Introduction

Copy 1 FEB 28 1S!3 Teachers College Syllabi, No. 4 Price 30 Cents teachers College Columbia XDlniverstti? A Syllabus of a Course ON Elementary Woodworking BY WILLIAM NOYES, M.A. ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF INDUSTRIAL ARTS, TEACHERS COLLEGE COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY Fublilhed by tJ^^atl^trB (HoU^QB. CdoUnnliUt Hntnrrfittg NEW YORK CITY '^ofiogTaph. Teachers College Syllabi, No. 4 Price 30 Cents XTeacbets College Columbia TUmveretti? A Syllabus of a Course ON Elementary Woodworking BY WILLIAM NOYES, M.A. ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF INDUSTRIAL ARTS, TEACHERS COLLEGE COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY Published by �rarljprH OJollpgp, fliolumbta IntuprHttg NEW YORK. CITY Copyright, 1913, by Teachers College 13- ^1^^ <^-o �CI,A34 38 2 CONTENTS Introdtjction I Scrap Basket II Picture Frame Clamp III Picture Frame IV Candlestick V Taboret VI Mallet VII Pen Tray VIII Blotter Holder IX Trinket Box X Hanging Lantern PAGE I 4 11 14 19 24 30 34 37 39 44 ELEMENTARY ^A^OODWORKING INTRODUCTION The course in Elementary Woodworking, as given at Teachers College, aims to give the student three main oppor- tunities : I. For the acquisition of skill in the handling of woodworking II. III. tools For practice in designing simple projects in wood For insight into the methods and problems of woodwork in the school ("Manual Training"^ shop. I. In the following pages the outline of only the first of these objects is sketched : namely, a practicable method of pro- cedure in the acquisition of skill. It will be noted that the course here outlined is so planned that A 1. variety of woods is employed, each appropriate for its particular project. They are cypress, whitewood, maple, white pine, mahogany, chestnut, hickory, sweet gum, oak, and black walnut. 2. In general, the technical processes involved increase in difficulty through the series, but aesthetic considerations are not sacrificed to this formula. 3. Several types of construction are employed, involving such joints as end-lap, rubbed, miter, middle-cross-lap, doweled butt, mortise-and-tenon, and ledge. A 4. few simple processes in copper working are included because their employment considerably extends the range of use- ful and ornamental projects available. A 5. variety of finishes is suggested, including several methods of staining, as well as the use of such polishes as oil, wax, and shellac. In a word, the course involves a considerable variety of experience in technical processes. It is impossible, however, in these few pages to describe adequately fine points of technique. For some of these, references are made throughout the text to the author's books, "Hand Work in W^ood" and "Studies in Wood, Design and Con- struction."^ In the former book will also be found an extended bibliography of other books on woodworking. But let it not be 1 The Manual Arts Press, Peoria, Illinois. 2 Elementary IVoodzvorking forgotten that however helpful books may be to the worker, they cannot fill the place of class or individual instruction and demon- stration. It should not be supposed that the projects here outlined constitute a hard and fast course, for new ones are frequently introduced. Those described are offered as typical. In addition to the projects themselves, note books and draw- ings are required, as records of work accomplished. By a system of interchange of blue prints and photographs the designs of each student are available for all of the class. In the chapters following, other projects involving the same or similar processes are suggested and illustrations and notes on these may be found in "Studies in Wood." II. In the course as given at Teachers College, all but two of the projects, the picture frame clamp and the mallet, are such as to invite the worker to create his own designs. But in this pamphlet no attempt is made to discuss varied designs of A the same project. few general suggestions, however, may be offered for help in designing. Artistic judgment and skill of hand develop best when they develop together. Drawing furnishes an invaluable means of indicating and recording designs, and its constant use is recommended, not only as a means of expression, but as a record of achievement. It is also an exceedingly valuable practice to form a collec- tion of photographs of good examples of simple projects, to which constant reference can be made. If these can be mounted on a uniform size of mount, 83^ x 11 inches, they may be con- veniently kept in a vertical letter file. The projects here given belong in the field of the space arts in which there are certain well recognized principles. These are well analyzed and illustrated in the following books: "Composi- tion," by Arthur W. Dow; "A Theory of Pure Design," by Denman W. Ross ; "Design in Theory and Practice," by Ernest A. Batchelder. To this matter of design considerable attention is given in the author's "Studies in Wood, Design and Con- struction." Introduction 3 It is of course impossible to reduce the subtle process of designing to a formula, but there are several important steps through which it may safely be said that the design of every project should go. 1. The fixing of the essentials or those features which make for an article's convenience in use. Under this head such matters as the following are determined a. The approximate or definite size. b. The kind of wood to be used. c. The construction, including: (i) Kind of joint or joints; (2) Methods of opening and shutting or locking; (3) Appliances for lifting or moving or hanging. 2. The refining of proportions: a. of the mass as a whole b. of each part to the whole; c. of each part to each other part d. of each line within itself, if it curves or is a broken line, or is turned on a lathe. 3. Decoration. This relates to the treatment of the surface: a. Carving, border or surface (all-over) patterns in gouged lines or modeled. b. Panels, carved in or constructed in. c. Inlay or veneer. d. Designing of accessories, handles, knobs, keys, plates, escutcheons. 4. Finish. a. Stain. b. Paint. c. Oil. d. Wax. e. Shellac, including French polish. f. Varnish. III. It is inevitable that the individual craftsman, working alone, should develop certain methods and practices which are not feasible with large classes. On the other hand, where a number of persons are to go through essentially the same processes, as in school shops, materials can often be more economically prepared, processes can be standardized, and operations facilitated by concerted action. This is true even when individual projects, not group projects, so called, are undertaken. In the elementary woodworking course at Teachers College these methods are provided for, but are necessarily omitted here. I. SCRAP BASKET In this project the prime object is to furnish an opportunity for considerable practice in sawing and planing, so that the be- ginner may master these elementary processes at once, and then to unite the pieces made in a useful, well-proportioned article. Other projects that involve these fundamental processes of sawing and planing are such as can be made with a number of -- slats for example, a leaf press, a table letter basket and a flower pot screen. The making of only one type form is described here (Fig. i), but in the author's "Studies in Wood," Chapter IV, there will be found suggestions for making original designs as well as detailed directions for executing them, and drawings and sug- gestions for other similar projects. The pieces furnished to the student are to be cut to length and dressed both sides, so that narrow surface planing may precede the more difficult end and broad surface planing. Materials and Measurements. Cypress, spruce, or other soft wood 2 pieces, Ji" x 8" x i6". I piece, %"x8"x8". Wire brads, T/g" No. i8. 7 doz. metalene upholstering nails, No. 220, brown or green. I can of penetrating oil stain, brown or green. I can of prepared wax. Method of Procedure. 1. Making the 28 slats, each 3/16" x ^" x 16". (i) Attend to the adjustments of the jack plane (see "Hand Work in Wood," pp. 69-71). (2) Mark one broad surface as the working face (see "Hand Work in Wood," p. 72). If the board is slightly warped, mark the concave side. (3) Plane straight and square both edges of both boards. (4) Gage, with marking gage, lines on both sides of both pieces 3/16" from both edges (see Fig. 2). (5) Reset marking gage, adding }4" and gage lines 7/16" from edges. (6) Reset marking gage at Scrap Basket Fig. 1. Scrap basket. 6 Elementary Woodzvorking 10/ 1 6" m,"), and gage again. (7) Continue to gage spaces alternately 3/16" and }i" wide until 28 slats are laid out (see Fig. 2). (8) Fasten one board in bench-vise, as in Fig. 89 in "Hand Work in Wood." Fig. \t. Gaged lines on piece to be sawed into slats. (9) Rip-saw one board through the center of the first V^" space ("Hand Work in Wood," p. 63). Saw halfway through; reverse and saw the other half. (10) In like manner, saw off the slats from the other edge and from both edges of the other board. Lay aside the slats sawn off, and plane again the edges of the boards, planing so as just to split the 7/16" gage lines. (it) Saw off the next slats in a similar way, plane back to the next line and continue till 28 slats are sawn off. Plane the other (rough) side of each slat, till the gage line is split, making each slat 3/16" thick. Make all slats of uniform thickness throughout. (12) To facilitate this planing of thin slats, a device may be used such as is shown in Fig. 3. The distance from the in- serted cleat to the end is just less than the length of the slats to be planed. (13) Chamfer off ]/?," from both short arrises at one end Scrap Basket 7 of each slat, as in Fig. i. (Use the chisel as in "Hand Work in Wood," Fig. 74.) II. Making the bottom. (i) Lay seven slats close side by side, measure their total width, and add six times 3/16", the space between the slats, or lyi". The total is the exact size of the bottom. This precau- tion is taken because the thickness of the original board may not have been exactly 74," Fig. 3. Device for holding thin strips for planing. (2) Plane the bottom to this required size and ^" thick, following the order given on page 72 of "Hand Work in Wood." III. Making the cross cleats for frame. The piece left from making the slats may be used thus ( I ) Smooth the two broad surfaces, taking as fine shavings as possible. (2) Plane true one edge of the piece (16" long). (3) Gage a line iYa" from edge. (4) Saw oflf the surplus and plane to line. 8 Elewentary IVoodzvorking (5) Gage on the planed edges two lines 5/16" from each broad face. (6) Saw between these two lines and plane back to them, (y) Cut each of these cleats crosswise in the middle. (8) Temporarily, nail all four pieces together, with the sides and