[Illustration: CABINET MAKER’S SHOP.]
The trades of the Carpenter and the Joiner having been considered, we may
now turn to that of the Cabinet Maker, who, though he makes the furniture
of the house, and seldom has anything to do with building or fitting the
house itself, uses many of the same tools as the joiner.
[Illustration: Panel Plane. Veneer Plane. Smoothing Plane. Floats. Rebate
Plane. Hand Saw. Rebate Plane.]
As the Cabinet Maker mostly works in more costly woods, and the
operations of his trade have to be performed with greater nicety, his
implements are generally of rather a better sort; while he has to fashion
the articles in which he deals in so many different shapes that some of
his tools, such as _planes_ and _gouges_, are constructed especially for
him, like the _panel plane_, used as its name implies in smoothing and
forming the edges of panels for wardrobes, chiffoniers, and other pieces
of furniture before they are placed in their frames, and the _veneer
plane_, intended for putting on _veneers_, or the thin slabs of costly
wood with which more common woods are frequently covered. The _smoothing
plane_ and the _rebate plane_, as well as the _hand saw_, the _tenon
saw_, the _gimlet_, and the _rule_ and _square_, have already been
mentioned in connexion with the joiner’s business.
Then there are moulding planes, with their blades shaped hollow so that
they will cut a strip of wood into a rounded form, or shaped round so as
to cut a hollow groove.
[Illustration: Square. Hand Saw. Gimlet. Rule.]
Sometimes boards are joined at the edges by a process called match
boarding: a groove being made along the edge of one board while the edge
of another is cut with a tongue along the middle to fit accurately into
the groove. For this purpose a pair of match planes are used, one of
which makes the groove and the other the tongue exactly of the proper
size to fit perfectly. This kind of joint is used for common doors, which
it is not worth while to frame together in panels. The boards after being
_matched_ are nailed close together to strong cross-pieces.
The operations of mortising and dovetailing have been described in the
description of joiner’s work. The various fittings and joints used
in making chairs, couches, tables, cabinets, side-boards, and other
furniture are adaptations of the same kind, or differ only according to
the shape and position of the various parts. In ornamental cabinet work
the separate parts, such as pillars, legs, arms, and other pieces, are
often supplied by the turner and the wood carver, who sometimes carry out
their designs under the direction of the Cabinet Maker.
Mahogany and many other of the harder woods are difficult to work, as the
grain does not all run the same way, so that in planing them the wood is
likely to split or chip where it should be shaved off smoothly. To remedy
this inconvenience, the Cabinet Maker’s planes are furnished with double
irons, that is, an iron with a flat dull edge is screwed on to the face
of the cutting iron, so as to prevent the shavings chipping against the
grain. The more cross-grained the wood is the closer the workman brings
down the dull iron towards the edge of the sharp one, and his shavings
are consequently finer.
The _veneering plane_ is about the same size as the _smoothing plane_,
but the iron instead of having a smooth edge is toothed like a fine saw,
so that, instead of taking off shavings, it makes scratches all along the
grain of the wood. This is applied to the veneer as well as to the wood
to which the veneer is to be glued, so that the glue may easily hold the
two rough surfaces together.
[Illustration: Tool Chest.]
Previous to the veneer being put on, the work is well warmed before a
fire, and the glue brush worked freely over both the veneer and wood
to which it is to be applied. When the veneer is put on, it is rubbed
backward and forward, at the same time being pressed down with the hands
until it sticks in the right place. There are often lumps here and there
where there is too much glue, and these are remedied by the _veneering
hammer_, the head of which is made of wood furnished with a strip of iron
plate. This strip is laid flat on the veneer, and the head of the hammer
pressed with the hand while it is worked about by the handle, pressing
out the glue as it moves towards the edge. When a piece of furniture is
too large to be covered with one veneer, these thin slabs of wood are
laid on in several pieces, the edges being first planed quite straight
and made to meet with the greatest accuracy. The whole surface is
afterwards worked with the toothing plane, and then scraped with a flat
square piece of steel, which takes off a wonderfully fine thin shaving
and leaves the surface perfectly smooth. It is afterwards finished with
sandpaper. It is then _French polished_ with a liquid composed mostly
of rectified spirits of wine, gum, shellac, gum seed lac, and Venice
turpentine, the furniture being previously well oiled that it may better
receive this sort of varnish.
_Clamps_ are a sort of screw vice for holding the various parts of the
work. The _bow saw_ is a small fine blade of steel notched like a saw,
and fixed to a short handle, from which a wooden or metal bow extends
to the other end of the blade. The bow keeps the saw from buckling or
breaking, and the tool is used for small work, like the fretwork in front
of pianos, where a corner has to be turned and the piece sawn out. The
_screws_ seen in the larger picture hanging above the Cabinet Maker’s
bench are used for holding pieces together after being glued, or on other
occasions.
[Illustration: Bow Saw. Clamps.]
It is supposed that there are about 50,000 workers in wood in London, and
350,000 in all England. About 160,000 timber trees of average size are
required to make the furniture for the new houses built every year in
England and Wales. In cabinet making there are many departments, such as
the chair maker, the bedstead maker, the carver, the general manufacturer
of tables, drawers, side-boards, wardrobes, &c. and the fancy Cabinet
Maker, who uses costly woods and makes workboxes, desks, dressing-cases,
and similar articles.
A good set of Cabinet Maker’s tools is worth from £30 to £40.
The Upholsterer, whose trade is generally joined to that of the master
Cabinet Maker, does what is called the “soft work,” that is, he
undertakes the curtains, hangings, cushions, carpets, beds, and the
stuffing of the seats of chairs. For these operations he requires but few
tools.
[Illustration: Upholsterer’s Shop.]
[Illustration: Devil. Strainer. Web Strainer. Bench Screw. Square.]
The _devil_ is the ugly and very absurd name given to a machine
consisting of a box, inside which a spiked wheel turns; the use of this
implement is to separate and tear to pieces such woven substances
as, when reduced to shreds, serve for the stuffing of furniture, as
also to soften and make finer hemp or tow for the same purpose, when
horsehair, which is the best and most expensive material, is not used.
Cocoa-nut fibre is now sometimes applied for this purpose; and in the
commonest furniture hay is frequently placed as a foundation, with a
small quantity of horsehair on the top. The _bench screw_ is a kind of
vice which will hold a very thick substance, like the seat of a chair
or sofa, without injuring the woodwork; the _web strainer_ is used for
stretching strong cross-pieces of webbing across the bottom of the seats
of chairs or couches, to make a firm foundation for the stuffing to rest
upon, and with the ordinary _strainer_ to bring the canvas cover that
confines the stuffing tightly and firmly to its place, an operation which
requires great care, especially when metal springs are placed beneath the
horsehair to make the seat more elastic. The Upholsterer’s _hammer_ is
of such a shape that it will drive a small nail deeply down in a space
when it is hidden by the damask or leather covering of the furniture.
The _punches_ are for a similar purpose; while the _needle_ and the
_regulator_ are used in stuffing the seats and properly adjusting the
hair or other material.
[Illustration: Upholsterer’s Hammers. Punches. Float. Screwdriver.
Needle. Regulator. Bradawl.]