THE CARPENTER.

THE CARPENTER’S SHOP.

An account of the tools and implements used for working in wood would scarcely be complete without some remarks upon wood itself, and you can have no better information on this subject than that which has been written by a gentleman[1]who is thoroughly acquainted with the different kinds of timber, and with all the materials used in building.

[1]Mr.E. Dobson, Assoc. Inst. C. E.

If we examine a transverse section of the stem of a tree, we perceive it to consist of three distinct parts; thebark, thewood, and thepith. The wood appears disposed in rings round the pith, the outer rings being softer, and containing more sap, than those immediately round the pith, which form what is called theheart-wood.

These rings are also traversed by rays extending from the centre of the stem to the bark, calledmedullary rays.

The whole structure of a tree consists of minute vessels and cells, the former conveying the sap through the wood in its ascent, and through the bark to the leaves in its descent; and the latter performing the functions of secretion and nutrition during the life of the tree. The solid parts of a tree consist almost entirely of the fibrous parts composing the sides of the vessels and cells.

By numerous experiments it has been ascertained that the sap begins to ascend in the spring of the year, through the minute vessels in the wood, and descends through the bark to the leaves, and, after passing through them, is deposited in an altered state between the bark and the last year’s wood, forming a new layer of bark and sap-wood, the old bark being pushed forward.

As the annual layers increase in number, the sap-wood ceases to perform its original functions; the fluid parts are evaporated or absorbed by the new wood, and, the sides of the vessels being pressed together by the growth of the latter, the sap-wood becomes heart-wood or perfect wood, and until this change takes place it is unfit for the purposes of the builder.

The vessels in each layer of wood are largest on the side nearest the centre of the stem, and smallest at the outside. This arises from the first being formed in the spring, whenvegetation is most active. The oblong cells which surround the vessels are filled with fluids in the early growth; but, as the tree increases in size, these become evaporated and absorbed; and the cells become partly filled with depositions of woody matter and indurated secretions, depending on the nature of the soil, and affecting the quality of the timber. Thus Honduras mahogany is full of black specks, while the Spanish is full of minute white particles, giving the wood the appearance of having been rubbed over with chalk.

The best time for felling trees is either in mid-winter, when the sap has ceased to flow, or in midsummer, when the sap is temporarily expended in the production of leaves. An excellent plan is, to bark the timber in the spring and fell it in winter, by which means the sap-wood is dried up and hardened; but as the bark of most trees is valueless, the oak tree (whose bark is used in tanning) is almost the only one that will pay for being thus treated.

The seasoning of timber consists in the extraction or evaporation of the fluid parts, which are liable to decomposition on the cessation of the growth of the tree. This is usually effected by steeping the green timber in water, to dilute and wash out the sap as much as possible, and then drying it thoroughly by exposure to the air in an airy situation. The time required to season timber thoroughly in this manner will of course much depend on the sizes of the pieces to be seasoned; but for general purposes of carpentry, two years is the least that can be allowed, and, in seasoning timber for the use of the Joiner, a much longer time is usually required.

Properly seasoned timber, placed in a dry situation witha free circulation of air round it, is very durable, and has been known to last for several hundred years without apparent deterioration. This is not, however, the case when exposed to moisture, which is always more or less prejudicial to its durability.

When timber is constantly under water, the action of the water dissolves a portion of its substance, which is made apparent by its becoming covered with a coat of slime. If it be exposed to alternations of dryness and moisture, as in the case of piles in tidal waters, the dissolved parts being continually removed by evaporation and the action of the water, new surfaces are exposed, and the wood rapidly decays.

Where timber is exposed to heat and moisture, the albumen or gelatinous matter in the sap-wood speedily putrefies and decomposes, causing what is called rot. The rot in timber is commonly divided into two kinds, thewetand thedry, but the chief difference between them is, that where the timber is exposed to the air, the gaseous products are freely evaporated; whilst, in a confined situation, they combine in a new form, viz. the dry-rot fungus, which, deriving its nourishment from the decaying timber, often grows to a length of many feet, spreading in every direction, and insinuating its delicate fibres even through the joints of brick walls.

In addition to the sources of decay above mentioned, timber placed in sea water is very liable to be completely destroyed by the perforations of the worm, unless protected by copper sheathing, the expense of which causes it to be seldom used for this purpose.

In modern houses the labours of the Builder, the Mason, and the Plasterer, would be of little use unless they were accompanied by that of the Carpenter, since a very large proportion of every building consists of the woodwork of which its interior structure is greatly composed.

As it is one of the most useful, so the Carpenter’s may be considered the most ancient of trades, for nearly all other handicrafts require the preparation or manufacture of the materials, but the Carpenter originally found his materials in the forest, and at once set to work to construct various articles from the trunks and stems of the trees best suited for the purpose. We can only imagine one trade older than that of the Carpenter, and that is the Tool Maker, and as the earliest tools, or at all events some portion of them, were probably made of hard wood, the Tool Maker may in some sense be said to have been a Carpenter also.

Axe. Adze.

Saw. Compasses. Plumb Rule. Hammer. Square. Mallet.

Strictly speaking, the business of the Carpenter is only with the larger portions of buildings and the rough timber frameworks which support them, and his principal tools are theaxeand theadze, for chopping and roughly smoothing timbers; thesaw, for sawing beams and planks; thechisel, for making mortis holes for joining beams together, and forcutting and paring wood; thechalk line, a line rubbed with chalk, and used to make a straight line upon a board or beam, to mark the direction in which it is to be sawn; theplumb rule, already described amongst the Builder’s tools; thelevel; thesquare; thecompasses; all of which have been described in previous trades; thehammer; themallet, and various sorts of nails. The other tools represented in the engravings belong more properly to theJoiner, but as the trades of the Carpenter and the Joiner are almost always united, we will speak of all the tools as belonging to one business. Carpenter’s work, then, consists of the framing roofs, partitions, and floors, in making the various joints used in beams, ties, rafters, and joists for supporting floors, and the proper way of supporting buildings by posts and girders. The Carpenter requires to be strong and active, that he may properly handle the heavy timbers on which he has to work; he should have a knowledge of the science of mechanics, that he may be able to provide for the strains and thrusts to which the different parts of his work are exposed, and supply the proper means of resisting them; and he should also be able to understand how to make what are called “working drawings,” that he may “set out,” or properly draw a plan of the work he has to do, from the designs of the Architect.

The Carpenter being concerned with the portions of a building which are made of timber, you will be better able to understand his trade by a short description of what these are; and we will then speak a little of theJoiner, whose trade is generally confounded with that of the Carpenter.

First: Partitions, or inner divisions of a building, may be either of brick, stone, or wood; and, in the latter case, they are generally “framed,” or supported in a more solid framework, which should form a portion of the main building, that is, of the outer wall; and should be quite independent of the floors, which should not support, but be supported by them.

Second: Flooring is formed by joists or strong beams of timber reaching from wall to wall, where they rest upon other beams, called wall plates, which are built into thewalls themselves. The floor boards are nailed over the upper edges of the joists, and the lower edges receive the laths and plaster, which form the ceilings of the rooms beneath. Large buildings are sometimes fitted with double framed floors, with two sets of joists, and building joists resting on girders; and in superior houses, thewall platesare often supported by “corbels,” or, portions of the timber projecting from the inside of the wall, which prevents the necessity of opening the wall to admit the ends of the joists.

Third: Roofing consists of the roof covering, which is laid upon rafters or slender beams, which are supported by stronger horizontal beams calledpurlins; and these, again, rest on uprighttrusses, or strong frames of timber, placed on the walls at regular distances from each other. Upon the strength and firmness of these trusses, and the skill of the carpenter’s work, depends the entire safety of the roof.

Large roofs are supported by cross beams, calledcollars, ortie beams; and they are further strengthened by an upright pillar in the centre, called aKing post, from which slanting beams, called “struts,” support the rafters.

We have now only spoken of common roofs, but there are many roofs of open timber-work in churches and other public buildings, which are wonderful specimens of the skill of the Carpenter and the Joiner. One of these, perhaps the grandest as well as the most ancient, is that of Westminster Hall; but there is one also in the Great Hall, at Hampton Court Palace; and others may be seen in Churches and Halls in various parts of England.

The Joiner, as his name implies, frames and joins together the wooden finishings and decorations of buildings, such as floors, staircases, skirtings, door and window frames, sashes,or, the sliding parts of windows that contain the glass, shutters, doors, chimney-pieces, &c. This work requires much greater nicety and finish than that of the Carpenter, and is brought to a smooth surface with the plane wherever it is likely to be seen, while the carpenter’s work is left rough as it comes from the saw.

The principal cutting tools used by the Joiner are, saws, planes, and chisels.

Thesawsare of various sizes, and are called rippers, half rippers, hand saws, and panel saws, according to their shape, and the number of teeth to each inch.

Chisel. Gouge. Screw Driver. Screw. Tenon Saw. Narrow Saw.

Thetenon sawis used for cutting tenons, or flat slices from the ends of beams, that other beams cut in the same way may rest upon them and yet leave a flat surface. The thick back of the tenon saw keeps the blade from “buckling,” or twisting; as it would be very likely to do while sawing in a horizontal direction.

Thedove-tail sawis similar to the tenon saw, but smaller, and with a brass back instead of an iron one. It is used for dove-tailing, or cutting notches in a board or beam, intowhich projections in another board or beam are fitted, in order that the two may be held together, as we see the sides of a box are fitted to the back and front. Then there is thecompass saw, for circular work, and thekeyhole, ornarrow saw, for cutting out holes.

The planes are used for bringing the edges and sides of beams, boards, or other wooden fitting, to a perfectly smooth surface: the first of these, used upon the rough wood, is called thejack plane; another is called thetryingortrueing plane; and a third, thesmoothing plane.

Trying Plane. Smoothing Plane. 2-foot Rule. Glue Pot.

The plane, as you will see, is a solid piece of hard smooth wood, with a hole in the centre containing the cutting tool, or, as it is called, the plane iron, which is firmly fixed with a wedge, so that its sharp cutting edge only slightly projects at the bottom.

The wood which is to be smoothed is fixed on the joiner’sbench by means of a screwed board, called a shooting board, and, by means of the handle at the top, the plane is made to slide swiftly along its surface, so that the edge of the tool cuts off a thin shaving.

There are various sorts of planes besides these, used for cutting various parts of the work, but they are most of them of similar construction.

Chisels are either for paring the wood, and are used with the hand; or are intended to cut into the thickness of the wood, and are then struck with a large wooden hammer, called themallet. Thegougeis a curved chisel, used for cutting mouldings or making round edges.

Clout Nail. Cut Clasp Nail. Brad. Spike Nail. Bradawl. Chisel. Gimlet.

The boring tools are the bradawl, the gimlet, and the stock and bit.

Thebradawlis a small sharp wire fixed in a handle, and used for making holes to receive large nails, which, if driven in at once by thehammer, would split the wood. Nails are of various kinds, the difference in which may be seen in theengraving. The best kinds of nails are made from thin bar iron, pointed, cut off to the proper length, and the head formed by stamping.

Thegimletis a hollow blade with a screw at the end, and fixed to a cross handle. It is used for boring a larger and rougher hole than the bradawl, for receivingscrews, which are screwed into their place by thescrew driver, a sort of chisel, the edge or point of which enters the notch in the head of the screw, so that the workman may turn it round.

Thebitis a tool not unlike a large bradawl, which fits into a stock or handle. The bits are of various sizes, and are used for boring large holes.

Centre Bit.

Thebrace and bit, orcentre bit, is a tool with a centre and two sharp points, one on each side; it is placed in a bow-shaped stock with a round loose end. This loose end the workman holds firmly, while he places the point of the tool against the wood required to be bored; he then turns the bow briskly round, and the two points revolving rapidly, cut out a circular piece.

Thepincersare used for removing nails from wood, and it is easy to see how they are applied. There are some other tools which belong to the trade of the Joiner, but they are used less frequently, and a description of them will be given when we have to say something of the trade of theCabinet Maker, whose work resembles the finer part of that which the Joiner does at his own workshop.

The bench (see large cut) is the great table of thick planks supported on a timber frame, at which the Joiner works; it is furnished with a “side-board” perforated with holes to receive a pin, against which one end of the wood on which he is operating rests, the other being firmly fixed in the bench screw.

Pincers.

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