Page:St. Nicholas (serial) (IA stnicholasserial321dodg).pdf/77

Rh more secure joint can be had by using glue also.

Fasten the other legs and strips together in a similar manner, and with two pieces of clear pine or whitewood five feet long, eight inches wide, and seven eighths of an inch thick, bind the legs together as shown in Fig. 1, A, allowing the boards to project six inches beyond the legs at both ends. These pieces are the side rails or aprons, and they should be fastened with glue and screws to the upper end of each leg.

At the back of the bench arrange two braces of wood three inches wide and seven eighths of an inch thick, as shown in Fig. 1, A. Beveled laps are to be cut in the side of two legs, as shown in B of Fig. 1, into which the ends of the strips will fit flush. The upper ends of the strips are to be mitered and attached to the inside of the apron, as shown in Fig. 1, A.

For the top of the bench use clear pine planking not less than one inch in thickness; this should be fitted closely together and fastened to the crosspieces with stout screws.

From hard wood a piece should be cut for a vise-jaw thirty-two inches long, three inches wide at the bottom, and seven inches wide at the top (Fig. 2). Near the bottom of the jaw an oblong hole is cut to receive the end of a sliding piece, which, in turn, is provided with some holes for a peg. A corresponding oblong hole is cut near the foot of one leg, through which the piece containing the holes will pass, so that the whole vise-jaw can be kept nearly vertical no matter how thick the piece of wood to be clamped. The final position is shown in the finished bench. Near the top of the jaw a hole is cut to receive the screw that is turned with the lever-stick to tighten the jaw. A bench screw and nut can be purchased at almost any hardware-store and fitted to the work-bench; but if this fitting should be too much of an undertaking for a youthful workman, a carpenter will put it in place. The wood screws are cheapest, but those of steel are the most satisfactory. A small steel one will cost about a dollar.

From the apron at the front of the bench a piece should be cut fifteen inches long and six inches wide. This will admit a drawer of the same width and height and as deep as desired, although twenty-four inches will be quite deep enough. Rabbets are cut in the ends of a front piece, and sides are let into them, as shown in Fig. 3. The bottom and back are fastened in with screws, and the drawer is arranged to slide on runners that are fastened across the bench inside the aprons, as shown in the upper corner of Fig. 1, A. At the front of the drawer a “core” may be cut and a thin plate of iron