Archie Seldon Milton

“ All tools should be held firmly but not rigidly. The right hand should grasp the handle at the extreme end for two reasons: first, to give as much leverage as possible so that the tool will not be thrown from the hands in case it should catch in the wood; second, a slight wavering of the hand will not cause as much variance in the cuts as when held closer up to the rest. The left hand should act as a guide and should be held over the tool near the cutting edge. The little finger and the back part of the palm of the hand should touch the tool rest thus assuring a steady movement. ”

“ Wood turning gives a pupil preliminary experience necessary in pattern making and machine shop work. It brings into play the scientific element by demonstrating the laws governing revolving bodies. In bringing the chisel into contact with the revolving surface, the mathematical principle of the "point of tangency" is illustrated. Excellent tool technique is developed in wood turning as on the exactness of every movement depends the success of the operator, and any slight variation will spoil a piece of work. ”

“ CLAMPING STOCK IN THE LATHE
Take the live center from the spindle and with a wooden mallet drive the spur deep into the wood. Never drive the wood onto the live center while in the spindle because serious injury may be done the machine by such practice. When extremely hard wood is being used, it is a good practice to make saw cuts along the diagonal lines and bore a hole at the intersection, thus allowing the spur to enter the wood more freely. Oil the other end of the wood while holding it in a vertical position, and give the oil a chance to penetrate into the wood. ”

“ In working out the round nose of a gouge for wood turning, it is necessary that the handle be swung from one side to the other while, at the same time, the chisel is revolved to cut the bevel evenly. It is sometimes necessary to allow some pupils to use the side of the emery wheel in sharpening the gouge. This kind of grinding, however, does not leave the tool hollow ground as when the face of the wheel is used. ”

“ If scraping is allowed the educational value of the work is lost.
In wood turning a vast field for design and modeling is opened, and art and architecture can be correlated. The pupil will see for himself the need of variety in curves and must use his judgment in determining curves that are so harmonious and pleasing that they will blend together. If properly taught the beauty in the orders of architecture can be brought out in the making of the bead, fillet, scotia, cove, etc. ”

“ A great amount of practice and patience is required to get a first class polish. Polishing can only be learned by experience. Correct your troubles in properly proportioning the mixture. Never use too much shellac as it will build up too fast and will not harden, thus causing rings; or it will pull and catch to the pad, thus forming bunches. The purpose of alcohol is mainly to dilute the shellac and to prevent against putting it on the work too fast, but care must be taken not to use too much alcohol to cut the shellac entirely. ”

“ For all work up to 3" in diameter, the surface may be smoothed by using a small skew chisel in the same manner as in squaring the ends of Stock in cylinder work. (Step 6--Exercise A-I--1-a, Straight Cuts.)
For larger work, place the chisel flat on the rest with the toe next to the stock and the back edge of the chisel parallel to the face to be surfaced.
The point of the chisel is then forced toward the center of the stock, using the straight back of the tool as a guide against the finished surface. Only a very thin cut should be taken at a time. ”

“ When his tool makes a "run" he must determine the reason and figure out why a certain result is obtained when the chisel is held in a given position. Certain cuts must be fully mastered, and it takes a good deal of experience and absolute confidence in one's self in manipulating the tools before it is possible to attempt skilful work. ”

“ In addition to this, open grained wood, such as oak, must be properly filled with a wood filler. If properly sharpened tools have been used very little sanding is required, and then worn sandpaper should be used as it does not cut into the work as new paper cuts. Remember sandpaper is not to be used as a tool in cutting down stock when working to dimensions. In using old sandpaper run the lathe at a moderate speed to avoid burning the wood, especially on square or round fillets. Keep the edges of the work sharp and do not wear them round. ”

“ The wood should be cut out with a knife so as to leave the corners sharp on the narrow bands. The portion cut out should be a semi-circle and can be sanded by making a spindle a little smaller than the distance between the bands and fastening sandpaper on the spindle. Place in the lathe and hold the spiral on the sandpaper cylinder at an angle so that the spiral will fit. Turn gradually and the sandpaper will smooth up the portion between the bands and true it up. At the ends where the grooves are smaller, use a smaller stick around which sandpaper has been wound and work out by hand. ”

“ This will help to keep the tool sharp for, as the edge wears off, the tool sharpens itself to a certain extent. The chisel is of harder material than a cabinet scraper so that it will not stand a great amount of turning over on the edge. Small pieces will be broken out, unless a flat surface is rubbed against the edge at a more acute angle than was used in the whetting. If a narrow burnisher is used, pieces are more likely to be broken out from the sharp edge and thus make the tool useless. ”

“ An open grained wood may be filled in the ordinary way, or the grain may be filled by rubbing into the pores of the wood a combination of shellac, rotten stone or pumice, oil and alcohol. Rotten stone is used for dark wood and pumice is used for light wood. The wood may be left in the natural or stained as in the first method. The mixture of shellac, rotten stone, oil and alcohol, is applied to the work with a pad made of cotton waste, wrapped in cheese cloth to keep it from sticking to the work. It should be about 11⁄2" in diameter and 1⁄2" thick. ”

“ Stress is laid upon the proper use of tools, and the problems are presented in such a way that each exercise, or project, depends somewhat on the one preceding. It is not the idea of the writers that all problems shown should be made, but that the instructor select only such as will give the pupils enough preliminary work in the use of the tools to prepare them for other models following. ”

“ It is used in various forms in making furniture and furniture parts, building trim, tool parts, toys, athletic paraphernalia and many other useful and beautiful articles in common use.
When properly taught in the schools it is one of the most valuable types of instruction. It appeals to pupils more than any other type of manual work, as it embodies both the play and work elements. It is very interesting and fascinating and, in the hands of a skilled instructor, is readily correlated with other work. ”

“ As the sphere becomes smaller during the cutting, it will be necessary to cut the face of the chuck down and bore the hole deeper and smaller in order to keep more than half of it protruding at all times. ”

“ The first mark should be just far enough in on the cylinder to insure cutting past the point of the dead center. This will leave all surplus stock at the live center end where it is needed, because, if not enough stock is left at this end, there is danger of striking the live center spur with the tool and of injuring the chisel and perhaps the work. ”

“ In order to preserve the educational value of the work as brought out by skill and dexterity in handling tools, it will be necessary to use the cutting method wherever possible. In some instances that method will be impossible, and the scraping method must be used. ”

“ The lathe should be oiled every day before starting. At the end of the period the lathe should be brushed clean of all chips and shavings, after which it should be rubbed off with a piece of waste or cloth to remove all surplus oil. All tools should be wiped clean and put in their proper places. If a student finds that his lathe is not running as it should, he should first call the attention of the instructor to that fact before attempting to adjust it ”

“ The wire edge is thus worn off quickly as there is no metal to be worn away in the middle of the bevels. The chisel is sharp when the edge, which may be tested by drawing it over the thumb nail, is smooth and will take hold evenly along its entire length. ”

“ An analysis of the exercise chosen should be made to determine which of the various cuts should be made first, second, etc., in order to produce the exercise in the shortest time and with the least amount of tool manipulation. ”

“ LARGE SURFACE SCREW FACE-PLATE. For all work that does not require deep cutting on the outside, such as exercises, jewel boxes, etc., as well as all large stock, and all stock from which chucks are to be made, the large face-plate with the surface screws should be used. ”

“ Allow the first coat to dry before applying a second coat for, if too much is put on at any one time, the heat generated in the rubbing will cause the shellac to pull, and it will form rings by piling up. ”

“ A very thin shaving should be taken. If the gouge is allowed to roll back so the grind above the cutting point comes in contact with the wood it is sure to catch and gash the wood.
5. SMOOTHING THE FACE. (SMALL SKEW CHISEL.) FIG. 16. ”