James Slough Zerbe

“ CHAPTER III HOW TO HOLD AND HANDLE TOOLS
Observation may form part of each boy's lesson, but when it comes to the handling of tools, practice becomes the only available means of making a workman. Fifty years of observation would never make an observer an archer or a marksman, nor would it enable him to shoe a horse or to build a table.
It sometimes happens that an apprentice will, with little observation, seize a saw in the proper way, or hold a plane in the correct manner, and, in time, the watchful boy will acquire fairly correct habits. ”

“ But let us assume you are to be called upon to explain a sector to some one who has no idea of terms and their definitions. How would you describe it? While it is true it is wedge-shaped, you will see by examining the drawing that it is not like a wedge. The sector has two sides running from a point like a wedge, but the large end of the sector is curved.
If you were called upon to define a segment you might say it had one straight line and one curve, but this would not define it very lucidly. ”

“ The wooden roof of Westminster Hall, while very simple in structure, as compared with many others, looks like an intricate maze of beams, struts and braces, but it is, nevertheless, so harmonized that the effect is most pleasing to the eye, and its very appearance gives the impression of grandeur and strength. ”

“ Building Plans.—We must first have a plan; and the real carpenter must have the ability to plan as well as to do the work. We want a five-room house, comprising a parlor, dining room, two bedrooms, a kitchen and a bathroom. Just a modest little home, to which we can devote our spare hours, and which will be neat and comfortable when finished. It must be a one-story house, and that fact at once settles the roof question. We can make the house perfectly square in plan, or rectangular, and divide up the space into the proper divisions. ”

“ If the fore, or finishing, plane is used, and which is the proper tool for the purpose, the impression seems to be, that to square up the edge and make it cut off a thicker shaving on one side than on the other, requires that the plane should be pressed down with force, so as to make it dig in and cut a thicker shaving.
When this is resorted to the board is liable to get out of true from end to end. A much better plan is to put the plane on the edge of the board true and straight. ”

“ The House and Embellishments.—The refined arts, such as sculpture and painting, merely embellish the home or the castle, so that when we build the structure it should be made with an eye not only to comfort and convenience, but fitting in an artistic and æsthetic sense. It is just as easy to build a beautiful home as an ugly, ungainly, illy proportioned structure.
Beauty Not Ornamentation.—The boy, in his early training, should learn this fundamental truth, that beauty, architecturally, does not depend upon ornamentation. Some of the most beautiful structures in the world are very plain. ”

“ Oak is an easy wood to handle with a saw, but is, probably, aside from ash, the most difficult wood known to plane.
Ash is hard for the saw or the plane. On the other hand, there is no wood so easy to manipulate with the saw or plane as cherry. Pine is easily worked with a plane, but difficult to saw; not on account of hardness, but because it is so soft that the saw is liable to tear it. ”

“ Opportunity is the great boon in life. To the ambitious young man the carpenter's trade offers a field for venturing into the learned professions by a route which cannot be equaled in any other pursuit. ”

“ There is a vast difference in the use of drawing tools and free-hand drawing. While the boy who is able to execute free-hand sketches may become the better artist, still that art would not be of much service to him as a carpenter. First, because the use of tools gives precision, and this is necessary to the builder; and, second, because the artist deals wholly with perspectives, whereas the builder must execute from plane surfaces or elevations. ”

“ With a square and a compass it is a comparatively easy matter accurately to step off 45 degrees, as it is the line C, midway between A and B, and the other degrees may be calculated from the line C and the cardinal lines A or B.
Degrees Without a Compass.—But in the absence of a compass and when you do not wish to step off a circle, you will in such case lay down the square, and mark off at the outer margin of the limbs two equal dimensions. Suppose we take 2 inches on each limb of the square. The angle thus formed by the angle square blade is 45 degrees. ”

“ One of the difficult things for any one to learn, in working with wood, is to plane the edge of a board straight and square at the same time. This is made doubly difficult if it is desired to plane it strictly to dimensions. ”

“ Make it a habit to finish off the surfaces and edges true and smooth before the ends are cut, or the mortises or tenons are made. This is one of the most frequent mistakes. No job can be a perfect one unless your material has been worked down to proper dimensions.
Learn to saw across a board squarely. This may be a hard thing for the novice to do. A long, easy stroke of the saw will prevent it from running, unless too badly set or filed, and will also enable you to hold it more nearly square with the board. ”

“ Tools are made and are used as short cuts toward a desired end. Before the saw was invented the knife was used laboriously to sever and shape the materials. Before planes were invented a broad, flat sharpened blade was used to smooth off surfaces. Holes were dug out by means of small chisels requiring infinite patience and time. Each succeeding tool proclaimed a shorter and an easier way to do a certain thing. [Pg 30] The man or boy who can make a new labor-saving tool is worthy of as much praise as the man who makes two blades of grass grow where one grew before. ”

“ The work should be so laid out that the saw kerf is on the discarded side of the material. The saw should cut alongside the line, and the line should not be obliterated in the cutting. Material must be left for trimming and finishing.
The First Stroke.—Now, to hold the saw in starting is the difficult task to the beginner. Once mastered it is simple and easy. The only time in [Pg 31] which the saw should be firmly held by the hand is during the initial cut or two; afterwards always hold the handle loosely. There is nothing so tiring as a tightly grasped saw. ”

“ Strictly observe these fundamentals—Never place a tool with the cutting edge toward you. Always have the racks or receptacles so made that the handle may be seized. Don't put a tool with an exposed cutting edge above or below another tool in such a manner that the hand or the tool you are handling can come into contact with the edge. Never keep the nail or screw boxes above the work bench. They should always be kept to one side, to prevent, as much as possible, the bench from becoming a depository for nails. Keep the top of the bench free from tools. ”

“ An experienced workman is known by the condition of his tools, and the grindstone is the best friend he has among his tools.
Incorrect Way to Hold Tool for Grinding.—The incorrect way of holding a tool is shown in Fig. 18. This, I presume, is the universal way in which the novice takes the tool. It is wrong for the reason that the thumbs of both hands are on top of the blade, and they serve as pivots on which the tool may turn. The result is that the corners of the tool will dig into the stone to a greater or less degree, particularly if it has a narrow blade, like a chisel. ”

“ The saw, the plane, the hammer, the chisel, each requires its special muscular energy. The carpenter, unlike the blacksmith, does not put all his brawn into his shoulders, nor develop his torso at the expense of his other muscles, like the mason. ”

“ So in your leisure or in your active moments, if you wish to advance, you must be alert. Know for yourself the reasons for things, and you will thereby form the stepping stones that will lead you upward and contribute to your success. ”

“ Unless ground off with a bevel on both sides it cannot be controlled to cut accurately. A light hatchet is preferable to a heavy one. It should never be used for nailing purposes, except in emergencies. The pole of the hammer—that part which is generally used to strike the nail with—is required in order to properly balance the hatchet when used for trimming material.
Fig. 2.
The Claw Hammer.—This is the proper tool for driving nails and for drawing them out. Habits should be formed with the beginner, which will be of great service as the education proceeds. ”

“ The Compass.—The compass is one of the original carpenter's tools. The difference between compass and dividers is that compasses have adjustable pen or pencil points, whereas dividers are without adjustable points. Modern work has brought refinements in the character of the compass and dividers, so that we now have the bow-compass, which is, usually, a small tool, one leg of which carries a pen or pencil point, the two legs being secured together, usually, by a spring bow, or by a hinged joint with a spring attachment. ”

“ A chair is, probably, the most difficult piece of household furniture to make, because strength is required. In this type soft wood may be used, as the large legs and back pieces are easily provided with mortises and tenons, affording great rigidity when completed. In designing, therefore, you may see how the material itself becomes an important factor.
Cabinets.—In the making of cabinets, sideboards, dressers and like articles, the ingenious boy will find a wonderful field for designing ability, because in these articles fancy alone dictates the sizes and the dimensions of the parts. ”

“ A large dome is grand, owing to its great simplicity, but the same plain outlines, or lack of ornamentation, in the ceiling of a square or rectangular building would be painful to view, hence, the braces, beams, plates, and various supports of the roofed truss served as ornamental parts, and it is in this particular that the art of the designer finds his inspiration.
[Pg 187] Before proceeding to apply the matter of ornamentation, it might be well to develop these roof forms, starting with the old type Barn Roof, where the space between the rafters must be utilized for the storage of hay. ”

“ The back saw is used almost exclusively for making tenons, and has uniformly fine teeth so as to give a smooth finish to the wood.
Planes.—The plane may be called the æsthetic tool in the carpenter's kit. It is the most difficult tool to handle and the most satisfactory when thoroughly mastered. How to care for and [Pg 9] handle it will be referred to in a subsequent chapter. We are now concerned with its uses only. Each complete kit must have three distinct planes, namely, the jack plane, which is for taking off the rough saw print surface of the board. ”

“ If the wood is soft there is always enough yield to [Pg 135] enable the workman to spring it together. Therefore, until you have learned how to make a true joint, use soft wood.
Poplar is another good wood for the beginner, as well as redwood, a western product.
Hard Woods.—Of the hard woods, cherry is the most desirable for the carpenter's tool. For working purposes it has all the advantages of a soft wood, and none of its disadvantages. It is not apt to warp, like poplar or birch, and its shrinking unit is less than that of any other wood, excepting redwood. ”

“ The Best Woods.—The prime wood, and the one with which most boys are familiar, is white pine. It has an even texture throughout, is generally straight grained, and is soft and easily worked. White pine is a wood requiring a very sharp tool. It is, therefore, the best material for the beginner, as it will at the outset teach him the important lesson of keeping the tools in a good, sharp condition. ”

“ Advantages of Wood Turning.—This is not, strictly, in the carpenter's domain; but a knowledge of its use will be of great service in the trade, and particularly in cabinet making. I urge the ingenious youth to rig up a wood-turning lathe, for the reason that it is a tool easily made and one which may be readily turned by foot, if other power is not available. ”

“ Always be careful to grind the chisel so its cutting edge is square with the side edge. This will be difficult at first, but you will see the value of this as you use the tool. For instance, in making [Pg 28] rebates for hinges, or recesses and mortises for locks, the tool will invariably run crooked, unless it is ground square.
The chisel should never be struck with a hammer or metal instrument, as the metal pole or peon of the hammer will sliver the handle. The wooden mallet should invariably be used. ”

“ When gluing together joints or tenons, always wipe off the surplus glue with warm water taken from the glue pot. If you do not follow this advice [Pg 208] the glue will gum up the tools and the sandpaper used to finish the work.
Never try to work from opposite sides of a piece of material. Have a work side and a work edge, and make all measurements therefrom. Mark each piece as you go along. Take a note mentally just how each piece is to be placed, and what must be done with it.
The carpenter, above all others, must be able to carry a mental picture of his product. ”