Anonymous

“ Use this tool at first with great caution, for it is much more difficult to manage than the gouge; with an inexperienced hand, the point is apt to dig into the wood, quite spoiling its surface, or else, by pressing it too firmly upon the work, it cuts great pieces in an uneven manner. When skillfully used, it should feel almost to work by itself, merely running steadily along the wood, shaving off all its inaccuracies, and making it look quite bright, smooth, and polished. All soft woods are entirely turned with the gouge and chisel, of both of which you must have several sizes. ”

“ Beautiful flowers in ivory, equal to the Chinese carving, are formed by the experienced turner, with small wheels and other instruments: medallions, even, are executed in the lathe, with machinery so constructed that the tool follows on the wood the exact lines of the head that is being copied.
Gold and silver ornaments, such as watches, snuff-boxes, and other trinkets, are worked with what is called a rose engine; plates with patterns indented upon them are fastened upon the mandrel: the screw regulates the tool, which produces an exact counterpart of the pattern. ”

“ We now come to the most difficult operation in turning, that of cutting a screw; to perform it well and easily is a proof of the workman’s skill and proficiency in the art. There are many ways of doing it; we shall therefore give the best and least expensive. The screw tools, figures 14 and 15, plate 1, must fit exactly one into the other. Fig. 15 is an outside, Fig. 14 an inside tool. As the threads may be required to be cut coarse or fine, according to the work you are engaged upon, the small grooves in the tools are made to suit. ”

“ The machines used for Turning, whether round or oval objects, are called Lathes; they are of various shapes and sizes; some very small, as those generally used by watchmakers; others very large and powerful, for turning iron; and others, the kind I am going to describe, of a middling size, for fashioning wood and ivory. The large lathes, being too heavy to be worked with the foot, are usually turned by a steam-engine, but the foot-lathe is the most convenient for the turner in wood ”

“ Among all the many descriptions of the varied, beautiful, and useful inventions that owe their discovery and perfection to the genius and hand of man, inventions that in so wonderful a degree assist and facilitate the operations of the mechanic, no one has ever written the history of the Lathe. ”

“ The drill is a most useful auxiliary to the eccentric cutter, not only for drilling holes, which it does with great nicety and speed, but also for making mouldings and patterns of various kinds. Unlike the cutter, which moves either in a large or small circle, the drill can only work upon its own centre, and therefore the size of the pattern depends upon the tool placed in it, its position being regulated by the screw in the sliding rest, into which it slips like the cutter. ”

“ When screwed together, it will not be perceived that the two pieces are not even; and as the part where the inner screw is worked is, of course, thin, you would have no thickness for the spiral pattern. When one end is finished, put a fine double angular tool into your cutter, and very carefully cut some circles at regular distances between the twists: this adds much to the curious effect of the patterns: to do it, work backwards, counting the same numbers on the chuck wheel and on the sliding rest as for the twists. ”

“ A general idea of the nature of the work is all we are enabled to give. The pattern intended for the cylinder must be cut upon a small steel wheel, which revolves upon an axis. This wheel is then to be held against the copper cylinder, which, quickly revolving in the lathe, carries it round, and receives from it the impression of its pattern. The wheel operates like a punch, but the roughness it makes on the edge of the work is easily polished down. ”

“ If a bit of the steel splits away, as is frequently the case in turning hard woods, grind it down till it becomes even again, then rub it on the Turkey stone, with a little olive oil, till the edge is so sharp that you cannot see it; for the gouges and hollow tools, thick Turkey stones, rounded at the edges, are sold, which enter into the groove, and the outer edges are rubbed on the flat stone.
As soon as the turner becomes quite master of his tools, he will find ivory much pleasanter to work than wood ”

“ The eccentric cutter, the drill, the eccentric chuck, and the universal, or vertical cutter, are all indispensable for those who wish to perform ornamental turning, and with them the most delicate and intricate patterns can be worked with a precision and accuracy that are truly wonderful. A sliding, or parallel, rest is absolutely necessary for turning patterns, as upon it, in some degree, depends their exactness. Fig. 1, plate 5, is the drawing of one. ”

“ GONEOMETER.
All the eccentric tools require the greatest care in sharpening, and the above ingenious machine has been invented for this purpose; it is represented at P, in plate 4. The upper part, 1, is a plate of brass, the outer edge, 2, is graduated as high as 50 each way, beginning at the tongue, 3. Beyond the numbers is a groove, in which one end of the tool slide, 4, slips, and is firmly fixed (so as to point to any of the numbers that suit the angle of the tool) by a nut underneath. ”

“ This is a very useful addition to the lathe, not only as a support when boring holes, but also to be used with the right hand puppet, to give strength to any long slender piece of work, as a screen-handle or a pen-holder; for, being of great length, the stress necessary to the proper management of the tools would be apt to break the wood or ivory, and it is easy to make one of the ornamental mouldings of a proper size, to enable it to run smoothly in one of the supports; if too tight, the wheel will not turn, and if too loose, the work will jerk up and down. ”

“ The opposite pattern is worked the same, only taking care to turn the slide-rest screw outwards the half turn for every circle, or the straight pattern will come contrary.
In all these straight patterns take great care that the fly-wheel is stopped in such a manner that the eccentric chuck stands perfectly upright: to do this, hold the T square against one side, and make a mark on the brass wheel for the stop to enter. When you are quite sure that the chuck inclines neither to the right nor the left, drill a small hole in the wheel sufficiently deep for the stop to hold it quite firm. ”

“ Having formed a smooth cylinder, hollowed it out, and made the screws, take your largest flat-ended drill, and drill fifteen holes round the pillar, or one at every eighth number of the eccentric chuck wheel. Your ivory must be very thick, to enable the tool to cut very deep. Having cut one row of holes, slowly [Pg 113] and carefully, you must move the sliding rest forward two turns, then cut another hole every eighth number again; do a third circle the same, moving the chuck and slide the same every time. Now examine your work, and see whether the twists begin to appear. ”

“ When you are going to glue a piece of wood to a chuck, put very little glue thinly and evenly over the surface of the latter, then press the wood upon it firmly, and place a lead weight upon them to unite them perfectly.
CHUCKS. Plate 2.
The chucks, upon which the material to be turned, whether of wood, ivory, or metal, is always fixed, next demand our attention. They are of every [Pg 40] variety of size and form, and are all screwed upon the mandrel of the lathe. Many are made of brass; others (the most numerous, because the turner can make them for himself) , are of wood ”

“ B is a brass socket and pillar, which support the bed C, in which the tool box slides; they are formed in the same piece with the lower bed, L L, and firmly fixed into the lower part, which is grooved, by four brass-headed screws, N N. The grooves enable the whole socket and tool box to slide backwards and forwards on the bed of steel, D D, and by means of the screw which passes through it the workman regulates the advance or retreat of the rest to or from the work in a straight line, while the lower part remains stationary. ”

“ Let me also observe to those who cannot afford to purchase much expensive machinery, that with care, patience, and perseverance, the common tools may be made to work a great variety of very beautiful articles: and if they will also keep in mind the old-fashioned but true saying, “that whatever is worth learning at all, is worth learning well;” they will, I have no doubt, soon become proficients in an art that has been admired and practised for centuries. ”

“ MASTIC USED IN TURNING IVORY VERY THIN.
To turn ivory as thin as writing paper, so as to render it quite transparent, is very difficult to accomplish, but is much admired when done, and shows the skill of the artist. To enable the ivory to bear the action of the tool without splitting, the following mastic has been found very useful, both for strengthening it and for giving a deep colouring, by which means the thinness is more perceptible. ”

“ The tenon saw is used for cutting across the fibres of wood; the smallest saw of this kind is about fourteen inches long, the largest about twenty inches. Circular saws are of all sizes; they are easily fitted up with a spindle, which, being screwed on to the nose of the mandrel, and supported at the other end by the back puppet, enables the workman to turn them by the wheel of the lathe, while at the same time he holds the wood or ivory firmly against them. ”

“ For this no exact rule can be given, as it depends on the circumference of the work: if very large, the tool must cut very deep to detach it: but, after trying two or three times by these directions, it will be found quite easy. As the ivory twists are, of course, very delicate, and the least jar in working is apt to break, do not use the lever, but employ the screw guides, as directed for the spiral turning. Line the ivory before beginning the twists, and leave about half an inch at each end, which you can ornament with the cutter: this gives strength to the work. ”

“ Among the numerous apparatus adjusted to it is a machine, by the aid of which medallions have been executed; and in the British Museum is a profile in basso relievo of Sir Isaac Newton, wholly worked in the lathe; but how different from the turning of the ancients! The medallion machine requires much labour and very expensive apparatus, while the potter’s wheel cannot have possessed much mechanism or great quantities of tools: most of those now in use being unknown in former days. ”

“ Make your box and lid of hard, well-seasoned wood; hollow them out, and polish the insides, only omitting to cut the lip upon which the lid fits, and which will be formed by the tortoise-shell. As you hollow out the box and lid, keep fitting in the shell, that you may not make them too large; when it slips in rather tight, take a point tool and cut some circles on the inside of each; (this is done to enable the glue to hold firmly.) Now, take the tortoise-shell and file that part that is to be cemented to the box, so as to make it rough. ”