Home Carpentry - A Practical Guide for the Amateur in Carpentry, Joinery, the Use of Tools, Lathe Working, Ornamental Woodwork, Selection of Timber, Etc.

By John Barnard

This book contains a practical guide for the amateur in carpentry, lathe working, joinery, ornamental woodwork, the use of tools, and the selection of timber. A book perfect for those with little or no experience in woodworking, this guide contains everything one might need to know to get started. Full of simple instructions and handy tips on a range of subjects, this book will greatly appeal to the handyman and makes for a worthy addition to collections of DIY literature. The chapters of this book include: 'The Various Woods Used in Carpentry and Joinery', 'Timber for General Use – Its Selection', 'Tools and How to Use Them', 'Sharpening Tools – The Ways and Means Employed', 'Joining Woodwork', 'The Work-Bench and its Fittings', 'Ornamental Woodwork and its Various Branches', 'The Wood-Turning Lathe and How to Use It', and many more. We are proud to republish this antique book now complete with a new introduction on woodworking.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Owens Press
• Release date: Sep 12, 2016
• ISBN: 9781473347168

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CHAPTER I

THE VARIOUS WOODS USED IN CARPENTRY AND JOINERY

Various Kinds of Wood.—Before entering on a description of the different tools and processes employed in carpentry, it will be well to consider the various kinds of wood that are used, and the purposes for which each is specially adapted. Experience will show that wood which is admirably fitted for one kind of work is by no means suitable for another. The prices, too, of different sorts of wood differ as much as their qualities, and it is desirable that the amateur artisan should become acquainted with these to some extent, that he may know what he is about when he is making purchases. A knowledge of the prices of the different kinds of wood used in building and furniture making will also be useful to him in other ways. For example, if he intends to put up even so unambitious a structure as a weather-boarded shed, he can, after making his plans and working drawings, calculate to a nicety the quantity of wood that will be wanted, and its cost at the timber yard; and if he finds that the cost will be greater than was anticipated he can modify his plans and the mode of structure accordingly.

Working Drawings.—The amateur artisan will be well advised in all cases to prepare careful plans and working drawings to scale of any piece of work which he may be about to undertake, whether large or small, before he attempts to put it in hand. The worker in wood or stone or any other building material will be led to appreciate the importance of making ’correct and careful plans and drawings when he finds how helpful such drawings are in the actual performance of his work. The whole mode of procedure—what he has to do and how he must do it—will be clearly fixed in his mind before he even touches the material which he is about to work up into the desired form or object, and he will always find the execution of the work to be quicker or slower, according to the extent to which he has previously worked out his plans in his mind, and committed them to paper.

Full particulars as to the sizes in which the various woods can be obtained will be given later. In the present chapter it is proposed to give only some idea of the nature of each kind of wood and the purposes for which it may be used.

Pine, Deal or Fir.—The general name of Pine or Deal is given to the timber yielded by a great variety of cone-bearing trees, although the deal or pinewood cut from different trees varies considerably in quality and general utility. Fir is the general term given by timber merchants to all timber belonging to this species entering this country from European ports. Yellow pine is imported from America. It is very light, straight-grained, soft, and free from resin. Deal may be broadly distinguished as Red or Yellow Deal—for the names are indifferently used—and White Deal. In one kind, the ground colour of the wood is yellow, diversified with markings of pale red; in the other kind, the wood is of a whitish colour, whence its name. White Deal is obtained from the Spruce Fir, and Red or Yellow Deal from the Scotch Fir and Norway Pine. The grain of the Yellow Deal is generally very straight and free from knots, and the wood is very durable, though it is soft and easily worked. This renders it peculiarly appropriate for all building purposes, whether in the construction of houses or ships. The great height and straightness of the pine renders it well suited for the masts of ships. It can be planed to a fine finish, and when stained and varnished the timber presents a handsome appearance for joiners’ work in houses. White Deal is an inferior wood, harder and not so straight-grained as Yellow Deal, and it is generally full of knots. The variety known as Silver Fir is used for flooring, and also in the manufacture of the cheaper kinds of household furniture. Varieties of Deal are generally distinguished by the names of the countries from which they are imported. The best kinds come from Prussia, Russia, Sweden, Norway and America. In purchasing timber the amateur must be careful to specify the kind of Deal that he requires, whether White or Yellow. To be acquainted with the difference in the appearance of the two kinds will prove of advantage to him in making his selection.

Pitch-pine.—This is a heavy resinous wood imported from the Southern States of North America, chiefly from Georgia and Florida. It is very strong and is showy in appearance, being of a rich yellow colour with beautifully figured grain, It is used largely for school and church furniture and also for general constructional purposes. Owing to the large amount of resin in the wood, it is extremely difficult to work and all cutting tools have to be liberally oiled or greased in order to prevent them from clogging. Pitch-pine shrinks very much and unevenly, and full allowance for this must be made in construction. It does not hold glue well and the solvent effect of the resin soon destroys any coating of paint. Varnish can be applied if the wood is first given a coating of size.

Larch is a useful wood for outdoor purposes, such as posts and fencing, for which it is often preferred even to oak. It will also last well under water, and is therefore very suitable for piles. The colour of the wood varies from yellowish white to reddish brown, but after long exposure it becomes almost black. In working it is hard and tough. The grain, however, is straight and even. Larch shrinks and warps very much in seasoning.

Whitewood or Bass.—This wood is also known as canary wood, on account of its colour, which is a greenish yellow. It is imported in large quantities from North America, where it is commonly known as Yellow Poplar. For indoor purposes it has many advantages. It can be obtained in any ordinary lengths and in widths from 12 in. to 24 in. It is cheap, easy to work, straight in the grain and of uniform texture, and quite free from knots and imperfections. It planes to a good smooth surface and takes stain or polish well. On the other hand, it shrinks freely and is liable to warp or cast. It is not very strong, being liable to break off short. It has been correctly described, however, as an all-round useful wood.

Sequoia.—This handsome-looking wood is obtained from the Sequoia gigantea, a species of pine of great size common in California and the Western parts of the United States. Being of great height and girth the planks sawn from its trunk are of considerable breadth. It is of a reddish tint, not unlike cedar in some specimens, variously marked from narrow stripes in alternate tints, one darker and the other lighter, to broad and well-defined marking of a pronounced character caused by the large size of the rings of which the trunk of the tree is composed. Its chief use is for panelled work, for which the size and beauty of its veinings render it specially suitable. On account of its great width it is also used for facias and signboards. The wood, however, is brittle, and soft in substance, being readily indented by pressure, and easily damaged by blows. It is therefore ill-adapted for cabinet-making and for household furniture, except for drawer sides, bottoms, and inside work generally, for which it is equal to pine.

Mahogany.—There are several sorts of this useful and ornamental wood, which is brought mostly from the West Indies and Central America. Mahogany is generally distinguished as Spanish and Honduras. Spanish or Cuban Mahogany is darker, and of a closer grain than the Honduras variety. It is imported from the islands of Cuba, Jamaica and San Domingo, generally in logs about 10 ft. in length and from 24 in. to 26 in. in width. The wood imported from Cuba is the most valued on account of its rich colour, and the variety of the figuring gives the wood a very beautiful appearance. Honduras Mahogany is sawn into planks of considerable thickness and the trees are so large that these planks sometimes measure 6 or 7 ft. in width. It takes a fine polish. The better qualities are used by the cabinet maker, the joiner and the ornamental turner. The inferior qualities are in demand with pattern makers, as it is not affected by damp or heat. Honduras Mahogany is also known as Baywood. It is much softer and easier to work than Spanish Mahogany, and is much lighter. It shrinks very little, but will not stand exposure to the weather. In dry situations, however, it is very durable. It holds glue better than any of her wood, and for this reason, and also because it is little liable to shrink or warp, it forms the best foundation for veneer work.

Oak.—This wood unites in a remarkable degree the qualities of strength and durability. It is, however, very difficult to work, and soon takes the edge off the workman’s tools. The wood is dark in colour and capable of receiving a high polish. It is much used in house-building of the better class for floors, staircases, doors, the panelling of rooms, etc., and also for tables, chairs, sideboards, and other pieces of household furniture. For general usefulness it comes before any other wood. Pollard Oak, which presents a beautiful variegated surface, is valuable for decorative furniture. Much, if not all of the carved work in cathedrals and churches and many ancient dwelling-houses, is wrought in oak. The broad lustrous stripes that give such marked variety to the surface of an oaken panel is owing to the exposure of a greater or less space of the medullary rays which radiate something after the manner of the spokes of a wheel from the centre of the heartwood to the bark. The principal defects of oak are that it is liable to twist and warp, and that it is subject to the attacks of insects. It varies very much in quality, and its strength and durability depend very much upon the soil in which it is grown. Further, the pyroligneous acid which it secretes soon corrodes iron and other metal fastenings, especially in wet situations, and in the process decomposes the tissues of the wood itself.

American oak, sometimes called white oak from the colour of the bark, is known by its reddish tinge. It is lighter and coarser grained than the English variety and is much easier to work.

Wainscot oak is an imported European oak coming chiefly from Fiume, Trieste, and the Baltic ports. The beautiful figuring which distinguishes this wood is obtained by cutting the planks or boards radially from the centre of the log. This has the effect of displaying to full advantage on the surface of the board the silver grain or medullary rays, to which reference has been made above. The method of cutting adopted naturally involves a good deal of wastage in converting the log into boards and the cost of the wood is correspondingly higher.

Elm is the wood of a lofty and handsome forest tree, well known in Great Britain, which thrives best and attains the greatest height and growth in moist situations. Elmwood will stand the wet for almost any length of time without decaying, and is therefore useful for all purposes in which immersion in water or exposure to moisture is necessary. For this reason it is used largely for boat building, and where plentiful, for piles. Like oak and other timber however, it soon rots if exposed alternately to wet and dry conditions. It is very tough, cross-grained and difficult to work. It is very strong, and though extremely liable to twist and shrink will stand a great strain before it splits. Nails and bolts may therefore be driven into it without any fear of their loosening. Elm is reddish brown in colour, the heartwood being of a considerably darker tint than the outer or sapwood. It is sometimes beautifully figured and is then much prized by the cabinet-maker.

Walnut.—The wood of the Walnut is extremely useful and valuable, and is used in the arts for many purposes, of which not the least important is that of the manufacture of ornamental furniture. In olden times it was as much used for this purpose as in the present day, but after the introduction of mahogany and rosewood, walnut went out of fashion, and for some time was only used for making gun-stocks, etc. During recent years, however, it has again come into favour, and is now greatly in demand for dining and drawing-room suites, tables, chairs, couches, and every description of ornamental household furniture, for which it is well adapted by the fineness of the grain, its capability of taking a high polish, and the extreme beauty of the wood, which is of a greyish brown, richly diversified with streaks and veins of black running in all directions. Its chief drawback is in its want of density, which renders it liable to injury from blows and rough usage. It is also somewhat brittle, and lacking in durability. It is as useful to the turner as to the cabinet-maker, and works well in the lathe. It is desirable to get walnut wood from old well-grown trees, for the older the tree the more beautiful and diversified are the markings of the wood.

Black Walnut.—For all kinds of cabinet-work and for fret-sawing the wood known as Black Walnut is the most suitable. Unless well seasoned by kiln-drying, or some similar process, it is apt to warp and split. It will take a beautiful polish, but an excellent effect is produced by plain oiling. This process seems to harden the fibre, and a dead polish will often show better in the work than though it shone like a mirror. This wood ought never to be varnished, for it gives a common look to the article, and never fails to bring out the grain.

Ash.—The ash is a hardy, deciduous tree, generally found in northern latitudes. In colour the wood is greenish white when young, but the grain of timber cut from old trees is often dark and beautifully marked. When in this condition it is frequently used by the cabinet-maker. Its toughness, elasticity and closeness of grain render the wood useful for making the frames of carriages, agricultural implements, felloes of wheels, etc. Handles for hammers, axes and similar tools and billiard cues are frequently made of ash, and it is much used by coopers. When steamed it admits of being bent almost double without breaking, and on this account it is well adapted for curved work. The well-known bentwood chairs are made of this wood.

Hungarian Ash.—This variety is valuable and suitable as a groundwork for marquetry. The value of the wood varies in accordance with its markings, some specimens being so beautifully veined and streaked as to be worth double the price at which ordinary pieces can be procured. The grain is not very close, but disposed in various lines, soft in some spots and hard in others. It is a difficult wood to cut, and is better adapted for backgrounds than for sawing as fret-work. The most convenient way of using it is veneered on other woods, similarly to bird’s-eye maple.

Beech is the wood of a hardy deciduous tree, also found in northern latitudes. It abounds in Buckinghamshire—a county which was so called from the Beech trees which covered the sides of its hills. The colour varies; it is mostly light or whitish brown in tint, but is found in all shades of brown, deepening at times to black. This difference in colour is ascribed to the influence of the soil. The wood is fine and straight-grained, and is, in consequence, easily worked. Beech is one of the few woods which can be planed against the grain. The texture resembles that of mahogany, and beech is often stained to represent that wood. It is used in the manufacture of furniture, tables, beds, and chairs being made of it; indeed, the manufacture of beech frames for cane-seated chairs forms one of the principal industries of Buckinghamshire. It may be stained to imitate ebony and rosewood as well as mahogany. It does not readily absorb moisture and consequently warps very little. The framework of machinery, planes and chucks as well as the handles of tools are generally made of beech. Dowel-pins (see p. 82), for jointing framework, are often made of this wood, though more frequently, perhaps, of birch.

Woods generally useful.—Such are the various kinds of wood that are most commonly used in building and the constructive arts, and although the amateur artisan may have occasion to use but a limited number of them, it is as well that he should know their properties and uses. Indeed, if it be possible, it is desirable that he should make a collection of as many kinds of wood as he possibly can, exhibiting their appearance, when sawn only, when worked to smoothness by means of the plane, and when stained and varnished, or polished. This would give him a valuable insight into the texture and capabilities of different kinds of wood, and would afford him experience, if he should ever undertake any veneering, inlaying or marquetry work.

Ornamental Woods.—In addition to the woods already enumerated, there are many other kinds that are used in the arts, and even in the manufacture of ornamental furniture. As such woods are only required for special purposes, it will be unnecessary to deal with them in the present work.

Timber for Various Uses.—The following list gives in a summarized form which may be convenient for reference the best timber for various purposes.

(a) For General Construction.—Oak, Chestnut, Teak, Cedar, Fir, Elm, Walnut, Larch, Pine, Beech, Mahogany, Poplar.

(b) For Scaffolding, Ladders, etc.—Acacia, Spruce Fir.

(c) Timbers durable in wet places.—Oak, Alder, Teak, Acacia, Elm, White Cedar, Larch, Iron bark, Beech, Plane, North American Plane.

(d) Timbers durable in dry places.—Oak, Chestnut, Olive, Mahogany, Larch, Willow, Deal, Cedar, Pine of all kinds, Maple, Ash, Plane, Poplar, Teak, Cedar, Sycamore, Acacia.

(e) For Patterns.—Deal, Alder, Pine, Mahogany.

(f) Hardest English Woods.—Box, Oak, Elm, Walnut, Beech.

Many of these woods have been fully described in the account given above of the various kinds of timber used in building, carpentry and joinery.

CHAPTER II

TIMBER FOR GENERAL USE; ITS SELECTION

IN the present chapter we shall proceed to deal with the general qualities of timber, its seasoning, shrinkage and warpage, defects, the trade classification of timber, market forms, commercial sizes and terms, and the selection and purchasing of timber. Reference will also be made to manufactured articles which can be procured from the timber merchant, such as mouldings, doors, window sashes and rails, trelliswork, posts and fencing.

Timber, Notes on Strength and Density of.—In accordance, then, with the course that has just been marked out, a few notes on the strength and density of timber may not be out of place here. These may be stated as follows:—

(1) The longer the time that a tree is growing, provided always that it has not passed maturity and begun to decay, the heavier and denser its wood becomes.

(2) Generally speaking, the heavier the wood the stronger it is.

(3) The strongest timber is always found in the lower part of a tree.

(4) The straighter the grain of the timber the stronger the wood.

(5) The sapwood between the bark and the heartwood is not so strong as that which lies between the sapwood and the heart, or in other words the strongest timber lies between the heart and the sapwood.

Timber, Seasoning of.—All timber should be well seasoned before it is used by the carpenter, for whatever purpose it may be intended; that is to say, after it has been felled and sawn a sufficient time should be allowed for it to dry, and thus become entirely free from sap and other moisture.

Timber should not be felled until it is of mature age. The best season for felling is in the depth of winter when the sap has withdrawn to the roots. The trunk of the tree is then less full of sap than at other times. When felled and stripped of its bark, the tree should be squared or sawn into logs, and placed in running water, or where it is fully exposed to the influence of sun and air. When removed from the water wood should not be allowed to dry too rapidly. In seasoning, timber will lose from one-fourth to one-half its weight when felled, owing to the evaporation of moisture that it contains. The more porous or less dense the wood, the more sap or moisture it contains, and thus it is that a heavy wood loses less than a light wood in weight when seasoning, e.g. oak loses less in drying than fir.

Timber Artificial Modes of Seasoning.—There are artificial means of seasoning timber, consisting chiefly in exposing it to the action of steam or boiling water, but wood thus heated, although it is not so liable to shrink as timber dried by exposure to the weather, has not the elasticity and toughness of the latter. Sawn timber of whatever size it may be—that is to say, whether in the form of planks, deals, battens, or boards—during the process of seasoning is stacked in such a manner as to admit of the free passage of air throughout the pile.

Timber, Selection of.—The better seasoned the wood, the better and more durable will be the articles that are made from it. It is true that seasoned wood is harder and not so easy to work as unseasoned wood, which contains a considerable amount of moisture while the former is tough and dry. It does not follow that the wetter wood is the easier it is to work, as any one may prove for himself by trying to put the saw through a piece that is thoroughly soaked with water. Good wood, or best timber, is that which is straightest in the grain and freest from knots. In selecting timber for joinery, care should be taken to avoid any piece that has a knot at the edge, as the knot will be loosened in working and often fall out, causing much disfigurement.

Shrinkage and Warpage.—The bad effect of using wood which has not been properly seasoned is particularly noticeable in the modern cheaply built house in badly fitting doors and windows, gaping floor boards, and cracked plaster. The cause of the shrinking of timber is the drying up of the moisture which in its natural state fills its pores. In the process of seasoning or drying, wood shrinks chiefly in a tangential or circular direction parallel with the annual rings. The outer rings contain the greater quantity of sap and consequently the outer part of the log contracts more than the heartwood. Radial or lateral shrinkage is checked to some extent by the medullary rays. As a result of the various contracting tendencies, splitting of the timber would take place if means of preventing it were not adopted. In order to avoid this splitting the woodman often divides the log into quarters. The shrinkage always follows the direction of the annular rings and is greatest in the outer or sapwood. In the case of a log in which the grain does not run straight from end to end the varying position of the sapwood will cause the shrinkage to be unequal in different parts of the planks cut from the log. Such planks will be inclined to warp or twist even after being planed true. Warpage is often produced by wrong methods of drying. It is particularly likely to occur when the wood has been seasoned by the hot air process. A board or panel which is merely cast hollow may sometimes be made flat by the simple process of damping the hollow side.

Timber, Diseases and Defects.—Wood, both in the growing tree and in the converted state, is subject to various diseases and defects which impair its quality.

Wet Rot is caused generally by a fungus which germinates in moist ground round the roots of a tree and, entering them, quickly spreads upwards and destroys the fibres of the tree itself. In the same way it will attack a log left on damp ground. This disease is readily detected by the white filaments running through the timber or by dark patches where the wood, having lost all its ligneous qualities, has become quite powdery to the touch. In selecting timber care should be taken to avoid any which may have either of these appearances.

Dry Rot is also due to a fungoid growth which eats up and destroys all the natural secretions of timber and reduces it to a spongy substance commonly known as touch-wood. It attacks damp or unseasoned wood in any position, but especially in such places as cellars, floors and roofs, where there is not a free circulation of air.

Timber, built into walls, as in the case of the ends of beams, is peculiarly liable to the disease, and for this reason it is usual to leave an air space