A FEW MISCELLANEOUS OPERATIONS
=Wooden Chain.=--White pine or any other easily whittled,
straight-grained wood can be used. Take a stick of any length and from
1" to 2" square. If very small the whittling is more difficult.
[Illustration FIG. 335.]
[Illustration FIG. 336.]
[Illustration FIG. 337.]
* * * * *
Before beginning work read carefully _Marking_, _Rule_, _Knife_, in Part
V.
[Illustration FIG. 338.]
Mark as shown (Fig. 335), and remove the wood at the corners, forming
four rabbets, giving a section of the piece the shape of a Greek cross
(Fig. 336). Next lay out the links, alternating as shown in Fig. 337,
and allowing space enough so that they can have some play when cut. By
notching in from the outside and finally cutting away the wood within
the links, they can be separated. The whittling must be done carefully,
of course, and wholly by _cutting_ with a _sharp_ knife. If you try to
do it by prying or twisting with the blade, you will be likely to split
the wood. Finally, round and smooth the links (Fig. 338), doing as much
of this as you can before the links are separated. Use fine sandpaper
(see _Sandpaper_). Leave the chain in the natural wood or oil and
shellac (see _Finishing_).
* * * * *
=Ball and Block.=--White pine or any other easily whittled,
straight-grained wood will do for this whittling exercise (Fig. 339).
* * * * *
Before beginning work read carefully _Marking_, _Rule_, _Knife_, in Part
V.
First get out a cubical block, each edge of which may be, perhaps,
1-1/2" or 2" long. Gauge a line around each side parallel to the edge
and about 1/4" from it (see _Gauge_). Cut straight in on these lines and
then make slanting cuts to meet those first made. Remove the wood on the
same general principle as in cutting a notch, gradually shaping the
middle part into spherical form; while the cuts which are parallel with
the sides finally meet and form four posts between the top and bottom.
The wood must be removed by cuts, not by prying. Trim the ball to be as
nearly spherical as you can. If you wish to make the ring or handle
shown on top, additional length must be allowed in getting out the
original block. The whole can be sandpapered with fine sandpaper (see
_Sandpaper_) and finished with oil or shellac (see _Finishing_).
[Illustration FIG. 339.]
* * * * *
=Box-making.=--In laying out common boxes, bear in mind that the sides,
top, and bottom usually lap over the ends,--the sides over the ends, and
the top and bottom over the sides and ends (Fig. 340). Sometimes,
however, to avoid joints showing on the front, the front and back are
made to lap over the top (Fig. 341), occasionally the ends lap over the
back (Fig. 342), and other arrangements are sometimes made. Do not rely
on glue for these common square joints in box-work, but place your
dependence on nails or screws.
[Illustration FIG. 340.]
[Illustration FIG. 341.]
Either lid or bottom or both can sometimes project slightly to good
advantage (Fig. 343). In nice work, however, the bottom is more often
set in so as not to show, either simply fitting in between the sides and
ends or into a rabbet (see _Rabbet_) cut in the lower edge (Fig. 344,
showing box bottom up).
[Illustration FIG. 342.]
[Illustration FIG. 343.]
The lid or cover can be hinged to the top edge of the back of the box,
or a narrower lid can be used and hinged to a strip fastened at the back
of the box (Fig. 345). Plain lids of this sort, for everything but rough
or temporary work, should be cleated, either by end cleats, by framing,
or simply by cleats on the under side (see _Cleats_ and _Doors_).
[Illustration FIG. 344.]
[Illustration FIG. 345.]
Remember that the joints will be held more tightly (for a permanent box)
if you "toe" the nails (see _Nailing_).
Mitring is a common way of making box-joints. It is, however, one of the
poorest of all ways in point of strength, and unless done with much
skill,--more skill than the average amateur usually acquires,--the
joints are very liable to come apart, or at least gape open, and be
weaker and look worse than the common, squarely fitted joint first
shown.
* * * * *
Glue can be used and is a help. Mitred joints can, however, be
strengthened by splines or keys or pieces let into saw-kerfs (see
_Mitring_).
A mitred box is hard for an amateur to put together, particularly when
it is to be glued. The whole process should be rehearsed before gluing.
Everything must fit exactly before you begin to finally put the box
together. If you get one corner out of place, all four will probably be
thrown out of position before you get through puttering with them, and
the glue become cold and the operation be spoiled. Only a skilful
amateur can make a box with nicely fitted mitred joints that will hold
permanently.
* * * * *
There are various other ways of making joints by machine (see _Joints_).
The rabbeted joint shown in Fig. 346 can be made by hand very well, but
so much quicker with a circular saw that you will save much time by
having it done at a mill. It is a good, strong, neat joint and shows
less wood at the end than the common way. When it is allowable to round
what little end wood there is (Fig. 345) it makes the joint quite
inconspicuous. Glue can also be used to advantage with this joint on
account of the shoulder.
Dowelling the corners is a method sometimes used. It is easier than
mitring, but by no means a strong joint, unless skilfully made. The
principal advantage of dowelling is in cases where it is objectionable
to have nails show. But, as a rule, there is not much gain in trying to
_conceal_ joints. Certainly not unless you can do the work in the best
of style.
[Illustration FIG. 346.]
Learn first to make the common, plain joints accurately, and you can
then attempt the more difficult ones with some chance of success. The
joints can sometimes be reinforced to good advantage by triangular
corner-pieces or posts, glued and screwed in place.
There is no better or more workmanlike way of putting boxes together
than by some form of dovetailing (see _Dovetailing_), but this process
is hardly one for the beginner to undertake, and should be postponed
until he has acquired considerable skill, for, though the principle of
laying out and cutting dovetails is easy to understand, much exactness
is required in the execution.
Where the box does not open at the top but lower down, as in Fig. 347,
the best way is not to make the two parts separately, but simply to put
together a tight box and then saw it apart wherever you wish to have it
open.
Be careful to gauge accurately the line by which to saw it open (see
_Gauge_), and not to drive any nails too near this line. Any which you
omit can easily be added after the sawing. Saw the box open very
carefully on the line. Smooth the edges after the saw, but take pains
not to plane away the wood too hastily, for a very little carelessness
will spoil the joint and necessitate a general truing of the edges.
[Illustration FIG. 347.]
[Illustration FIG. 348.]
A good form for a plain chest is shown in Fig. 348. The construction is
the same as in the other cases. The bottom can be fitted to a groove cut
around on the inside and can be inserted when the box is put together,
or for a rougher job can be simply nailed in place.
A simple form of tool-chest is shown in Fig. 349. This can be made of
any size desired and of any wood. It is usually as well to make a
good-sized chest, for the cost is but little more than to make a small
one. Hard wood will be much more durable than soft. Stock from 3/4" to
7/8" in thickness will be suitable.
* * * * *
Unless you have had considerable experience you had best be content with
the simpler joints rather than to attempt dovetailing the corners, as
shown in the cut. It is not necessary to cut a rabbet for the bottom,
because of the base-board or moulding which is to be nailed around the
bottom, and the latter can be nailed or screwed directly to the edge,
before the moulding is put around. The rest of the construction of the
chest is obvious and like the cases already shown. If the moulding
around the lid is to be arranged as shown, it will be best to fit the
lock first, as it will be easier to attach the hasp of the lock before
the moulding has been added (see _Locks_ and _Hinges_).
[Illustration FIG. 349.]
At about two or three inches from the top, fasten a ledge on the inside
of the front and back. This can be about 1/4" thick by 1/2" deep and is
for the sliding-tray, shown in the cut, to rest upon. This tray can be
of soft wood, from 1/4" to 3/8" in thickness, and can be divided as you
wish. It will often be advantageous to arrange the lid and the top tray
so that tools can be fastened on the inside of the lid. Saws and various
flat tools are often thus disposed of, being held in place by straps,
blocks, and buttons. You can also arrange a rack around the inside of
your chest for such tools as chisels, gouges, etc. When kept in trays,
such tools should be separated by divisions. The various details of
making such a chest do not differ from those of the articles just
described in the preceding chapter on Furniture.
* * * * *
In nailing together rough boxes for packing or some temporary purpose,
you do not need to devote much thought to the arrangement of the pieces
with reference to the direction of the grain, so long as you put them
together in a way that your common-sense tells you will be strong.
Examination of a few packing-cases will show you all you need to know
for such work. But when you make a better grade of box, to be glued,
regard must be paid to the direction of the grain and the matter of
expansion and contraction. In the majority of boxes and chests the
grain of the sides and ends should run in the same way--horizontally or
around the box, as shown in the illustrations.
* * * * *
This gives a strong edge all around at the top of the box and permits
the use of glue (with some joints) where the sides and ends meet, as the
parts glued will thus naturally tend to expand and contract alike. When
the grain goes in opposite directions (_i.e._, at right angles), such
joints, unless short, should not be glued. Where the top board is
fastened to the sides and ends of the box, as in Fig. 347, it should not
be glued, except in the case of a small box, and the grain should run
lengthways, so that there will be as little change as possible due to
the expansion and contraction (see Chapter IV. on Laying Out the Work,
and Appendix).
When several boards are required to cover the top or bottom of a box,
if you wish to have as few cracks as possible and to avoid the swelling
and shrinking across the grain as much as you can, lay the boards
lengthways of the box, but if you merely wish for strength, lay them
crossways.
* * * * *
Care must be taken about testing the angles with the square, and
guarding against winding (see _Winding-sticks_), in making nice boxes,
as with all framed work. If the bottom and top are got out accurately
they will, of course, assist in the matter of getting the box square,
and for common work carefully fitting the bottom (or bottom and top) in
place will be all the "squaring" required. In nice work where the joints
are glued, waste pieces should be placed over the joints (across the
grain of the sides) before applying the clamps, not merely to prevent
the work being marred by the clamps, but also to distribute the pressure
and ensure as close a joint as possible (see _Clamps_).
The final smoothing of the outside of a box should be done after it is
permanently put together, allowing plenty of time, if glue is used in
the joints, for it to dry before dressing off the surfaces. The inside
must, of course, be smoothed before putting together.
The variety of forms in which boxes are made is too great for all to be
specified, but the same general principles apply to nearly all forms of
box-work. In the case of chests or large boxes, you will often see them
with the sides and ends panelled, but this is rather an elaborate form
for the beginner to attempt and had best be avoided by the inexperienced
worker. A form which is not too hard for the amateur is shown, however,
in Fig. 350, the sides and ends being fitted to grooves or rabbets cut
in posts at each corner.
[Illustration FIG. 350.]
The work of getting out the stock for boxes and making the joints can be
done so quickly and accurately (and usually cheaply) by a circular saw
or other machine that much time is saved, when making nice boxes, by
having the parts sawed at a mill. The remarks made at the end of the
introduction to Chapter X. (on Furniture), in regard to getting out your
work, putting together, smoothing, and finishing, apply equally to
making the better class of boxes and chests, and the general details of
the work do not differ from those of the articles shown in that chapter.
See also, _Marking_, _Rule_, _Square_, _Saw_, _Plane_, _Nailing_,
_Nail-set_, _Screws_, _Hinges_, _Locks_, _Scraper_, _Sandpaper_, and
_Finishing_, in Part V.
=Toy Boats.=--A few suggestions about the wood-work of the hulls of toy
boats may be useful to the beginner. The details of rigging and
discussion of the merits of the various types and designs are matters
which do not come within the scope of this book, and you can easily find
information upon these points.
Making your boats yourself is half the fun, of course, and capital
practice with tools as well as a valuable introduction to the building
of model yachts, which you may undertake later, and to the general
subject of boat-building and sailing. Making different types and sailing
them is both interesting and instructive.
You will quite often see little boats fitted up as exact copies in
miniature of real vessels, with all the complexity of fittings, rigging,
and minor details found in the larger boats. These models are often
interesting specimens of skill,--as pieces of handiwork,--but the time
can usually be spent to better advantage in some other way. If you wish
actually to sail your boats, leave out everything which is not essential
to successful sailing.
Very little skill, and no instruction, is required to make the simpler
forms of toy boats familiar to the small boy who lives near the water.
Almost any scrap of shingle or piece of wood upon which a little mast
can be raised will sail, as the small boy well knows. The difficulties
begin when something more like a boat is attempted, and the first and
greatest of all difficulties is that of the design, as you will discover
later if you attempt scientific model yacht-building. But advanced model
yacht-work requires much skill--more than can be expected of a beginner.
At first, in beginning to make toy boats, copy any successful boat as
nearly as you can.
After you get beyond making boats of shingles and scraps of board, you
may very likely make something like Fig. 351, which is too simple to
require special description; but when you begin to build regular boats
you will find enough to tax your wood-working skill to the utmost. You
had best begin with simple forms and not make your first attempts too
large.
[Illustration FIG. 351.]
One way of making the hull (as of course you know) is to cut it from a
solid block of wood of the required size. Another way is to build it up
of layers of board laid on one another horizontally (Fig. 352).[27]
[Illustration FIG. 352.]
The greatest care must be taken in the selection of the wood. It should
be free from knots, checks, and bad grain, and above all things must be
thoroughly seasoned. Nothing is better than the best quality of clear
white pine. Mahogany is excellent, but is more costly and harder to
work.
* * * * *
Take a simple model of the fin-keel type (Fig. 353). First you must have
the design or drawing giving the different plans or views. If the
drawing is smaller than the actual size you wish to make the boat, it
must, of course, be enlarged and a full-sized working drawing made.[28]
[Illustration FIG. 353.]
Before beginning work read carefully _Marking_, _Rule_, _Square_, _Saw_,
_Plane_, _Chisel_, _Gouge_, _Spokeshave_, _Paring_, etc., and look up
any other references.
[Illustration FIG. 354.]
To cut the hull from a solid block, first prepare the block of the right
dimensions, and plane it, making sure that the sides are true and square
with one another. The sheer plan must now be transferred to the sides of
the block, either by copying it on the wood by the use of transfer paper
placed between the drawing and the wood, by cutting out a pattern, or by
fastening the drawing itself on one side of the wood and a reversed
duplicate on the other side. In the same way transfer the half-breadth
plan twice to the top of the block, on each side of a line drawn along
the centre, reversing the pattern for one side, of course. Also continue
the centre line down each end and along the bottom.
If the top and side outlines can be sawed to the lines marked with a
band-saw or jig-saw, the expense will be but slight and considerable
labour will be saved. Saw down on the lines 1--1, 2--2, 3--3, etc. (Fig.
354), nearly to the sheer line shown in Fig. 355. In your first attempts
at making small boats it may be well to omit the deck sheer, leaving the
top flat (Fig. 354), as this simplifies matters in the beginning. Also,
saw off the superfluous wood shown by the shaded parts of Fig. 355. Now
clamp or wedge the block, bottom up, firmly on the bench, in case you
have no vise arrangement by which it can be properly held, and rough it
out approximately to shape with a wide chisel (see _Paring_) or the
draw-knife (see _Draw-knife_).
[Illustration FIG. 355.]
The operation of shaping and hollowing out is slow work and requires
much care. A little haste may spoil the work of hours. As the bottom
begins to approach the desired shape you must have something more than
the eye by which to gauge your cutting, for a very little deviation from
the true curve may spoil your boat. It is very important to get both
sides of the boat alike. On card-board or stiff paper, mark a series of
patterns of the different sections shown on the body plan. Cut out each
of these patterns so as to save the part which is the reverse of the
shape of the section of the boat, thus forming a series of templates,
which you can apply to the hull at each section to test your cutting,
until the templates just fit the wood at their respective sections, when
the shape of the hull will, of course, agree with the plan.
The spoke-shave, and sometimes the plane, can be used to good advantage
in the final shaping (see _Spokeshave_). Especial care is required not
to slice off too much, and you will, of course, work, as a rule, from
the centre (or amidships) towards the ends. The block can be held in the
lap or between the knees for this shaping, but it is better for all
kinds of crooked work to have the material firmly held by a vise or some
other contrivance, so that not merely the hands of the worker are free,
but the whole body as well.
[Illustration FIG. 356.]
This form of hull is simple to make, in that the curves of the outside
are all convex. There are no concave surfaces and reversed curves. The
surface can be finally shaped by the use of the rasp, followed by a
file, and finally smoothed with scraper or glass (see _Scraper_). Do not
use sandpaper until the hull is finished.
The inside must next be hollowed. Gauge a line around the upper side,
1/2" from the edge, except at the bow and stern, where a greater
distance should be allowed (Fig. 356). The hull must now be held firmly
in some way. If you cannot contrive to clamp it firmly without bruising
the outside, you should arrange some blocks (padding them with cloth or
leather) in such a way that it can be held securely. It is better to
spend an hour in fastening the block firmly than to attempt to steady it
with one hand and to cut with the other. In all the shaping of the boat,
both hands should be free if possible. Grasp the blade of the tool with
the left hand, or lay the hand across it, so as to exert a back-pressure
on the tool. This gives great control of the tool (see _Paring_).
Bore one or more holes (according to the size of the boat) downward from
the top (Fig. 356), being very careful not to bore too deeply, but to
leave at least half an inch of wood below the hole (see _Boring_). Now
run a groove with the gouge around the deck, inside of the line marked,
and hollow out the inside with the gouge, cutting towards the middle.
The holes bored will help in this process. Cut down straight from the
line marked on the upper side until the thickness of the sides of the
hull is reduced to perhaps 1/4 of an inch (Fig. 357). The object of the
increased thickness at the gunwale is to stiffen the sides and give a
better bearing for nailing down the deck. Below this point make the
thickness as uniform as you can, except for a narrow space at the very
bottom where the keel is to be fastened, where it is often well to leave
a thicker ridge (Fig. 357).
[Illustration FIG. 357.]
[Illustration FIG. 358.]
Extreme care is required in hollowing the inside. It is best not to
attempt to make the sides thinner than one fourth of an inch, unless you
are a pretty good workman with a fair degree of patience, for it is hard
to repair the damage if you cut too deeply. Templates can be made for
the inside. You can tell quite well whether you are making the thickness
uniform by the sense of feeling, gauging the thickness between the thumb
and finger. Do not try to cut away too much at the bow and stern, as it
will weaken the boat, but leave a sufficient body of solid wood. Smooth
the inside neatly with a flatter gouge (if you have it) than that with
which you removed the bulk of the wood.
Next, with a thin strip or batten, mark the line for the sheer of the
deck by the saw-kerfs already made and remove the wood carefully to
this sheer line. The outside can now be thoroughly sandpapered, first
with, perhaps, No. 1-1/2, and finally with No. 00. Get the surface as
smooth as possible (see _Sandpaper_). Next paint the outside and inside
with two coats of white lead and oil (see _Painting_). It is a good plan
to apply a coat of hot oil first.
[Illustration FIG. 359.]
[Illustration FIG. 360.]
[Illustration FIG. 361.]
Now to make this same simple model by the method of layers you will
readily see that if you take a piece of board of a thickness equal to
the distance between the water lines in the sheer plan (Fig. 353), and
cut from it pieces of the shape of the water lines as shown in the
half-breadth plan (Fig. 353), and also cut out the centres of the two
upper pieces as shown in Figs. 358, 359, 360, and then fasten these
pieces one upon another as shown in Fig. 361--you will see that you have
built up the general form of the boat, and saved much of the labour of
shaping and hollowing.
Before cutting out these layers, a centre line must be accurately marked
along both sides and at the rounded ends, so that the layers can be put
together in the correct positions. Also, for the same reason, mark the
midship lines across each side and on the edges, as shown. In drawing
the inside lines (for the part to be cut out), care must be taken to
leave sufficient thickness at the sides to allow for the final shaping.
The sawing of the layers had best be done at a mill with a band-saw and
jig- or scroll-saw, but can be done by hand, of course.
The boards or planks must be accurately dressed so as to make as perfect
joints as possible when put together. If not convenient to make the
thickness of the boards agree with the water lines of the plan, you can
easily draw in new water lines to agree with the thickness of the board
you may have--say, 3/4" or 7/8" apart. Glue must now be applied to the
joints, and the pieces firmly clamped together between boards, or laid
flat (bottom side upwards) and weights applied. It is best not to cut
out and glue up more than two or three layers at a time, lest they
become bent or sprung. Care must be used in applying the pressure to
make it uniform and not cause the somewhat flexible sides to be sprung
or twisted out of shape (see _Gluing_ and _Clamps_). Do not delay this
building-up operation needlessly. Do not leave the pieces lying around
for a fortnight. Keep them all clamped up in the proper position, or
under pressure, if you can, until the whole form is glued together, as
such pieces spring out of shape very easily.
After the glue is thoroughly dry, complete the shaping of the outside
and inside as in the case of the solid block, care being taken to pare
off the projecting angles on the outside gradually, so as not to cut
within the curve marked on the plan.
The fin (when flaring at the top and not too thin) can also be made of
wood, glued and screwed on, the lead being screwed to the bottom with
brass screws.[29] Be sure that the fin is in line with the centre line
of the boat.
Unless the boat is quite small it is best to fit in two or three deck
beams to connect the sides and support the deck (Fig. 357). These should
be of thin stuff (perhaps 3/16" thick and 1/2" wide), set on edge and
very slightly arched, the ends being fitted into gains cut in the sides,
and nailed with fine brads. They can also be glued.
The deck should be of thin stuff (perhaps 1/8" planed). Mark carefully
on the piece the deck outline and cut it approximately to shape, but
well outside of the line. Fasten small blocks of wood to the under side
of the deck wherever any attachments for the rigging are to be fastened.
Paint the lower side, and when dry bore a row of holes with a very small
brad-awl (see _Awl_) all around the edge, 1/8" inside of the line. Smear
the top edge of the hull with thick white lead, or white lead putty, and
nail the deck in place with very fine wire brads, perhaps 1/2" in
length. Care must be used not to split the deck or drive the nails
through the sides of the hull. Fine brass screws can be used if
necessary. The overhanging edge of the deck can be trimmed down
carefully with chisel, plane, or knife. The outside of the deck can now
be painted.
The rudder can be fixed in a brass tube, the ends of which can be set in
lead. The mast can also be stepped in a brass tube, or simply pass
through the deck to the bottom, where it can be stepped in a smaller
hole, which must be bored with care lest it go through.
When you come to making models of less simple form--those having
hollows and reversed curves in their outside form, as the majority of
boats do--the difficulty of shaping accurately is much increased and
more care is required, but the principle of construction remains the
same.
[Illustration FIG. 362.]
Suppose, for example, you are ambitious enough to undertake such forms
as those which compete for the _America's_ Cup, for instance, you will
find it difficult to carry the process of building by horizontal layers
below a certain point (Fig. 362) but the keel and lower part can be
added by gluing (or gluing and screwing) a piece of board or plank on
edge (or two pieces, if necessary) to the bottom. The lead can, in turn,
be fastened to the lower edge of the keel by screws. Models of such
yachts are not always the best forms for toy boats, however desirous you
may be to reproduce in miniature these famous boats.
FOOTNOTES:
[27] Still another way sometimes used for model yachts is to build the
hull much in the same way that a real vessel is built--making a
framework or skeleton and covering it with little planks, but this
method (though a good one in some respects) requires more skill than can
be expected of the average amateur, and this mode of construction should
not be attempted until you become a skilful workman and accomplished in
the building of regular model yachts.
If your boat is quite small it will probably be easier and better in
most cases to cut the hull from a solid block; but if much more than
two feet in length it is usually better to build it in layers.
Either of these methods can be used in any case, but for a small boat
the building in layers is more difficult, while for a large one it is
hard to find a block that will be sufficiently free from defects.
[28] In making the plans for a boat, three views are usually drawn,
known as the sheer plan, the body plan, and the half-breadth plan. These
correspond to the "front or side elevation," "end elevation," and "plan"
in ordinary drawings, and give side, end, and top views of the boat,--or
of one-half of it, which is all that is needed, as the sides are of
course alike. Several equidistant horizontal lines are drawn across the
plans. One of these represents the line of the water when the boat has
its proper load. It is called the load water-line. The other lines being
parallel to it represent other imaginary levels, at equal distances
apart--like the lines which would be made by the water if the boat sunk
deeper or floated higher. Other lines are also added to show vertical
and horizontal, longitudinal and cross-sections, at regular intervals,
and also other longitudinal sections, but these details you will find
fully described in works on yacht-(and model yacht-) building.
[29] The fin can be cut from sheet metal (brass or sheet-iron) and
inserted in a thin saw-kerf cut exactly in the centre of the bottom,
being set in thick white lead, or it can be riveted to thin plates
screwed to the bottom of the boat, or lips can be bent over alternately
on either side of the upper edge of the fin and screwed to the bottom.
The amount of lead required for the bulb at the bottom of the fin can be
determined by loading the hull with weights until it is sunk to the
water line. The weights will, of course, represent the weight of lead
required. This can be cast in a mould and riveted to the bottom of the
fin.
PART III
_HOUSE-BUILDING FOR BEGINNERS_
CHAPTER XII
House-building in its simple forms, and on a small scale, is very
suitable work for the beginner in wood-working.
One of the most important things to bear in mind is not to be too
ambitious in your early attempts. Content yourself with the simplest
forms until you have attained sufficient skill to undertake more
difficult buildings.
All the work of such structures as are here shown can, in case of
necessity, be done by one person alone; but--unless, perhaps, in the
case of the smallest and simplest houses--it is much better for two or
more persons to join forces, as much time will thereby be saved, for the
lumber can be handled much more easily and quickly by two than by one.
This will be the best way if the building is to be done by boys, in
which case by all means have some system for carrying on the work.
You know men usually work under the direction of a head man, or foreman,
and, when there is no head man, they defer as a matter of course to the
one of their number who is the best fitted to take charge of the work.
Choose one boy master-builder, foreman, or boss, letting him assign to
each his part of the work and leaving to him the decision of questions
that arise in regard to the details. If one of you is clearly more of a
mechanic than the others, choose him foreman; otherwise it will be a
good plan to have the office filled by each in turn for perhaps one day
apiece. Let the foreman divide the work as fairly as possible. That is,
instead of having one boy saw off all the boards while another drives
all the nails, arrange regular "shifts" at short intervals, letting the
two change places and work perhaps every hour. This plan will prevent
much confusion and perhaps disagreement, which might even cause the work
to be given up--an unfortunate result which sometimes happens to boys'
undertakings.
It is not simply starting in with an understanding that you are to take
turns when one may think he is tired of what he happens to be doing, but
it is the regular rotation of work and responsibility at fixed intervals
that will ensure harmony and a successful completion of the work.
The situation is a very important matter which will be spoken of in
treating of the larger structures farther on, but there is one thing
which should be borne in mind for even the smallest play-house in the
back yard of a town lot, and that is not to build it in a hollow where
the water will collect to make it damp or uninhabitable. A flat roof
should also be avoided, as it is much harder to keep tight than one
which has sufficient pitch to shed the water freely.
You can determine the kind of a house to build and its general
dimensions according to the requirements of the case, but you will, of
course, wish it to be attractive in appearance, however small it may be;
and therefore, in making the drawings, it is essential to have in view
the block-form, or general shape and proportions. If these are not
pleasing and agreeable to the eye, your house will be unattractive, for
nothing you can do in the way of ornamentation or elaborate details will
make up for poor shape and proportions.
To design a building (however small) with a pleasing and attractive
exterior is, however, no easy task. If you can make a perspective sketch
of your proposed house with reasonable accuracy, it will be a great
help, as the regular working drawings (the plan, elevations, etc.),
however well made, often fail to give one a clear mental picture of how
the structure _as a whole_ will look.
A little model will be of the greatest service in determining whether
the shape and proportions of your house are good. A model is easily made
of paste-board with sufficient accuracy for this purpose. It is quite
remarkable how different many objects appear when actually made, from
the way one thinks they will appear, in spite of the most careful
drawings; therefore do not despise this simple precaution of making a
model in cases where attractive appearance is an element, for it may
save you from putting up a structure which will be a continual eyesore.
The amateur (like many professional builders) is much more liable to
make his work too elaborate and with too many attempts at ornamentation
than to make it too plain. So give your first attention to the
block-form, and then to the details. Do not cover your house with an
embroidery of jig-sawing, fanciful turning, superfluous brackets, and
the like, in the effort to make it pretty or to imitate the vulgar
details of inferior summer cottages. The amateur is also liable in the
case of very small buildings to make them too tall in proportion to
their ground dimensions. A tall, narrow house is seldom homelike or
attractive, whether it be six feet square or sixty.
Finally, be simple and modest in your designing, avoid meaningless
"gingerbread" work, do not set your house up on stilts, as it were, but
hospitably near to the ground; have generous doors and windows, avoid
flashy and gaudy colours in painting, cultivate plants and vines to run
over the outside, and keep the surroundings neat and tidy.
The variety of small structures from which to select for your early
attempts is almost endless. You can find many ideas for your designing
and the construction in every town and in various publications. Only
simple types will be treated here, involving merely such principles of
construction as you can readily apply to such other designs as you may
wish to carry out. As it is impracticable to repeat all the suggestions
and details under each structure treated here, the prospective builder
who should begin with any of the later examples had best read these
chapters through from the beginning before starting on the actual work.
One of the simplest and most easily built small structures that you can
make is that with a single-pitched or shed or "lean-to" roof; that is,
with the roof slanting only one way. This style of construction, though
commonly applied to a rather humble class of buildings, is by no means
to be despised, the ease with which it can be built by boys or amateurs
being one of its marked advantages. You will find this simple form of
building capitally suited to many purposes, and a good type with which
to begin.
=A Play-house or Play-store.=--You know that an ordinary wooden building
has a framework of timbers,--a kind of skeleton upon which the boarding
is nailed. This will be shown in the following chapters, but a very
small house or cabin, like that shown in Fig. 363, suitable for a
play-house for boys and girls, can be built very well in a simpler way
by making the four sides separately and then nailing them together as
you would do if making a box. There is no floor (except the ground),
and the roof is to be nailed down on top of the four sides as you would
nail the cover on the box.
[Illustration FIG. 363.
A little house, with trees a-row,
And, like its master, very low!--_Pope._]
* * * * *
Before beginning work read carefully _Marking_, _Rule_, _Square_, _Saw_,
_Nailing_, in Part V., and look up any other references.
Fig. 365 shows one of the sides (inside view). It is made of boards
running horizontally, with an upright cleat at each edge, and another
cleat at the top.
Fig. 366 shows the back (inside view), made in the same way as the
sides, except that each cleat is set back from the edge 1-3/4", thus
forming a rabbet in which to fit either side when the house is put
together. The third, fourth, fifth, and sixth boards from the top are
not nailed to the cleats, but are omitted, to leave space for a large
open window.
[Illustration FIG. 364.
ELEVATION.
SIDE ELEVATION.
PLAN.
REAR ELEVATION.]
[Illustration FIG. 365.]
[Illustration FIG. 366.]
Fig. 367 shows the front (inside view), four upright cleats being used
and a large opening left for the doorway.
[Illustration FIG. 367.]
First estimate the stock you will require (see Chapter IV.),[30] and try
to get dry wood without too many large knots.
You can get along very well for such work as this on the floor, or even
the ground, with a couple of boxes for horses, but a bench and horses
are a great convenience.
Make the sides first, disregarding the slant for the roof. Take a
matched-board and square off one end of it, if it is not already square.
Then measure 5' 10"[31] from that end, mark across by the square, and
saw the piece off. Use this piece (5' 10" long) as a measure to mark
the lengths of enough pieces to make the two sides. If you saw them off
as you measure them, one by one, be sure to mark all the lengths by the
first piece, and not by the one last sawed, or they will probably, vary
in length.
When you put the boards together to form the sides, be sure that the
ends are in line. Use the edge of a straight board for a straight-edge
to get them in line, or drive them against the side of the room, if that
is straight, or temporarily nail a straight-edged board to the floor and
keep them driven up squarely against it.
Make sure, also, by testing with the square or by measuring, that each
side of the house when made is a rectangle and not a rhomboid, or the
whole house will be askew when put together.
When you fit the matched edges be sure to make the joints as tight as
you can, but do not pound directly on the tongued and grooved edges with
the hammer. Take a short piece of waste boarding, fit it to the tongue
or groove wherever you wish to strike, and hit this waste piece with the
hammer.
You will see that there is no need of sawing out a square hole for the
window, as you can put in short pieces at each side of the window-space.
Nail the upright cleats at the edges with 1-1/2" nails, driving two into
each board in the way shown in the cut, bearing in mind that the cleats
must all be on the inside of the house, and also to have the tongues of
the boards uppermost when the house is put together. Mark the front edge
of each side in some way to prevent any mistake. The reason for putting
the tongues upward and the grooves downward is because the joints will
shed the water better, as otherwise each groove would be a little trough
into which the rain could soak. Measure 5' 6" from the bottom on the
front edge of each side and 4' 6" on the back edge. Draw a straight line
on the outside between these points and it will give the slant for the
roof. Saw the boards and cleats by this line and then fit and nail the
top cleats as in Fig. 365, or nail the top cleats first and saw the
boards off by them.
Next make the back in the same way, setting the cleats 1-3/4" away from
the edges. Leave out the boards at the window-space.
Make the shutter, and trim off its tongued and grooved edges (see
_Paring_, etc.) before nailing the back of the house together, as you
can thus determine more easily the space to be left open. Also trim off
the tongued edge of the board coming next below the shutter. Leave the
open space a little wider than the shutter (say 1/4" wider) to allow for
possible swelling of the boards. When you nail the cleats on the
drop-shutter, be sure to use nails long enough to clinch (see
_Nailing_), or use screws (see _Screws_).
The front is to be made in the same way, the width of the door-space
being 27-1/2", and of the boarding at each side, 21-1/4". Have the two
inner cleats project about an inch inside the edge of the doorway for
the door to hit against when shut (Fig. 367), and "toe" or clinch the
nails for these cleats, or use a few screws, so that the slamming of the
door will not loosen them.
Now the four sides are ready to put together. Find a spot as nearly
level as you can for your house. Do not, however, put it in a hollow
where the floor will be flooded with water when it rains. Hold up the
front and one side in the right position, press them closely together at
the corner, and drive in a couple of nails to hold them until you can
get the other parts in place. Then fit on the other side and the back in
the same way. Try the four corners with the steel square, and when you
have them right nail all the corners strongly with 2-1/2" nails. If you
have no large square, measure the diagonals with a stick, altering the
angles at the corners until the diagonals are equal. Toe the nails at
the corners, and, in fact, if you can do it neatly, it will be stronger
to toe the nails throughout the work.
Now get out boards 6' long for the roof, to run from side to side. When
you nail them on have them project 1" all around. Cover the roof with
roofing- or sheathing-paper. Lay it in strips from side to side,
beginning at the back and letting the second strip overlap the first, as
shingles are laid. Three strips will cover the roof once. Of course you
can cover it with as many layers as you wish to pay for. Fasten the
paper with roofing nails or tacks. Drive them close together, but only
where the strips lap and at the edges of the roof. You can bend the
edges of the paper down over the edge of the roof to cover the joint
underneath and nail neat strips of wood outside to cover the edges of
the paper, or you can simply nail the paper around the edge of the roof.
In making the door (Fig. 368) clinch the nails which fasten the cleats,
or use screws, and trim off the tongued and grooved edges, as with the
drop-shutter.
Now hang the door and drop-shutter with two strap-hinges each. Place the
door and shutter exactly in position (shut), and tack them temporarily
in place with a few nails, or wedge them. Then carefully placing each
hinge so that the pin on which it turns is just in line with the crack
between the door and the door-frame, mark points for the screws. Bore
holes for the screws and fasten the hinges in place (see _Screws_).
Put a latch, a catch, or a hasp and padlock on the door, and a hasp or
screw-eye and hook on the inside for the shutter. Also fix a brace to
hold the shutter when lifted, or you can arrange a rope to pass up from
the outside of the shutter and around a pulley to the inside of the
house, where it can hang down and be used to hold the shutter up by
fastening it round a cleat or a couple of nails.
[Illustration FIG. 368.]
You can fix a shelf inside under the open window at the back (Fig. 364,
Plan), resting on cleats nailed to the sides of the house, and also put
in a seat at one or both sides, supporting the middle by a short post or
a short piece of board on edge.
A few strips will serve to hold the lights of window-glass in place. The
house is now ready to occupy.
Of course you can save a good deal of labour (and lose some experience)
at slight expense by having the boards sawed off squarely of the given
lengths at a mill,--often where you buy the wood. In this case, remember
to make a list of the number of boards of each length to take to the
mill.
If you would like to be able to move your house or to take it apart and
store it during the winter, you can fasten the four sides and roof
together with screws, or hook them together on the inside with stout
screw-eyes and hooks. You will find this way in very common use by
builders and contractors in the little portable tool-houses, offices,
and shops which they take apart and move from place to place.
[Illustration FIG. 369.]
=Play-store or Booth.=--A good form for a simple play-store or booth
(Fig. 369) can, if small, be constructed on the same box-like principle
as the little building just shown, and the details of construction are
so similar that special directions for this design are unnecessary. If
large, it should, however, have a frame, which you can readily pattern
after that shown in Fig. 371.
* * * * *
Before beginning work read carefully _Marking_, _Rule_, _Square_, _Saw_,
_Plane_, _Nailing_, _Screws_, _Painting_, in Part V., and look up any
other references.
By using heavier cleats, as 2" × 2" or 2" × 4", on the ends, those on
the front and back can be omitted, and the boards nailed directly to the
sides. An arrangement for one end (that with the door) is suggested in
Fig. 370, 2" × 2" or 2" × 4" joist being used.
[Illustration FIG. 370.]
A shelf or counter can be fitted inside the drop-window for the display
of your wares.
* * * * *
This general shape can often be advantageously used for a quite
good-sized building--a little cottage, for instance--and when an
addition to a larger structure is desired, it is sometimes the best form
for the purpose, for its shape renders it more easily attached than any
other form of ell (Fig. 391).
A building of this style, however suitable as an attachment to a larger
structure, will not be an attractive object in some situations. It will
not stand alone, regardless of the surroundings, as well as some other
forms. Therefore it is well to consider, before deciding to build
anything of this kind larger than the play-houses and stores just shown,
whether your house will have a building, a fence, or a wall for a
background; or a steep bluff or ledge under which it will nestle, or
trees or shrubbery behind or around it. In such cases it will often be
attractive in appearance. If, however, it is to be put in a prominent
place where it can be viewed from all positions, it may be better to
select some other type.
=Frame for Larger Building with Lean-to Roof.=--While the simple
box-like arrangement described above is suitable for a very small
structure, it must be discarded for a frame of some sort when you
undertake a larger and more permanent building.
* * * * *
Before beginning work read carefully _Marking_, _Rule_, _Square_,
_Saw_, _Plane_, _Nailing_, _Screws_, _Painting_, in Part V., and look up
any other references.
This frame can be put together as shown for the framed structures
described farther on, the only difference being at the top. A simple
method of framing is shown in Fig. 371.
Fig. 382 shows a simple way of fitting boards around the edge of the
roof where it overhangs, and other arrangements for this detail can be
found in the various illustrations. It is not necessary to have roofs
overhang, even for a large building, but it is usually desirable on the
ground of appearance and for shedding the water away from the walls.
[Illustration FIG. 371.]
For matters relating to the foundation, see pages 259-264.
=Play-house or Cabin.=--The house shown in Fig. 372 can be put together
in the way already shown.
* * * * *
Before beginning work read carefully _Marking_, _Rule_, _Square_, _Saw_,
_Plane_, _Nailing_, _Screws_, _Painting_, in Part V., and look up any
other references.
The ground dimensions can be 5' or 6' × 7' or 8'. The ends must be made
higher than the sides, as shown, to allow for the slant of the roof.
Mark lines, using a straight-edge, to give the slant for both sides of
the roof, and saw the boards off by these lines. A short cleat can be
added at the top in the middle to stiffen these top boards.
After the sides and ends are put together, get out two boards, of the
shape shown in Fig. 373, to rest in four rectangular notches cut in the
front and back sides of the house. These pieces are to support the
roof-boards, and their upper edges are to be cut at the same angle as
the top of either end of the house. Nail these pieces firmly in place at
each end (Fig. 374).
[Illustration FIG. 372.]
Now get out boards for the roof, to run from end to end and about 4"
longer than the house. Begin to nail them on at the top, and have the
roof overhang the sides and ends 2" all around.
You can easily put in the window-sash, either by hinging it so as to
swing open, or by having it slide to the right or left on strips nailed
above and below it, as shown in Fig. 369.
[Illustration FIG. 373.]
The roof-boards can also be laid the other way by putting in a
ridge-piece in the form of a piece of studding or joist of any size not
less than 2" × 2" (Fig. 377), or even a board on edge, to which the
upper ends of the roof-boards can be nailed.
[Illustration FIG. 374.]
Another form of roof, but arranged in the same way, is shown in Fig.
375.
You will require a compass-saw for the curves, or you can have them
sawed by a band-saw, or the wood can be trimmed to the line with the
hatchet and draw-knife or chisel (see _Paring_).
Another way to put any such little structure as this together is to have
the sheathing run up and down and the cleats horizontally. This makes a
neater structure than the way just given. The general principle of the
construction is the same, the four sides being made separately and then
fastened together.
[Illustration FIG. 375.]
=Play-house, Store, or Cabin.=--The design shown in Fig. 376 can be
carried out in the manner already described.
* * * * *
Before beginning work read carefully _Marking_, _Rule_, _Square_, _Saw_,
_Plane_, _Nailing_, _Screws_, _Painting_, in Part V., and look up any
other references.
The ground dimensions can be 6' or 7' × 8' or 9'. In making the ends
where they are cut off at the top to give the slant for the roof,
inside cleats should be used. Mark lines, using a straight-edge, for the
slant for both sides of the roof, and saw the boards off by these lines.
It will be convenient and will look well to make the angle at the top a
right angle. At the top saw out a notch in which to rest the ridge-pole,
as shown in Fig. 377.
[Illustration FIG. 376.]
After the sides and ends are fastened together, nail the ridge-pole in
place and get out short boards for the roof. Cut these for one side of
the roof so as to be about 2" longer than the slant of the end of the
house, and make those for the other side of the roof as much longer as
the thickness of the boards, so that they will lap over at the top, as
shown in Fig. 377. Nail them on, beginning at one end, so that the roof
will overlap the ends and sides 2" all around.
Nailing upright strips at the corners, as is commonly done on wooden
houses, and as is shown in the picture, will give the house a more
finished appearance. The other details are similar to those already
shown.
[Illustration FIG. 377.]
[Illustration FIG. 378.]
[Illustration FIG. 379.]
This house can have a floor, which can be made of 2" × 4" studding
simply nailed together and floored over (Fig. 378), forming a sort of
platform to which the sides and ends can be nailed when the house is put
together; and the best way to make the whole structure is that shown in
Fig. 377, the boards running vertically and cleats horizontally. In case
of using a platform floor with this last method of construction, the
lower cleats can be raised from the bottom so as to rest on the floor,
as shown in Fig. 378. This makes the putting together of the house quite
simple, as the fitting of the sides and ends and floor in their proper
places obviates the need of testing with square or measuring diagonals.
The lower cleats on the sides and ends are not really necessary,
however, except for convenience in putting together and taking apart, as
the vertical sheathing can be nailed directly to the floor-frame or
sills, as shown in Fig. 377.
[Illustration FIG. 380.]
[Illustration FIG. 381.]
The whole can then be levelled (see _Level_ and _Plumb_), being blocked
up underneath as may be required.
The design is also suitable for a larger structure, in which case a
frame should be made as shown in Fig. 389.
* * * * *
Another very, similar design is shown in Fig. 379, and can be put
together according to the principles already shown. The boarding runs
vertically and the cleats horizontally, as shown in Fig. 377.
[Illustration FIG. 382.]
Figs. 380 and 381 show other simple arrangements, the ground dimensions
of which can be, perhaps, 8' × 12', and which can be put together in the
same way as the preceding cases, with or without a floor, and with the
boarding running vertically or horizontally.
* * * * *
[Illustration FIG. 383.]
[Illustration FIG. 384.]
[Illustration FIG. 385.]
If a stove is to be used, the smoke-pipe can be arranged to pass through
the side of the house, as in Figs. 382, 383, etc. If to pass through the
roof, it should be soldered or riveted to a sheet of metal, as
galvanized iron, the upper edge of the latter being slipped under the
roof covering while the lower edge laps over it (Fig. 384), on just the
same principle that shingles are laid, the idea being, of course, that
the water will run down over the metal without leaking through, just as
it runs down over the shingles. This simple principle must always be
observed whenever metal is used to prevent joints leaking. With such
small houses as these it is usually easier and safer about leakage to
have the pipe run through the side of the house. If to go through the
roof (particularly when there is no special roof covering but boards),
it is a good plan to have the pipe pass through the roof near the ridge,
so that the upper edges of the metal sheet can be slipped under one of
the saddle-boards (Fig. 385). In any case, an air space must be allowed
between the smoke-pipe and the wood, and it is always well to have a
collar an inch or two outside of the pipe. Any tinsmith or metal-worker
can arrange these details.
Round drain-pipe set in cement is often used for a cheap pipe or
chimney, and answers the purpose very well.
Fig. 383 also shows the way to lay sheathing- or roofing-paper in case
you wish to use it for a temporary structure. It also gives a suggestion
for a window-shutter to be raised by a cord passing through to the
inside, where it can be fastened to a cleat.
=A Workshop.=--A small building, like that shown in Fig. 386, from 8' to
12' wide by 12' to 18' long, will be suitable for a workshop or for
various other purposes.
[Illustration FIG. 386.]
While it will do for a little play-house without a floor, like those
described at first, to rest directly upon the ground, a better structure
like this should have some sort of underpinning.
* * * * *
It is not customary to lay a stone or brick and cement foundation for
such a structure as this, because the building is not usually worth it.
It can very well be rested upon stones at the corners and middle of the
sides or upon posts set in the ground. If the soil is sandy and large
stones abundant, it can be rested upon piers of stones. So far as
supporting the building for one season is concerned, simply resting it
upon stones laid on top of the ground is sufficient, but the action of
the frost will move the stones and heave the building more or less out
of place, which will require it to be occasionally levelled and blocked
up. A hole can be dug to a depth of about three feet, so as to be below
the action of the frost, and a pier of flat stones built up. If the
soil is of clear, well-packed sand, a pier of this sort will last for
some time before being thrown out of shape by the frost, although, of
course, if laid in cement (or if bricks laid in cement are used), it
will be much more permanent. If the soil is clayey, the foundation, of
whatever kind, should be carried to a depth of three feet or more and
cemented, and even then it will be liable to be heaved by the action of
the frost. This involves considerable labour and perhaps expense, and
for such a small building it will usually be better to rest it upon flat
stones laid on the surface, or to block it up in some way so as to be
clear of the ground, and then level it whenever necessary, which is not
difficult with so small a structure.[32]
* * * * *
While brick piers built upon a foundation of stone laid in cement and
carried to a depth of three feet or more is doubtless the best
underpinning you can have (next to a regular foundation wall), it is not
always advisable to incur the necessary expense and labour, and a common
and usually satisfactory way for a building of this sort is to rest it
upon posts set in the ground. But before placing the posts the exact
position of the building must be determined.
* * * * *
Having fixed upon the position of the building, proceed to stake it out.
First measure off with the tape, or rod, or even a string, the length
of one of the sides of the building, and drive a stake at each end of
the line. Stretch a line between these stakes and measure off the length
of the end of the building from each stake, as nearly as possible at
right angles with the first line. You can do this approximately with the
help of a "mason's square," or large triangle, which you can make
yourself of thin strips of wood nailed together in the form of a
right-angled triangle with sides 6', 8', and 10' long, or the sides can
be 3', 4', and 5' long.[33] Whatever method you use, be sure that the
figure is rectangular, and move one or two of the stakes, if necessary,
until the diagonals are of equal length.
If the ground is uneven, keep the tape horizontal when measuring, and to
determine the points required drop a plumb-line from the end of the tape
which is raised from the ground.
Having in this way accurately fixed upon the lines for the four sides of
the house, continue these lines a few feet (perhaps 4 or 5 feet) beyond
the corners to the points marked E (Fig. 388), and drive a stake at each
of these points. You can easily get these eight stakes in line by
sighting from the four first driven. Next drive in one of these outside
stakes (the one where the ground is the highest in case the surface is
uneven) until it sticks out of the ground a few inches, and then drive
the other seven until their tops are level with the top of the first.
This you can determine by applying the level to a line stretched taut
from the top of one post to the top of another. Drive a nail into the
top of each stake to hold the string, or cut a notch for the same
purpose. Now if strings are tightly stretched between these stakes, they
will intersect over the four stakes first driven at the corners of the
house. These four stakes you can now remove when you dig the holes for
the posts, and the exact position of each post and its height above the
surface will be determined by the intersection of the strings from the
outside stakes. The strings can be taken off while you are digging and
replaced when you are getting the posts in position.
[Illustration FIG. 388.]
Next dig a hole at one corner, about 18" in diameter and about 2-1/2' or
3' in depth. In this hole set a post about 6" in diameter, sawed off
squarely at the upper end, and of such a length that when pounded down
to a firm and upright bearing the top of it will reach the string
stretched between the levelling stakes. When you fill up the hole put in
only a little earth at a time, "tamping" each layer compactly around the
post with an iron bar or stick before adding more earth. Contrary to
what one might naturally think, the earth can be tamped more compactly
with a bar or stick than with a heavy joist.
Set another post in the same way at the next corner, fixing it
accurately in position by means of the strings, as in the case of the
first post, and seeing that the distance from the outside of this post
to the outside of the first one is that required by the plan.
Set the other corner-posts in the same way, testing all the distances
(including the diagonals) as before. You can try the height of each post
now and then as you dig, and thus avoid making too deep a hole.
If you prefer, you can set all the posts in the right positions at
first, but without trying to level the tops, merely seeing that the tops
all stick up above the line. You can then strike a horizontal line all
around with a cord, and saw all the posts off by this line--a process
which you very likely have seen when watching the work on a pile-bridge
or wharf. Sawing off the posts squarely will be much easier, however,
before they are set in the ground.
* * * * *
The posts may be of locust, cedar, cypress, or chestnut. Locust is
considered very durable, but is the most expensive. Cedar is excellent,
and will be perfectly satisfactory. Chestnut will do very well for a
house of this sort, and is comparatively cheap. If you do not mind the
slight increase in cost, cedar is better. If you wish to be as
economical as possible, chestnut will answer.[34]
The reason for selecting wood of greater natural durability for the
posts than for the rest of the house is to withstand the greater
exposure of the posts to alternate moisture and dryness. Timber will
last for centuries if placed in a sheltered position and exposed to a
free circulation of air. It will also last for a long period when
immersed in fresh water or sunk underground, so as to be beyond the
influence of atmospheric changes. But the alternate exposure to dryness
and moisture, as in the case of posts partly above and partly below
ground, or piles for a wharf or bridge, causes decay in a comparatively
short time (see Appendix).
If your site is too rocky for posts, you will be saved some digging, but
must provide a level and stable foundation in some other way. It rarely
happens that the surface will be quite level, and you must use stone or
timbers for underpinning. If there are one or two corners that must be
raised, owing to inequality of the surface, and you cannot find large
stones that will be sure to stay in place, you can rest the raised parts
of the house upon posts securely braced. Rock is not the most desirable
foundation for a building with a regular underpinning and cellar--the
biblical parable to the contrary notwithstanding--and there is no
foundation superior to sand or gravel (only the sand or gravel must be
confined and not free to slide or move). But as your house merely rests
on the surface, and has no cellar to be dug or drained, there is no
disadvantage in putting it on a rock, provided you support it properly.
Do not rest one end of it on a pile of loose cobble-stones, five feet
high, only to have the stones slip some wet, stormy night and let the
building down.
Having the foundation set, the next thing is the frame, which for a
small building of this kind can be made of almost any kind of wood which
you can readily obtain, provided, of course, that it is dry enough and
not weakened by large knots or other defects.
* * * * *
Before beginning work read carefully _Marking_, _Rule_, _Square_, _Saw_,
_Plane_, _Nailing_, _Screws_, _Painting_, in Part V., and look up any
other references.
[Illustration FIG. 389.]
The sills, or the lower timbers of the frame which rest upon the
foundation, should be got out first, and can be of 4" × 4" stock, and
halved at the ends (see _Halving_) (Fig. 389). Upon these sills is to be
set up a 4" × 4" post of the desired length at each corner.[35]
On top of these are placed the plates, which can be of 2" × 4" studding
laid flat and halved at the ends. Be sure to get out these pieces before
beginning to put them together. Toe-nail the posts to the sills and nail
the plates directly down on top of the posts, keeping the latter in a
vertical position by temporarily nailing on strips of board diagonally,
adjusting these until the posts are vertical and at right angles to the
sills (see _Plumb_ and _Square_).
Next put in vertical studding (2" × 4") at each side of the door-space,
and at the sides of the window-spaces, allowing a little more space than
the exact widths of the door and window-frames. In the same way
horizontal studding should be fitted in above the door-space and above
and below the window-spaces, and in any places where it will be a help
in stiffening the frame or for nailing on the boarding. Another way is
to first fit in pieces of joist horizontally, either midway between the
sills and plates (except at the window and door-spaces), or running the
entire length above and below the windows. Just where and how many of
these pieces are to be put in depends upon the arrangement of the doors
and windows, and pieces of vertical studding can be fitted in at each
side of the door and window-spaces and wherever advisable. Short braces,
with their ends sawed at an angle of 45°, can also be fitted at the
corners, where the corner-posts meet the sills and plates, and be nailed
in place to help stiffen the frame.
It will be a convenience in working to lay the floor next. For this you
will require a number of floor-joists. If the building is only 8' or 10'
wide, 2" × 4" studding will do; but if the width is as great as 12', 2"
× 6" will be better. These are to be placed on edge on top of the sills,
as shown. Place one at each end against the corner-posts (to which it
can be nailed), sawing off each end so that it will be flush with the
outside of the sill. Distribute these floor-joists so that they will be
about 18" apart, and hold them in position by "toeing" a nail through
them at each end into the sill beneath, or nailing them to the studding
when practicable. Before laying any of these floor-joists trim them off
on the under edge, which will rest upon the sills, if necessary to
ensure a level surface on top for the floor. Do not neglect this, as
such joists frequently vary in width. Now measure the diagonals again,
before laying the floor-boards, to be sure that the base of the house is
rectangular. If one diagonal is longer than the other, push those
corners towards each other until the diagonals are of equal length.
Next lay the floor-boards, lengthways of the building, driving them
together tightly by pounding on a waste piece, and nailing them firmly
to each floor-joist with two nails. If your floor-boards are not long
enough to reach the entire length of the house, you will take pains, of
course, to saw them of such a length that the ends of the boards will
meet over the middle of one of the floor-joists, arranging the joints so
that they will alternate or come at different points of the floor. Saw
off neatly all projecting ends of the floor-boards.
You will frequently wish to use more force in driving the floor-boards
to a tight joint at the edges than you can easily apply with the hammer.
You can easily apply all the pressure required by using two short boards
on the principle of the toggle-joint. Arrange these as shown in Fig.
390, one end resting against a temporary cleat or any firm object and
the other against the edge of the floor-board. By stepping upon this
toggle-joint at its apex, the floor-board will be forced into place. A
common way is to pry the board into place with a chisel driven down at
the edge.
[Illustration FIG. 390.]
If the building is to be used in cold weather, by all means lay double
flooring. The under floor can be of cheaper stock and laid less
carefully. Between the two lay sheathing- or roofing-paper, and you will
have accomplished much towards keeping the room warm.
The frame is now ready for the roof-timbers. These can be of 2" × 4"
studding, except the ridge-board, which can be any common board about 6"
wide.
To obtain the length of the rafters and the angle at which the ends are
to be cut, you can easily make a full-sized pattern on the floor by
simply laying off a right-angled triangle of the required height and
base, which will give the length of the rafters and the angle at each
end, after cutting off a little piece at the upper end to represent one
half the thickness of the ridge-board; or two pieces of the rafter stock
can simply be laid on the floor in the right relative positions for the
roof, when their points of crossing can be marked on each edge and the
bevel marked on the sides of the pieces. The bevel at the lower end can
be found in a similar manner. Take off enough at the upper end to allow
for one half the thickness of the ridge-board, and saw off one rafter as
marked. This will serve for a pattern by which to mark the others. The
end rafters and the ridge-board (which should first be sawed the length
of the house) can easily be nailed in position by two persons, one at
each end, being temporarily stayed in place by a board nailed outside
(Fig. 389).
The roof-boards can be nailed either lengthways, or up and down. If the
former way, the rafters must be put quite near together to give
sufficient support to the boards. If the latter, purlins, or lengthways
stringers, should be added between the ridge-board and the side-plates,
as shown. If the roof is to be shingled, the boards can as well be laid
lengthways--otherwise they should be laid up and down. If not to be
covered in any way, matched-boards (or battened joints) should be used.
If well painted, such a roof will last for some time, but shingling is
much better.
Saddle-boards should be put along the ridge, as they add much to the
tightness and durability of the roof.
The sides require to be sheathed before covering the roof, leaving open
spaces for the door and windows. Shorter pieces can be used above and
below these spaces. The boarding can be put on vertically and battens
(narrow boards 2" or 3" wide, or strips of "half-round" moulding) nailed
over the cracks, as shown in Fig. 391, or, of course, the sides can be
clapboarded or shingled if preferred, in which case the boarding can be
put on horizontally.
The door can be made of boards, cleated, as already shown, or one can be
bought ready-made. A casing should be nailed around the door-space,
previously putting at the bottom a threshold upon which the lower ends
of the casing can fit. This you will at once understand by examining the
arrangement of these details in almost any dwelling-house. The
arrangement of the windows (which you can buy ready-made of almost any
desired shape and size) does not differ from the cases already shown.
The smoke-pipe can be arranged as shown on page 258.
A few floor-beams put across on top of the plates and wholly or partly
floored over will provide a loft useful for storage. If the building is
for a shop, this will be a good place to keep lumber.
The roof can be covered according to the methods already shown, but
shingling will be much better. If a building is worth shingling at all,
it is usually best to use a good quality of shingles. The cheapest ones
are apt to be unsatisfactory for a permanent building, but, on the other
hand, for such structures as these it is not necessary to get an extra
quality, for some knots or defects at the thin ends where they will be
covered by two or three layers may do no harm. Cedar shingles are better
than spruce.
It is a good plan to lay roofing-paper over the roof before shingling.
Begin the shingling at the eaves and work upward. Lay a row the length
of the roof, letting the butts slightly overhang the edge. Directly on
top of this row lay another, breaking joints with those underneath; that
is, lay the first row double, taking pains that the spaces between the
shingles of the lower layer are covered by the shingles of the upper
layer. Leave a slight space (perhaps 1/8" to 3/8") between the shingles
in laying them. This gives room for swelling, and allows the water to
run off freely. If the edges are close together at the lower end, the
tendency is to dam up these water-courses and retain the moisture, which
is injurious. Some people pare off the edges to make the butt-ends
narrower, in order to obviate this; but simply laying the shingles
slightly apart answers the purpose. Fasten each shingle with two shingle
nails (one near each edge, within perhaps 1"), far enough up from the
butt to be covered by the next row of shingles. Common shingles can be
laid about 4-1/2" to the weather, that is, with that portion of the
length exposed at the butt. If shingles of extra length are used this
distance can be varied accordingly. Lay the butts of each row by a
chalk-line or against the edge of a narrow board, which can be adjusted
and temporarily held in place by two strips nailed to the board and to
the ridge of the roof. The upper ends of the top row of shingles can be
trimmed off and saddle-boards can be put on at the top, letting the edge
of one overlap the other.
It is doubtful economy to paint shingles after they are laid. The paint
tends to clog the spaces between them. It is better to dip them in paint
before laying. A much better way is to dip them in some one of the
prepared "creosote stains," which can be had in a great variety of
colours. These are excellent, although, except to obtain some desired
colour effect, it is hardly worth while to use any preparation on the
roofs of such buildings as these. Cut nails are considered better than
wire nails for shingling, on the ground of durability. Take pains to
keep the lines of the rows straight and at equal distances apart.
For the painting, see _Painting_, in Part V.
If this building is for a workshop, various suggestions about the
interior arrangement will be found in Part I.
FOOTNOTES:
[30] To find the number of square feet in the cleats, first find the
number of "running" feet, that is, the total length of the cleats if
they were stretched out in a long line, like one of the rails of a
railroad track. Then, as the cleats are 3" wide (or one fourth of a
foot), it will take four running feet to make one square foot. Therefore
divide the number of running feet by four and the quotient will be the
number of square feet.
[31] Boards twelve feet long will be the best to buy for this house,
because you can get two lengths from each board without waste. You could
not be sure, however, of getting two lengths of exactly six feet from
each twelve-foot board, because the ends are frequently checked or
damaged in some way; so it will be safest to make the length 5' 10", as
given above.
[32] If you have only small stones or blocks upon which to rest it, the
building can be put together directly upon the ground, the sills being
rested temporarily upon any material at hand, and then the supports
adjusted underneath.
[33] You can mark a point on one string 3' from one stake and a point on
the other string 4' from the same stake, and then increase or decrease
the angle made by the two strings until another string exactly 5' long
will just reach from the marked point on one string to that on the
other. This process is based on the principle of mathematics that if the
two sides of a right-angled triangle are respectively 3 units and 4
units in length, the length of the hypothenuse will be 5 units. Another
way, if you are fond of mathematics, is to find the length of the
diagonals of the plan of the house by extracting the square root of the
sum of the squares of the two sides. (The square described on the
hypothenuse of a right-angled triangle is equal to the sum of the
squares described on the other two sides.) You can measure the diagonal
directly from a plan if you understand mechanical drawing well enough to
make an accurate plan on a scale of perhaps 1/2" or 1" to a foot. Then
take one tape, or string, measuring the width of the building, with one
end held on the stake C (Fig. 387), and another tape measuring the
length of the diagonal, with the end held on the stake D. Drive the
stake A at the point where the two tapes meet when brought together.
Reversing the positions of the tapes will give in the same way the
fourth corner B. The distance A B should equal C D.
[Illustration FIG. 387.]
[34] The part of the post which is embedded in the ground is sometimes
charred or painted to preserve it from decay. This can be easily done,
but the process is advisable only with thoroughly seasoned wood. It
is highly injurious to green timber, as by closing the pores and
obstructing evaporation from the surface it prevents the seasoning of
the wood and causes fermentation and decay within (see Appendix).
[35] These posts, and even the sills, can be built up if necessary
of 2" × 4" studding, two pieces being placed side by side and nailed
together, but this is not so desirable as regards strength, its only
advantage consisting in the readiness with which the joints can be made
by simply cutting one of the two pieces shorter than the other.
"The cottage is one of the embellishments of natural scenery which
deserves attentive consideration. It is beautiful always, and
everywhere; whether looking out of the woody dingle with its
eye-like window, and sending up the motion of azure smoke between
the silver trunks of aged trees; or grouped among the bright
cornfields of the fruitful plain; or forming grey clusters along
the slope of the mountain side, the cottage always gives the idea
of a thing to be beloved: a quiet life-giving voice, that is as
peaceful as silence itself."--RUSKIN, _The Poetry of Architecture_.
CHAPTER XIII
SIMPLE SUMMER COTTAGES
"=Cottage Row.="--The little houses shown in the accompanying
illustrations[36] afford excellent examples of what can be done by the
beginner. These were built by boys, and form, with others, a most
interesting little village or street, known as "Cottage Row." They are
small, but have many of the details of larger houses. They are shingled
and clapboarded, have regular doors and windows, and are very
attractively fitted up inside with curtains, cupboards, shelves, tables,
chairs, lounges, bookcases, and other articles of furniture. The walls
are hung or covered with prettily figured cretonne or calico.
These little structures are good models for boys' first attempts at
house-building, in that they are simple, modest, and unpretentious, and
have a homelike air which does not pertain to many more elaborate and
pretentious houses. The visitor is attracted by their neat, trim,
inviting appearance, and wishes to enter.
Houses of this character can easily be made by two or more boys working
together; and by the united forces of a number of boys a very attractive
little village can be built (and much simple carpentry be learned at the
same time), in which many pleasant hours can be spent.
Such houses as these can be framed and put together without difficulty
by the methods already shown. It will not add very much to the expense
to have the parts of the frame which show on the inside of the house
planed by machine, and this will much improve the appearance of the
interior. Shingling the roofs, putting casing around the windows and
doors and at the corners of the houses, and clapboarding or shingling
the sides, adds much to the attractiveness of such small structures, as
you can see from the illustrations.
[Illustration]
The windows and casings you can buy ready-made, or the latter you can
make yourself. The doors and casings you can also buy, or make. The
door-casings and window-casings should be nailed in place before the
sides are clapboarded. The tops of these casings should always be
protected by strips of sheet lead, the upper edges of which are slipped
up under the clapboarding (Fig. 390a), thus covering the crack where the
casing joins the side of the building and shedding the water--on the
same principle as shown in Figs. 384 and 385. This is important, as the
rain will drive through such cracks, even though they seem very tight.
Tonguing and grooving can be used in such cases, but flashing with lead
is a simpler process. The same precaution should always be taken where
roofs or attachments join a building in such a way as to expose a crack
through which the water can leak. Zinc, or even tin, can be used, but
are inferior to lead. The corner-boards and the water-table (the
horizontal board at the bottom of the house) should also be nailed in
place. The latter should have the top edge slightly bevelled, to shed
the water. All these pieces having been carefully nailed in place, the
clapboarding or shingling of the sides can be done.
[Illustration 390a.]
It will cost but little to sheath the outside with sheathing-paper, and
the house will be much tighter and dryer. This should be put on under
the casings, corner-boards, etc., so as to avoid a crack where these
boards and the clapboards or shingles meet.
* * * * *
Laying clapboards, unlike shingling, is begun at the top. Lay the upper
row by a line, as in shingling, keeping the clapboards in place by a few
nails in the upper part only. Then slip the clapboards for the next row
up from underneath under the first row until only the desired amount of
the clapboards is exposed. The first row can then be firmly nailed near
the lower edge with clapboard nails. This will hold the next row in
position while the third row is put in place, and so on. The thin edge
of the upper row can be finally covered with a strip of board or
moulding. The clapboarding can be continued to the very bottom of the
house. If, however, a water-table is used at the bottom, the lower edge
of the bottom row of clapboards should be slightly bevelled to fit
closely down on the slanting upper edge of the water-table. Be careful
to lay the clapboards in line and at equal distances apart, as
variations in the alignment are quite noticeable. Examine the clapboards
of any house on which they are used. In arranging them break joints at
the ends, that is, do not have the joints of one row directly under, or
very near, those of the rows above and below. Do not saw the ends by
eye. Mark them accurately with the try-square and knife and saw them
carefully with a fine saw, trying to make as close joints as possible.
[Illustration]
A fair quality of clapboards should be used, but a few defects near the
thin edges which are to be covered may do no serious harm for such
structures as these.
When you begin to attempt more ambitious structures, such as modest
summer cottages for camping in vacations, for hunting- or
fishing-lodges, or for family use,--such houses as are often undertaken
by older boys or men with a taste for amateur carpentry,--there are a
number of things to be considered before beginning to do any actual
work.
[Illustration]
Do not begin a house you cannot pay for. If you find that the more
elaborate plans suggested will exceed your means, do not let them tempt
you to run in debt, but content yourself with the simplest plan.[37] You
will find it perfectly comfortable, and whenever you can afford the
expense you can easily add to it and improve it. That is the best
principle to go on, morally as well as financially.
In addition to points already spoken of in the preceding pages, bear in
mind, in making your plans, to use only simple forms for your first
efforts. Avoid dormer windows and complicated roofs (especially
combinations producing "valleys") and bay-windows, and the like, at
first. Such arrangements add many difficulties for the beginner. When
you can make a plain, simple building, with everything snug and tight,
and can lay a plain roof that will not leak, you can then attempt such
variations of form with a fair chance of success, but do not be too
ambitious in your first attempts. A simple piazza can often be added to
good advantage, if desired.
[Illustration]
It is well to ascertain the sizes of the ready-made doors and windows
which you can buy in the place where your house is to be built, before
drawing your plans.
If there is a choice of situations in which to place your house, a few
suggestions about the selection of a site may be of value.
* * * * *
If you are going to build in the mountains, or the pine woods, or on
rocky islands or promontories in the ocean,--in places where there are
almost no unsanitary conditions, where the climate is so invigourating,
the air so purifying,--there is no need to think of many precautions
important in a cleared and settled country. As much sunlight and
circulation of air as you can get, pure drinking water, and the simple
precaution of not building in a hollow or on the edge of a swamp, are
about all the sanitary points you need consider in such places.
In selecting a site in any ordinary country or seashore region, first
make sure above all things of _dryness_, _sunlight_, _pure air_, and
_pure water_.
Avoid building a cottage for regular occupancy in a dense thicket, not
merely on account of the mosquitoes and other insects, but because the
thicket shuts out the sun and cuts off the free circulation of air which
there should always be in summer around and through a house. Of course,
for shooting or fishing, a lodge, camp, or cabin must be built wherever
required by the circumstances. Sunshine is very important in securing
dryness and in purifying the air.
You will naturally reject wet land. Avoid also soil that retains
moisture,[38] even though it may not be actually wet to step upon, for
land saturated with moisture may be the unsuspected source of serious
diseases. There is air in the ground, which may be the means of
spreading dampness and foul gases.
Do not place your house in a depression or in the bottom of a valley
where dampness is likely to settle. At the seashore there will, of
course, be fogs from the ocean at certain times and places, but they are
not harmful, except to navigation; and at the mountains more or less
dampness at night is very common. Do not try to find a place where there
is no dampness at all, but except at the seashore or mountains reject
situations where there are mists at night, avoiding particularly the
vicinity of wet marshes and swamps, stagnant pools of fresh water, boggy
ponds, sluggish rivers and brooks, on account of the malarious vapours
which are liable to hang over them.
Do not try to keep cool by hiding your house where the sun will not
shine upon it. The southern or south-eastern slope of a hill usually
affords a most desirable site as regards both coolness and sunlight. If
you can also find a site on the top of a little mound or knoll, so as to
secure the free drainage of the water in every direction, it will be
advantageous.
The main points in regard to water are to have it pure and to have
plenty of it.
In regard to pure water, and pure air also, if you are planning to build
in a little settlement or near other cottages the question of drainage
(sewerage) from the neighbouring houses becomes of the utmost
importance. A breeze from the sea, the mountains, or the pine woods is
pure in itself and to a certain degree a scavenger, but do not throw
upon it the work of purifying a naturally unhealthful situation.
This matter of drainage you can arrange for yourself on your own land,
but the arrangements of your neighbours you will have to take as you
find them; therefore guard carefully against contamination of your
drinking water and of the air through proximity to the cesspools,
privies, or sink drains of the neighbouring cottages. Exactly how far a
well or spring should be from such sources of pollution it is impossible
to state without knowledge of the particular spot, for it depends upon
the slope of the ground, the kind of soil, the direction of the
underlying strata, and other circumstances. In some cases a distance of
twenty feet might be perfectly safe, while in others two hundred would
be highly dangerous. One hundred feet or more is near enough under
ordinary conditions. There is no greater danger than that from
defective sewerage, and the danger usually begins before the senses are
aware that there is any trouble. This subject is better understood now
than formerly, but still, until the subject forces itself upon their
attention, the majority of people pay but little regard to it. It is a
fact well established among medical men that some of the worst forms of
sickness are nothing but filth diseases, to which the dwellers in summer
cottages are sometimes even more exposed than those in town houses.
Remember that air as well as water is an active agent for spreading the
germs of disease.
As to the position in which to place the house itself after the spot has
been chosen much will depend on circumstances. Consider the sun, the
prevailing winds, and the views in relation to the rooms, the windows,
and the piazza. An unsheltered piazza facing the west is apt to be very
hot at the time of day you are likely to use it the most, though, of
course, the wind or other considerations may make such a position
desirable.
* * * * *
The subject of the necessary underpinning for such simple structures as
are here shown has been already treated in the preceding chapter. In
most cases you will find posts set in the ground, as there described, an
excellent way (except, of course, upon rocky ground), but brick or stone
piers are almost always more desirable, if you can afford the cost of
the materials (which can be obtained almost anywhere), and the work of
laying piers for such a purpose is not very difficult; but whether to
use posts or piers should, of course, depend upon the character and
permanence of the building.
Having fixed upon the position of the building, proceed to stake it out
(including the piazza if there is to be one), as shown in the chapter
immediately preceding.
The foundation being ready, the frame is next to be considered. You have
probably noticed in the old houses built by our forefathers their
massive construction,--the great size of the timbers and the way in
which they are heavily braced and mortised and pinned together. With the
modern facilities for cutting wood into small pieces by machinery has
sprung up a style of building of which you will see examples on every
hand, and which when carried to its extreme in the cheapest houses makes
a structure so flimsy that it is literally held together by nothing but
nails. A scientific modification (adapted to modern conditions) of the
old-fashioned "braced" structure, retaining its advantages and remedying
its defects, is undoubtedly superior (_expense being no object_) to a
"balloon" frame that will only hold together by having the outside
boarding nailed on to it as fast as it is put up. If the more cheaply
built "balloon" structures of to-day had been put up in the days of our
Pilgrim or Puritan ancestors not a stick of them would now be standing.
A lighter arrangement than the old-fashioned frame and one more easily
built is, however, in our day probably better adapted for the
construction of a large class of buildings of moderate size and moderate
cost.
This is said about braced and framed structures that you may not be led
to think that the light construction advocated here for you would be the
best for _all_ wooden structures. Your house will be so small, and the
construction of a braced and mortised frame is so difficult for
amateurs, that a lighter and easier arrangement will be best for you to
use, however ill-suited it might be for a large mansion or ware-house.
This system of construction will be perfectly satisfactory and
sufficiently durable for a little summer cottage.
A little house well suited for summer use, or for a winter camp, is
shown in Fig. 391.
* * * * *
[Illustration FIG. 391.]
Before beginning work read carefully _Marking_, _Rule_, _Square_, _Saw_,
_Plane_, _Nailing_, _Screws_, _Hinges_, _Painting_, in Part V., and
look up any other references.
The main house (which contains the general living-room) can be framed as
shown in Fig. 389. The "lean-to" addition (which contains the kitchen)
can be framed as shown in Fig. 371. If both parts are built at one time,
only four sills should be used for the entire structure, and the
corner-posts and upright studding of the "lean-to" on the side next the
main house should be omitted.
The sides of this house are battened, _i.e._, the joints of the vertical
sheathing are covered with strips nailed over them--in this case with
strips of "half-round" moulding. This is an easy and quite inexpensive
way to finish the outside, and while hardly equal to clapboarding or
shingling in some respects is a very good way for structures of this
kind.
As you will see from the illustration, the rafters of both the house and
the ell project or overhang at the eaves. This is not really a necessity
for any structure, and you will sometimes see quite large buildings
without any overhang of the roof whatever, but, as a rule, it improves
the appearance of the house, and is a help in shedding the water farther
from the walls. It is only necessary to let the rafters project at their
lower ends, making all project equally, and to nail a board to their
ends, as shown. The overhang at the ends of the house can be arranged in
the same way, short pieces of studding being nailed in the outside angle
of the roof and ends, with strips nailed upon these.
If the ground slopes, as in this case, lattice-work is good to cover the
space below the sills.
The remaining details have been treated in the preceding cases.
* * * * *
The simple structure shown in Fig. 392 is suitable for various uses, and
can be constructed in the way already described.
* * * * *
The piazza is, however, a new problem, but not a very difficult one
after the processes already described. A simple way, suited for rustic
structures or rough cabins, is to set the piazza posts in the ground to
a depth of two or three feet, sawing the tops off at the height of the
piazza roof, and simply nailing a system of floor-timbers for the piazza
floor to these posts and the side of the house and flooring it with
boards, while the roof of the piazza is supported on the tops of the
posts. This is not a good way, however, for a carefully built house.
[Illustration FIG. 392.]
A strip of joist or plank can be spiked to the side of the house at the
proper height, and to this can be nailed a system of floor-timbers for
the piazza floor (see page 287), the outer corners and middle resting
upon stones or posts in the same way as the rest of the building. This
is then floored crossways, the whole having a slight slant outwards to
shed the water. Upon this platform are raised the piazza posts, and at
the top of these is nailed a roof system, which is covered with boards
in the same way as the floor beneath. Enough slant should be given the
roof to enable it to shed the water freely.
The other details do not differ from those already described.
Before beginning work read carefully _Marking_, _Rule_, _Square_, _Saw_,
_Plane_, _Nailing_, _Screws_, _Hinges_, _Painting_, in Part V., and look
up any other references.
* * * * *
An excellent form for a small structure is that shown in Fig. 393. This
has a hip-roof, which is the only essential difference between it and
the types already shown.
[Illustration FIG. 393.]
Before beginning work read carefully _Marking_, _Rule_, _Square_, _Saw_,
_Plane_, _Nailing_, _Screws_, _Hinges_, _Painting_, in Part V., and look
up any other references.
[Illustration FIG. 393a.]
This roof is somewhat more difficult to make well than the simple kinds,
but is not beyond the skill of the amateur. Up to the plates the
construction is the same as that already shown. In this roof, however,
the ridge-board is short and the end rafters (called hip-rafters)
incline towards it (Fig. 393a). Laying out the upper bevels of these
rafters will require careful planning. After you have succeeded in
laying them out, cutting the bevels at the ends, and fitting them in
place, the shorter jack rafters can readily be put in place.
[Illustration FIG. 394.]
[Illustration FIG. 395.]
The shingling is more difficult at the corners than in the other roofs
shown, as the shingles must be cut. It is well to cover each hip with a
line of shingles, laid parallel to the hip and along each side of it.
Boards can be used to cover the hips, as shown in one of the
illustrations of "Cottage Row."
Another form, embodying the same roof construction, but larger and
correspondingly more difficult, is shown in Fig. 394.
* * * * *
A small cottage for summer use (Fig. 395) is not more difficult than the
cases already shown, except in the matter of size.
[Illustration FIG. 396. END ELEVATION.]
* * * * *
Before beginning work read carefully _Marking_, _Rule_, _Square_, _Saw_,
_Plane_, _Nailing_, _Screws_, _Hinges_, _Painting_, in Part V., and look
up any other references.
The process of staking out and setting the foundation has been already
described under _A Workshop_, pages 259-264.
The frame can be built upon the same general principle as shown in Fig.
389, the dimensions of the stock depending upon the size of the house;
but the directions given in these chapters are intended only for small
structures. The sills should be 4" × 6" or 6" × 6", the corner-posts can
be 4" × 4" or 4" × 6," the floor-timbers and rafters 2" × 6", although,
if the house is quite small, 2" × 4" will do for the rafters, which can
be braced by "collar beams," or simply horizontal pieces of board
nailed across in the upper part of the roof.
Arrange the studding according to the doors and windows. As this house
is not to be lathed and plastered, it is not essential that the studding
should be at any exact distance apart.
The essential difference between the frame of this house and that shown
in Fig. 389 consists in the projection of the second-story floor-timbers
over the piazza, the ends resting upon an outer plate on top of the
piazza posts (Fig. 396). The arrangement of the attic floor-beams, the
rafters, and the side-plates is shown in Fig. 397.
[Illustration FIG. 397.]
The frame for the piazza floor can be arranged as follows: Fasten a
strip of 2" × 4" joist along the side, spiking it through into the sill.
On this fasten an arrangement of floor-timbers, such as is shown in Fig.
398, the inner cross-beam and lengthways stringers resting in gains, as
shown in Fig. 399. The details of the arrangement can be varied
according to the height you wish the piazza floor to be relatively to
the floor inside.
For a quite small structure, or for a temporary one, it will answer to
make this piazza-floor system of 2" × 6" stock simply sawed square and
spiked together, on the principle shown in Fig. 378, but for a good
house which you wish to be permanent, it is better to put a little more
labour into the piazza.
[Illustration FIG. 398.]
[Illustration FIG. 399.]
Another way is to have the main sills extend under the piazza as well as
under the house proper. This is a more thorough way as regards
stiffness, but extra pains must be taken to prevent the water working
down on the sills where the house and piazza join, as this will tend to
rot this portion of the sills. With this arrangement of sills an extra
sill, or cross-sill, should be added under the juncture of the body of
the house and the piazza. The ends of this sill can rest in gains cut in
the end-sills, and the middle can be supported by one or more posts.
For the stairs, which can be put wherever you wish, take two pieces of
plank, 2" × 9" or 10", and of sufficient length. Having determined the
points for the top and the bottom of the stairs (by laying off on the
floor in the same way as for the rafters, page 268), lay one of the
planks on the floor in the proper position and mark the notches for the
steps and the bevels for the ends. After these "notch-boards" or string
pieces have been cut and put in place, you can easily get out and nail
on the "risers" and "treads." Examination of any common stairs will show
you how to arrange these details without difficulty. You can mark on a
stick the height from the top of the lower floor to the top of the
upper. Divide this distance, on the stick, into as many parts as you
wish to have steps, and you can use the stick as a gauge by which to
determine the points for sawing the notches for the steps.[39] It is
best to have the treads not less than 9" wide, and 10" is better, while
7-1/2" or 8" will do for the risers. A "header," or cross-piece, must be
securely fastened between the second-story floor-beams where they are
cut off to make the opening at the head of the stairs.
The partitions inside require no directions, being simply made of
studding to which sheathing is nailed.
The remaining details do not differ from those of the preceding cases,
and the interior fittings you can arrange without further instructions.
A regular brick chimney will, of course, be a desirable feature if you
can afford it.
* * * * *
By the slight modification of having the roof overhang on each side, two
piazzas will be provided and space given for larger chambers (Fig. 400).
* * * * *
The construction differs from that of the design just shown only in the
arrangement of the framing for the second story.
[Illustration FIG. 400.]
The floor-beams of the second story will overlap at each end and the
rafters be correspondingly longer, and the end-plates can be omitted and
the end-studding continued up to the rafters, except where interrupted
by the window-spaces. This house, like the others, can be clapboarded,
shingled, battened, or sheathed, as you may prefer.
FOOTNOTES:
[36] Obtained through the courtesy of Mr. Charles H. Bradley,
Superintendent of the admirable Farm School on Thompson's Island, in
Boston Harbour, where this little village was built.
[37] If that is too expensive, some of those given in the preceding
pages will probably answer your purpose.
[38] "Soils which are naturally porous, from which rain rapidly
disappears, are known to be the healthiest for the sites of houses. In
this the action of the soil oxidizes all organic impurities, the
resulting product is washed away by the rain, and the soil remains sweet
and wholesome."--LATHAM.
[39] To find the number of steps for a given situation, find the height,
as just shown, from floor to floor, 102" for example. Assume, for trial,
a satisfactory height for each step, as 7". Divide 102 by 7, which gives
14-4/7 for the number of steps. To make the number even, call it 14, and
you have only to divide 102 by 14 to get the exact height of each step.
CHAPTER XIV
A FEW SIMPLE STRUCTURES
=Summer-houses.=--A form which is quite easy to build, and which is
attractive when overrun with vines, is shown in front elevation (Fig.
401) and in side elevation (Fig. 402).
* * * * *
Before beginning work read carefully _Marking_, _Rule_, _Square_, _Saw_,
_Plane_, _Nailing_, _Painting_, in Part V., and look up any other
references.
The construction is simple. The frame can be of 2" × 3" stock (planed),
except the sills, which had best not be smaller than 2" × 4" (on edge).
Cross floor-beams can be inserted, as in the floors of the little houses
first shown.
The upright members can, however, rest upon posts set in the ground and
the floor be dispensed with. Where the parts of the frame cross they can
be halved (see _Halving_). The square joints can be nailed together. The
roof can be solid or made of slats several inches apart, resting upon
rafters.
[Illustration FIG. 401.]
The strips for the lattice-work can be about 3/8" thick, and from 7/8"
to 1-1/4" wide. These can be got out at any mill in long or short
strips, which you can cut off as you put them on. Do not lay them too
closely together. Put one strip on at the desired angle. Then cut off
one or more short pieces by which to gauge the distance for laying the
next strip, or get out a piece of light thin boarding of the width of
the space between the lattice strips and hold it beside each strip as a
guide by which to lay the next one.
This lattice-work, although each strip is so slight, will give the frame
great stiffness and strength.
[Illustration FIG. 402.]
The joints of such framework as this should properly be painted before
being put together (see _Painting_), and it also is a more thorough and
neater way to lay the lattice-work strips on supports of some kind and
paint them before putting on. They will then only require touching up
with paint after the house is done.
* * * * *
The rustic summer-house, or arbour, made of sticks in their natural
form, shown in Fig. 403, is in some respects more difficult to build
than the preceding, because the ends of so many of the pieces have to be
cut at an oblique angle.
* * * * *
Before beginning work read carefully _Marking_, _Rule_, _Square_, _Saw_,
_Plane_, _Nailing_, _Screws_, _Hinges_, _Painting_, in Part V., and look
up any other references.
First make a platform, as for the other floors, or the upright posts can
rest upon posts set in the ground and the floor be dispensed with.
Plates can be placed on top of the posts, and rafters extend from the
plates at the top of each post to the apex of the roof. These plates and
rafters will make a framework on which to nail the sticks which form the
roof covering. The remaining details are apparent. Much care is
required, however, to put this house together properly, not merely in
cutting the angles at the joints, but in sighting, measuring, and
testing to ensure its coming together without twisting or winding.
[Illustration FIG. 403.]
* * * * *
Instead of making this house six-sided, it can, if desired, be made
rectangular like the preceding one, but keeping the same arrangement of
the details. This makes a very pretty design, and in respect to joining
the pieces is much easier to make. Another pretty plan is to build a
hexagonal, octagonal, or circular house of this sort around a tree
trunk. If the roof is fitted too snugly to the tree trunk, the growth of
the latter may split the roof apart before the rest of the house is past
its usefulness, so you should arrange this part to allow for the growth
of the tree.
=Bath-house.=--A plain bath-house (Fig. 404) can well be made with a
lean-to roof and put together on the same simple principles already
shown; so that additional instructions for this design are unnecessary.
A good way for such a building is to sheath it vertically as shown, but
any of the other methods can, of course, be adopted.
[Illustration FIG. 404.]
[Illustration FIG. 405.]
=Boat-houses.=--By using the same simple system of framework shown in
Fig. 389 you can make an inexpensive boat-house (Fig. 405).
* * * * *
Before beginning work read carefully _Marking_, _Rule_, _Square_, _Saw_,
_Plane_, _Nailing_, _Screws_, _Hinges_, _Painting_, in Part V., and look
up any other references.
The inclined slip or platform upon which you haul the boats up from the
water requires simply two or three timbers for stringers, running down
towards the water, with 2" planks nailed across, as shown. The simplest
way to square the ends of these planks is to nail them in place,
allowing a little extra length, and then saw the ends all off at once by
a line.
[Illustration FIG. 406.]
A house of this kind can be built to extend over the water (for boats
which are to be kept in the water) by arranging a foundation of stone or
piles in the water, or by digging a little dock into the shore under the
house.
In these cases there must, of course, be an additional door of the
ordinary kind for entrance on the shore end of the house, and it will be
convenient, if the house is long enough, to floor over this end. A
narrow floor or platform can also be extended along one or both sides to
facilitate handling the boats and getting in or out of them.
The sill at the water end will have to be omitted, of course, a piece of
studding being fitted in at each side of the door-space, but these
details you will have no difficulty in arranging if you have studied the
preceding examples.
* * * * *
A larger and more elaborate boat-house, or club-house (Fig. 406), having
a loft for storage as well as a balcony, can be constructed on the same
general principles already explained.
* * * * *
Before beginning work read carefully _Marking_, _Rule_, _Square_, _Saw_,
_Plane_, _Nailing_, _Screws_, _Hinges_, _Painting_, in Part V., and look
up any other references.
[Illustration FIG. 407.]
The end-plate for the end shown in the illustration cannot run across
from side to side, because of the doorway opening on the balcony, but
can be made in two parts to extend from the sides to upright studs at
each side of the doorway. A simple way of arranging the frame at the
floor of the second story is shown in Fig. 407.
Unless this building is very small (in which case it can only be used
for the storage of oars, rigging, etc.), the sills should be of 4" × 6"
(on edge) or 6" × 6" stock, and the floor-beams of 2" × 6" stock. 4" ×
4" or 4" × 6" will do for the corner-posts, and 2" × 4" for the studding
and rafters for such a small structure as is advisable for the beginner
to attempt.
If you should, however, build anything large, the posts, the lower
floor-beams, if unsupported in the middle, the plates, and the rafters
should be heavier. If your house is to be used by many people and heavy
boats are to be hauled in and out, it is much better to err on the side
of having these timbers too heavy rather than too light. But these
designs are only intended for comparatively small structures.
The outer floor-timbers for the balcony had best be mortised into the
posts (see _Mortising_). The top rail around the balcony can be of 2" ×
4" studding, laid flatways, and with the upper angles bevelled (see
_Bevelling_). The balusters can be simply square pieces nailed into
place. The rail and balusters can, however, be obtained in a great
variety of forms at a wood-working mill, if you prefer to buy them. The
braces under the balcony can be of 2" × 4" stock. All these outside
parts should be planed by machine.
The remaining details do not differ from those of the houses already
described.
PART IV
_BOAT-BUILDING FOR BEGINNERS_
CHAPTER XV
Boat-building, like many other kinds of work, can be done (even in its
simplest stages) more quickly, more easily, and, of course, more
cheaply, by two persons than by one, so it will be economy of money,
time, and labour to find someone to join forces with you. Do not,
however, give up your plans for lack of a fellow-workman, for nothing is
given here which cannot be done by one person with, perhaps, a little
help once in a while about holding or lifting something.
If these boats seem rather simple compared with many which you have
seen, and you fail to find here some form you have in mind to build, it
is to be remembered that boat-building is by no means easy, and that
many an attractive design would prove too difficult for the average
beginner to finish successfully. The experience gained in building such
boats as these will help you in more difficult boat-building. These
simple models are not offered as being in themselves the best there are,
nor are the ways shown for building them in every case such as would
always be used by a regular boat-builder; but boat-building involves a
variety of difficulties, not merely in the designing, but also in the
execution.
It takes a good workman to turn out a really successful round-bottomed
boat (except by the use of canvas), therefore a few simple types of
flat-bottomed boats are all that are treated here. When you have become
skilful enough to attempt the more advanced forms, you can easily find a
number of excellent books on boat-building from which to gain the
needed information. The intention here is to show wood-working processes
which you can use in making these simple craft, but not to go into the
details of designing or of rigging, subjects which are far too complex
to be satisfactorily treated, even for the beginner, in a hand-book on
wood-working.
While it is practicable to make a good punt, or flat-bottomed rowboat,
entirely by rule of thumb, or "cutting and trying" as you go along,
still you should accustom yourself, even in the simplest forms, to lay
the work out on paper correctly first, as this is really essential, in
order to work to good advantage when you come to the more advanced
forms.
=Scows and Punts.=--A flat-bottomed boat, if made with care, may be not
merely good-looking, but light, strong, and useful, and sometimes
superior for some purposes to a round-bottomed boat.
Boats of this class are easily and cheaply built and by no means to be
despised. They are safe, capacious, and comfortable, and the flat bottom
permits much freedom of movement by the occupants, making them good
boats for fishing and general use on ponds and rivers, as well as for
transporting loads.
* * * * *
Before beginning work read carefully _Marking_, _Rule_, _Square_, _Saw_,
_Plane_, _Nailing_, _Painting_, in Part V., and look up any other
references.
The process is to first get out the sides, then the ends, next to fasten
the sides and ends together as in making a box, then to nail on the
bottom, and finally to put in the seats and any other fittings. Almost
any kind of soft wood can be used for a boat of this kind. Pine is
excellent. Care should be taken to select clear, straight-grained
stock, free from knots, checks, and other defects, and thoroughly dry.
[Illustration FIG. 408.]
For the sides, take two boards, for example, 14' long, 14" wide, and
7/8" thick, planed on both sides. Both edges should be "jointed" and the
ends squared and sawed accurately. Mark, saw, and plane the slant at
each end of these boards as shown in Fig. 408. The ends must next be got
out. In this case they can be 4' long and 4-1/4" wide. Nail together the
sides and ends just as in making a flat box. Use three nails (3" or
3-1/2" long) at each corner. It is safest to bore holes for the nails
(see _Boring_). Copper nails are best for boats, but galvanized iron
answers very well for common boats of this kind. Next place this frame,
bottom up, on horses or boxes or a flat floor and plane down the
projecting edges of the end pieces to agree with the slant of the sides.
Pieces for the bottom are now to be sawed from boards about 6" to 8"
wide. Mark and saw one piece and use it for a pattern by which to mark
the lengths of the remaining pieces. You can take the length directly
from either end, allowing a trifle (say 1/8") to spare, for planing the
ends after they are nailed. Having sawed the required number of pieces,
which will depend on the width of the boards, nail them on carefully.
Before nailing, thoroughly paint the bottom edge to which they are to be
nailed with thick white-lead paint. See that the edges of each board are
straight, paint the edges as you lay them, and nail thoroughly with
2-1/2" nails. Do not put the nails so close to the edge as to cause
splitting. The edges of the pieces which come together at the angles of
the bottom must be fitted carefully with the plane (see _Bevelling_), to
make as tight joints as possible. The boards should be pressed closely
together as they are nailed. They will assist in keeping the sides and
ends of the boat at right angles, but it would be well to test the
angles with the large square, or by measuring the diagonals, when you
nail on the first two boards.
A quicker way is to nail on all the boards (not sawing them accurately
to a length) and then to saw the ends all off by a line.
A good way is to use, for the bottom, plain sheathing or matched boards,
if obtainable without the bead or moulding commonly worked on the
surface, which would be apt to cause leakage. The sheathing can be
planed down on both sides to a thickness of 5/8", which will remove the
moulding, but this is rather thin for the bottom of a boat as large as
this, though an excellent way for a narrower boat.
When the bottom is all nailed on, turn the boat on each side and plane
off any irregularity in the ends of the bottom boards, so that they will
be flush with the sides.
A cleat from 4" to 6" wide should be laid along the middle of the bottom
to stiffen it, as shown. The nails should be driven through the boards
and clinched. Wrought nails, or some kind that will bend over and not
break, must of course be used for this. This cleat is often nailed on
the outside instead of the inside.
Nail a seat at each end directly on top of the sides and ends as shown.
From 12" to 18" in width will do. The seat for rowing (about 8" or 9"
wide) can rest on cleats, as shown.
Next screw a cleat, about 2" deep, 7/8" thick, and 10" long, to the
insides of the gunwales at the places for the rowlocks (see _Screws_).
Common iron rowlocks can be bought almost anywhere, and the way to put
them on is obvious (see _Boring_). A substitute for them can be arranged
easily by simply boring two holes, 3-1/2" apart, for the insertion of
round thole pins of hard wood. Another simple way (Fig. 409) is to make
two mortises or slots, 3-1/2" apart and 1-1/2" long × 5/8" wide, to hold
thole pins (Fig. 410). The cutting can be done wholly in the cleats by
sawing and paring.
[Illustration FIG. 409.]
[Illustration FIG. 410.]
Insert a ring-bolt at the end by which to fasten the boat, or a staple
can be driven in, or a hole bored at the end of the seat.
If care has been taken to make close joints, the wood will swell on
being put in the water and in a short time the boat should be tight.
Unless made for some temporary purpose, however, a boat that is worth
making at all is worth painting. It should be painted carefully with
lead paint, both inside and out, two or three coats, being careful to
work the paint well into the wood and the cracks (see _Painting_).
Instead of laying the bottom boards tightly together, as directed above,
they can be laid slightly apart, so that the cracks between them will be
about 1/8" wide. These can then be caulked with oakum, cotton-batting,
or wicking, or something of that nature. Roll or twist the material into
a loose cord, unless already in that form, and force it into the cracks
with a putty-knife, screw-driver, case-knife, or anything of the sort. A
regular caulking-iron is not at all necessary for a small boat. A piece
of hard wood will do. Be sure to fill the seams thoroughly and tightly
with the oakum or other caulking material. Then apply white lead
plentifully to the caulked seams. But the method first given is usually
satisfactory if you do your work with care.
Pitch or tar can be used in making the bottom of a boat of this kind
tight.
* * * * *
A form which is a decided improvement on the preceding is shown in Fig.
411. The process of making this punt will be first to get out the
cross-board which goes in the middle, and next the sides and ends. These
pieces having been put together, the bottom is nailed on, and finally
the seats and other fittings are added.
[Illustration FIG. 411.]
The one here described is small, but large enough for two good-sized
boys. The dimensions are given merely to help illustrate the process. As
much larger boat as may be desired can, of course, be made upon the same
principles.
* * * * *
Before beginning work read carefully _Marking_, _Rule_, _Square_, _Saw_,
_Plane_, _Nailing_, _Painting_, in Part V., and look up any other
references.
Care should always be taken to select clear, straight-grained stock,
free from knots, checks, and other defects, and thoroughly dry. Pine is
excellent, but almost any good wood can be used for a boat of this sort.
First get out carefully a board, perhaps 3' long, or the width of the
boat (at the middle), and of the shape shown in Fig. 412, removing a
small piece at each lower corner, to allow for the passage of any water
which may leak in. Get out each side of the boat, 10' 4" long, of 3/4"
stock, carefully squaring the ends. After these are cut, mark a distance
of 3' from each end towards the centre on the edge of one of the boards
and a distance of 3" on the ends, measuring from the other edge, and
mark the curves shown in Fig. 413, which should sweep easily from the
edge of the board without any abrupt turn. If you cannot draw a good
curve free-hand, take a spline or thin strip of wood, bend it on the
side of the board towards one end till you get a good curve, hold it in
position, and using it as a ruler mark the line with a pencil. You can
cut this curve and use it for a pattern by which to mark the other
curves. These curves can be band-sawed or cut with the draw-knife or
hatchet and plane (see _Paring_). Whatever method you adopt, the curves
should finally be run over with the plane to remove irregularities, and
care must be taken to keep as accurately to the line marked as possible.
The top edges must also be jointed, although it is not material that
they should be absolutely straight. Mark a line with the square across
each board at the centre. Next get out the end pieces, 2' long, 3-3/4"
wide, and of 7/8" stock (Fig. 414). Bevel the ends of these pieces at
the same angle as the centre board already sawed, from which you can
mark the angle.
[Illustration FIG. 412.]
[Illustration FIG. 413.]
[Illustration FIG. 414.]
An easy way to put this boat together will be to put the sides and ends
together, and then, by spreading the sides apart, to put the middle
board in its proper place. Bore holes for 2-1/2" screws at each end of
the sides (see _Boring_) and screw the sides and ends together loosely
(see _Screws_), not driving the screws home, but leaving their heads
sticking beyond the sides perhaps an eighth of an inch. Now lay the boat
(so far as made) bottom side up on the horses or boxes, or even with one
end on the floor and the other raised by a box, and, spreading the sides
in the middle as much as may be necessary, push the middle board up into
place, getting it exactly opposite centre lines previously marked on the
sides and so that the bottom edge of the board is just even with the
_inner_ edge of the bottom of the sides. This piece can now be nailed in
place by three nails at each end.
Now, on looking at the ends where the sides are screwed, you will see
that spreading the sides has caused the joints (purposely left loose) to
open slightly at the inside, and that the ends require to be slightly
bevelled or trimmed to make a close joint. Unscrew one end, do the
necessary trimming with the plane, replace the piece, and screw it into
position again, driving the screws home and adding one or two nails. Do
the same with the other end and the boat will be ready for the bottom.
But before the bottom is nailed on, the lower edges of the sides must be
bevelled with the plane, owing to the sides flaring outwards. The degree
of bevelling required can be determined by laying a board across (Fig.
415). At first it will only touch the outer angles of the edges, and the
planing must be continued until it bears flat on the entire edge.
[Illustration FIG. 415.]
Now get out of 7/8" stock the bottom boards, the edges of which should
be carefully jointed to fit together as tightly as possible. These
boards should be thoroughly nailed to the sides of the boat with 2-1/4"
or 2-1/2" nails, care being taken not to nail too near the edges of the
boards, lest they split. As the sides are only 3/4" thick you will have
to be careful in driving the nails or they will split the sides. Before
you finish nailing the first bottom boards, test the symmetry of the
frame by measuring the diagonals. These should be equal. If not, you can
easily make them so with your hands, and tack a couple of strips
diagonally across the gunwales to keep the frame in position until the
bottom is nailed on. Also sight across the gunwales to see that the
frame is true. If it winds, correct the error by blocking it up where
needed.
Sheathing can well be used for the bottom of this boat, as for the one
just described, if you can get it without the moulding. The bottom can
also be caulked (see page 302), but if you cannot get the sheathing the
way first described will answer every purpose.
After the bottom is nailed on, turn the boat on each edge and plane off
any irregularities at the ends of the bottom boards, so that they will
be flush with the sides.
Next nail a strip, about 3" or 4" wide and 3/4" thick, lengthways on the
middle of the bottom, on the inside. Fasten this to each board with a
couple of nails driven through and clinched on the outside. This will
serve to stiffen the bottom.
Next deck over each end with a seat 12" wide nailed directly on top of
the sides. Put in a seat, or thwart, 9" wide and 7/8" thick, next to the
middle brace, as shown. Cleats can be nailed to the sides under this
seat. This should be a fixed seat, nailed to the cross brace and to the
sides of the boat, which will assist in stiffening the sides.
You can nail a gunwale strip, 2" wide by 7/8" or 3/4" thick, on top of
the sides and reaching from one end seat to the other, or you can put a
somewhat smaller strip around the outer edge of the gunwale, which is
quite as good a way. It is not really necessary to put any gunwale strip
on so small a boat, but if omitted a cleat must be screwed on for the
rowlocks (Fig. 409). If you put the gunwale strip on top, it will make a
more workmanlike job to first plane the edges of the gunwale so that
they will be horizontal across the boat, in the same way that you planed
the bottom edges to receive the bottom boards.
Put the centre of the rowlocks about 12" aft of the centre of the boat,
raising them an inch or so above the gunwale by means of a cleat (Fig.
416), as shown.
[Illustration FIG. 416.]