TheBodkinis delineated in Plate 2. atFItsBladeis made ofSteel, and well tempered, its shape is round, and stands about two Inches without theShankof theHandle. TheHandleis turned of soft wood asAlder,Maple, &c. that whenCompositersknock the Head of theBodkinupon the Face of a SingleLetterwhen it stands too high, it may not batter the Face.
AChaseis an Iron Frame about two and twenty Inches long, eighteen Inches broad, and half Inch half quarter thick; and the breadth of Iron on every side is three quarters of an Inch: But an whole Inch is much better, because stronger. All its sides must stand exactly square to each other; And when it is laid on theCorrecting-Stoneit must lye exactly flat,viz.equally bearing on all its sides and Angles: The outside and inside must be Filed straight and smooth. It hath twoCrossesbelonging to it,viz.AShort-Crossmarkeda aand aLong-Crossmarkedb b: These twoCrosseshave on each end a Male Duftail Filed Bevil away from the under to the upper-side of theCross, so that the under-side of the Duftail is narrower than the upper-side of the Duftail. These Male-Duftails are fitted into Female-Duftails, Filed in the inside of theChase, which are also wider on the upper side of theChasethan on the under-side; because the upper-side of theCrossshould not fall through the lower side. TheseCrossesare called theShortand theLong-Cross.
TheShort-Crossis Duftail’d in as aforesaid, just in the middle of theChaseas atc c, and theLong-Crossin the middle of the other sides theChase, as atd d. TheShort-Crossis also Duftail’d into Female-Duftails, made as aforesaid, about three Inches and an half from the middle, as ate e: So that theShort-Crossmay be put into either of the Female-Duftails as occasion serves. The middle of these twoCrossesare Filed or notched half way through, one on its upper, the other on its under-side to let into one another,viz.theShort-Crossis Filed from the upper towards the under-side half way, and theLong-Crossis Filed from the lower towards the upper-side half way: TheCrossesare also thus let into each other, where they meet atf, when theShort-Crossis laid into the other Female-Duftails fitted to it ate e.
In the middle, between the two edges of the upper side of theShort-Cross, is made two Grooves parallelto the sides of theCross, beginning at about two Inches from each end, and ending at about seven Inches from each end: It is made about half an Inch deep all the way, and about a quarter of an Inch broad, that thePointsmay fall into them. TheShort-Crossis about three quarters of an Inch thick, and theLong-Crossabout half that thickness. All their sides must be Fil’d straight and smooth, and they must be all the way of an equal thickness.
Hitherto ourMaster-Printerhath provided Materials and Implements only for theCompositersuse; But he must provide Machines and Tools for thePress-mansto use too: which (because I am loath to discourage my Customers with a swelling price at the first reviving of these Papers) I shall (though against my interest) leave for the subject of the next succeedingExercises.
ADVERTISEMENTS.
THe first Volumne ofMechanick Exercises,Treating of theSmiths,theJoyners,theCarpenters,and theTurnersTrades, containing37½sheets, and18Copper Cuts, are to be had by the Author. Joseph Moxon.Price9s.3d.in Quires.
THe first Volumne of the Monthly Collection of Letters for Improvement of Husbandry and Trade, containing Twenty four Sheets with an Index, is now finished, and the second is carrying on:
ByJohn Haughton,Fellowof theRoyal Society.
Image: Plate 3.
Plate 3.