CHAPTER I

WHAT A GIRL CAN MAKE WITH HAMMER AND SAW

This is an age when girls go to college and engage in athletic sports; when they have their manual training, as boys do and are learning to use their hands, as never before, in all sorts of skilful work. The deftness of their fingers is utilized not alone in embroidery, or what was once considered girl’s work, but in the manufacture of many useful, artistic, and beautiful objects once thought beyond their reach. Our girls no longer resort to the scissors to sharpen a lead-pencil or to their brother’s chisel to pull out tacks; they are beginning to know and appreciate the value of tools and are becoming proficient in their use.

If you are one of these modern girls, girls of the twentieth century, who like to use both brains and hands, a little workshop stocked with a few good tools and material for carpentry work will give you many hours of pure enjoyment. The tool-chest, denied to girls of the past generation, is yours for the asking; the manual training in the public schools has given to many of you the advantage of learning the use of saw, plane, and hammer, and your physical culture has produced the strength and energy for this active work.

=The Workshop=

Just a room, any room, that will afford sufficient light for your work, that is all you need for a beginning. Having the room you have a place for your first tool, if it is necessary to collect them one at a time, and it is much better to do that than to buy a cheap tool-chest. When you have one tool make a place for it and keep it in its place. A hammer, a saw, a hatchet, a sharp knife, a screw-driver, a gimlet, and a rule are the first tools you will need. The writer once made a very good mantel-board, cleated at the ends with rounded corners, which has stood the heating and drying process of many winters over an open fire, without warping, and her tools were simply a hatchet, a meat-saw, and a pocket knife. Of course, the work would have been much easier and more enjoyable had she possessed the proper tools, but this example serves to show how few tools are absolutely necessary. A plane, a chisel, and an auger-bit and brace will be needed later; after that a gouge, a try-square, and a file. These you may collect by degrees as your work grows more ambitious and you feel the need of them. Hooks, nails, tacks, and screws can be bought as required.

Have a hook for your saw and hang it up, lay your plane on its side, make a rack for your small tools something like Fig. 1, and have a box for your shavings. A shelf on which to keep your boxes of tacks and other small articles is indispensable; each of these boxes should be labelled and kept in its place; in fact, to get the full enjoyment from your workshop you must keep it in order and the tools just where you may always expect to find them.

=What the Tools are for and How to Use Them=

_The Hammer._—A carpenter’s hammer is what you want, not a tack hammer, and it should be of medium weight. You are to use it in driving nails, in hammering things into place and in various ways not injurious to the hammer. The manner in which you hold this tool will make all the difference in the way you drive a nail. The hammer should be taken by the end of the handle and the head brought down squarely on the nail-head, otherwise the nail will slant to one side or perhaps bend.

_The Saw._—The panel-saw is best suited to ordinary work, one having about ten teeth to the inch. Finer saws make a smoother cut, and you will probably find use for several, but one is enough to begin with. The saw is used for cutting large pieces of wood and for cutting across grain, and special saws serve for special purposes, such as sawing of curves and cutting out keyholes. With pencil and rule draw the line you wish your saw to follow. Stand above your work so that you may see the pencil line; hold the saw firmly in the right hand and with the left grasp the board, allowing your thumb to rest on the saw, above the teeth. This is to help guide the saw and to prevent cutting your hand. Take light, short strokes at first, then longer ones, using a little more force, and keep your saw at right angles with the board. If your material is large and heavy place it across two wooden horses, if light or small it is best to use a mitre-box.

_The Hatchet._—You will find a good medium-sized hatchet with a sharp edge very useful, for cutting away or trimming, but it must be used with care, for to chop too vigorously will frequently split the wood. See that your hatchet does not follow the grain of the wood unless the grain runs in the direction you wish your cut to take.

_The Knife._—Not a dainty pearl-handled pocket-knife but a strong, well-made, sharp-bladed jack-knife, large enough for all kinds of whittling. The knife is for fine cutting that cannot be done with the hatchet, and when one learns to whittle out various small articles much has been accomplished.

_The Screw-driver._—It has been said that the feminine mind cannot grasp the difference between a screw-driver, a cork-screw, and a gimlet, and it remains with you to prove the contrary. A poor screw-driver is one of the most exasperating of poor tools, and a trial to one’s patience and temper; besides, it is of little use attempting to “make it do,” for it seldom will do. The edge is usually shaped like Fig. 2, and it slides and slips out of the groove of the screw until it has turned and worn down its edges and made the screw useless. Fig. 3 shows the proper shape for a screw-driver. The use of the tool is, of course, to put in and take out screws, and it is well to have two sizes, one for large, the other for small screws. Remember that in putting in a screw you turn it to the right, and to the left in taking it out.

_The Gimlet._—A medium-sized gimlet will answer your purpose. Use it for boring small holes and for starting holes for screws and large nails.

_The Rule._—A rule is indispensable for measuring and laying out your work. A two-foot steel rule is the most useful, as it can be used both for measuring and ruling straight lines. A light folding rule is easier to handle in taking measurements, but you can make the other answer both purposes.

In taking measurements be as accurate as possible, and go over them several times to make sure they are correct. In ruling a line use the bevelled edge of the rule, hold it firmly in place with your left hand, and with a soft pencil in your right draw a line close to the edge of the rule. The wide, rather flat carpenter’s pencils are the best to use, but any soft lead-pencil will answer.

_The Plane._—There are several kinds of planes, but the smoothing-plane will probably be all you will need, as you will not be likely to attempt to handle unplaned wood and will need the smoothing-plane only for finishing and smoothing off.

In using the plane hold it back of the iron (or blade) with your right hand, place your left on the stock (or wood) at the other end to help guide it, and push it forward as far as you can conveniently reach, bring it back, tipping it away from you in so doing, and take another stroke.

The farther the edge of the iron projects through the stock the deeper will be the cut and the thicker the shaving. To regulate this, tap on the stock at the forward end and loosen the iron, then adjust it to suit your work and fix it in place by driving down the wedge, which holds it, with a few light taps.

_The Chisel._—This tool has a bevelled edge and is used for paring off the wood.

Unless you are quite careful there is danger of cutting your left hand in using the chisel, and it is best not to try to hold the work, but to fasten it in the vice; your left hand placed on the tool will steady and control it.

_Auger-bit and Brace._—For drilling large holes the auger-bit and brace are necessary. The bit resembles a gimlet in its spiral edge, but is not wedge-shaped, and the hole it makes is of unvarying size. You may have several bits for large or smaller holes. The brace is a handle which fits on the top of the bit, and makes it quite easy to manage.

_The Gouge._—There are several kinds of gouges, the difference being in the shape of the blade; their curves vary from the shallow curve, Fig. 4, to the deeper one, Fig. 5. One with a moderate curve will prove the most useful. As the name suggests, the gouge is for gouging out the wood where it is necessary to make a groove, but be careful not to press too hard on the tool at first, as one is apt to make too deep a cut, and do not put your left hand in front of the blade.

_The Try-square._—The square is a metal strip which forms an exact right angle and is used to test one’s work and keep it “square”; it is also used for ruling square corners. Fig. 6 shows its use in squaring off the end of a board. Figs. 7 and 8 show how the try-square will fit on an edge that is perfectly square and will not fit an imperfect one.

_The File._—This tool is not indispensable, but is useful for smoothing off rounding edges and rough corners. Files for metal and those for wood differ, and should not be used indiscriminately. Rub the file back and forth over the surface to be smoothed, but do not press on it too heavily. If you are to use metal in your work a metal file is necessary. For wood a slightly curved surface is best.

=The Carpenter’s Bench=

When you can attain to a regular carpenter’s bench you will indeed be happy, but until then use a strong kitchen table that sits firmly on the floor or, better still, is fastened so that it cannot move. Have a carpenter add sides (_a_, Fig. 9), and a vice (_b_, Fig. 9). _See page 2._ You can hardly get along without a vice, for it is impossible to hold some of the work firmly enough without it.

=The Horses=

These wooden horses are convenient for holding boards when they are to be sawed, and for lifting work from the floor. You should have two of them, like Fig. 10, made by the carpenter.

=The Mitre-box=

This very useful contrivance is simply three pieces of narrow boards put together in the form of a box, having two sides and a bottom, but no ends or top. Eighteen inches is a suitable length, and its height should be no greater than the width of your saw. The mitre-box is used for holding the wood and guiding the saw at any angle. In the sides of the box are slits running from top to bottom, some passing diagonally, some at right angles through the boards. Any carpenter can make you a mitre-box; do not attempt one yourself, for to be of use it must be accurately made in every particular.

=Choosing the Wood=

It is well to know a little about what kind of wood to select when you are buying your material, for if you wish to make a durable article, one that will last long enough to pay for the making, you should not use wood that will warp and in a little while spoil your piece of work.

The heart-wood is always the best: this consists of boards cut from the heart, or centre, of the tree; they are harder, dryer than others, and less likely to warp or twist. The sap-wood, which is the part nearer the surface, contains so much sap it is difficult to season and will generally warp.

Select the boards yourself if possible, and see that they are planed equally on both sides and have square edges. Do not take a cracked board, a board with knot-holes or loose knots, or one that seems damp or musty, and be sure, if you can, that all your wood is well-seasoned.

Soft woods are best for your purpose at first, and while pine is very good, white-wood is better, and is easily worked.

=What to Make=

And now that all is ready and the workshop well stocked, what shall we make? What shall we not make, rather? Suppose we begin with a few simple pieces of furniture suitable for a summer cottage, a log-camp, or a play-house. We will use boxes, clothes-horses, or anything of the kind that will make a good foundation for the article and save extra work. When you feel that you can construct a piece of furniture without such helps, do so by all means, but at first do not scorn the humble box and barrel, they are excellent things to practise on.

We will start with

=A Dressing-Table=

Since the writer made one herself for her room in a log-house in the mountains of Pennsylvania, she is quite sure it can be done with very little practice in carpentry or cabinet-making.

Fig. 11.

The dressing-table is made of two pine shelves, two cigar-boxes, two small brackets, and an ordinary mirror. For the large shelf choose a board about twelve inches wide or wider, if you have one, measure the space your dressing-table is to occupy, mark the size on the board with a pencil, using your try-square to make your line at right angles with the edge of your board, and saw off the board at the ruled line. If the room is neither plastered nor ceiled and the uprights are left uncovered, let the large shelf reach across from one upright to the next, and make the smaller shelf just long and wide enough to fit in between. Saw out your supporting braces after the pattern given in Fig. 11, with the grain of the wood running up and down, making six in all; two for the large shelf, two for the small shelf, and two for the little side-brackets. Draw a line at each end of your shelf where the brace is to be fastened, and on this line bore two holes entirely through the board. With screws long enough to reach through the shelf and into the braces fasten the shelf and braces together, Fig. 12. Bore a hole near the bottom edge of each brace, as in Fig. 13, and directly over each brace screw into the top of the shelf, as near the edge as possible, a screw-eye, Fig. 14. Cover both shelves with pretty cretonne, putting a ruffle on the large shelf and drawing the material neatly over the edges of the smaller one.

On each end of the large shelf tack a cigar-box, which you have previously painted white. These boxes are for holding brushes and combs. Screw strong hooks into the uprights at the proper distance from the floor, then hook your large shelf on by the screw-eyes at the top, and screw the braces to the uprights through the holes at their lower corners. The upper shelf, not being so heavy, needs only the hooks and screw-eyes to support it, and screws at the bottom of the braces are unnecessary. Hang this only a little way above the other shelf. Make the small brackets of thinner wood and let them be square, of a size to fit the uprights. One brace for each bracket is all that is necessary, and the braces must, of course, be smaller than [Illustration: Fig. 14.] those used for the shelves. Paint the brackets white like the side boxes; enamel paint is the best to use, as it gives a hard, smooth surface. Only the hooks and screw-eyes are required to hold the brackets. Hang the mirror with its bottom edge resting on the top shelf, as shown in the illustration.

=A Wash-stand=

to go with the toilet table is constructed on the same principle; the shelf used for this, however, must be wider in order to hold the wash-basin. If cutting a round hole in the shelf, like Fig. 15, is too difficult, do not attempt it, but leave the surface plain and place your bowl on top.

Make your braces quite strong and screw them to the wall. Make side-brackets, as for the dressing-table, and cover them and the shelf with white enamel cloth. Cut the edge of this in points, turn it over and tack to the edge of the shelf with white-headed tacks. The illustration will give you an idea of the appearance of this wash-stand. For

=The Towel-rack=

use two broom-sticks, cut one shorter than the other, and paint them white. Fasten them together with strong cord, leaving a six-inch space between, and hang them over the [Illustration: Fig. 15.] wash-stand as shown in the illustration. Though the top stick is shorter than the other, both must be long enough to reach across and rest against the two uprights of the wall. This allows space at the back and gives plenty of room for the towels.

=A Portable Corner Clothes-press=

Use two folds of an ordinary, large-sized clothes-horse for the frame of your clothes-press. Make two three-cornered shelves with back edges at perfect right angles and measuring half the length of the cross-pieces of the frame. These shelves are to rest on the cross-pieces, therefore you must saw off the corners at the back in order to make it fit, Fig. 16. Across the outer edge of the top shelf nail securely a strip of wood three inches wide, having its top edge on a level with the top of the shelf, Fig. 17. Into this strip, as well as into the top cross-pieces, screw clothes-hooks, placing them about eight inches apart. With short wire-nails, or screws if you wish your press to be very strong, fasten the top shelf on the upper cross-pieces and the other shelf on the middle cross-pieces of the frame. Paint the shelves and the inside of the frame white, and over the outside tack flowered cretonne or chintz, remembering to have the right side of the material turned inward. Fasten a brass or galvanized iron rod to the top of the two front uprights and from this hang a curtain of the same material. To fit the holders, or fastenings, for the curtain rod it will be necessary to cut notches in the inner corners of the uprights, Fig. 18, otherwise they will not be at the proper angle to hold the rod. To prevent dust from settling upon the clothing, tack a three-cornered piece of cretonne over the top of the frame. The shoe-box shown in the illustration is not a part of the clothes press, but is a convenient addition.

=A Five O’clock Tea-Table=

Make this of an oblong box with square ends and of a convenient height when set on end.

Cover the box neatly with matting or burlap, then make four shelves long enough to reach across the sides of the box and about nine inches wide. Round off the corners of the shelves as in Fig. 19 and make one brace for each shelf. To each side of the box at varying heights fasten with screws two narrow strips of wood or cleats, two inches apart, Fig. 20. Screw the braces to the shelves and paint all to match the color of the covering used on the box; then rest the back edge of the shelf on the cleats prepared for it and screw the brace to the box and the shelf to the cleats, Fig. 21. Thus securely fastened the shelf becomes immovable and there is not the slightest danger of its slipping or tipping. The illustration shows how the shelves are placed. This little tea-table is especially suited to the piazza, which, from your workshop, you may fit up for a place to entertain your friends most delightfully.

=A Piazza Flower-stand=

will make a charming feature of your summer parlor, for flowers are always needed to give the finishing touch in beautifying the inside or the outside of a home.

For the frame of the flower-stand use one fold of the ever-useful clothes-horse. Make twelve three-cornered braces, cutting them out like Fig. 22, four measuring seven inches on their edges, four nine inches, and four twelve inches or as long as the width of the board will allow. Saw out four shelves which will reach exactly across the frame, two of them nine inches and two eleven inches wide. Screw the smaller braces to the narrow shelves, the larger ones to the widest, making sure the back edges of shelf and brace are on an exact line; fitting them in your try-square will assure you of that. To give additional strength to the frame, measure the distance from the bottom edge of the lower cross-piece, where it joins the upright, diagonally across to the other upright within one inch of the floor (Fig. 23), then take two narrow boards, say three inches wide and one inch thick, and saw them the required length. Lay your frame down flat, place first one diagonal in position, then the other, and make a pencil line across the upper and lower corners showing where they must be taken off in order to fit inside the frame. A mitre-box is very useful here, for by its aid you can saw your boards [Illustration: Fig. 22.] at the required angle without difficulty. Lacking that, be careful to have your edges straight. Place the diagonals in position in the frame and mark the width of each on the surface of the other where they cross. Between these two lines, on the edges of the boards, draw a line which will divide the edge exactly in half. Saw along the oblique lines down to the line on the edge, then with a chisel pare down to the edge lines, thus “halving” your boards, Fig. 24.

Cross your diagonals at the halving and with long wire nails, driven from the outside of the frame, nail them in place, Fig. 25. Now fit the largest braces on the front and back of each upright with edges resting on the floor as in Fig. 26, and screw them on with screws near the top as shown by C and D, Fig. 26. Have the outside edges of the braces on a line with the outside [Illustration: Fig. 24.] edges of the uprights; this will leave a space of about an inch on the inside of the uprights. The braces will hold the frame in an upright position, but in order to support any weight it must be further strengthened by adding a platform to which the braces may be screwed. Make the platform of a size to fit inside the uprights and reach across from end to end of the braces. Two [Illustration: Fig. 25.] or more boards will be required to give sufficient width, and it will be necessary to stay them by putting on three cleats across the under side, as in Fig. 27. These cleats must be of equal width and thickness and, as in all cleats, the grain of the wood must run lengthwise. Cut notches at each end, as shown in the diagram, to fit the projecting uprights, then fit the platform into the frame, and screw the braces on to its edges, Fig. 28. You have now a firm foundation and may add your shelves. The widest shelves are to go across the frame on either side on a line with the top of the lower cross-piece, the narrower [Illustration: Fig. 26.] shelves on a line with the top of the middle cross-piece. Fasten these in place with screws at the lower end of each brace, and with hooks in the uprights, and screw-eyes at the top of the shelves, as in the shelves for the dressing-stand, Fig. 14.

Instead of four you now have two very broad shelves, running directly [Illustration: Fig. 27.] through the frame. Take measurements of these shelves and make a shallow box, about seven inches deep, to fit each shelf. To prevent the boxes springing at the seams from dampness, get a strip of tin three inches wide, bend it through the middle lengthwise, and tack it over the seams, as in Fig. 29. Paint the entire frame and the outside and edges of the boxes dark green, and then varnish them. Of course the paint must be quite dry before the varnish is applied.

Put a layer of charcoal in each box, then a layer of sand, and over all a thicker layer of good soil. Fill your boxes with flowering plants and hanging vines, and use the lower platform for potted plants. From the top cross-piece a small hanging basket may be hung, adding its beauty and sweetness to the rest.

The illustration will give an idea of the appearance of the flower-stand, though much of the beautiful, luxuriant growth of plant and vine had to be omitted in the drawing so that the construction of the stand might be distinctly shown.

=A Hooded Chair Made of a Packing-box=

You must select with care the box for this rather unique piece of furniture, for you will want it to be durable. If you prefer you may make it altogether of new material after the same pattern, but a box for the foundation will simplify the work. When standing on end your box should measure about five feet six inches in height, eighteen inches in depth, and twenty inches in width. Nail two cleats, each thirteen inches long, in an upright position on each side and at the back of the box, as shown by the letters E, F, G, H in Fig. 30, placing the front ones, E, one inch back from the edge as in diagram. Fig. 30 gives one side and the back of the box. Across and resting on the top of these upright cleats nail the cleats I and J. Lay the box on its side and draw a curve like Fig. 31, starting the line four inches from the top and ending it two feet from the bottom. The curve at its greatest fulness should take in half the width of the side. Draw a curve exactly like the first on the other side of the box; saw carefully along the lines, following them as closely as possible, and then take off the remaining rough edges with a chisel. [Illustration: Fig. 30.] Nail a strip of wood four inches wide across the front at the top to finish the hood, Fig. 32. Box in the lower front up to the top of the cleats and there make a seat to fit in the chair and rest on the cleats, Fig. 32. You will notice that in the seat, near the forward corners, are two holes; these are for the adjustment of the rest, which gives additional comfort to the chair, and upon which one may stretch one’s self out luxuriantly. Two boards, three feet four inches long, will be required for the rest, which should be just wide enough to fit easily inside the chair, resting on the seat. Cleat the rest at each end and in the middle, as in Fig. 33, putting the end cleats on the edges of the boards and the middle one underneath. Round the corners and smooth them off with knife or chisel.

Measure the distance from the top of the seat to the floor and make the end-piece (Fig. 34) for the foot of the rest exactly that height, for the foot must be on a level with the other end when adjusted. Screw the end-piece to the rest with screws passing through the top of the boards into the top edge of the end-piece, and put braces at the corners to keep it secure, Fig. 35. Bore holes three-quarters of an inch in diameter at the upper corners of the rest, making them one inch from the cleat and two inches from the side edges of the boards, Fig. 33. Place this end of the rest on the seat of the chair, allowing it to lap about four inches, and through the holes just made mark corresponding places for the holes in the seat. Make [Illustration: Fig. 34.] or buy wooden pegs like Fig. 36, and slip them through the holes in rest and seat when you wish to adjust the rest. The ordinary wooden easel peg is about what you want for this purpose.

Pad the sides and back of the chair with cotton batting, using only enough tacks to hold it in place, then cover the chair inside and out, except the seat, with pretty cretonne, making a box-plaited ruffle for the front, as shown in the illustration. Pad the top of the rest up nearly to the holes in the end, and cover it with the cretonne. Use an old feather pillow for the seat cushion, and another (smaller) for an extra one at the back, and cover them also with cretonne.