Carpenter work should be encouraged in a boy from the time he first becomes interested in it, for besides being something with which to keep him busy, the experience gained by its practice will be useful to him all his life, no matter what branch of industry he may follow later on.
When a boy has learned the proper care and use of tools, and is able to turn out neatly executed work, he will find the occupation a profitable one, there being an unlimited number of things he can make in his shop.
Doll-houses for girl relatives, toys for brothers and cousins, and articles for the household, such as are described in following chapters, are a few of the many things he can construct. Many of these are salable articles, besides being suitable for birthday and Christmas gifts, and should bring a neat sum of money to the young carpenter.
A knowledge of carpenter work also develops in a boy a handiness for devising and putting together articles and apparatus for his own use.
A boy should really have a shop where he can keep his tools and unfinished work with no danger of them being disturbed, and where he need not be afraid of littering the floor with shavings or of making too much noise.
The Workshop may be fitted up by the boy himself, and a suitable place can probably be found in the basement, barn, or woodshed. Here a corner large enough to contain a work-bench, carpenter's horses, and tool-cabinets, besides plenty of room to work in, should be partitioned off, and a window that will admit a good supply of light made in one side of the room, if one has not already been provided.
A Solid Work-bench, six feet long, thirty inches wide, and thirty-two inches high,
should be constructed beneath the window. It is a good idea to build this on to the wall if possible, as it is easier to make a solid bench by doing so, and the firmer it is, the better.
First cut a two-by-four four feet long, and spike it to the wall below the window, twenty-eight inches above the floor. Then saw two pieces of two-by-four, twenty-eight inches long, for the legs, and two pieces, thirty inches long, for cross-pieces. Spike the crosspieces on to the legs and on to the piece nailed to the wall, as shown in Fig. 1. Cut three ten-inch planks, six feet long, and spike them to the crosspieces so that they project twelve inches over the ends, but are flush with the framework in front. Then cut a ten-inch board, six feet long, for an apron, and, after cutting the ends as shown in Fig. 4, nail it across the front of the bench.
For fifty cents a fifteen-inch iron or wooden bench-screw, similar to those in Figs. 2 and 3, can be purchased at a hardware store, and the rest of
The Vise is simple to make. Figures 1, 4, and 5 show the details for this.
Take a board thirty inches long by six inches wide for the jaw, and bore a hole a little larger than the screw, six inches from one end. Bore another hole the same size through the apron and table-leg, six inches below the bench-top (see A in Figs. 4 and 5). The portion of the iron screw marked B in Fig. 2 should be set into the hole bored in the bench-leg and screwed at E (Fig. 1), while the portion D is to be screwed to the jaw. If a wooden screw is used, the portion C in the drawing (Fig. 3) is nailed to the inside of the bench-leg.
In order to guide the bottom of the jaw, an arrangement similar to F in Fig. 5 should be made. Make a mortise two inches long by one inch wide near the bottom of the bench-leg and cut a strip of wood fifteen inches long to fit loosely in it. Then shut the vise and mark upon the inside of the jaw the place where the mortise comes in the leg. Nail one end of the fifteen-inch strip to the jaw at this point, being careful to get it in such a position that the other end will slide into the mortise. Bore several holes in the strip and cut a peg to fit in them. The jaw can now be kept parallel with the side of the bench by adjusting the peg, which is very necessary in order to have the vise grip a piece of work squarely.
When you have a long board to work upon, it cannot be held steady by the vise alone. One end should be placed in the vise and the other rested upon a peg stuck in a hole bored in the side of the bench. For boards of different lengths, several holes should be bored, as shown in the illustration of the finished bench, and a movable peg cut to fit in them.
A Bench-stop of some sort fastened to the top of the bench will be found useful to push work against while planing it, when it is not convenient to use the vise. Figures 6, 7, and 8 show the forms of stops most commonly used by carpenters. Of these the metal stop shown in Fig. 6 is the most satisfactory, as it can be adjusted to different heights. It costs but little and is easily put in place. A mortise is made in the top of the bench to receive the lower portion of the stop, and the plate A is set flush with the bench-top and held in place with screws driven into the holes in the corners. The centre of this plate (B) is detached from the rest and mounted upon a small post, which can be adjusted to the desired height by giving the screw at C a few turns with the screw-driver. The teeth in the edge of B help to hold the work in position.
One of the simplest forms of stops is shown in Fig. 7. It consists of two screws placed in the top of the bench, which can be raised or lowered with the screwdriver to the height you desire.
The stop shown in Fig. 8 is made out of a block of wood with a " bird's mouth " cut in one side. It should be nailed to one end of the bench in such a position that the end of the work can be placed in the " bird's mouth."
While most of your work will be done on the bench, and a good portion of sawing done with the wood in the vise, large pieces, especially long boards, are generally sawn while placed across horses.
Boring, paring, and nailing on the bench will soon make the surface uneven, unless something is placed beneath the work during such operations. You should therefore make and use
A Bench-hook, such as shown in Fig. 11. A good size is ten by twelve inches, but it may be made larger or smaller if desired. Nail a strip along one edge of the under face and another strip along the opposite edge of the upper face.
Further description of the uses of this handy article will be found in the following chapter. You will need
A Mitre-box for cutting mitres in large work, and this may be made as shown in Fig. 12.
No matter how skilful a carpenter is with his tools, he generally depends upon his mitre-box in making mitres, for not only accuracy is obtained by its use, but time is also saved. In using one be careful not to let the saw cut into the sides of the kerfs, or the box will soon be rendered useless for making accurate mitres.
Before putting the finish upon a piece of work, the wood should be thoroughly sand-papered. In many cases certain portions cannot be reached by the hand, and so
A Strop for putting keen edges on tools may be made out of a block of wood, with a piece of shoe-leather, or section of an old razor-strop, glued to one side of it.
It consists of a stick, the sides of which have been planed up true and parallel, with a notch in one end and a cord with a weight attached fastened to the other end. The notch should be cut in the exact centre of the end of the stick, and the nail placed in the other end directly in line with the centre of the notch. An iron nut, or some such weight, should be attached to the lower end of the cord.
By placing this stick at the side of an object, you can determine whether or not it is plumb by the position of the string, which should hang in the centre of the notch when the object is plumb. The length of the stick may be made to suit the size of the work it is to be used upon. Four or five feet is a good length for ordinary outside work.
In purchasing Tools for your workshop it is not advisable to buy them in chests, for they are almost always made of cheap material, and poor tools are of no use to the boy who intends to do good work. It is a much better plan to buy a few tools at a time, getting a good quality of steel, and to gradually increase your outfit as your money permits. Then if you really want a chest you can make it yourself. A hatchet, hammer, saw, plane, chisel, jack-knife, bit and bit-stock, screw-driver, and square are the principal tools you will require, and need be all you have to start out with. Others may be got as you have need of them, and may be selected from the following list, which includes probably all the tools a boy would ever have occasion to use.
LIST OF TOOLS FROM WHICH TO MAKE YOUR SELECTIONS
The proper care and handling of these tools is fully described and illustrated in the following chapter. These directions should be carefully read before you attempt to use the tools, especially the edge tools.
A Cabinet will be found much better for an outfit of tools than a tool-chest, as it can be more easily got at than a chest, where it is necessary to lift several trays before you can reach a tool which has been put in the bottom.
The cabinet shown in Fig. 15 is made out of a box about three feet long, two feet wide, and nine inches deep. Make a door from the box-cover, fastening the boards together by means of two battens placed at the top and bottom. Nail a cleat on each side of the cabinet six inches from the bottom, and make a shelf to fit upon them.
Racks for Bits and Chisels should be made similar to Fig. 16, and fastened side by side to the inside of the cabinet.
Cut a strip of wood about the size of the battens, and make two slots in it, one for the end of the saw to fit in and the other for the blade of the try-square (see Fig. 15). This strip is fastened to the cabinet door a few inches above the bottom batten.
Hang up the other tools on brass hooks.
After completing the cabinet, paint it inside and out, and fasten either a hook or lock to the door.
When this cabinet becomes too small for your increase in tools, you can keep those you use the most in it, and make
Another Cabinet for the special and less used tools. Either screw the cabinets to the wall or support them upon brackets.
Racks may be made for any tools you wish to hang on the wall. A piece of grooved siding nailed above the bench will do nicely for the large square.
When you do outside work you will want something in which to carry such tools as will be required to complete the job.
A Carpenter's Carrying-box should be made. Such a box is shown in Fig. 17. The box should be about twenty-seven inches long, to accommodate the saws, and it would be well to make the width eight inches and the height sixteen inches.
First prepare the end-pieces, making them six by sixteen inches and rounding the tops with the compass-saw, as shown in the illustration. Then cut a board twenty-five inches long by six inches wide for the bottom and nail the end-pieces to the ends of it. Make the side-pieces twenty-seven by eight inches, and nail them to the end-pieces and to the edges of the bottom board. The handle consists of a broom-stick fitted into holes bored near the tops of the end-pieces.
This box should be used for tools only, and not have nails, screws, and bolts mixed up with them, for these supplies should be kept in a special
Nail-box, with compartments for the different sizes of nails, screws, hooks, screw-eyes, hinges, etc. One of the best kinds of boxes for this purpose is a knife-box such as can be bought for ten or fifteen cents. This is divided in two and has a handle attached (see Fig. 18). The two compartments should be sub-divided into smaller boxes, either with pieces of cigar-boxes, or with pieces of tin bent at the ends and fastened to the sides of the box.
Supplies of nails, brads, etc., should be kept in cans and cigar-boxes of different sizes, and it is a good idea to letter these receptacles that you may be able to put your hands upon what you want without having to hunt for it.
Shelves will be handy to keep paint-cans and these boxes on.
Workshop Clothes. — Old clothes should be worn in the shop, as carpenter work is rather hard upon them, especially the trousers. Better than these is a pair of overalls and perhaps a jumper. They are easy to work in and wear better than anything else.
A Few Hooks should be placed on the wall for hats and coats, and for your working clothes, if you change them in the shop before and after work.
To prevent your tools from being carried off, and your work from being disturbed, it is advisable to have a lock upon the door and keep your shop locked up when you are away.
To avoid danger of fire, keep combustible articles, such as oily waste and rags, in covered tin cans, and do not allow shavings and rubbish to accumulate.