Fig. 40.
Fig. 40.
Fig. 40 illustrates the method of panelling. A, B, C are the styles, D, E, F, G the rails. The mortices and tenons are cut as usual. The inside edges of C, B, D, G are then grooved with the plough, and both edges of the other pieces. The panels are carefully squared up, and then bevelled off at the edges so as to fit the grooves. To put such a door together, A, D, G, E, and F would be firstarranged, then the panels slid in from the outside, and afterwards the styles B and C put in place. The part beyond the outer mortices in the latter pieces, which are left for safety in cutting these mortices, and to prevent splitting when D and G are driven home, are not cut off until the glue is dry. The process is simple, but it requires great care, both in setting out the various measurements, and in squaring up the different pieces composing the whole. After the whole is dry, strips of moulding, cut to mitre-joints at the corners, are nailed on with brads round the panels to give the whole a finished appearance.
In the above examples, in which I have gone from the more simple to the more complicated, are comprised the main principles of the art of carpentry. At any rate, when the young mechanic can doas much, he will be able to accomplish a great deal more.
There are a number of useful and ornamental articles which cannot be made with the carpenter’s tools alone, but which need a lathe for their construction. Wooden boxes of circular section, wooden and metal wheels and pulleys, ornamental chair and table legs, and a countless number of similar articles, all depend upon the skill of the turner. Models too of engines and machinery of all sizes and shapes, bring the lathe into constant requisition.
No one can say to whom this machine is to be attributed. Probably it has been developed by slow and imperceptible steps, from the potter’s wheel to its present elaborate and perfect form. As for the part that old Dædalus had in it, I believe he had just as much to do with it as he had with the saw, which he is said to have invented from seeing the backbone of a fish. Now, the backbone of a fish is not abit like a saw, but the jaw of a shark is, and very quickly it amputates legs, arms, and heads, when unfortunately the chance is given to it. We need not, however, stay to discuss this unimportant point; we will leave it to the researches of the Antediluvian Society, or Noahican Brethren, or any other known or unknown learned body, and proceed to consider the lathe as it is now generally constructed—the ambition of boys, the delight of adult possessors, and, to the writer, “gem of gems!”
At the very time I write, I am engaged in fitting up two lathes; one of which is for just such a “young mechanic” as this book is intended to instruct. The bed will be of dry hard beech, the fly-wheel of iron turned up with five grooves or speeds, as they are called. The heads, which are the only really important part, are to be made by a well-known London maker, whose work is sure to be the best possible at the price afforded. Nevertheless, this lathe will cost several pounds, although it is to be fitted for hand-turning only, and it is possible in London to find a much cheaper (not better) article.
When I was myself a “young mechanic,” so many years ago that I find I do not quite like to count them, I had a lathe at £2, rather shaky, wooden fly-wheel, wooden head—not at all the thing to recommend. Then I had another made by a gunsmith—all iron—for it was what is called a triangle-bar lathe; the bed being a bar of triangularsection, on which the heads or poppits slid, and also the rest. I think now it was not a bad lathe; but I am afraid the work I did on it was scarcely first-class; and I sold the machine one fine day under the impression that if I had a better I should do better work. This, however, proved a terrible fallacy; so I set myself upon high as a warning to young mechanics, who always fancy that their clumsy, bad work is due to some fault in their tools, whereas, after all, it is generally their own.
Well, I had a succession of lathes, after that triangle-bar one had passed into oblivion, by various makers; some good, some indifferent, some for heavy, and some for light work; and I fancy I am now fairly able to give an opinion upon the merits or demerits of any particular lathe which may come under my notice.
I was going to write a piece of advice, “Don’t give too much for a lathe,” when I remembered that I was scribbling for the edification first of boys; and experience tells me the caution is by no means generally necessary, few boys’ pockets being very heavily lined, owing to the constant claims upon them for peg-tops, knives, string, and etceteras—not to say lollipops and bulls’ eyes, and similar unwholesome luxuries.
I suppose, however, I must give some idea of cost, if only as a partial guide; but all depends upon the special object for which the lathe is to be used. If for models, forinstance, it would not be so expensive as if it was desired for elaborate ornamental work in wood or ivory, when the young mechanic has grown whiskers, and become an adult enthusiast at this delightful recreation. For there are all kinds of lathes to be had; some that will answer well for beginners, and for rough work in after years; some beautifully finished, intended to be used first for simple hand-turning, but which are of best construction, and therefore worth adding to from time to time; and if carefully used, will descend in good order from father to son. Then there are lathes for heavier work, and for screw cutting and engine making, fit for engineers; and others of minute size and exquisite finish, adapted to the special requirements of watch and clock makers—lathes you could put in your waistcoat pocket.
Now, if I were sure you would be very, very careful, I should like to recommend a good lathe, worth adding to as you grew more and more experienced; but these, even of simplest make, are costly, and not within reach of half my readers. I shall therefore say—get a good, plain, strong tool that will bear a little rough usage, and which will cost you as little as it is possible to make them for: and if you find, after a year or two, that you are becoming a proficient, and therefore not so likely to damage agoodlathe, you can set this, your first, on one side, and let it become yourhackto do any odd jobs, and buy yourself both a larger and abetter one. I know this will be adoubleoutlay; but experience tells me it will be the best way and the cheapest in the long run. Perhaps you may like to go on as you are. Your small lathe may prove an accurate one, and quite sufficient for your need. In such case, of course, a new one will not be required at all. But if it should be otherwise, and circumstances allow you to improve upon it, you may rest assured your old friend will be ever a handy assistant, and save your better lathe very considerably in many ways.
You can get a lathe for about $20 to $25, with iron bed complete; and I really think it impossible to obtain a cheaper one. Of course it will be small, and of the plainest possible construction. It will, nevertheless, answer for light work in wood and metal, being designed to assist the young mechanic in making model engines and similar curiosities. From this you may go, pound by pound, to good, serviceable tools; and these to a £300 lathe for rose engine-work, and elaborate ornamentation in ivory and other costly materials. Most probably I shall be able to give you a catalogue or two at the end of this book, published by makers of such lathes, and you can then judge of the probable cost of your workshop. The drawing of the lathe (Fig. 41) will be readily understood even by those boys who have had no opportunity of seeing any work of this kind. There are, however, few towns or villages inwhich a lathe does not exist, and may not be examined by any boy who desires to learn its construction and use. Its object is to give rotary movement to any material it is desired to form into a circular or cylindrical shape.
Fig. 41.
Fig. 41.
Motion being given to the fly-wheel by means of thetreadle and crank, is communicated to the pulley upon the mandrel. Upon the screw of this mandrel, B, the work is fixed; being usually held in a chuck suited to its particular form, but sometimes it is screwed directly upon the mandrel. The rest, C, is then fixed near it, and the tool is supported thereon and held firmly while the work revolves against it. All this is easy to understand—it isnotso easy to carry it into practice. Attention to the following directions will enable the young mechanic to become a good turner in course of time; but the art cannot be practically learned in a day, and it needs experience and considerable practice to become anything like a proficient.
If the construction of the lathe itself is understood, the first consideration is what tools and chucks are necessary. I shall speak of the latter first, as little or nothing can be done without them. First comes the prong-chuck, for soft wood (Fig. 41, A). This, like all others, is made to screw upon the mandrel. Its use is to hold one end of any piece of wood while the other is supported by the point, E, of the poppit, H, which poppit can be moved at pleasure along the lathe-bed, and fixed at any given place by a hand-nut below. The point itself can be advanced or drawn back by turning the handle, K. A piece of wood thus mounted must of necessity revolve with the mandrel, because, although it can and will turn round upon the point of the back poppit, it cannot do so upon the fork or prong, whichenters and holds it securely. This chuck, or one of the same nature, is always used for cylinders of soft wood, which can be supported at both ends, such as tool-handles, chair-legs, and other work not requiring to be hollowed out.
It sometimes happens, however, especially if the work is at all rough, or considerably out of truth, that the piece slips round upon the fork or prong, especially if it does not enter deeply enough; and in addition, tool-handles and round rulers, and many articles that have to be similarly supported at both ends, are made of hard wood, into which this prong will not readily enter.
In such cases, and indeed as a general substitute for the first, a chuck called a “cross-chuck” is to be used (Fig. 41, L, M). Thecentre of the littlecross (which is of steel, and fits into the same square or round hole in the socket which carries the prong, and which is also used to hold drills, pieces of iron rod which are to be turned, and other articles) is made to revolve in the precise axial line of the mandrel, or to runtruewith it, as it is called. The arms of the cross are to be imbedded in the work, which is best effected by making in the latter two saw-cuts at right angles with each other (Fig. 41, N), which represents a piece ready for mounting.
The next chuck is equally necessary (Fig. 41, O). It is a taper screw of steel, fixed in a socket which can beattached to the mandrel. Two sizes of this chuck would be useful for a large lathe, but for such a one as will probably be purchased by the young amateur, one only, with a screw of medium size, will suffice. The use of this chuck is to hold pieces which only require to be supported at one end, so that a tool can be used to work upon the other, either to mould it into the required form, or to hollow it out for a box or bowl. Of course you might screw such work on the mandrel-nose itself, but it would make a very large hole in the end, whereas this taper screw only requires a moderately sized gimlet-hole. It is therefore a much more convenient way of attaching work to the mandrel, and is of extensive use.
The cup-chuck is the last required. It is sketched at P, and is sometimes of iron, but generally of brass. There are several sizes made and sold with lathes, but you need not have at most more than one or two, as I shall show you how to make wooden ones, which answer as well, if not better. The flat plates, R, R², can scarcely be called chucks, but they generally come into the list of such. The latter has five projecting points, which, sticking into such a thing as a flat-board (like a bread-platter, or round pulley), hold it sufficiently firm when the back centre is brought up against the other side of the piece, to allow of its being turned. The other is merely a flat plate with holes in it, through which screws can be passed frombehind into any odd bit of wood of 2 or 3 inches in thickness, whereby a chuck can be quickly made to suit any required purpose. Two or three of these would be convenient, one of which should be nearly as large as the lathe will carry; and in this one a great many holes and slots should be made. This is called a face-plate, and, in addition to the ordinary screws, whereby pieces of wood are attached to it, it is fitted with clamps and bolts of various forms, for the purpose of holding securely upon its face all kinds of flat works in wood or metal,—such as cog-wheels, which have to be bored out and faced. The young model-maker will find a face-plate of great service. The larger one should be of iron, as it will be cheaper than brass.
We now pass on to chucks for metal turning. These are of various shapes. First in order comes the centre chuck and dog, for holding rods of iron which can be supported at both ends. The commonest form is represented in Fig. 41, S, T. S is such a face-plate almost as I have described, but it has a pin projecting from it, and also a steel centre-point. The latter is often made to screw out and in, which is the best plan. The pin can be slid to any point in the face-plate, and clamped by a nut at the back. T is called a dog, and of these two at least will be required, if the young mechanic intends to work in metal.
The way of using these is shown at T². The rod of iron has a hole drilled at each end, as nearly in the centre aspossible. It is first indented with a punch, then a drill is put into the drill chuck, and one end of the rod brought against it as it revolves, while the back poppit centre-point is screwed against the indentation at the other end. A little oil is applied to the drill to assist its working, and the rod itself is prevented from turning round either by grasping it with the hand or screwing a hand-vice upon it, so that this comes against the bed or the rest; or it can be held in the hand, which has one advantage, namely, that the operator can feel exactly what is the resistance caused by the drill, and can regulate the pressure accordingly. The screw of the poppit is, of course, to be very slowly and steadily advanced during the process. Alldrillingin the lathe is done in this way, but in boring out long holes, the action is often reversed, the work being kept in motion while the tool is advanced, without being allowed to revolve. You need not bore more than one-eighth of an inch for light work, but must do the same at each end of the rod. The holes thus made should be of such a size as not to let the extreme end of the back centre-point touch the bottom, or it will soon be worn down and blunted;—remember this in all future work.
Supposing the rod to be thus bored at each end, place the centre-chuck upon the mandrel, instead of the drill-chuck, and mount the bar between this and the point of the back-centre. Thus placed, it will be accurately supported,but if the lathe is put in motion, it will not turn round. Now come into use the little dogs. Remove the bar, and choosing a dog of which the open part is tolerably near the size of it, slip it over the end about half an inch, and there fix it by tightening the little screw, which, you observe, will drive the bar as far as possible towards the smaller part of the opening, and when it can go no farther, will secure it as in a vice. It is a good plan to file a slight flat upon the bar, just where the screw of the carrier will come. Now replace the bar, and when the lathe is put in motion, the tail of the carrier should come against the projecting pin in the face of the face-plate, which will compel the iron to go round with it. This is the way all bars of metal are mounted. I shall not tell you yet how they are to be turned, because this would interfere with the order of my description.
To mount in the lathe such pieces as cylinders of engines, which require to be bored, or any other objects which have to be turned on one or both faces, the young mechanic must make wooden chucks, and bore them out exactly to fit the article and hold it securely. There are metal chucks expressly made to take all work of this kind, and which are so contrived that they will also hold it truly central, but they are costly, and need not be obtained with the first lathe—at any rate, not untilabsolutely required, and that will be, I know, a long time hence; ay, averylong time,for many good workmen have never evenseen, much less possessed one of them. Perhaps I may draw and explain one in a future page, as well as some other chucks, which it is not necessary to notice here.
The chucks then absolutely necessary are these—
1.Square Hole Chuck, which will take the prong, the cross, the drills, and short bits of iron to be turned.2.The Taper Screw.3.FlangeorFace Chucks, one with five points, and two with holes for screws, also one larger for a face-plate.4. Two or threeCup-chucks(I can, however, scarcely call theseabsolutelynecessary).5.Chuck for Iron, viz., face-plate with centre-point, and two dogs to take iron from 1 inch diameter down to quarter-inch. These should have pear-shaped openings, not round; any blacksmith can make them, but somehow they do such work generally in a clumsy fashion; and they cost but 35 to 75 cents, according to size, beautifully made with turned screws.
1.Square Hole Chuck, which will take the prong, the cross, the drills, and short bits of iron to be turned.
2.The Taper Screw.
3.FlangeorFace Chucks, one with five points, and two with holes for screws, also one larger for a face-plate.
4. Two or threeCup-chucks(I can, however, scarcely call theseabsolutelynecessary).
5.Chuck for Iron, viz., face-plate with centre-point, and two dogs to take iron from 1 inch diameter down to quarter-inch. These should have pear-shaped openings, not round; any blacksmith can make them, but somehow they do such work generally in a clumsy fashion; and they cost but 35 to 75 cents, according to size, beautifully made with turned screws.
Now as to tools. Their name is legion—tools for iron, brass, ivory, hard and soft wood; and many an odd shilling will be well laid out from time to time in adding to the stock. Happily those most needed are not costly—about $3 a dozen without handles, which latter may be had at 10 cents each and upwards, according to the material and finish, all with iron or brass ferules, so necessary to prevent splitting. You may buy your first few simple tools handled, but after you have these you can turn as many handles as you like, and you can buy ferules of all sizes at any regular tool-shop.
I may as well tell you that in a great many country towns you will be unable to obtain turning tools except gouges and chisels, so that when you buy your lathe in London, as you will find the best plan (or in Manchester, Birmingham, or other manufacturing town, if nearer to you), you must lay in a little stock of tools at the same time, and take future opportunities of getting more. In regular tool-shops you will have them laid before you by dozens of every conceivable shape and size, so that your great difficulty would be what to pick out if it were not for some such directions as I am now about to give you.
First, you will want gouges and chisels. Begin with two sizes of each—one of half an inch, the other of 1 inch in width. These are to be mounted in long handles.
Now, with these alone you can do all the plain work in soft wood which does not require to be hollowed out, tool-handles, chair-legs, legs of towel-horses, round rulers, and all sorts of things, and to a certain extent you can turn out the insides of wooden chucks, bowls, and boxes, but not very easily with these alone. Hence you must add some of those shown in Fig. 42. These I shall endeavour to assort as follows:—
A to F are for hollowing out hard woods; G and H are hook-tools (very difficult to use) for hollowing out soft wood boxes and bowls.
Fig. 42.
Fig. 42.
I and K show the edge and side of a parting tool for cutting off the ends of cylindrical pieces, separating the turned from the unturned parts, and for all similar work. [A tenon-saw held still against a piece revolving in the lathe will often serve to cut it in two, but parting tools must also be had, and two are better than one, as a thick one should be kept for common woods, and a thin one for ivory and precious materials; sometimes one with anotchededge is used for cutting off soft wood.]
L to O are for turning iron and steel. The first is agraver, of which all sizes are made; one of a quarter inch width on either face is large enough. It is a square bar of steel ground off cornerwise so as to form a lozenge-shaped face. This is an essential tool for iron, and will do all sorts of work.
M is a hook or heel tool, made sometimes with a flat edge and sometimes with a rounded one, the latter being most useful. It is a very powerful tool, much used by some, especially for heavy work—I don’t think you need get one at present. If I am able to teach you to use a graver it will do almost as much work, and is a neater tool. If you use a tool of the nature of heel-tools at all, I think, on the whole, the nail-head tool, N, either round or square, is the best. It is at all events handy for roughing down work, and when it is reduced nearly to the size required, and is partly smoothed, the graver will finish it.
O is an inside tool for hollowing out iron. There aredifferent shapes of this used, each turner giving the preference to some particular pattern to which he has habituated himself. None of these tools for metal have sharp edges—at least they would not appear so to an ordinary observer. The angle of the edge is 60° to 80°, or even 90°, which is, as you know, a right angle, and is that most generally used for the cutting edges of tools intended for brass, as U, V, W, of which V is a most useful pattern. Those for hard wood have edges a little more keen, but after all they scrape rather than cut; the only tools for wood with keen edges being the gouge and chisel.
P are callipers for measuring theoutsideof work of all kinds. Q and R are the same, arranged for in and outside work. The first is an ordinary pair closed until the ends have crossed, which they will all do; but if the inside of hollow work to be gauged is small, they will not enter it. In this case none are so generally useful as the in-and-out callipers, R, for when accurately made (and if not you can easily correct them with a small file), the one end will measure the external diameter of work, and at the same time the other end will be found to have its points separated to such a distance, that if you were to turn a box or chuck to this inside measure, the cylinder first turned will exactly fit it. Thus if you turn a box-cover, and take the size of it with the straight end of the callipers, and then turn down the rim of the box until it is just the size indicatedby the curved ends, the one will exactly fit the other. In turning a piston to fit the cylinder of an engine, you would work with this useful tool.
S is the turner’s square. The blade slides stiffly and accurately in a slot in the brass, being kept by a spring at one side from working loose. This square is used to gauge the depth of boxes and other works which are to be turned to an exact size, and it also serves to test the squareness of many kinds of work. Suppose, for instance, you had turned a box, you would put the blade of this tool against the bottom and press upon it till the brass rested across the rim, touching it in two opposite places. Now possibly the inside may be smaller at the bottom than at the top. Test it by bringing the steel blade edgewise against it. You will see whether the brass still touches in two places across the mouth of the box. The squareness of the outside with the top or bottom can be tested in a similar way. We shall have occasion to recur to this when we come to boring and fitting engine cylinders.
S² is another small square, which is often serviceable where the carpenter’s square cannot be used. If you intend to make models, you will want both of these; at the same time, it is quite possible to make the latter of iron, or even thick tin, if you have the former, as an accurate guide to work by.
T represents a pair of spring-compasses or callipers.They are used to set off distances, and have the advantage of not being liable to shift their position when once they are set to any required width. You will require a pair of compasses of some sort, and if not already provided, these are the best you can have.
There are many other tools, which, though not absolutely turning tools, are more or less used in connection with the lathe, but these need not now be further alluded to, and I shall go on to describe as clearly as possible the method of working at the lathe with hand-tools, commencing with the operation of turning soft wood with the gouge and chisel; but I must first give a short chapter upon the nature of woods used.
As different materials require somewhat different management, and even in the matter of wood alone this rule holds good, it may be as well to have some idea of what is meant byhardandsoftwood.
The young mechanic has most likely hitherto considered all wood under one head; but there is a vast difference, nevertheless, in the internal structure, even of such kinds as grow in England; and the woods of foreign countries differ again from these, some being of such close texture that it is almost impossible to work them with ordinary tools, and some (such as the palm) being little else than gigantic ferns, and in structure like that much-dreaded implement of flagellation—the schoolmaster’s cane.
In England the hardest wood found is that of the box-tree, the chief place of which is in Surrey, at Box Hill; itis, nevertheless, found scattered here and there in all parts of the country, but not generally of a size greater than 3 inches in diameter. It is of very slow growth, and our own country would not nearly satisfy the demand made for it by various trades. Hence a large quantity of box, of larger growth, and generally of harder and better quality, is imported every year from Turkey, to be used in the construction of blocks for engravers, who alone require many tons weight annually, and for carpenters’ rules, mallets, turned boxes, and tool-handles; to which I may add the important item of peg-tops. I fear some of my readers may think I should have placed these first on the list! Opinions, however, I imagine, differ in this particular, as in most others, and upon all subjects.
The grain of boxwood is so close and even that it is one of the most valuable turning materials we possess. It takes excellent screw-threads, provided they are not too fine; is a very general material for boxes of all kinds, and also for chucks, although there is really no reason why it should be wasted in so applying it, when other woods of less value make such efficient substitutes. Probably its use for this purpose arose from the facility with which a screw can be cut in it to fit that on the mandrel, and that it is so hard as not to allow the collar beyond the screw to make much impression upon it. In consequence, when it is well fitted, such a chuck can be screwed on many timesexactly to the same point, and will continue to run true. But I myself have found that if the mandrel-screw is not very coarse, the threads cut in the inside of the chuck are apt to break off.
Somewhat similar in texture, though by no means generally used, is the wood of theElder, which is quite different, be it observed, from theAlder, although I often hear the names confounded together. The wood I allude to is that of the tree which bears umbels of sweet, white blossoms, which give place to those jet-black berries we find upon them late in summer, and which are made into elder-wine, for home consumption at Christmas, when, no doubt, most of my readers have drunk it, hot and spicy and sugary, to keep out the wintry cold. From the same tree are commonly made those harmless engines of mimic warfare—pop-guns!
If it were not for the presence of the pith, which is in fact the very quality which makes it valuable to boys for the latter purpose, this wood would certainly have been eagerly seized upon by turners. Even with this defect, it is used instead of box for the inferior kinds of carpenter’s rules and other purposes, and the larger pieces will make very good chucks, if a little care is exercised to prevent splitting them. It is indeed a wood that might be far more extensively used in this way than it is.
TheYew, perhaps, should come next in order, for this toois very close-grained and very beautiful, and when highly polished it will bear comparison with many foreign woods which we import at a high price; it is, however, brittle and apt to splinter.
Walnutvaries considerably in quality, some being harder and richer in grain than others. This wood, however, is not to be classed among those which are properly speakinghard, as it can be cut with ease, and can only be planed and worked as deal would be, viz.,with the grain; whereas the hard woods work withalmostequal facility in either direction. This indeed in a great measure constitutes the difference between soft and hard woods, in the turner’s sense of the words. If you were to hold a chisel flat on the rest, so as to let it scrape a cylinder of wood as it revolved in the lathe, you would find in some cases that it would tear out the fibres in shreds—these are soft woods. In other cases it would leave the surface rough but otherwise tolerably even, and with some it would leave the same fairly turned.
I cannot call to mind any English wood but box that can be turned by a chisel held so as to scrape it, but the greater number of foreign woods are always turned in this manner, being hard and close in the grain.
Birch.—Oh, once-dreaded tree! birch! with its long, swaying, switchy boughs, drooping as in sorrow at the mean uses to which it was applied! It is nevertheless a veryuseful tree, and the young mechanic can take full revenge upon it by cutting, and chipping, and turning it into all sorts of useful articles. It is, however, now more generally used in cabinetmaking, for wardrobes, bedsteads, chests of drawers, and such like, as it looks very neat when planed and varnished. Perhaps, as a wood for the exercise of the turner’s art, it must give place to
Beech, which is a common and excellent material for the essays of beginners, who can turn tool handles especially from the small trimmed billets of it which are kept by the chairmakers, and which can generally be bought for a trifling sum in any town, and in many villages. If not, the wheelwright may be applied to for a supply, as he uses it rather extensively for the felloes of his wheels. It is peculiarly liable to the attacks of the little worm, weevil or maggot, who drills such innumerable and such beautifully round holes in furniture that stands long unused.
Beech is often used for the screws of carpenters’ benches, as it takes very well a thread of such size as is required for that purpose. It will also, for the same reason, answer very well for chucks, for which it has the recommendation of cheapness and toughness.
Ashseems to come next upon the list. It is probably the most useful of all English woods, and where toughness, pliability, with moderate hardness, are valuable qualities, no English wood can exceed it. For frames of carts andcarriages, shafts, agricultural implements, wheelbarrows, and smaller articles of husbandry, it is precisely what is needed, and in the workshop of the turner it is equally valuable. Tool-handles of ash are very durable, and hold the tool with great firmness, owing to the natural elasticity of the material. It may be stained and polished, and is then, for realwork, preferable to the more costly hard woods of which handles are very generally made for the workshops of rich amateur mechanics.
Oakis little used for turning, the grain being too coarse. The young mechanic need never make use of it for this purpose, and the same may be said of the elm.
Elmis, nevertheless, used by turners for the wooden buckets of pumps, and is a generally useful wood. Bulk for bulk, it is lighter than beech, and it makes a good material, it is said, for lathe beds, though beech is more frequently used. It will answer for chucks, as indeed most woods will that can be cut into screws; it is very tough.
Evergreen Oak, orHolm Oak, as it is called, is very different to the forest tree, and might be classed among shrubs. When dry, it is by no means a bad wood to turn, and will take a good screw thread, and make excellent chucks.
Acaciais an excellent wood. It is of a yellowish brown colour, tolerably hard, and will take a good polish. It ismost certainly to be set down among the woods valuable to the turner.
Sycamoreis white, very soft until old, when it becomes much harder. This is also a turner’s wood, and used extensively for wooden bowls, backs of brushes, turned boxes, and what is generally called “turnery.” A little of this will be useful to the young mechanic. It will make excellent bread platters, stands for hot water jugs, and such like.
Holly.—The Christmas garland, with its red berries decorating even the poorest homes in midwinter, is a tree well worth the attention of the young mechanic. It is his substitute for the more precious material ivory, and from it he will turn the white draught or chess men, boxes, and many small articles. But it is necessary that this material should be perfectly dry, and to get it in perfection, carefully preserved to insure its whiteness, it will be generally necessary to procure it ready for the lathe at some lathemaker’s, or at first-class cabinetmakers’. If cut green, it requires long seasoning, during which it shrinks considerably. In fact, it takes some years entirely to rid it of the great quantity of moisture which it contains. It is well worth procuring, nevertheless, for it is nearly as white and free from grain as ivory.
Many of the fruit-trees of our orchards and gardens supply good material to the turner.Apple,Pear,Cherry,Plum, and some others, are all more or less useful. The grain of the first is rather dark, the fibres often twisted. It looks well when polished.
Pearhas a very fine, even grain, and is largely used for making the curved templates (or patterns of curves for architects and engineers); it will make good boxes, and is fairly serviceable to the turner. Its colour is light brown, but darkens by exposure.
ThePlumhas a wood veined very like that of the elm, but is a finer and better wood for the lathe. This is thewildplum, and not the grafted fruit-tree of our gardens, which is not nearly so good. The wild plum is excellent for small boxes, and looks well when nicely turned and polished.
Cherryis a very excellent wood, and naughty, fast boys, who take to smoking, like young Americans, when they ought to be filling their young brains with knowledge instead of narcotics, know very well that it is made into pipes and stems of pipes. Happily this is not its only use, for it is fit for many other purposes; and for light, elegant furniture, it is scarcely to be equalled. Dipped in lime-water, it darkens, and by doing this here and there, a beautiful mottled appearance is given to it. It takes an excellent polish, and should be among the stores of the young mechanic.
We now come to another soft, white wood. TheLime,which, as it is more even in grain, more easily cut in any direction than most woods, is greatly used by carvers and pattern-makers (i.e., those who make wooden patterns of wheels, or lathes, or machinery, which are to be cast in metal). [The pattern is pressed into damp sand, and then removed, and the melted metal is then poured into the impression thus made. If the sand is too wet, the process will not only fail, but the hot metal will be scattered on all sides, inflicting dreadful burns and injuries; but with care, the young amateur may make castings in tin or lead, as will be explained by and by.] Even with a penknife alone, very pretty ornaments may be carved from the wood of the lime, and also from that which follows.
Willow.—This is even softer than the last, and will plane into long, thin shavings, which are made into hats. (Once on a time I should have said “and bonnets,” but in these days no one would recognise such articles. They are fast fading out of existence; but I think quite as much sound sense used to be found under them as is now found under the very inefficient substitutes worn by ladies of the present day.) This wood will, of course, turn very easily, but requires very keen tools. In fact,sharpgouges and chisels are invariably necessary for soft wood turning. Get some dry willow by all means, if you can.
The last wood of English growth which the young mechanic is likely to meet with is the thorn. This growsto a tolerably large size, and is hard, close-grained, white, and altogether a good and serviceable wood. It will make capital chucks, taking a clean screw-thread, is easily procured, and is therefore strongly recommended to the notice of the young mechanic. The woods above named, except box, are all to be consideredsoftwoods, and will work with gouge and chisel; but box, thorn, elder, and one or two of the more close-grained, will turn pretty well, and can be smoothly hollowed out, with hard wood tools held horizontally upon the rest.
All those woods, properly calledhard, including the best box, are of foreign growth, mostly coming from the Tropics. I do not know why they should be so much harder than those of temperate climes, but so it is. There are, however, woods in New Zealand, of which the temperature is similar to that of our own country, which are also exceedingly hard and difficult to work. A very large number of foreign woods are yearly brought to England in logs or billets or planks, some of very large size, and all of great weight. They are mostly liable to one defect, viz., rottenness of the core or heart, which limits the size of the pieces which can be cut from them. They can all be procured from the London lathe and tool shops, and there are also dealers in these woods (Jacques of Covent Garden, Mundy & Berrieof Bunhill Row, and some others). It is almost impossible to procure them in the country, but rosewood, ebony, kingwood, &c., may be sometimes had in such small pieces as the young mechanic may require, at the cabinetmakers’. Among the most useful are—
Ebony, of which there are two or three kinds, some harder and more close-grained and blacker than others, and one which is called green ebony, which is like lignum-vitæ (an English wood, but which grows to a larger size abroad; indeed, many so called English woods are not really so, but have been brought from other countries to be grown here). The general colour is green, but the veins are rather darker. Bowls and skittle-balls are made of it. It is not, however, of the same general use as the black ebony, which is very largely used both for cabinet-work and turning.
Black Ebonyis very close and hard, and, of course, proportionately heavy. It splits readily, but when chopped, the chips come off more like charcoal, showing no consistency. This is the kind imported from the Indies, and especially from Madagascar and Mauritius, and is the best for all kinds of turned work. Portugal affords another kind, which bears the same name, but is more brown than black, and softer, less compact in grain, and generally of less value. Ebony will bear eccentric work, and all kinds of beautiful carving and ornamentation in the lathe.
Rose-woodis very commonly used for furniture and turned work. It is a rich red wood, grained with black. It is notveryhard, less so than ebony, and has more evident grain or fibre. It turns well, and some pieces are very handsome.
African Black-woodis in appearance similar to ebony, but it is even more close and compact, and is the most valuable of all to the ornamental turner. When this or ebony is set off by being inlaid with ivory, or even holly, it is very lovely in its intense and brilliant blackness. Either this or ebony is used for black pieces for the chessboard or draughtboard, though stained boxwood, being less costly, is sometimes made to take its place.
African Cam-woodis a very beautiful material when first cut. Its rich red tint is diversified with the most brilliant yellow streaks. Unfortunately, however, these are not lasting. Exposed to the air, they gradually become darker, until they become red like the rest of the wood. This material, however, has a fine, close grain, is a genuinehardwood, and of general use to the turner for ornamental articles of various kinds.
Tulip-woodis not very hard. Cut across the log, the appearance is fine, owing to the rings of growth being wavy and irregular, in dark and light red alternations, that reminds one of the flower after which it is called. This tree, indeed, which grows to a large size, bears flowerssimilar to those of our gardens imported from Holland, which grow upon short perpendicular stems. The centre or core of tulip-wood is generally rotten. It sucks up a good deal of polish before the grain shows out brightly and strongly, from being less hard and more fibrous than many others named above.
Partridge-woodis a nice, hard, and very pretty wood, rather dark or gray. The fibres seem to run both ways, giving a mottled appearance when turned.
Coral-woodis bright red, hard, and close in grain, well suited for red chessmen, where that colour is preferred to black. It looks very handsome in the midst of other coloured specimens; otherwise, like all material of one tint and free from veined lines, there is too much uniformity of appearance to make it pleasing to the eye of one who is gifted with appreciation of colour.
It is not necessary for me to go in order through a long list of foreign woods. The very young mechanic, unless living in London, will seldom meet with many of them; and a very good selection for the advanced turner will be composed of the following:—
Black Ebony.
CocoaorCocus, which is not the cocoa-nut tree, this being a palm, the wood of which is stringy like a fern or a cane; whereas, cocoa or cocus is firm, hard, and excellent.
Black-wood, which cuts finely with tools for eccentric work.
King-wood, a good and useful wood, something akin in appearance to rosewood.
Satin-wood, pale yellow grain, like watered silk, turns very well, but is by no means hard; there is also a red satinwood.
Rose-wood, already described; it loses colour after exposure, and is most beautiful newly cut.
If the above are added to the most useful of the English woods described above, it will scarcely be worth while to add to them except asspecimens. It is, however, very interesting to collect and arrange these, and it is an employment well worthy of the attention of the young mechanic. Thin slices cut across the grain, and sometimes, or in addition, slices cut with the grain, should be arranged in order after being trimmed to shape (round, square, or triangular, or even six-sided). They should be very carefully polished to bring up the grain, and labelled with the common and Latin (or botanical) name. The country from which procured, with short notes relative to the size and general growth of the tree, should be added. This will compel inquiry, and a great deal of information will be thus gained and stored up. A similar collection of English woods may be made, and, of course, with much greater ease.
It will be observed that I have said nothing of the pines, deal, and larch. They are extensively turned in the lathe,the greater part of the common painted furniture being made therefrom; but deal is, nevertheless, not a turning wood. It splits easily, has an open grain, with fibres loosely connected, and although it can be cut into mouldings with sharp chisels and gouges, it generally needs a little rubbing with Dutch rush, fish-skin, or glass-paper; after which, a handful of its own shavings held against it as it revolves rapidly in the lathe, is the best polisher. Of course, however, it may be varnished, and of late years it has become fashionable, when thus finished, for bedroom furniture. It is, however, in this case generally improved and embellished, by having thin strips of coloured woods inlaid in its surface. It is useless forhollowwork; and wood that cannot be hollowed out satisfactorily, is not to be classed among those suitable for the turner.
Whenever you have time to spare, and are not inclined to turn, yet feel disposed to wander into your workshop, it is a good plan to trim and prepare pieces of wood for the lathe. You need a chopping-block, which is the end of a stick of timber sawn evenly across, and stood up in some out-of-the-way corner where chips will not be much in the way, and a light axe or adze, which latter is said to be the best. It is called the bassoohlah or Indian adze, but I never had one, nor ever saw it mentioned, except in one very excellent book by the late Charles Holtzappffel of London, who, indeed, keeps these tools. But a light axe iseasily obtained, and will do very well. Take care to saw the pieces off truly square—I mean straight across the log, and not slanting either way. Cut some from your evergreen oak, or beech, or elm, for chucks, remembering to have length for the mandrel screw, beyond what you will probably need for hollowing out, to take the pieces to be turned. Cut some longer than others, and from larger or smaller pieces; from 2-inch diameter to 4, which is a useful general size. But your lathe of 5-inch centre will take chucks or work of nearly 10 inches, so you can cut some few pieces rather larger. Probably, your only work of 6 to 9 inches diameter will be an occasional bread-platter, or a stand of some sort; your general work will be much less. Besides chucks, of which the number is in time very great, you will be constantly wanting tool-handles. Cut some for these, and placing one end on the chopping-block, trim them to something like the required size, but a good deal larger round than you think necessary, because you will find that the size will deceive you frequently.