SOMETHING ABOUT TOOLS AND WORK.
If there was any thing funny, the boys all wanted to know what it was;
and some of them were inclined to run over to ascertain why the young
machinists were laughing. Mr. Brookbine suspended his instructions,
and seated himself on one of the benches.
“Shall we appoint a committee to ascertain what is going on at the
other end of the shop, or shall we all go over and see for ourselves?”
said the carpenter.
“We must have a partition between the two shops,” added Captain
Gildrock. “Just now half the machinists started to come over here.”
“The partition would be a nuisance; and, after a while, the boys will
probably get tired of laughing at each other’s blunders,” added the
carpenter: and by this time the class were all giving attention. “What
next, Dory?”
Dory unfolded another package, which was found to contain another saw.
Mr. Brookbine took it, and held it up before the pupils.
“You all know that this is a saw, but what is the name of it?” he
asked.
“I have always heard it called a fine saw,” answered Jim Alburgh.
“It is often called so, but I have shown you that names don’t always
describe the object to which they are applied. Some saws made like the
cutting-off saw have finer teeth than this one,--the panel-saw, for
instance. There is another and better name, which applies to all saws
of this kind; and, if you please, we will call it the back-saw. You
see that it has a steel back to prevent it from bending, as all
without it will do.--The next article.”
This proved to be another back-saw, but not more than half as long or
wide as the first one. It was for finer work, and could very properly
be called a fine saw. The carpenter required the next four packages to
be opened before he said any thing about their contents.
“These are planes,” said he, when he had placed them on a bench where
all the class could see them. “These four are the ones in common use,
but you cannot fully understand them until you have used them a while.
We will examine the one that is used first, and here it is;” and Mr.
Brookbine took up one of the tools. “What should you call this?”
“A fore-plane,” replied Dick Short.
“That is as good a name for it as any other, but this is a jack-plane.
It is used to take off the rough side or edge of the board. It is
fifteen inches long. What the manufacturers call a fore-plane is
eighteen or twenty inches long. In this country very few carpenters
use both: and, whichever one it may be, some call it a jack-plane, and
some a fore-plane; the latter being the most common name in this part
of the country.
“When I learned my trade, boards were brought into the shop just as
they came from the saw-mill. Now they are generally planed by
machinery, so that the hardest part of your work will be done before
you get the board. Here is a short plane, only eight and a half inches
long. What do you call it?”
“A smoothing-plane. It is used to polish off the board after you have
taken off the rough,” replied Corny Minkfield.
“Hardly to polish it, though I understand what you mean. We don’t
polish wood with a plane: we simply smooth it.”
“That is what I meant,” added Corny.
“If polishing various kinds of wood were not a part of the
cabinet-maker’s business, I should have said nothing; but we must
learn to use words that correctly convey our meaning, when we can just
as well as not. The smoothing-plane is used after the rough has been
taken off the board. This is the next plane in the series,” continued
Mr. Brookbine, taking up the longest of the three.
“That’s a short jointer,” said Jim Alburgh.
“You are rather old-fashioned as well as myself. We call it, in modern
times, simply a jointer. When I was a boy, we had a long and a short
jointer; but the former is seldom seen in a shop at the present time.
This jointer is twenty-two inches long, and they are made up to thirty
inches. The long jointer was three feet and a half and even four feet
long. Have you any idea what the use of this plane is?”
“It is used in making joints,” answered Thad at a venture.
“Not very definite. Carpenters are sometimes called joiners, and the
reason is plain enough. If you were going to lay a floor, it would be
necessary to joint the edges of the boards; and this plane would be
used for that purpose. In a word, the jointer is needed to get a
straight edge on pieces of wood more than a foot or two in length. If
two boards are exactly straight on the edges, they will make a good
job.
“Here is the last plane we shall consider now. It is the shortest of
the four, and it is made of steel or iron. It is called a block-plane,
and can be used only in planing across the grain of the wood. When you
have sawed off a piece of work, this plane would be used to smooth off
the end of the wood. It is quite different from the others. The first
three have double irons, while this one has only a single iron.”
Mr. Brookbine took up the block-plane, and removed the iron from it.
“This is called the iron, though it is always made of the best of
steel,” he continued. “The slant made by grinding off the end of the
iron, so it will be sharp, is called the bevel. In the first three
planes, the bevel is on the under side when the implement is
used. In the block-plane, the bevel is on the upper side.”
“But what are the double irons for in the other planes?” asked Thad.
“I have seen them, but I never knew what the extra one was for.”
“That is a sensible question, Thad. If the grain of the wood were
always straight,--that is, parallel with the length of the board,--a
single iron would answer very well. But wood, like some men and women,
is sometimes cross-grained; The tendency of the iron in the plane is
to follow the grain as far as the face of the plane will permit. The
edge of the upper iron is curved a little, so that it prevents the
cutter from going in too deep; and it turns the shaving up in such a
manner that it don’t choke up the opening. The upper iron also
stiffens the lower one, which is now made very thin compared with the
custom made years ago.
“I judge that some of you have used a plane, or tried to do so. If so,
you have found great difficulty in getting your tool set right. These
planes are of the latest pattern. In old planes the iron is set with a
wooden wedge. You have to drive in the wedge with a hammer; and, when
you take it out, you have to strike several smart blows on the top or
the back end. To get the iron just right bothers the beginner more
than any thing else.
“In these planes there are no wedges. A little lever is moved, and the
iron is fast; as you may see by trying it. Under the iron you notice a
screw, which may be turned by the thumb without taking the hand from
the plane. By turning this screw to the left, you force the iron down
so that it cuts a thicker shaving. Turn it to the right, and you get a
thinner shaving. You have no use for a hammer, unless it be to knock
the iron to one side or the other; for the edge of the cutter must be
exactly parallel to the surface of the plane. That will do for
planes.--What next, Dory?”
A patent bitstock, very beautifully made, with the metal parts
nickel-plated, was handed to the carpenter. The boys knew what it was,
though most of them had never seen one of that kind.
“This is sometimes called a brace, though bitstock is the more common
name in this country. It has some peculiarities,--the first, that the
socket will hold a bit of any common shape, the holder adapting itself
to the form as it is screwed up.
“The second is a ratchet-arrangement, by which a hole may be bored
close to a partition. With an ordinary bitstock, you cannot bore a
hole within three inches of a wall, or any other fixed body. After
adjusting the ratchet, you may turn the crank half around, or as far
as you can; then you can carry the crank back without turning the bit,
and repeat the movement as long as may be necessary.”
Dory next handed up a large bundle of bits. “This is an augur-bit,”
the carpenter continued, holding up one of this kind. “This is a
pod-bit, and this a centre-bit. Here is a reamer, used to enlarge a
hole in a piece of metal, as a hinge. This is a countersink, to fit
the opening of a hole in wood or iron to the head of a screw.
“This is an iron square, to be used mainly in heavy work, such as
framing a house. These are try-squares, very handy for bench-work.
This is a bevel, with which you get the slant of any thing, and
reproduce it in your work. Here is a package of two-foot rules. I
shall give one to each of you, for a mechanic should always have his
rule about him. Carry it in your pocket. A level: in putting up a
shelf, for example, you will ascertain when the board is horizontal by
applying this implement.”
Many other tools were taken from the box, but the master-carpenter’s
method of describing such things has been sufficiently shown.
“Now, my lads, the next thing is to dispose these tools where you can
get at them,” Mr. Brookbine proceeded. “We have six benches, and more
will be put up when they are needed. Each of them is provided with a
bench-hook and a wooden vise, or bench-screw.”
“What is a bench-hook?” asked Phil Gawner.
“This iron with half a dozen teeth like a saw. Under it is a lever, so
that it may be raised or lowered, according to the thickness of the
board you are planing, which it holds in place. Behind each bench we
shall put a shelf, on which the planes are to be kept.”
“Can’t we keep them on the bench, as most carpenters do?” asked Dory.
“You can, but I don’t think that is the best way. You see that each
bench is provided with a dust-brush, to be used in removing the
shavings; and a neat workman will keep his bench as free as possible
of rubbish. If you want to brush off your bench, you must move your
planes twice, or put them on the floor. On the shelf they are always
out of the way when not in use. We will make this shelf at once. We
will have it four feet long, and six inches wide. It will be large
enough to accommodate some other tools.”
“Are we to make them of these old box-covers?” asked Ned Bellows.
“The shelves are to be permanent, and we will make them of new lumber.
You need just twelve superficial feet of board, with a sufficient
allowance for waste. The latter item is one of great importance to the
carpenter; for a man may waste more lumber than would suffice to pay
his wages, by being careless, or using bad judgment. We will go to the
lumber-shed, and see what we can find.”
Mr. Brookbine led the way. Captain Gildrock had provided a large
supply of boards, plank, joist, and small stuff, which had been “stuck
up” in the building provided for the purpose.
“Now, boys, see if you can find the right material for the shelves,”
said the carpenter. “You have your rules, and you can measure as much
as you please.”
The pupils fell to pulling over and measuring the boards. All of them
figured up what shape the board must be to furnish what would be
needed.
“I have it!” exclaimed Ben Ludlow. “Here is just the board to make the
whole of them. It is just a foot wide.”
“Then, it won’t do,” replied the carpenter. “It is neither long enough
nor wide enough.”
But Thad found one that was twelve feet and a half long by thirteen
inches at one end and fourteen at the other. Mr. Brookbine said it
would do, and it was carried to the shop.