Beginning woodwork at home and in school

Foreword

This book is intended as a definite statement of steps that may be followed by a beginner in learning the fundamental principles of woodworking. Instead of giving a general discussion of woodworking processes, the book describes and illustrates principles by means of specific examples. The experience gained in doing these problems should enable one to master a large number of others of which these stand as types.

It is believed that this method of treatment of the subject of woodworking will prove helpful in both school and home work.

Clinton S. Van Deusen.

Introduction

Shop. Before beginning the work outlined in this book it will be necessary to have what we will call , a shop in which to do the work. This may be quite an elaborate building, but necessity demands only a few square feet of floor space for the work, and even if this be in the corner of a room used for some other purpose, it need not prevent the doing of excellent work. It is desirable that the shop be Well lighted and ventilated, and if it is possible to have light from only one direction, it is best to have it come from the left end of the bench.

Bench. A bench with a vise is necessary for supporting the work, and while it is possible to use a crude home-made bench and vise, a bench such as is used in manual-training shops (Fig. 1) is more desirable. These can now be purchased at a reasonable price, and with careful treatment will last a lifetime. When their permanent value is considered, the first cost is a wise investment. The bench should be fastened to the floor by two lag-screws passing through the middle of the foot-pieces.

Vise. A good vise is a very important item: a cheap one, that might last under the careful treatment of an experienced workman, will not withstand the treatment of a beginner. A good rule to follow in using a vise is to see how loose a piece can be clamped and still be held in place. This method is better for both the vise and the work, as tight clamping may injure the vise and is also liable to mar the work. Vises are made of either wood or metal and consist of two jaws which are opened and closed by a wooden or iron screw, turned by a handle that passes through an eye in the outer end of the screw. A modern invention known as a rapid-acting vise, Fig. IcS, consists of the same essential parts, but by bringing the handle to a vertical position the outer jaw may be moved away from the inner jaw far enough to admit the piece which is to be held, and then, by turning the handle to the right, the outer jaw is moved toward the inner and the piece is fastened securely in the vise. It should be remembered that a vise is a machine, and therefore the metal parts that rub together should be lubricated occasionally with a little oil, or in case a vise with a wooden screw is used, a little melted beeswax rulilied on the screw will cause it to work more freely.

Tools. A good workman learns to feel toward and care for his tools as if they were his pets, and it should be the purpose of the beginner to give so much care to his tools that they will have no opportunity to drop from the bench or come in contact with metal objects, such as parts of the vise, bench stop, etc. Some offer

IXTRODUCflOX as an objection to a metal vise that tools arc liable to become injureil by coming in contact with it, but care on the part of the worker will prevent such an accident. A place should be provided for each tool and // should be kept in thai phice when not in use. If tools are not to be used for a month or more, the bright steel surfaces should be coated with vaseline to prevent their rusting. When a tool becomes dull do not delay sharpening it, as more time is lost in using a dull tool than is required to sharpen it. The method used in sharpening chisels and plane irons is explained in the Appendix. A workman should acquire ability to keep these tools in good condition. The sharpening of saws is not considered within the province of this book, but do not work with a dull one; have it sharpened by some one who knows how. One more rule should be enforced and that is to have a barrel, box or bag in which to keep shavings, and to regularly clean up the shop.

A list of the tools necessary in doing the work outlined in this book may be found in the Appendix, page 97.

Material. One must work with each particular kind of lumber in order to acquire a knowledge of its qualities. For this reason, it is proposed to use six varieties of lumber in the problems described in this book. Each is especially suited to the problem in which it is used. Other kinds might be substituted, but not without sacrificing some of the advantages of the work. Lumber to be in good condition for working should be well seasoned; that is, a large part of the sap that was in the wood when the tree was standing should be removed.

BEGI.X'NIXG WOODWORK

Seasoned lumber will absorb moisture if kept in a damp place ; therefore it is best to keep it in a dry place. If the entire amount listed in the Appendix (page 98) is purchased at one time, it is advisable to pile it in layers with an air space between the pieces and with adjacent layers extending at right angles to each other. If piled in the reverse order from the list given, each piece may be removed from the top of the pile as needed.

A box should be provided in which to keep nails, screws, etc., and at no time should they be left loose on the bench or in other places where tools might be brought in contact with them and thus become injured.

A list of the material necessary in carrying out the work outlined is given in the Appendix, page 98.

Working Drawings. It is as important that a workman should tmderstand working drawings as it is that a correspondent should understand the language of a letter he has received. A brief explanation will give some of the underlying principles of working drawings :

If the first piece mentioned in the list of lumber be laid on a taljle it might appear as in cither Fig. 2, .'i or 4, depending on the position taken by the observer. On account of this variation in the appearance of the same object from different viewpoints, this method is not very satisfactory for conveying definite imformation in regard to any piece that is to be made, and therefore a plan that is c|uite different in many respects is in use. Now consider the same

INTRODUCTION piece with a piece of paper folded as in Fig. 5, so as to form a vertical plane in front of the piece and a horizontal plane above it. A rectangle might now be drawn on the vertical plane as shown at S, Fig. 5, the sides of which will be directly in front of the edges of the piece that is back of the plane. This rectangle would be known as the front view of the piece. In a similar manner a rectangle might be drawn as shown by short dash lines at T, Fig. 5, on the horizontal plane, of such a size and in such a position that its sides would be directly over the edges of the piece. This rectangle is known as the top view of the piece, and if the horizontal part of the paper should now be brought into a vertical position and dimensions added' we would have what is known as the working drawing of this piece. It shows to the workman definitely the form and size of the piece and is typical of a large class of working drawings in which only the top and front views of the piece are shown. Now if one should make a working drawing, in the manner explained above, of a cylinder having its axis horizontal and parallel to the front, he would find that the drawing would not convey a complete and correct idea of the form of the cylinder and some other method must be resorted to. In this case it is desirable to consider the paper folded as in Fig. 6, so as to form two vertical planes, one in front of the object and the other extending back and at right angles to the front plane. The front view is a rectangle (U, Fig. 6) on the front plane, whose sides are directly in front of the edges and of the upper and

'Dimensions are omitted in Fig. n for simplicity but the method of placing them may lie .seen in Fig. 7.

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Bo 6 lower limits of the cylinder. On the vertical plane at the side a circle might be drawn as shown by short dash lines at V, Fig. 6, that would be directly in line with the edges of the cylinder. This would be called the side view, and when this part of the paper is brought again in line with the paper in front of the cylinder, and dimensions placed on it, we have a working drawing which is typical of another large class of drawings in which only the front and side views are shown. In making working drawings, edges or limits of objects obscured from view by parts of the object itself are shown by lines made up of short dashes. Thus the fact that the holes go entirely through the game board is shown by the dash lines on the front view in Fig. 7.

A method frequently employed in working drawings is what is known as taking a section and if its use is understood the drawing is usually clearer. This method consists in imagining a part or all of an object cut by an assumed plane and the parts thus cut exposed to view. To indicate the surface of a piece or pieces that are cut by such a plane, uniformly spaced slanting lines are drawn across the part supposed to be cut. When more than one piece is cut, the lines in adjacent pieces slant in different directions. The use of sections is illustrated in Fig. 41 where an imaginary cut made through the middle of the coat hanger shows its form without the necessity of showing the end view.

Another method frequently resorted to in making working drawings is to imagine a part of the object cut away so as to expose

IXTRODUCTION parts that are in reality covered. This frequently allows the details of the construction to be shown more clearly than would otherwise be possible. In the working drawing of the taboret (Fig. 74), this method is used, a portion of the top being removed to show the form and method of joining the legs and braces below.

Frequently it is not convient to make drawings the full size of the object represented and in such cases the drawings are made to scale; that is, they are made one-half, one-fourth, or some other definite part of the full size.

BEGINNING 1 VOOU 1 1 'ORK

CHAPTER II. Layixg Out and Sawing

This first problem is to give experience in good methods of laying out work, sawing, boring and the use of the dowel plate.

Game Board. The material required is a piece of tulip wood 8" long, planed by machine to a width of 4" and a thickness of •'4", another piece of the same dimensions to use in practice work, and two pieces of straight-grain tulip wood about 18" long and {\" square for the pegs.

The tools required are a pencil, a marking gage, a knife, a try-square, a rule, a bench-hook, a back-saw. a brace, a ?s" auger-bit, a dowel-plate and a mallet.

The working drawing (Fig. 7) should be studied before starting the bench work and an effort made to determine what is to be the length, width and thickness of the completed piece, where the holes are to be located, etc., and as 3^ou proceed with the work it is well to consult the drawing frequently that you may understand the reason for the steps, and thus acquire ability to use a working drawing. Below are given the steps to be followed with details of the methods to be used.'

'Each paragraph and foot note should be read before starting the work described therein, and then if you have difficulty in following the instructions re-read the paragraph and make sure that you understand it. Technical terms have been avoided as far as possible but if any of those used are not understood the dictionary should be consulted.

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(a) Select one of the broad surfaces of the practice piece, and with a pencil, mark a light slanting line across it (A, Fig. 9) to designate it as the working face, by which term it will be known in referring to it later.

(b) Select one of the narrow surfaces and mark two light slanting lines across it (B, Fig. 12) to designate it as the joint side.

(c) Practice gaging lines on this piece as follows: Set' the gage so that the little metal point is 3-'s" from the gage-block. Take the gage in the right hand and with the left hand hold the piece against the bench-stop so that the joint side is at the right. Place the gage on the end of the piece which is toward you (Fig. 9) and with the gage-block against the joint side. Now push the gage from you, with the top of the iron pin inclined away from you, and at the same time exert a slight pressure toward the left to keep the gage-block tight against the joint side. \ Do not grip the gage too tight or keep the wrist too stiff while gaging. Make a very light line the first time across, and then pass the gage over it again making the line to the required depth, which should only be deep enougji to make a clear, even line. Now increase the set of the gage by J's" for each successive line until it is set to 33-'2"; gage slowly and notice that the gage-block is close against the joint side at all times. If still unable to make good lines, repeat the practice work on the other side of the piece.

(d) Set the gage as in Fig. 8 so that the metal point is exactly 1"

'Do not depend on the graduations on the beam of the gage in setting it, but use the rule as shown in Fig. 8.

from the gage-block. Mark the working face and joint side on the piece for the game board and hold it against the bench-stop with the working face on top and the joint side at the right. Then with the gage-block against the joint side, gage a line the length of the piece.

(e) Change the set of the gage to 2" and gage the length of the piece.

(f) Change the set of the gage to o" and gage another line the length of the piece.

(g) Practice drawing knife lines across the practice piece as follows: Place the piece on the bench with the joint side away from you and place the try-square on the piece with the beam (Fig. 10) against the joint side and the blade on the working face and near the right end. Holding it in this position with the left hand, draw a knife line along the edge of the blade with the right hand (Fig. 11). Always draw the knife toward you with the handle inclined slightly away from the blade of the try-square. When the try-square comes so near to the left end that the beam is not well supported, turn the piece around with the joint side toward you and place the try-square on the piece with the beam against the joint side and the blade near the right end (Fig. 12). Draw the line lightty the first time across the piece and the second time draw it to the desired depth.

(h) When able to draw lines well (as explained in g) you should practice drawing knife lines square around the practice piece in the following manner: Draw a knife line across the working face (as explained in g) ; then place the piece in the vise with the beam of the

BEGIXXIXG WOOmVi >RK try-square held tight against the working face (Fig. 13), and draw a knife line across the joint side, joining exactly with the end of the line drawn first; repeat this on the side opposite the joint side and then with the beam against the joint side draw a line on the surface opposite the working face, joining exactly with the end of the last line drawn. If this work has been done carefully, and the beam in all cases has been held tight against the working face or joint side, this line will also join with the line on the joint side making a continuous line square around the piece.

(i) — Now take the piece for the game board and lay the rule flat on the piece with the graduated edge away from you and parallel to the gage lines (Fig. 14). With the knife held in a vertical position and with the back of the blade against the rule, make light knife marks at five consecutive inch divisions, the nearest of these points being at least ' ■>" from the end.

(j) Through the three middle points tlius marked, draw knife lines across the working face (as in g) and through the two end points thus marked, draw knife line square around the piece (as in h). The two lines drawn last, mark what are to be the ends of the piece when completed.

(k) On the surplus wood outside of these lines draw several lines square around the piece (as in h) to use as guide lines for practice sawing. Saw to these lines in the following maner: Place the bench-hook (Fig. 15) on the bench with the larger block hooked against the front side of the bench and, with the left hand, hold the piece against

LAY IXC OUT AXD SAWI.XG the block on the bench-hook. Take the back saw in your right hand and place the end of the saw nearest your hand on the edge of the piece farthest from you (Fig. 16) and draw the saw toward you with the nearer end of the saw higher than the farther end, the saw blade being held steady in the correct place by resting against the forefinger of your left hand. By drawing the saw toward you a second time before you really start sawing, a fairly deep cut or kerf will be formed, which will prevent the saw jumping out of place as it is pushed forward. The left hand side of this kerf should come exactly to the knife line you are sawing to. Saw with an even stroke but do not press down on the saw. Keep the forearm in line with the saw and watch closely the knife line as the sawing advances, bringing the cutting edge of the saw very gradually to a horizontal position.

(1) After sawing off a piece, test to see if the end is square with the working face and joint side in the following manner: Place the bean: of the try-square against the joint side and slide it down until the blade touches the sawed surface (Fig. 17). If it touches entirely across the sawed end when the beam is tight against the joint side, the end is square with the joint side. In a similar manner test to see if the end is square with the working face.

(m) When you can saw well, saw the piece to the length denoted by the end lines drawn square around the piece in j.

(n) Bore a hole ^g" in diameter through the piece at each point where a gage and knife line intersect. By holding the end of the brace (Fig. 18) — the end into which the bit is to be placed — in one hand, it will be found that by turning the middle part or crank around in one direction the jaws will open and the tapered end of the ?s" auger-bit (Fig. 19) may be dropped between them. The jaws may then be closed tightly on the bit. Fasten the piece in the vise with the working face in a horizontal position. Place the spur of the bit (Fig. 19) exactly at the intersection of gage and knife lines. Hold the bit in a vertical position with the left hand on top of the brace and, with the right hand, turn the crank part of the brace in a clockwise direction as you arc looking down on it, but do not press down on the brace (Fig. 18). While boring change your position frequently so as to view the bit and brace from different directions that you may detect if it is not boring straight. When the spur of the bit pricks through the opposite side, turn the piece over and enter the bit in the hole pricked by the spur. Bore out the remainder of the hole, being careful that the l)it does not suddenly drop through and splinter the edge of the hole on the opposite surface.

(o) From one of the ,',■," sqviare pieces saw off a piece about 2" long. With the knife make a point on one end of it sufficient to enter it in the larger hole of the dowel plate. Place the dowel plate so that this hole is directly over one of the holes in the top of the bench and with the mallet drive the piece through this hole (Fig. 20), using light strokes. Do not drive the peg back through the hole to get it free from the dowel plate, but whittle a small peg and drive it on through the plate. In a similar manner drive it through the smaller hole which will bring it to a diameter that will fit freelv in the holes bored.

LAYING OUT AND SAWING

Drive at least eight pieces through the dowel plate in this manner, but unless the grain is suitable and the driving done with care it may be necessarv to drive more than eight pieces before enough good ones are obtained.

(p) Saw a length of l]-/ from the best part of eight of these pieces that have been driven through the dowel plate and with the knife cut off the edges (Fig. 21) of each end of the pegs at as near as possible the slant indicated by the drawing (Fig. 7) . It should be remembered that these tapered edges should be in the form of a part of a cone and careless use of the knife may cause them to be a disfigurement to your piece.

(q) Four of these pegs should be dipped in ordinary writing ink and laid on paper to dry. When these are dry the board is ready for playing the game of tit-tat-toe which is familar to all Americans.

In Fig. 22 a working drawing of the counting board is given which requires almost identically the same steps in making as does the game board, but in addition the numbers indicated are necessary. These may be made with steel stencils, rubber stamps or even with a lead pencil. To make use of the counting board it should be fastened to the wall by two nails or screws passing through the small holes at the top and bottom. It may then be used to record any slow counting as the counting of bushels of grain emptied into a bin, the gallons of oil purchased in a year by a family, articles made in a factory, etc. The right hand column of holes corresponds with units, the middle column with tens, and the left hand column with hundreds. As each article is counted

BEGINXIXG WUOin 1 '( >RK the peg in units column is moved down one hole and as each ten units is completed the units peg is returned to the zero hole and the peg in the tens column is moved down one hole. In a similar manner, as each ten tens is completed the peg in the tens column is returned to zero and the peg in the hundreds column is moved down one hole. The numbers by the side of the three pegs taken in order indicate the count as it stands at anv time.

LAYING OUT AND SAWING

COUNTING BOARD Fig.ae

1 1 ' ' 1 1 1

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

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T^ — Sim i< i i 1 i

11 . 1 1

CHAPTER III Planing

On completing this chapter one should have acquired a free motion when using the jack and block planes; should have become skilled in taking off a shaving where desired; and should have an appreciation of the accurac)' possible when using the plane.

Swing Board (Fig. 2.'?). The material required is a piece of rough pine 15"x5"x"s"-

The tools to be used for the first time are the jack-plane and the block-plane. The jack-plane is about lo" long, the several parts of which are shown clearly in Fig. 24." The double plane-iron (Fig. 25) may be moved in or out of the mouth by turning the adjusting nut (M Fig. 24) thus regulating the thickness of the shaving that the plane will cut, and by moving the lever (N Fig. 24) that is close under the plane-iron, to the right or left the sharpened end of the plane-iron may be made to project an equal distance out of each end of the mouth (O Fig. 24) . When planes are not in use they should be laid on their side or placed in some other position where

'The planes shown in Figs. 24 and 26 have been standards for some years but other good planes are now on the market and if purchased by a beginner he should learn the method of adjustment when purchasing. A portion of the appendix is devoted to a further description of these planes, and an explanation of how to take them apart and put them together is given. If your plane is in good condition it is not advisable to read these explanations until after the work of this chapter is completed.

K Plo-ne , L-C«.|=

P-Knob.

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-Ffg, the sharpened end of the plane-iron eannot come in contact with anything, not even the surface of the bench.

The block-plane, the parts of which are shown in Fig. 2() is al.)out ()" long and is made especially for planing across the end of the wood. The adjusting nut (T Fig. 26) is placed in a different position but changes the thickness of the shaving the same as the adjusting nut in the jack-plane. The lateral adjusting lever (U Fig. 2G) serves the same purpose as the one on the jack-plane.

(a) Raise the bench-stop or stops to about half the thickness of the piece for the swing board and place the piece lengthwise of the bench with a broad surface up and one end resting against the bench-stop.

(b) Stand in an erect position with the left foot a little in advance of the right, and with the right side of the body a little back of the right end of the piece (Fig. 1). With the jack-plane set for rather a light cut, place it on the right end of the piece, holding the handle with the right hand and with the left hand resting on the knob at the front end of the plane. Now push the plane forward without much movement of the body; that is, let the arms swing from the shoulders. A downward pressure should be exerted on the knob when beginning the stroke, and when finishing the stroke a downward pressure should be exerted on the handle. In bringing the plane back to begin another stroke raise the plane sufficiently to prevent its drawing the piece back.

(c) Strokes similiar to those described in b should l>e continued

PLANING until the surface appears smooth. It may be desirable some of the time to plane only part of the length of the piece, and that should be done in one of the following ways : if it is desired to plane from near the middle of the piece to the farther end, the plane may be placed on the board where desired and pushed to the end, as the starting of the shaving will be gradual and no disfiguring mark will be left. If, however, it is desired to stop the cut of the plane before reaching the farther end, it is necessary to gradually reduce the thickness of the shaving as it comes to the end of the cut by raising the back end of the plane from the board while the plane is in motion.

(d) When this entire surface appears smooth, mark a light slanting line across it to designate it as the working face.

(e) Clamp the piece in the vise with one of the narrow sides up and hold the plane in a manner similar to that explained in b, except that the fingers of the left hand should be allowed to extend down by the left side of the plane and piece (Fig. 27) . When the side is nearly smooth, try the effect of planing with the center line of the plane over the edge formed by this side and the working face, still keeping the plane in a horizontal position. Examine the shaving cut when the plane was so held, and it will be found that the shaving is thicker on that side. A similar result will be noticed when the center line of the plane is over the other edge. This knowledge will be of use later when you wish to plane more off of one part of a narrow surface than another, to bring it square with a broad surface.