Joseph H. Adams

“ The object of a lathe is to cause a piece of wood or other material to revolve from end to end, so that when a chisel or other sharp-edged tool is held against the moving surface it will cut away that part of the material at which the tool is directed.
The boy who lives near a wood-working establishment, or mill, can gain more knowledge in watching a wood-turner at work for half an hour than he can learn from reading a book on the subject for many days. It is a simple craft, but a firm hand and a true cut are the important factors in making a boy a master of the lathe. ”

“ It is a difficult matter to instruct a boy, by written description, how to handle tools; and rather than attempt it, I should advise the young workman to watch a carpenter at his work. Most carpenters are quite willing to have you follow their movements, and many of them will even offer advice, if they see that you are really interested. But remember that a good workman never likes to have a boy meddle with his tools, and you should not ask foolish or unnecessary questions. ”

“ CLAY-MODELLING AND PLASTER-CASTING
The boy on whom nature has bestowed the natural talent and liking for art-work will find clay-modelling a fascinating and pleasing branch to follow.
To become a perfect modeller, and finally a sculptor, requires years of patience and perseverance, but to copy simple objects in clay is not a difficult matter, and with some clay, a few tools, and the skeletons, or supports, the amateur should not meet with any great obstacle if the following descriptions and instructions are accepted and practised. ”

“ The vital difference between the animal and the human intelligence lies in the fact that the latter is progressive. The spider weaves just the same pattern to-day that he did when the Pyramids were young; the mathematical section of the bee cell is invariable; the mud-swallows build the same kind of houses as their remotest ancestors. The common explanation is that instinct and not reason guides the animal in his work, and instinct is a reproductive faculty, not an inventive one. It is for man alone to progress from the crude beginnings of an art to its highest and most perfect development. ”

“ The most important feature of carving is the ability to sharpen and maintain the little tools, and when this is mastered, more than half the difficulty has been overcome. The dexterity to handle, with a firm and sure hand, the various chisels and gouges comes, of course, with practice only.
It is better to begin with a soft wood. Pine, poplar, button-wood, cypress, or red woods are all of close grain and are easy to work. The harder woods, and those with a very open grain—such as chestnut, ash, and oak—should [39] not be carved until the first principles are learned in the softer woods. ”

“ CARPENTRY
Carpentry, or the science of making things out of wood, is the oldest and comes the closest to us of any of the applied arts and crafts. The earliest men made clubs at least. Later they began to build, to construct, and it is interesting to remember that this ability to construct is a faculty shared with man by the animals. There are many species of birds that build well-designed nests; the spider is a weaver; the bee is a geometrician; the ant is a tunnel builder; the beaver, in the construction of his dams and breakwaters, displays engineering ability of a high order. ”

“ If a hand jig-saw is the only tool available the metal should be held in a vise. With very thin lead the dressing is best done by laying the metal on a hard-wood block and cutting out with small chisels and a light mallet.
Three or four small wood-carving chisels, straight-edges, and gouges will be found admirable tools for this work, and, as the lead does not dull them, they will keep an edge for a long time. A wood-carving chisel is ground on both sides, which makes it better for this work than a carpenter’s chisel, which is ground only on one side. ”

“ The modern idea in framing pictures is to have the frame harmonize with the subject, rather than to employ a stock moulding with set pattern made by the mile, and cut up into frames of all sizes and for all sorts of pictures. All the frames shown in the illustrations accompanying this chapter were made at home, and from such simple materials as thin boards, burlap, tea-chest matting, denim, wire, sheet-lead, harness-rings, and brass-headed upholsterers’ tacks. ”

“ An attractive design for a lamp-screen is shown in Fig. 1 A. When completed and backed with some pretty material it will be found a useful little affair to hang against the shade of a lamp to shield one’s eyes from the direct rays of a bright light.
To begin with, form a square of six inches, and at the top where the ends meet make a lap-joint by allowing one end to project over the other; then bind them together with some very fine wire—about the size that florists use. ”

“ Since, at the best, the motion of the hand-saw is jerky, not nearly so nice work can be done as with the treadle-saw, which has an even, steady gait.
For all open-work it is necessary to have something to punch holes, so that a start may be made on the inside. Many use an ordinary brad-awl, but this is liable to split the wood. Besides, it is not possible to punch a hole so smooth and nice as it can be drilled or bored; hence, a drill is included in the list, and it will be found a very handy tool for either hand or treadle saws. ”

“ The support, or skeleton, must of course be adapted to line with the pose of the figure, and should be of pipe and heavy wire or rods securely anchored to the base-plate.
The composition of flowers, fruit, foliage, animal life, and landscape is an inexhaustible one, and some beautiful effects can be had in flat-work. Good examples of this character of work may be found on all sides, and to the genius the field of modelling is a broad one—without limit. ”

“ Sheet-lead ornaments in a great variety of designs may be made for panels, the sides of cases, or for the decoration and embellishment of wood-work in general. Wall-paper, carpet, upholstery, and other figured fabrics will offer ideas from which to copy; but after a little practise the young craftsman should originate his own designs, and not depend on other people’s brains to furnish him with working patterns. ”

“ It is desirable that a boy should have a place, whether it be in the cellar or attic, or a corner of his room, definitely devoted to his own work. It is also a useful training for him to feel that he is put upon honor both to confine his work to his own bounds, and also to “tidy up” whenever he leaves his task. ”

“ A chase is always measured from the inside. From one-half to five-eighths of an inch all around should be allowed for the thickness of the metal of which the chase is made.
The pressure-plate is cut from wood one and one-fourth inches thick, and the same size as the outside measure of the frame attached to the bed-board. A stout lever fourteen inches long is screwed and glued fast to the top of this [223] board, which is then attached to the rear strip of the frame by means of three stout iron hinges, so that when closed down the pressure-plate will fit closely to the top of the frame. ”

“ Of late years ornamental work for lamps, sconces, hinges, and a variety of purposes has steadily grown in favor, and the second division of the book tells how a great variety of decorative and useful objects in metal may be made. When so much experience [xiii] has been gained, the boy can readily take up more advanced work, such as modelling in clay, and plaster casting; bookbinding, and the kindred craft of extra-illustration; pyrography, or decorative work in burnt wood; printing, stamping, and embossing; and the construction and use of the stereopticon. ”

“ If it is impossible to find the large nails that bind the corners at a hardware store, they may be made from sheet-lead. Disks half an inch in diameter are cut from the lead by means of a small cold-chisel and mallet. The edges of the disks are beaten with a tack-hammer to give them the appearance of a rough, hammer-headed nail. These disks are painted with a dead-black paint, made by adding a small portion of dry lamp-black to thin shellac, and applying it to the metal-work with a soft brush. ”

“ The parts of a gasolene outfit are the bulb, rubber tubing, platinum-point and handle, reservoir-bottle, metal union-cork, and a spirit-lamp. The latter may be purchased at a drug or hardware store for a few cents; but a good-working one can be made from a square or round bottle, a cork with a hole through it to receive a piece of brass tubing, and a piece of round lamp-wicking. (See Fig. 7) .
Heat a piece of wire red hot, and burn a hole through the cork large enough to slip in a piece of brass tubing a quarter of an inch in diameter. ”

“ Nearly every boy has had, at one time or another, a desire to make scroll-brackets, fretwork-boxes, and filigree wood-work of various sorts. The art is naturally affiliated with other decorative processes in wood-working, such as wood-turning, carving, and marquetry, or the art of inlaying woods. Both fretwork and wood-turning are very old crafts, and were practised by the ancient Egyptians, specimens of their work being still extant. ”

“ The priming, or first coat, should be composed of equal parts of boiled linseed-oil and white-lead for outside, or zinc with some turpentine for inside work. When this is dry one or two coats are to be laid on, taking care to apply the paint evenly and to work it into all cracks, crevices, and corners. The secret of good work is not in daubing a whole lot of paint on the surface to be covered, but in laying it on evenly and in a thin coating, so that it will neither gum nor run. ”