Page:St. Nicholas (serial) (IA stnicholasserial321dodg).pdf/76



the applied arts and crafts, carpentry yields to none in importance.

One of man’s first instincts was that of shelter, and all through the ages the development of construction has been undergoing its evolution until our present methods bear little resemblance to the ancient.

The boy who is interested in carpentry can have many hours of pleasure with his tools and materials, and the average boy, we believe, is interested in the craft, at least to some extent.

The object of this article is to persuade the young craftsman to work systematically and accurately, and to understand the possibilities and limitations of tools; not to use a chisel for a screw-driver, of to drive nails with the butt-end of a plane, or to use a tack-hammer to drive a tenpenny nail when a larger hammer is within easy reach. These and other things have to be learned by experience or by watching others, and when the lessons have been learned and the proper care is taken and judgment exercised, it will be possible for the boy to make a great many useful things for his own amusement and for the convenience and pleasure of others,

On the subject of tools themselves it enough to say that they should always be taken good care of and never misused; for, inanimate though they are, they resent misuse and retaliate by becoming dull and useless.

of the indispensable things for the boy carpenter is a good work-bench on which to plane, join, and construct the smaller objects that will be made from time to time. The bench must be substantially made, and be provided with a planing-stop, a vise, and a drawer in which to keep small tools, nails, screws, and the various odds and ends that are employed in carpentry. To begin with, obtain for the legs four spruce or whitewood sticks three inches square and thirty-six inches long, planed on all sides. Then get two pieces of clear pine or whitewood three feet long and six inches wide, and two more the same length and three inches wide. These pieces should be one inch and an eighth thick and planed on all sides and edges. Lay two of the legs on the floor, three feet apart, and join the ends with one of the six-inch wide strips. Six inches up from the free lower ends fasten a narrow strip, as shown in Fig. 1, and as a result one of the end supports will be finished.

Flat-headed iron screws, two inches and a half long, should be used for the unions. A