Fred. T. Hodgson

“ It is quite clear that when a workman cuts a common rafter, he is also cutting a timber that would answer for a hip for a building of less span having the same rise, only taking some adjustment of the top bevel to fit against a ridge. This is quite plain, and if we refer to Fig. 58, we find that the common rafter for a 1-foot run becomes a hip for an 81⁄2-inch run, and that a hip for a 1-foot run of the building becomes a common rafter for a 17-inch run. ”

“ It is not enough, nowadays, for a person to have attained the character of a good workman; that phrase implies that quantum of excellence, which consists in working correctly and neatly, under the directions of others. The workman of to-day, to excel, must understand the principles of his trade, and be able to apply them correctly in practice. Such a one has a decided advantage over his fellow-workman ”

“ The enterprising mechanic will find opportunity for using the square in the solution of many problems that will crop up during his daily work, and the principles herein laid down will aid very much towards correct solutions. In framing roofs, bridges, trestle-work, and constructions of timber, the Steel Square is a necessity to the American carpenter; but only a few of the more intelligent workmen ever use it for other purposes than to make measurements, lay off the mortices and tenons, and square over the various joints. ”

“ This gives for inside measurements blade, 221⁄2 inches and tongue 16 inches.
I have described the square as the embodiment of a right angle. If the square is not a 36 right angle, or to use common terms, if the tool is “out of square,” that is, if it is in the least inaccurate, its usefulness is destroyed. When the square is inaccurate instead of solving intricate geometrical problems correctly it becomes a snare and a delusion, leading to false results and misfits in general. It is somewhat remarkable how few workmen test their squares. ”

“ Suffice it to say, that while iron squares, figured on their faces in inches and feet, and smaller divisions, have been made in England and Belgium for 200 years or more, the genuine steel square, as we now know it, is a purely American product, and it has no equal, as no European manufacturer has as yet been able to turn out a square anything like as good or perfect in finish, graduation, or general get-up, as Sargent & Co., of New Haven, Conn. ”

“ If run is measured from the point B, which will be the outer edge of the wall plate, it will be necessary to run a gauge line through B parallel to the edge of the rafter, and subtract a distance from the height of the ridge to give us the correct rise. The square must then be applied to the line L. A rafter of any desired rise and run may be laid off in this manner by selecting proportional parts of the rise and run for the blade and tongue of the square. For a half-pitch roof use 12 in. ”

“ Unlike the decimal used for a quarter pitch the lengths are a very small fraction short; as, for instance, a rafter for a building 60 feet wide, by finding the hypothenuse, would be 36 feet, 1-16 of an inch. By my way, 60×.6=36 feet. A slight difference, truly. If building is 48 feet wide, then by the first method we find 28 feet, 10 inches full; by my way, 28 feet, 93⁄8 inches. A little practice will enable the mechanic to allow just enough to make up for the slight difference, so that when rafters are put together the fit will be perfect. ”

“ No matter what people may say to the contrary, there is no method or methods that has ever been devised that is so effective in roof framing, or results so rapidly achieved, as those which are obtained by the use of the steel square. I have shown in some of the earlier pages of this work how rapidly the length, and bevels of any common rafter may be obtained by the simple application of the square, any determined number of times. ”

“ Of late years, a number of books have been published, in which the authors and compilers have made commendable efforts to simplify matters pertaining to the arts of carpentry and joinery, and the mechanic of to-day has not the difficulties of his predecessors to contend with. The workman of old could excuse his ignorance of the higher branches of his trade, by saying that he had no means of acquiring a knowledge of them. ”

“ I may be pardoned for again showing the common and simplest method of laying out an ordinary rafter, for notwithstanding all I have said and described and explained on this subject, there will always be some persons who will not be able to grasp the method, unless it is put to them in some other light. ”

“ A square that was quite popular some sixteen or eighteen years ago known as “The Crenalated Square,” an illustration of which is shown in Fig. 16, is still preferred by many workmen. The peculiarity of this square is that the inner edge of the tongue is notched or crenalated, as shown in the illustration, the notches being intended as “gauge-points,” where a sharpened pencil may be inserted, then the square may be drawn along the timber or board, with the blade held snug against the edge, as shown, and mortises or tenons can be laid out at will. ”

“ The mechanic who reaches a fair degree of perfection by experience, study and application is the man who rises to the surface, and whose steadiness and trustworthiness force themselves on the notice of employers and superintendents. ”

“ Men apply for employment daily who claim to be finished mechanics, and profess to be conversant with all the ins and outs of their craft, and who are noways backward in demanding the highest wages going, who, when tested, are found wanting in knowledge of the simplest formulas of their trade. They may, perhaps, be able to perform a good job of work after it is laid out for them by a more competent hand; they may have a partial knowledge of the uses and application of their tools ”

“ Not so with the mechanic of today; if he is not well up in all the minutiæ of his trade, he has but himself to blame, for although there is no royal road to knowledge, there are hundreds of open ways to obtain it; and the young mechanic who does not avail himself of one or other of these ways to enrich his mind, must lack energy, or be altogether indifferent about his trade, and may be put down as one who will never make a workman. ”

“ The great bulk of readers, however, will be new hands and unacquainted with the use of the square beyond its simple application as a squaring tool, and what may appear to be a useless rule to the expert or old hand will prove a choice tidbit to the beginner and will whet his appetite for further knowledge on the subject. ”

“ If the hip-rafter is beveled or “backed” to suit jacks, then take height of 101 hip on tongue, length of hip on blade, and tongue gives bevel. These figures will cover all bevels for cutting, cornice and sheathing. For bed moulds for gable to fit under cornice, take half width of building on tongue, length of common rafter on blade; blade gives cut. To cut planceer to run up valley, take height of rafter on tongue, length of rafter on blade; tongue gives bevel. For plumb cut, take height of hip on tongue, length of hip on blade; tongue gives bevel. ”

“ I am disposed to believe from long experience that comparatively few mechanics who buy steel squares are cognizant of the possible defects that the tool may have and of the tests which may be applied for the purpose of demonstrating its accuracy. ”

“ The measurement line of hips and valleys is at a line along the center of its back, and just where to place the square on the side of the rafter so as to make the cuts and length come right at that point is a question that taxes the skill of most carpenters, especially so when the rafters are so backed. ”

“ Then set a gauge to the thickness of the rail, mark a line on the inside of the wreath, and cut as before. With a little practice a wreath can be turned off the band saw ready for molding. When the shank is too long, it is always better to nail the bed block on top of the wreath, and cut it upside down, thus getting the curve portion near the table. Then the shank can be run in with the band saw when the block is knocked off. The foregoing is for a single-pitch wreath as used for stairs with level landings and narrow wells. ”

“ Indeed, during an experience of many years in the employment and superintendence of mechanics of every grade, from the green “wood-haggler” to the finished and accomplished workman, I have invariably discovered that the finished 8 workman was the result of persistent study and application, and not, as is popularly supposed, a natural or spontaneous production. It is true that some men possess greater natural mechanical abilities than others, and consequently a greater aptitude in grasping the principles that underlie the constructive arts; but, as a rule, such men are not reliable ”

“ Roof framing can be done about as many different ways as there are mechanics. But undoubtedly the easiest, most rapid and most practical is framing with the “square.” The following cuts will illustrate several applications of the square as applied to roof framing, and all who are interested in the subject can, by giving it a careful study, be able to frame any ordinary roof the mechanic comes in contact with. ”

“ The following method shows the least thickness the rail can be cut out of, and also gives width of face molds on the joint. Set the bevel to the bed block as shown at Fig. 80, and apply at the side of the block. Draw a section of rail level; apply the bevel again, touching the bottom corner of the section. The distance between the marks is the thickness, a plumb line marked on shows the width of the face mold on the bevel line. Where the pitches are different the foregoing method has to be applied to each side of the bed block. ”

“ Now if we divide this quadrant into halves, thus establishing the point E, and if from E we draw a line to the center C, which is 12 of the blade, it will be found that it cuts also 12 of the tongue. If we complete the figure by erecting a perpendicular line from the point X, and intersecting it with a horizontal line from G, thus establishing the point O, it becomes very evident that CE is the miter line of a square. ”

“ From plumb-cut lay off pitch of main roof 103⁄4 and 121⁄2, which gives cut.
Fig. 47.
71
Anyone that has studied this with determination will have no trouble in framing any ordinary roof, as the general principles apply to all roofs, pitches, etc. So I will not take up any more space with roof framing at this time, but remember all sheathing, studding, cornice, etc., are made on the same cuts. In fact a hopper is also exactly on the same principle. ”

“ If he is not “posted” the workman should procure some one or more of the many devices or helps for getting bevels, angles, lengths and cuts, for rafters, braces, hips and jacks as advertised by Riesmann, Woods, and others.
Fig. 3.
With these aids and a good true and honest steel square the workman can accomplish almost all that can be done with this tool, or all 21 that he will be called upon to execute by aid of the square. ”

“ It will be seen that these squares adapt themselves to other work as well as to framing, a quality very few of the combination squares possess, and while combination squares have their special uses and should be in the tool chest of 20 every expert workman, the square pure and simple, like this of Nicholls or similar ones, should never be absent from the “kit” of the ordinary workman, for with it, if he thoroughly understands it, he can accomplish all that is possible even with a combination square. ”

“ True, mechanical knowledge was not always so easily obtained as at present, for nearly all works on the constructive arts were written by professional architects, engineers, and designers, and however unexceptionable in other respects, they were generally couched in such language, technical and mathematical, as to be perfectly unintelligible to the majority of workmen ”

“ He would simply make one rafter as I have shown, for a pattern, and use this pattern for laying out all the other rafters for that particular pitch and rise on the same roof. Most workmen, however, make a pattern from thin stuff of some sort, as it is lighter and easier handled. The reviewer suggested as a better way “that the pitch be 74 arranged on the iron square, then measure across the angle from the points of run and pitch, and multiply this measurement by half the width of the roof to be covered.” ”

“ The side cut of jack to fit hip, if laid down level would, of course, be square miter, but the more the hip rises the sharper the angle. Measure across the square from 8 to 12, and it is nearly 141⁄2, which is the length of rafter to one foot of run. Length and run, cut on length, gives the cut. ”