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The Shop and Bench
Endeavour to procure some small outhouse, in which you may erect what is called a carpenter's or joiner's bench. These may very often be bought second-hand, or if not, can easily be procured at a reasonable rate. I am very particular in recommending a bench, as without it you will find many obstacles to your work. You must also provide yourself with a set of tools,-gimlets, hammers, planes, saws, gouges, files, nails, screws, and such articles of use. The bench is composed of a platform or top, supported by four stout legs; A is what is called the bench hook; this ought to be fitted in tight, so as to move up and down with a hammer only. The use of it is to keep any wood steady you may have to plane: B is the bench screw, used for keeping any wood firm and steady you may have to saw, which is to be put in the grip and screwed tight. Sometimes the edges of wood require to be planed, and then the wood is put in the grip or cheeks of the bench and held tight while you plane it. The holes in the side of the bench, c c, are for the insertion of a movable pin to support the end of the board you have to plane or saw, which is not in the screw. The height of your bench should be about 2 feet 8 inches. The common length is from 10 to 12 feet, and the breadth about 3 feet 6 inches. OF PLANES. c is what is called the jack plane, which is the first to be used. It is about 17 inches in length, and is used to take the rough parts from a piece of wood. It should be held steadily by fixing the right hand at the handle (h), and the left over the top and side at (s), and pushed forward on the wood, when the knife (k) will take off a shaving which runs through the hole (o), and falls on the side. In using the plane the endeavour should be to take off a clean shaving, which is done by using the instrument uniformly and steadily over every surface to be planed.
D is another kind of plane, called the trying plane, having a double top or handle. It is used to regulate and smooth, to a higher degree, the surface of the wood that had previously been smoothed from the rough by the jack plane. Its length is about 22 inches, and it is broader than the jack plane. There is another plane called the long plane, which is used for facing a piece of stuff, which it does with the greatest exactness; its length is about 2 feet 4 inches. There is also the joiner's plane, which is the longest of all the planes, being 30 inches long. But the most handy of the planes to the boy carpenter is the smoothing plane, E. It is the last plane used in joining, and gives the utmost degree of smoothness to the surface of a piece of finished work; it is about 7 inches in length, the sides of the stock are curved, and resemble in figure a coffin; it is used in a similar way to the other. SAWS.
There are many kinds of saws, but the most useful one is what is called the "hand saw." It has a blade or plate about 28 inches long; the teeth of which are so formed as to allow you to cut the wood crossways as well as lengthways. The handle of the saw is made so as to allow a full yet free grasp of the hand, either for a pull or a thrust.
The panel saw. This saw has a plate nearly of the same size as a hand saw, and is used for cutting very thin boards, which the rough teeth of the hand saw would not cut through without breaking them.
The tenon saw is of a different shape to the others, and is made to cut across the grain of the wood so as to leave the ends nicely even, that it may fit to the piece it is joined to, which is called a shoulder, being that part which comes in contact with the fibre of the wood thus: To do this it requires that the teeth should be much smaller, and they are therefore placed so close as eight or ten to the inch, according to the length of the blade. The dovetail saw. There is another most useful saw it would be of advantage for the young carpenter to have, namely, the dovetail saw. It is about 9 inches long, and contains at least fifteen teeth in the inch. It is used for cutting the dovetails of boxes. Its plate is very thin, and it requires some care in using. It has a back for the purpose of strength, formed of a thin piece of brass or iron, let in so as to give the blade the requisite firmness necessary in using it.
The compass saw. The plate of this kind of saw is very narrow, and not more than one inch wide at the broadest part, gradually diminishing to about a quarter of an inch at the lower end. It is about 15 inches in length, and is used for cutting a piece of wood into a circular form, and the plate being narrow allows it to follow the foot of the compass to a very small diameter. The keyhole saw. The keyhole saw is much smaller than the above. It is used for cutting short curves, small holes, &c., such as a keyhole. The handle is the same form as that of the chisel, a small slit being cut through from end to end. It has a screw on one side, in order that the blade may be set to any length, according to the circumference of the hole to be cut.