Various Utensils.—In addition to a good workbench, a number of spe cial utensils are so necessary in va rious ways to the average family that they should always find a place in the family workshop. Among these are vises (including two bench vises —one for wood, the other for metal) ; also a small hand vise, a good solder ing iron with solder and soldering liquid; a good-sized iron gluepot made in two parts after the fashion of the double boiler; a small paint mill; a good-sized earthen or porce lain mortar and pestle; suitable weights and measures; a grindstone or emery wheel, whetstone, and oil stone for sharpening tools; and — if it can be afforded—foot or power lathes for turning and working both wood and metal. Of course the ex pense of stocking a workshop in the first instance with all these appliances would be considerable. But it should be borne in mind that they are all likely to be needed frequently, that if purchased of the best quality and given good care they will last a life time, and that if used as often as they should be in the ordinary house hold they will pay for themselves many times over.
In addition to the above, a small portable forge or furnace with bel lows, a small alcohol lamp with blow pipe, and one or more crucibles in which to melt metals and other sub stances, will be found exceedingly convenient. This list might, of course, be indefinitely extended to in clude chemical apparatus, electric batteries, and other devices for elec troplating and the like, but these are special interests, and cannot be re garded equally as necessary in the average household as those above mentioned.
Nails. — Among uncivilized tribes, the earliest nails were doubtless the thorns of the locust, or other trees, which sometimes reach the length of 6 or 13 inches, and become nearly as hard as iron. The use of fish bones was also common. Later, wooden pins were employed, being driven through holes burned by hot irons. The first iron nails were hand-forged with ham mer and anvil. But nails are now made by machinery in great variety and enormous numbers.
Kinds of Nails.—Fifty years ago there were upwards of 3,000 different kinds of nails, all under different names perfectly understood by per sons manufacturing and using them. The United States Government now classifies nails as cut, wrought, horse shoe, shoe, barbed, composition, but ton, carpet, coffin, sheathing, gal vanized, harness, leather-work, pic ture, siding, slating, trunk, upholstery, weather-tiling, and screw. Of these, the cut, wrought, and horseshoe nails are by far the most important. The trade commonly recognizes common, fence, sheeting, casing, box, flooring, finishing, fine finishing, light barrel, lining, roofing, shingle, slating, clinch, boat, cooper, tobacco, zinc, copper, tinned, and galvanized nails, and nu merous brands of brads, tacks, and spikes.
Sizes of Nails.—Nails are known by the trade as two penny, three penny, and so on, the letter " d." being used as an abbreviation. The standard of measurement is supposed to be the weight of 1,000 nails, that is to say 1,000 six penny nails will weigh 6 pounds. One thousand ten penny nails, 10 pounds, and so on. But these figures are only approximate, and vary considerably. The best authori ties recognize as standard for " com mon cut nails " 978 six pennies in 6 pounds, 754 eight pennies in 8 pounds, and in " finishing nails " the number is much larger, amounting to 1,176 six pennies in 6 pounds. Hence many carpenters and others who use nails in large quantities, order them by the keg of wholesale dealers, and specify the length and quality wanted. The accepted lengths of standard steel-cut nails are as follows: two penny, 1 inch; three penny, 11 inches; four penny, 11 inches; five penny, 1/ inches; six penny, 2 inches; seven penny, f2 inches; eight penny, 21 inches; nine penny, 2/ inches; ten penny, 3 inches; twelve penny, 3f inches; sixteen penny, 31 inches; twenty penny, 4 inches; thirty penny, 41 inches; forty penny, 5 inches; fifty penny, h inches; sixty penny, 6 inches.
Machine-made nails are very much cheaper than formerly, selling ordi narily at about 4 cents a pound re tail, or 31 cents wholesale in quan tities of 100 pounds.
Driving Nails undoubtedly has a distinct educational value. It brings into play certain muscles and thus develops a corresponding section of the brain. There is no more useful occupation for a boy than to give him plenty of nails, a hammer, saw, and a quantity of lumber and let him amuse himself by building to his heart's content.
Mixed Nails.—Many retail hard ware dealers in towns and cities put up for sale 5- or 10-pound boxes of mixed nails in assorted sizes suitable for family use. Or any dealer in nails will fill such an order. A box containing an assortment of nails of all sizes will be found exceedingly useful. Or a tray with compart ments ranging in size from 2 to 4 Inches square and 11 or 2 inches deep, each containing a different size of nails, will be found even more con venient.
Driving and Drawing Nails.—A nail can be driven more readily, es pecially into hard wood, if it is first oiled or run through piece of soft yellow soap. A rusty nail may be drawn more readily if it is started by a blow of the hammer to loosen the rust.