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NATURAL WOOD STAINS.--It should be said, in general, however, that a stain is, at best, a poor makeshift. There is nothing so pleasing as the natural wood. It always has an appearance of cleanliness and openness.

To stain the wood shows an attempt to cover up cheapness by a cheap contrivance. The exception to this rule is mahogany, which is generally enriched by the application of a ruby tint which serves princ.i.p.ally to emphasize the beautiful markings of the wood.

POLISHING STAINED SURFACES.--If, on the other hand, you wish to go to the labor of polishing the furniture to a high degree, staining becomes an art, and will add to the beauty and durability of any soft or cheap wood, excepting poplar.

When the article is highly polished, so a good, smooth surface is provided, staining does not cheapen, but, on the other hand, serves to embellish the article.

As a rule, therefore, it is well to inculcate this lesson: Do not stain unless you polish; otherwise, it is far better to preserve the natural color of the wood. One of the most beautiful sideboards I ever saw was made of Oregon pine, and the natural wood, well filled and highly polished. That finish gave it an effect which enhanced its value to a price which equaled any cherry or mahogany product.

CHAPTER XVI

THE CARPENTER AND THE ARCHITECT

A carpenter has a trade; the architect a profession. It is not to be a.s.sumed that one vocation is more honorable than the other. A _profession_ is defined as a calling, or occupation, "if not mechanical, agricultural, or the like," to which one devotes himself and his energies. A _trade_ is defined as an occupation "which a person has learned and engages in, especially mechanical employment, as distinguished from the liberal arts," or the learned professions.

_Opportunity_ is the great boon in life. To the ambitious young man the carpenter's trade offers a field for venturing into the learned professions by a route which cannot be equaled in any other pursuit. In his work he daily enters into contact with problems which require mathematics of the highest order, geometry, the methods of calculating strains and stresses, as well as laying out angles and curves.

This is a trade wherein he must keep in mind many calculations as to materials, number, size, and methods of joining; he must remember all the small details which go to make up the entire structure. This exercise necessitates a mental picture of the finished product. His imagination is thus directed to concrete objects. As the mind develops, it becomes creative in its character, and the foundation is laid for a higher sphere of usefulness in what is called the professional field.

A good carpenter naturally develops into an architect, and the best architect is he who knows the trade. It is a profession which requires not only the artistic taste, but a technical knowledge of details, of how practically to carry out the work, how to superintend construction, and what the different methods are for doing things.

The architect must have a scientific education, which gives him a knowledge of the strength of materials, and of structural forms; of the durability of materials; of the price, quality, and use of everything which goes into a structure; of labor conditions; and of the laws pertaining to buildings.

Many of these questions will naturally present themselves to the carpenter. They are in the sphere of his employment, but it depends upon himself to make the proper use of the material thus daily brought to him.

It is with a view to instil that desire and ambition in every young man, to make the brain do what the hand has heretofore done, that I suggest this course. The learned profession is yours if you deserve it, and you can deserve it only through study, application, and perseverance.

Do well that which you attempt to do. _Don't_ do it in that manner because some one has done it in that way before you. If, in the trade, the experience of ages has taught the craftsman that some particular way of doing things is correct, there is no law to prevent you from combating that method. Your way may be better. But you must remember that in every plan for doing a thing there is some particular reason, or reasons, why it is carried out in that way. Study and learn to apply those reasons.

So in your leisure or in your active moments, if you wish to advance, you must be alert. _Know for yourself the reasons for things_, and you will thereby form the stepping stones that will lead you upward and contribute to your success.

CHAPTER XVII

USEFUL ARTICLES TO MAKE

As stated in the Introductory, the purpose of this book is to show _how to do the things_, and not to draw a picture in order to write a description of it. Merely in the line of suggestion, we give in this chapter views and brief descriptions of useful household articles, all of which may be made by the boy who has carefully studied the preceding pages.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Fig. 247._]

This figure shows a common bench wholly made of material 1 inch thick, the top being 12 inches wide and 4 feet long. The legs are 14 inches high and 13 inches wide; and the side supporting rails are 3 inches wide. These proportions may, of course, be varied. You will note that the sides of the top or seat have an overhang of 1/2 inch on each margin.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Fig. 248._]

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Fig. 249._]

This is a common, square-top stool, the seat being 12" 12", and the legs 14 inches high. Two of the pieces forming the legs are 10 inches wide and the other two 8 inches wide, so that when the wide pieces are nailed to the edges of the narrow pieces the leg body will be 10" 10"

and thus give the seat an overhang of 1 inch around the margins.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Fig. 250._]

A most useful article is shown in Fig. 249. It is a blacking-box with a lid, a folding shoe rest and three compartments. The detached figure shows a vertical cross-section of the body of the box, and ill.u.s.trates how the shoe rest is hinged to the sides of the box. The box itself is 14" 16" in dimensions; the sides are 6 inches wide and the legs 5 inches in height. In order to give strength to the legs, the bottom has its corners cut out, to permit the upper ends of the legs to rest in the recesses thus formed.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Fig. 251._]

This is a convenient form of easel, made of four uprights. The main front uprights are of strips 5/8" 1-1/4", and the rear uprights are of 1/2" 1" material. A thin broomstick will serve as the pivot bar for the upper end. The rest is made of two strips, each 1/2" 1", nailed together to form an L, and nails or wooden pins will serve to hold the rest in any desired position. The front uprights should be at least 5 feet long.

A simple hanging book-rack is ill.u.s.trated in Fig. 251. The two vertical strips are each 4 inches wide, 1 inch thick and 4 feet long. Four shelves are provided, each 3/4 inch thick, 9 inches wide and 4 feet long. Each shelf is secured to the uprights by hinges on the upper side, so as to permit it to be swung upwardly, or folded; and below each hinge is a triangular block or bracket, fixed to the shelf, to support it in a horizontal position.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Fig. 252._]

A sad-iron holder, or bookcase, shown in Fig. 252, is another simple form of structure. It may be sufficiently large to serve as a standing case by having the uprights at the ends serve as legs, or the uprights may have holes at their upper ends, by means of which it can be suspended on a wall. As shown, it is 30 inches long from bottom to top, and 20 inches wide. The shelves are 8 inches wide. All the material is, preferably, 3/4-inch stock.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Fig. 253._]

Fig. 253 shows a wood-box, or it may readily be adapted for coal. For wood it should be 2 feet long, 1 foot 8 inches wide and 1 foot 10 inches high. It will, of course, be made of such dimensions as to suit the wood to be stored in it, and both the flat-top as well as the sloping portion of the top should be hinged, so that the entire top can be opened for filling purposes.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Fig. 254._]

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Fig. 255._]

A pair of parallel bars is shown in Fig. 254. The dimensions of this will vary, and be dependent on the size of the boy intending to use it; but a size best adapted is to make the posts 3 feet high, and the distance between the bars 16 inches. This gives ample room for the exercises required. The length between the posts along the bars should be at least 5 feet. The entire structure can be made of soft wood, except the bars, which should be of hard, rigid wood. The posts can be made of 2" 2" material, and the braces 2" 1". The base pieces, both longitudinal and transverse, should also be of 2" 2" material.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Fig. 256._]

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Fig. 257._]

Fig. 255 represents a mission type of writing desk for a boy's use. All the posts, braces and horizontal bars are of 2" 2" material, secured to each other by mortises and tenons. The legs are 27 inches high up to the table top, and the narrow shelf is 12 inches above the top. The most convenient size for the top is 26" 48". The top boards may be 1 inch thick and the shelf the same thickness, or even 3/4 inch. It is well braced and light, and its beauty will depend largely on the material of which it is made.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Fig. 258._]

The screen (Fig. 256) represents simply the framework, showing how simple the structure is. The bars are all of 1-1/2" 1-1/2" material, secured together by mortises and tenons.

Fig. 257 represents a mission chair to match the desk (Fig. 255), and should be made of the same material. The posts are all of 2" 2"

material. The seat of the chair should be 16 inches, and the rear posts should extend up above the seat at least 18 inches.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Fig. 259._]

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Fig. 260._]

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Fig. 261._]

Fig. 258 is a good example of a grandfather's clock in mission style.