Making Wooden Squares

To proceed with making the box, of which little has been done beyond planning up a piece of board from which it is to be made. The folded half sheet of notepaper may be used a square for marking lines, etc., but it will not be connected—two pieces of board about 2 inches wide, securely together at right angles, would answer the purpose are; but probably the amateur would wish to make thing better, which he could keep as one of his set oils, and not regard as being only a makeshift, like gauge with a tack, which he made for marking the ness of his board when he planed it. It is assumed that the amateur has an almost kited supply of timber; for instance, three or four empty boxes, an old blacking box, and a few odd pieces of old boxes or packing cases.

The boxes he will knock excess, taking care not to split the wood, also being very ii to take out all the nails, lest he should come upon when working, and snip a piece out of the edge of his or making his square (Figs. 8 and 9), he will select a of smooth, straight-grained cigar box for the blade of quire; this will be 7 inches long and 2 inches wide when lied; and, from the same piece of wood from which he cut lade, he will cut a piece to finish up to 3 inches long and 2 inches wide for the middle of the stock. These two pieces must be exactly the same thickness; he must therefore be very careful when he planes them. He will next cut two more pieces to finish up to inches long and 2 inches wide, also for the stock, which will be built up with three pieces of wood—he will do well to select thick pieces of cigar box for the sides of the stock.

To make the blade, he will first plane off the thinnest possible shaving from both sides, just enough, in fact, to make the surfaces clean; he will then plane the edge perfectly straight, and he will mark it with a pencil. Now comes a more difficult piece of work, namely, to plane the second edge of the blade straight, and also parallel to the edge ac. He must set the tack in the gauge to 2 inches and “scribe” (mark or draw) lines tid upon both sides of the blade, and plane away the surplus wood until he has very nearly come to these lines. He must now test his work, first with the square (Fig. 7, page 29), to see that the edge is at right angles to the side, and then with a finely-pointed pencil, by placing the blade upon a piece of paper or clean board, and drawing a line down each edge of the blade.

Upon turning the blade end for end, and setting the marked edge true with the line first drawn, and comparing the second edge which he is now testing with the second line drawn upon the paper, he will be able to see whether this second edge is straight, also whether it be parallel with the first edge. If the line coincides exactly with the edge, the blade is straight and parallel; but if, as is more probable, the blade is not parallel, and another line be again drawn down the second edge, the two lines will cross each other; he must plane a little off the broad end of the blade and test it, and he must repeat this till the two edges are quite straight and parallel.

The end must now be cut off square. A line will be drawn with the square made out of paper, near to the end of the blade, so as to allow not less than inch for paring off with the chisel; this tool probably requires more practice than any other tool. A not uncommon way to use the chisel is to hold the handle in such a way that its end presses against the palm of the hand; the elbow is then stuck up high in the air, and the tool pressed downwards; the result is necessarily a failure. The handle should be grasped firmly in the right hand, near the top, the elbow kept close to the side, and the chisel pressed steadily down with the right shoulder; the left shoulder should also occasionally be used, in order to become accustomed to work from either shoulder, which very often is useful, and is sometimes necessary. The chisel should be pressed down by the weight of the body; the muscles of the arm should not be used for this object.