THE SECOND CLASS AT THE CARPENTER’S BENCH.
Mr. Brookbine directed one piece of the board to be taken to each of
the benches. He then stationed two of the class at a bench, intimating
they were to work together, and divide the labor. When not actually
employed, either one of the couple was to observe the other; but he
was not to criticise him, for this might lead to quarrels. Every one
could improve by noticing the mistakes of others.
“The first thing is to get one straight and square edge on each
board,” said the carpenter. “You will put one end of the board in the
vise, and place one of the pins in the front of the bench, so that it
will support the other end.”
One of each pair of workmen adjusted the vise, while the other put the
pin in the right place. The edge of the board was to be parallel with
the top of the bench, and several of the boys had to make changes in
its position. The instructor found it necessary to number the benches,
and then to designate the workmen at each as No. 1 and No. 2.
“Now, No. 2 will take the fore-plane. Place the end of it on the
bench, and hold it so that you can sight along the face. Put the
fingers of your left hand on the screw under the iron. Now turn the
screw till the edge of the cutter is just a very little below the
face.”
Of course, half the students turned the wrong way; and it required
some time to adjust the iron. The carpenter explained again that the
screw must be turned towards the left to send the cutter down. At last
the boys were all ready.
“Probably not many of you have got it just right. I want you to take
off a very thin shaving at first. After one stroke with the plane, you
will see how to alter it,” continued the instructor, as the boys made
their first attempt. Some of the planes took off no shaving at all,
and some dug deep into the wood.
“What do you call a thin shaving, Mr. Brookbine?” asked Jim Alburgh.
“One not thicker than a piece of ordinary writing-paper to begin with.
By and by you can take a thick shaving, when you have learned how.
We must feel our way, and not spoil the board,” replied the carpenter,
as he walked along by the boys, and looked at each plane.
After a second or third stroke of the tool, the shaving was right all
along the line. The workmen were required to plane till they had a
smooth surface. Some of them were nicer and more particular than
others, and the latter were told to do theirs over again. This
discipline soon made them all careful.
“Now, lift the end of the board, and sight along the edge of it,” said
Mr. Brookbine, doing as he described with the board nearest to him.
“This piece slants, or bevels, on the edge; and very likely all the
rest of them have the same fault.”
“Mine does,” added Phil Gawner. “I could slide down hill on it.”
“Is that what the squinting is for?” asked Tom Ridley. “I have often
seen carpenters do it.”
“That is what it is for. You are to educate your eye so that you can
tell at a glance whether a piece of work is straight, or not. I dare
say, you can’t tell now whether the edge of the board is true, or
not,” added Mr. Brookbine, as he passed along the benches, and
examined the work of each boy.
“Not a single one is right,” continued he. “As is apt to be the case
with beginners, you all lean your plane to the right, just as you do
with the saw. Most of you have got it so far out of the way that you
can’t help seeing it with your eye.”
The students admitted that they could see it. The carpenter told them
to try again, and be sure to keep the plane perfectly level on the
edge of the board. He directed them to take hold of the tool with the
left hand, so that the middle finger would touch the perpendicular
part of the board. After they had taken a few strokes more, they were
told to sight their work again. Several of them declared that it was
right now. Two of them had to use the plane again.
“Take the small try-square, each of you. Place the handle against the
perpendicular of the board, and the blade across the edge.” The
carpenter took one of the squares, and showed them how to do it. “If
you have it nearly square, it will do for our present purpose. Now
take the jointer. Be sure that the cutter strikes the board at the end
where you begin. Put the left hand on the plane as before, and be sure
that you keep the jointer perfectly level.”
The boys made the first stroke with the long plane. The carpenter had
set the irons so that they took off a very thin shaving.
“Mine will cut only in the middle,” said Tom Ridley.
“Mine will take hold only at the ends,” added Ben Ludlow.
“That’s all right,” replied the instructor. “Some of you have gouged
out the middle of the board, and others have taken off the ends, with
the fore-plane. The jointer is long enough to correct all these
faults; only don’t lean the plane over either way.”
After a few strokes the pupils were required to sight along their
work. Under the constant admonitions of the carpenter, the edge was so
nearly square that they could detect no fault. They were told to use
the square. This trial proved that not one was exactly square. The
plane was used again.
When the boys had satisfied themselves, Mr. Brookbine inspected the
work, and was able to find something out of the way with every piece.
But at last the boards were all right. The students were required to
measure the width of the pieces in the narrowest place. They varied
considerably, but all had over a quarter of an inch to spare.
“Now we will use a new tool, that I have not mentioned,” continued the
carpenter, taking a bundle of gauges from one of the boxes, and
putting one on each bench. “Take your rule, and set this gauge at just
six inches.” He showed them how to do it, and then looked at each one
to see that it was right.
After telling the class to do as he did, he placed one end of the
board against the bench-hook, and ran the gauge the entire length of
it. Turning it over, but still keeping the straight edge on the right,
he gauged the other side. Hardly one of the boys succeeded in carrying
the gauge the whole length of the board. It slipped out of place
because it was not held right. But at last all the pieces were gauged
on both sides.
“Now we are to plane the other edge of the board down to the
gauge-mark. As you are to plane down about a quarter of an inch, you
can take off a thicker shaving. You must keep watch of the mark, for
you are not to go the breadth of a hair below it.”
The pupils were exceedingly cautious, and after every shaving they
looked at the mark. When they were pretty near it, the carpenter told
them to take the jointer. All of them applied the try-square,
correcting the faults as they discovered them; and they made very good
progress. They were directed to plane out the gauge-mark, which they
could see on the planed surface. Mr. Brookbine kept inspecting the
work until it was satisfactory to him.
“Now, we want to make these shelves four feet long,--just four feet,
not a little more or a little less. Lay the board flat on the bench,
and take the larger try-square, for the blade of the small one is only
four inches and a half long. We will now square one of the ends of the
shelf, but we don’t want to take off more than a quarter of an inch.
In marking this, the lead-pencil won’t do, and you must use the point
of your pocket-knife.”
The carpenter saw that it was done properly. Then each pupil was
required to take the larger of the two back-saws, and cut off the
board on the mark. In using this saw, they were to touch very lightly,
rather lifting it up than bearing on with it.
After the utmost watchfulness on the part of the instructor, the cut
was passably well done. Most of the workmen had used the small square
in their efforts to keep the saw at right angles with the face of the
board. Of course, there were some twists in the cut; and half of them
had made the end slightly bevelling, in spite of all their efforts to
avoid this fault.
“It is very well for beginners. You can only do this thing off-hand
after considerable practice, and I don’t think any six apprentices
ever did any better than you have. Now put the end you have just cut
off into the vise, so that you can smooth off the work with the
block-plane. With this tool you can correct the error of the saw, and
take out the bevel. Use the square constantly, both along the width
and thickness of the shelf. The chances are, that you will take off
too much if you are not very careful.”
Most of the block-planes cut too rankly, and it was some time before
they were properly adjusted. The boys were very careful, for each one
felt that it would be a disaster to spoil the board. When the end was
made smooth and square, Captain Gildrock passed along the benches, and
he was generous of his praise. The students were encouraged.
“Now measure off four feet from the square end, and use your
pocket-knife to mark with. You must learn to do this accurately, and
there must not be the variation of a shaving in the length of the
shelves.”
After the students had measured the boards, the carpenter went over
all of them. Only two were inaccurate, and the instructor showed the
delinquents where their fault was. The larger square was then called
for.
“Put the point of your knife on the mark you have made to indicate
four feet, and bring the blade of the square against it. See that the
handle is against the wood. Press down the square, so that it will not
slip while you are ruling it off. Hold it tight all the time. Now mark
it. When we want to be very correct, we use a knife to mark with,
because the line thus made has no essential thickness.
“Very well,” continued Mr. Brookbine, after he had inspected the
marking. “We are to saw the end off outside of this line. We must keep
the saw against the mark, but not cut it out. Remember that you have
no leeway,--at least, only the thickness of the mark, which you will
use up in smoothing off this end of the board.”
The students sawed the end off with the utmost caution, using the
square to keep the tool plumb. Mr. Brookbine pronounced it well done.
With the experience they had obtained with the block-plane, they
smoothed off the end without any difficulty; and the boards were ready
for the next operation.
“Now we must round off the outside corners of the shelf,” said the
carpenter. “At this point you need a little geometry, and this is
where the high-school comes in. This board is six inches wide. Rule
off six inches from the length at each end. What sort of a figure will
that make?”
“This class never studied geometry,” interposed Captain Gildrock.
“But they know this figure,” replied the carpenter.
“It is a square,” said Thad Glovering.
“Right. The diagonal of a square is a line connecting the opposite
corners: rule in a diagonal. Now rule another from the other corners.
I dare say Mr. Bentnick will not find my geometry as scientific as his
own. Where the diagonals cross each other is the centre of the square.
Take the compasses, and set the points three inches apart. The problem
is to inscribe a circle inside of a square, though it is necessary to
mark only a quarter of the square.”
The quarter of a circle was inscribed, and formed the round corner of
the shelf. It was repeated on the other end.