Chapter 5

FRAME DOWELLING.--Fig. 203 shows one corner of a frame with long and short shoulders, such as occurs when the upright is rebated through its entire length. The holes in both pieces are bored for the dowels before they are rebated. This avoids any difficulty in endeavouring to bore with only one side of the twist bit in the wood. A similar type of joint is used on nearly all kinds of glass and door frames in cabinet work.

Fig. 204 is a leaf for the screw type of table. Circular dowels are shown at one end, and rectangular wooden pegs at the other; both methods are equally good, and, of course, the dowels are only glued into one leaf. The object of these dowels is to guide the table leaf into its proper position when the leaf engages the table proper, and to make the flat surface of the table top and leaf register correctly and thus ensure a level surface.

Fig. 205 is a wooden block made in two portions and held together by screws; it is used to fasten around a twist bit, the object being to ensure that all the dowel holes are of uniform depth. It may be adjusted as desired and firmly screwed round the twist bit; if the hole is made 1/4 in. in diameter it will clip round a 1/4-in. or 3/8-in. bit and will answer a dual purpose. It is a preventative for bad dowelling.

Fig. 206 is an example of dowelling framing when the moulding on the edge has to be mitred. It is necessary to cut the shoulders away so as to allow the members of the moulding to intersect. The section of the mould is not shown in the sketch for clearness of representation. The portion marked H is called the "horn," and it is not cut off until after the frame is glued up; its object is to prevent the rail splitting or bursting when knocking up the frame or during the cramping process.

Fig. 207 shows the method of dowelling a moulded cap to the top of a wooden bedstead post or similar pillar where it is desired to avoid any unsightliness.

Fig. 208 is a dining-table leg and portion of the framing, showing the method of dowelling the frame to the leg. Chairs, couch frames, etc., are made in a similar manner.

Fig. 209 shows the top portion of a table leg and a home-made dowel gauge. The gauge is made of any hardwood, and steel wire pins are driven through at the required positions and sharpened similar to the spur of a marking gauge. The legs are sawn and planed up true and square, and the advantage of the gauge is that all legs are marked exactly alike and are therefore interchangeable until glued up. A gauge of this type is easily and quickly made and may be kept for its specific purpose or altered for other work.

Fig. 210 indicates the Queen Anne type of leg, a sketch of same broken below the knee also being given. Here we have another type of irregular setting out, which is accomplished in the following manner. Saw and plane the broken portion of the leg true as shown; take the timber which is to be jointed and treat it in a similar manner; now place four ordinary pins on the lower portion. Carefully place the top portion to the required position and smartly give it one tap with the hammer; this will cause the pin-heads to leave indentations, and if these be taken as centres for boring, accurate work will result. The new portion of the leg is afterwards sawn and wrought to the desired shape.

This is an example of work where it is next to impossible to use a gauge, and as only one joint is required it is not worth the time taken to make a template.

The tools used in dowelling are: Brace, countersink, dowel-rounder, twist bit, try-square, marking-awl, and the usual bench tools. The first four are illustrated at Figs. 194, 195, 196 and 197 respectively.

The method of working is: Plane up, mark out, bore holes, countersink, glue dowels and complete joints.

THE SCARF JOINT

The method known as "scarfing" is used for the joining of timber in the direction of its length, enabling the workman to produce a joint with a smooth or flush appearance on all its faces. One of the simplest forms of scarfed joint is known as the half lap, in which a portion is cut out at the end of each beam or joist, equal in depth to half the full depth of the beam, and of equal length to the required scarf.

The two pieces before they are placed together form a joint as shown at Fig. 211, the projecting part (A) fitting into the recessed portion marked B and the two pieces being secured in their respective positions by screws.

Fig. 212 shows a dovetailed scarf joint. This is a variation of Fig. 211, the length of the dovetail lap being from 6 ins. to 8 ins. in length.

Fig. 213 is an illustration of a joint designed to resist a cross strain. The face side is left flush, whilst the underside is assisted by an iron plate. The joint is secured with nuts, bolts, and washers. This type of joint is frequently used for joining purlins in roof work; the iron plate on the underside is in this case omitted.

Fig. 214 is designed to resist both tension and compression and is an excellent joint for all purposes. The joint is brought together by using folding wedges as shown in the centre.

Fig. 215 is a variation of Fig. 214, and it will be noticed that tenons are provided on the face and underside to resist cross strain. Probably this is one of the best varieties of the scarfed joint. Unfortunately, however, its production is somewhat costly, and this may be the reason that it is not more universally used. Folding wedges are used to secure the two pieces in position.

Fig. 216 is a scarfed joint with undercut vee'd ends which prevent the joint from lipping up or down or sideways. It is a useful joint, calling for careful setting out and accurate craftsmanship. Folding wedges are used in this case to draw up and secure the joint.

Fig. 217 is a "fished joint," and the following difference between a scarfed and fished joint should be noted. A fished joint need not necessarily reduce the total length of the beams to be joined, and fish plates of wood or iron (or a combination of both) are fastened at each side of the joint. In a scarf joint all surfaces are flush. In Fig. 217 the beams are butt-jointed and secured by wooden plates and iron bolts. The upper plate is let into each beam, and the lower plate is provided with two wooden keys to prevent the beams sliding (or "creeping") upon the lower plate. Iron nuts, bolts, and washers are used to complete the joint.

In the case of the scarfed joint at Fig. 218 (used for purlins) the length of the scarf is usually made about four times that of the depth of tie beam. It has two hardwood keys which force the pieces together and thus tighten the joint.

The methods of scarfing and fish-jointing are many and varied, and, in selecting a joint, the nature of the pieces to be joined and the direction and the amount of the load should be carefully taken into consideration.

The above joints come under the heading of carpentry, and the ordinary tools such as the saw, plane, boring-bit and chisels are all that are requisite and necessary to produce a sound and serviceable joint. Scarfed joints are generally of large size, and they are usually made by placing the work upon sawing trestles owing to the bench being too small to accommodate the large timbers.

Fig. 219 is a tabled scarf joint which admirably resists tension and compression. It is very easy to make and fit, and is not materially affected by shrinkage. The rectangular wrought iron straps are knocked up over the joint after the two pieces engage. The length of the joint should be approximately five times its thickness.

Fig. 220 is an example of a lapped scarf joint which is secured with nuts and bolts. It effectively resists compressional stress in vertical posts and it may, if required, be strengthened by the addition of wrought iron fish plates. It is quite a serviceable joint for all general purposes, such as shed or garage building where fairly heavy timbers are used.

THE HINGED JOINT

One of the most common forms of hinged joint in use to-day is that formed by using the "butt" hinge, and many troubles experienced by the amateur, such as "hinge-bound," "stop-bound," and "screw-bound" doors, etc., are due to a lack of knowledge of the principles of hingeing. Hinges call for careful gauging and accurate fitting, otherwise trouble is certain to occur.

A "BOUND" door or box lid is said to be hinge-bound when the recess which contains the hinge is cut too deep. The frame and the body portion engage too tightly when closed, the result being that the door has always a tendency to open a little. This fault may be in many cases remedied by packing behind the hinge with one or two thicknesses of good stiff brown paper. For packing purposes such as this paper will be found to be of much more value than thin strips of wood or knife-cut veneer, the latter always having a great tendency to split when a screw or bradawl is inserted.

A stop-bound door is the name applied when the door is not finished to exactly the same thickness as originally intended. This causes the door to bind on the stops at the back, as shown at Fig. 221. The difficulty may be remedied by thinning the door a little at the back, or slightly rounding away the portion which binds.

Screw-bound is a common fault often overlooked by the amateur. It is caused by using screws of which the heads are too large for the countersunk holes in the hinge, and may be avoided by slightly sinking the holes in the brasswork with a countersink or rose-bit.

ALIGNMENT.--Another fault that is fairly common is having the axes of the hinges out of alignment. Especially is this the case when three hinges are used to hang a wardrobe or other large door. It is absolutely necessary in all cases that the exact centres of the pivot-pins of the hinges should be in a straight line.

Particular attention to alignment is necessary when the body and the door frame are shaped on the face side. A familiar example that every reader may inspect for himself is the curved side of a railway carriage body and railway carriage door, where he will notice that a specially wide hinge has to be used at the bottom of the door to give the necessary alignment. Hinges fixed on work with their centres out of truth are often overlooked by the inexperienced worker, and this is a frequent cause of creaking.

GAUGING.--Fig. 222 is a sketch of a brass butt hinge, open. Fig. 223 illustrates a similar hinge closed, and shows the gauge set so that the point of the marker is exactly to the centre of the pivot-pin. This distance we will call C. Now turn to Fig. 224. The distance C has been gauged from the face side of the frame. The gauge is then set to the thickness of the hinge at its thickest portion, and to prevent "hinge-bind" see that the gauge is set on the _fine_ side. Remember that the tapered point of the steel spur or marking awl will part the fibres of the timber a little more than the fine point, and give you a wider gauge line than was anticipated when you set the gauge. The inexperienced worker nearly always overlooks this. The result is a hinge-bound door, the cause of which is not discovered by the worker because he is so sure that he has set the gauge correctly. The distance B, Fig. 226, shows the line gauged for the thickness of the hinge.

POSITION OF HINGES.--Another difficulty to the beginner is the position for his hinges, and it may here be stated that the general rule is to carry a line across the face of the work from the inside of the cross rail and place the hinge at E, as Fig. 224.

SAWING FOR THE RECESS.--After marking out for the hinge, as shown at Fig. 224, take a fine-toothed saw (a dovetail saw is considered the best) and saw down as shown at Fig. 225, care being taken not to cut beyond the gauge lines. In this sketch three intermediate saw kerfs are shown, but if the hinge is of great length, say 5 or 6 ins., the removal of the waste wood will be greatly facilitated by the addition of more intermediate saw kerfs. These cuts sever the cross fibres and allow the timber to be easily pared away in short lengths.

In Fig. 226 we see the tool operation when paring out the hinge recess. At the left of the drawing the recess is shown marked. Take a 3/4 in. chisel and, using it as a knife (see A), deepen the gauge lines. Then stab the chisel downwards, as at B, to deepen the end lines. Next, take the chisel and pare away the back of the recess as at C. The work may then be completed by paring neatly till the bottom of the recess is flat.

STOPPED HINGED JOINTS FOR BOX WORK.--Fig. 227 is a section through a small box similar to a lady's work-box (the back of the box in the illustration is enlarged in thickness to clearly show the position of the hinge). In this case the knuckle of the hinge is let into the woodwork until it is flush with the back of the box, and the gauge would have to be set to the total width of the hinge. The back edges of the lid and the back edge of the lower portion of the box are planed away at an angle of 45 degrees as indicated by the dotted lines.

Fig. 228 shows the same box with the lid open, and it will be observed that the chamfered edges come together and form a stop which prevents the lid falling backwards and breaking the box. This method of letting-in the knuckle flush is a useful one for box work because the ordinary stock brass butt hinge can be used. Attention may, however, be called to the "stopped butt-hinge," which is specially made to answer the above purpose; in its action a similar mechanical principle as the one applied to the box is used.

TYPES OF HINGES.--Fig. 229 is an elongated variety of the butt hinge, known in the trade as "strap hinge," "desk hinge," or "bagatelle hinge." As its name indicates, it is used on folding bagatelle tables, small writing desks, and other types of work that have but a narrow margin on which to fix the hinges. The long, narrow plates are sunk flush into the wood, the knuckle or rounded portion projecting.

Fig. 230 is an illustration of the reversible or double-folding screen hinge. Half the thickness of this hinge is let into each wing of the draught screen, allowing the screen to be folded either way. The hinge is costly, but effective in use.

Fig. 231 is a type of pivot hinge which is used to fix at the top and bottom of a screen.

Fig. 232 is the non-reversible screen hinge and, as its name implies, will only fold in one direction.

Fig. 233 is a back flap hinge with a specially wide wing, used for the fall-down leaf of small tables and similar articles.

Fig. 234 is a card table hinge. This is let into the edges of the table, so that all is flush or level both above and below the surface.

CENTRE OR PIVOT HINGES.--Fig. 235 is a centre or pivot hinge, used on the top and bottom of wardrobe doors, more particularly the interior door of a three-winged wardrobe where the method of fixing is confined to the cornice and plinth. The flange carrying the pins or pivot is let into the top and bottom of the door, the remaining flange being let into the cornice and plinth respectively.

RISING BUTT HINGES.--Fig. 236 is the rising butt hinge, used on dining and drawing-room doors, so that when the door is opened the door rises sufficiently to clear the thickness of the carpet. This hinge has also an advantage over the ordinary butt hinge in that it is self-closing, _i.e._, the weight of the door _plus_ the bevel on the hinge joint causes the door to close. Band and hook hinges and other ordinary varieties are too well known to require illustrating.

ACUTE ANGLE HINGEING.--Fig. 237 is a sectional plan of a corner cupboard showing a good method of hingeing the door. The inset _a_ shows an enlarged view of the corner carrying the hinge, also the adaptor piece _c_, which is fitted to the inside edge of the cupboard so that the hinged edges are at 90 degrees to the face. This is a far better and stronger method than that shown at _b_, which is often attempted with disastrous results. The incorrect method _b_ allows insufficient wood for fixing purposes, and in nearly all cases the thin edge of the door breaks away during the making and fitting, or soon after completion. The adaptor piece may have a face mould worked upon it to give a pilaster-like appearance if fancy so dictates.

INSIDE HINGEING.--When a door is being hung _inside_ the carcase (that is, not hinged _over_ the ends) it is permissible, in the case of light work, to let the whole thickness of the hinge into the door; and when screwing the door to the carcase it is usual to fix the knuckle of the hinge flush with the face of the carcase, thus allowing the door frame to stand back, making a break of about 1/8 in. with the face. The marking gauge should be set to the full width of the hinge; the mark, gauged on the inside of the carcase end, thus forms a line to guide the worker whilst fixing the door. To successfully fix a door it generally requires two persons, one to hold the door in position, whilst the other bores the holes and fixes the screws.

Fig. 238 shows the correct method of fitting butt hinges on high-class work. One wing of the hinge is let into the door, and the other wing is let into the carcase or door jamb, thus distributing a proportion of the weight to the carcase end instead of allowing the whole of the weight to be carried by the screws as would be the case in _a_, Fig. 237. The method of sinking each portion of the hinge into the door and carcase respectively is costly; hence it is not the general practice in cheap work. In Fig. 239 the top and bottom of carcase (T and B) are shown set back to allow the door to close.

OUTSIDE HINGEING.--Fig. 240 illustrates the portion of a door frame and carcase end when the door is hung on the face of the carcase. The correct method of letting in the hinge is shown in the enlarged section (Fig. 241), but, as previously mentioned, the hinge may have its entire thickness let into the door frame where it is of a light character. The door frame projects slightly over the carcase end, and occasionally a bead mould is worked on the edge of the door so as to give a finish and partly hide the joint. The bead would, of course, be the same size as the diameter of the knuckle of the hinge; and the knuckle, therefore, will form a continuation of the bead and give a workmanshiplike finish.

FALL FRONTS.--Fig. 242 is a sectional view of a fall front writing bureau fitted with centre or pivot hinges and arranged so that the edges form a stop when the desk front is turned to a horizontal position. The position for the fitting of the brass plates carrying the pivot-pin is somewhat awkward; but, by first sinking the plates into the carcase ends, and then slotting the edges of the fall, it will be found that the fall front may be put in from its horizontal position, and that sufficient room is left to enable the screwdriver to be manipulated without inconvenience.

FLY RAIL.--Fig. 243 is a sketch of a small table with the top removed. A revolving fly rail is shown pivoted upon a piece of 1/4-in. wire. The object of this fly rail is to form a support to the small hinged drop-leaf of the table. This method is suitable for small occasional tables and similar articles.

DRAUGHT SCREENS.--Fig. 244 illustrates the end elevation and plan of a draught screen which is constructed of a light framework and covered with baize or American cloth. The reversible double-folding hinge (Fig. 230) would answer admirably for such a screen. Cases occur, however, where it is desired to hinge a screen to be used for an invalid's bedside, and it is then important that all draught should be excluded through the jointed edges. The double reversible hinge will not fulfil these conditions, and the following method is therefore adopted.

In the plan, Fig. 244, A and B, two laths of hardwood (beech, birch or mahogany answer splendidly) are shown. They are made the same length and the same width as the edges of the screen, the corners being slightly rounded away.

A double-folding, draught-proof hinge is then made as follows: Procure good fine webbing, about 1-1/4 in. wide, and the necessary large-headed tacks. Lay the laths side by side as shown in Fig. 244, and proceed to web them as shown. Commence with the web under the lath A; bring it between the laths and over B; now take it round the left-hand edge of B, and round the back and between the laths and over A, continuing this method of wrapping the laths until the lower end is reached, and then fastening the webbing as indicated by the dotted lines which represent the tacks. This self-contained hinge is then fixed to the edges of the screen by boring suitable holes through the laths and using countersunk screws. This is a cheap and efficient method of overcoming the difficulty. A similar method is used for the household clothes horse.

FINGER JOINT HINGE.--Fig. 245 is a finger joint--a movable interlocking joint used to support the leaf of a Pembroke table. The small portion is screwed to the table rail and the shaped bracket swings out to support the drop leaf. The shaded portion of the bracket shows the timber chamfered away so that the fingers may be easily put behind the bracket to manipulate it. Note that the corners are slightly rounded off, as indicated by the black portion of the sketch, and that the mortises are cut about 1/4 in. deeper than the thickness of the timber used. This joint has now been almost superseded by a cheap stamped galvanised iron bracket of exactly the same pattern. The joint, however, is still used for repair work and in cases where a stamped metal bracket has not sufficient overhang.