CARPENTRY is the is'of framing timber for architectural and other purposes.
Technically, the term is restricted to the framing of heavy work, such as the roofs, floorings, partitions, and all the wood-work concerned in maintaining the stability of an edifice, while the minor and ornamental fittings are called joinery; but popularly the workman who does either kind of work is called a carpenter.
The present article will be confined to a popular description of the most useful methods of framing timber and smaller wood-work.
The preliminary preparation of timber is the work of the sawyer, who, by the saw mill or pit-saw, divides the trunks of trees into planks, etc.; these are further divided by the carpenter, who uses hand-saws of various kinds, according to the work. For dividing wood into separate pieces in the direction of the fiber, the ripping-saw is used; for cross cutting, or sawing thin pieces in the direction of their length, the common hand-same or the finer toothed pane saw; for making an incision of a given depth, and for cutting small pieces across the fiber, the tenon-saw, the sash-saw, or dovetail-saw is used. These are thin saws, stiffened by a strong piece of metal at the back to prevent crippling. When a curved cut is to be made, a very narrow saw without a back, called a compass-sate or a heyhole-saw, is used. The general name for these is turning-saws; they have their plates thin and narrow towards the bottom, and each succeeding tooth finer, and the teeth are .not bent ou contrary sides of the plate for clearing, as in broad saws.
The surface of wood is smoothed by planing. According to the work, different kinds of planes are used: the :ma-plane, which is large and rough, for taking away the rough of the saw; the for bringing the surface perfectly level and true, or the for the same purpose, where the work is of great length, as for the joining edges of long boards to be glued together. The which is much smaller than these, gives the smooth finished surface. The a sort of plane with a double handle, is used for paring and smoothing rounded work.
Ornamental moldings are cut by means of molding-planes, which have their cutting edges curved to the required pattern. A. good stock of these is one of the most expen
sive items of the tool-chest.
The paring of wood, and the cutting of rectangular or prismatic cavities, notches, etc., are done by means of chisels. Those for cutting across the fiber are called firmers or those for cutting deep and narrow cavities, which are made very thick and narrow, and fitted in the handles with a strong flange, to bear heavy blows with the mallet. Chisels for paring concave surfaces are called gouges. For boring holes, gimlets, centerbits, and gouges are used—the two latter are fixed in a stock, or revolving handle, and are used for large holes. When it is required to ascertain if an angle be square, or of any given inclination, the square, or the bevel set to the required angle, is applied to test the work as it proceeds. When parallel edges are required, the ?narking gauge is used to draw the line to be worked to. When a simple straight line is required for working to, a piece of string is chalked, then stretched tightly over the wood and lifted in the middle, when, by its recoil, it strikes the wood and leaves a straight chalked line. The a strip of wood with one of its edges perfectly straight, is applied to detect superficial irregularities. The operation of phNiing the edge of a board straight is called shooting, and such edges are said to be shot. When the joiner requires to ascertain whether the surface of a piece of wood is all in one plane, he takes two slips of wood with edges perfectly straight and parallel, and of equal width; these slips, called are placed edge upwards, one at each end, across the board, and the workman looks in the longitudinal direction of the board over the upper edges, and if the two edges be not in the same plane, the board is planed down at the elevated parts until it is out of wind. For setting work level, a spirit-level, set in a wooden fraine, or a plumb-level is used. For further description of the tools alluded to above, and in the rest of this article, see the special articles.