Manual Training Toys for the Boy's Workshop.

by Harris W. Moore.

INTRODUCTION.

The wise man learns from the experience of others. That is the reason for this introduction--to tell the boy who wants to make the toys described in this book some of the "tricks of the trade." It is supposed, however, that he has had some instruction in the use of tools.

This book is written after long experience in teaching boys, and because of that experience, the author desires to urge upon his younger readers two bits of advice: First, study the drawing carefully,--every line has a meaning; second, printed directions become clearer by actually taking the tool in hand and beginning to do the work described.

BENCH.

If he buys the vise-screw, an ambitious boy can make a bench that will answer his needs, provided, also, that he can fasten it to floor or wall. It should be rigid. A beginner will find a hard wood board, 10"2"1/4", fastened to the forward end of the bench, a more convenient stop than the ordinary bench-dog. If he has a nicely finished bench, he should learn to work without injuring the bench. A _cutting board_ should always be at hand to chisel and pound upon and to save the bench-top from all ill use. The _bench-hook_ should have one side for sawing and one for planing, the former having a block shorter than the width of the board so that the teeth of the saw, when they come thru the work, will strike the bench-hook rather than the bench-top.

MARKING TOOLS.

To measure accurately, hold the _ruler_ on its edge so that the divisions on the scale come close to the thing measured. Let the pencil or knife point make a dash on the thing measured which would exactly continue the division line on the ruler. If it can be avoided, never use the end of the ruler; learn to measure from some figure on the ruler.

The spur of the _gage_ should be filed like a knife point. It seldom stands at zero of the scale, hence, when setting the gage for accurate work, measure from the block to the spur with a ruler. The gage is a rather difficult tool for a boy to use but it will pay to master it. It may be used wherever square edges are to be made, but chamfers and bevels should be marked with a pencil.

In laying out work, the beam (the thick part) of the _trysquare_ should always be kept on either the working-face or the working-edge. (See page 13, Directions for Planing.) Let the blade rest flat on any surface.

Hold the trysquare snugly to the work with the fingers and thumb acting much like a bird's claw.

For accurate work (e. g. joints), lines should be drawn (scored) with the sharp point of a small _knife_ blade, held nearly straight up from the edge of the trysquare blade.

Circles are located by two lines crossing at the center.

SAWS.

The teeth of a _rip-saw_ are like so many little chisels set in a row; they pare the wood away. The teeth of a _crosscut-saw_ are like knife points, they score two lines, and the wood breaks off between them.

Large sawing should be done on a saw-horse so that the worker is over his work. If it is necessary to hold work in the vise to rip it, hold it slanting, so that the handle of the saw leads the line, as it naturally does when the work is on a saw-horse.

The _back-saw_, tho a crosscut-saw, may be used in any direction of the grain.

Any saw should be in motion when it touches the wood it is to cut. To guide it to the right place, a workman lets his thumb touch the saw just above the teeth, the hand resting firmly on the wood. A little notch, cut in the edge right to the line where the saw is to cut, will help a beginner to start accurately. Saws are rapid tools, and it pays to go slowly enough with them to do accurate work. Plan the work so as to make as few cuts as possible.

_Turning-saws_ are best used so that the cutting is done on the pull stroke, keeping the two hands near together. When one handle is turned, the other must be turned equally.

PLANES.

Generally being in a hurry to get work done, boys are apt to take big shavings with a plane. This results in rough work. Fine shavings are better. If the plane is allowed to rest level on the work, it will find the high places without continual adjusting. The first two inches of a stroke are the hardest to plane; to plane these, press harder on the forward end of the plane. Start the plane level. Usually it is best to keep the plane straight, or nearly so, in the direction of the push.

The _block-plane_ is properly used to plane the end of wood. (See page 12 on Holding Work.) On other small surfaces, however, it is often more convenient than a large plane.

BITS.

_Auger-bits_ are numbered by the number of sixteenths in the diameter of the hole they bore, e. g. No. 4 bores a 4/16" hole. _Gimlet-bits_ are numbered by thirty-seconds.

Whenever boring with an auger-bit, stop as soon as the spur p.r.i.c.ks thru the other side, turn the work over, start the spur in the little hole it made, and finish boring. It will always split the wood, if the bit is allowed to go way thru. It is difficult to bore a hole straight thru a piece of wood, because to tell whether the bit is held straight when starting the hole, one must look at it from two directions. If someone else can stand a quarter circle away from the worker and watch the bit, that is the best help; otherwise, the worker himself must hold the brace steady while he walks around a quarter circle and judges whether the bit is straight. Care should be taken to hold the work level in the vise.

NAILS.

The words, "nail," "brad," and "nailing" are used somewhat interchangeably in this book; "nailing" may mean driving a brad. Brads have smaller, thicker heads, nails have larger, flat heads.

To drive a nail straight, start it straight. The hole cannot be straightened by bending the nail so that it looks straight after it is partly driven. Many gentle blows with the _hammer_ will often drive a nail where heavy blows would fail. The fingers pinching the nail often prevent its bending. If possible, keep nails away from the corners of boards. Several nails joining two boards hold them stronger if the nails are driven at different angles. Nails are usually "set," that is, the heads are driven with a _nail-set_ below the surface. They must always be set below surfaces which are to be planed. It is often wise not to drive the first nail or two way in until the work is examined. In withdrawing nails, a block under the hammer will often aid greatly, and also protect the surface of the work.

SCREWS.

Screws usually need holes properly bored to receive them; a large hole first, the size of the screw above the threads, a small hole next, the size at the roots of the threads (in hard wood somewhat larger), and a place for the head made with a _countersink_. Usually the screw should slip easily thru the first piece of wood and be tight in the second. The _screwdriver_ should always be held in the line that the screw is going, and it ought fairly to fit the slot in the head. In hard wood, one must be careful not to twist screws off, especially bra.s.s screws, which are easily broken.

GLUE.

A beginner often wonders why things stick to his fingers instead of to their proper places; it is because he has a little glue on his fingers and usually a lot on the article; therefore, don't use too much glue. It is best, especially in holes and their pegs, to put glue on both surfaces of contact. Good glue will hold two surfaces, making good contact, stronger than the wood. Wipe off excess glue as soon as possible, using hot water for hot glue. Much labor is thus saved. Allow glue plenty of time to become dry. The moisture has to work its way thru the wood itself, and this takes hours; six to ten hours is not too long.

SANDPAPER.

Sandpaper varies in coa.r.s.eness from No. 00 to No. 3, every sheet being stamped. It should not be used on a given piece until all work with edge tools is finished. The particles of sand left in the surface would quickly dull an edge tool. When using sandpaper on flat surfaces, wrap it closely about a rectangular block of wood. Try to keep all corners as sharp as they are left by the edge tools so that there will be a crispness of appearance which always marks good workmanship. Often the same care in holding work while sandpapering it must be taken as was taken when shaping it. Always sandpaper with, or lengthwise the grain.

DOWELS.

Sticks that are planed nearly to size can be made round and smooth by driving them thru a hole in a block of hard wood or iron; such sticks are called dowels. Two holes may be used if the second is only a little smaller than the first. Drive gently with a _mallet_ rather than with a hammer. In many of the models in this book such dowels are used. Dowels (made by a different process, however,) can often be bought at hardware stores.

DRILLS.

For ease in making small holes, a _hand-drill_ is essential. For some holes a headless nail will answer. To make better drills, break a needle, a knitting-needle, umbrella rib, or other piece of hard wire to suitable length; on a grindstone, flatten it near the point on two sides; then, putting it in the chuck of the hand-drill, try to hold it on the grindstone at the proper angle to form the two cutting edges; or it may be held against the edge of the bench and sharpened with an oilstone resting on top of the bench. Very convenient long drills can be thus made of knitting-needles.

SHARPENING.

To work with dull tools is altogether unsatisfactory. A boy should learn to sharpen his own edge tools. To grind a good bevel on a tool like a chisel, it must rest upon something steady. The reflection of light on the newly ground surface will indicate whether the surface is flat or not. This process of grinding makes what is called a feather-edge, or wire-edge, and the tool must be whetted on an oilstone to remove this wire-edge. The flat side _must be kept flat_ on the stone; the bevel may be lifted just a trifle. When whetting the bevel, try to avoid a rocking motion, for this would round the edge. After the wire-edge is completely removed, a still keener edge can be obtained by stropping the tool on a piece of leather, much as a razor is stropped. A piece of leather glued to a wooden mount and sprinkled occasionally with the finest emery powder will help much in keeping the edge tools keen.

HOLDING WORK.

The way work is held in the vise often makes the difference between success and failure. Small surfaces are easily planed true if held almost flush with the jaws of the vise so that the top of the bench serves to guide the plane; for example, the wheel-center, page 20, or the crank, Plate 33, are easily planed in this manner. Sometimes articles, like spools, can be held endwise with safety when they might be crushed if squeezed sidewise.

A good way to hold the paddles of the sand wheel, Plate 21, Fig. 4, to saw the lines A B is to put the paddles about half-way down the end of the vise so that the back-saw can be held near the end of the vise jaws.