will just fit over the leveling rod and have two flanges about \" wide through which screws can be driven to hold it to the target. (See Fig. 92.) Drill two holes in each flange large enough to fit the \" screws. With the hammer, dent in the Fig. g.-SxiKKUP pok Leveling Rod. ^^^^^^^ ^^^^ ^j^^ ^^^^jj^ ^ little at a ; this will make it bind on the rod and cause it to stay wherever placed without holding. Saw off the top G" of the part adefg, Fig. 91, and fasten to part he with two screws. QUESTIONS 1. What method do you prefer in planing up thin stock ? 2. What method is best in splitting thin stock into strips .'' 3. How would you measure heights over 5 feet t LESSON XX THREE HORSE EVENER With this form of an evener no horse can pull less than his share of the load. Stock I." 2 I pc. hickory or white oak z" X ^" X 4' 5 I pc. hickory or white oak i\" X ^-h" X 3' i" 3 pes. hickory or white oak i^" X 3'' X 2' 6" Tools Rule Saw Brace and bit Try-square Plane Spokeshave Marking gauge Operations 1. Laying out evener. 2. Laying out doubletree. 3. Laying out singletrees. 4. Sawing and boring. 5. Chamfering. 6. Ironing. I. Laying out evener. — Lay out point c 2" from point /, Fig. 94. Lay out point d 2" from point g at the other end. Square across both ends at these points. Lay out point e 18^'' from / and square across one surface. 3'' from e on either side locate 109 no WOODWORKING points h and i and square across the edge at these points. Locate the holes at K and by L measuring in from each end 2'' and up 3'' from the lower edge. On Une squared across from e locate hole AI i'' from lower edge. Connect points d and i with a Une on each sur- face ; also connect points c and h with similar Unes. 2. Laying out doubletree. — Lay out point c i^' from point/, Fig. 95. Lay out point d i^' from point g at the other end. Square across both ends at these points. Lay out point e i' 6^" from each end and square across one surface. From e lay out points h and i 2\" on each side. Connect points c and h with Unes on both sur- faces, also points d and i. Locate holes at K and L by measuring in from both ends 2" and up from the lower edge 2" . Locate hole ^t M i" up from the lower edge on line squared across from e. 3. Laying out singletrees. — Lay out c \" from/, Fig. 96, and d i" from g, and square across the ends at these points. Lay out e \' 3'' from each end and square across one surface. 2'' on either side of e locate h and i. Connect c and h with Unes on both surfaces ; connect also d and i. Locate hole M by measuring up from lower edge i'' on line squared across from e. If hooks as shdwn in Fig. 208, page 233, are desired, then locate the holes shown in the drawing. If hooks as shown in Fig. 209, page 234, are wanted, then the ends of the singletrees should be rounded to fit the same, or if in diameter. 4. Sawing and boring. — Bore \" holes at K and L and i" hole at M (Fig. 94). Bore J'' holes at K and L and I" hole at M (Fig. 95). Bore }/' hole at M (Fig. 96). ^.^^*-1 % T . i Kf- a l-r-?-*-— f ^3- 4- H- o ;3 o:> ■4y^^ _L • k^H- ►© 1^. -a III 112 WOODWORKING Rip along the lines ch and di in Figs. 94, 95, 96, and plane smooth. 5. Chamfering. — With the marking gauge set at f gauge all surfaces, edges, and ends of evener. With the gauge set at \" gauge all surfaces, edges, and ends of doubletree and singletrees. With the block plane chamfer down to the Hnes across the grain at the ends of all pieces. With the spokeshave begin to chamfer the corners, beginning at points h and i in all cases ; when nearly down to the lines, finish the chamfering with the plane. 6. Ironing. — The ironing consists of assembling the various parts with the irons described under the subject of Blacksmithing. QUESTIONS 1. What are the advantages of this type of evener ? 2. Can any doubletree be used on the shorter end ? 3. Is there any advantage in tapering the members on the edges near the horses ? LESSON XXI FARM GATE Stock 6 boards pine i" X 6'' X 12' 3 boards pine i'' X 6" X 5' I board pine i'' X 6" X 9' I pc. hard wood i'' X 3" X 4' 6'' I pc. hickory i'' X i" X 3' 3" I lb. lod. nails 1 pair hinges 2 doz. screws 2'', No. 10, F. H. B. Tools Steel square Hammer Saw Screwdriver Operations 1. Sawing boards to length. 2. Nailing gate together. 3. Cutting bevel on brace. 4. Making catch, spring, and slot. 5. Hanging on hinges. I. Sawing boards to length. — The gate is to be 12' long ; so measure up and saw off six boards of that length. The three uprights are to be 5' long and the brace is to be 9' long. The brace should not be beveled until after the gate has been assembled. 113 114 WOODWORKING 2. Nailing gate together. — Lay five of the 12' boards G' apart on the floor. Lay the sixth board against the edge of the fifth. (See A^ Fig. 97.) Lay one upright across each end ; and drive one nail through the uprights into the end of each board prop- erly spaced, with the end of the boards flush with the edge of the upright. An easy and satisfactory method 8-0' Fig. 97. — Farm Gate. of spacing the boards is to take a block that has been cut from one of the boards and place it between the last board nailed and the next one to be nailed. When you have put one nail in each board, then square up the gate with the steel square and fasten in place by driving a second nail in each board. Four feet from one end square a line across the top and bottom board. This line locates the third crosspiece, which should be nailed in place. 3. Cutting bevel on brace. — To cut the bevel on the ends of the brace, lay it on the gate so that the ends are flush with the top of the upright at the end and with the bottom of the next upright. Place the steel square so that its edge is flush with the edge of the up- FARM GATE 115 Fig. 98. — Sagging of a Gate Due to Lack of Bracing. right, line across the bevel, and saw along this Hne. Repeat at the other end. The principle of this brace is one that is so commonly used on the farm, that it will be described at length. The entire weight of the gate is supported from one end. This causes the free end to sag, as shown in Fig. 98. The sag of the gate will increase the dis- tance between a and h and decrease the distance be- tween c and d. When the gate is held level, the dis- tance ah is equal to the dis- tance cd. To keep the gate level, some means of keep- ing the distances equal must be devised. If a board were nailed on between points a and h, it would hold the gate level, but a strong steel wire would do just as well, and perhaps better. This proves that the tend- ency to sag exerts a pull force, or, as it is called, a tension. Likewise anything that will keep the points c and d from coming together will keep the gate level. Evidently a wire connecting these points will not keep them the proper distance apart. A board nailed con- necting points c and d will have the same tendency to keep the gate level as would a wire connecting points a and h. If both are used, a double effect is secured. Another fact to remember in bracing gates is that the more nearly perpendicular the compression or tension brace is, the stronger it is. If a gate were divided into three parts and each section braced, as in Fig. 99, it would be stronger than if it had only one brace, because ii6 WOODWORKING each brace would be nearer a perpendicular ; but the gate would also be heavier and require more material, which would be disadvantageous. If a gate were made longer than twelve feet, it would be advisable Fig. gy. — brac.ng a Long to have two such braces instead of ^^""- one. 4. Making catch, spring, and slot. — The catch should be made of some hard wood i'' X 3" X 4' 6". i" from one end a J" hole is bored, 12'' from the same end another \" hole is bored, 9" from the other end another hole of the same size is bored. Hard wood pegs should be fitted in these holes. The one for the first hole needs to be about 3" long, while the other should be about 5'' long so that it can be handled easily in pulHng back the catch to open the gate (Fig. 100). The spring should be made of hick- ory 3' 3" long and about i" square. The larger end of the spring is cut on a bevel so that the end Fig. 100.— Catch, Spring, and .,, . , 1 // r 1 Slot of Gate. Will project about 2^ rrom the upright. Bore holes through the larger end of the spring so that it can be nailed to the upright and hori- zontal boards. When the catch is pulled back by the peg, the spring will force it back again into the slot in the post. The end of the catch that fits in the slot should be rounded so that it will slide easily up the beveled edges. The slot can be cut in the post, if the FARM GATE II7 post is large; otherwise one can be made from a block of hard wood, as shown in Fig. 100, and nailed to the post. Lay the catch where it belongs on the gate and nail over it two strips in line with the two uprights. 5. The hinges are described under Blacksmithing. They are fastened to the upright of the gate with the heavy wood screws. QUESTIONS 1. What is meant by tension and compression? 2. What kind of stress does the brace exert ? 3. What kind of stress does each hinge exert ? 4. Why are there two boards on the bottom .? FARM SHOP WORK — 9 LESSON XXII CORN RACK Stock 2 pes. 4'' X 6" X 20' I carnage bolt f '' X 7'' 96 board feet pine i'' x 12'' i long king bolt 22 linear feet 2'' X 4." 2 stirrup bolts I pc. hardwood 2" X 6" X 10" 2 bolts f '' X 10'' I lb. 6od. spikes I lb. lod. nails Tools Steel square Hammer Saw Brace and bit Operations 1. Laying out the material. 2. Assembling the rack. I. Laying out the material. — The two stringers are laid out 20^ long. La}^ out two uprights for the rear end from the 2'' x 4'' stock, each 4' long. Lay off and saw one end of each piece at an angle of 60 degrees. Lay out two uprights for the forward end 4' 3'' long, and saw one end of each piece at an angle of 60 degrees. Lay out two braces for the ends 2' 6'' long and saw the two ends of each at an angle of 60 degrees. Lay out two pieces 2'' X 4." x 2' 9'' and one piece 2'' X 4'' X 3' lo'^ The flooring is all cut 6' long. CORN RACK 119 2. Assembling the rack. — In assembling the corn rack, bolt the two front ends of the stringers together with two f bolts. Spread the other two ends 3' apart, inside measurements, and hold in place by tacking a piece of the flooring across the ends. The stringers will be curved slightl}^ because of this springing apart of the ends. Straighten them out by tacking several pieces Fig. ioi. — Working Drawings of Corn Rack. of flooring on the under side of the stringers. At point a, \' from the rear end, spike the two uprights to the stringers. On top of these two uprights, nail a piece 2" X \" X 6' so that it projects equal distances be- yond the uprights. Nail in place the two braces as shown in the drawing, spiking the lower ends to the upper edge of the stringers, and the upper ends to the uprights. At point h, 4' 3'' from the front end, spike a piece 2'' X 4'' X 2' ^" to the under side of the stringers with an equal length extending beyond each I20 WOODWORKING stringer. To the ends of this piece nail the lower ends of the forward uprights. To the upper ends of the uprights nail a piece ^" X \" X 6'. At point c spike a piece 2" X \" X 1' 9" across the stringers and on top of this, spike another similar piece in such a position that they will hold the front uprights in the same posi- tion as those in the rear; that is, at an angle of 60 de- grees with the stringers. Spike the uprights to these pieces by toenailing them from both sides. To the middle of the double crosspiece c fasten the bar e with a carriage bolt f X 7". The double crosspiece c is for the purposes of brac- ing the uprights, and to afford a fastening for one end of the bar e. This bar takes the place of the reach of the wagon and passes over the front hound and be- tween the sand board and axle, being held in that posi- tion by the king bolt which passes through the sand board, reach, axle, and stringers successively. The wheels and hounds of some wagons are larger than those on others, and some truck wagons have no hounds ; therefore it will be necessary to vary the distance between the ends of the stringers and the uprights according to the wagon to be fitted. Across the edges of both sets of uprights at d, d, d, d, dy dy nail strips i" X 4" X 6'. Lay the flooring and remove the strips tacked to the under side of the stringers. To the under side of the front end of the stringers nail a piece of hardwood 2" X 6" X 10'', and then through the middle of the piece and between the stringers bore a i'' hole for the king bolt. 6'' from the other ends of the stringers bore a \" hole for the stirrup bolts, which are to hook over the rear axle. CORN RACK 121 To fit this rack in place first remove the reach and the front bolster, then fasten the rear end of the stringers under the rear axle of the wagon with the hind hound resting on the stringers, next slip the front hound between the stringers and the bar (e), the latter passing into the hole intended for the reach. The rear ends of the stringers are held to the axle by two stirrup bolts and the front ends to the front axle by a long king bolt. These bolts are described under Black- smithing. QUESTIONS 1. Why are the stringers not laid parallel ? 2. How will you determine where to place the racks at each end ? 3. Why is the rack hung so low ? It LESSON XXIII CATTLE RACK Stock 2 pes. pine or hemlock \" X 6" x 12' 5 lb. I2d. wire nails 2 pes. pine or hemlock \" X 6'' x 10' 2 lb. 6od. wire nails 2 pes. pine or hemlock \" x 6" x 2' 6'' 3 pes. pine or hemlock i" X 6'' X 3' 3 pes. pine or hemlock \" x 6" X 36I' 18 pes. hardwood i'' X ^" X 3' 3' 2 pes. hardwood i'' X 3" X 2' 9'' 2 pes. hardwood i" X 2" X 1' ^" 3 pes. pine x" x 4" X 3' 3" 2 pes. pine 2'' X 4" X 5' 2 pes. pine 2" X 6" x 3' 2 pes. pine 2'' X 4" X 4' 6'' I pc. pine z" X 4" X 6' 9" Tools Steel square Saw Hammer Brace and bit Operations 1. Laying out and sawing boards. 2. Ripping strips. 3. Nailing strips to boards. 4. Laying out and sawing timbers for stanchion. 5. Assembling stanchion. 6. Making iron hooks. 122 '+ . rr ^ ^ K . i s^ . -i. -i'"^ 1 ' .f ^ 1 . •'. -J. '\^ 1 t \ -) ■> . • 1 -, --J 0-1 -f- r^^' 1 'to 1 CM 1 -.e -^- 1 T '"d" .-.-:----. -Li ^~ -—311 <* Ja T V I ' [23 124 WOODWORKING 1. Laying out and sawing boards. — Measure off and saw pine boards to the following dimensions : 2 boards i'' X (y" X \^' 2 boards \" X G' X lo' 2 boards \" x6" X 2^6'' These boards are for the sides of the rack. For the end gate measure off three boards i^' X 6" X 36 J", also three pieces 2'' x ^" X 3' 3", and saw. 2. Ripping strips. — The strips are made of hardwood, oak or elm preferred. Three 12-ft. boards G" wide and i" thick will do for all the strips. Rip out the follow- ing strips : 18 strips 3' 3" long and 3'' wide 2 strips 2' ^" long and 1" wide 2 strips i' 3" long and 2" wide 3. . Nailing strips to boards. — Locate the strips on the boards :it the distances shown in the working drawing, Fig. 102. Stagger the nails so as to not split the hard- wood strips. Drive the nails clear through and clinch on the inside. At e one short strip is nailed on the out- side of each side. At/ one strip is nailed on the inside of each side. At h one strip is nailed on the outside of each rack. The short strip e rests on the top edge of wagon box to hold front end gate of box. The short board g is placed on top of the bottom board to support the wagon seat. The strip h is single and on the outside because the stanchion is usually fastened at this place. The end gate is made according to Fig. 103, and is fastened in place with end-gate rods. CATTLE RACK 125 .::;! [:::n L^ " ° " " 1 - ing all irons in place, turn the box over and at intervals of 6'' drive 2" screws down through the flooring into the edges of the side boards. 7. Fitting end- gate rods in place. — Fit the end gates in place and bore f holes for the end-gate rods which are used to hold the side boards together. A special form of washerismade which can be fastened yig. m. — Foot Rest of permanently to the side boards with Wagon Box. small screws ; one of them is thicker and is threaded to fit the end of the end-gate rod which screws into it. 8. Fastening the foot rest in place. — The iron braces for the foot rest can now be fastened in place with two of the bolts used on the cleats of the front end gate, and the 4'' strip of oak bolted to these braces. QUESTIONS 1. Why is the flooring laid from the center rather than from one side ? 2. Of what use are the iron strips on the side boards ? 3. Why should the screws in the flooring be countersunk .? LESSON XXVI WORK BENCH Stock Bench top . 2 pes. maple or hard pine 2" X 12'' X 6' Legs . . . 4 pes. white pine 2" X 4" X 32- Crosspleces 2 pes. white pine 2" X 4" X 23'' Braces . . 4 pes. white pine l''X 2''X 2' 6'' Long brace I pc. white pine i''x 3''x 5' Apron . . I pc. white pine l^'X 8''X 6' Vise. — Jaw I pc. maple 2'' X 6" X 24'' Brace s 2 pes. white pine l"X2''X 2' 6'' Cross pie( :e 2 pes. white pine I''X2''X 18'' I carpenter's be nch screw i|" 8 nails 2od. lo nails lod. 30 nails 8d. 8 screws 3'', No . 14, F. H. B. 4 screws 1", No . 8, F. H. B. Tools Try-squa re Saw Screwdriver Rule Plane Chisel Bevel sqi lan J Brace and bit Hammer Clamps 1. Laying out 2. Sawing to 1 3. Laying out 4. Sawing the 5. Laying out Operations length of legs and crosspieces. ength. the mitered ends of braces, mitered ends, the halved joints. 138 WORK BENCH 139 6. Cutting the halved joints. 7. Assembling the bench. 8. Laying out screw hole and mortises of vise. 9. Boring the screw hole. 10. Cutting the mortises of the vise. 11. Laying out braces and crosspieces. 12. Sawing the miters. 13. Assembling vise. 14. Fitting vise to bench. 15. Inserting bench stop. I. Laying out length of legs and crosspieces. ^ The height of the bench is 36'' ; and as the top planks are 2" thick, and the crosspieces on top of the legs are 2" thick, the legs are 32'' long. Fig. 112. — Working Drawing of Work Bench. Square across the ends of the legs. Do the same with the tv^o crosspieces, which should be 23'' long, or \" shorter than the bench is wide. 2. Sawing to length. — As there is no need of planing the stock that goes into the legs and crosspieces, it will be necessary to take pains in sawing the ends square. 140 WOODWORKING 3. Laying out the mitered ends of braces. — The braces between the legs are laid out at right angles to each other, and so the ends will fit on to the legs at an angle of 45 degrees. Set the bevel at 45 degrees by placing the beam against the edge of the carpenter's square, and set the blade at equal distances on the tongue and blade. Be sure that the four braces are the same length. Square down from the miter lines across the edges. 4. Sawing the mitered ends. — It is- more difficult to saw down a miter than square across, so take particular pains to follow the lines. 5. Laying out the halved joints. — Each pair of braces should be halved together at the middle. The halved joint should be marked out at right angles with the edges and lined down across the edges ; then gauged between these lines halfway from surface to surface. 6. Cutting the halved joints. — Saw down inside the lines, holding the saw so that the teeth on one side just split the line. Saw to the gauged lines. Chisel out the block as described in Lesson IL 7. Assembling the bench. — In assembling the bench nail the crosspieces on to the top of the legs with 2od. spikes. In nailing, be sure to stagger the nails, which means that they should not be placed parallel to the outer edges. Fig. 114 shows the correct and incorrect method. If the tops of the legs have been sawed Fig. 113. End View of Work Bench. WORK BENCH 141 correct incorrect Fig. 114. — Correct and Incor- rect Method of Placing the Nails. square, the crosspieces, when nailed in place, will make right angles with the legs, and the edge B will be flush with the edge C. The second step is to nail the braces in place. The braces are fitted together by the halved joint and fastened with two screws ; they are then placed inside the legs and the ends nailed in place. The next step is to fasten the legs on to the top . , 1 of the bench. Place the planks on the floor with the better side down ; hold them together with two long clamps, one at each end. G' from each end place the legs upside down, as in Fig. 115. The screw holes are then located and bored. Be sure to stagger the screws. The vise should IIS. — Fastening Legs to Bench Top. j^^ planed smOOth and squared up according to the directions given in Lesson I. 8. Laying out the screw hole and mortises of vise. — Place the better end at the top of the vise. G' down from the top of the vise square a Hne across the surface, and 8" from the top square another line across. From the points where these lines meet the edges, square across the edges. As the crosspieces are to be let into these mortises, they should be gauged to a depth equal to the thickness of the crosspieces. ^ ^ Fig. 142 WOODWORKING At the lower end of the jaw hne, lay off an angle of 45 degrees from the corner A, Fig. 116, using the bevel. -^ With the bevel still in place, measure perpendicularly 2" and draw another 45-degree line through this point par- allel to the first. Square Fig. X16.- Mortise Cut AT LOWER ^^rOSS the SUtface from the End of Vise. points where these two lines meet the corner, and draw similar lines on the other edge. As the braces that are to be let into these mortises are the same thickness as the crosspieces, these mortises should be gauged to the same depth as the others. The screw hole is laid out in the middle of the width of the jaw with the center of the hole j" below the upper end. 9. Boring the screw hole. — The screw is i\'' in diam- eter and has a cast iron washer near the handle. This washer is to be let into the wood until the surface is flush with the surface of the jaw, so it will be necessary to bore a hole the size of the washer, and to a depth equal to the thickness of the washer before boring the hole for the screw. If the small hole were bored first, there would be no wood to hold the screw and guide the bit. (See Fig. 117.) Because of the spherical pro- jection back of the washer, it will be necessary to gouge out a recess deep enough to let the washer down flush. In boring these large holes, use an expansion bit. When the cutter has been set at the proper Fig. 117. — Hole for Bench Screw. WORK BENCH 143 distance, be sure that the set screw is tight, or the spur of the cutter will draw it out farther and farther, in- creasing the diameter of the hole as you go through. When the washer is fitted to place, mark the screw holes and bore with a gimlet bit of the proper size. 10. Cutting the mortises of the vise. — In cutting the mortises follow the directions given in the first part of the lesson. 11. Laying out braces and crosspieces. — Lay off 2' "]" for the two braces and miter the ends in the same way as the miters of the cross braces of the legs were laid out, except that the 45-degree angle in these braces should be on the same edge of the piece rather than on the opposite edges. For the crosspieces, lay out 1 8'' in length and miter one end only. 12. Sawing the miters. — Follow the directions given for sawing the miters of the cross braces of the legs. 13. Assembling the vise. — Fasten the braces in place on the vise and then the crosspieces. Then fasten the crosspieces to the braces. In order to fit the vise to the bench, it will be necessary to bore a hole through the leg at a height equal to the distance from the top of the vise jaw to the center of the screw. On the inner side of this leg over the hole fasten the nut that comes with the screw. Two slots must be cut in the apron of the bench to accommodate the crosspieces. Measure 6" down from the top of the bench and locate one slot on each side of the leg. The slots are \'' wide and are cut up from the bottom edge of the apron a distance of \" . 14. Fitting vise to bench. — The vise can now be placed where it belongs in the bench. 144 WOODWORKING 15. Inserting bench stop. — A bench stop is an arrange- ment of metal or wood at the front of the bench, against which boards are placed for surfacing. In this case the stop is of wood, squared and about ^" long by i" square, Fig. 118. — Work Bench Assembled. made of some hard wood. Metal bench stops can be bought, but unless one uses the bench a great deal, the wooden stop will answer as well. Bore a hole with 2L 1" bit through the top of the bench 8'' from the end and 4'' from the side of the bench, and chisel it out square down through the top and crosspiece over the leg. The stop must fit tight so that it will stay where it is wanted and yet can be driven up or down. WORK BENCH 145 QUESTIONS 1. Why are the crosspieces cut i" shorter than the width of the bench ? 2. Why are the crosspieces spiked on top of the legs rather than the legs spiked to the ends of the crosspieces ? 3. If the tops of the legs were not sawed square, how would it affect the bench ? 4. What advantage is there in halving the braces at the middle over fastening them together without halving ? 5. What advantage is there in staggering the nails ? 6. Is there any advantage in fastening the braces inside the legs instead of fastening them to the edges of the legs ? 7. Why are the legs fastened to the top from underneath by screws rather than from above ? 8. Why is the larger hole in the vise bored before the smaller one ? 9. Why is the bench stop of wood rather than of metal ? LESSON XXVII TOOL CHEST Stock 30 board feet oak f' X G' 8 board feet bass or pine \" X 12" 2 doz. screws f '', No. 6, F. H. B. 7 doz. screws \\" , No. 8, F. H. B. 3 butt hinges, iron, 3" I lb. brads \\" Stain, filler, and shellac Carpenter's square Try-square Sandpaper Tools Bevel Saw Plane Operations Screwdriver Brace and bit Chisel 1. Laying out. 2. Squaring up and doweling. 3. Squaring and planing bottom, sides, ends. 4. Assembling the box. 5. Mitering strips for the bottom. 6. Cutting halved joints for the top. 7. Grooving the top. 8. Mitering strips for the top. 9. Attaching the top to the box. 10. Making trays. 11. Making slides. 12. Finishing. 146 147 148 WOODWORKING I. Laying out. — In laying out the material, one must keep in mind the methods of construction. In constructing a tool chest, the top is made to come down over the sides to keep out the rain. It is made of a framework that will not shrink or warp, and the panel in the top is kept in place by a groove that will not allow it to check or warp, as it would if it were fastened by glue or screws. The sides, ends, and bottom are too '"p- m ^>c !^:;^s:rs> Gimlet. S/eei/e Chuck Knob Fig. 140. — Bitbrace. Fig. 139. braces are designated by the size of sweep ; a 10" sweep means that the handle extends out a distance of \o" . A ratchet brace has the chuck set in a ratchet so WOOKWORKING TOOLS 167 that it can be used in a corner where it is impossible to turn the handle all the way round. The expansion bit has a lip held in place by a set screw a, Fig. 138, which is pushed in and out by the set screw h, so it is possible to bore holes of various sizes with the one bit. The gimlet, used for boring small holes, is made of hardened steel, and will not be injured if it strikes a nail. Chisel Chisels are cutting or edged tools, and are designated by the width of the blade. They range by eighths from \" to i", and by quarters from i" to 2". Very few chisels are wider than 2" . The handles are fastened to the blades either by a socket or a tang. The socket is a hollow cone in one end of the blade, and the handle is turned down to fit this socket. The tang is a sharp point with a shoulder, and is driven into the handle up to the shoulder. The handle of a tanged chisel has a metal ferrule to prevent splitting. Chisels are divided into three general classes accord- ing to their uses. The paring chisel has a light, thm blade intended to be used in the light work of paring, or taking thin shavings, and should never be driven by a mallet. The firmer chisel is heavier and intended for all ordinary work. The framing chisel is the heaviest and is used for cutting mortises in heavy timbers. The handle is in a socket, and it has a heavy iron ferrule Fig. 141. — Chisels. 1 68 WOODWORKING at the upper end to prevent splintering by blows of the mallet. Some chisels are bevel-edged, which have advantages over the other form in cutting dovetail joints, as the thin edge enables one to cut down close to the line without danger of splitting the sides of the mortise. Drawshave and Spokeshave The drawshave, Fig. 142, is a long chisel pulled by two hands, and is used in rather coarse work where con- FiG. 142. — Drawshave. siderable material is to be removed. The sections in this drawing show shapes of blades for different uses. The spokeshave. Fig. 143, is a small plane with a very short sole, and so may be used oncurvedwork. Fig. 143. -Spokeshave. j^ -^ p^jj^j ^^ pushed by the two handles at the side of the blade. The depth of cut may be regulated by the set screw on the blade. Gouge The gouge is a chisel with curved blade. If the gouge is ground on the outside, or convex surface, it is called Fig. 144. — Gouges. WOODWORKING TOOLS 169 outside ground ; and if ground on the inside, or con- cave surface, it is called inside ground. The gouge is measured across from edge to edge, and is designated by this dimension. By its curvature, or sweep, it is designated as flat, middle, or full curved. Marking Gauge This tool consists of the beam, which is usually 8'' or 10'' long and nearly square, with a spur or steel pomt fastened in one end so that it projects about ^e ''• The head or guide is a block which slides on the beam, and is held in position by a thumbscrew. One side of the beam is graduated into inches and fractions of an inch. If the spur becomes bent, these graduations no longer indicate the correct distances. Plane The plane consists of a blade set in a cast-iron or wooden stock. The front end of the stock is the toe, and the back end is the heel. The bottom is the sole, and the opening or slit in it is the mouth. The plane is held in both hands, by the knob in front and the handle be- hind. The blade, which is the cutting iron of the plane, is fastened to the stock by an iron clamp. Fastened to the upper side of the blade is a cap iron, or chip breaker. The iron clamp fastens the blade and cap iron to the frog. The slot in the blade allows the cap iron to be regulated at different distances from the edge of the blade ; also the lower end of the lever fits into this slot and adjusts it from side to side. In the cap iron are three openings : At the upper end is a small slot, by which it is regulated up and down with the thumb- I70 WOODWORKING screw. Below this is a small, round-threaded hole, through which passes a short machine screw which / Plane iron e Frog // Handle le Sole z Plane Iron Cap 7 Y Adjusfmenl izlCnob n Moulh 3 Plane Iron Screw e Adjusting Nut /3 Handle Bolt le Toe ^ Cap 9 Lateral Adj. Lei/er i^frnob Boll i9Hed 6 Cop dcreiAT 10 Frog Sere ia/ /sHond/e Screw Fig. 145. — Plane. fastens the cap iron to the blade. Beneath this is a larger slot, through which passes the longer machine screw which is screwed in- to the frog, and by means of the clamp this screw holds the blade and cap iron to the frog. Back of the frog and in front of the handle is the thumbscrew, which en- gages a lever that fits into the upper slot of the cap iron and forces it up and down. This motion carries the edge of the blade in and out of the mouth and sets it for depth of cut. While setting the plane blade, hold the plane as shown in Fig. 146 and sight along the sole of the stock, Fig. 146. — Setting the Plane Blade. WOODWORKING TOOLS 171 as along a gun barrel, with one eye closed ; and in this way you can see how much of the blade projects^ and regulate it accordingly. The lever working in the slot of the blade regulates the blade from side to side. There are several kinds of planes. Those most commonly used are the smoothing plane, used for sur- facing lumber ; and the jack plane, used for edging and for rough surfacing lumber when it is necessary to re- move a quantity of stock to reduce the thickness. The jointer is a long jack plane which is used to true up the edges of boards preparatory to gluing them, or to make straight edges. The block plane has the blade set at a low angle and is used for planing across the grain of the ends of boards. Rule The rule ordinarily used by carpenters and cabinet makers is two feet long, made of boxwood, and bound w^ith brass. On each of the four there are marks every 1 , 2 > 4 > and f ; and two of , , 1 , Fig. 147. — Rule. the edges also have marks every -^q'\ There are, in addition to these marks, others representing scales. Suppose the object we wish to draw is too large to be represented full size ; as, for ex- ample, a barn. It would have to be drawn on a smaller scale of, say, Y' to the foot. We would use that part of the rule where a quarter of an inch is divided off into twelve parts, each representing an inch on the reduced scale. The scale marked 3 means that a space of 3'' 172 WOODWORKING is divided off into twelfths, each representing one inch. If it is desired to find the middle of a board of such a width, that to measure one half of it would mean the use of fractions not found on the rule, for example, 3f , the middle can be found easily by setting the rule diago- nally on the surface, so that it measures an even number from edge to edge of the board ; and then mark off the middle point of this division. In this way a board may be divided into any number of equal parts. If three parts are wanted, use a number of inches divisible by three. Saw Next to the hammer, the saw is the most important tool used by the woodworker. Saws are used for cut- ting lumber into smaller pieces, and when the cutting is across the grain, the teeth must be so sharpened that they will cut just as \ 'l|i|j iii —Jl A the point of a knife Fig. 148. — Teeth of a Ripsaw. cuts when across the Fig. 149. — Teeth of a Crosscut Saw. drawn grain. Such saws are called crosscut saws. Saws used for cutting par- allel with the grain have the teeth filed like the edge of a narrow chisel, and are called ripsaws. Fig. 148 shows the teeth of a ripsaw. Fig. 149 shows the teeth of a crosscut saw. WOODWORKING TOOLS 173 The shape of the teeth also determines the use of the saw. Notice in the crosscut teeth that the sides make equal angles with the horizontal line while, one edge of the ripsaw teeth makes an angle of 90 degrees with this line, and the other side a variable angle. Saws for coarse work have large teeth, and consequently, in such saws there are fewer teeth to the inch than in saws in- tended for fine work. The size of the teeth is designated by so many points per inch. In a 6-point saw there are six teeth to the inch, and this number is stamped on the end of the blade next to the handle. The bevel on the edges of a crosscut saw is called the fleam, and the w^der this fleam, the sharper and weaker the teeth. The weak tooth will soon wear out on hardwood, and so a saw to be used on hardwood should have a narrow fleam. The angle at the front edge of the tooth aff'ects the smoothness of the cut and the force necessary to push the saw through the wood. This can be illustrated by drawing the blade of a knife across the grain of a board, first with the blade held in a perpendicular position, and then held inclined at an angle less than 90 degrees. It has been found that the angle of 60 degrees in crosscut saws is the best for all- round work ; and that in ripsaws, 90 degrees is best. When a large board is to be sawed, it should be placed on sawhorses, and a large saw should be used. If the piece is small, it can be held in the vise or on a bench hook, and a small saw should be used. A back- saw is the name of a small saw with fine teeth and a thin blade, too thin to be used without a strip of metal on the back to prevent it buckling or bending. This saw is used in fine cabinet work. 174 WOODWORKING Thick stuff should be Kned on both sides and sawed from both sides to insure accurate work. In using the saw, httle or no pressure should be ex- erted in a line parallel with the edge, or it will be difficult to make the saw cut to the line. It is best to place the piece to be cut in a vertical or horizontal position. No steering of the saw should be necessary, but if the teeth are longer on one side than on the other, then the saw will run towards that side. The practice of changing sides will remedy this ; however, the proper remedy is the careful filing and setting of the teeth. In starting the saw, set the heel on the mark and make the first stroke a pull to make a small groove in which the saw will travel more easily on the push stroke. If, in sawing wood full of resin, the saw gums up, a little kerosene will dissolve the gum. Try-square The parts of a try-square are the beam and the blade, shown in Fig. 150. The beam may be of wood or metal, the latter being better ; and the blade should be of steel, marked ofFin- to inches and frac- tions of an inch. Try-squares should be tested with the large carpenter's square before beginning work, to be sure that they are true. 1 4 3 BLADE. V 'I'I'ITI' '1' 2 / 1, Fig. 150.- -Try-square. \ WOODWORKING TOOLS 175 Turning Saw The turning saw consists of a thin blade held in a frame very similar to a bucksaw. It is much smaller, however, and has the handles at each end of the blade. These handles can be turned at any angle so that the blade may be made to cut in any direction. The nar- row blade makes it possible to turn the saw while cutting, and so it can be used in cutting curves. Several sizes of blades can be used. The narrower the blade, the smaller the arc in which it can be turned. When cutting out fretwork, it is first necessary to bore a hole, then to take out the saw blade from one handle by loosening the turnbuckle on the back, next, insert it in the hole, then place it back in the frame and tighten the turnbuckle. Sandpaper Sandpaper is a tough heavy paper, coated with glue on which sand has been sprinkled. It is called garnet paper, when the sand is dark red in color; and it is called glass paper, when ground glass is sprinkled on in- stead of sand. The sand is of various degrees of fineness and is numbered from 00 to 3, the 00 being the finest. Sand- paper is an abrasive tool that must not be used until all other tool work is completed, ^- HictlT^Zlc.^'"''' as the particles of sand be- come embedded in the pores of the wood, and will dull any edged tool used over it. Sandpaper blocks should 176 WOODWORKING be used except when sanding down shellac or varnish in wood finishing. A square block of wood is used for plain surfaces. A block as shown in Fig. 151 is useful on curved surfaces. It is made by gluing a strip of leather to the surface of a block, and, when dry, saw- ing grooves through the wood down to the leather, so that the block can be curved into a concave or convex shape, according to the kind of work to be done. Never sandpaper across the grain, as it leaves scratches that become more ugly as the wood is stained or filled. LESSON XXX USES OF THE STEEL SQUARE Frequently farmers wish to build a shed, or an addi- tion to the barn, or even to construct the barn itself. If a man happens to be handy with tools and un- derstands the use of the steel square, he can plan and construct most of his buildings without hiring expert carpenters. The steel square, also called the carpenter's square, or framing square, consists of two steel blades at right angles to each other. One, about 24" long and 2" wide, is called the blade; the other, about 16" long and i^^'wide, is called the tongue. Steel squares are graduated into sixteenths, eighths, quarters, and halves of an mch, and some into twelfths of an inch. The blade and tongue of the square are covered with graduations, the meaning of which will be given in the directions that are to follow. Brace measure. — On one side of the tongue in the middle are figures, by means of which it is possible to obtain the length of braces used in framing. Take, for example, the numbers 36j^ ^ which means that if two timbers each 36'' long are to be braced, the brace will be 50.92'' long. The length 177 178 WOODWORKING of the brace can also be obtained by geometry. The square of the hypotenuse of a right triangle is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides. In jc l^iJar ,eo. ' ^^ t Aieosure. 'Vw \ T 4 i> ►, Ocfoffon Jco/e. Fig. i.';2. — Steel Square. ■- -I u< ^ <. ^ a^ \ -2 ^!r . _(S b^i. t, ' ""^^ £rnc/s ufosef reo^if for scor/mg. Measuring. — The inside diameter of the ring is 3 th line is which, when making al- lowance for the weld , circumference of length of stock means a '^ the 10 , required. 2. Scarfing. — Upset the ends, and scarf them to a point, remembering to scarf them on opposite sides. 3, 4. Bending and weld- ing. — Bend in the shape of a ring with the ends over- lapping. Before closing the ring, place the end link on the ring and weld. The process of bending and weld- ing are the same as those given for the link. Fig. 185. — Steps in Making Ring. CHAIN AND HOOK 215 Hook I. Fig. 186. — Using Top AND Bottom Fullers. Measuring. — The length over all is 3 J'' and the diameter of the middle line at the curve is \" . The point returns for a distance of 2". This makes a total length of j" along the middle line. 2. Fullering. — Fullers are used in rounding corners and making grooves. The top Fig. 187.-STOCK Fullered. f^jj^j. -^ ^^^^j ^-^^^ ^ handle, and the bottom fuller has a stem that fits into the square hardy hole in the end of the anvil. (See _^ Fig. 186.) j ^ico ) Fig. 187 Stock Fullered. I ymm////A Fig. 189. — End Drawn Out. fullered to a depth of -f shows the piece when H am- FiG. 188. — Flatting Out the Fullered End. mer down the end until flat and round (Figs. 188 and 189). 3. Punching eye. — With the punch placed in the center ) of the flattened head, punch , an( 3// thick I I one half through the hot iron fig. 190. — Steps in punching (Fig. 190). Reverse the iron the e ye. and punch from the other side. Drive the punch through from each side, enlarg- ) O^ ing the hole. (See Fig. 191.) v_y - Fig. 191. — Eye Punched in End. The edges of the hole should be rounded on the horn of the 2l6 BLACKSMITHING anvil by holding it as shown in Fig. 192 and hammering around the outside edges, mak- ing a smooth round eye with the metal the same thickness all around. , 4. Shaping the hook. — The Fig. 192. — Enlarging the Eye hook should be shaped complete OVER THE HORN. ^^^^^^ ^^^-^^ ^^^^ p-^^^.^ ^^^ shows the shape required. Begin hammering at the eye and work towards the tip. A hook has a tendency to straighten out O when strained, so to prevent this it must be strongest at the bend; there- () ( ~ ^^^^^ ^^ fore at that place t:^ c xr ^ Fig. 193. — Shape of Hook before Bending. the iron is left widest and thickest. The end view in Fig. 193 shows the best way to taper the iron towards the back. 5. Bending the hook. — Bend the hook as in Fig. 194. Re- member that the middle point of the bend must be opposite the eye of the hook. The opening in the hook should be y so as to easily accommodate the f links. This form of a hook is called a grab hook, because it will grab or hold a chain at any place, as the opening is not large enough for a link to slip through except flatways. Fig. 194. — Completed Hook. LESSON XXXVIII SWIVEL Stock I pc. iron |" x i" X 4" I pc. iron f '' round, 6'' long Tools Hamm Punch er Fullers Swages Operations I. 2. 3. Fullering. Drawing out. Punching. 4- 5- 6. 7. Swaging head. Shaping ring and welding. Upsetting pin in place. Welding link. I. Fullering. — The head of the swivel must be left full size ; so on each ^ • 1 r ^ 1 1 r 11 Fig. 195. — Iron for Link of Swivel. side of the head, tuUer down to within ^" of the bottom, leaving a block i" long, as in Fig. 196, in the middle of the bar. Fuller on the top and two sides, but not on the bottom. In this first operation, use the top trl M N^! 1 i Lu u Fig. 196. - /'— H Iron Fullered. 217 2l8 BLACKSMITHING fuller only, but when fullering the sides use both the top and bottom fullers. 2. Drawing out. — Draw out the two ends to ^'^ round ; make them even the entire length, and smooth down with the top and bottom swage as in Fig. 197. A swage is a small tool with the face grooved. Most ^ '■ i ^ Fig. 197. — Iron Drawn Out. swages have a semicircular groove, but some have angu- lar grooves. They come in pairs and in different sizes. A top swage has a handle like a flatter and a top fuller, while the bottom swage has a stem that fits into the square hardy hole. These tools are generally used to give a finish to the work. (See Fig. 198.) 3. Punching. — The hole for the stem of the eye or ring can be punched with a small-sized punch and then enlarged by using larger punches. The hole must be perfectly round and straight in order that the swivel may work easily. 4. Swaging the head. — When the hole has been finished, fit into it a pin of Y^ round iron or steel and hammer the head round, using the hammer at first, then the top and bottom swages to finish. (See ^ o ^ ^ Fig. 108.) This operation will be Fig. 198. — Swaging Tools. ^ -^ , ^ rather difl&cult, but by taking pains one can make a good looking head. The pin must be kept in the hole during the operation to SWIVEL 219 prevent it from being hammered out of round and reduced in size. 5. Shaping ring and welding. — In shaping the ring, ^^ 3i" H ^ Fig. 200. ^ye-**e/b^eo: Making Eye in Pin of Swivel. bend the two ends of the round piece of iron as shown in Fig. IQQ. Then bend ^^^- ^'^^- — First Bends in Pin of Swivel. the middle part into a ring over the horn of the anvil, weld the two parts of the stem together and draw down to a round stem \" in diam- eter (Fig. 200). Use the top and bottom swages in finishing. 6. Upsetting pin in place. — Before upsetting the pin, bend the two arms of the Hnk as in Fig. 201 and scarf the two ends for welding, but leave them far enough apart so that the hammer can be used between them in upsetting the stem of the ring. Heat the stem of the ring to almost a weld- ing heat, and introduce it in- to the hole and upset, hold- ing the tongs against the leg for support. The upsetting should be done in one heat, as it will not do to heat the link and ring together or the head of the Hnk will be hammered out of shape. Therefore, heat the stem to a high Fig. 201. — End Scarfed for Welding. 220 BLACKSMITHING temperature and work rapidly while the iron remains hot. The stem should not be upset too much or it will bind when the arms are welded together, and the swivel will be useless because it will not swivel. 7. Welding the link. — Weld the arms together and shape as represented by Fig. 202. Fig. 202. — Completed Swivel. LESSON XXXIX TONGS There are a great variety of tongs used for various purposes, as bolt tongs used for holding bolts, pick-up tongs used in picking up small pieces of hot iron from the floor, tire tongs used in holding tires, etc. Stock Iff 2 pes. of iron f'x i X ^ I pc. of iron f '' round, 2" long Tools I. Hammer Tongs Fuller Sledge Flatter Swages Punch Operations 1. Fullering. 2. Drawing and flatting . 3. Drawing and swaging jaws, handles. 4. Grooving jaws. 5. Punching holes. 6. Riveting bolt. ering. — Make a chalk mark if'' from one end of one of the long pieces of iron, and fuller down to a depth of |''. The chunk of metal between the groove and end is to be drawn out for the jaw. (All operations given here are the same for the two jaws.) 221 222 BLACKSMITHING I J'' from the groove just fullered, fuller another groove to the same depth, but on the opposite edge of the iron. 2. Drawing and flatting jaws. — Draw down the jaws until they are f thick at a and '^' thick at the end h. In drawing the jaw down to this thickness it will spread out sideways, and care must be taken that D /ru//erecf for jc n J at*' /or Tied ^ /^ullennq Jot*- 0/7e /7a/f o/ fbngi comp/eTe Fig. 203. Steps in Making Tongs. it spreads in one direction only. To secure this, lay it on the edge of the anvil and hammer the opposite edge flat and even with the side of the piece of iron. When the jaw has been drawn to the proper shape and size, shape it up smooth with the flatter or set hammer. 3. Drawing and swaging handles. — Draw out the handle from the fullered groove to the end, taper- ing from \" square at the shoulder to Y' round at the end. This drawing will be rather heavy work for the hammer, so it will be better to have some one help by using the sledge, which is a heavy hammer with a longer handle and intended to be swung with two hands. One TONGS 223 must be careful in using the sledge not to strike too hard, as a heavy blow on the anvil will injure both the anvil and sledge. When the handle has been roughed out to size with the sledge, finish the work with the top and bottom swage. 4. Grooving jaws. — If the tongs are to be used in holding round stock, the jaws should be grooved with the top fuller and the bottom swage ; but if the tongs are for flat work as well as round or square stock, they should be grooved slightly with the top fuller but not swaged The drawing shows how to hold the jaw when grooving it for round stock. It is held in the same way for flat stock except that the jaw rests on the face of the anvil instead of on the swage. 5. Punching holes. — Punch a f hole in the joint, punching from both sides so as to get the sides of the hole straight and parallel. The j aws should be fitted together with the rivet in place, but not riveted, as it will prob- ably be necessary to do some fitting and shaping before they will fit and work smoothly. If one is longer than the other, it can be upset, or the shorter one drawn out ; and the joint must be very smooth and flat in order to have the tongs work well and close completely. 6. Riveting the bolt. — Upset one end of a piece of f round iron or steel, using a heading tool to make a rivet head ; cut it oflp lY' long and heat and drop in the hole; and then rivet the other end with the ball peen of the hammer, taking care that it is not riveted so tight that the jaws cannot be moved when the iron is cold. When a heavy pair of tongs is wanted, make the jaws out of heavy iron and the handles out of lighter stock so as to make the work of drawing down easier. LESSON XL WRENCH Stock I pc. iron i^" x f X 5'' I pc. iron i J'' x i" X 4" Tools Hammer Hot chisel Tongs Fullers Punch Flatter Operations 1. Fullering. 2. Punching. 3. Shaping jaws. 4. Welding and shaping handle. 1. Fullering. — Instead of making this wrench from one bar, two pieces of different sizes are used so as to reduce the labor of drawing down so much stock for the smaller end of the wrench. Two inches from one end of the larger iron, fuller down each edge, and round this end up approximately circular. 2. Punching. — Punch a f hole in the center, and with a hot chisel cut a piece out of the end along the dotted lines (Fig. 204). A hot chisel is made for cutting hot iron, while a cold chisel is made for cutting cold iron. The hot chisel is tempered the same as the cold 224 ^m WRENCH 225 chisel, but the blade is slimmer and the edge is not so blunt. The hot iron soon takes the temper out of it, so it must frequently be retempered. One should never be used for the other. ^oi chisef. Sp/,f .scarf Fig. 204. — Steps in Making a Wrench. 3. Shaping the jaws. — The jaws are shaped up over the horn of the anvil, and keeping in mind that the greatest strain will come at the shoulders, they should be kept as thick as possible at these points. Be sure that the inside edges are kept parallel, and that the end of the opening curves slightly so as to accom- modate hexagonal nuts and heads. The smaller end of the wrench is worked up the same way. Make the openings f and \" . 4. Welding and shaping handle. ^ When the jaws are completed, the two pieces can be welded and the handle shaped. As the ends must be upset, two methods are given, either of which will make a strong 226 BLACKSMITHING joint if properly done. In the ordinary lap weld, the ends are scarfed and then lapped and welded. In the split weld, one end is split and the other upset to lit into the split. One advantage of the split weld is that one man can make it, while the lap weld is more easily made with a helper, though one man can do it, if ex- perienced enough. Be careful not to get the edges too thin. When properly welded, draw down the handle to the shape of the completed wrench. LESSON XLI HARNESS HOOK Stock I pc. iron 2" X ir X \" I pc. iron f diameter, G' long Tools Hammer Drill or punch Tongs Flatter Swage Operations 1. Drawing out hook. 2. Scarfing plate and hook. 3. Welding and punching holes. I. Drawing out hook. — Draw out the iron for the hook in a straight piece, working from the large end toward the small end. If you were to reverse the direc- tion, the small end would get so hot on account of its smaller size that it would burn before the larger part was hot enough to work. Draw the piece approximately round the entire dis- tance, and when straight and smooth, finish with the swages. As the sectional views in Fig. 205 indicate, the hook is not round the entire distance, but elliptical for a part of the way ; so, with the flatter, flatten out slightly until it is of the dimensions given in the drawing. The tip should be upset slightly and rounded off" into the form of a ball so as to prevent any cutting or scratching of the harness. 227 228 BLACKSMITHING 2. Scarfing the plate and hook. — - The large end of the hook is upset and scarfed as for a lap weld. The plate is scarfed by hammering a depression in the sur- face along one side with the ball peen of the hammer. This will force some of the metal to bulge out beyond the edge. Do not let it get too thin. This is a dif- ficult weld to make properly. Fig. 205. — Steps in Making a Harness Hook. 3. Welding and punching holes. — The two pieces can- not be held together and welded very easily by one man, so a helper will be needed. Heat both pieces to the welding heat, and place together quickly on the anvil. Hammer down the tip of the hook first and then reverse and hammer down the scarf on the plate ; after- wards weld the body together. It may take two heats for this weld. Unless it is a complete success, the hook will not be strong enough to hold any weight, as most of the strain comes on the weld. Drill or punch two holes for the screws, and bend up the hook to the proper shape. LESSON XLII IRONS FOR WAGON JACK ■^r ii ii 1. Take two pieces of iron of the dimensions given in Fig. 206, and lay off a distance of 4'' on each. 2. Bend at this point as shown in the drawing. (It is not necessary to have a square corner.) 3. On the shorter piece lay off a distance of |" from the corner. Heat and bend back at right angles, making the piece parallel with the longer piece. 4. Heat end a and lay it p-^^ 2o6.-Irons for ^ago^Sack. on the block of soft iron found between the horn and the face of the anvil. With a hot chisel and sledge, cut around an arc of a circle. 5. Punch or drill screw holes and hole for pin. ^ I FARM SHOP WORK 16 229 LESSON XLIII IRONS FOR THREE-HORSE EVENER . I. The irons for the three-horse evener are J'^ thick and z" wide. Each of the four that connect the single- trees to the doubletree is represented by a, Fig. 207. They are 8^' long. The holes, which are \" in diameter, are W apart. The irons connecting the doubletree to one end of the evener are represented by h, c, and d, b is ()" long; and the holes, which are f in diameter, are 6^" apart, c and d are iij'^ long; and the holes, which are \" in diameter, are ()" apart. These two irons are bent in a reverse curve 4'' from one end and 3 ''from the other end ; and the amount of the offset is 2". Irons e and / and g connect one singletree to the other end of the evener. e is 15" long; and the holes are 12^'' apart. One of them is \" in diameter and the other is \" in diameter. / is iif long; and the holes, both of which are J'' in diameter, are 9f apart. This iron is bent in a reverse curve 2" from one end and 4'' from the other end; and the offset is 2". g is 12 J'' long; and the holes, one of which is f in diameter and the other J'' in diameter, are 9^ apart. This is bent in a reverse curve 5 J'' from one end and if from the other end; and offset is 2'\ Make the following bolts and rivet : 3 bolts f X 4" with a small hole 3^'' from the head, for a cotter pin; 5 bolts J'' X 3'' with a small hole 2 J'' from the head, for a cotter pin ; i rivet y X i'' to rivet together pieces e, f, and g. 230 ■ -J 1 TT ni \ 0^ ^ \ Ch 1 . > - Ji ^s^ T '^^ u-^ -H J K^H K^H n 3] =7 Trr w (y \-.^-\ t /I 2 \J 1 ' r '(^ .i_ .1- 1 d _ 231 232 BLACKSMITHING 2. If hooks as shown in Fig. 208 are to be used at the ends of the singletrees, make them of J'' round iron. One end of each is drawn out to a blunt point and then lapped over the shoulder of the hook. Enough clearance must be left at the lap so that the cock- eye of the tug will sHp in the hook. The hooks are threaded and fas- tened to the singletrees with nuts and washers. 3. Clips as shown in Fig. 209 are better for the ends of the singletrees than the hooks shown in Fig. 208. For the flat rings covering the ends of the singletrees, -T2 ^13 rhcls. per inch Fig. 208. — Singletree Hooks. Fig. 209. — Clips for Ends of Singletrees. it will be necessary to measure carefully the circum- IRONS FOR THREE-HORSE EVENER 233 ference of the ends and calculate the amount of stock necessary to make a good fit, after allowance has been made for the spht weld. The iron for 1 this flat ring should ^^ "^ 'JpTl^car/ be about i" wide and \" thick, will be necessary to |— rivet into the mid- dle of this piece a staple to keep the ^^^ ^lo.- Irons for Ring and Staple of Clip. hook on the ring. When it is riveted in place, the hook must be inside the staple. Punch two holes \" apart and in the middle of the length, then lay aside until the other two pieces are prepared. (Fig. 210.) 4. The staple is simply tapered at each end down to \' diameter, but not to a point, and bent as shown in Fig. 210. 5. The round iron for the hook is f '' in diameter and is tapered at one end and scarfed at the other end for a lap weld. Bend the large end until it meets the iron again 1" from the point. Weld it at this place and bend the point around, making a hook. Place this hook in the staple, and rivet the ends of the staple in the holes punched for them. It will be well to make a split weld of the piece for the ring, as it is flat and thin. To do so, split each end for a distance of \" and hammer down to a blunt edge ; then bend one piece up and the other down. Then form the strip into a ring and fit the split scarfs together. Weld and finish smooth and round. LESSON XLIV IRONS FOR PLANK DRAG I. For the eye bolt in the plank drag you will need <^" of \" round iron. (Fig. 211.) 2. Scarf one end for a lap weld. I ^Gi :^ end scaefett f/rst bencf UZ3 3. Five inches from the other end bend the rod at right angles, taking care that the scarf is on the outside so that when it is bent around it will fit on the rod. 4. Weld the eye and cut a thread on the other end to which you can fit a nut. The chain can be attached to the eye with a split link or a clevis. The making of the chain and ring has already been described. V Comp/ete bo/i: Fig. 211. — Bolt fob Plank Drag. 234 LESSON XLV IRONS FOR COMBINATION LADDER I Each of the two side pieces that hold the ladder support is cut out of thin iron along the dotted hnes shown in Fig. 212, and a hole is drilled for the bolt i from the round end a. The other holes are for the screws and should be countersunk. The end h should be cut at the same angle that the steps are placed with the stringers. T ■3^ Q.^ s t^ ^ IDK tt r <^/i /6- FiG. 212. Irons for Combination Ladder. 2 Each of the narrow straps is drilled for screws and is fitted around the end of the support above the slot to strengthen it. 3 The iron hooks are laid out upon the plates with a soft pencil, and are then cut with a cold chisel on a cast-iron plate or on the soft spot of the anvil. 235 236 BLACKSMITHING The whole should be filed up smooth. The lip a should be bent down at right angles, to the right on one hook and to the left on the other, to serve as a lift for the fingers when raising the hook from the rung of the ladder. It is quite necessary that these hooks fit nicely, so it will be well to try them before finally fit- ting them permanently in place. 4. The long bolt is made from \'' round iron, and should be long enough to connect the two broad iron straps. LESSON XLVI IRON FOR LEVELING ROD second -Ai"^ bend o ; : o o i i o T I. A piece of strap iron or heav}^ soft brass, Fig. 213, can be used for this slide. It is laid out with a pencil ; and a hne \\" from each end is drawn across the piece, leaving z" in the middle. Two other lines \" from each end complete the laying out. The two ends are bent down at right angles. At the lines \" from each end the iron is bent out again. The screw holes are then drilled Fig. 213. — Iron for Leveling Rod. 237 LESSON XLVII IRONS FOR FARM GATE I. For each hinge of the farm gate three pieces of iron are needed. The dimensions of each piece are given in Fig. 214. Bend the end of each flat piece around, making a lap weld so as to leave a ^'^ hole at 7/ /z :zL ^ p,n ufisef. ]0, I f/rsf bend. a TTTl eye. Fig. 214. — Hinge for Farm Gate. the end. It will be well to run a \" drill through this hole to smooth it out. Drill and countersink the screw holes. 2. Draw out one end of the spike to a sharp round point ; scarf the other end, and weld into an eye with a \" hole in the eye. 3. The pin is upset at one end, and placed in the eye of the spike and welded there. 238 LESSON XLVIII IRONS FOR CATTLE RACK AND CORN RACK No dimensions can be given for the irons for the corn rack, as they will depend upon the kind of wagon used. ek i Fig. 215. — Hooks for Stanchion of Cattle Rack. (Two of each size.) The irons for the stanchion of the cattle rack are shown in Fig. 215. 239 LESSON XLIX IRONS FOR WAGON BOX I. Each of the 8 strips used to fasten the crosspieces on to the side boards, is rounded at one end for a dis- tance of 3''; and is made fin diameter. This rounded end is threaded for a nut and the other end is bent to fit over the top edge of the side boards (Fig. 216). 1 e o| i Hh^ iiw»; o [0 SndGate ffod DO 2" 30 Tail Nut for end Gctfe ^od JEZUDL Fig. 216. — Irons for Wagon Box. 2. The four brackets used on the sides of the box are made from \" round iron bent in the shape shown in the drawing. The lower end of each is threaded for a distance of 4'' and the upper end flattened out and a bolt hole punched. 240 IRONS FOR WAGON BOX 241 3. The two strips that hold up the foot rest in front are made of the same material as the strips for the sides. Seven inches from one end they are bent in the shape indicated. Both ends are flattened and bolt holes punched in them. 4. The two brackets for the foot rest are made of f round iron 12'' long, bent in the shape shown in Fig. 216, flattened at the ends, and punched for the bolts. 5. The end gate rods are bent at one end into an eye z" in diameter, and welded. A round button of f " iron is slipped on the rod and welded up close to the eye to furnish a smooth bearing for the eye. The other end is threaded. 6. The nut with a curved handle, called a tail nut, is made to fit the threaded end of the end gate rod. It is forged out of a round bar of iron, the end of which is made into an eye in the same way as the spike of the gate hinge, the eye is flattened down smooth and a hole bored and threaded. 7. The plate or washer that is made for each end of the end gate rod, is fastened on the side boards by two screws. Some prefer to have the washer threaded at one end instead of having a tail nut, which is frequently lost. This washer is forged by welding on to its middle a piece of round iron cut from an inch bar, and drilling it the required size. The plate is then cut diamond- shaped with the hot or cold chisel ; and the two holes are then bored in the ends for the screws. LESSON L TOOL STEEL Wrought iron contains practically no carbon and cannot be used for tools because it cannot be hardened. Tool steel contains a small percentage of carbon and can be hardened and tempered ; therefore it can be used in tool making. The amount of carbon in tool steel determines the degree of hardness it will attain when hardened. High carbon steel, or high temper steel, has a large percentage of carbon ; and low carbon, or low temper steel, has a small percentage of carbon. Low carbon steel can be welded, but with more diffi- culty than wrought iron. The more carbon steel contains, the more difficult it is to weld. Tool steel must be treated differently from wrought iron in forging. It must not be heated so high or it will burn and crumble under the hammer. Heat to a red heat for all forging, and do not hammer cold. Tempering. — Tempering tool steel consists of two processes: (i) hardening, and (2) drawing the temper. Heat a piece to a cherry red and dip it in water. The steel is now as hard as it can be made and a file will not cut it. It is also very brittle, and a blow of the hammer will shatter it; consequently, it is of little value for tools that have to be driven with the hammer or sledge. If the piece is slowly and carefully reheated, the hardness will gradually disappear, and if heated 242 TOOL STEEL 243 long enough, it will be as soft as it was before harden- ing. In order to temper steel properly, it should be hardened " right out " and then the temper drawn until it is of the proper hardness and toughness for the work expected of it. Heat to a cherry red ; and plunge the end in water for a short distance, leaving a portion above still hot. The heat from above will gradually soak down into the hardened point, softening it, and if the point is smooth and bright, different colors will appear on the bright surface. In order to get a bright surface on which the colors may be easily detected, after hardening, rub the surface with a piece of broken grindstone, emery wheel, smooth file, or sandpaper. The first color to appear will be a pale yellow, or straw color, to be followed in order by dark straw color, brown, light purple, dark purple, pale blue, and finally dark blue. As soon as the proper color appears, the piece should be plunged all over in the water. Tools requiring steel of great hardness should be tempered to a straw color ; tools of soft steel should be tempered at the dark blue color. Punch. — Using a piece of round or octagon steel, forge it down to the shape of the punch shown in Fig. 217 and do not heat above a cherry red in forging. When hammered to shape, grind or file smooth and round. Then heat the tapered end to a cherry red and dip in water, holding the punch vertically. Dip to a distance of about one inch, and withdrawing, rub the surface hardened with something to brighten it ; and then watch for the colors, as they will appear when the heat from above soaks down to the hardened part. When the purple color gets down to the point, plunge 244 BLACKSMITHING ^^iiifiiliiii I m ^llliiii^^ Fig. 217. — Punch and Cold Chisel. in water all over. Test with a file, and if it is too soft, reheat and harden and temper over again. Unless you know just the amount of carbon in the steel, it will be necessary to experiment a little with different degrees of heat in harden- ing and tempering, until you can pro- duce the desired results. Cold chisel. — Forge a cold chisel like that shown in Fig. 217, and harden and temper in the same way as the punch. Use the flatter in smoothing up the sides of the taper. In grinding tools, take care not to heat them enough to draw the temper, or you will get them too soft. Casehardening. — Casehardening is preparing wrought iron or steel of low carbon so that there is a coating of high carbon steel on the surface, while the interior remains soft and tough. The thickness of this coating is determined by the length of time the process is carried on. It is similar to the old cementation process of making steel, which consisted in heating the iron in a box filled with chips of leather, horn, or charcoal, until the carbon had soaked into the iron, transforming it into steel. It will not be necessary to follow this method, for we do not need a very thick coating of carbon on the pieces that are usually casehardened. If the piece is heated red hot and plunged in a box of powdered cyanide of potassium, the carbon from this chemical will soak into TOOL STEEL 245 the iron for a distance depending on the length of time it is left there. When the piece is suddenly cooled by quenching in water, the surface is as hard as though it were tool steel all through. If a wearing surface is casehardened, it lasts longer and wears smoother. Ends of set screws and the faces of small hammers are casehardened, and sometimes bolts, when there is to be considerable wear on them. Cyanide of potassium is a very powerful poison, and if there are any sores or cuts on the hands, it will be well to wear gloves while using the cyanide, as very dangerous cases of poisoning have resulted from carelessness in its use. FARM SHOP WORK 1 7 CEMENT AND CONCRETE WORK LESSON LI CEMENT AND CONCRETE Portland cement is made from clay and limestone pulverized and burned at a high temperature ; the mass is then pulverized a second time and sifted, whereupon it is ready for use. Natural cement is made from limestone that has about the same composition as the artificial cement. The process of manufacture is much the same as that by which Portland cement is made. Concrete. — In making concrete for any purpose, sand and gravel or crushed rock are mixed with cement and water. The sand and gravel are used simply to fill up space and thus make it unnecessary to use so much cement, as the latter is very expensive. The cement binds the particles of sand and gravel together, making artificial stone. The sand should be clean and coarse. Experiments show that rounded grains of sand give as good results as sharp sand, and that as small a per- centage of dirt as 5 per cent is objectionable. Sand of a varying degree of coarseness is better than that of uniform coarseness. The proper size of the crushed rock or gravel depends upon the use to be made of the concrete. Plain concrete can be made of coarser gravel than reenforced concrete. 246 CEMENT AND CONCRETE 247 A sieve with a i'' mesh for phiin concrete and one with a 4" mesh for reenforced concrete has been found satisfactory. Gravel of varied sizes has been found better than that of uniform size. Proportions. — The proportions of the various in- gredients depend upon the use required. A rich mixture used in water tanks, arches, and reen- forced concrete floors subject to vibration, is made in the proportion of i 12:4; that is, i part cement, 2 parts sand, and 4 parts gravel or rock ; or i part cement and 4 parts sand. This is probably the best concrete used for any purpose. An ordinary mixture of i : 3 : 6 can be used for cellar and barn floors, sidewalks, foundations, and abutments. A lean mixture, 1:4:8, may be used in large heavy foundations for stationary loads, or for backing for masonry ; richer mixtures are necessary for loaded columns, beams, arches, and foundations laid under water. Mixing concrete. — Concrete can be mixed either by hand or by machinery. Whatever method is used in mixing the concrete, the following points must be looked after : (i) the exact amount of cement, sand, and stone must be meas- ured out ; (2) the mass must be thoroughly mixed ; ^ (3) the proper amount of Fig. 218. — Platform for Mixing ^1 J Concrete. water must be used ; (4) the concrete must be thoroughly rammed. Hand mixing. — A suitable platform may be con- 248 CEMENT AND CONCRETE WORK structed of i" planed boards, nailed to cleats or cross- pieces of 2" X \" . The size of this platform is de- termined by the amount of work to be done. One 10' X 12' will be large enough for all ordinary purposes, and one considerably smaller will do for small jobs and repair work. The platform should be placed as near the work as possible and in such a position that the sand and gravel can be unloaded near it. It is well to nail a strip around the edges of the platform to prevent the cement from spilling. A measuring box can be made of rough inch boards of a size that can be handled conveniently. It should be made with project- ing handles and with- out bottom and top. The cement is measured and spread out on the platform with a rake, and the sand measured over it. The mass is thoroughly mixed by shoveling it over to one side of the platform and then back again, and repeat- ing the operation until the mixture shows a uniform color. Then it is spread out in a layer about 6" thick, and the gravel or crushed stone measured and placed on top. Over this the required amount of water is poured, and mixed thoroughly by shoveling the mass over two or three times. A wet concrete is a mixture containing enough water to make the mass flow. This is simply poured into the Fig. 219. — Measuring Box for Concrete. CEMENT AND CONCRETE 249 molds and allowed to harden. When the molds are complex or reenforcing rods are laid near the surface, the wet mixture is necessary to fill the mold properly. A dry mixture is one which will not flow, and re- quires ramming in order to fill the mold properly. A dry mixture will just show water on the surface when properly rammed. Ramming is unnecessary in wet mixtures ; but in ordinary mixtures it is advisable and necessary to a strong piece of work. A ram can be made of a piece of 2" X \" timber nailed to a handle. For dry mixtures a larger ram made of iron should be used, and the concrete should be rammed until the water shows on the surface. dpad^ Spading. — The ramming will have the eflPect of forcing some of the stones against the surface of the molds, which, if allowed to remain there, ^^ would make an unsightly appearance, fig. 220— Spade and To overcome this, run a flat spade ^f^ ^«^ Concrete ' ^ Work. down between the forms and the con- crete, pushing the stones back from the surface, and allowing the cement to flow into the space thus formed. Do not pry the concrete enough to spring the forms out of shape. Bonding. — New^ cement can be bonded to old con- crete so as to make water-tight joints if great care is taken in washing the joints with Kquid cement made of equal parts of cement and sand. In construction work when all the concrete is not laid the same day, it is well to make a joint on top of the last concrete. Lay 250 CEMENT AND CONCRETE WORK a piece of timber 2" X ^" or of any suitable dimensions in the top layer of concrete. Take it out before laying the new concrete, wash the joint thoroughly, and cover with rich cement, 1:1, Freezing. — Sometimes the smooth surface of con- crete will peel off, due to freezing, but otherwise it does not seem to be affected by freezing. In very cold weather the materials used in making concrete should be warmed to prevent freezing before setting. The addition of a small quantity of salt to the water used lowers the freezing point. About one pound of salt to a sack of cement will do no harm and may keep the cement from freezing until it has set. No load should be placed on concrete until the weather is warm enough to allow it to set properly. Time for setting. — It takes from 12 to 48 hours for concrete to set, depending upon the weather, the con- sistency of the concrete, and the thickness of the work. Wet and cold weather will retard the setting of the con- crete. Arch work requires a longer time for setting than walls. Dry concrete sets much more quickly than wet concrete. Forms. — The lumber for concrete forms makes quite an item of expense, and therefore one should devise ways of getting results with the minimum amount of lumber. Green lumber is better than kiln-dried lumber, because the latter soaks up too much of the water from the concrete, and swells and warps too much. If the lumber is smooth on the inside of the forms, it produces better looking work ; however, rough lumber may be used in most form work, and afterwards it may be used in framing buildings or for repair work. CEMENT AND CONCRETE 251 Forms should be kept from the sun when not in use, and the insides should be coated with oil or soft soap just before using. Forms should be designed so that they can be taken apart and used again for the same work; and should be so well made that the water and cement cannot leak out through the joints. Tongue and groove boards. Beveled boards. Fig. 221. — Lumber for Concrete Forms. Tongued and grooved lumber makes the best forms, but beveled or even squared lumber will do, if well matched. The thickness of the lumber used depends upon the distance between the studs, and the height of the green concrete. For ordinary work done on the farm, one-inch lumber reenforced by 2" x 4'' studs every two feet has proved satisfactory. The forms should be so rigid that there is no bulging of the sides. LESSON LII SIDEWALKS AND FLOORS Sidewalks. — The climate and the character of the soil very largely determine the method of laying the foundations for sidewalks. It is important to have a good foundation, for one that is poorly laid will cause the ruin of the best walk. It should be laid so as not to hold water, which, by freezing, might bulge and crack the cement ; therefore, a porous soil will not require so thick a foundation as an impervious one. Likewise, in a mild climate, foundations need not be so thick as in a severe one. As a rule, foundations should be laid from 4'' to 10'' thick. Suppose we wish to build a sidewalk consisting of a 4" layer of concrete resting upon a G' foundation, with the surface of the walk 2" above the level of the ground. Excavate to a depth of 8''. Fill in 6'^ of crushed rock, gravel, or cinders, tamping it thoroughly as it is being filled. Do not postpone the tamping until all the filling is done, but level off each load and tamp the successive layers so that the entire founda- tion may be firm, but porous. It is a good plan to wet down the foundation as it is being tamped, for in this way it can be made more compact. 252 SIDEWALKS AND FLOORS 253 The excavation should extend three or four inches on each side of the walk to allow for drainage. Place 2" X ^' stringers on each side on top of the founda- tion. These stringers must be perfectly straight, and the inside surfaces should be smooth. Drive stakes down outside the stringers to hold them in place. The proportion usually required for sidewalks is 1:2:4. Mix with sufficient water to make the concrete moderately wet, and tamp until water appears on the Fig. 222. — A Concrete Sidewalk. surface. The finishing coat is made of i : i mixture, which is spread on about \" thick. A strong bond between the finishing coat and the concrete must be made or the cement will in time chip and peel off. To prevent this, coat the surface with pure cement before making the bond. It is sometimes spread on the concrete before the latter has set. The finishing coat is leveled off by drawing a straightedge over the edges of the stringers. After straightening out the surface, smooth with a float and groove with a jointer. 254 CEMENT AND CONCRETE WORK It is desirable to make a slight slope to the outside of the walk to drain off the water. The grooves are placed in the walk so that portions may be replaced or relaid without the difficulty of cutting out portions with a chisel. The jointer can be used to round the outer edges of the walk so that all four edges of the block will be rounded. If the surface of the cement is troweled too much, it will not wear well. j^ZJT^ "" The walk must be kept covered and wet for two or three days after being laid, to allow it to dry uniformly throughout the mass, rather than on the surface. ^'^^^ A good covering is wet sawdust Fig. 223. — Float and Jointer. . or wet sand. Sometimes the walk is laid out so that alternate blocks are laid and allowed to set ; then the remaining blocks are filled in. This necessitates placing 2" x 4" crosspieces for the alternate blocks and removing them when the remaining blocks are filled in. Cellar floors. — These may be laid without any foundation because there is no danger of any frost getting under them. The process of laying a floor is similar to that of laying a sidewalk, and the mixture is made in the same proportions. The size of the sections in the cellar floor may be made larger than those in a walk, and the stringers removed as soon as the cement has set. Barn floors are laid in the same way as sidewalks, with the same kind of foundations, and with cement SIDEWALKS AND FLOORS 255 of the same proportions. The surface should be left rough or grooved to prevent animals from slipping. Expansion joints. — Concrete expands and contracts hke iron, and in large areas such as barn^floors it is necessary to make provision for this expansion, because of the wide range of temperature. The best method of preventing damage by expansion is to lay the floor in small sections or blocks. This produces many cracks which will take up the expansion. LESSON LIII FOUNDATION WALLS AND STEPS Foundation walls. — Foundation walls for a house or a barn should be from 8'' to 12'' thick with a footing of from 16'' to 2o" , according to the size and weight of Fig. 224. — Foundation Wall of Concrete. the building to be placed on them. Pieces i" X 4" should be driven in the ground every 2', and braced by pieces of the same dimension, as shown in the draw- ing. \" boards are nailed to the inside of these pieces with the bottom board about 6" up from the bottom of the trench, allowing the concrete to flow out under it to form the footing. 256 FOUNDATION WALLS AND STEPS 257 If the walls are to be built up a considerable distance above the surface of the ground, the 2" x \" pieces should extend above the last board, so that the forms that are to be placed on top can be fastened to them and so held in line. All forms should be carefully braced so as to keep them from bulging. The sides should be spaded and the concrete cast in layers and tamped carefully. Use concrete of the following proportion : I part cement, 2\ parts sand, 5 parts gravel or crushed stone. Steps. — In making the steps of a porch or cellar, the riser, or vertical face, of a step should be propor- FiG. 225. — Concrete Steps. tioned to the tread, or horizontal surface, so that the sum of the two will equal 15. Therefore, a step with a ^" riser needs a 10'' tread, and one with a 6" riser needs a 9'' tread to make the two proportional. In making concrete steps, the outside walls (^, Fig. 225) are laid either on a porous foundation that w411 drain water, or they are laid below the frost Une. 258 CEMENT AND CONCRETE WORK Inside the walls gravel is packed at the same slope or angle that the steps are to be laid. Over this the concrete should be placed to a depth of four inches. In this concrete, reenforcing of woven wire should be placed. Beginning at the top, lay a plank upright and brace with stakes. The plank should be as wide as the rise of the steps. Fill the space between the board and the concrete slope with concrete to the level of the top edge of the plank and trowel off smooth. When the concrete has set, remove the plank and place it for the next step. Continue in this way until all the steps are complete. The steps should be the same width as the walk. The vertical face of each step may be made smooth by troweling on a thin layer of rich cement, 1:1, after the concrete has set and the plank has been removed. A nosing can be made for the front edge of the steps, if it is desired, by making a form the shape and size wanted and laying on a thin top layer of cement extend- ing out over the edge of the step in the nosing. This requires a good deal of extra work and is not necessary in ordinary steps. LESSON LIV CONCRETE TROUGHS Hog trough. — A concrete hog trough may be made by making a bottomless box from 4' to 6' long, 22'' wide, inside measurements, and 10'' deep. Make a V- FiG. 226. — Concrete Hog Troughs. (Triangular and Semicircular Types.) shaped trough 6" shorter than the inside length of the box, with two boards, one of which is 13'' wide and the other 12" wide, nailed together at right angles to each other, as shown in the upper part of Fig. 226. This 259 26o CEMENT AND CONCRETE WORK makes the two inner sides equal in width. Fit a tri- angular piece of 2" plank in the ends and nail in place. Bevel the edges of the two sides of the trough so that when laid upside down on a platform there will be no crack between the form and the platform. Lay the trough upside down on a platform of smooth matched boards, and place the bottomless box over it so that the two ends are equidistant from the ends of the trough, and the sides are also equidistant from the sides of the trough. The upper edges of the box should project above the V of the trough about \\" . Pour the concrete, i part cement and 3 parts coarse sand or line gravel, into the mold and tamp lightly, and smooth off the upper surface with a float. Remove from the forms in four or live days and paint the inside with pure cement of creamy consistency. If a semicircular trough is preferred to the V-shaped trough, make the form semicircular by cutting out two semicircular pieces from a 2" plank, with a ']\" radius. To these pieces nail narrow strips beveled on the edges, so that when they are nailed in place, there will be no cracks between the strips for the cement to leak through. If the trough is a long one, several semicircular pieces of plank should be placed equidistant apart. Reen- forcing of wire netting should be used in the casting, or several iron rods, Y' diameter, should be inserted in the four corners, about \" from the surface. Water trough. — The walls of a water trough should be at least G" thick for those of ordinary size, and much thicker for large ones. If no reenforcing is used, make the walls twice as thick to prevent cracking. CONCRETE TROUGHS 261 To make it water-tight, the entire tank must be cast at one operation. A richer mixture of concrete must also be used than that used in other pieces of work, and the concrete must be quite wet. Inlet and outlet pipes can be cast in the concrete during the pouring if desired ; if not possible to cast them then, place greased plugs where they are to go, and insert the pipes afterwards. Having decided upon the size of the trough desired, make a bottomless box of this size, having the sides slope in towards the top ; that is, the top of the box should be about 2" narrower than the bottom. For a small trough, excavate the surface of the ground down until hard firm soil is reached ; and then tamp this down flat and level. For a large trough, it will be necessary to excavate about \2" and make a founda- tion similar to a concrete sidewalk. Lay down smooth an 8'' layer of cinders or gravel and on this a \" layer of concrete of the proportions used in building side- walks. On the top of this foundation place the box in position and brace in place, as shown in Fig. 227. The number of braces needed will depend upon the size of the box. They should be about 2' apart. The inside of this form should be smooth and greased if you wish to remove it without breaking it up. The inside box has a bottom in it, and should be at least \^" narrower and \^" shorter than the out- side box or form. This form should slant in the op- posite direction from the outside form ; that is, it should be narrower at the bottom than at the top so that it may be readily removed when the cement has set. FARM SHOP WORK — l8 262 CEMENT AND CONCRETE WORK The outside of the inner form must be smooth and greased. It should be braced on the inside if the tank is over three feet long. The depth of the inner form must be 6" less than that of the outer form, so that when the two are in place with their upper edges on a level, the bottom of the inner form will be 6" from the Fig. 227. — Forms Set for Concrete Water Trough, foundation. The inner form should be supported by two pieces ^" x 4'', nailed to it by strips and long enough to project over the ends of outer box. Place the forms in position so that the walls are everywhere equidistant, then nail on two cleats that are just long enough to fit in between the supports of the inner form. These cleats are for the purpose of keeping the inner form in the proper place and to prevent it from being moved by the tamping and spading of the cement. CONCRETE TROUGHS 263 The mixture of concrete must be rich in cement. Use I part cement, i part sand, 3 parts broken stone or gravel. If you use gravel as it comes from the bank, use I part cement and 3 parts gravel. Have the inner form all ready and greased before beginning the casting, and be sure to mix enough concrete for the entire trough before beginning the work. Spread concrete on the foundation, and on this lay the reenforcing of expanded metal or wire lath, bending it up on all four sides to within 2" of the top of the trough. On top of the reenforcing, place ^" more of concrete, and then put the inner form in place and fasten the re- enforcing of the sides so that it will be midway between the walls of the forms. Pour the concrete in place and spade It so that the larger stones are forced away from the surfaces. The inner form may be removed in two or three hours and the inside painted with pure cement of creamy consistency, using a brush. Do not remove the outer form for at least ten days. If the work is kept covered and wet during this time, the trough will then be ready for water. The outside may be painted with pure cement if desired. In that case, remove the outside form in two days and after wetting down the outside of the tank, paint with pure cement, using a brush. LESSON LV FENCE POSTS Concrete fence posts are being used quite extensively, as they have many advantages over the wooden posts. In the first place, the concrete posts will last forever when properly reenforced ; then, too, the cost is but a trifle more than for wooden posts of the best quality, if the labor is not counted in. The posts, for ordinary purposes, should be 6'' square at the base, 4'' square at the top, and "]' long. If it is desired to place them below the frost line, for north- ern latitudes they should be made longer, but it is not necessary for them to be placed so deep. The corners above the ground should be beveled, and they should be reenforced with wire or rods, hooked at the ends. Molds. — Make a platform 8' long by 2' wide of planks or boards surfaced on one side and matched or tongued and grooved, and fastened together with several cleats 2" X 4''. Then prepare the form for casting three posts at once. Use the following pieces : 4 pieces 7' 2" long, G" wide at one end and \" wide at the other, \" thick, {a) I piece 26'' long, 6" wide, \" thick, (Z>) 1 piece 2o" long, dj' wide, \" thick, (c) 3 pieces 6" long, 6" wide, \" thick, {d) 3 pieces \" long, \" wide, \" thick, i^e) 2 pieces 6" long, 2" wide, \" thick, (/) 2 pieces \" long, 2" wide, \" thick, (g) 6 pieces triangular in shape \' long, (A) 264 265 266 CEMENT AND CONCRETE WORK Nail the 2" strip / in place at one end of the piece h^ then nail on one of the blocks d, which are i " x ^" X 6'', with just enough space between it and block /for one of the pieces a. Nail on the other blocks in the same way. Make the other end in the same way, using the blocks which are i''X4''X4'' and spacing them the thickness of the strips a. Figure 228 shows the form when completed and put together. The strips a are not fastened in place, and can be removed when the con- crete is set, by removing the two end pieces h and c and lifting the strips. The triangular strip k is placed as shown in the detail drawing so as to bevel ofFthe two lower corners. The two upper corners can be beveled by pressing down similar strips on top or by troweling a bevel along the two upper corners. Casting. — Use i part cement, 2 parts sand, and 4 parts gravel or crushed stone. Spread the concrete in each mold to the depth of \" and lay on this the two reenforcing wires about \" from each side. Bend the ends of the rods over in the form of a hook so that they will come to within 2'' of each end. (See Fig. 229.) Then pour on another layer of concrete to within \^' of the top, place the other two reenforcing rods in similar manner, and fill the molds full of concrete over this reenforcement. Spade the sides well and trowel the top to make it as smooth as possible. Some provision must be made for holding the wire fence to the posts. One way is to twist short pieces of doubled copper wire No. 12 as shown by x, Fig. 228, and insert them in the wet concrete at the positions where the wires of the fence will come. Another wav is FENCE POSTS 267 to insert greased iron rods (3;, Fig. 228) |'' in diameter in the center of the posts, making a round hole clear through the post. These rods can be held in place by tacking a strip on top of the forms where the holes are to be, and boring ^" holes through this strip so that each hole will be over the middle of each post. An- Fig. 229. — Reenforcing Wires in Fence Post. Other method is to cast in the post a round hardwood plug to which the wires may be nailed with common staples. Sometimes galvanized screw eyes are cast in the posts and the fence fastened to these by twisting short pieces of wire around both. If necessary to brace the mold to keep the two outer sides from bulging, a strip may be tacked across the top about the middle of the mold. Corner posts should be made larger and longer than common posts. As these posts are quite heavy, to save handling they ought to be cast where they are to be used. It is possi- 268 CEMENT AND CONCRETE WORK ble to cast braces to the corner posts at the same time the posts are cast, but the whole must be cast in an up- right position ; but as it requires a great deal of skill to make the forms as well as to pour the cement, it should not be attempted by the beginner. Hitching and clothesline posts can be made in the same way as common posts. However, they should be made larger and with a ring and staple cast in the top. Bend the ends of the staple in the form of a hook, to prevent its being pulled out. Forms should not be removed for three days after casting and the posts ought not to be used for two weeks, during which time they must be kept wet so as to harden properly. LEATHER WORK LESSON LVI HARNESS MENDING Although the mending of harness is commonly con- sidered to be within the province of the harness-maker, there is no good reason why the farmer should not make many of his own repairs. Harnesses can be kept in good repair at very little expense. Although many of the processes seem comphcated, they are really not so, and can be mastered easily. The purpose of this lesson is to show how simple repairs can be neatly and strongly made. Thread. — A good thread is necessary in making strong and lasting repairs. Good linen must be se- lected, and considerable care exercised in making the thread. Hold one end between the second and third fingers of the left hand ; pass the thread around a nail or hook and bring back, catching between the thumb and finger of the same hand. With the right hand, roll the thread downward over the knee, as shown in Fig. 230, and pull it apart with a jerk. The rolling untwists the strands and 269 Fig. 230. Untwisting the Strands of Thread. 270 LEATHER WORK makes the thread easy to break. Never cut or break a thread without untwisting it, as that would produce a blunt end, while the untwisting leaves a fine tapering end. The process is repeated until enough strands have been broken to produce a thread of the required strength, — three for light work and five or six for heavy stitching. In putting the ends of the broken threads together, do not leave them exactly the same length. By leaving some shorter than others a pointed thread is made, fine enough to go into the eye of the needle. Draw the thread tight so there will be no loose strands, and wax the ends. Holding the thread as shown in Fig. 230, twist it by rolling it with the right hand over the knee. It is kept from untwisting by catching it up with the thumb and finger of the left hand. The threads are not doubled before twisting. Waxing. — When well twisted throughout the entire length, wax by rubbing well and quickly over the entire length. The ends should be waxed more than the rest of the thread so the needle can be attached more se- curely. If the thread is twisted too much, it is apt to knot in using. The thread may be smoothed after waxing by rubbing it with a piece of soft leather. Wax is used on the thread to give it strength and smoothness, and to preserve it. Cobbler's wax may be obtained from the harness-maker or the shoemaker. It is made of pitch and resin, in equal parts, heated and thoroughly mixed. To this is added a small quantity of tallow in hot weather and a larger quantity in cold weather. If the thread becomes sticky, smear some fat on the fingers and rub the entire length. HARNESS MENDING 271 Fig. 232. — Pricking Wheel. Threading the needle. — A single thread is used and a needle is attached to each end. The needle must be threaded securely ^ - r.^^ and in such a way Fig. 231. — Twisting the End of the Thread that the thread ^^™ threading the Needle. where it leaves the eye is not thicker than the needle. If it is larger, it will soon wear out or the needle will be broken in stitching. Pars about two inches of the thread through the eye, twist the end around the thread and rub down smooth. Stitching. — When good work is required, mark out the line of stitching with the compass and run a pricking wheel over this hne (Fig. 232). The points on the wheel cut into the leather and make distinct marks where the holes are to be made with the awl (Fig. 235). The sharp edges of the leather must be removed with an edg- ing tool. To obtain an even thickness and a smooth surface the ends of the leather must be beveled before stitching. This is done by shaving the ends with a round knife (Fig. 233). fd^/ng Too/ /^ound Knife Fig. 233. — Edging Tool and Round Knife. 272 LEATHER WORK The work while being stitched is held in a sewing horse. The awl is pushed through from the right side. When the first hole has been made, the needle is passed through from the left side and the thread drawn through Fig. 234. — Stitching Work held in Sewing Horse. until an equal length is on each side of the leather. The next hole is made with the awl and the left-hand needle brought through this. When the thread has been drawn through about three inches, the right-hand needle is passed through the same hole. The awl makes a diamond-shaped hole and the left- hand thread should be kept in the angle nearest the Fig. 235. — Stitching Awl. stitching already done, while the right-hand thread must be kept in the upper angle. This can be accom- plished by pulling away a little from the body with the right hand and slightly towards the body with the left hand. Pull both threads firmly at the same time. HARNESS MENDING 273 When the stitching is completed, the thread can be fastened by turning back one stitch. Cut it off flush with the surface of the leather. To obtain good stitching, it is necessary : (i) That thread of a kind and strength suited to the nature of the work be selected. (2) That the thread be smooth, well twisted, and well waxed. (3) That the stitches all be drawn equally tight, and made firm without cutting the leather. (4) That the needles be used in the right way. (5) That the awls be correctly used. (6) That the stitches be of equal length. (7) That the holes be of equal size and angle. Splicing. — In splicing, it is necessary to shave the two ends to be joined down to a thin edge, Fig. 236, with the round knife. Then stitch along each edge, fastening the threads at the ^ ^ ^L ends. In mending a broken | r"''^ | tug, if the break occurs at U-— any place other than where the cockeye is fastened, it should be done by spHcing, , • T-- ^ TT 1 Fig. 236. — Splicing a Strap. as shown m 1^ ig. 236. It the break occurs in the loop holding the cockeye, it can be repaired as shown in Fig. 237. The illustrations show the reverse, or inside, of the tug. First, a piece must be cut out of the inside layer and the outside piece beveled with the round knife. The in- side piece must be beveled in the same way. Then a piece of new leather is beveled at one end on the 274 LEATHER WORK 237 Repairing a Broken Tug. -"ff'^'^-s flesh side and at the other end on the grain side. The strip is placed around the cockeye and the two ends are stitched with a seven-strand thread. Fastening a buckle and loop. — In stitching on a buckle and loop, bevel one end of the strap with the round knife ; then make the hole for the tongue of the buckle by punching two holes, as in Fig. 238, and cutting out the leather be- tween with the points of the round knife. For the loop, cut a strap long enough to reach around two straps the size of the one used, and bevel both ends on the flesh side. Put the buckle in place and hold in the sewing horse with one end of the loop inserted in between the two edges to be stitched. Stitch as shown in the drawing. Fig. 238. — Inserting a Buckle and Loop. Turn the strap over and insert the other end of the loop so that the two ends meet m the middle between the straps, and stitch. SUGGESTIONS FOR ADDITIONAL WORK The drawings on the following pages will suggest additional work which may be done by pupils who are more rapid in their work and more skillful in the use of tools than the other members of the class. The dimensions and other features of the things to be constructed may be modified as desired by teacher or pupils. 275 276 FARM SHOP WORK — IQ 277 Top View 2/ 6j — , i%^ — 6 ^O' Side View Fig. 242. — Brooder, 278 Tfer l"^ pr I 'f ^_ U:^^v.-:%: 36- Fig. 243. — Brooder, End View. ig- !!^H!!fttf: ii section onAB. Fig. 244. ^Butter Worker. 279 m fnd V/e^v- /^ayRoc/C. Top //ei^ - /iac/ RocK. 17/7 be corii/erfecf mfo i^oac/ ivc Otf /if'i'n^ /op off. ("Jcf f/ff/r 9 1 II II _ II :' :; ;i ii 1 II 1 ; il :i ii 1 H TIL IE J^Q[L J/cfe yiet^-Ziac/ RacH. Fig. 245. — Hay Rack. 280 __L Fig. 246. — Umbrella Rack. 28] Fig. 247. — Museum Cabinet. 282 >iii>i>iijii}iii}ii^ ^i}>iiiiiiii>lriim !k P/onofA.B. - Bl Ei B^ - D I -m 'u/^///////i'//////f^^< W^/////^/'ff/^f///(7Z, v\\\\\\\\\\.\\\\\\.\N Front J/'de ^Section. Fig. 248. — Bookcase. Scale, i"=i ft. (From Craftsman design.) 383 Fig. 249. — Library Table. Fig. 250. — Dining Room Chair. 284 K?ii y^ / / /\ V Fig. 251. — Revolving Bookcase and Table. 285 INDEX Angles, for setting bevels, 165. Annual rings, 159, 162, 163. Anvil, 200. Arkansas stone, 194. Ash, 159, 160, 161, 163. Assembling, definition of, 8. Auger bits, 166. Awl, stitching, 272. Backsaw, T73. Ball peen hammer, 202. Barn floors, concrete, 254, 255. Basswood, 159, 160, 163. Beam, of bevel, 165. of marking gauge, 7, 169. of try-square, 6, 174. Beech, 159, 163. Bench hook, 1-9. Bench stop, 144, Bevel, 21-24, 165. Beveled boards, 251. Birch, 71, 159, 160, 161, 163, 164. Bitbrace, 166. Bits, 166. Blacksmithing, 197-245. Blade, of bevel, 165. of plane, 169, 170. of saws, 173, 175. of steel square, 177. of try-square, 174. Block plane, 171. Board measure, 180, 181. Bolt, making, 207-209. Bonding concrete, 249. Bookcase, drawings only, 283, 285. Boxwood, 163. Brace measure, 177-180. Braces, 179, 180. Broadleaf trees, 159. Brooder, drawings only, 278, 279. Brush, glue, 188. Buckle and loop, harness, 274. Butternut, 159, 160, 163, 164. Butter worker, drawings only, 279. Cabinet, museum, 282. Carbon, in steel, 242. Carborundum, 195, 196. Carpenter's bench, 138-145. Casehardening, 244, 245. Cattle rack, 122-126. Cedar, 159, 160, 163. Cellar floors, concrete, 254. Cement, 246-268. Chain and hook, making, 210- 216. Chair, dining room, drawings only, 284. Charcoal, 199. Checks in lumber, 162, 163. Cherry, 160, 163. Chest, tool, 146-158. Chestnut, 160, 163. Chicken feed box, 56-60. 287 288 INDEX Chicken house, drawings only, 276, 277. ChiseHng, 16-18. Chisels, 167, 168. Circle,method of cutting, 101,102. Clamps, 185, 186. Close-grained woods, 163. Clothes rack, 36-38. Clothes tree, 39-43. Coal, for forging, 198, 199. Coarse-grained woods, 163. Cobbler's wax, 270. Cockeye, harness, 273, 274. Cocobola, 160. Coke, 199. Cold chisel, making, 244. Combination ladder, 89-95. Compass, 25. Concrete, 246-268. mixing, 247. Cooking glue, 187. Corn rack, 118-121. Corundum, 194, 196. Cottonwood, 159, 160. Countersinking, 9. Crosscut saw, 172. Cyanide of potassium, 245. Cypress, 164. Dining room chair, drawings only, 284. Doubletree, 109-112. Dowel holes, 39, 40, 150-153. Dowel pins, 40, 150-153. Dowels, 39, 40, 1 50-153. Drawing out, iron, 203. Drawshave, 168. Dry mixture, concrete, 249. Ebony, 160, 163. Edging tool, for leather, 271. Elasticity, of woods, 161. Elm, 159, 160, 161, 163. Emery, 194, 196. Expansion joints in concrete, 255- Extension bit, 166. Farmer's level, 96-104. Farm gate, 113-117. Filing saws, 189-196. Filler, wood finishing, 42. Fir, 159, 164. Firmer chisel, 167. Flatter, 204-206. Fleam, of saw teeth, 173. Float, for concrete work, 254. Floors, concrete, 252-255. Folding sawbuck, 27-30. Foot board, wagon box, 136. Foot rest, wagon box, 137. Forge, 197-200. Forms for concrete, 250, 251. Foundation walls, concrete, 256. Framing chisel, 167. Framing square, 177-184. Freezing, effect on concrete, 250. Fullering, 215. Fullers, 215. Gate hook, making, 204-206. Gauge, marking, 7, 169. Gimlet, 167. Glue, in woodworking, 14, 15, 185-188. Glue brushes, 188. Gouge, 168, 169. Grain, of wood, 163. Gravel, 246, 247. Grinding edge tools, 192-196. Grindstone, 193. INDEX Halved joint, 12-14. Hammer, ball peen, 202. Hammer handle, making, 71-74. Hardness, of woods, 160. Hard pine, 160. Hardwoods, 159. Hardy hole, of anvil, 215. Harness hook, making, 227, 228. Harness mending, 269-274. Hay rack, drawings only, 280. Header, 130, 131. Heading tool, 208. Heartwood, 160. Hemlock, 159, 160, 164. Hickory, 71, 159, 160, 161, 163. Hinges, for level, 100. for farm gate, 238. Hip rafter, 183. Hog cot, 127-132. Hog trough, concrete, 259, 260. Holly, 160. Horn, of anvil, 200. Hot chisel, 224. Iron, for leveling rod, 237. wrought, 242. Irons, for cattle rack and corn rack, 239. for combination ladder, 235, 236. for farm gate, 238. for plank drag, 234. for three-horse evener, 230- 233- for wagon box, 240, 241. for wagon jack, 229. Ironwood, 71, 161. Jack plane, Jack rafter, 71- [83. Jointer, saw, 191. for concrete work, 254. Kerf, 46. Kiln-dried lumber, 163. Knife, marking with, 3, 4. Lap weld, 212-214. Laying out, definition of, 2. Letting in, definition of, 65. Leveling rod, 105-108. Level square, 10-19. Library table, drawings only, 284. Lignum vitae, 160. Mahogany, 159, 163, 164. Maple, 71, 159, 160, 163, 164. Marking gauge, 6, 7, 169. Measure, brace, 177. board, 180, 181. Measuring box, for concrete, 248. Medullary rays, 159, 160. Miters, 140, 154, 156. Mixing concrete, 247. Molds, for concrete, 259-263, 264-268. Mortise, 39, 40. Mortise and tenon joint, 39, 40. Museum cabinet, drawing only, 282. Natural cement, 246. Needleleaf trees, 159. Norway pine, 160, 164. Nosing, of steps, 258. Oak, 160, 161, 163, 164. Octagon scale, 181, 182. Oilstones, 194, 195. 290 INDEX Osage orange, 160. Oxidizing fire, 199, 200. Palms, 159. Paring chisel, 167. Pine, 159, 164. Planes, 169-171. block, 171. jack, 171. smoothing, 171. Plank drag for roads, 75-78. Plumb bob, 15, 16. Poplar, 160, 163. Porch chair, 31-35. Portland cement, 246. Posts, concrete, 264-268. Pricking wheel, for leather, 271. Punch, making, 243, 244. Purlins, 130. Rabbet, 149, 150, 155. Rafters, 182, 183. Rafter tables, 182. Red oak, 160. Redwood, 160. Revolving bookcase and table, drawings only, 285. Ripsaw, 172. Rise, of rafters, 182, 183. Riser of steps, 184, 257. Rock elm, 161. Rosewood, 160. Round knife, for leather, 271. Rule, 171. Run, of rafters, 182, 183. of stairs, 184. Sand, 246, 247. Sandpaper, 175. Sandpaper block, 175, Sapwood, 160. 76. Sawbuck, 20-30. Saw jointer, 191. Saws, 172, 174, 175. Saw setting, 191, 192. Scarfing, 211. Scribing, 51. Set hammer, 204, 206. Sewing horse, 79-84. Sharpening, of chisels, 192, 193. of planes, 192, 193. of saws, 189-192. Sheep-feeding trough, 49-55. Shellacking, 34, 38, 42, 43, 158. Shrinkage, of wood, 161-163. Sidewalks, cement, 252-254. Singletrees, 109-112. Slips, 194. Soft maple, 160. Soft pine, 163. Softwoods, 159. Splicing, leather, 273. Split weld, 226. Spokeshave, 25, 168. Spring wood, 159. Spruce, 159, 160, 163, 164. Spur, of marking gauge, 7. Squaring, definition of, 3, 6. "Staggering" nails, 140, 141. Stains, 42, 43. Stairs, 184. Stanchion, of cattle rack, 122- 126. Staple, making, 201-203. Steel square, 177-184. Stitching, harness, 271. Stitching awl, 272. Straightedge, 21. Strength, of woods, 161. Summer wood, 159. Surfacing, 4. Swaging, 218. INDEX 291 Swaging tools, 218. Swivel, making, 217-220. Sycamore, 160. Target, for leveling rod, 108. Tempering steel, 242, 243. Thread, for harness mending, 269-273. Three-horse evener, 109-112. Tongs, making, 221, 223. Tool chest, 146-158. Tool steel, 242-245. Toughness of wood, 161. Trap nest, 61-65. Tread, of stairs, 184, 257. Trimmer, 130, 131. Turntable, 96, 103, 104. Tuyere, 198. Umbrella rack, drawings only, 281. Upsetting, definition of, 207. Valley rafter, 183. Varnish, 42. Vise, of work bench, 141-143. Wagon box, 133-137. Wagon jack, 66-70. Walnut, 159, 163. Warping, of lumber, 162, 163. Washita stone, 194. Weight, of wood, 161. Welding, 212-214. Western hemlock, 163. White oak, 160, 161, 164. White pine, 160, 161, 164. Wind, definition of, 4. Woodworking, 1-196. Worjc bench, 138-145. Wrench, making, 224-226. Wrought iron, 242. Yellow pine, 164. Yellow poplar, 159. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 013 739 850 3