CHAPTER VII.

A BOY’S BACK-YARD WORKSHOP.

How to make Buildings Plumb and Level.

By a workshop is meant a place where a boy can build a boat, sled, box-kite, man-kite,[8] mend a golf-club, a broken bicycle, his mother’s rocking-chair, his aunt’s umbrella, or build a paper-balloon.[9] It is a room, house, or shed, where a boy can do what pleases him, without being in everybody’s way; a place where he can retire and idly whittle a stick, or seriously work out some youthful invention; a place where he can entertain his young friends during the rainy or stormy days of winter, and where they can talk over the new football team, baseball or golf club, without being oppressed with the knowledge that their loud talk is annoying the older folks.

The late war has demonstrated to the whole world the wonderful skill and pluck of the young American, and the world must not suppose these qualities to be suddenly acquired, but must know them to be a matter of education--an education acquired during boyhood, at the boy’s own school, with boy professors.

The Success of Americans

is not on account of any peculiarity of the blood which flows in their veins, but because they live under a government which teaches independence, and the boys on the play-ground become self-reliant, resourceful lads, developing their skill by building kites, sleds, and boats, and developing their pluck on the baseball and football field.

To such youths it is unnecessary to enumerate the advantages of a workshop; neither is it essential to point out to them the fact that they may commence their collection of tools with a serviceable pocket-knife.

A Good Oil-stone,

to keep the knife sharp, is a prize, and for its protection from dust or injury it should be set into a block of wood so that about one-eighth of an inch of the stone projects above the block. A similar block, with a space the size of the stone and one-eighth of an inch deep cut out of its centre, should be made for a cover.

A Hatchet

is not a difficult thing to procure, and a saw, a screw-driver, a gimlet, and a three-cornered file can be added to the collection as opportunity offers. Next a chisel or two, and you will have a kit of tools with which, if skilfully used, you can build anything from a three-legged stool to a flying-machine.

Use the Best Tools You Can Get.

With an axe or hatchet, an auger and a sheath-knife, the whole race of pioneers, including Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, and the parents of Abraham Lincoln, built their homes and made their household furniture.

It is not to be supposed that any boy, in his right mind, will prefer an old dull auger, blunt axe, and a butcher-knife to a chest of bright, new, modern tools, but unless a boy belongs to the Miss Nancy, Little Lord Fauntleroy type, he will do his best with the implements at hand, and acquire better ones as the occasion offers. In this manner the contents of his tool-chest will grow gradually, and keep pace with the development of his skill as a mechanic.

Such a lad, when in need of

A Level,

will make himself one, probably using three pieces of board, a string, and a weight, as shown in Fig. 64. The two side-pieces of wood being exact duplicates in all dimensions, the angles at the bottom are necessarily equal, and a line from the apex (A) to the centre of the bottom-piece must be a plumb line. After sawing out his side-boards and joining them at their top edges, he nails a straight piece to the bottom-ends, using the utmost care to have the lower edge of the bottom-board exactly the same distance from A on each arm; that is, A B must be exactly the length of A C, and B D must equal D C. He next cuts a small notch at A, so that he can fit a string at the crack between the two arms, A B and A C. A notch is also cut at D, to allow the weight play-room. When the lower edge of the bottom-board is placed upon a level, and the string ceases to vibrate, it will be found that, the bullet hanging free, the string exactly covers a line which has been previously ruled across the bottom-board. The line was ruled by placing a straight-edge, or rule, at A and D. The slightest incline of the base-board will throw the string to one side or the other, and show the base to be out of level.

This implement is a simple thing to construct, is as serviceable as a spirit-level, and as reliable.

For buildings, a large-sized level, with side-pieces three feet long, is useful. Smaller ones are handy in the shop.

A Convenient, Home-Manufactured Plumb

is made by dividing a straight piece of board with a black line, exactly in the centre, extending from end to end. This piece is notched at one end in the same manner as the previous one, and a string and weight attached, as shown by Fig. 65. By placing the edge of this against a wall it can be determined whether it is in or out of plumb.

The boy who can manufacture these two tools can, with the aid of other boys, build himself

A Workshop;

and it is possible he can do it alone, but when it comes to lifting heavy lumber he will be glad of the assistance of some of his friends.

If the reader is the happy possessor of some old locust fence-posts, he has the best sort of material for a foundation. Lacking locust, chestnut posts will make a good substitute. Lacking chestnut, some carefully laid and levelled stones or bricks will answer all purposes. I have seen many an old house resting upon four heaps of rough stones, the latter having faithfully supported the edifice for years, and prevented the sills from rotting from contact with the damp earth.

Even the ground will answer for

A Foundation,

if the dirt is properly packed and drained. All through certain sections of this country there are hundreds of humble dwellings built upon “mud-sills”--in other words, with no other foundation or floor but the bare ground.

I will, however, suppose that you have secured some posts about two feet six inches long and with good flat ends.

The better the material you can obtain, the trimmer and better will be the appearance of your house; but a house which will protect you and your tools may be made of the roughest of lumber.

The plans drawn here will answer for common or fine material, but we will suppose that medium material is to be used. It will be taken for granted that the reader is able to procure enough two-by-four-inch timber to supply studs, ribs, purlins, rafters, beams, and posts, for the frame shown in Fig. 69. Two pieces of four-by-four-inch timber, each fifteen feet long, should be procured for sills. If this is inaccessible, two pieces of two-by-four nailed together will make a four-by-four sill. Add to this some tongue-and-grooved boarding for sides and roof, some enthusiasm and good American pluck, and the shop is almost as good as built.

How to Build the House.

First lay out the foundation, eight feet by fifteen; see that the corners are square--that is, at right angles; test this with a tape or string, by measuring diagonally from corner to corner both ways, and if it measures exactly the same you are all right, and may proceed to dig your post-holes. The outside of the posts should be flush, or even, with the outside edges of the sills and end-beams of the house, as shown in Fig. 66. There are to be four posts on each of the long sides of the house, at equal distances apart--a little less than five feet from centre to centre of each post.

Dig the holes two feet deep, allowing six inches of the posts to protrude above ground. If you drive two stakes a short distance beyond the foundation, in line with your foundation lines, and run a string from the top of one stake to the top of the other, you can, without much trouble, get it upon a perfect level by testing it with your home-made level, and adjusting the stakes until the string represents the level for your sill. When this is done,

Set Your Posts

to correspond to the level of the string, then place your sill on top of the posts, and test that with your level. If found to be correct, fill in the dirt around the posts and pack it firmly, then spike your sill to the posts. Go through the same operation with the opposite set of posts and sill.

The first difficult work is now done, and, with the exception of the roof, the rest only needs ordinary care, and what old-fashioned people used to term “gumption.”

It is to be supposed that you have already sawed off and prepared nine two-by-four-inch beams, each of which is exactly eight feet long. Set these on edge from sill to sill, equal distances apart, the edges of the end-beams being exactly even with the ends of the sills (Figs. 66 and 69). See that the beams all cross the sills at right angles, and toe-nail[10] them in place.

You may now neatly

Floor the Foundation

with one-inch boards; these boards must be laid lengthwise with the building and crosswise with the beams. When this is finished, you will have a beautiful platform on which to work, where you will be in no danger of losing your tools, and you may use the floor as a table, on which to measure and plan the sides and roof.

It is a good idea to

Make Your Ridge-Plank and Rafters

now, while the floor is clear of rubbish.

Lay out and mark on the floor, with a carpenter’s soft pencil, a straight line, four feet long (A B, Fig. 70). At right angles to this draw another line, three feet six inches long (A D, Fig. 70). Connect these points (B D, Fig. 70), with a straight line, then complete the figure A B C D (Fig. 70). Now allow two inches at the top for the ridge-plank at B, and two by four for the end of the side plate at D. You then have a pattern for each rafter with a “plumb-edge” at B and a “bird’s-mouth” at D. The plumb-edge must be parallel with B C, and the two jaws of the bird’s-mouth (Fig. 71) parallel with D C and A D, respectively. Make six rafters of two-by-four-inch wood, one ridge-plank of two-by-six or seven-inch wood.

The “Purlins” and “Collar”

can be made and fitted after the roof is raised. Set your roof-timber carefully to one side, and clear the floor for the studs, ribs, and plates. First prepare the end-posts, and make them of two-by-four. Each post is of two pieces (see Fig. 69). There will be four outside pieces which rest on the end-beams. These will be each five feet eight inches in length, and four inside pieces, each six feet in length; this allows two inches at the top for the ends of the end-plates to rest upon.

Examine the Corner-Posts

in Fig. 69, and you will see that the outside two-by-four rests partly upon the top of the end beam, and the side-plate rests directly upon it. You will also observe that the inside two-by-four rests directly upon the sill, which would make the former four inches longer than the outside piece, if it extended to the side-plate; but you will also notice that there is a notch in the end-plate for the outside corner-piece to fit in, and that the end of the end-plate fits on top the inside piece of the corner-posts, taking off two inches, which makes the inside piece just six feet long. This is a very simple arrangement, as may be seen by examining the diagram. Besides the corner-posts, each of which, as we have seen, is made of two pieces of two-by-four, there are four studs for the front side, each six feet two inches long, and one stud for the rear wall, six feet two inches long. The short studs shown in the diagram (Fig. 69), on the rear side, are unnecessary, and are only shown so that they may be put in as convenient attachments for shelves and tool-racks.

The First Stud

on the front is placed two feet from the corner-post, and the second one about six feet six inches from the first, to allow a space for a six-foot window over the carpenter’s bench; the next two studs form the door-jambs, and must be far enough from the corner to allow the door to open and swing back out of the way. If you

Make Your Door

two and one-half feet wide--a good size--you may set your last stud two feet from the corner-post, and leave a space of two feet six inches for the doorway. Now mark off on the floor the places where the studs will come, and cut out the flooring at these points to allow the ends of the studs to enter and rest on the sill. Next make four ribs--one long one to go beneath

The Window,

one short one to fit between the corner-post and the door-stud (not shown in diagram), another to fit between the door-stud and the window-stud, and another to fit between the window-stud and the first corner-post (the nearest corner in the diagram Fig. 69). Next make your

Side-Plate

exactly fifteen feet long. Fit the frame together on the floor, and nail the pieces together, toe-nailing the ribs in place. A lot of boys may now raise the whole side-frame, and the ends of the studs can be slipped into their respective slots, the end-posts made plumb, and temporarily held in place by a board, one end of which is nailed to the top end of the post and the other to the end-beam. Such a diagonal board at each end will hold the side in place until the opposite side is raised and similarly supported.

It is now a simple thing to slip the end-plates in place under the side-plates, until their outside edges are even with the outside of the corner-posts and their notched ends under the side-plates, and resting snugly upon the tops of the inside pieces of the corner-post. A long wire-nail driven through the top-plates and end-plates down into the posts at each corner will hold them securely in place. Toe-nail a rib between the two nearest end-posts, and make two window-studs and three ribs for the opposite end. The framing now needs only the roof-timbers to complete

The Skeleton of Your Shop.

Across, from side-plate to side-plate, lay some loose boards, for a platform; then, standing on these boards, let your assistant lift one end of the ridge-plank, while with one nail to each rafter you fasten the two end-rafters on to the ridge-plank, fit the jaws of the bird’s-mouth cuts (Fig. 71) over the ends of the side-plates, and hold them temporarily in place with a “stay-lath”--that is, a piece of board temporarily nailed to rafter and end-plate. The other end of the ridge is now resting on the platform at the other end of the house, and this may be lifted up, for the single nails will allow movement and play to the posts.

The Rafters

are next nailed in place, with one nail each, and a stay-lath fastened on, to hold them in place. Now test the ends with your plumb-level, and when they are found to be correct, nail all the rafters securely in place; stiffen the centre pair with a piece called a collar (see Fig. 69). Add four purlins (Fig. 69), set at right angles to the rafters, and take off your hats and give three cheers.

But do not forget to

Nail a Green Bough to your Roof-tree,

in accordance with the ancient and time-honored custom. The sides of the house may be covered with the cheapest sort of lumber, and roofed with the same material, but if you can secure good stuff, use 13 × 7/8 × 9-1/4-inch tongue and grooved, one side planed so that it may be painted; you can make two side-boards out of each piece six feet six inches in length. Nail the sides on, running the boards vertically, leaving openings for windows and doors at the proper places.

If you have made a triangular edge to your ridge-stick, as in Fig. 70, it will add to the finish, and the roof may be neatly and tightly laid, with the upper edge of one side protruding a couple of inches over the opposite side and thus protecting the joint from rain. Additional security is gained by nailing what are called picket-strips (7/8 × 1-3/4 inches) over each place where the planks join. Lack of space forbids me to go into many details, such as the manufacture of the door and the arrangement of windows, but these small problems you can easily solve by examining doors and windows of similar structures.

Figs. 67, 72, and 73 show the arrangement of the interior of the shop. Near the door and against the window is a work-bench with shelves, boxes, and tool-racks. This end of the room is called

The Machine-shop,

for here are the metal working-tools, wire springs, locks, bolts, nuts and all the odds and ends that are useful for mending anything, from a bicycle to an umbrella. Under the six-foot window is the carpenter’s bench for carpenter-work.

In Fig. 72 there is a

Tool-rack

across the front of the window for files, chisels, etc., but this is only a place to thrust the tools you happen to be using at the time. On account of the danger of rain from the open window, tools should not be left in the rack after the work is finished. In place of drawers, wooden boxes are made to fit loosely into compartments prepared for them. These boxes have wooden handles, as shown in the diagram, and they will be found very convenient. There is plenty of room under this work-table for more boxes when the accumulation of materials renders additional storing-room necessary. Sets of deep pigeon holes are very convenient for extra bicycle spokes and similar objects. Fig. 73 shows

The Carpenter’s Bench,

and a few tools stored on the wall. A board with holes bored in it makes a good rack for hammers; saws should always hang in an accessible place, and ordinary brass or iron hooks may be used for this purpose.

To Protect your Auger-bits

from danger of rust, tack a piece of thick cloth or soft piece of leather to the wall, using sufficient material to allow a flap to hang down and cover the bits. Under the flap is a number of pockets, divided by stitching the front to the back-piece, or by tacking the division lines to the walls. (See the left-hand upper corner of Fig. 73.)

Care of Shavings.

A barrel or large box or basket should always be near the carpenter’s bench to receive the shavings, and the stove must be set in a box of sand or earth, to prevent any danger of hot coals falling amid the easily ignited materials in the carpenter-shop. (Fig. 68.) The hole in the roof, where the stove-pipe goes through, must be protected by a sheet-iron ring or collar.

A Place for Tool-racks.

The blank wall, opposite the carpenter’s bench, may be covered with tool-racks, shelves, and other arrangements for the convenience of the young workmen.

To Keep Small Things.

A number of old square tin boxes, such as certain firms use for packing cocoa, mustard, and various other food material, may be utilized by simply cutting off three sides, as shown in Fig. 74, and making a shelf with a depression for them to fit into, as shown in the sketch.

This makes a most convenient nest of boxes for screws, staples, and similar objects. Each box may be lifted out of the rack by its long back and set where it is handy, until you are through with it; then it may be replaced in exactly the same spot, without trouble or annoyance.

Figs. 75 and 75a show

A Famous Old Rack,

which is familiar to all who have lived in the woods. It can be made of the branch of any shrub or tree, with the aid of a pocket-knife, and nailed to the wall as shown in Fig. 75a.

Moulding, boards, and picket-strips can be stored overhead, resting on the end-plates and the rafter-collar in the middle of the roof.

This workshop has been planned so as not to crowd a small back-yard, and if it is built of lumber which presents a smooth outside it may be neatly painted, and will not injure the appearance of the yard in the least. Vines may be trained over the walls of the shop and flowers planted around the outside, without in any manner interfering with its convenience as a workshop, or lowering the dignity of the young artisans who make it their head-quarters.

FOOTNOTES:

[8] For description and diagrams see “The Outdoor Handy Book.”

[9] “The American Boy’s Handy Book.”

[10] Toe-nailing, or foot-nailing, consists in driving the nails diagonally or slantingly down through the ends of the beams to the sill, in place of nailing through from the top down to the sill.