Part 2

Having now finished this short sketch, which we hope will not be unacceptable to our readers, and will perhaps induce them to follow this interesting and healthful occupation, we must beg that those who peruse “The Turner’s Companion,” and follow the directions it contains, will not be daunted by the first difficulties that assail them, but will patiently persevere till experience enables them to overcome and vanquish them, remembering that—

“The wise and active conquer difficulties, By daring to attempt them. Sloth and folly Shiver and shrink at sight of toil and hazard, And make th’ impossibility they fear.”

LIST OF TOOLS NECESSARY FOR TURNING.

Gouges. Chisels. Scrapers. Side tools. Point tools. Moulding tools. Inside tools. Planes. Drills. Hatchet. Mallet. Hammer. Files. Vice. Hand Vice. Gimlets. Saws. Screw-driver. Pincers. Compasses. Rule. Callipers. T square. Brace and Bits. Screw tools. Milling tools. Oil-can. Glue-pot. Sand Paper. Chalk. Glue. Isinglass. Pumice Stone. Nails.

THE

TURNER’S COMPANION.

The machines used for Turning, whether round or oval objects, are called Lathes; they are of various shapes and sizes; some very small, as those generally used by watchmakers; others very large and powerful, for turning iron; and others, the kind I am going to describe, of a middling size, for fashioning wood and ivory. The large lathes, being too heavy to be worked with the foot, are usually turned by a steam-engine, but the foot-lathe is the most convenient for the turner in wood; it may be made of iron or wood: if of the latter, it should be constructed entirely of very hard, well-seasoned oak, or of mahogany. There are various opinions respecting the advantages and disadvantages of metallic and wooden lathes; in the former, it is impossible to obviate an elastic tremor, which is unpleasant and injurious; but then, on the other hand, they are so much more durable and compact; and they enable you to perform your work with so much more accuracy and exactitude, that they are, on the whole, perhaps, to be preferred. The drawing given in Plate 1 will serve as a pattern for either an iron or a wooden lathe; but as the workman could construct the latter for himself, we will suppose the description we are about to give relates to a wooden one.

The bed of the lathe, B B, may be of any length required, and is firmly fastened with bolts to the uprights O O, which form the legs of the lathe, and to which the bed is strongly attached by bolts passing through both; while the nuts that draw them tight, being what is called _countersunk_, are of no inconvenience to the workman. The feet and the two uprights must also be firmly fastened to the legs O O; and to prevent the least unsteadiness or motion, they must be screwed strongly to the floor, and must be of a sufficient size to form a solid support to the lathe.

The left hand puppets, C D, or, as they are sometimes called, the headstock, should be of iron, and cast in one piece. The under part fits tightly into the open space in the bed of the lathe, and is fixed there with screws; while the two cheeks of the puppets rest _on_ the bed itself. The mandrel E, to prevent, as much as you can, any vibration, should be as long as possible; it runs in a metal collar, through the puppets C D, and is of steel, turned perfectly cylindrical; it is kept constantly oiled, by pouring a few drops of oil upon it through holes made in each of the puppets. The screw E, at the end, is called the nose of the spindle, and upon it the chucks intended to receive the work are screwed. The back puppet, G, is used to support long pieces of wood; it is moved backwards and forwards on the bed of the lathe, so as to suit the work upon which you are occupied, by loosening the screw L; within the upper part of G is a steel spindle, J, which screws in and out of the headstock, by turning the screw K. Care must be taken that the point of this spindle be exactly on a line with the nose of the mandrel, E. The point, J, takes out, and another nose, L, can be inserted in its place, to receive the pointed end of any small work, should it be more convenient.

Upon the spindle is a brass or a mahogany wheel, F; it has three grooves in it, and the great wheel, K, has three similar grooves turned in a V, so as more effectually to take hold of the band which moves them round. The three different grooves in this wheel, and in the small one, give different velocities to them. The band which turns them is made of strong catgut, and passes under the lower and over the upper wheel, working in the corresponding grooves of each; it is joined with a hook and eye of iron, that have a screw in them. Slightly taper off with a sharp penknife a little of each end of the catgut, so that it will just enter the hook and eye; then hold the band firmly in a vice with your left hand, and with your right take up the hook or eye in a pair of pincers, and screw it upon the catgut till quite firm. This is a far better means of joining the band than any other that can be employed, as the hooks and eyes seldom give way, and obviate the necessity of knots or joins, which are always clumsy and inconvenient. Cord, too, gives way with the variations of the atmosphere, so that it constantly requires shortening in dry, and lengthening in rainy weather; catgut is so slightly influenced by these changes, that its use is far preferable. The treadle, N, when moved up and down with the foot, gives motion to the two wheels, and thus the spindle, with the wood to be worked screwed upon it, is turned round with a quick or slow movement. The axle of the great wheel, S, works in two screws, Q; the crank, M, is connected at one end with the axle, S, and at the other hooks into the treadle frame, N. Plenty of oil should be given to the axle at Q to enable it to work easily. The rest which supports the tools is represented at Fig. 1, and M; it is made of iron, and consists of three parts; the lower has a forked foot, T, which rests upon the bed of the lathe, and enables it to be drawn backwards and forwards, so as to accommodate the workman; this foot is held in its place by a bolt, O, which, passing through the bed of the lathe, is sufficiently broad to rest upon each side of the foot, T, and is tightened by a screw that passes underneath the lathe, P, through which it passes; the upper part of the rest is a cross piece of iron with a cylindrical stem, that fits into the socket, U, and is moved up and down, to the right or the left, by loosening the screw, H. The workman should have rests of different sizes, to suit various kinds of work, but they must all fit into the same socket.

Having now given a clear description of a lathe, I need only add, that it should be placed opposite a window, so as to have the benefit of as much light as possible; a skylight above the head is also a great advantage. As it is indispensably necessary for the learner to exercise himself in plain turning, that is, in the formation of different articles, so as to be able to turn them perfectly round, oval, or hollow, as required, before attempting more difficult and complicated work, we will now give a list of the most useful tools for this purpose.

For the wood, the gouge, Fig. 1, plate 1, is first to be employed, to reduce the unevenness of your work; its edge is rounded. To use it, place the rest on a level with the axis of the work, and hold the handle of the tool downwards so that its cutting edge is _above_ the axis. These tools are useful for making concave mouldings. In using them, do not push them roughly against the wood till it becomes tolerably even, or you will spoil their edge and chip the work; and hold your hands very steady.

The chisel, Fig. 2, is next used, to give a smooth and polished appearance to the wood. Its cutting edge is oblique. Elevate the rest considerably _above_ the axis of the work, so that, though held with a less inclination than the gouge, the edge of the chisel operates on a higher part of the surface. Use this tool at first with great caution, for it is much more difficult to manage than the gouge; with an inexperienced hand, the point is apt to dig into the wood, quite spoiling its surface, or else, by pressing it too firmly upon the work, it cuts great pieces in an uneven manner. When skillfully used, it should feel almost to work by itself, merely running steadily along the wood, shaving off all its inaccuracies, and making it look quite bright, smooth, and polished. All soft woods are entirely turned with the gouge and chisel, of both of which you must have several sizes.

Fig. 3 is called a right-side tool, and has two cutting edges, a side edge and an end edge: so as at the same time to cut the bottom and side of a cavity. The left-side tool cuts with the opposite side. In using them, hold the bevel which forms the edge downwards.

Fig. 4 is a point tool, useful for making small mouldings, and much employed in finishing the shoulders and flat ends of work.

Figs. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, are inside tools, used to turn out hollows; also to make cups, and various other articles.

Fig. 10 is a parting tool, used to cut off work, and to make incisions.

Fig. 11 is used exclusively for very hard woods, as cocoas and ebony, which chip if attempted to be smoothed with a chisel; also for turning ivory, bone, or jet; one side and the end are sharp. This tool is very strong, and requires some practice to use it well. Be very careful, in sharpening it, to keep the front edge quite straight, or else, in hollowing out boxes, the inner sides will not be turned out evenly; that is, one part will be thinner than another. This tool is held flat upon the rest, which must be on a level with the axis of the work, or sometimes the tool, by raising the handle, may be lowered so as just to scrape the wood. It is frequently called a graver; in turning metals, it is the tool first used. Copper and brass are easy to turn, and in case of necessity, it is useful to have the proper tools, and to know how to manage them.

These tools all are indispensably necessary to the turner, and he should exercise himself constantly in their use; for until he becomes quite master of them, he will injure, spoil, chip, and destroy, whatever he attempts to turn.

Figs. 12 and 13 are very useful to make mouldings of various kinds.

The handles of the tools must be made of very hard wood, and it is a great convenience to have them all of nearly the same size; for the hand, getting accustomed to them, manages them with more facility. Drive the tool firmly into the handle, and hold it there by a broad brass ring, as in No. 1.

To keep the tools in good order, that is, properly ground and sharp, demands great attention. If they become chipped, grind them even on a grindstone, taking care that the BEVELS retain their proper angles. To avoid spoiling their edges, and to enable you to have them always near at hand, a rack perforated with holes, into which they can slip, is very useful. This rack may be fastened against the wall, near the lathe. A screw-driver, two or three different-sized gimlets, and nails of various kinds, must always form part of the turner’s tool-box; also some files, and a hand-vice.

Before we leave the description of turning tools, we will mention the saw, which is an indispensable addition to the tool-box. There are many kinds, but the most useful are the hand-saw, the tenon saw, and the circular saw. The first is about twenty-six inches long, and is generally made with four teeth to an inch. It is used for cutting wood across, and in the direction of its fibres. The teeth at the lower end are smaller than the upper ones, by which means the wood is not so much torn as if the teeth were all of an equal size. The tenon saw is used for cutting across the fibres of wood; the smallest saw of this kind is about fourteen inches long, the largest about twenty inches. Circular saws are of all sizes; they are easily fitted up with a spindle, which, being screwed on to the nose of the mandrel, and supported at the other end by the back puppet, enables the workman to turn them by the wheel of the lathe, while at the same time he holds the wood or ivory firmly against them. Should a larger circular saw be required, it is more advisable to fit it up separately from the lathe, with a frame-work and wheel to itself.

Glue, which is very necessary for turners, requires some little care in preparing; it must first be steeped for several hours in cold water to soften it; if it swells without melting, it is good, and must then be dissolved in water; the proper quantities are, a quart of water to half a pound of glue. The heat should be just enough to melt it, and the pan in which it is contained must be placed in a larger copper vessel, filled with water; by this means, when the water in the outer pan boils, the glue will be dissolved without any fear of its burning, which would immediately spoil it. When you are going to glue a piece of wood to a chuck, put very little glue thinly and evenly over the surface of the latter, then press the wood upon it firmly, and place a lead weight upon them to unite them perfectly.

CHUCKS.

The chucks, upon which the material to be turned, whether of wood, ivory, or metal, is always fixed, next demand our attention. They are of every variety of size and form, and are all screwed upon the mandrel of the lathe. Many are made of brass; others (the most numerous, because the turner can make them for himself), are of wood; but these latter should be used soon after they are made; for if not constructed of very dry, hard wood, any great variation in the weather will cause them to shrink, and thus the screw becomes slightly altered, and will not fit tightly to the neck of the mandrel. To avoid the expense of having many brass chucks, which would be very great, if we procured them of the size and shape requisite for all kinds of work, it is a good plan to have several brass plates made about the size of half-a-crown, plate 2, A, with a screw in them, to fit upon the mandrel, and four screw-nails with which to fasten them to wooden chucks of any form. Thus, when these chucks are worn out, unscrew the brass plates and screw them on to others. In plate 2 are the drawings of several chucks, which are useful for various purposes; they are all made of brass, with a screw that fits upon the mandrel. B is a brass plate, about two inches in diameter; from the middle projects a tapering screw, about half an inch long. This is used to hold any thing that is flat, as a stand, or candlestick base, or, with the aid of the back puppet, to support a long piece of wood, while turning down to fit a stronger chuck. For this purpose, bore a hole in the wood, and screw it on to the chuck. C is the same shape, but has five iron points projecting from its surface; upon them the wood must be firmly fixed by hammering it on. It is better to use the back puppet, as the wood is apt to become loosened by a sudden jar, or any unevenness in the surface.

D is universally useful, either for large or small pieces of work. The wood or ivory may be turned to the proper size to fit, on the chuck B, and then driven firmly into the hollow cup with a wooden mallet; or a piece of common wood may be made to fit it tightly, and a hole turned in it to hold the object you intend to turn.

E is called a ring chuck, and is made of box wood. Drill a hole through the centre, and then saw it across in six parts. By its being turned smaller at one end than at the other, this chuck opens at the _sawgates_; you then drive on to it, with a hammer, a ring of metal, and the wood inserted in the hole will remain immovable.

F is called a square hole chuck, the hole in the middle having several drills and bits to use with it, as in 3, 4, 5, 6. G is called a die chuck: it is the same in shape as the cup chuck, only not so deep, and it has several screws passing through its sides at equal distances, and meeting in the centre, by which the work is held, so that it serves equally for a large or a small object.

H is exactly the same in shape as G; with the addition of an _arm_, No. 1, the use of which is as follows. If this chuck does not turn the wood round properly, fasten to the latter what is called a _carrier_, No. 2, the end of which, projecting further than the chuck, rests upon the arm, 1, and causes all to turn together.

These appear to us to be the chucks most universally in use for concentric turning; the ordinary ones the turner may make of wood, and those for ornamental work we shall mention hereafter.

It may, however, be as well to describe the method of making the wood chucks:—Select a piece of close-grained dry wood—box is the best; having taken off the corners and made it tolerably round with a chisel, or a small hatchet, you must then find the centre of the two ends. To do this, lay the piece of wood on a bench; open a pair of compasses to nearly half the diameter of the piece; fix one point of the compasses firmly in the middle, and with the other draw a circle as near the edge of the wood as you can. If you find the circle is not exact, but further from the edge on one side than the other, alter the position of the compasses, till they become right. Bore a hole in the centre, when found, and screw the wood on to the chuck, B. Place your rest _facing_ the work, and cut in the centre of it a hole, the depth and NEARLY the size of the screw on the nose of the mandrel. This done, take the piece of wood off the brass chuck, and fasten it firmly in a vice; then screw into the hole a TAP, which has been made on purpose to fit the screw of the mandrel. This tap cuts a thread as you turn it round in the hole, so that when you unscrew it, you have only to screw the wood to the nose of the mandrel, taking care to make it fit quite close to the shoulder; it must then be turned quite round and smooth with the gouge and chisel, and the face of it also perfectly flat, which is seen by holding against it the flat part of the T square, plate 1, R. If the square touches all the face of the chuck, it is ready to receive the wood; but if you can in any part see the light between them, take the chisel and smooth it over again. The chuck being ready, cut a piece of wood, we will say for a box, round it with a chisel, take some thin glue, and fasten the wood to the chuck with it. When quite hard and dry, begin to turn the sides even, then cut down the groove to receive the lid, which should be glued on to another chuck. To hollow out the box, turn the rest to the face of the work and use the gouge. When of a sufficient depth, take the _callipers_, plate 1, K, push the small ends down the box to the bottom, stretch them out as far as they will, and set the screw, then pull them slowly out, so as to measure the size of the top of the inside of the box; if not exactly the same, turn out a little more of the bottom. Now begin to smooth the outside and hollow out the lid, taking great care to make it fit exactly the groove made in the bottom of the box; for this purpose the callipers must be set, so that the forked end stretches to the width of the circumference of the groove; you will then find that the other end will be exactly the same width, and keep trying them to the inside of the lid, till they enter it very tightly; then try the lid on the bottom, and it will fit. By thus using the callipers, you are saved much trouble in taking the work on and off the lathe, to fit the parts together.

You must now cut the lid off the chuck, either with the parting tool, or with a saw, and having it firmly placed on the bottom, smooth and finish off the sides so that they look quite even, and as if there was no separation between them. This done, move the rest to the front of the lid, and finish it up the same, taking care not to leave the slightest scratch or unevenness on the surface; then rub the whole of the work well with sand paper, making the lathe turn very rapidly, first one way, then the other, and finish by rubbing it over with a drop of olive oil on a piece of rag, and the shavings of the wood. The great beauty of turning consists in all the parts being exact, shining, well finished off, and not too thick; to attain this latter perfection, experience is necessary, and I should advise constant practice in turning box-wood and holly, till the learner is able to make his boxes fit properly, and also look neat and light. The lid being finished, lay it aside, and saw off the bottom; then turn its own chuck to a proper size to receive it, while you smooth and polish the outer part. It is requisite to be very particular in the manner of chucking work, such as boxes, thimbles, or any thing that has been hollowed out; and remember always to make a chuck to fit INTO THEM, instead of putting THEM into one. It is also better to leave a shoulder that the work can rest against,—you are then sure that it is supported evenly; if not, you may find that the slightest inclination to one side or the other will cause you to turn one side much thinner than the other; and if you are working, we will say the top of a box, it will always look crooked, and if the bottom, it will never stand steady. Should the box feel loose and fall off the chuck before it is finished, a little chalk may be rubbed upon the former, which will give it a firmer hold, and prevent the slipperiness consequent on the friction of two pieces of wood; and sometimes a thin piece of paper inserted between them is useful in the same way; for although the work should fit close and firm on the chuck, if the chuck be _too large_, so that you have to use force to make them unite, you will most probably split your work all to pieces. Great care also is requisite to get it off the chuck; insert one of the small chisels between it and the shoulder of the chuck, and move it slightly, first on one side, then on the other. Many neat ornaments may be made on boxes with the smaller chisels, such as lines and mouldings; and there are several useful and ornamental tools, called _milling tools_, (see plate 5, Nos. 1, 2, 3), which are not expensive, and give much effect to the work. They consist of small wheels, upon which the pattern is cut. Place the rest so that there is space for the wheel to turn between it and the work, push it close up to the wood, hold the handle very firmly with both hands, so that the tool cannot slip, and with a few quick turns of the wheel of the lathe, the pattern will be clearly impressed upon the wood. With these simple tools innumerable beautiful articles may be finished; and though they require neither the application nor talent that can be displayed in performing other ornamental work with the eccentric chuck, cutter, and drill, still they possess two great advantages—cheapness, and facility of management, and are easily procured.

By a little attention and ingenuity, a great variety of elegant and useful articles may be made on the lathe, with the assistance of but a limited collection of tools,—such as thimbles, boxes, cups, rings, stands, small vases, stilettos, pen-handles, pin-cushions, needle-cases, and vinaigrettes.

THE SCREW.