Mechanick exercises, or, The doctrine of handy-works by Joseph Moxon.

MECHANICK EXERCISES: OR, THE DOCTRINE OF Handy-Works.

Applied to the ART of SMITHING in General.

By JOSEPH MOXON, late Member of the Royal Society, and HYDOGRAPHER to King Charles II.

The Second Edition with Additions.

LONDON, Printed and Sold by J. Moxon, at the Atlas in Warwick-Lane, 1693.

PREFACE.

I See no more Reason, why the Sordidness of some Work-Men, should be the Cause of Contempt upon Manual Operations, than that the excellent Invention of a Mill should be Despis'd, because a blind Horse draws in it. And tho' the Mechanicks be, by some, accounted Ignoble and Scandalous; yet it is very well known, that many Gentlemen in this Nation, of good Rank and high Quality, are conversant in Handy-Works: And other Nations exceed us in numbers of such. How pleasant and healthy this their Divertion is, their Minds and Bodies find; and how Harmless and Honest, all sober Men may judge?

That Geometry, Astronomy, Perspective, Musick, Navigation, Architecture, &c. are excellent Sciences, all that know but their very Names will confess: Yet to what purpose would Geometry serve, were it not to contrive Rules for Handy-Works? Or how could Astronomy be known to any perfection, but by Instruments made by Hand? What Perspective should we have to delight our Sight? What Musick to ravish our Ears? What Navigation to Guard and Enrich our Country? Or what Architecture to defend us from the Inconveniencies of different Weather, without Manual Operations? Or how waste and useless would many of the Productions of this, and other Countries be, were it not for Manufactures.

To dive into the Original of the Mechanicks is impossible, therefore I shall not offer at it; only I shall say, it is Rational to think, that the Mechanicks began with Man, he being the only Creature that Nature has imposed most Necessity upon to use it, endow'd with greatest Reason to contrive it, and adapted with properest Members (as Instruments) to perform it.

Nor is it easie to find by any Authority, what part of the Mechanicks was first Practised by Man; therefore I shall wave that too, and only consider, that if we our selves were the first Men, what Branch of the Mechanicks we should first NEED, and consequently have recourse to.

I have considered, and Answer, That without the Invention of Smithing primarily, most other Mechanick Invenons would be at a stand: The Instruments, or Tools, that are used in them, being either made of Iron, or some other matter, form'd by the help of Iron. But pray take Notice, that by Iron, I also mean Steel, it being originally Iron.

Nor would I have you understand, that when I name the Mechanicks; I mean that Rough and Barbarous sort of working which is used by the Natives of America, and some other such Places; for, though they did indeed make Houses, Canoes, Earthen Pots, Bows, Arrows, &c. without the help of Iron, because they had then none amongst them; Yet since Iron is now known to them, they leave off their old way of working without it, and betake themselves to the use of it. Nor are, at this day, (though now they have in part the use of Iron) their Machines made by good and ready Rules of Art; for they know neither of Rule, Square, or Compass; and what they do, is done by Tedious Working, and he that has the best Eye at Guessing, works best upon the Straight, Square, or Circle, &c.

The Lord Bacon, in his Natural History, reckons that Philosophy would be improv'd, by having the Secrets of all Trades lye open; not only because much Experimental Philosophy, is Coutcht amongst them; but also that the Trades themselves might, by a Philosopher, be improv'd. Besides, I find, that one Trade may borrow many Eminent Helps in Work of another Trade.

Hitherto I cannot learn that any hath undertaken this Task, though I could have wisht it had been performed by an abler hand than mine; yet, since it is not, I have ventured upon it: For having, for many Years, been conversant in Handy-Works, and especially in those Trades wherein the chief knowledge of all Handy-Works lie, viz. Smithing, Founding, Drawing, Joynery, Turning, Engraving, Printing Books and Pictures, Globe and Map-making, Mathematical Instruments, &c. I am willing to communicate to the Publick, the Knowledge I have attained to. But because the Whole will be both a Work of Time, and great Charge, I mean to try, by the Sale of some few Monthly Exercises, what Encouragement I may have to run through All, if I live so long, and accordingly to Continue, or Desist.

I thought to have given these Exercises, the Title of The Doctrine of Handy-Crafts; but when I better considered the true meaning of the Word Handy-Crafts, I found the Doctrine would not bear it; because Hand-Craft signifies Cunning, or Sleight, or Craft of the Hand, which cannot be taught by Words, but is only gained by Practice and Exercise; therefore I shall not undertake, that with the bare reading of these Exercises, any shall be able to perform these Handy-Works; but I may safely tell you, that these are the Rules that every one that will endeavour to perform them must follow; and that by the true observing them, he may, according to his stock of Ingenuity and Zeal in diligence, sooner or later, inure his hand to the Cunning, or Craft of working like a Handy-Craft, and consequently be able to perform them in time.

For the Reason aforesaid I intend to begin with Smithing, which comprehends not only the Black-Smith's Trade, but takes in all Trades which use either Forge or File, from the Anchor-Smith, to the Watch-maker; they all working by the same Rules, though not with equal exactness, and all using the same Tools, though of several Sizes from those the common Black-Smith uses, and that according to the various purposes they are applied to: And in order ot it, I shall first shew you how to set up a Forge, and what Tools you must use in the Black-Smith's work; then the Rules, and several Circumstances of Forging, till your Work come to the File: Then of the several Sorts of Iron that are commonly used; and what Sort is fittest for each Purpose. Afterwards of Filing in general, and the Rules to be observed in it, in the making of Jacks, Hindges, Screws, Clocks, Watches, &c. In which Examples, you will find all other Sorts of Forging or Filing work whatsoever comprehended. And lastly, as a Close to Smithing, I shall Exercise upon Steel, and its several Sorts, and how to Order and Temper it for its several Uses; and what Sort is fittest for each particular purpose; as which is fittest for Edge-Tools, which for Springs, which for Punches, &c.

Some perhaps would have thought it more Proper, to have introduced these Exercises with a more Curious, and less Vulgar Art, than that of Smithing; but I am not of their Opinion; for Smithing is, in all its parts, as curious a Handy-Craft, as any is: Besides, it is a great Introduction to most other Handy-Works, as Joynery, Turning, Founding, Printing, &c. they (all with the Smith) working upon the Straight, Square, or Circle, though with different Tools, upon different Matter; and they all having dependance upon the Smith's Trade, and not the Smith upon them. But having done with Smithing, I shall, God willing, proceed to those, and all other Handy-Works whatsoever, that work by Geometrical Principles.

J. MOXON..

MECHANICK EXERCISES: OR, The Doctrine of Handy-Works.

Of SMITHING in General.

Definition.

SMITHING is an Art-Manual, by which an irregular Lump (or several Lumps) of Iron, is wrought into an intended Shape.

This Definition, needs no Explanation; therefore I shall proceed to give you an Account of the Tools a Smith uses; not but that (they being so common) I suppose you do already know them; but partly because they may require some pre-caution in setting them up fittest to your use, and partly because it behoves you to know the Names, Smiths call the several parts of them by, that when I name them in Smith's Language (as I shall oft have occasion to do in these Exercises) you may the easier understand them, as you read them.

Of setting up a Smith's Forge.

THE Hearth, or Fire-place of the Forge marked A (in Plate 1.) is to be built up from your floor with Brick about two foot and an half, or sometimes two foot nine Inches high, according to the purpose you design your Forge for; for if your Forge be intended for heavy work, your Hearth must lie lower than it need be for light work, for easiness of management, and so broad as you think convenient: It may be built with hollow Arches underneath, to set several things out of the way▪ The Back of the Forge is built upright to the top of the Ceiling, and inclosed over the Fire-place with a Hovel, which ends in a Chimney to carry away the Smoak, as B. In the back of the Forge against the Fire-place, is fixed a thick Iron Plate, and a taper Pipe in it about five Inches long, called a Tewel, or (as some call it) a Tewel-Iron marked *, which Pipe comes through the Back of the Forge, as at C. Into this taper Pipe or Tewel is placed the Nose, or Pipe of the Bellows. The Office of this Tewel, is only to preserve the Pipe of the Bellows, and the back of the Forge about the Fire-place from burning. Right against the Back is placed at about twenty Inches, or two foot distance the Trough, and reaches commonly through the whole breadth of the Forge, and is as broad and deep as you think good, as at D. The Bellows is placed behind the Back of the Forge, and hath, as aforesaid, its Pipe fitted into the Pipe of the Tewel, and hath one of its Boards fixed so that it move not upwards or downwards. At the Ear of the upper Bellows Board is fastened a Rope, or sometimes a Thong of Leather, or an Iron Chain or Rod, as E; which reaches up to the Rocker, and is fastened there to the farther end of the Handle, as at F. This Handle is fastened a-cross a Rock-staff, which moves between two Cheeks upon the Center-pins in two Sockets, as at G. So that by drawing down this Handle, the moving Board of the Bellows rises, and by a considerable weight set on the top of its upper Board sinks down again, and by this Agitation performs the Office of a pair of Bellows.

Of the Anvil.

THE shape of a Black Smith's Anvil I have inserted in this Figure, though it is sometimes made with a Pike, or Bickern, or Beak-iron, at one end of it, whose use I shall shew you when I come to round hollow work. Its Face must be very flat and smooth, without Flaws, and so hard, that a File will not touch it (as Smiths say, when a File will not cut, or race it.) The upper Plain A. is called the Face; it is commonly set upon a wooden Block, that it may stand very steady and solid, and about two foot high from the floor, or sometimes higher, according to the stature of the Person that is to work at it.

Of the Tongs.

THere are two sorts of Tongs used by Smiths; the one the Straight nosed Tongs, used when the work is short, and somewhat flat, and generally for all Plate Iron. The other Crooked nos'd Tongs, to be used for the forging small Bars, or such thicker work, as will be held within the Returns of their Chaps. The Chaps are placed near the Joint, because, that considering the length of the Handles, they hold the Iron faster than they would do, were they placed farther from the Joint, as in the Fig. 3, 4. A the Chaps, B the Joint, CC the Handles.

Of the Hammer, and the Sledge.

THere are several sorts of Hammers used by Black-Smiths; as first the Hand-hammer, which is sometimes bigger, or less, according to the Strength of the Work-man; but it is a Hammer of such weight, that it may be weilded, or governed, with one hand at the Anvil. Secondly, the Up-hand Sledge, used by under-Workmen, when the Work is not of the largest, yet requires help to batter, or draw it out; they use it with both their Hands before them, and seldom lift their Hammer higher than their head. Thirdly, the About Sledge is the biggest Hammer of all, and is also used by under-Workmen, for the battering, or drawing out of the largest Work; and then they hold the farther end of the Handle in both their Hands, and swinging the Sledge above their Heads, they at Arms end let fall as heavy a Blow as they can upon the Work. There is also another Hammer used by them, which they call a Rivetting-hammer. This is the smallest Hammer of all, and very rarely used at the Forge, unless your Work prove very small; but upon cold Iron it is used for riveting, or setting straight; or crooking small work. In Fig. 5. A the Face, B the Pen, C the Eye, D the Handle.

Of the Vice.

THE Vice must be set up very firmly that it shake not, and stand upright with its Chaps, parallel or range with your Work-bench; because square filing, is a great piece of good Workmanship in a Smith; and should the Vice not stand upright, and range with the Work-bench, the Chaps pinching upon two square sides, would make the top side of your work either lean towards you; or from you; and consequently you filing (as a good Workman ought to do) upon the flat, or Horizontal Plain of your work, would take off more of that Angle, or Edge, which rises higher than the Plain, and less off that Edge that lies lower than the Plain; so that one Angle being higher, or lower, than the other, your work instead of being filed Square, would be filed Square-wise, when you shall have filed all its flat sides, and that more or less, according to the leaning of the Chaps of your Vice. AA the Face, hath its two ends lie in a straight Line with the middle of its Face, or Plain. B the Chaps must be cut with a Bastard Cut, and very well tempered, C the Screw Pin, cut with a square strong Worm. D the Nut, or Screw Box, hath also a square Worm, and is brazed into the round Box. E the Spring must be made of good Steel, and very well temper'd: Where note, that the wider the two ends of the Spring stand asunder, the wider it throws the Chaps of the Vice open. F the Foot must be straight, and therefore will be the stronger to bear good heavy Blows upon the work screwed in the Chaps of the Vice, that it neither bow, or tremble.

Of the Hand-Vice.

OF the Hand-Vice are two Sorts, one is called the Bread Chapt Hand-Vice, the other the Squar Nos'd Hand-Vice. The Office of the Hand-Vice, is to hold small work in, that may require often turning about; it is held in the left hand, and each part of your work turned upwards successively, that you have occasion to file with your right. The Square-nos'd Hand-Vice is seldom used, but for filing small Globulous Work, as the Heads of Pins that round off towards the Edges, &c. And that because the Chaps do not stand shouldering in the way, but that the flat of the File may the better come at the Edges. Their Chaps must be cut as the Vice aforesaid, and well tempered.

Of the Plyers.

PLyers are of two Sorts, Flat Nos'd, and Round Nos'd. Their Office is to hold, and fasten upon all small work, and to fit it in its place. The Round Nos'd Plyers, are used for turning, or bowing Wyer, or small Plate, into a circular Form. The Chaps of the Flat Nos'd Plyers, must also be cut and temper'd, as the Chaps of the Vice. A the Nose, B the Chaps, C the Joint, DD the Handles.

Of the Drill, and Drill-Bow.

DRills are used for the making such Holes, as Punches will not conveniently serve for, as a piece of work that hath already its Shape, and must have an hole, or more, made in it. Hore the force of a Punch, will set your work out of order and shape, because it will both batter the Surface of the Iron, and stretch its Sides out: The shank of a Key also, or some such long Hole, the Punch cannot strike, because the Shank is not forged with substance sufficient; but the Drill, tho' your work be filed and polish'd, never batters or stretches it, but cuts a ture round Hole, just in the point you first place it. You must have several Sizes of Drills, according as your work may require. The shape in Fig. 8. is enough to shew the Fashion of it; but it must be made of good Steel, and well tempered. A the Point, AB the Shank, C the Drill-barrel: Where note, that the bigger the Drill-barrel is, the easier it runs about, but less swift.

And as you must be provided with several Drills, so you may sometimes require more than one Drill-bow, or at least, several Drill-strings; the strongest Strings for the largest Drills, and the smallest Strings for the smallest Drills: But you must remember, that whether you use a small or strong String, you keep your Drill-bow straining your String pretty stiff, or lese your String will not carry your Barrel briskly about. But your String and Bow, must both be accommodated to the Size of your Drill; and if both, or either, be too strong, they will break, or bend your Drill; or if too weak, they will not carry about the Barrel, as aforesaid.

The Drill-Plate, or Breast-plate, is only a piece of flat Iron, fixt upon a flat Board, which Iron hath an hole punched a little way into it, to set the blunt end of the Shank of the Drill in, when you drill a hole: Workmen instead of it, many times use the Hammer, into which they prick a hole a little way on the side of it, and so set the Hammer against their Breast.

Of the Screw-Plate, and its Taps.

THE Screw-Plate is a Plate of Steel well temper'd, with several holes in it, each less than other, and in those Holes are Threds groved inwards; into which Groves, fit the respective Taps that belong to them. The Taps that belong to them, are commonly made tapering towards the Point, as Fig. 7. shews. But these tapering Taps, will not serve for some sorts of works, as I shall shew in its proper place.

These are the most Essential Tools used in the Black-Smith's Trade; but some accidental work, may require some accidental Tools, which, as they may fall in, I shall give you an account of in convenient place.

Of Forging in general.

I Think it needless to tell you how to make your Fire, or blow it, because they are both but Labourer's work; nor how little, or big, it need to be, for your own Reason will, by the Size of your work, teach you that; only let me tell you the Phrase Smith's use for [Make the Fire] is, Blow up the Fire, or sometimes, Blow up the Coals.

When it is burning with the Iron in it, you must, with the Slice, clap the Coals upon the out-side close together, to keep the heat in the body of the Fire; and as oft as you find the Fire begin to break out, clap them close again, and with the Washer dipt in Water, wet the outside of the Fire to damp the out-side, as well to save Coals, as to strike the force of the Fire into the in-side, that your work may heat the sooner. But you ought oft to draw your work a little way out of the Fire, to see how it takes its Heat, and quickly thrust it in again, if it be not hot enough: For each purpose your work is designed to, ought to have a proper Heat suitable to that purpose, as I shall shew you in the several Heats of Iron: For if it be too cold, it will not feel the weight of the Hammer (as Smiths say, when it will not batter under the Hammer) and if it be too hot, it will Red-sear, that is, break, or crack under the Hammer, while it is working between hot and cold.

Of the several Heats Smiths take of their Iron.

THere are several degrees of Heats Smiths take of their Iron, each according to the purpose of their work. As first, a Blood-red Heat. Secondly, a White Flame Heat. Thirdly, a Sparkling, or Welding Heat.

The Blood-red Heat is used when Iron hath already its form and size, as sometimes square Bars, and Iron Plates, &c. have, but may want a little Hammering to smooth it. Use then the Face of your Hand-hammer, and with light flat Blows, hammer down the irregular Risings into the Body of your Iron, till it be smooth enough for the File. And note, that it behoves a good Workman, to Hammer his Work as true as he can; for one quarter of an hour spent at the Forge, may save him an hours work at the Vice,

The Flame, or White Heat, is used when your Iron hath not its Form or Size, but must be forged into both; and then you must take a piece of Iron thick enough, and with the Pen of your Hammer, (or sometimes, according to the size of your work, use two or three pair of hands with Sledges to) batter it out; or, as Workmen call it, to draw it out, till it comes to its breadth, and pretty near its shape; and so by several Heats, if your Work require them, frame it into Form and Size; then with the Face of your Hand-hammer, smooth your work from the Dents the Pen made, as you did with a Blood-red Heat.

A Sparkling, or Welding Heat, is only used when you double up your Iron (as Smiths call it) to make it thick enough for your purpose, and so weld, or work in the doubling into one another, and make it become one entire lump; or it is used when you join several Bars of Iron together to make them thick enough for your purpose, and work them into one Bar; or else it is used when you are to join, or weld, two pieces of Iron together end to end, to make them long enough; but, in this case, you must be very quick at the Forge; for when your two ends are throught of a good Heat, and that the inside of the Iron be almost ready to Run, as well as the outside, you must very hastily snatch them both out of the Fire together, and (after you have with the Edge of your Hammer scraped off such Scales or Dirt as may hinder their incorporating) with your utmost diligence clap your left hand-piece upon your right hand-piece, and with all speed (least you lose some part of your good Heat) fall to Hammering them together, and work them soundly into one another; and this, if your Bars be large, will require another, or sometimes two or three pair of Hands besides your own to do; but if it be not throughly welded at the first Heat, you must reiterate your Heats so oft, till they be throughly welded; then with a Flame Heat (as before) shape it, and afterwards smooth it with a Blood-red Heat. To make your Iron come the sooner to a Welding-heat, you must now and then with your Hearth-staff stir up the Fire, and throw up those Cinders the Iron may have run upon; for they will never burn well, but spoil the rest of the Coals, and take a little white Sand between your Finger and your Thumb, and throw upon the heating Iron, then with your Slice, quickly clap the outside of your Fire down again; and with your Washer dipt in Water, damp the outside of the Fire to keep the Heat in.

But you must take special Care that your Iron burn not in the Fire, that is, that it do not run or melt; for then your Iron will be so brittle, that it will not endure Forging without breaking, and so hard, that a File will not touch it.

Some Smiths use to strew a little white Sand upon the Face of the Anvil also, when they are to hammer upon a Welding-heat; for they say it makes the Iron weld, or incorporate the better.

If through Mistake, or ill management, your Iron be too thin, or too narrow towards one of the ends; then if you have substance enough (and yet not too long) you may up-set it, that is, take a Flame Heat, and set the heated end upright upon the Anvil, and hammer upon the cold end, till the heated end be beat, or up-set, into the Body of your Work. But if it be a long piece of work, and you fear its length may wrong the middle, you must hold it in your left hand, and lay it flat on the Anvil; but so as the heated end intended to be up-set, may lie a little over the further side of the Anvil, and then with your Hand-hammer in your right hand, beat upon the heated end of your work, minding that every stroak you take, you hold your work stiff against the Face of the Hammer. Afterwards smooth it again with a Blood-red Heat.

If you are to Forge a Sholder on one, or each side of your work, lay the Shank of your Iron at the place where your Sholder must be on the edge of your Anvil (that edge which is most convenient to your hand) that if more Sholders be to be made, turn them all successively, and hammer your Iron so, as that the Shank of the Iron that lies on the flat of the Anvil, feel as well the weight of your Blows, as the Sholder at the edge of the Anvil; for should you lay your blows on the edge of the Anvil only, it would instead of flatting the Shank to make the Sholder, cut your work through.

Your Work will sometimes require to have holes punched in it at the Forge, you must then make a Steel Punch to the size and shape of the hole you are to strike, and harden the point of it without tempering, because the heat of the Iron will soften it fast enough, and sometimes too fast; but then you must re-harden it; then taking a Blood-heat of your Iron, or if it be very large, almost a Flame-heat; lay it upon your Anvil, and with your left hand, place the point of the Punch where the hole must be, and with the Hand-hammer in your right hand punch the hole; or if your work be heavy, you may hold it in your left hand, and with your Punch fixed at the end of a Hoop-stick, or some such Wood, hold the stick in your right hand, and place the point of your Punch on the work where the hole must be, and let another Man strike, till your Punch come pretty near the bottom of your work; which when it does, the sides of your work round about the hole, will rise from the Face of the Anvil, and your Punch will print a bunching mark upon the hole of a Bolster, that is, a thick Iron with a hole in it, and placing your Punch, as before, strike it through. But you must note, that as oft as you see your Punch heat, or change Colour, you take it out of the hole, and pop it into Water to re-harden it, or else it will batter in the hole you intend to strike, and not only spoil it self, but the Work too, by running aside in the Work. Having punched it through on the one side, turn the other side of your work, and with your Hammer set it flat and straight, and with a Blood-heat punch it through on the other side also; so shall that hole be fit for the File, or square bore, if the curiosity of your purposed Work cannot allow it to pass without filing. When your Work is Forged, do not quench it in water to cool it, but throw it down upon the Floor, or Hearth, to cool of it self; for the quenching it in water will harden it; as I shall shortly shew you, when I come to the Tempering of Steel.

Of Brazing and Soldering.

YOU may have occasion sometimes to Braze or Solder a piece of work; but it is used by Smiths only, when their work is so thin, or small, that it will not endure Welding. To do this, take small pieces of Brass, and lay them on the place that must be brazed, and strew a little Glass beaten to powder on it to make it run the sooner, and give it a Heat in the Forge, till (by sometimes drawing it a little way out of the Fire) you see the Brass run. But if your work be so small, or thin, that you may fear the Iron will run as soon as the Brass, and so you lose your work in the Fire, then you must make a Loam of three parts Clay, and one part Horse-dung, and after they are wrought and mingled very well together in your hands, wrap your work with the Brass, and a little beaten Glass upon the place to be brazed close in the Loam, and laying it a while upon the Hearth of the Forge to dry, put the Lump into the Fire, and blow the Bellows to it, till you perceive it have a full Heat, that is, till the Lump look like a well burnt Coal of Fire; then take it out of the Fire, and let it cool: Afterwards break it up, and take out your Work.

Thus much of Forging in general. It remains now, that you know what Sorts of Iron are fittest for the several Uses, you may have occasion to apply them.

Of several Sorts of Iron, and their proper Uses.

IT is not my purpose, in this place, to tell you how Iron is made, I shall deferr that till I come to treat of Mettals, and their Refinings. Let it at present satisfie those that know it not, that Iron is, by a violent Fire, melted out of hard Stones, called Iron-Stones; of these Iron-Stones, many Countries have great plenty. But because it wasts such great quantities of Wood to draw the Iron from them, it will not, in many Places, quit cost to use them. In most parts of England, we have abundance of these Iron-stones; but our English Iron, is generally a course sort of Iron, hard and brittle, fit for Fire-bars, and other such course Uses; unless it be about the Forrest of Dean, and some few Places more, where the Iron proves very good.

Swedish Iron is of all Sorts, the best we use in England. It is a fine tough sort of Iron, will best endure the Hammer, and is softest to file; and therefore most coveted by Workmen, to work upon.

Spanish Iron, would be as good Swedish Iron, were it not subject to Red-sear, (as Workmen phrase it) that is to crack betwixt hot and cold. Therefore when it falls under your hands, you must tend it more earnestly at the Forge. But tho' it be a good, tough, soft Iron, yet for many Uses, Workmen will refuse it, because it is so ill, and un-evenly wrought in the Bars, that it costs them a great deal of labour to smooth it; but it is good for all great works that require welding, as the bodies of Anvils, Sledges, large Bell-clappers, large Pestles for Mortars, and all thick, strong Bars, &c. But it is particularly chosen by Anchor-Smiths, because it abides the Heat better than other Iron, and when it is well wrought, is toughest.

There is some Iron comes from Holland (though in no great quantity) but is made in Germany. This Iron is called Dort Squares, only because it comes to us ftom thence, and is wrought into square Bars three quarters of an Inch square. It is a bad, course Iron, and only fit for sleight Uses, as Window-Bars, Brewers-Bars, Fire-Bars, &c.

There is another sort of Iron used for making of Wyer, which of all Sorts is the soughtest and toughest: But this Sort is not peculiar to any Country, but is indifferently made where any Iron is made, though of the worst sort; for it is the first Iron that runs from the Stone when it is melting, and is only preserved from the making of Wyer.

By what hath been said, you may see that the softest and toughest Iron is the best: Therefore when you chuse Iron, chuse such as bows oftenest before it break, which is an Argument of Toughness; and see it break sound within, be gray of Colour like broked Lead, and free from such glistering Specks you see in broken Antimony, no flaws or divisions in it; for these are Arguments that it is sound, and well wrought at the Mill.

Of Filing in general.

THE several sorts of Files that are in common use are the Square, the Flat, the three Square, the half Round, the Round, the Thin File, &c. All these shapes you must have of several Sizes, and of several Cuts. You must have them of several sizes, as well because you may have several sizes of work, as for that it sometimes falls out that one piece of work may have many parts in it joined and fitted to one another, some of them great, and others small: And you must have them of several Cuts, because the Rough-tooth'd File cuts faster than the Bastard-tooth'd File, the Fine-tooth'd File faster than the Smooth-tooth'd File.

The Rough or Course-tooth'd File (which if it be large, is called a Rubber) is to take off the unevenness of your work which the Hammer made in the Forging; the Bastard-tooth'd File is to take out of your work, the deep Cuts or file-stroaks the Rough-file made; the Fine-tooth'd file is to take out the cuts, or file-stroaks, the Bastard-file made; and the Smooth-file is to take out those cuts, or file-stroaks, that the fine File made.

Thus you see how the Files of several Cuts succeed one another, till your Work is so smooth as it can be filed. You may make it yet smoother with Emerick, Tripoli, &c. But of that in its proper place, because it suits not with this Section of Filing.

You must take care when you use the Rough File, that you go very lightly over those dents the Hammer made in your work, unless your work be forged somewhat of the strongest, for the dents being irregularities in your work, if you should file away as much in them, as you do off the Eminencies or Risings, your work (whether it be straight or circular) would be as irregular, as it was before you filed it: And when you file upon the Prominent, or rising Parts of you Work, with your course cut File, you must also take care that you file them not more away than you need, for you may easily be deceived; because the course File cuts deep, and makes deep scratches in the Work; and before you can take out those deep scratches with your finer cut Files, those places where the Risings were when your work was forged, may become dents to your Hammer dents; therefore file not those Risings quite so low, as the dents the Hammer made, but only so low, as that the scratches the Rough-file makes may lie as low, or deep in your work, as your Hammer dents do; for then, when you come with your smoother Cut Files, after your rough File, the scratches of your rough File, and your Hammer stroaks, or dents, may both come out together. But to do this with greater certainty, hold your File so, that you may keep so much of the length of your File as you can to rub, range, (or, as near range as you can) upon the length of your work; for so shall the File enter upon the second Rising on your work, before it goes off the first, and will slip over, and not touch the dent or hollow between the two Risings, till your Risings are brought into a straight line with your hollow dent. But of this more shall be said when I come to the Practice of Filing, upon several particular sorts of work.

If it be a Square Bar, (or such like) you are to file upon, all its Angles, or Edges, must be left very sharp and straight. Therefore your Vice being well set up, according to fore-going Directions, you must in your filing athwart over the Chaps of the Vice, be sure to carry both your hands you hold the file in, truly Horizontal, or flat over the Work; for should you let either of your hands mount, the other would dip, and the edge of that Square it dips upon would be taken off; and should you let your hand move never so little circularly, both the Edges you file upon would be taken off, and the Middle of your intended Flat, would be left with a Rising on it. But this Hand-craft, you must attain to by Practice; for it is the great Curiosity in Filing.

If it be a round Piece, or Rod of Iron, you are to file upon, what you were forbid upon Square Work, you must perform on the Round; for you must dip your Handle-hand, and mount your end-hand a little, and laying pritting near the end of your File to the Work, file circularly upon the Work, by mounting your Handle-hand by degrees, and dipping your End-hand, in such manner, as when the Middle of your File comes about the top of your Work, your File may be flat upon it, and as you continue your stroaks forwards, still keep your hands moving circularly till you have finished your full Stroak, that is, a Stroak the whole length of the File. By this manner of Circular filing, you keep your Piece, or Rod round; but should you file flat upon the top of your work, so many times as you shall remove, or turn your work in the Vice, so many Flats, or Squares, you would have in your work; which is contrary to your purpose.

When you thrust your File forwards lean heavy upon on it, because the Teeth of the File are made to cut forwards; but when you draw your File back, to recover an other thrust, lift, or bear the File lightly just above the work; for it cuts not coming back.

Thus much of FILING in General.

MECHANICK EXERCISES: OR, THE DOCTRINE OF HANDY-WORKS.

By Joseph Moxon, late Member of the Royal Society, and Hydographer to King Charles II.

LONDON, Printed and Sold by J. Moxon, 1693.

MECHANICK EXERCISES: OR, The Doctrine of Handy-Works.

Applied to the making of Hinges, Locks, Keys, Screws and Nuts Small and Great.

Of Hinges.

IN Fig. 1. A the Tail, B the Cross, CDDDDE the Joint, DDDD the Pin-hole. When the Joint at C on the Tail, is pin'd in the Joint at E in the Cross, the whole Hinge is called a Cross-Garnet.

Hinges, if they be small (as for Cup-board doors; Boxes, &c.) are cut out of cold Plate Iron with the a Cold-Chissel, but you must mark the out-lines of your intended Hinge, as Fig. 1. the Cross-Garnet, either with Chalk, or else rase upon the Plate with the corner of the Cold-Chissel, or any other hardned Steel that will scratch a bright stroke upon the Plate; and then laying the Plate flat upon the Anvil, if the Plate be large, or upon the b Stake, if the Plate be small, take the Cold-Chissel in your left hand, and set the edge of it upon that Mark, or Rase, and with the Hand-hammer in your right hand, strike upon the head of the Cold-Chissel, till you cut, or rather punch the edge of the Cold-Chissel almost thro' the Plate in that Place, I say, almost through, because, should you strike it quite through, the edge of the Cold-Chissel would be in danger of battering, or else breaking; for the Face of the Anvil is hardned Steel, and a light blow upon its Face would wrong the edge of the Cold-Chissel; besides, it sometimes happens, that the Anvil, or Stake, is not all over so hard as it should be, and then the Cold-Chissel would cut the Face of the Anvil, or Stake, and consequently spoil it: Therefore when the edge of the Cold-Chissel comes pretty near the bottom of the Plate, you must lay but light blows upon the cold Chissel; and yet you must strike the edge of the Cold-Chissel so near through the bottom of the Plate, that you may break the remaining substance asunder with your Fingers, or with a pair of Plyers, or sometimes by pinching the Plate in the Vice, with the Cut place close to the Superficies of the Chaps of the Vice; and then with your Fingers and Thumb, or your whole hand, wriggle it quite asunder, But having cut one breadth of the Cold-Chissel, remove the edge of it forward in the Rase, and cut another breadth, and so move it successively, till your whole intended shape be cut out of the Plate.

When you cut out an Hinge, you must leave on the length of the Plate AB in this Figure, Plate enough to lap over for the Joints, I mean, to Turn, or Double about a round Pin, so big as you intend the Pin of your Hinge shall be, and also Plate enough to Weld upon the inside of the Hinge below the Pin-hole of the Joint, that the Joint may be strong.

The size, or diameter of the Pin-hole, ought to be about twice the thickness of the Plate you make the Hinge of, therefore lay a wyre of such a diameter towards

the end B, in this figure on the Tial piece, a-thwart the Plate as CD, and Double the end of the Plate B, over the wyre to lap over it, and reach as far as it can upon the end A; then hammer the Plate that is lap'd over the wyre close to the wyre, to make the Pin-hole round; but if your Plate be thick, it will require the taking of an Heat, to make it hammer the closer to the wyre, and consequently make the Pin-hole the rounder: Your work may also sometimes require to be Screwed into the Vice, with the doubled end upwards, and the bottom side of the wyre close against the Chaps of the Vice, and then to hammer upon the very top of the Pin-hole, to round it at the end also. When you have made the Pin-hole round in the inside, take the Pin CD out of the Pin-hole, and put the Joint-end of the Hinge into the Fire to make a Welding-heat; which when it hath, snatch it quickly out of the Fire, and hammer, or weld, the end B upon the Tail-piece A till they be incorporate together. But you must have a care that you hammer not upon the Plate of the Pin-hole, lest you stop it up, or batter it; when it is well Welded, you must again put in the Pin CD, and if it will not well go into the Pin-hole (because you may perhaps have hammer'd either upon it, or too near it, and so have somewhat closed it (you must force it in with your hammer; and if it require, take a Blood-heat, or a Flame-heat, of the Joint end) and then force the Pin into the Pin-hole, till you find the Pin-hole is again round within, and that the Pin, or Wyre, turn evenly about within it.

Afterwards with a Punch of hardned Steel (as you were taught Numb. I. fol. 11. 12.) Punch the Nail-holes in the Plate; or if your Plate be very thin, you may Punch them with a • cold Punch. After all, smooth it as well as you can with your Hand-hammer; take a Blood-red Heat, if your Work require it, if not, smooth it cold; so shall the Tail-piece be fit for the Pile. Double, and Weld the Cross-piece, as you did the Tail-piece.

Having forg'd your Hinge fit for the File, you must proceed to make the Joint, by cutting a notch in the middle of the Pin-hole between DD in Plate 2. on the Cross, as at E, and you must cut down the ends of the Pin-hole on the Tail-piece, as at DD, till the Joint at C fit exactly into the notch in the Cross, and that when the Pin is put into the Pin-hole DD on the Cross, the Pin-hole in the Tail-piece may also receive the Pin; then by holding the Tail-piece in one hand, and the Cross in the other, double the Tail and Cross towards one another, to try if they move evenly and smoothly without shaking on the Pin; which if they do, the Joint is made; if they do not, you must examine where the Fault is, and taking the Pin out, mend the fault in the Joint.

Then File down all the irregularities the Cold-Chissel made on the edges of your Work, and (if the curiosity of work require it) file also the outer flat of your work. But Smiths that make quantities of Hinges, do brighten them, (as they call it) yet they seldom file them, but Grinde them on a Grind-stone till they become bright, &c.

Having finished the Joint, put the Pin in again; but take care it be a little longer than the depth of the Joint, because you must batter the ends of the Pin over the outer edges of the Pin-hole, that the Pin may not drop out when either edge of the Cross is turned upwards.

The chiefest curiosity in the making these, and, indeed, all other Hinges is, 1. That the Pin-hole be exactly round, and not too wide for the Pin. 2. That the Joints are let exactly into one another, that they have no play between them, lest they shake upwards or downwards, nor yet are forced too hard into one another, lest when they are nailed on the door, the Joint be in danger of breaking. 3. That the Cross, and the Tail lie on the under-side exactly flat, for should they wrap out of flat when they are nailed on, the Nails would draw the Joint a-wry, and not only make it move hard, and unevenly, but by oft Opening and Shutting break the Joint. 4. If your Work be intended to be curious, the true Square-filing the upper-side, as you were taught Numb. I. fol. 14, 15, 16. is a great Ornament.

a Smiths call all Chissels they use upon cold Iron, Cold-Chissels.

b The Stake is a small Anvil, which either stands upon a broad Iron foot, or Basis, on the Work-Bench, to remove as occasion offers; or else it hath a strong Iron Spike at the bottom, which Iron Spike is let into some certain place of the Work-Bench not to be removed. Its office is to set small cold Work straight upon, or to Cut or Punch upon with the Cold-Chissel, or Cold-Punch.

c Smiths call all Punches they use upon cold Iron, Cold-Punches.

If the Hinge you are to make be large, and Plate-Iron is not strong enough for it, you must Forge it out of flat Bar-Iron, as you were taught Numb. I. Fol. 8. to 13.

The manner of working Duftails, Fig. 5. and Side-hinges, Fig. 6. &c. is (the shape considered) in all respects the same I have here shewed you in Cross-Garnets; but in these (or others) you may (if your work require curiosity) instead of Doubling for the Joint, Forge the Round for the Joint of full Iron, and afterwards Drill a hole through it, for the Pin-hole; and by curious Filing, work them so true into one another, that both sides of the Hinge shall seem but one piece; as I shall shew more at large, when I come to the making Compasses, and other Joints for Mathematical Instruments.

Of Locks and Keys.

AS there are Locks for several purposes, as Street-door Locks, called Stock Locks, Chamber-door Locks, called Spring-Locks, Cupboard-Locks, Chest-Locks, Trunk-Locks, Pad-Locks, &c. So are there several Inventions in Locks, I mean, in the making and contriving their Wards, or Guards. But the contrivances being almost innumerable, according to the various fancies of Men, shall be referred to another time to discourse; and I shall now shew you the working of a Spring-Lock, which when you know how to do, your Fancy may play with Inventions, as you best like.

In Fig. 2. AAAA the Main plate, BC the Key-hole, EDE the Top-hook, EE Cross-wards, F the Bolt, G the Bolt-Toe, or Bolt-Nab, H the Draw-back Spring, I the Tumbler, K the Pin of the Tumbler, LL the Staples.

In Fig. 3. AAAA the Cover-Plate, B the Pin, DCD the Main-ward, DD Cross-wards, E the Stepward, or Dap-ward.

In Fig. 4. A the Pin-hole, B the Step, or Dap-ward, C the Hook-ward, D the Middle, or Main Cross-ward, EE the Cross-ward, F the Main-ward, GG Cross-ward, H the Shank, I the Pot, or Bead, K the Bow-ward, L the Bow, BCDEEFGG the Bit.

First, Cut out of an Iron Plate with a Cold-Chissel, the size and shape of the Main-Plate, as you were taught to cut the Cross and Tail-piece of the Cross-Garnet; then consider what depth you intend the Bit of the Key shall have, and set that depth off on the Main-Plate, by leaving about half an Inch of Plate between the bottom of the Key-hole, and the lower edge of the Main-Plate, as at C (or more or less, according to the size of the Lock.) Then measure with a pair of Compasses between the bottom of the Bit, and the Centre of your Key (or your intended Key) and set that distance off from C to B, near the middle between the two ends of the Main-Plate, and with the a Prick-punch make there a mark to set one foot of your Compasses in, then opening your Compasses to the middle of the Bit of your intended Key, as to D, describe the Arch EDE for the true place the Top-hoop must stand on.

Then cut out another piece of Plate as AAAA in Fig. 3. for a Cover-plate, with two pieces one on each side, long enough to make Studs of to turn downwards, and then outward again as FF, GG, that the Cover-plate may stand off the Main-Plate, the breadth of the Bit of the Key; and at the two end of these Studs Punch holes, as GG, to Rivet the Cover-Plate into the Main-Plate. In the middle of this Plate make the Centre, as at B, then open your Compasses to three quarters the length of the Bit, and half the Diameter of the Shank of the Key, and placing one foot in the Point B, describe with the other foot the Arch DCD for the true place of the Mainward, then set your Compasses to a little more than half the Diameter of the Shank, and place one foot (as before) in the Centre B, and with the other foot describe the small Arch E, for the true place the Step-ward, or (as some call it) the Dap-ward must stand: So have you the true places of the Wards, for an ordinary Spring-Lock; you may (if the depth of your Bit will bear it) put more Wards in your Plates. But you must note, that the more Wards you put in, the weaker you make your Key; because that to every Ward on the Plates, you must make a slit, or Ward in the Bit of the Key; and the more Wards you make, the weaker the Iron of the Bit will be; and then if the Bolt shoot not easily backwards, or forwards, the Bit may be in danger of breaking.

Having marked on your Plates the places of all your Wards, you must take thin Plate, and with Hammering and Filing make them both b Hammer-hard, and of equal thickness all the way. Then file one edge very straight, by laying a straight Ruler just within the edge of it, and drawing, or racing with a point of hardned Steel, a bright line by the side of the Ruler; File away the edge of the Plate to that line, then draw (as before) another straight line parallel to the first straight line, or which is all one, parallel to the filed Edge, just of the breadth you intend the Wards shall be, and File as before, only, you must leave two, or sometimes three Studs upon this Plate, one near each end, and the other in the middle, to Rivet into the Main-plate, to keep the Ward fixt in its place. Therefore you must take care when you elect this thin piece of Plate, that it be broad enough for the Ward, and these Studs too. Then laying the Plate a-thwart the Pike of the Bickern, hold your hand even with the face of the Bickern, and hammer this Plate down somewhat by the side of the Pike, and by degrees you may (with care taken) bring it unto a circular form, just of the size of that Circle you described on the Main-Plate; which when you have done, you must apply this Ward to the Circle you described on the Main-Plate, setting it in the position you intend it shall be fixed, and marking with a steel Point where the Studs stand upon that Circle, in those marks punch holes to Rivet the Studs to. Work so by all the other Wards.

If you have a Pin to the Lock, Punch a hole through the Centre on the Cover-Plate, somewhat smaller than the Wyre you are to make your Pin of, because you may then file one end of the Pin away to a Shank, which must fit the smaller hole on the Plate, and the whole thickness of the Pin will be a Sholder, which will keep the Pin steddy in the Centre-hole of the Plate, when the Pin is Rivetted into the Plate. But because there is some Skill to be used in Rivetting, I shall, before I proceed any farther, teach you.

The manner of Rivetting.

Rivetting is to batter the Edges of a Shank over a Plate, or other Iron, the Shank is let into, so as the Plate, or other Iron, may be clinched close, and fixed between the battering at the end of the Shank and the Sholder. So that

When you Rivet a Pin into a hole, your Pin must have a Sholder to it thicker than the hole is wide, that the Sholder slip not through the hole, as well as the Shank; but the Shank of the Pin must be exactly of the size of the hole the Shank must be Rivetted into, and somewhat longer than the Plate is thick; file the end of the Shank flat, so shall the Edges of the end, the easilier batter over the Plate; then put your Shank into the hole wherein it is to be Rivetted, but be sure you force the Shank close up to the Sholder; then turn the top of this Sholder downwards (Plate and all) upon your Stake, but lay it so, as that the Sholder lie solid, and the Shank, at the same time, stand directly upright, and with your left hand, keep your work bearing hard upon the flat, or face of the Stake. Then holding your hammer in your right hand, hold the edge of the face of it dripping a-slope from the right hand outwards, and lay pretty light blows upon the edge of the end of the Shank, turning with your left hand your work round to the face of the Hammer, till you have battered the edges of the Shank quite round about; but this is seldom done, with once turning your work about; therefore you may thus work it round again and again, till you find it is pretty well Rivetted; then lay heavier blows upon it, sometimes with the face, sometimes with the Pen of the hammer, till the end of the Shank is battered effectually over the Plate.

One main consideration in Rivetting is, that the Pin you rivet in, stand upright to the Plate, or other Iron you rivet it upon; for if it do not stand upright, you will be forced to set it upright after it is rivetted, either in the Vice, or with your Plyers, or with your Hammer, and that may, if your Plate be thin, bow it, or if it be thick, break the Sank, or else the Sholder of your Rivet, and so you lose your labour, and sometimes spoil your Work.

Another consideration is, that when you rivet a Pin to any Plate, and you fear it may afterwards twist about by some force that may be offered it, you must, to provide against this danger, file the Shank you intend to Rivet, either Square, or Triangular, and make the hole in the Plate you rivet it into, of the same size and form, and then rivet in the Shank, as before. There are two ways to make your Hole, Square or Triangular, one is by filing it into these forms, when it is first Punched round; the other by making a Punch of Steel, of the size and shape of the Shank you are to rivet, and punching that punch into the Plate, make the same form.

Now to return where I left off. The Pins and Shanks of these Wards must be made of a long square form, because, (the Plates of the Wards being thin) should you make them no broader than the Plate is thick, the Studs, or Shanks would be too weak to hold the Wards, therefore you must make the Rivetting-shank three or four times, or sometimes more, as broad as the Plate is thick, and then rivet them in, as you were taught just now.

Then place the Cover-plate upon the Main-plate, so as the Centre of the Cover-plate, may stand directly over and against the Centre of the Main-plate, and make marks through the hole GG, of the Studs of the Cover-plate upon the Main-plate, and on those marks Punch holes, and fit two Pins into them, to fasten the Cover-plate on to the Main-plate, but you must not yet rivet them down, till the Key-hole be made, because this Cover-plate would then stop the progress of the File through the Main-plate, when you file the Key-hole. When you have placed the Cover-plate upon the Main-plate, and fitted it on with Pins, so, as you may take it off, and put it on again, as your Work may require, you must Punch the key-hole, or rather drill two holes close by one another, if the Key-hole falls near the Wards, because Punching may be apt to set the Wards out of form, and with small Files, file the two holes into one another, to make the hole big enough to come at it with bigger Files, and then file your Key-hole to your intended size and shape.

The Key-hole being finished, forge your Key, as you were taught, Numb. I. fol. 8. and if your Key is to have a Pin-hole, drill the hole in the middle of the end of the shank, then file the Wards, or Slits in the Bit with thin Files; yet sometimes Smiths Punch, or Cut them with a Cold-Chissel, at the same distances from the middle of the Pin-hole in the end of the Shank (which is the same Centre which was made before, in the Main-plate on the Cover-plate) which you placed the Wards at, from the Centre of the Main and Cover-plate. But before you file these Wards too deep into the Bit of the Key, make trials, by putting the Bit into the Key-hole, whether the Wards in the Bit, will agree with the Wards on the Plates, which if they do, you may boldly cut them to the depth of the Wards on the Plate; if not, you must alter your course till they do; but you must take great care in cutting the Wards down straight, and square to the sides of the Bit; for if they be not Cut down straight, the Wards on the Plates, will not fall in with the Wards in the Bit of the Key; and if they be not square to the sides of the Bit, the Bit will not only be weaker than it need be, but it will shew unhansomely, and like a Botch to the Eye.

The Cross and Hookwards is made, or, at least, entred at the Forge, when the Iron hath a Blood, or almost a Flame Heat, yet sometimes Smiths do it on cold Iron, with a thin Chissel, as you was taught Numb. I. fol. 11, 12. But you must take care that your Chissel be neither too thick, or too broad, for this Punching of Wards is only to give the thin Files entrance to the work; which entrance when you have, you may easily file your Cross, or Hook-wards, wider or deeper, as your Work may require; but if your Chissel be too broad, or too thick, it will make the Wards in the Bit too long, or too wide, and then (as I said before,) the Bit of your Key will prove weaker than it needs to be.

Having made the Wards on the Plate, and in the Bit of the Key, you must Forge the Bolt of a considerable substance, thick and square at the end that shoots into the Staple in the frame of the Door, that it may be strong enough to guard the whole Door; but the rest of the Bolt that lies between the two Staples on the Main-plate, may be made very thin inwards, that is, the side that lies towards the Main-plate, which because it cannot be seen when the Bolt is fixed upon the Plate, I have made a Figure of it, and turned the inside to view, as in Fig. 4. where you may see, that the end A, hath a considerable substance of Iron to guard the whole Door, as aforesaid, and B is a square Stud, which doth as well keep the outside flat of the Bolt on the Range, as serve for a Stud for the Spring H in Fig. 2. to press hard against, and shoot the Bolt forwards: This Bolt must be wrought straight on all its sides, except the Topside, which must be wrought straight only as far as the Sholder G, called the Toe, or Nab of the Bolt, which rises, as you see in the Figure, considerably high, above the straight on the Top of the Bolt: The office of this Nab, is to receive the bottom of the Bit of the Key, when in turning it about, it shoots the Bolt backwards, or forwards.

Having forged and filed the Bolt, you must fit the hollow side of it towards the Main-plate, at that distance from the Key-hole, that when the Key is put into the Key-hole, and turned towards the Bolt, the bottom of the Bit may fall almost to the bottom of the Nab, and shoot the Bolt back so much, as it needs enter the Staple in the Door-frame. And having found this true place for the Bolt, you must with square Staples, just fit to contain the Bolt with an easie play, fasten these Staples, by Rivetting them with the Bolt within them, one near the Bolt end, the other near the Nab end, as at LL to the Main-plate.

The Punch a pretty wide hole in the Main-plate, as at K, to receive a strong Pin, and file a sholder to the Shank of the Pin that goes into the Plate. This Pin is called the Pin of the Tumbler; the Tumbler is marked I, which is a long piece of Iron, with a round hole at the top to fit the Pin of the Tumbler into, that it may move upon it, as on a Joint, and it hath an Hook returning at the lower end of it, to fall into the breech of the Bolt, and by the Spring H forces the Bolt forwards, when it is shot back with the Key. This Spring is made of Steel, and afterwards temper'd (as I shall shew you in proper place.) It is fixed at the bottom of the Main-plate, by two small Shanks proceeding from that edge of the Spring that lies against the Main-plate, as at OO: These Shanks are to be Rivetted (as you were taught even now) on the other side of the Main-plate.

All things being thus fitted, punch an hole on each corner of the Main-plate for Nails to enter, that must nail the Lock to the Door. Or if you intend to Screw your Lock on the Door, you must make wide holes, big enough to receive the Shank of the Screw. Last of all, river down your Cover-plate to the Main-plate, and file your Key, and polish it too, if you will; so shall the Lock and Key be finished.

a A Prick-punch, is a piece of temper'd Steel, with a round point at one end, to prick a round mark in cold Iron.

b Hammer-hard, is when you harden Iron, or Steel, with much hammering on it.

The making of Screws and Nuts.

THE Shank of the Screw for Doors, and many other purposes, must be Forged square near the Head, because it must be let into a square hole, that it may not twist about when the Nut is turned about hard upon the Screw-pin. Therefore take a square Bar, or Rod of Iron, as near the size of the Head of the Screw-pin as you can, and taking a Flame-heat of it, lay so much of this Bar as you intend for the length of the Shank, with one square side flat, upon the hither side of the Anvil, and hammer it down to your intended thickness: But have a care you do not strike your Iron on this side the edge of the Anvil, lest you cut the Iron, as I told you Numb. I. fol. 11. Thus, at once, you will have two sides of your Shank forged; the under-side made by the Anvil, and the upper-side beaten flat with the Hammer: The Head will be in the main Rod of Iron; then if your Iron grows cold, give it another Heat, and lay one of the unwrought sides upon the hither-side of the Anvil, just to the Head, and hammer that down, as before, so shall the two other square sides be made; then hammer down the Corners of so much of this Shank, as you intend for the Screw-pin, and round it, as near as you can, with the Hammer; set then the Chissel to the thickness you intend the Head shall have, and strike it about half through, then turn the sides successively, and cut each side also half through, till it be quite cut off. If the Sholder be not square enough, hold it in your square-nos'd Tongs, and take another Heat, and with speed (lest your Work cool) screw the Shank into the Vice, so as the Sholder may fall flat upon the Chaps of the Vice; then hammer upon the Head, and square the Sholder on two sides, do the like for squaring the other two sides. This was, in part, taught you before, in Numb. I. fol. 11. but because the cutting this Iron Rod, or Bar, just above the Sholder makes the Head, and for that I did not mention it there, I thought fit (since the purpose required it) to do it here: The Forging of the Nuts are taught before, Numb I. Fol. 11, 12.

Having forged and filed your Shank square, and the Head either square or round, as you intend it shall be, file also the Screw-pin, from the risings and dents left at the Forge; and file it a little tapering towards the end, that it may enter the Screw-plate; the Rule how much it must be Tapering is this, consider how deep the Inner Grooves of the Screw-plate lie in the outer Threds, and file the end of the Screw-pin so much smaller than the rest of the Screw-pin, for the outer Threds of the Screw-plate must make the Grooves on the Screw-pin, and the Grooves in the Screw-plate, will make the Threds on the Screw-pin. Having fitted your self with a hole in your Screw-plate (that is, such a hole whose Diameter of the hollow Grooves, shall be equal to the Diameter of the Screw-pin, but not such an hole, whose Diameter of the outer Threds, shall be equal to the Diameter of the Screw-pin, for then the Screw-plate will indeed turn about the Screw-pin, but not cut any Grooves, or Threds, in it) screw the Shank with the Head down-wards in the Vice, so as that the Screw-pin may stand directly upright, and take the handle of the Screw-plate in your Right-hand, and lay that hole flat upon the Screw-pin, and press it pretty hard down over it, and turn the Screw-plate evenly about with its handle towards you, from the Right towards the Left-hand, so shall the outer Threds of the Srew-plate cut Grooves into the Screw-pin, and the substance of the Iron on the Screw-pin, will fill up the Grooves of the Screw-plate, and be a Thred upon the Screw-pin. But take this for Caution, that, as I told you, you must not make your Screw-pin too small, because the Screw-plate will not then cut it, so if you make it too big (if it do enter the Screw-plate where it is Taper) it will endanger the breaking it, or, if it do not break it, yet the Screw-plate will, after it gets a little below the Tapering, go no farther, but work and wear off the Thred again it made about the tapering.

To fit the Pin therefore to a true size, I, in my Practise, use to try into what hole of the Screw-plate, the Tap or place of the Tap, (if it be a tapering Tap,) I make the Nut with, will just slide through; (Threds and all;) (which generally in most Screw-plates is the hole next above that to be used) for then turning my Pin about in that hole, if the Pin be irregularly filed, or but a little too big on any part of it, the Threds of that Hole will cut small marks upon the Pin, on the irregular places, or where it is too big; so that afterwards filing those marks just off, I do, at once, file my Pin truly round, and small enough to fit the Hole I make my Screw-pin with.

As the Hole of the Screw-plate must be fitted to the Screw-pin, so must the Screw-tap that makes the Screw in the Nut, be fitted to the round hole of the Nut; but that Tap must be of the same size of your Screw-pin too, which you may try by the same hole of the Screw-plate you made the Screw-pin with. Screw the Nut in the Vice directly flat, that the hole may stand upright, and put the Screw-tap upright into the hole; then if your Screw-tap have an handle, turn it by the handle hard round in the Hole, so will the Screw-tap work it self into the Hole, and make Grooves in it to fit the Threds of the Screw-pin. But if the Screw-tap have no handle, then it hath its upper end filed to a long square, to fit into an hollow square, made near the handle of the Screw-plate; put that long square hole, over the long square on the top of the Tap, and then by turn-ing about the Screw-plate, you will also turn about the Tap in the hole, and make Grooves and Threds in the Nut.

But though small Screws are made with Screw-plates, yet great Screws, such as are for Vices, Hot-Presses, Printing-Presses, &c. are not made with Screw-Plates, but must be cut out of the main Iron, with heavy blows upon a Cold-Chissel. The manner of making them, is as follows.

The Rules and manner of Cutting Worms upon great Screws.

THE Threds of Screws, when they are bigger than can be made in Screw-plates, are called Worms. They consist in length, breadth and depth; the length of a Worm begins at the one end of the Spindle, and ends at the other; the breadth of the Worm, is contained between any two Grooves on the Spindle, viz. The upper and under Groove of the Worm, in every part of the Spindle; the depth of the Worm, is cut into the Diameter of the Spindle, viz. The depth, between the outside of the Worm, and the bottom of the Groove.

The depth ought to be about the one Seventh Part of the Diameter, on each side the Spindle.

You ought to make the Groove wider than the Worm is broad, because the Worm being cut out of the same intire piece with the Spindle, will be as strong as the Worm in the Nut, tho' the Worm on the Spindle be smaller; for you cannot come at the Worm in the Nut, to cut it with Files, as you may the Spindle, and therefore you must either Turn up a Rod of Iron, to twist round about the Grooves on the Spindle, and then take it off, and Braze it into the Nut, or else you must Cast a Nut of Brass upon the Spindle, which will neither way be so strong as the Worm cut out of the whole Iron, by so much as Brass is a weaker Mettal than Iron, and therefore it is that you ought to allow the Worm in the Nut, a greater breadth than the Worm on the Spindle, that the strength of both may, as near as you can, be equallized; for both being put to equal force, ought to have equal strength. The Worm may very well be the One Seventh Part smaller than the Groove is wide, as aforesaid.

Having considered what breadth the Worm on the Spindle shall have, take a small thin Plate of Brass, or Iron, and file a square notch at the end of it, just so wide, and so deep, as your Worm is to be broad and deep, and file the sides of the Plate that this notch stands between, just to the width of the Groove. This Plate, must be a Gage to file your Worm and Groove to equal breadth by; then draw a straight and upright line the whole length of the Spindle; divide from this line the Circumference of the whole Spindle into eight equal parts, and through those Divisions, draw seven Lines more parallel to the first Line; then open your Compasses just to the breadth of one Worm, and one Groove, and set off that distance so oft as you can, from the one end of the Spindle to the other, (but I should first have told you, that the end of your Spindle must be truly square to the outside) and with a Prick-Punch, make a mark to every setting off on that line: Do the like to all the other straight upright Lines. Note, that you may chuse one of these eight upright lines for the first, and make the next towards your left hand, the second (but then the first must stand towards you) and the next that, the third, and so on. And the top mark of every one of these upright straight Lines, shall be called the first Mark, the next under that the second Mark, the third, the third Mark, and so downwards in Order and Number.

Having marked one of these eight Lines at the top of the Spindle, to begin the winding of the Worm at, with a Black-lead Pencil, draw a line from that Mark to the second Mark, on the next upright line towards the left hand, from thence continue drawing on with your Pencil to the third Mark, on the third upright line, draw on still to the fourth Mark, on the fourth upright line, and so onwards, till you have drawn over the eight straight lines, which when you have done, you must still continue on, drawing downwards to each lower Mark on each successive upright line, till you have drawn your Worm from end to end: Then examine, as well as you can, by your Eye, whether the Worm you have carried on from Mark to Mark with the Black-lead Pencil, do not break into Angles, which if it do any where, you must mend it in that place: Then with the edge of an half-round File, file a small line in that Black-lead line, and be sure that the line you are filing, run exactly through all the Marks that the Black-lead Pencil should have run through (if it did not, for want of good guidance of the hand.) This small line is only for a guide to cut the Groove down by; for the making of a Screw is, indeed nothing else, but the cutting the Groove down, for then the Worm remains: But you must not file in this small line, but leave it as a guide to lie on the middle of the Worm (as I said before): Therefore to cut down the Groove, take a Cold-Chissel, somewhat thinner than you intend the Groove shall be wide, viz. about the thickness of the breadth of the Worm, and, with heavy blows, cut out the Groove pretty near. The reason why you should not offer to cut the Grooves to their full width at the first, is, because your Hand may carry the Cold-Chissel somewhat awry, and should your Cold-Chissel be as thick as the Groove is wide, you could not smooth the Irregularities out, without making the Worm narrower than you intended it: Then with a Flat-file open and smooth the Groves, filing in the middle between the two next fine lines cut by the Half-round File, till you have wrought the Spindle from end to end, so shall the Worm remain. But you must not expect, that though the Groove be cut, it is therefore finished, for now you must begin to use the thin Plate-Gage, and try First, whether the Worm have equal breadth all the way. Secondly, whether rhe Groove have equal breadth all the way. And Thirdly, whether the Groove have equal depth all the way; and whereever you find the Worm too broad, you must file it thinner, and where the Groove is not deep enough, file it deeper; therefore in cutting down the Groove you may observe, that if, at first, you file the Worm ne'er so little too narrow, or the Groove ne'er so little too deep, you shall have all the rest of the Worm, or Groove, to file over again; because the whole Worm must be wrought to the breadth of the smallest part of it, and the whole Groove to the depth of the deepest place all the way, especially if the Nut be to be Cast in Brass upon the Spindle; because the Mettal running close to the Spindle will bind on that place, and not come off it; but if the Nut be not to be Cast in Brass, but only hath a Worm brazed into it, this niceness is not so absolutely necessary, because that Worm is first Turned up, and bowed into the Grooves of the Spindle, and you may try that before it is Braz'd into the Nut, and if it go not well about, you may mend, or botch it, either by Hammering, or Filing, or both.

The manner of Casting the Nut upon the Spindle, I shall shew when I come to the Casting of Mettals; and the manner of Brazing hath been Taught already. Numb. I. fol. 12, 13.

If your Spindle is to have three or four Worms winding about it, as Coining-Presses, and Printing-Presses have, that they may not wear out too fast, you must divide the Circumference into three or four equal parts; and each of these equal parts, into two equal parts, and having straight upright lines, drawn as before, begin a Worm at each of those three, or four Divisions, on the Circumference, and considering the breadth of your Worm, and width of your Groove, measure that width so oft as you can on all the upright lines, and making Marks on those, at each Setting off, draw, as before, a line from the end of the Spindle, on the first upright line to the Mark below it, which is the second Mark on the second upright line, from thence to the third Mark, on the third upright line, and so on to the other end of the Spindle. Having drawn the first Worm, work the other Worms as this.

Thus much may, at present, suffice for great Screws; when I come to exercise upon Printing, I shall be more copious on Rules for Printing-Press Spindles.

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MECHANICK EXERCISES: OR, The Doctrine of Handy-Works.

Viz. The making of Jacks, and Bullet-Molds, the twisting of Iron, and Case-hardning it, with the use of some Tools not treated of before: Also of the several Sorts of Steel, the manner of Softning, Hardning and Tempering them. Of Jacks.

FIg. 1. is called a Worm-Jack. AB the Fore-side, AC the Back-side, AA the Top-piece, BC the Bottom-piece, altogether the Jack-Frame, EEK the Main-Spindle, NON the Main Wheel and Barrel, O the Barrel, D the Wind-up-piece, fastned into the Barrel, FF the Worm-wheel Spindle, G the Worm-wheel, Q the Worm-Nut, H the Worm, R the Stud of the Worm-Spindle, D the Worm-Loop, L the Wind-up-piece, M the Winch, or Winder, or Handle, the Iron part is the Winder, the Wood the Handle, S the Eye of the Winder, II the Fly, T the Socket of the Fly, V the Struck-Wheel, X the Stayes, or Back-fastnings.

First you are to Forge the Jack-frame, and on the left side of the Foreside, a Shank for the Stud of the Worm-spindle, as you were taught, Numb. I. fol. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. and then file it, as you were taught, Numb. I. fol. 14, 15, 16.

The top and bottom Pieces are let into square holes at the ends of the Fore and Backsides. But you must forge the top and bottom Pieces with two small Squares towards the ends of them, and two round ends for Screw-pins, beyond those squares. The small squares are to be fitted into square holes into the Fore and Backsides, and the round Screw-pins are to make Screws of, to which a square Nut is to be fitted to draw the top and bottom Pieces close and tight up to the insides of the Fore and Backsides. The manner of filing of these square Ends you were, in part, taught, Numb. II. fol. 15, 16. and Numb. I. fol. 29. but another way is by trying your Work with an Instrument, called, by Workmen, a Square, as you see described in this Figure.

Of the Square, and its Use.

The sides ABC are called the Outer-Square;

the sides DEF the Inner-Square. Its use is thus. If your work, as in this case, be an Outer-square, you must use the Inner-square, DEF to try it by; applying either the side ED, or DF (but suppose the side ED) to one of the sides of your work, chuse the flattest and truest wrought) if neither of the sides be flat, make one of them flat, as you were taught, Numb. I. fol. 15, 16. if then you find the side DF of your Square lie all the way even upon the adjoining side of your work, you may conclude those sides are Square; but if the adjoining side of your work comply not all the way with the adjoining side of the Square, you must file away your work where the Square rides upon it, till the whole side be wrought to comply with the adjoining side of the Square, that is, till both the sides of your work agree with both the sides of the Squares, when they are applied to one another. Having tried two sides square, make a third side of your work square, by applying one of the sides of the Square to one of those sides of your work, that are already made square, and, as before, try the third untried side, and make that Square; and by the same Rule make the the fourth side square.

If the work you are to file be an hollow square, you must apply the outer square ABC to it, and try how, when one side of the Square, is applied to one side of your work, the other side of your work agrees with the other side of the Square; which if it do, all is well: But if the Square and the Work comply not with one another, you must file your Work where it bears the Square off. But to return where I left.

Having made these two ends square, you must fit the length of them to the thickness of the Fore and Backsides into which they are to enter, but so, as the squares be not full so long, as to come quite thro' the Fore and Backsides, lest when the Nuts are screwed on the Screw-pins that are at the ends of these Squares, they screw full up to the Squares, and bear against the corners of them; which if they do, the Nuts will not draw the Fore and Backsides close against the shoulder of the squares, on the top and bottom Pieces, and then the whole Jack Frame will not stand fast and firm together.

But before you fit this Frame thus together, you must consider the Diameter of the Main Wheel, that you may Punch round Holes in the Fore and Backsides to enter the Main-spindle. Therefore open your Compass to half the intended Diameter of the main Wheel, and half a quarter, or an whole quarter of an Inch more for play, between the Semi-Diameter of the main Wheel, and the upper flat of the Bottom-piece, and set that distance off from the upper flat of the Bottom-Piece, on the Fore and Backsides, and with a round Punch, somewhat smaller than the intended size of the Main-spindle, punch holes at that setting off. Your Punch must be smaller than the Main-spindle, because the holes may perhaps not be so exactly round, or punched so truly upright, or perfectly smooth as they ought to be; and should you make the holes so wide, at first, as they need to be, you could not mend them, without making them wider. These holes must be punched at the Fire, or Forge, (as Smiths say, when they take an Heat of their work to punch it) because the Fore and Backsides are too strong (as Smiths say) that is, too thick to punch with the Cold Punch. The way of punching them you were taught Numb. I. fol. 11, 12. Besides, a Cold Punch is commonly made flat at the bottom, and therefore does not prick an Hole, but cut an Hole (if the Iron be not too strong) for that flat bottom, and the round upright side about it, meet in an Angle, or Edge, at the bottom, which edge, by the force of an Hammer, cuts the Iron (if it be not too strong) when it is laid upon a Bolster, as it is described, Numb. I. fol. 12. and should you cut out so much Iron in the Fore and Backsides, as would entertain the main Spindle (it being thick) you would make the Fore and Backsides too wide; therefore, as I said, the Holes must be prickt in the Fore and Backsides at the Fire, or Forge, which with a sharp pointed Punch is sooner done; nor does pricking diminish the substance or strength of the Iron, but makes it swell out at the sides, and retain both substance and strength. The irregularity, or swellings out that this punching makes on the flats of the Fore and Backsides, you must hammer down again with almost a Blood-red-heat, I say, almost a Blood-red-heat; because, should you take too great an Heat, you may make the Fore and Backsides stretch, and so put the whole Jack-Frame out of order.

Having puncht the holes for the main Spindle, you must punch the holes in the Fore and Backsides for the Worm-wheel Spindle, as you puncht the holes for the main Spindle; but these must be small holes, to entertain the small Ends, or Pins of the Worm-wheel Spindle.

These holes thus puncht, may perhaps not be exactly round, or fit your size, nor will they be smooth enough within; therefore, with a a Square-bore, you must b open them wider to your size, and that opening them in the inside, will both round and smoothen them.

You must also punch a square hole towards the top of the Foreside, for the Shank of the Worm-Loop.

Then Forge and fit in your Main-wheel Spindle, and your Worm-wheel Spindle, which Spindles must both be exactly straight between the centers of their two ends (unless you like to have Moldings for Ornaments on them) and forge a square towards the ends of both the Spindles, to fit into a square hole in the middle of the Cross of their Wheels, and leave substance enough for a shoulder beyond the square, to stop the square hole in the Cross of the Wheels from sliding farther on the Spindle, and you must leave substance of Iron enough to forge the Nut of the Worm-wheel near the other end. But in this, and indeed, in all other forging, remember, (as I told you Numb. I. fol. 9.) that it behoves you to Hammer, or Forge your Work as true as you can, lest it cost you great pains at the Vice.

Then forge the Worm-spindle, which is all the way round and straight, unless you will have Moldings for Ornaments (as aforesaid) upon the shank of it: But you must be sure to forge substance enough for the Worm to be cut out of it.

The Main and Worm-wheels are forged round and flat.

The manner of forging these Wheels (which in Smith's Language is, Turning up the Wheels) is, first, to draw out a square Rod (as you were taught, Numb. I. fol. 9. among the several Heats of Iron) somewhat thicker than you intend your Wheel shall be; but it must be almost as thin on one side, as you intend the Inner edge of the Wheel shall be, and the opposite to it above twice that thickness, for the outer edge of the Wheel: (the reason you will find by and by.) Having drawn forth your square Rod to a convenient length, viz. almost three times the Diameter of your intended Wheel, you must take almost a Flame-heat, and hammer all along the whole length upon the thick edge, so will you find the long Rod, by this hammering, turn by degrees rounder and rounder in upon the thin edge, which you hammer'd not upon, till it become a Circle, or pretty near a Circle. But you must make it somewhat more than a Circle, for the ends must lap over one another, that they may be welded upon one another.

Thus you may see the Reason for making the outer edge of the Rod thick, and the opposite edge thin; for your hammering upon the outer edge only, and not on the inner, makes the outer edge a great deal thinner, and at the same time makes the Wheel broader.

The reason why I told you, you should draw forth the Rod to almost three times the Diameter of the Wheel, and not to the Geometrical proportion, is, because that in hammering upon it to make it round, the Rod will stretch so considerably, that it will be long enough to make a Wheel of your intended Diameter, and, most commonly, somewhat to spare. But to return.

Before you take a welding Heat, as by Numb. I. fol. 9. 10. you must flatten the two ends that are to be welded together, to a little more than half their thickness, that when they are lapt over one another, and welded together, they may be no thicker than the other part of the Wheel.

If the Wheels be not turned up so round, that with a little labour you may mend them at the Vice, you must with Blood-red-heats hammer them round upon the Pike, or Bickern of the Anvil, holding with your Tongs the inner edge of the Wheel upon it, and hammering upon the outer edge of the Wheel, till the Wheel be fit for the Vice: Their insides must be divided into four equal parts, or four c Dufftail notches to be filed into them. The Dufftail notches are cut in the inner edge of the Wheel towards the outer edge of the Wheel, somewhat more than a quarter of an inch deep, and spreading somewhat wider towards the outer edge. These notches are to receive the four ends of a Cross forged somewhat thicker towards the ends than the thickness of the wheel, and must be filed outer Dufftails, to let exactly into the inner Dufftail notches made in the inside of the wheel. They must be forged thicker than the wheel, because they must batter over both the flat sides of the wheel, to keep the wheel strong and steddy upon the Cross; and sometimes (for more security) they are brazed into the wheel (yet that is but seldom;) the middle of this Cross is made broad, that when the square hole is made in the middle of it to receive the square of the Spindle, it may have strength enough to bear the violence offered it, as well in winding up the great weight, that keeps the wheels in motion, as in the checking and turning the Jack-winder back, to set the Jack a-going, when by the winding up, it may be subject to stand still, or sometimes, for want of weight, or else for want of oyling; or some other accident.

These wheels thus forged and filed flat, must be divided, the Main wheel commonly into 64 equal parts, and the Worm-wheel into about 32 equal parts; but these numbers are not exactly observ'd by Smiths, for sometimes they make them more, and sometimes less, either according to the size of their wheels, or according as they intend their wheels shall go, swifter, or slower about (for the fewer the Teeth on a wheel are, the sooner a wheel goes about, and the more Teeth on a wheel, the slower the wheel goes about) or sometimes as they have opened their Compasses to divide them: For if, by luck, they at first open their Compasses to such a width, as will just measure out on a Circle, (which they describe on the center of the wheel for that purpose) their intended number, then the wheel shall have the intended number of Teeth; if not, let it somewhat fall short, or exceed that number, they matter not, but make that number of Teeth on the wheel. And having thus divided the wheel, they, by the side of a straight Ruler laid to the Center, and every division markt on the wheel, draw or scratch a straight line from the outer limb of the wheel, to the Circle, which Circle (I should have told you before) is described at that distance from the outer Verge, they intend the Teeth shall be cut down to. This is indeed a rough way of working, but the Office of a Jack is well enough performed by this rough work; and the usual prizes such, as will scarce pay Workmen for better, as they say.

These wheels thus divided, must be cut down into these divisions with a d Jack-file, the Main-wheel straight athwart the outer Verge, (which to speak Mathematically, makes an Angle of 90 degrees with the flat sides of the wheel,) and the Worm-wheel aslope, making an Angle of about 115 degrees with its sides, that is, an Angle of 25 degrees, with a line drawn straight athwart the outer Edge of the Wheel, that the teeth of the Worm-wheel may gather themselves into the Grooves of the Worm in the Worm-spindle; the Worm on the Worm-spindle running about 65 degrees aslope from the Axis, or perpendicular of the Worm-spindle; the notches you make with the File must be so wide, as to contain about twice the thickness of each tooth: Therefore you may observe, that the number of Teeth cannot be assign'd, because the Sizes of all Jack-wheels are not of equal Diameters, and the Sizes of the Teeth must be filed very square and smooth, and the corners taken off, and rounded on both sides towards the middle of the top, or end of the Tooth, which much helps the Teeth to gather in upon the Teeth of the Nut, and the Worm on the Worm-spindle.

The Teeth of the wheels being cut down, and the whole wheel finished, they must be forced stiff and hard upon the square of the Spindle, close up to the Shoulder; which Square being made somewhat longer than the Cross of the wheel is thick, must with a Cold-Chissel be cut on the top of that Square, to make the Iron that comes through the square hole of the wheel, spread over the Cross of the wheel, and then that spreading must be battered with the Pen of the Hammer; that it may stand up stiff against the shoulder of the Square, on the other side of the wheel; but in doing this, you must be very careful that the Spindle stand exactly perpendicular to the flat sides of your wheels; for should the Spindle lean never so little to one, or the other side of the wheel, the wheel when it is moving in the Jack-frame would not move perpendicular, but wabble towards the Fore or Backsides of the Jack-frame, and perhaps by this irregular motion, before a revolution of the wheel be performed, it would go off from the length of the Teeth of the Nut.

Then file the Spindle-pins (which are the ends of the Spindle, that go into the center-holes of the Fore and Backsides of the Jack-frame) exactly round and fit to their center-holes, and place them into their proper center-holes. Then try if the wheels are exactly round on their outer edges, and that in turning about, their flat sides wabble not, but in a revolution keep parallel to the Fore and Backsides. The way Smiths use to try them by is, to turn them about by the Spindle, and holding a piece of Chalk steddy to the outer Limb of the wheel, not leting the point of the Chalk slip forwards or backwards, or towards the right or left hand, for then if the Chalk make a white stroke round the whole wheel, and that white stroke lie exactly parallel to the two outer edges of the wheel, the Wheel is not only round, but stands also true upon its Spindle, that is, perpendicular to the Spindle, and the Spindle perpendicular to the flat of it: But if the Chalk does not touch round the whole wheel, you must file down so much of the outer Verge of the wheel, where the Chalk does touch, as will bring down, or equalize the Diameter of the wheel in that place, to the Diameter of the wheel in the place where it does not touch; so may you conclude the wheel is round. If the mark of the Chalk lie not exactly in the middle between the two edges of the wheel, then it is not perpendicular to the Spindle, and you must with the Hammer set it right, that is, perpendicular, by forcing the wheel over from the side it leans too much to, or else by forcing the Spindle, which is all one; yet this is an help you ought not to rely upon to use, but in case of necessity, but rather be sure your Wheel and Spindle stand perpendicular to one another, before you fasten the Wheel upon the square of the Spindle, for by this help the square on the Spindle, will be apt to loosen in the square of the Wheel, and you will have your wheel to new fasten upon the square of the Spindle again.

As you tried the Wheels with Chalk, so you must try the Nut, the Worm, and the Spindles.

The upper part of the Worm-spindle, must be filed truly round to fit into the Worm-Loop, that it shake not in it, and yet go very easily about, without the least stopping. At the very upper end of this round on the Worm-spindle, you must file a square to fit the square hole of the Fly upon.

The Shank of the Worm-Loop, and the Stud of the Worm Spindle, must stand so far off the left side of the Fore-side, that the Teeth of the Worm-wheel, may fall full into the Grooves of the Worm; for so, both being cut with the same slope, the slope Teeth of the Worm-wheel will gather into the slope Grooves of the Spindle, and pressing upon the Worm, drive about the Worm-spindle and the Fly.

The Fly is made sometimes with two, sometimes with four Arms from the center; and sometimes the Arms are made longer, sometimes shorter: The more Arms, and also the longer Arms, are to make the Jack go slower.

There is yet a small matter more of Iron work about the Jack, which is the Tumbler; but it lies in the farther end of the Barrel, and cannot well be described without a particular figure, which therefore I have inserted. As in Fig. 2. A the Barrel, B the Main-spindle coming through the Barrel, a the center of the Tumbler moving upon the Center-pin, which is fastened into an Iron plate behind the Barrel. b The Coller upon the Main-spindle, from which proceeds a Tongue, which passes through a pretty wide hole at c in the Tumler, as far as e d the Catch of the Tumbler. The Tumbler moves, as aforesaid, upon the center hole a, but receives the Tongue through it at c, and passes as far as e. This Tongue serves as a Check to the Tumbler, that it cannot tumble above an Angle of 20 degrees, from the Iron plate it is fastened to; and that the width of its center-hole, and the width of the hole the Tongue passes through, and the motion of the Coller about the Main-spindle allows it, but were the center hole a, and its Center-pin fit, and the hole c, and the Tongue that also passes through it also fit, and the Coller fixt, it could not move at all. But this play is enough for it, to do the purpose it is designed for. The Tumbler is so placed behind the Barrel, that while the Jack-line is winding up upon the Barrel, its round britch passes forwards by all the Crosses of the Main-wheel, and the Point or Catch d, as then claps it self snug or close to the Iron plate of the Barrel: But when the Barrel is turned on the contrary way, the weight of the Catch in half a revolution of the Barrel (let the Tumbler be posited where it will) makes it open and fall from the Iron plate, and but against one or other of the Crosses on the Main-wheel, and so thrusts the Main-wheel about with the Barrel.

The Eye of the Winch, or Winder, is forged as you were taught to forge the Pin-hole in the Cross-garnet, Numb. II. fol. 18. But that was to be a small round hole, and therefore you were directly to lay a small round piece of Iron, or Wyre, where you intended the Pin-hole should be, and lap the other end of your work over it; but this is to be a wide square hole, therefore you must lay a square piece of Iron of your size, where the Eye of the Jack-Winch shall be, and lap or double the other end over it, and Weld and Work as you were there directed. The rest of the Winch is but common Forging and Filing work, which hath been sufficiently taught already.

The Wood-work belonging to a Jack, is a Barrel, a Spit-wheel, and a Handle of the Winch; which being Turners work, I shall say nothing to, till I come to the Art of Turning. Only those wheels that have more than one Groove in them, are called Two, Three, &c. Struck-wheels, in Workmens corrupting Language; but, I suppose, originally two Stroak, three Stroak-Wheels, &c. from the number of Grooves that are in them.

The Excellencies of a good Jack are, 1. That the Jack-Frame be forged and filed square, and conveniently strong, well set together, and will screw close and tight up. 2. That the Wheels be perpendicularly, and strongly fixed on the squares of the Spindles. 3. That the Teeth be evenly cut, and well smoothed, and that the Teeth of the Worm-wheel fall evenly into the Groove of the Worm. 4. That the Spindle Pins shake not between the Fore and Backsides, nor are too big, or too little, for their Center-holes.

a The Square-bore, is a square Steel Point, or Shank, well temper'd, fitted into a square Socket in an Iron Wimble: It is described, Fig. 3. Its use is to open a Hole, and make it truly round, and smooth within; when you use it, you must set the Head against your Breast, and put the point of the Square-bore into the hole you punched, or would open, and turning the handle about, you with it turn about the Shank of the Square-bare, whose edges cut away the irregularities of the Iron made in the Punching. But you must thrust, or lean hard with your Breast against the Head of the Square-bore, that it may cut the faster: And you must be sure to guide the Square-bore truly straight forwards in the hole, lest the hole be wrought aslope in the Iron.

b To open an hole, is in Smith's Language, to make the hole wider.

c A Dufftail, is a Figure made in the form of a Doves-tail, and is used by many other Handy-crafts, as well as by Smiths, but most especially by Joyners, as I shall shew, when I come to Joynery.

d A Jack-file, is a broad File somewhat thin on both Edges, and stronger in the middle.

The manner of making Molds to Cast Leaden Bullets in.

I insert the making of Bullet-Molds, because there is some sort of Work in them different from what hath yet been taught. The Handles, and the Heads are forged as other Work, but the two concave Hemispheres, are first punched with a round-ended Punch, of the shape, and almost of the size you intend the Bullet shall be. They must be punch'd deep enough at the Forge with a Blood-red-heat; then are the Edges of the Chaps filed flat, first with a Common-file, the Common-way, but afterwards with an Using-file, as Workmen call it. The Using-file, is a long and broad File, exactly flat on both its cut sides, having a square Iron handle drawn out at one end, with an hole in it; but the handle is not to hold it by when you use it, but the hole in it to go over a pin you hang it upon, when you do not use it. When you use it, you must lay it flat upon the Work-bench, with its handle from you, and you must take care that it lie solid and steddy, lest when you work upon it, it slip from you; therefore you may strike a Nail in at the hole in the handle, a little way into the Work-Bench, that you may draw it again, when you have done with the Using-file, and you may drive in a small Tack on each side the Using-file, to keep it steddy, or you may tack down two small thin boards on either side the Using-file, to keep it steddy, and rip them off again when you have done. Your Using-file lying thus straight, and steddy before you, lay the Chaps of one half of the Mold flat upon the hither end of the Using-file, and holding your two Thumbs, and your two Fore-fingers upon the head of the Mold, thrust your work hard down from you the whole length of the Using-file, then draw your work lightly back, and thrust it again hard from you; reiterate these thrusts thus, till upon the Chaps of the Mold, you can see no irregularities, or the File-stroaks of the common File left, so may you be sure that the Chaps of the Mold is truly flat. Do the like by the other half of the Mold.

Now you must try whether each of these concaves be an exact half-round; thus, you may describe an Arch a little more than a Semi-Circle, just of the Diameter of your Bullet, upon the end of a thin piece of Brass-latin, draw a straight line through the center, and the Arch on both sides it, for the limits of a Semi-circle; file very curiously all the Brass away on the end, just to this Semi-circle, and just to the Diametral line on either side of the Semi-circle, so have you a convex Semi-circle: Put this convex Semi-circle into the concave Molds, if it fits them so as the convex reaches just the bottom of the Molds, when its shoulder touches just the chaps of the Mold, they are each a true concave Hemisphere. But if the shoulder of the convex (that is, a Diametral Line prolong'd) rides upon the chaps of the Concave, and the bottom of the Convex touch not the bottom of the Concave, the Concave is punched too deep, and must have its chaps rubb'd upon the Using-file again, till it comply with the convex. Then put into the two Concaves a round Bullet, that will just fill them both, and pinching the Heads of the Mold close together in a Vice, with the Bullet in it, drill an hole through both the handles for the Joint. The reason why the Bullet is put into the Mold is, because the Chaps of the two Halves should lie exactly upon one another, whilst the hole for the Joint is drilling. Then fit a Rivet-pin for this hole, and rivet them together, but not so hard, but that the Mold may open and shut pretty easy, and yet go true. Then take the Bullet out, and file in each half of the head, half a round hole directly against one another for the a Geat, which two half holes, when the Mold is shut, will make one round hole.

You may now try with Clay, or by casting a leaden Bullet in it, whether it be exactly round or no; for making a true round hole in a thin piece of Brass, just of the circumference of the chaps, you may try if the cast Bullet will just pass thro', and also fill that hole when the Bullet it turned every way; which if it do, you may conclude the Mold is true. This thin piece of Brass, with a round hole in it, is called a Sizer.

But the inside wants cleansing, for hitherto it is only punched. Therefore you must provide a b Bullet-bore, with which you may bore the inside of each half to clear it. Or if they be not quite deep enough punch'd, you may bore them deeper. You may bore them severally, or together, by putting the Bullet-bore into the Mold, so as the Shank may come through the Geat.

In this Section you see, first the use of a Using-file, an Instrument of great use for flat Filing; for by it you may make two pieces of Iron of somewhat considerable breadth, so true, that by laying the two flat sides upon each other, they shall draw up one another. It is much used by Clock-makers, Watch-makers, Letter-Mold-makers, and indeed, all others that frame Square-Work on Iron, Steel, or Brass. Secondly, the use of a Bullet-bore, which, tho' it be seldom used, yet it may serve, not only for Bullet-Molds, but for other purposes; and by altering its shape into an Oblong, a Cone, or a Cilinder, you may Bore these hollow Figures either for Molds, or some other accidental Uses.

a A Geat, is the hole through which the Mettal runs into the Mold. The Word is used by most Founders. b The Bullet-bore, is a Shank of Steel, having a steel Globe, or Bullet at one end, just of your intended Bullet's size. This Globular end must be hatched with a fine cut, by a File-cutter, and Hardned and Tempered. The end of the Shank, this Globular Bore is fastned to, must be round and so small, that when the Bullet-bore is in the Mold, the Geat will easily receive it. The other end of the Shank must be fitted into the square Socket of the Wimble, and have a Shoulder to it to stop the Socket from sliding too far upon the Shank. From this Shoulder, the rest of the Shank must run tapering down, to the small end the Bullet-bore is fastned to. You must work with it, as you were taught to work with the Square Bore.

Of Twisting of the Iron.

Square and flat Bars, sometimes are, by Smiths, twisted for Ornament. It is very easily done; for after the Bar is square, or flat Forged (and if the curiosity of your work require it truly filed) you must take a Flame-heat, or if your work be small, but a Blood-red-heat, and you may twist it about, as much, or as little as you please, either with the Tongs, Vice, or Hand-Vice, &c.

Of Case-Hardning.

Case-Hardning, is sometimes used by File-Cutters, when they make course Files for Cheapness, and generally most Rasps have formerly been made of Iron, and Case-hardned, because it makes the outside of them hard. It is used also by Gun-Smiths, for hardning their Barrels; and it is used for Tobacco-boxes, Cod-piece Buttons, Heads for walking Staves, &c. And in these Cases, Workmen, to set a greater value on them in the Buyers esteem, call them Steel-barrels, Steel-tobacco-boxes, Steel-buttons, Steel-heads, &c. But Iron thus hardned, takes a better Pollish, and keeps the Pollish much longer and better, than if the Iron were not Case-hardned. The manner of Case-hardning is thus, Take Cow-Horn, or Hoof, dry it throughly in an Oven, and then beat it to Powder, put about the same quantity of Bay-Salt to it, and mingle them together with stale Chamberley, or else with White-Wine-Vineger. Lay some of this mixture upon Loam, made, as you were taught Numb. I. fol. 13. And cover your Iron all over with it; then wrap the Loam about all, and lay it upon the Hearth of the Forge to dry and harden: When it is dry and hard, put it into the Fire, and blow up the Coals to it, till the whole Lump have just a Blood-red-heat, but no higher, lest the quality of your mixture burn away, and leave the Iron as soft as at first. Then take it out, and quench it. Or, instead of Loam, you may wrap it up in Plate Iron, so as the mixture may touch every part of your Work, and blow the Coals to it, as aforesaid.

Of several Sorts of Steel in common use among Smiths.

The difficulty of getting good Steel makes many Work-men (when, by good hap, they light on it) commend that Country-Steel for best, from whence that Steel came. Thus I have found some cry up Flemish-Steel, others Swedish-Steel, others English, Spanish, Venice, &c. But according to my Observation, and the common consent of the most ingenious Workmen, each Country produces almost indifferently good and bad; yet each Country doth not equally produce such Steel, as is fit for every particular purpose, as I shall shew you by and by. But the several Sorts of Steel, that are in general use here in England, are the English-Steel, the Flemish, the Swedish, the Spanish, and the Venice-Steel.

The English-Steel is made in several places in England, as in Yorkshire, Gloucestershire, Sussex, the Wild of Kent, &c. But the best is made about the Forrest of Dean, it breaks Fiery, with somewhat a course Grain. But if it be well wrought, and proves sound, it makes good Edge-Tools, Files and Punches. It will work well at the Forge, and take a good Heat.

The Flemish-Steel is made in Germany, in the Country of Stiermark, and in the Land of Luyck: From thence brought to Colen, and is therefore sometimes called Colen-Steel; from Colen it is brought down the River Rhine to Dort, and other parts of Holland and Flanders, some in Bars, and some in Gads, and is therefore, by us, called Flemish-Steel, and sometimes Gad-Steel. It is a tough sort of Steel, and the only Steel used for Watch Springs. It is also good for Punches; File-cutters also use it to make their Chissels of, with which they cut their Files. It breaks with a fine Grain, works well at the Forge, and will take a welding Heat.

I cannot learn that any Steel comes from Sweden, but from Dantzick comes some which is called Swedish-Steel: It is much of the same quality and fineness with Flemish-Steel.

The Spanish-Steel is made about Biscany. It is a fine sort of Steel, but some of it very difficult to work at the Forge, because it will not take a good Heat; and it sometimes proves very unsound, as not being well curried, that is, well wrought. It is too quick (as Workmen call it) that is, too brittle for Springs, or Punches, but makes good fine Edged Tools.

Venice-Steel is much like Spanish-Steel, but more fine, and works somewhat better at the Forge. It is used for Razors, Chirurgion's Instruments, Gravers, &c. Because it will come to a fine and thin Edge. Razor-makers generally clap a small Bar of Venice-Steel between two small Bars of Flemish-Steel, and so work, or weld them together, to strengthen the back of the Razor, and keep it from cracking.

There is another sort of Steel of higher commendations, than any of the foregoing sorts. It is called Damascus-Steel; 'tis very rare, that any comes into England unwrought, but the Turkish-Symeters are generally made of it. It is most difficult, of any Steel, to work at the Forge, for you shall scarce be able to strike upon a Blood-heat, but it will Red-Sear; insomuch that these Symeters are, by many Workmen, thought to be cast Steel. But when it is wrought, it takes the finest, and keeps the strongest Edge of any other Steel. Workmen set almost an inestimable value upon it, to make Punches, Cold Punches, &c. of. We cannot learn where it is made, and yet, as I am informed, the Honourable Mr. Boyl hath been very careful and industrious in that inquiry; giving it in particular charge to some Travellers to Damascus, to bring home an account of it: But when they came thither they heard of none made there, but were sent about fifty Miles farther into the Country, and then they were told of about fifty Miles farther than that: So that no certain account could be gained, where it is made. Kirman towards the Ocean affords very fine Steel, of which they make Weapons highly prized; for a Symeter of that Steel, will cut through an Helmet with an easy blow. Geog. Rect. fol. 279.

The Rule to know good Steel by.

Break a little piece of the end of the Rod, and observe how it breaks; for good Steel breaks short off, all gray, like frost work Silver. But in the breaking of the bad, you will find some veins of Iron shining and doubling in the Steel.

Of Nealing of Steel.

Having chose your Steel, and forged it to your intended shape, if you are either to file upon it, or engrave upon it, or to Punch upon it, you ought to Neal it first, because it will make it fofter, and consequently work easier. The common way is to give it a Blood-red-heat in the Fire, then take it out, and let it cool of it self.

There are some pretenders to know how to make Steel as soft as Lead; but so oft as my Curiosity has prompted me to try their pretended Processes, so oft have they failed me; and not only me, but some others, careful Observers. But the Way they most boast of, is the often heating the Iron, or Steel in red-hot Lead, and letting it cool of it self, with the Lead. I have many times tried this without any other success, than that it does indeed make Iron or Steel as soft, as if it were well Neal'd the common way, but no softer: And could it be otherwise, the small Iron Ladles, that Letter-Founders use to the casting of Printing-Letters, would be very soft indeed; for their Iron Ladles are kept constantly Month after Month in mel-Mettal, whereof the main Body is Lead, and when they Cast small Letters, they keep their Mettal red hot; and I have known them many times left in the Mettal, and cool with it, as the Fire has gone out of it self; but yet the Iron Ladles have been no softer, than if they had been well Neal'd the common way. But perhaps these Pretenders mean the Iron or Steel shall be as soft as Lead, when the Iron or Steel is red-hot: If so, we may thank'um for nothing.

But that which makes Steel a very small matter softer than the common way of Nealing is, by covering Steel with a course Powder of Cow-Horns, or Hooves, or Rams-Horns, and so inclosing it in a Loam; then put the whole lump into a wooden Fire to hear red-hot, and let it lie in the Fire till the Fire go out of it self, and the Steel cool with the Fire.

Of Hardning and Tempering Steel.

English, Flemish and Swedish-Steel, must have a pretty high heat given them, and then suddenly quench'd in water to make them very hard; but Spanish and Venice Steel, will need but a Blood-red-heat, and then when they are quenched in Water, will be very hard. If your Steel be too hard, that is, too brittle, and it be an Edged, or Pointed Instrument you make, the edge, or point, will be very subject to break; or if it be a Spring, it will not bow, but with the least bending it will snap assunder: Therefore you must let it down, (as Smiths say) that is, make it softer, by tempering it. The manner is thus, take a piece of Grinstone, or Whetstone, and rub hard upon your work to take the black scurff off it. and brighten it; then let it heat in the Fire, and as it grows hotter, you will see the Colour change by degrees, coming first to a light Goldish colour, then to a darker Goldish colour, and at last to a Blew colour; elect which of these Colours your Work requires, and then quench it suddenly in Water. The Light Goldish Colour is for Files, Cold-Chissels and Punches, that Punch into Iron and Steel: The Dark Goldish Colour for Punches to use on Brass, and generally for most Edge-Tools: The Blew-Colour gives the Temper to Springs in general, and is also used to beautifie both Iron and Steel; but then Workmen sometimes grind Indico and Sallad-Oyl together, and rub that mixture upon it, with a woollen Rag, while it is heating, and let it cool of it self.

There is another sort of Hardning, called Hammer-hardning. It is most used on Iron, or Steel Plates, for Dripping-Pans, Saws, Straight-Rulers, &c. It is performed only, with well Hammering of the Plates, which both smooths them, and beats the Mettal firmer into its own Body, and somewhat hardens it.

The manner of Forging Steel, either for Edge-Tools, Punches, Springs, &c. Is (the several shapes considered) the same with forging Iron: Only this General Rule observe, from an Old English Verse used among Smiths, when they Forge Edge-Tools, He that will a good Edge win, Must Forge thick, and Grind thin.

FINIS.

MECHANICK EXERCISES: OR, THE DOCTRINE OF HANDY-WORKS.

By Joseph Moxon, late Member of the Royal Society, and Hydrographer to King Charles II.

LONDON, Printed and Sold by J. Moxon, 1694.

〈1 page duplicate〉

MECHANICK EXERCISES: OR, The Doctrine of Handy-Works.

The ART of JOYNERY.

Definition.

JOynery, is an Art Manual, whereby several Pieces of Wood are so fitted and joined together by straight Lines, Squares, Miters, or any Bevel, that they shall seem one intire Piece.

Explanation.

By straight Lines, I mean, that which, in Joyner's Language, is called a Joint, That is, Two Pieces of Wood are Shot (that is Plained,) or else they are Pared, that is, the irregularities that hinder the closing of the two Pieces are cut off with a Paring Chissel. They are Shot, or Pared, (as I said) so exactly straight, that when they are set upon one another, light shall not be discerned betwixt them. This they call Shooting of a Joynt, or Paring to a Joint, because these two Pieces are with Glew commonly joined together, either to make a Board broad enough for their purpose, or to (a) Clamp one piece of wood to the end of another piece of wood to keep it from casting, or warping.

By Squares, I mean the making of Frames, either for Door-cases, or such like, which is the Framing of two pieces of wood athwart two other pieces of wood, so as the four Angles of the Frame may comply with the Square, marked D.

By Miters are meant the joining of two pieces of wood, so as the Joint makes half a Square, and does comply with the Miter Square, marked E.

By a Bevil is meant any other Angle: As Frames that may be made of Pentagon, Hexagon, Octagon. &c. Figures.

§ 1. The Names of Joyners Tools described, In Plate IIII.

A A Work-Bench. b The Hook in it, to lay Boards or other b Stuff flat against, whilst they are c Trying or Plaining. c The Bench-Screw (on its hither side) to Screw Boards in whilst the edges of them are Plaining. or d Shooting; and then the other edge of the Board is set upon a Pin or Pins (if the Board be so long as to reach to the other Leg) put into the Holes marked aaaaa down the Legs of the Bench; which Pin or Pins may be removed into higher or lower holes, as the breadth of the Board shall require: So then, the Bench-Screw keeps the Board close to the edge of the Bench, and the Pins in the Legs keep it to its height, that it may stand steddy whilst the other edge is working upon: For in the Shooting of a Joint, if the Board keeps not its exact position, but shakes, or trembles under the Plain, your Joint will very hardly be truly straight. d The Hold-fast, let pretty loose into round holes marked bbbbbb, in the Bench: Its office is to keep the work fast upon the Bench, whilst you either Saw, Tennant, Mortess, or sometimes Plain upon it, &c. It performs this office with the knock of an Hammer, or Mallet, upon the head of it; for the Beak of it being made crooked downwards, the end of the Beak falling upon the flat of the Bench, keeps the Head of the Hold-fast above the flat of the Bench, and the hole in the Bench the Shank is let into being bored straight down, and wide enough to let the Hold-fast play a little, the Head of the Hold-fast being knockt, the point of the Beak throws the Shank a-slope in the hole in the Bench, and presses its backside hard against the edge of the Hole on the upper Superficies of the Bench, and its Foreside hard against the oppersite side of the under Superficies of the Bench, and so by the point of the Beak, the Shank of the Hold-fast is wedged between the upper edge, and its oppersite edge of the round hole in the Bench. Sometimes a double Screw is fixed to the side of the Bench, as at g; or sometimes its farther Cheek is laid an edge upon the flat of the Bench, and fastned with an Hold-fast, or, sometimes, two on the Bench. e A Mallet.

§ 2. BBBBBBB Planes of several Sorts: as,

B1 A Fore Plane. a The Tote. b The Mouth. c The Wedge. d The Iron. e The Sole. f The Fore-end. g The Britch. fgh The Stock. All together A Plane. It is called the Fore Plain because it is used before you come to work either with the Smooth Plane, or with the Joynter. The edge of its Iron is not ground upon the straight, as the Smooth Plane, and the Joynter are, but rises with a Convex-Arch in the middle of it; for its Office being to prepare the Stuff for either the Smoothing Plane, or the Joynter, Workmen set the edge of it e Ranker than the edge either of the Smoothing Plane, or the Joynter; and should the Iron of the Plane be ground to a straight edge, and it be set never so little Ranker on one end of the edge than on the other, the Ranker end would (bearing as then upon a point) in working, dig Gutters on the Surface of the Stuff; but this Iron (being ground to a Convex Arch) though it should be set a little Ranker on one end of its edge than on the other, would not make Gutters on the Surface of the Stuff, but (at the most but) little hollow dawks on the Stuff, and that more or less, according as the Plane is ground more or less arching. Nor is it the Office of this Plane to smooth the Stuff, but only (as I said) to prepare it, that is, to take off the irregular Risings, whether on the sides, or in the middle, and therefore it is set somewhat Ranker, that it may take the irregularities the sooner off the Stuff, that the Smoothing Plane, or the Joynter, may afterwards the easier work it Try. The manner of Trying shall be taught, when I come to Treat of the use of the Rule.

You must note, that as I told you in Smithing, Numb. I. fol. 14, 15, 16, it was the office of the course tooth'd File to take off the prominent irregularities the Hammer made in the Forging, &c. and that you were not to file them more away than you need, so the same Caution is to be given you in the using of this Fore Plane in Joynery, for the reason there alledged in Smithing, whether, to avoid repetition, I referr you; only with this consideration, that there Iron, or Steel, was the matter wrought upon, and there a course File the Tool; but now Wood is the matter, and a Course, or Fore-Plane, the Tool.

§ 3. Of setting the Iron.

When you set the Iron of the Fore-Plane, consider the Stuff you are to work upon, viz. Whether it be hard, or soft, or Curling, as Joyners call Crose-grain'd Stuff: If it be hard, or curling, you must not set the Iron very rank, because a Man's strength will not cut deep into hard wood; and if it be not hard wood, but curling, or knotty, and the Iron Rank-set, you may indeed work with it till you come to some Knot, or Curl, but then you may either tear your Stuff, or break the edge of your Iron; therefore you may preceive a reason to set the Iron fine for curling, and knotty Stuff.

But if you ask me how rank your Iron ought to be set? I answer, If your Wood be soft, and your Stuff free, and frowy, that is, evenly temper'd all the way, you may set the Iron to take a shaving off the thickness of an old coined Shilling, but scarce thicker; whereas, if your Stuff be hard, or curling, or knotty, you shall scarce be able to take a shaving off the thickness of and old Groat. Therefore you must examine the Temper of your Stuff, by easy trials, how the Plane will work upon it, and set your Iron accordingly. And observe this as a General Rule, that the Iron a of the fore-Plain is, for the first working with it, to be set as rank as you can make good work with; and that for speed sake.

If your Iron be set too rank, knock with an Hammer upon the Britch of the Stock, and afterwards upon the Wedge; for this knocking upon the Britch, if you knock hard enough, 'twill raise the Iron little, and set it fine; if you knock not hard enough, you must knock again, till the Iron do rise; but if you knock too hard, it will raise the Iron so much, that its edge will rise above the Sole into the Mouth of the Stock, and consequently not touch the Stuff: therefore you must knock softly at first, till, by tryals, you find the Iron rises to a convenient fineness. But as this knocking on the Britch raises the Iron, so it also raises and loosens the wedge; therefore (as aforesaid) whenever you knock upon the Britch, you must also knock upon the wedge, to fasten the Iron again.

If you have raised the edge of the Iron too fine, you must knock softly upon the head of the Iron, and then again upon the wedge, and this you may sometimes do several times, till you sit your Iron to a convenient fineness.

When you have occasion to take your Iron out of the Stock to rub it, that is, to whet it, you may knock pretty smart blows upon the Stock, between the Mouth and the Fore-end, to loosen the wedge, and consequently the Iron.

These ways of setting, are used to all other Plains, as well as Fore-planes.

In the using of this, and indeed, all other Planes, you must begin at the hinder end of the Stuff, the Grain of the wood laying along the length of the Bench, and Plain forward, till you come to the fore-end, unless the Stuff proves Cross-grain'd, in any part of its length; for then you must turn your Stuff, to Plain it the contrary way, so far as it runs Cross-grain'd, And in Plaining, you must, at once, lean pretty hard upon the Plane, and also thrust it very hard forwards, not letting the Plane totter to, or from you-wards, till you have made a Stroak the whole length of the Stuff. And this sometimes, if your Stuff be long, will require your making two or three steps forwards, e'er you come to the fore-end of the Stuff: But if it do, you must come back, and begin again at the farther end, by the side of the last plain'd Stroak, and so continue your several lays of Plaining, till the whole upside of the Stuff be plained.

And if the Stuff be broad you are to Plain upon, and it warp a little with the Grain, or be any ways crooked in the breadth, you must then turn the Grain athwart the Work-Bench, and Plane upon the Cross-Grain. For, if your work be hollow in the middle, you must Plain both the Bearing sides thinner, till they come to a Try with the middle. Then turn the other side of your work, and working still Cross-grain'd, work away the middle, till it come Try with the two sides.

This way of Cross-Grain'd working, is, by Workmen, called Traversing.

Thus have you, in general, the use of all the other Planes: But the use of those Planes, that are designed for other particular purposes, I shall shew, as they come in Order.

§ 4. Of the Joynter. B 2.

The Joynter is made somewhat longer than the Fore-plane, and hath its Sole perfectly straight, from end to end. Its office is to follow the Fore-plane, and to shoot an edge perfectly straight, and not only an edge, but also a Board of any thickness; especially when a Joynt is to be shot. Therefore the Hand must be carried all along the whole length, with an epual bearing weight, and so exactly even, and upright to the edges of the Board, that neither side of the Plane encline either inward or outwards, but that the whole breadth be exactly square on both its sides; supposing its sides straight: so will two edges of two boards, when thus shot, lie so exactly flat and square upon one another, that light will not be discerned betwixt them. But yet it is counted a piece of good workmanship in a Joyner, to have the craft of bearing his hand so curiously even, the whole length of a long Board; and yet it is but a sleight to those, Practice hath inur'd the Hand to. The Joynter is also used to Try Tables with, (large or small) or other such broad work; and then Joyners work, as well upon the Traverse with it, as with the Grain of the Wood, and also Angularly, or Corner-wise, that they may be the more assur'd of the flatness of their work.

Its Iron must be set very fine, so fine, that when you wink with one Eye, and set that end the straight side of the Iron is next to the other Eye, there appear a little above an hairs breadth of the edge above the superficies of the sole of the Plane, and the length of the edge must lie perfectly straight with the flat breadth of the sole of the Plane: For the Iron being then well wedg'd up, and you working with the Plane thus set, have the greater assurance that the Iron cannot run too deep into the Stuff, and consequently you have the less danger that the Joynt is wrought out of straight.

§ 5. The Use of the Strike-block.

The Strike-Block marked B 3. is a Plane shorter than the Joynter, having its sole made exactly flat, and straight, and is used for the shooting of a short Joynt; because it is more handy than the long Joynter. It is also used for the framing, and fitting the Joints of Miters and Bevels; but then it is used in a different manner from other Planes: For if the Miter and Bevel you are to fit be small, you must hold it very steddy in your left hand, with the Sole of it upwards, and its fore-end towards your right hand: and you must hold your work in your right hand very steddy: Then apply the sawn Miter, or sawn Bevel end of your Stuff, to the fore-end of the Strike-Block, and so thrust it hard and upright forwards, till it pass over the edge of the Iron, so shall the edge of the Iron, with several of these thrusts continued, cut, or plain off your stuff the roughness that the Teeth of your Saw made: But if your work be so big that you cannot well weild it in your right hand, you must set the end of your work in the Bench-screw, and Plain upon it with a smoothing Plane.

§ 6. The Use of the Smoothing-Plane.

The Smoothing-Plane marked B 4. must have its Iron set very fine, because its Office is to smoothen the work from those Irregularities the Fore-Plane made.

§ 7. The Use of the Rabbet-Plane.

The Rabbet-Plane marked B 5. is to cut part of the upper edge of a Board, or other Stuff, straight, that is, square down into the Board, that the edge of another Board also cut down in the same manner, may fit and join into the Square of the first board thus cut away: And when two Boards are thus lapped on the edges over one another; this lapping over is called Rabbetting.

The Rabbet-Plane is also sometimes used to strike a Facia in a piece of Molding; as shall be shewed in its proper place.

The sides of the Iron are not inclosed in the Stock of this Plane, as the fore-going Planes are, but the Iron is full as broad as the stock is thick, that the very angles of the edge of the Iron may not be born off the stuff, to hinder the straight and square cutting it down: nor doth it deliver its shaving at a Mouth on the top of the Stock as the other Planes do: But it hath its Mouth on the sides of the Plane, and delivers its shavings there. Its Iron is commonly about an Inch broad.

§ 8. The Use of the Plow.

The Plow marked B 6. is a narrow Rabbet-Plane, with some additions to it: viz. two square Staves, marked aa (yet some of them have the upper edges of them rounded off for the better compliance with the Hand.) The Staves are let stiff through two square Mortesses in the stock, marked bb. They are about seven or eight Inches long, and stand straight and square on the farther side of the stock; and these two staves have sholders on the higher side of the stock, reaching down to the wooden sole of the Plane, (for there is also an Iron sole belonging to the Plow.) To the bottom of these two Sholders is, Rivetted with Iron Rivets, a Fence (as workmen call it) which comes close under the Wooden sole, and its depth reaches below the Iron sole about half an Inch: Because the Iron of the Plow is very narrow, and the sides of it towards the bottom are not to be inclosed in the stock, for the same reason that was given in the Rabbet-Plane; therefore upon the stock is let in, and strongly nailed, an Iron Plate of the thickness of the Plow-Iron, for Wood of that breadth will not be strong enough to endure the force the lower end of the Plow-Iron is put to: This Iron-Plate is almost of the same thickness that the breadth of a Plow-Iron is. Joyners have several Plows, for several widths of Grooves.

The Office of the Plow is, to plow a narrow square Groove on the edge of a Board; which is thus perform'd. The Board is set an edge with one end in the Bench-screw, and its other edge upon a Pin, or Pins, put into a Hole, or Holes, in the Leg, or Legs, of the Bench, such an Hole, or Holes, as will, most conveniently for height, fit the breadth of the Board: Then the Fence of of the Plow is set to that distance off the Iron-Plate of the Plow, that you intend the Groove shall lie off the edge of the Board: As if you would have the Groove lie half an Inch off the Board, then the two staves must, with the Mallet, be knocked through the Mortesses in the stock, till the Fence stands half an Inch off the Iron Plate; and if the staves are fitted stiff enough in the Mortess of the stock, it will keep at that distance whilst you plow the Groove: For the Fence (lying lower than the Iron of the Plane) when you set the Iron of the Plow upon the edge of the Board, will lie flat against the farther edge of the Board, and so keep the Iron of the Plow all the length of the Board at the same distance, from the edge of the Board that the Iron of the Plow hath from the Fence. Therefore your Plow being thus fitted, plow the Groove as you work with other Planes, only as you laid hold on the stock of other Planes when you use them, now you must lay hold of the two staves and their sholders, and so thrust your Plow forwards, till your Groove be made to your depth.

If the Staves go not stiff enough in the Mortess of the Stock, you must stiffen them, by knocking a little wooden wedge between the Staves and their Mortesses.

§ 9. Of Molding-Planes.

There are several other Planes in use amongst Joyners, called Molding-planes; as, the Round, the Hollow, the Ogee, the Snipes-Bill, the Rabbet-plane, the Grooving-plane, &c. And of these they have several sorts, viz. from Half a quarter of an Inch, to an Inch and a Half. They are used as other Planes are. In the Planeing of Stuff, you must use Planes whose Irons have different Mountings; and that according to the hardness, or softness of the Wood, you are to work upon: For if the wood be hard, the Iron must stand more upright than it need do, if the wood be soft: For soft Wood, as Deal, Pear-tree, Maple, &c. The Iron is set to make an Angle of 45 degrees, with the Sole of the Plane: But if it be very hard wood you are to Plain upon, as Box, Ebony, Lignum Vitae, &c. It is set to 80 degrees, and sometimes quite upright: so that these hard Woods, are, indeed, more properly said to be Scraped, than Plained.

But before you come to use your Planes, you must know how to grind, and whet them, for they are not so fitted when they are bought, but every Workman accommodates them to his purpose, as if it be an hard wood he is to work on, he grinds his Basil to a more obtuse Angle, than he would do for soft Wood.

The Basil, or Angle, an Iron is ground to, to work on soft Wood is about 12 Degrees, and for hard wood about 18, or 20 Degrees. Where note, That the more accute, or thinner, the Basil is, the better and smoother the Iron cuts, and the more obtuse and thicker, the stronger the Edge is to work upon hard Work.

§ 10. Of Grinding and Whetting the Iron, and other Edge-Tools.

When you grind your Iron, place your two Thumbs under the Iron, and your Fingers of both hands upon the Iron, and so clap down your Iron to the stone, holding it to that Angle with the Stone you intend the Basil shall have: keep the Iron in this posture, without either mounting, or sinking, its ends all the while the the Stone is turning about; And when you lift the Iron off the Stone, to see if it be ground to your mind; if it be not, you must be sure you place the Iron again in the same position on the Stone it had before; for else you will make a double Basil on your Iron: But if it be true set on the Stone, and steddily kept to that Position, your Basil will be Hollow, and the smaller your Grind-stone is, the hollower it will be. You may know when it is well Ground, by the evenness, and entireness of the edge all the way.

Having ground your Iron, you must smoothen the edge finer with a good fine Whet-stone. Thus, hold the edge of your Iron upwards in your left hand, and your Whet-stone in your right, and having first spit upon your Stone to wet it, apply it to the Basil of your Iron, in such a Position, that it may bear upon the whole breadth of the Basil; and so working the Stone over the Basil, you will quickly wear the courser grating of the Grind-stone off the edge on that side: Then turn the flat side of the Iron, and apply the Stone flat to it, till you have worn off the course gratings of the Grind-stone, on that side too.

Joyners often grind their Irons upon a flat Grind-stone also: And then they hold the Iron also in their hands, in the same posture as if it were to be ground on the Round Grind-stone: yet then instead of keeping the Iron on one place of the Stone, they thrust it hard straight forwards, almost the length of the Stone, and draw it lightlier straight back again, keeping it all the while at the same Angle with the superficies of the Stone; and then smoothen its edge with the Whet-stone, as if it had been ground upon the round Grind-stone. And this they do so often, till they have rubbed the hollowness of the Basil to a flat, and then they grind it again upon the round Grind-stone.

This Order and Manner of Setting, Grinding and Smoothing a Basil and Edge, is also used in all other Edge-Tools Joyners use.

§ 10. Of Chissels of several Sorts. And first of Formers.

Formers marked C1, C3, are of several sizes. They are called Formers, because they are used before the Paring-Chissel, even as the Fore-Plane is used before the Smoothing-Plane. The Stuff you are to work upon being first scribed, (as I shall shew in its proper place) you must set the edge of the Former, a little without the scribed stroak, with its Basil outwards, that it may break, and sholder off the Chips from your Work, as the Edge cuts it. And you must bear the Helve of the Former a little inwards over the Stuff, that the Former do not at first cut straight down, but a little outwards: For, should you venter to cut straight down at the first, you might with a negligent or unluckly knock with the Mallet, drive the edge of the Former under the work, and so cut, before you are aware, more off the under side than the upper side of your work, and so (perchance) spoil it. Therefore you may make several cuttings, to cut it straight down by little and little, till your work is made ready for the Paring-Chissel. When it is used, the Helve of it is knockt upon with a Mallet, to drive the edge into the Stuff.

§ 11. Of the Paring-Chissel.

The Paring-Chissel marked C2. must have a very fine and smooth edge: Its office is to follow the Former, and to pare off, and smoothen, the irregularities the Former made.

It is not knockt upon with the Mallet, but the Blade is clasped upon the out side of the hindermost joints of the fore and little fingers, by the clutched inside of the middle and third fingers of the right hand, and so its edge being set upon the scribed line, and the top of the Helve placed against the hollow of the inside of the right sholder, with pressing the sholder hard upon the Helve, the edge cuts and pares away the irregularities.

This way of handling, may seem a preposterous posture to mannage an Iron Tool in, and yet the reason of the Original contriver of this Posture is to be approved; For, should Workmen hold the Blade of the Paring-Chissel in their whole hand, they must either hold their hand pretty near the Helve, where they cannot well mannage the Tool, or they must hold it pretty near the edge, where the outside of the fingers will hide the scribed line they are to Pare in. But this posture, all Workmen are at first taught, and Practice doth so inure them to it, that if they would, they could not well leave it.

§ 12. Of the Skew-Former.

The Skew-Former marked C4, is seldom used by Joyners, but for cleansing accute Angles, with its accute Angle on its edge, where the Angles of other Chissels will not so well come.

§ 13. Of the Mortess-Chissel.

The Mortess Chissel marked C5. is a narrow Chissel, but hath its Blade much thicker, and consequently stronger (that it may endure the heavier blows with the Mallet) than other Chissels have, so that in grinding it to an edge, it is ground to a very broad Basil, as you may see in the Figure. Its Office is to cut deep square holes, called Mortesses, in a piece of Wood. Joyners use them of several Breadths according as the Breadths of their Mortesses may require.

§ 14. Of the Gouge.

The Gouge marked C6. is a Chissel having a round edge, for the cutting such Wood as is to be Rounded, or Hollowed.

These several sorts of Chissels Joyners have of several Sizes, that they may be accommodated to do several Sizes of Work.

MECHANICK EXERCISES: OR, THE DOCTRINE OF HANDY-WORKS.

By Joseph Moxon, late Member of the Royal Society, and Hydrographer to King Charles II.

LONDON, Printed and Sold by J. Moxon, 1694.

MECHANICK EXERCISES: OR, The Doctrine of Handy-Works.

Continued in the ART of JOYNERY.

§ 15. Of the Square, and its Use.

THE Square, marked D, is two adjunct Sides of a Geometrical Square. a The Handle. b The Tongue. c The Outer Square. d The Inner Square. For Joyner's use, it is made of two pieces of wood, the one about an Inch thick, and the other about a quarter of an Inch thick: These two pieces are severally shot exactly straight, and have each of their Sides parallel to each of there own Sides. The thick Piece (called the Handle) hath a Mortess in it, as long within a quarter of an Inch, as the thin piece (called the Tongue) is broad, and stifly so wide, as to contain the thickness of the Tongue. The Tongue is fastned into the Mortess of the Handle with Glew and wooden pins, so as the two outer sides (and then consequently the two inner sides) may stand at right Angles with one another.

The Reason why the Handle is so much thicker than the Tongue, is, because the Handle should on either side become a Fence to the Tongue. And the reason why the Tongue hath not its whole breadth let into the end of the Handle is, because they may with less care strike a line by the side of a a thin than a thick piece: For if instead of holding the hand upright when they strike a line, they should hold it never so little inwards, the shank of a Pricker falling against the top edge of the Handle, would throw the Point of a Pricker farther out than a thin piece would: to avoid which Inconvenience, the Tongue is left about half an Inch out of the end of the Handle.

Another Reason is, That if with often striking the Pricker against the Tongue it becomes ragged, or uneven, they can with less trouble plane it again when the stuff is all the way of an equal strength, than they can, if cross-grain'd Sholders be added to any part of it.

Its use is for the striking of Lines square either to other Lines, or to straight sides, and to try the squareness of their Work by; As if they would strike a Line square to a side they have already shot: They apply the inside of the Handle close to the side shot, and lay the Tongue flat upon the work, then by the outerside of the Tongue, they draw with a Pricker a straight line: this is called Striking, or drawing of a Square. Or, if they would Try the squareness of a Piece of stuff shot on two adjoining sides, they apply the insides of the Handle and Tongue to the outsides of the stuff, and if the outsides of the stuff do all the way agree in Line with the insides of the Square, it is true Square. Or if they would try the inward squareness of work, they apply the two outsides of the Square to the insides of the work.

§ 16. The manner of Plaining and Trying a piece of Stuff square.

We will take, for Example, a Piece of Stuff called a Quarter, which is commonly two Inches thick, four Inches broad, and seven Foot long. To plane this Square, lay one of its broad sides upon the Bench, with one of its ends shov'd pretty hard into the Teeth of the Bench-hook, that it may lie the steddier. Then with the Fore-Plane, as you were taught § 2. Number. 2. Plane off the roughness the Saw made at the Pit, and work that side of the Quarter as straight in its length and breadth as you can with the Fore-Plane; which you may give a pretty good guess at, if the edge of the Iron have born all the way upon the work, yet you may try by taking up your work, and applying one end of it to one Eye, whilst you wink with the other, and observe if any Hollow, or Dawks be in the length; if not, you may conclude it pretty true: For the work thus held, the Eye will discern pretty nearly. Or, for more certainty, you may apply the edge of the two-foot Rule, or rather a Rule shot the full length of the Quarter to your work, and if it agree all the way with the Rule, you may conclude it is straight in length. But if you find it not straight, you must still with the Fore-Plane work off those Risings that bear the edge of the Rule off any part of the Stuff: Then try if the Breadth be pretty straight, if it be, (the Dawks the roughness the Fore Plane made excepted) the first office of the Fore Plane is perform'd: If it be not, you must straighten the Breadth as you did the Length.

But though this Quarter be thus plained straight in length and breadth, yet because the Iron of the Fore Plane for its first working the stuff is set Rank, and therefore makes great Dawks in the Stuff, you must set the Iron of your Fore Plane finer, as you were taught § 3. Number. 2. and with it then work down even almost to the bottom of those Dawks: then try it again, as before, and if you find it Try all the way, you may, with the Joynter, or Smoothing Plane, but rather with the Joynter, go over it again, to work out the irregularities of the fine Fore-Plane: For the Iron of the Fore-Plane being ground to a Rising in the middle, as has been shewed § 2. Numb. 2. though it be very fine set, will yet leave some dawks in the Stuff for the Joynter, or smoothing Plane, to work out. Thus the first side of the Quarter will be finished.

Having thus Tryed one side of the Quarter straight and flat, apply the inside of the Handle to it, and if one of the adjoining sides of the Quarter, comply also with the inside of the Tongue all the way, you need only smooth that adjoining side: But if it do not so comply, that is, if it be not square to the first side, which you will know by the riding of the inside of the Tongue upon one of the edges, or some other part between the edges, you must, with the Fore-Plane Rank-set, plane away that stuff which bears off the inside of the Tongue from complying all the way with it. But if the Risings be great, you may, for quickness, hew away the Risings with the Hatchet: but then you must have a care you let not the edge of your Hatchet cut too deep into the stuff, lest you either spoil your Stuff, by making it unsizeable, if it be already small enough; or if it have substance enough, make your self more labour to get out those Hatchet stroaks with the Plane than you need. Then take off the roughness the Hatchet made with the Fore-Plane Rank-set, then fine set, and last of all with the Joynter, or smoothing Plane: So is the second side also finished.

To work the third side, set the Oval of the Gage exactly to that width from the Gage, that you intend the Breadth of the Quarter (when wrought) shall have, which, in this our Example, is four Inches, but will be somewhat less, because working it true will diminish the Stuff: Therefore sliding the Oval on the Staff, measure on your Inch Rule so much less than four Inches, as you think your stuff diminishes in working: Measure, I say, between the Oval and the Tooth, your size: If, at the first proffer, your Oval stand too far from the Tooth, hold the Oval in your hand, and knock the Tooth end of your Staff upon the Work-Bench, till it stand near enough: If the Oval stand too near, knock the other end of the Staff upon the Work-Bench till it be fit. Then apply the flat of the Oval to the second wrought side of your Stuff, so as the Tooth may reach athwart the breadth of the Stuff upon the first side, and keeping the Oval close against the second side, press the Tooth so hard down, that by drawing the Gage in this posture all along the length of the Quarter, the Tooth may strike a Line. In like manner upon the side opposite to the first, viz. the Fourth side, Gage another line opposite to the first gaged line, and work your Stuff down to those two Gaged lines on the third side, either with Plaining along, or with Hewing, and afterwards Plaining, as you were taught to work the second side.

To Work the fourth side, set the Tooth of the Gage to its exact distance from the Oval, viz. two Inches wanting so much as you think the stuff diminish'd in working, and apply the flat of the Oval to each side of the first side, and Gage as before two lines, one on the second, the other on the third wrought side. Work your stuff then down on the fourth side to those two Gage lines, either with Plaining alone, or with Hewing, and afterwards Plaining, as you were taught to work the second side.

§ 17. To Frame two Quarters Square into one another.

You must take care in Mortessing and Tennanting, that as near as you can you equallize the strength of the sides of the Mortess to the strength of the Tennant. I do not mean that the stuff should be of an equal Substance, for that is not equallizing strength: But the equallizing strength must be considered with respect to the Quality, Position and Substance of the Stuff: As if you were to make a Tennant upon a piece of Fur, and a Mortess to receive it in a piece of Oak, and the Fur and Oak have both the same size; The Tennant therefore made upon this piece of Fur, must be considerably bigger than a Tennant need be made of Oak, because Fur is much a weaker wood then Oak, and therefore ought to have a greater Substance to equallize the strength of Oak. And for Position, the shorter the stuff that the Tennant is made on, the less Violence the Tennant is subject to. Besides, it is easier to split wood with the grain, than to brake wood cross the grain; and therefore the same wood when posited as a Tennant, is stronger than the same wood of the same size when posited as a Mortess: for the injury a Mortess is subject to is, splitting with the grain of the wood, which, without good care, it will often do in working; but the force that must injure a Tennant, must offend it cross the grain of the wood, in which position it will best indure violence.

When two pieces of Wood, of the same quality and substance (as in this our Example) are elected to make on the one a Tennant, and in the other a Mortess. If you make the Mortess too wide, the sides of the Mortess will be weaker than the Tennant; or, if too narrow, the Tennant that must fit the Mortess, will be weaker than the sides that contain the Mortess: And if one be weaker then the other, the weakest will give way to the strongest, when an equal violence is offer'd to both. Therefore you may see a necessity of equallizing the strength of one to the other, as near as you can. But because no Rule is extant to do it by, nor can (for many considerations, I think,) be made, therefore this equallizing of strength, must be referred to the Judgment of the Operator. Now to the work.

The Mortess to be made is in a Quarter four Inches broad. In this case Workmen make the Mortess an Inch wide, so that an Inch and an half Stuff remains on either side it. Therefore your Stuff being squar'd, as was taught in the last Section, set the Oval of the Gage an Inch and an half off the Tooth, and gage with it, on either side your Stuff, a straight line at that distance from the end you intend the Mortess shall be, then open your Compasses to two Inches, and prick off that distance in one of the lines, for the length of the Mortess: then lay the inside of the Handle of the Square to one side of the Stuff, and upon both the pricks successively, and with your Pricker draw straight lines through them by the side of the Tongue, so shall the bounds of your Mortess be struck out on the Quarter. If your Mortess go through the Quarter, draw the same lines on the opposite side of the Quarter, thus, Turn the Quarter, or its edge, and apply the inside of the Handle of the Square, to the ends of the former drawn lines, and by the side of the Tongue draw two lines on the edge of the Quarter; then turn the Quarter again with its other broad side upwards, and apply the inside of the Handle of the Square to the ends of the last lines drawn on the edge, and by the side of the Tongue, draw two lines on this broad side also. These two lines (if your quarter was truly squar'd) shall be exactly opposite to the two lines drawn on the first broad side of the quarter for the length of the Mortess: And for the width of the Mortess Gage this side also, as you did the first; then for the Tennant, Gage on that end of the Quarter you intend the Tennant shall be made, the same lines you did for the Mortess. And because the Quarter is two Inches thick, prick from the end two Inches, and applying the inside of the Handle of the Square to the side of the Quarter, and the Tongue to that Prick, draw by the side of the Tongue a line through that side the Quarter; then turn the other sides of the Quarter successively, and draw lines athwart each side the Quarter, as you were taught to draw the opposite lines for the Mortess.

Then place the edge of the Inch-Mortess-Chissel with its Basil from you, and the Helve bearing a little towards you, within one half quarter of an Inch of one end of the struck Mortess, and with your Mallet knock hard upon it, till you find the Basil of the Chissel will no longer force the chips out of the Mortess; then remove the Chissel to the other end of the Mortess, and work, as with the first end, till the Chips will void no longer: Then work away the Stuff betwen the two Ends, and begin again at one of the ends, and then at the other, and work deeper into the Mortess, then again between both; and so work deeper by degrees, till you have wrought the Mortess through, or (if not through) to the intended depht; then with the Mortess-Chissel work nearer the drawn lines at the ends of the Mortess, (for before you were directed to work but within half a quarter of an Inch of the drawn lines,) by laying light blows on it, till you have made it fit to pare smooth with a narrow Paring Chissel, and then pare the ends, as you were taught to work with the Paring-Chissel: then with the broad Paring-Chissel, pare the sides of the Mortess just to the Struck lines; so is the Mortess finished.

To work the Tennant, lay the other Quarter on edge upon your Work-Bench, and fasten it with the Holdfast, as you were taught Sect. I. Then with the Tennant, Saw a little without the Struck-line towards the end: you must not Saw just upon the Struck-line, because the Saw cuts rough: Besides, you must leave some Stuff to pare away smooth to the Struck-line, that the Stile (that is, the upright Quarter) may make a close Joint with the Rail (that is) the lower Quarter: Saw therefore right down with the Tennant-Saw, just almost to the gaged lines for the thickness of the Tennant, and have a care to keep the Blade of the Saw exactly upright. Then turn the opposite side of the Quarter upwards, and work as you were taught to work the first side.

Then with the Paring-Chissel, pare the Work close to the gaged lines for the Tennant. Then try how it fits the Mortess: If it be not pared enough away, you must Pare it where it Bears, that is, sticks. But if you should chance to have made it too little, you have spoiled your work: Therefore you may see how necessary it is, not to make the Mortess too wide at first, or the Tennant too narrow.

Then with the Piercer pierce two holes through the sides, or cheeks of the Mortess, about half an Inch off either end one. Then knock the Tennant stiff into the Mortess, and set it upright, by applying the Angle of the outer Square, to the Angle the two Quarters make, and with your Pricker, prick round about the insides of the Pierced holes upon the Tennant. Then take the Tennant out again, and Pierce two holes with the same Bit, about the thickness of a shilling above the Pricked holes on the Tennant, that is, nearer the sholder of the Tennant, that the Pins you are to drive in, may draw the sholder of the Tennant the closer to the flat side of the Quarter the Mortess is made in. Then with the Paring-Chissel make two Pins somewhat Tapering, full big enough, and setting the two Quarters again square, as before, Drive the Pins stiff into the Pierced holes.

If you make another Square, as you did this; and make also a Tennant on each un-Tennanted end of the Stiles, and another Mortess on the top and bottom Rails, you may put them together, and make square Frame of them.

§ 18. Of the Miter Square. And its Use.

The Miter square marked E, hath (as the Square) an Handle marked a, one Inch thick, and three Inches broad, and a Tongue marked b, of about the same breadth: the Handle and the Tongue (as the Square) have both their sides parallel to their own sides. The Handle (as the square) hath in the middle of its narrowest Side a Mortess in it, of an equal depht, the whole length of the Handle: Into this Mortess is fitted one end of the Tongue, but the end of the Handle is first Bereld off to make an Angle of 45 Degrees with its inside. This Tongue is (as the square) Pin'd and Glewed into the Mortess of the Handle.

It is used for striking a Miter-line, as the Square is to strike a Square-line, by applying the Inside of the Handle to the outside of the Quarter, or Batten, you are to work upon; and then by striking a line by the side of the Tongue: For that line shall be a Miter line. And if upon two Battens you strike two such lines, and Saw and Pare them just off in the lines, when the flats of those two sawn ends are applied to one another, the out and inside of the Battens, will form themselves into the Figure of a Square.

Thus Picture Frames, and looking Glass-frames, are commonly made, as by a more full Example you may see in the next Section.

§ 19. Of the Bevil.

As the Square is made to strike an Angle of 90 Degrees, and the Miter an Angle of 45 degrees, so the Bevil (marked F) having its Tongue movable upon a Center, may be set to strike Angles of any greater, or lesser, numbers of Degrees, according as you open the Tongue wider from, or shut it closer to the Handle. It is used as the Square, and the Miter, and will perform the Offices of them both, though it be not purposely made for either; but for the striking such Bevil lines, as one part of your work must be cut away to, to make it join with another part of your work: For Example,

We will propose to make a Frame for a Picture, Looking-Glass, &c. containing eight straight Sides; You may quickly perceive that all the ends of these eight sides must be cut to Bevils, and what Bevils they must be, you will, find if you describe upon a smooth flat Board, a Circle of any bigness, but the larger the better: Divide this Circle into eight equal parts, and from every point draw a Line to the Center: Draw also straight lines from every point to its next point: Then lay the inside of the Handle of your Bevil exactly upon any one of these straight lines, so as the Angle made by the inside of the Handle, and the inside of the Tongue, lie exactly at the very Angle made by this straight line, and the Semi-Diametral line proceeding from the Center, and move the Tongue nearer, or farther off the Handle, till the inside of the Tongue and the inside of the Handle, lie exactly upon those two lines, so shall your Bevil be set.

Then having fitted your Pieces to your Seantling, Stick your Pricker as near the outward Corner of your Pieces as your stuff will bear, and apply the inside of your handle also to the outer sides of your Pieces, and so as the inside of the Tongue may be drawn home to the Pricker. For then lines drawn on those Pieces by the inside of the Tongue, shall be the lines the Pieces must be cut in, to make these eight Pieces join evenly together by the sides of each other's Bevil: Then with the Strike-block smooth the ends of the Bevils, as you were taught in the Section of the Strike-Block.

If you have a Board on the Back-side of this Frame, you may Glew the backsides of these Pieces, piece by piece to the Board; but first you must fit them to an exact compliance of every Bevil with its Match, and when they are so fitted, drive two Nails close to the outside of every piece, but drive not the Nails deep into the Board, because when the Frame is set, and Glewed, or otherwise fastned, you must draw the Nails out again, For these Nails are only intended to serve for Fences to set, and sit each piece into its proper place, before the whole Frame is fastned together. And should you not thus Fence them, though by your Eye you might judge you fitted the Bevils exactly, yet one piece being never so little out of its due position, would drive the next piece more out, and that the next, till at the last, the last piece would not join, but either be too short, or too long, or stand too much out, or in, or else too open, or too close on the out, or inside.

But if you have no Board on the backside, you must, when you Saw the Bevilling Angles upon the square ends of pieces, not sawn quite through the depth of one end of every piece, but about half way through the depth, or thickness, and then with your Chissel either split, or else pare, the upper side of the square end flat away to the Bevil, and so leave part of of the square end of your piece, to lap under the piece is joined to. For Example,

In Fig. 3. Plate 5. ab is the square end of the piece, and bc is the Bevil you work the piece to. Therefore you must work away so much of the thickness of the square end, as is comprehended between a and c, so that you will see the Triangle abc, is to be wrought away half way down the thickness of the Stuff, and so will the Triangle abc be left for the other half thickness of the Stuff. But that end of the piece mark'd 1, which joins to the piece mark'd 2, must, upon its Bevil-stroak, be sawn quite off, and its underside must have the same Triangle wrought into it, just so fit as to receive the Triangle in piece 2, and just so deep, as that when the Triangle on piece 2, is fitted into the Triangle in piece 1, the Superficies of both the pieces may be even with one another. And thus you may lap the ends of every piece into one another.

These Triangles at the ends of the pieces you may Glew into one another, but if you think Glewing alone not strong enough, you may Pierce an hole near the inner edge of the Frame, because the Triangle hath there most substance of stuff; and afterwards Pin it, as you are taught to Pin the Rail and Stile together in Sect. 17.

This way of Lapping over, is sometimes used also for square Miters, or other Angular Frames.

§ 20. Of the Miter-Box.

There is another way used by Joyners that make many Frames, to save themselves the labour of Drawing, or striking out of Squares, Miters, and several Bevils upon their Stuff: And this is with a Tool called a Mitter-Box, described in Plate 5. Fig. 2. It is composed of two pieces of Wood, of an Inch thick each, as A the upright piece, B the Bottom piece. The Upright piece is nailed upright, fast upon the Bottom-Piece. And this Upright-piece hath on its upper side the Miter Lines struck with the Miter square, as de, on the left hand, and gh on the right hand: on these two Miter lines the edge of the Saw is set, and a kerf made straight down the upright piece, as from d e on the left hand to f, and from gh on the right hand to i. In like manner any other Bevil is struck upon the upper side of the upright piece with the Bevil, as kl on the left hand, and no on the right. On these two Bevil lines the edge of the Saw is set, and a kerf made straight down the upright piece, as from k to lm, and from g h to i. You may make as many Bevils as you please on the upright piece, of the Miter Box; Bevils to join Frames of either five, six, seven, eight sides, &c. and the manner to make them to any number of sides, was in part taught in the last Section. For as there you were directed to divide the Circle into eight equal parts, because eight was the number of sides, we proposed to make that Frame consist of; So, if for any number of sides you divide the Circle into the same equal parts, and work as you were there directed, you may find what Bevil the Pieces must have that make a Frame that consists of any number of sides.

So also for Sawing of any Batten, or other small pieces square: Strike at the point a, on the upper side of the upright piece a line straight athwart it, to b, and Saw straight down the upper piece, to c.

The manner how these Kerfs are sawn straight down with greatest certainty is, thus, Apply the inside of the Handle of the square to the upperside of the upright piece, so as the Tongue lie close to that end of the Miter, Bevil, or square line struck through the upper side of the Miter-Box, and with the Pricker strike a line close by the side of the Tongue, through that side of the upright piece; Turn the Tongue to the other side of the upright piece, and apply the inside of the Handle of the square to the other end of the Miter, Bevil, or Square line, and with the Pricker strike also a line close by the side of the Tongue through that side the upright piece. These two lines struck on either side of the upright piece, shall be a line on each side in which the edge of the Saw must run, to saw it straight down.

§ 21. Of the Gage.

The Gage mark'd G. (in Plate 4) The Oval b is fitted stiff upon the Staff c, that it may be set nearer or farther from the Tooth a. Its Office is to Gage a line parallel to any straight side. It is used for Gaging Tennants, and for Gaging Stuff to an equal thickness.

When you use it, you must set the Oval to the intended Distance from the Tooth: If the Oval stand too near the Tooth, Hold the Oval in your right hand, and knock the hinder end of the Staff upon the Work-bench, till it remove to its just distance from the Tooth: If it stand too far off the Tooth, knock the fore end of the Staff (viz. the Tooth end) till it remove to its just distance from the Tooth: If the Oval slide not stiff enough upon the Staff, you may stiffen it by striking a wooden wedge between the Mortess and the Staff: So may you apply the side of the Oval next the Tooth, to the side of any Table, or any other straight side, with the Tooth Gage a line parallel (or of equal distance) all the way from that side.

§ 22. Of the Piercer.

The Piercer H, in Plate 4. hath a the Head, b the Pad, c the Stock, d the Bitt. Its office is so well known, that I need say little to it. Only, you must take care to keep the Bitt straight to the Hole you pierce, lest you deform the Hole, or break the Bitt.

You ought to be provided with Bitts of several sizes, fitted into so many Padds.

§ 23. Of the Gimblet.

The Gimblet is marked I, in Plate 4. It hath a Worm at the end of its Bit, Its Office is to make a round hole in those places of your work where the stock of the Piercer by reason of its own sholder, or a sholder, or Butting out upon the work will not turn about. Its Handle is held in a clutched hand, and its Bit twisted stiff into your work. You must have them several sizes.

§ 24. Of the Augre.

The Augre marked K in Plate 4. hath aa the Handle, b the Bit. Its Office is to make great round holes. When you use it, the stuff you work upon is commonly laid low under you, that you may the easier use your strength upon it: For in twisting the Bit about by the force of both your hands, on each end of the Handle one, it cuts great chips out of the stuff. You must bear your strength perpendicularly straight to the end of the Bitt; as with the Piercer.

§ 25. Of the Hatchet.

The Hatchet is marked L, in Plate 4. Its uss is so well known (even to the most un-intelligent) that I need not use many words on it, yet thus much I will say, Its use is to Hew the irregularities off such pieces of stuff which may be sooner Hewn than Sawn.

When the Edge is downwards, and the Handle towards you, the right side of its Edge must be Ground to a Bevil, so as to make an Angle of about 12 Degrees with the left side of it: and afterwards set with the Whetstone, as the Irons of Planes, &c.

§ 26. The Use of the Saw in general.

In my former Exercises, I did not teach you how to chuse the Tools a Smith was to use; Because it is a Smith's office to make them: And because in those Exercises I treated of making Iron work, and Steel work in general, and the making and excellency of some Tools in particular, which might serve as a general Notion for the knowledge of all Smith's Workmanship, especially to those that should concern themselves with Smithing: But to those that shall concern themselves with Joinery, and not with Smithing; It will be necessary that I teach them how to chuse their Tools that are made by Smiths, that they may use them with more ease and delight, and make both quicker and neater work with them.

All sorts of Saws, for Joyner's use, are to be sold in most Iron-monger's shops, but especially in Fosterlane, London: chuse those that are made of Steel, (for some are made of Iron) for Steel of it self is harder and stronger than Iron: You may know the Steel-Saws from Iron-Saws thus, The Steel-Saws are generally ground bright and smooth, and are (the thickness of the Blade considered) stronger than Iron Saws: But the Iron-Saws are only Hammer-hardned, and therefore if they could be so hard, yet they cannot be so smooth, as if the irregularities of the Hammer were well taken off with the Grindstone: See it be free from flaws, and very well Hammered, and smoothly Ground, (that is, evenly Ground,) you may know if it be well Hammered by the stiff bending of it, and if it be well Ground, (that is, evenly Ground,) it will not bend in one part of it more than in another; for if it do, it is a sign that part where it bends most is, either too much Ground a-way, or too thin Forged in that place: But if it bend into a regular bow all the way, and be stiff, the Blade is good: It cannot be too stiff, because they are but Hammer-hardned, and therefore often bow when they fall under unskilful hands, but never break, unless they have been often bowed in that place. The edge whereon the Teeth are, is always made thicker than the back, because the back follows the Edge, and if the Edge should not make a pretty wide Kerf, if the back do not strike in the Kerf, yet by never so little irregular bearing, or twisting of the hand awry, it might so stop, as to bow the Saw; and (as I said before) with often bowing it will break at last. When Workmen light of a good Blade thus qualified, they matter not much whether rhe Teeth be sharp or deep, or set to their mind: for to make them so, is a Task they take to themselves: And thus they perform it: They wedge the blade of the Saw hard into the Whetting-Block, marked P. in Plate 4. with the handle towards their left hand, and the end of the Saw to the right, then with a three-square File they begin at the left hand end, leaning harder upon the side of the file on the right hand, than on that side to the left hand; so that they file the upperside of the Tooth of the Saw a-slope towards the right hand, and the underside of the Tooth a little a-slope towards the left, or, almost down-right. Having filed one Tooth thus, all the rest must be so filed. Then with the Saw-wrest, marked O. in Plate 4. they set the Teeth of the Saw: that is, they put one of the Notches marked a a a of the Wrest between the first two Teeth on the Blade of the Saw, and then turn the Handle Horizontally a little about upon the Notch towards the end of the Saw; and that at once turns the first Tooth somewhat towards you, and the second Tooth from you: Then skipping two Tooth, they again put one of the notches of the Wrest between the third and fourth Teeth on the Blade of the Saw, and then (as before) turn the Handle a little about upon the notch towards the end of the Saw, and that turns the third Tooth somewhat towards you, and the Fourth somewhat from you: Thus you must skip two Teeth at a time, and turn the Wrest till all the Teeth of the Saw are set. This Setting of the Teeth of the Saw (as Workmen call it) is to make the Kerf wide enough for the Back to follow the edge: and is Set Ranker for soft, course, cheap Stuff, than for hard, fine, and costly Stuff: for the Ranker the Tooth is set, the more Stuff is wasted in the Kerf: and besides, if the Stuff be hard it will require greater labour to tear away a great deal of hard Stuff, than it will do to tear away but a little of the same Stuff

The Pit-Saw, is Set so Rank for course stuff, as to make a Kerf of almost a quarter of an Inch, but for fine and costly stuff they set it finer to save Stuff. The Whip-Saw is set somewhat finer than the Pit-Saw; the Hand-Saw, and the Compass-Saw, finer than the Whip-Saw; But the Tennant-Saw, Frame-saw, and the Bow-Saw, &c. are set fine, and have their Teeth but very little turned over the sides of their Blades: So that a Kerf made by them, is seldom above half a half quarter of an Inch.

The reason why the Teeth are filed to an Angle, pointing towards the end of the Saw, and not towards the handle of the Saw, or directly straight between the handle and end of the Saw, is, Because the Saw is designed to cut only in its progess forwards; Man having in that activity more strength to rid, and Command of his hands to guide his Work, than he can have in drawing back his Saw, and therefore when he draws back his Saw, the Work-men bears it lightly off the unsawn Stuff; which is an case to is labour, and enables him the longer to continue his several Progressions of the Saw.

Master-Workmen, when they direct any of their Underlins to saw such a piece of Stuff, have several Phrases for the sawing of it: They seldom say Saw that piece of Stuff; But Draw the Saw through it; Give that piece of Stuff a kerf; Lay a kerf in that piece of Stuff; and sometimes, (but most unproperly,) Cut, or Slit that piece of stuff: For the Saw cannot properly be said to cut, or slit the Stuff; but it rather breaks, or tears away such parts of the Stuff from the whole, as the points of the Teeth prick into, and these parts it so tears away are proportionable to the fineness, or rankness of the Setting of the Teeth.

The Excellency of Sawing is, to keep the kerf exactly in the line marked out to be Sawn, without wriggling on either, or both sides; And straight through the Stuff, as Work-men call it; that is, in a Geometrical Term, perpendicularly through the upper and underside, if your Work require it, as most work does: But if your work be to be Sawn upon a Bevil, as some work sometimes is, then you are to observe that Bevil all the length of the Stuff, &c.

§ 27. The Use of the Pit-Taw, marked M. in Plate 4.

The Pit-Saw is not only used by those Work-men that make Sawing Timber and Boards their whole business, but is also for small matters used by Joyners, when what they have to do, may perhaps be as soon done at home, as they can carry or send it to the Sawyers. The manner of their working is both alike, for if it be a Board they would slit off a piece of Timber, or if they would take any square, Quarter, or Batten, &c. off, they first set off their Scantlin: For Example, If it be an Inch (or more, or less) they would take off a piece of Stuff, they open the points of their Compasses to an Inch measure on their Rule, and so much more as they reckon the kerf of the Saw will make, and from on side of their Stuff they set off at either end of the Stuff, the Distance of the points of their Compasses; at this Distance therefore they make with the points of their Compasses a prick at either end of the Stuff; Then with Chaulk they whiten a line, by rubbing the Chaulk pretty hard upon it; Then one holds the line at one end upon the prick made there, and the other strains the line pretty stiff upon the prick at the other end; then whilst the line is thus strain'd, one of them between his Finger and Thumb draws the middle of the line directly upright, to a convenient height (that it may spring hard enough down) and then lets it go again, so that it swiftly applies to its first position, and strikes so strongly against the Stuff, that the dust, or attoms of the Chaulk that were rubbed into the Line, shake out of it, and remain upon the Stuff. And thus also they mark the under-side of their Stuff: This is called Lining of the Stuff: And the Stuff cut into those lines shall be called Inch-Stuff, because the Compasses that prickt the Stuff, were opened wider by the width of the kerf than an Inch measure upon the Rule: But had the Compasses been opened but an Inch exactly, that piece Sawn off should, in Workmen's Language, have been called Inch-prickt, thereby giving to understand that it is half the breadth of the kerf thinner than an Inch: And thus they call all other Scantlins 2 Inches, 2 ½ Inches, 3 Inches, &c. Sawn, or Prickt.

When two Work-men are not at hand to hold the line at both ends, he that lines it, strikes one point of his Compass, or sometimes a Pricker, or a Nale aslope towards that end into the prick set off, and putting the noose at the end of his line over his Compasses, &c. goes to the other end, and strains his line on that prick, and strikes it as before.

The Stuff being thus lined is fastned with wedges over the Pit, (if the Joyner be accommodated with a Pit) if he have none, he makes shift with two high frames a little more than Man high in its stead, (called great Trussels) with four Legs, these Legs stand spreading outwards, that they may stand the firmer: Over these two Trussels the Stuff is laid, and firmly fastned that it shake not. Its outer side from whence the Pricks were set off must be Perpendicular, which you must try by a Plumb-line, for should the top edge of that side, hang never so little over the bottom edge, or the bottom edge not lie so far out as the top edge, the Scantlin you Saw off would not be of an equal thickness on the Top or Bottom: Because the Saw is to work exactly perpendicular. Then with the Pit-Saw they enter the one end of the Stuff, the Top-man at the Top, and the Pit-man under him: the Top-man observing to guide the Saw exactly in the line: and withall drawing the Saw somewhat towards him when the Saw goes down; and the Pit-man drawing it with all his strength perpendicularly down; but not so low that the upper and lower handles of the Saw sink below both their managements: Then bearing the Teeth of the Saw a little off the Stuff, the Top-man draws the Saw up again, and the Pit-man assists, or eases him in it, and thus they continue sawing on till the Saw has run through the whole length upon the Stuff. But when the kerf is made so long, that by the working of the Saw the Pieces of Stuff on either side will shake against one another, and so more, or less, hinder the easie progress of the Saw, they drive a Wedge so far in the kerf as they dare do for fear of splitting the Stuff, and so provide the Saw freer and easier passage through the Stuff: This Wedging they continue so oft as they find occasion. 〈1 page duplicate〉〈1 page duplicate〉〈1 page duplicate〉

MECHANICK EXERCISES: OR, The Doctrine of Handy-Works.

Continued in the ART of JOYNERY.

§ 28. The Use of the Whip-Saw, marked N in Plate 4.

THE Whip-Saw is used by Joyners, to Saw such greater pieces of Stuff that the Hand-Saw will not easily reach through; when they use it, the Stuff is laid upon the Trussel, marked O in Plate 5. in the Angles of it. Then two Men takes each an handle of the Saw; He to whom the Teeth of the Saw points, drawing to him, and the other thrusting from him: And (as before) the Saw having run its length, is lifted gently over the Stuff to recover another stroak of the Saw.

§ 29. The use of the Hand-Saw marked D, the Frame or Bow Saw, the Tennant-Saw, marked O in Plate 4.

These Saws are acommodated for a single Man's use, and cut forward as the other Saws do. The office of the Cheeks made to the Frame-Saw is, by the twisted Cord and Tongue in the middle, to draw the upper ends of the Cheeks closer together, that the lower end of the Cheeks may be drawn the wider asunder, and strain the Blade of the Saw the straighter. The Tennant-Saw, being thin, hath a Back to keep it from bending.

§ 30. The Use of the Compass-Saw, marked Q Plate 4.

The Compass-Saw should not have its Teeth Set, as other Saws have; but the edge of it should be made so broad, and the back so thin, that it may easily follow the broad edge, without having its Teeth Set; for if the Teeth be Set, the blade must be thin, or else the Teeth will not bow over the Blade, and if it be thin, (considering the Blade is so narrow) it will not be strong enough to abide tough work, but at never so little an irregular thrust, will bow, and, at last, break; yet for cheapness, they are many times made so thin that the Teeth require a setting. Its office is to cut a round, or any other Compass kerf; and therefore the edge must be made broad, and the back thin, that the Back may have a wide kerf to turn in.

§ 31. Of the Rule marked D in Plate 5.

The use of the Rule is to measure Feet, Inches, and parts of Inches, which, for that Purpose, are marked upon the flat and smooth sides of the Rule, and numbred with Inches, and hath every Inch divided into two halfs, and every half into two quarters, and every quarter into two half-quarters; so that every Inch is divided into eight equal parts; And these Inches are numbred from one end of the Rule to the other; which commonly is in all 24 Inches: which is a Two-Foot Rule.

They have commonly both Board and Timber measure, &c. marked upon them, for the finding both the superficial and solid Content of Board or Timber: The use of which Lines and Tables having been often taught by others, and being more Mathematical than Mechanical, is unproper for me to meddle with in this Place: but rather to refer to those Books.

But the manual use of it is, either to measure length with it, or to draw a straight line by the side of it, or to Try the straightness, or flatness, of their Work with. They Try their work by applying one of its edges to the flat of the wrought side of their Work, and bring their Eye as close as they can, to see if they can see light between the edge of the Rule and their Work: If they cannot, they conclude their work is Try, and well wrought.

§ 32. Of the Compasses marked E in Plate 5.

aa The Joynt, bb the Cheeks of the Joynt, cc the Shanks, dd the Points. Their Office is to describe Circles, and set off Distances from their Rule, or any other measure, to their Work.

§ 33. Of the Glew-pot marked F in Plate 5.

The Glew-pot is commonly made of good thick Lead, that by its substance it may retain a heat the longer, that the Glew Chill not (as Work-men say when it cools) when it is to be used.

§ 34. Of Chusing and Boiling Glew.

The clearest, driest, and most transparent Glew is the best: when you boil it, break it with your Hammer into small pieces, and put it into a clean Skillet, or Pipkin, by no means greasie, for that will spoil the clamminess of the Glew, put to it so much Water as is convenient to dissolve the Glew, and to make it, when it is hot, about the thickness of the White of an Egg: the quantity of water cannot be assigned, because of the different quality there is in Glew: keep it stirring whilst it is melting, and let it not stick to the sides or bottom of the Vessel: When it is well boiled, pour it into your Glew-pot to use, but let your Glew-pot be very clean. When it is cold, and you would heat it again in your Glew-pot, you must take great care that it burn not to the sides or bottom of the Glew-pot, for that burning either turns to a thick hard skin, or else to a burnt Cinder-like Substance, which if it mingle with the Glew, will spoil it all; because by its Substance it will bear the two Joints you are to Glew together, off each other.

When (with often heating) the Glew grows too thick, you may put more water to it; but then you must make it very hot, lest the Glew and Water do not wholly incorporate.

Some Joyners will (when their Glew is too thick) put Small Beer into it, thinking it strengthens it: I have tried it, and could never find it so, but think it rather makes the Glew weaker, especially if the Small Beer chance to be new, and its Yest not well settled from it, or so stale, that it be either Dreggy, or any whit mingled with the Settlings of the Cask.

§ 35. Of Using the Glew.

Your Glew must be very warm, for then it is thinnest, and as it chills, it thickens: with a small Brush you must smear the Glew well upon the Joint of each piece you are to Glew together; And before you set them as they are to stand, you must jostle them one upon the other, that the Glew may very well touch and take hold of the Wood; and that the Glew on each Joints may well incorporate. Then fit the two Joints as they must stand; And when you set them by to dry, let the one stand upright upon the other; For if they stand a-slope, the weight of the Stuff when it leans upon two extream edges, may make one end of the Joint Open.

§ 36. Of the Waving Engine.

The Waving Engine discribed in Plate 5. Fig. 7. Hath AB a long square Plank, of about seven Inches broad, five Foot long, and an Inch and half thick: All along the length of this Plank, on the middle between the two sides, runs a Rabbet, as part of it is seen at C: upon this Rabbet rides a Block, with a Groove in its under side: This Block is about three Inches square, and ten Inches long, having near the hinder end of it a wooden Handle going through it, of about one Inch Diameter, as D E: At the Fore-end of this Block is fastned a Vice, somewhat larger than a great Hand-Vice, as at F: The Groove in the Block is made fit to receive the Rabbet on the Plank.

At the farther end of the Plank is erected a square strong piece of wood, about six Inches high, and five Inches square, as G. This Square Piece hath a square wide Mortess in it on the Top, as at H. Upon the top of this square piece is a strong square flat Iron Coller, somewhat loosly fitted on, having two Male Screws fitted into two Female Screws, to screw against that part of the Wooden Piece un-mortessed at the Top, marked L, that it may draw the Iron Coller hard against the Iron marked Q, and keep it stiff against the fore-side of the un-mortessed Piece, marked L, when the piece Q, is set to its convenient heighth; and on the other side the square wooden Piece is fitted another Iron screw, having to the end of its shank fastned a round Iron Plate which lies within the hollow of this wooden piece, and therefore cannot in Draft be seen in its proper place; But I have described it a part, as at M. (Fig. 9.) Its Nut is placed at M, on the wooden Piece. On the farther side of the wooden Piece is fitted a Wooden Screw called a Knob, as at N. Through the farther and hither side of the square Wooden Piece is fitted a flat Piece of Iron, about three quarters of an Inch Broad, and one quarter of an Inch thick, standing on edge upon the Plank; but its upper edge is filed round: (the reason you will find by and by:) Its hither end comes through the wooden Piece, as at O, and its farther end on the opposite side of the wooden piece.

Upright in the hollow square of the wooden piece stands an Iron, as at Q, whose lower end is cut into the form of the Molding you intend your work shall have.

In the fore side of this wooden Piece is a square hole, as at R, called the Mouth,

To this Engine belongs a thin flat piece of hard Wood, about an Inch and a quarter broad, and as long as the Rabbet: It is disjunct from the Engine, and in Fig. 8. is marked SS, called the Rack: It hath its under flat cut into those fashioned waves you intend your work shall have: The hollow of these waves are made to comply with the round edge of flat Plate of Iron marken O (described before) for when one end of the Riglet you wave, is, with the Vice, Screwed to the plain side of the Rack, and the other end put through the Mouth of the wooden Piece, as at TT, so as the hollow of the wave on the under-side of the Rack may lie upon the round edge of the flat Iron Plate set on edge, as at O, and the Iron Q, is strong fitted down upon the Riglet: Then if you lay hold of the Handles of the Block D E, and strongly draw by them, the Rack and the Riglet will both together slide through the Mouth of the wooden Piece: And as the Rounds of the Rack ride over the round edge of the flat Iron, the Rack and Riglet will mount up to the Iron Q, and as the Rounds of the Waves on the under side of the Rack slides off the Iron on edge, the Rack and Riglet will sink, and so in a progression (or more) the Riglet will on its upper side receive the form of the several waves on the under side of the Rack, and also the form, or Molding, that is on the edge of the bottom of the Iron, and so at once the Riglet will be both molded and waved.

But before you draw the Rack through the Engine, you must consider the office of the Knob N, and the office of the Iron Screw M; For by them the Rack is screwed evenly under the Iron Q. And you must be careful that the Groove of the Block slip not off the Rabbet on the Plank: For by these Screws, and the Rabbet and Groove, your work will be evenly gaged all the way (as I said before) under the edge of the Iron Q, and keep it from sliding either to the right, or left hand, as you draw it through the Engine.

§ 37. Of Wainscoting Rooms.

A A A (in Plate 7.) The Stiles. B The Base, C The Lower Rail. D The Sur-Base. E E The Middle Rail, or Rails. F The Friese-Rail. G The Upper-Rail. H The Cornice. I The Lying Pannel. K The Large Pannel. L The Friese Pannel.

In Wainscoting of Rooms there is, for the most part, but two heights of Pannels used; unless the Room to be Wainscoted be above ten foot high, as some are eleven or twelve Foot high, and then three Heighths of Pannels are used: As I The Lying Pannel, above the Base. K The Large Pannel above the Middle Rail: And L The Friese Pannel above the Friese Rail.

The Friese Rail is to have the same breadth the Margent of the Stile hath; The Middle Rail hath commonly two breadths of the Margent of the Stile, viz. one breadth above the Sur-base, and the other below the Sur-base. And the Upper and Lower Rails have also each the same breadth with the Margent of the Stile.

Those Moldings above the Prickt-line on the Top, as H, are called the Cornice.

Sometimes (and especially in Low Rooms) there is no Base or Sur-base used, and then the Middle and Lower Rail need not be so broad: For the Middle Rail need not be above a third part more than the Margent of the Rail: and the Lower-Rail you may make of what breadth you see convenient: They are commonly about three Inches and an half, or four Inches broad, yet this is no Rule: For sometimes Workmen make only a flat Plinth serve.

You may (if you will) adorn the outer edges of the Stiles and Rails with a small Molding: And you may (if you will) Bevil away the outer edges of the Pannels, and leave a Table in the middle of the Pannel.

An Explanation of Terms used among Joyners.

When I first began to Print these Exercises, I marked some Terms in Joinery with superiour Letters (as Printers call them) thus a b c &c. intending, at the latter end of these Exercises, to have explained the Terms those Letters referr'd to: But upon consideration that those Terms might often be used in this Discourse, when the Superiour Letter was out of sight, and perhaps its position (where) forgotten; I have changed my mind, and left out the Superiour Letters beyond fol. 66. and instead of those References give you this Alphabetical Table of Terms, by which you may always more readily find the Explanation, though you often meet with the Term.

Architrave. See Plate 6. l. is the Architrave Molding.

Augre § 24. Plat 4. fig. K.

Base. See Plate 6. h. And Plate 7. B.

Bead. See Plate 6. a.

Bed-molding. See Plate 6. d.

Basil. The Basil is an angle the edge of a Tool is ground away to. See fol. 71.

Batten. Is a Scantling of stuff either two, three or four Inches Broad: and is seldom above an Inch thick: and the length unlimitted.

Beak. The end of the Hold-fast. See fol. 60, 61.

Bench-Screw. See Plate 4. A g. and fol. 60.

Bevil. Any sloping Angle that is not a square, is called a Bevil. See fol. 60 85. § 19. and Plate 4. F.

Bitt. See § 22.

Bow-saw. Plate 4. O.

Capital. See Plate 6. g.

Cast. Stuff is said to Cast, or warp, when by its own droughth or moisture, or the droughth or moisture of the Air, or other accident, it alters its flatness and straightness.

Clamp. When a Piece of Board is fitted with the Grain to the end of another piece of Board cross the Grain the first Board is Clampt. Thus the ends of Tables are commonly Clamp't to preserve them from warping.

Compass-saw. See fol. 9. and Plate 4. fig. R.

Cornice. See Plate 6. q. and Plate 7. H.

Cross-grained-stuff. Stuff is Cross-grained when a Bough or some Branch shoots out on that part of the Trunk of the Tree; For the Bough or branch shooting forwards, the Grain of that branch shoots forwards also, and so runs a-cross the Grain of the Trunk; and if they be well grown together, it will scarce be perceived in some stuff, but in working; yet in Deal Boards, those Boughs, or Branches are Knots, and easily perceiv'd, and if it grew up young with the Trunk, then instead of a Knot you will find a Curling in the Stuff when it is wrought.

Curling-stuff. If the Bough or Branch that shoots out of the Trunk of a Tree be large, and the stuff in that place sawn somewhat a-slope, when that stuff comes under the Plane you will find a Turning about or Curling on that place upon the Stuff; and in a straight progress of the Plane the Iron will cut with, and suddenly a-cross the Grain, and that more or less as the Bough grew in the youth of the Tree, or grew more or less upright, or else sloping to the Trunk, or was sawn so. Such Stuff therefore is called Curling-stuff.

Door-case. Is the Fram'd work about the Door.

Double-Screw. See fol. 60. Plate 4. fig. g. on the Work-bench A.

Facia. See Plate 6. b.

Fence. See § 8. Use of the Plow, and Pl. 4. fig. B 6.

Fine-set. The Irons of Planes are set Fine, or Rank.

They are set fine, when they stand so shallow below the sole of the Plane, that in working they take off a thin shaving. See § 3.

Flat Friese. See Plate 6. p.

Fore-Plane. See § 2. and Plate 4 B1.

Former. See § 10. and Plate 4. C 1. C 3.

Frame. See fol. 59, 60.

Frame Saw. See § 28. and Plate 4. O.

Free stuff. See § 3.

Friese. See Plate 6. p.

Friese Pannel. See Plate 7. L.

Friese Rail. See plate 7. F.

Frowy stuff. See § 3.

Gage. See § 21. and Plate 4. G.

Gimblet. See § 23. and Plate 4 I.

Gouge. See § 14. C 6.

Groove. See fol. 69.

Hammer-hard. See Numb. I. fol. 58.

Handle. See § 15. and Plate 4. D a.

Hard stuff. See § 3.

Hatchet. See § 25. Plate 4 L.

Head. See § 22. Plate 4. H a.

Hold-fast. See § 1. Plate 4. A d.

Hook. See § 1. Plate 4. A b.

Husk. See Plate 6. n.

Inner-square. See § 15. and Plate 4. D d.

Joint. See fol 59.

Jointer. See § 4. and Plate 4. B 2.

Iron. See § 2. and Plate 4. B 1 d.

Kerf. The Sawn-away slit between two pieces of stuff, is called a Kerf. See fol 95.

Knob. See § 36. fol. 104. and Plate 5. fig. 7. N.

Knot. See Plate 6. o.

Large Pannel. See Plate 7. K.

Lying Pannel. See Plate 7. I.

Lower Rail. See Plate 7. H.

Margent. See Plate 7. at AAA the flat breadth of the Stiles besides the Moldings, is called the Margent of the Stiles.

Middle Rail. See Plate 7 EE.

Miter. See fol. 60.

Miter Box. See § 20. and Plate 5. fig. 1.

Miter square. See § 18. and Plate. 4. E.

Moldings. The several wrought-work made with Planes on wood, is called Moldings. See Plate 6.

Molding Planes. See § 9.

Mortess. Is a square hole cut in a piece of stuff, to entertain a Tennant fit to it. See § 17.

Mortess Chissel. See § 13. and Plate 4. C 5.

Mouth. See § 2. B7. a The Mouth.

Ogee. See Plate 6. c.

Oval. See § 21. and Plate 4. G. b.

Outer Square. See § 15. and Plate. 4. D c.

Pad. See § 22 and Plate 4. H b.

Pannel. In Plate 7. I K L are Pannels, but distinguished by their positions.

Pare. The smooth cutting with the Paring-Chissel is called Paring.

Paring-Chissel. See § 11. and Plate 4. C 2.

Pilaster. See Plate 6. f.

Peircer. See § 22. and Plate 4. H.

Pit-man. The Sawyer that works in the Pit, is called the Pit-man.

Pit-Saw. The Pit-Saw is a great Saw fitted into a square Frame; as in Plate 4. M is a Pit-Saw.

Planchier. In Plate 6. between d and e is the Planchier.

Plinth. See Plate 6.

Plow. See § 8. and Plate 4. B 6.

Pricker. Is vulgarly called an Awl: yet for Joyners use it hath most commonly a square blade, which enters the Wood better than a round Blade will; because the square Angle in turning it about breaks the Grain, and so the Wood is in less danger of splitting.

Rabbet. See § 7.

Rabbet Plane. See § 7. and Plate 4. B 5.

Rack See Plate 5. Fig. 8. Read § 36.

Rail. See Plate 7. AAA.

Rank. The Iron of a Plane is said to be set Rank, when its edge stands so far below the Sole of the Plane, that in working it will take off a thick shaving. See § 3.

Rank-set. See Rank.

Range. The side of any work that runs straight, without breaking into angles, is said to run Range: Thus the Rails and Pannels of one straight side of Wainscoting is said to run Range.

Return. The side that falls away from the Foreside of any Straight or Rank-work, is called the Return.

Riglet. Is a flat thin square piece of Wood: Thus the pieces that are intended to make the Frames for small Pictures. &c. before they are Molded are called Riglets.

Rub. See fol. 94.

Saw-wrest. See § 26 fol. 94. and Plate 4 O.

Scantlin. The size that your Stuff is intended to be cut to.

Scribe. When Joyners are to fit a side of a piece of Stuff against the side of some other piece of Stuff, and the side of the piece of Stuff they are to fit to is not regular; To make these two pieces of Stuff join close together all the way, they Scribe it, (as they phrase it,) thus; They lay the piece of Stuff they intend to Scribe close against the other piece of Stuff they intend to Scribe to, and open their Compasses to the widest distance, these two pieces of Stuff bear off each other: Then (the Compasses moving stiff in ther Joint) they bear the point of one of the shanks against the side they intend to Scribe to, and with the point of the other shank they draw a line upon the Stuff to be Scribed; and then the points of the Compasses remaining unremov'd, and your hand carried evenly along by the side of the piece to be Scribed to, that line scribed upon the piece intended to be Scribed, shall be parallel to the irregular side intended to be Scribed to: And if you work away your Stuff exactly to that line, when these two pieces are put together, they shall seem a Joint.

Shoot a Joint. See fol. 59.

Skew-former. See § 12, and Plate 4. C 4.

Smoothing Plane. See § 6. and Plate 4. B 4.

Sole. See Plate 4. B 7. b a b. The under-side of a Plane is called the Sole.

Square. See § 15. and Plate 4. D.

Staff. See § 21. and Plate 4. G c.

Staves. See § 8. and Plate 4. B 6. a a.

Stile. The upright Pieces AA in Pl. 7. are Stiles.

Stock. See § 22. and Plate 4. H c.

Stops. In Plate 6 k k are Stops.

Stuff. The Wood that Joyners work upon they call in general Stuff.

Sur-base. In Plate 7. D is the Sur-base.

Swelling-Friese. In Plate 6. r is the Swelling-friese.

Table. In Plate 6. f is the Table.

Taper. All sorts of Stuff or work that are smaller at one end than at the other, and diminish gradually from the biggest end, is said to be Taper.

Tennant. Is a square end fitted into a Mortess. See § 17.

Tennant Saw. In Plate 4. O. would be a Tennant Saw, were the flat of the Blade turned where the edge there stands.

Tongue. See § 16. and Plate 4. D b.

Tooth. See § 21. and Plate 4. G a.

Top-man. Of the two Sawyers, the uppermost is called the Top-man.

Tote. See § 2. and Plate 4. B 1a.

Traverse. See fol. 65.

Trussel. See fol. 97. and Plate 5. Fig. 3.

Try. See § 13.

Vaws-Cornice. See Plate 6. e.

Upper Cornice. See Plate 6. t.

Warp. The same that Cast is.

Waving Engine. See § 36. and Plate 5.

Wedge. See § 2. and Plate 4. B 1. c.

Whetting-Block. See Plate 4. P.

Whip-Saw. See Plate 4. N.

Wrest. See § 26. and Plate 4. Q.

Thus much of Joinery. The next Exercises will (God willing) be of Carpentry.

MECHANICK EXERCISES: OR, THE DOCTRINE OF Handy-Works.

Applied to the ART of House-Carpentry.

By JOSEPH MOXON, late Member of the Royal Society, and HYDROGRAPHER to King Charles II.

The Second Edition with Additions.

LONDON, Printed and Sold by J. Moxon, at the Atlas in Warwick-Lane, and at his Shop in Westminster-hall right against the Parliament Stairs, 1694.

MECHANICK EXERCISES: OR, The Doctrine of Handy-Works. Applied to the ART of House-Carpentry.

BEing now come to exercise upon the Carpenters Trade, it may be expected, by some, that I should insist upon Architecture, it being so absolutely necessary for Builders to be acquainted with: But my Answer to them is, that there are so many Books of Architecture extant, and in them the Rules so well, so copiously, and so compleatly, handled, that it is needless for me to say any thing of that Science: Nor do I think any man that should, can do more than collect out of their Books, and perhaps deliver their Meanings in his own Words. Besides, Architecture is a Mathematical Science, and therefore different from my present undertakings, which are (as by my Tittle) Mechanick Exercises: yet because Books of Architecture are as necessary for a Builder to understand as the use of Tools; and lest some Builders should not know how to enquire for them, I shall at the latter end of Carpentry give you the Names of some Authors, especially such as are printed in the English Tongue.

Some may perhaps also think it had been more proper for me in these Exercises to have introduced Carpentry before Joynery, because Necessity (the Mother of Invention) did doubtless compel our Fore-fathers in the beginning to use the conveniency of the first, rather than the extravagancy of the last. I confess, I considered it my self, and had in my own reason been persuaded to it, but that I also considered, that the Rules they both work by are upon the matter the same, in Sawing, Mortessing, Tenanting, Scribing, Paring, Plaining, Moulding, &c. and likewise the Tools they work with the same, though some of them somewhat stronger for Carpenter's use than they need be for Joyners; because Joyners work more curiously, and observe the Rules more exactly than Carpenters need do. And therefore I say it was, that I began with Joyners before Carpentry; for he that knows how to work curiously, may, when he lists, work slightly; when as they that are taught to work more roughly, do with greater difficulty perform more curious and nice work. Thus we see Joyners work their Tables exactly flat and smooth, and shoot their Joint so true, that the whole Table shews all one piece: But the Floors Carpenters lay are also by the Rule of Carpentry to be laid flat and true, and shall yet be well enough laid, though not so exactly flat and smooth as a Table.

Yet though the Rules Joyners and Carpenters work by are so near the same, and the Tools they work with, and Stuff they work upon, the same; yet there are many Requisites proper to a Carpenter, (especially a Master Carpenter) that a Joyner need take little notice of, which after I have described the Carpenters Tools that are not exprest among the Joyners, I shall speak to.

§ 1. Of several Tools used in Carpentry, that are not used in Joynery. And first of the Ax

THe Ax marked A in Plate 8. is (as you see) different from what the Joyners Hatchet is, both in size and form; theirs being a light Hatchet, with a Basil edge on its left side, because it is to be used with one hand, and therefore hath a short Handle: But the Carpenter's Ax being to hew great Stuff, is made much deeper and heavier, and its edge tapering into the middle of its Blade. It hath a long Handle, because it is used with both their hands, to square or bevel their Timbers.

When they use the Ax, the Timber hath commonly some Bauk or Log laid under it near each end, that the edge of the Ax may be in less danger of striking into the ground, when they hew near the bottom of the Timber. And they commonly stand on that side the Timber they hew upon.

§ 2. Of the Adz, and its use.

THe Adz marked B in Plate 8. hath its Blade made thin, and somewhat arching. As the Ax hath its edge parallel to its Handle, so the Adz hath its edge athwart the Handle, and is ground to a Basil on its inside to its outer edge: wherefore when it is blunt they cannot well grind it, unless they take its Helve out of its Eye.

Its general use is to take thin Chips off Timber or Boards, and to take off those irregularities that the Ax by reason of its form cannot well come at; and that a Plain (though rank set) will not make riddance enough with.

It is most used for the taking off the irregularities on the framed work of a Floor, when it is framed and pin'd together, and laid on its place; for that lying flat under them, the edge of the Ax being parallel to its Handle (as aforesaid) cannot come at the irregularities to take them off; but the Adz having its edge athwart the Handle will. Again, upon some Posts framed upright, and range with other framed work close to it, the edge of the Ax cannot come at the irregularities (for the reason aforesaid) but the Adz will. And the like for the irregularities of framed work on a Ceiling, &c.

When they work upon the framed work of a Floor, they take the end of the Handle in both their hands, placing themselves directly before the irregularity, at a small distance, stradling a little with both their Legs, to prevent danger from the edge of the Adz, and so by degrees hew of the irregularity. But if they hew upon an Upright, they stand directly before it.

They sometimes use the Adz upon small thin Stuff, to make it thinner, (but this is many times when the Ax, or some other properer Tool, lies not at hand) and then they lay their Stuff upon the Floor, and hold one end of it down with the Ball of the Foot, if the Stuff be long enough; if not, with the ends of their Toes, and so hew it lightly away to their size, or form, or both.

§ 3. Of Carpenters Chissels in general.

THough Carpenters for their finer work use all the sorts of Chissels described in Exercise 4. yet are not those sorts of Chissels strong enough for their rougher and more common work, and therefore they also use a stronger sort of Chissels; and distinguish them by the name of Socket-Chissels: For whereas those Chissels Joyners use have their wooden heads made hollow to receive the Iron Sprig above the Shoulder of the Shank, Carpenters have their Shank made with an hollow Socket at its top, to receive a strong wooden Sprig made to fit into that Socket, with a square Shoulder above it, the thickness of the Iron of the Socket, or somewhat more; which makes it much more strong, and able to endure the heavy blows of the Mallet they lay upon the head of the Chissel. And the Shanks and Blades are made stronger for Carpenters use than they are for Joyners.

Of these Socket Chissels they have of the several sorts described in Joinery, though not all severally distinguished by their names; for they call them Half-Inch, Three-quarter-Inch Chissels, Inch and half, Two-Inch, to Three-Inch Chissel, according to the breadth of the Blade. But their Uses are the same mentioned in Joinery, though the manner of using them be somewhat different too: For, as I told you in Joinery, the Joyners press the edge of the Blade into the Stuff, with the strength of their Shoulders, but the Carpenters with the force of the blows of the Mallet. And the Joyners guide their Chissels differently from what the Carpenters do their Socket Chissels; for the Joyners hold the Shank and Blade of their Chissels, as I described in Numb. 4. Sect. 11. but the Carpenters hold the Shank of their Chissels in their clutched left hand, and beat upon the Head with the Mallet in the right. See the Figure of the Socket Chissel in Plate 8. C. with its Head a out of the Socket.

§ 4. Of the Ripping Chissel, and its use.

THe Ripping Chissel described Plate 8. D. is a Socket Chissel, and is about an Inch broad, and hath a blunt edge. Its edge hath not a Basil, as almost all other Chissels have, and therefore would more properly be called a Wedge than a Chissel. But most commonly Carpenters use an old cast off Chissel for a Ripping Chissel.

Its office is not to cut Wood, as others do, but to rip or tear two pieces of wood fastned together from one another, by entering the blunt edge of it between the two pieces, and then knocking hard with the Mallet upon the head of the Handle, till you drive the thicker part of it between the two pieces, and so force the power that holds them together (be it Nails, or otherwise) to let go their hold: For its blunt edge should be made of Steel, and well tempered, so that if you knock with strong blows of the Mallet the Chissels edge upon a Nail (though of some considerable substance) it may cut or brake it short asunder. If you cannot, at once, placing the Ripping-Chissel part the two pieces, you must use two Ripping-Chissels, placing the second at the remotest entrance in the breach, and driving that home will both open the breach wider, and loosen the first Ripping-Chissel, so that you may take it out again, and place it farther in the breach: And so you must continue edging farther and farther, till you have separated your intended pieces.

It is sometimes used when Carpenters have committed error in their work, and must undo what they did, to mend it. But it is generally used in all Alterations, and old work.

§ 5. Of the Draw-knife, and its use.

THe Draw-knife described Plate 8. E. is seldom used about House-building, but for the making of some sorts of Houshold-stuff; as the Legs of Crickets, the Rounds of Ladders, the Rails to lay Cheese or Bacon on, &c.

When they use it, they set one end of their work against their Breast, and the other end against their Work bench, or some hollow angle that may keep it from slipping, and so pressing the work a little hard with their Breast against the Bench, to keep it steddy in its position, they with the Handles of the Draw-knife in both their hands, enter the edge of the Draw-knife into the work, and draw Chips almost the length of their work, and so smoothen it quickly.

§ 6. Of Hook-Pins, and their use.

THe Hook-Pin is described Plate 8. F. a the Pin, b the Hook, c the Head. Its office is to pin the Frame of a Floor or Frame of a Roof together, whilst it is framing, or whilst it is fitting into its position. They have many of these Hook-Pins to drive into the several angles of the Frame. These they drive into the Pin-holes through the Mortesses and Tennants, and being made taper, do with a Hammer striking on the bottom of it knock it out again; or they most commonly strike under the Hook, and so knock it out. Then if the Frame lie in its place, they pin it up with wooden Pins.

§ 7. Of the Level, and its use.

THe Level described Plate 8. G. a a the Level, b the Plumbet, c the Plumb-line, d d the Perpendicular mark'd from the top to the bottom of the Board. The Level is from two to ten foot long, that it may reach over a considerable length of the Work. If the Plumb-line hang just upon the Perpendicular d d, when the Level is set flat down upon the work, the work is Level: But if it hang on either side the Perpendicular, the Floor, or Work, must be raised on that side, till the Plumb-line hang exactly upon the Perpendicular.

§ 8. Of the Plumb-line, and its use.

THe Plumb-line is described Plate 8. H. a the Line Rowl, b the Line. It is used to try the upright standing of Posts, or other work that is to stand perpendicular to the Ground Plot; and then they draw off so much Line as is necessary, and fasten the rest of the Line there, upon the Line Rowl with a Slipknot, that no more Line turn off. They hold the end of the Line between their Finger and Thumb half the Diameter of the Line Rowl off one corner of the Post, or Work, and if the Line and Corner of the Post be parallel to each other, the Post is upright: But if the Post be not parallel to the Line, but its bottom stands more than half the Diameter of the Line Rowl

from the Line, the Post hangs so much over the bottom of the Post on that side the Line bears off, and must be forced backwards till the side of the Post and the Line become parallel to each other. But if the bottom of the corner of the Post stands out from the top of the Line, the Post must be forced forwards to comply with the Line.

§ 9. Of the Hammer, and its use.

THe Hammer is described Plate 8. I. a the Face, b the Claw, c c the Pen at the return sides of the Claw. This Tool was forgot to be described in Joynery, though they use Hammers too, and therefore I bring it in here. Its chief use is for driving Nails into work, and drawing Nails out of work.

There is required a pretty skill in driving a Nail; sor if (when you set the point of a Nail) you be not curious in observing to strike the flat face of the Hammer perpendiculary down upon the Perpendicular of the Shank, the Nail (unless it have good entrance) will start aside, or bow, or break; and then you will be forced to draw it out again with the Claw of the Hammer. Therefore you may see a reason when you buy a Hammer, to chuse one with a true flat Face.

A little trick is sometimes used among some (that would be thought cunning Carpenters) privately to touch the head of the Nail with a little Ear-wax, and then lay a wager with a stranger to the Trick, that he shall not drive that Nail up to the Head with so many blows. The stranger thinks he shall assuredly win, but does assuredly lose; for the Hammer no sooner touches the Head of the Nail, but instead of entring the wood it flies away, notwithstanding his utmost care in striking it down-right.

§ 10. Of the Commander, and its use.

THe Commander is described Plate 8. K. It is indeed but a very great wooden Mallet, with an Handle about three foot long, to use in both the hands.

It is used to knock on the Corners of Framed work, to set them into their position. It is also used to drive small wooden Piles into the ground, &c. or where greater Engines may be spared.

§ 11. Of the Crow, and its use.

THe Crow is described in Plate 8. L. a the Shank, bb the Claws, c the Pike-end. It is used as a Lever to to sift up the ends of great heavy Timber, when either a Bauk, or a Rowler, is to be laid under it; and then they thrust the Claws between the Ground and the Timber, and laying a Bauk, or some such stuff behind the Crow, they draw the other end of the Shank backwards, and so raise the Timber.

§ 12. Of the Drug, and its use.

THe Drug described Plate 9. A. is made somewhat like a low narrow Carr. It is used for the carriage of Timber, and then is drawn by the Handle aa, by two or more men, according as the weight of the Timber may require.

There are also some Engines used in Carpentry, for the management of their heavy Timber, and hard

Labour, viz. the Jack, the Crab, to which belongs Pullies and Tackle, &c. Wedges, Rowlers, great Screws, &c. But I shall give you an account of them when I come to the explanation of Terms at the latter end of Carpentry.

§ 13. Of the Ten-foot Rod, and thereby to measure and describe the Ground-plot.

WE shall begin therefore to measure the Ground-plot, to which Carpenters use a Ten-Foot Rod for expedition, which is a Rod about an Inch square, and ten foot long; being divided into ten equal parts, each part containing one foot, even as the Two-foot Rule described in Exercise 6. § 13. is divided into 24 equal parts, and their Sub-divisions.

With this Rod they measure the length and breadth of the Ground-plot into Feet, and if there be odd Inches, they measure them with the Two-foot Rule. Their measure they note down upon a piece of paper, and having considered the situation of the Sides, East, West, North, and South, they draw on Paper their several Sides accordingly, by a small Scale, either elected, or else made for that purpose. They may elect their Two-foot Rule for some plots; for an Inch and an half may commodiously serve to set off one Foot on some small Ground-plots, and then you have the Inches to that Foot actually divided by the Marks for the half quarters on the Two-foot Rule. But this large Scale will scarce serve to describe a Ground-plot above ten Foot in length, because a small sheet of Paper is not above 15 or 16 Inches long, and therefore one sheet of Paper will not contain it, if the Ground-plot be longer: Therefore if you make every half quarter of an Inch to be a Scale for two Inches, a sheet of Paper will contain 20 Foot in length: And if you make every half quarter of an Inch to be a Scale for four Inches, a sheet of Paper will contain 40 Foot. And thus by diminishing the Scale, the sheet of Paper will contain a grater number of Feet.

But having either elected, or else made your Scale, you are to open your Compasses to the number of Feet on your Scale your Ground-plot hath in length, and then transfer that distance to your Paper, and to draw a straight Line between the two Points, and mark that straight Line with East, West, North, or South, according to the situation of that side of the Ground-plot it represents. Then again open your Compasses to the number of Feet on your Scale one of the adjoining sides contains, and transfer that distance also to your Paper, and draw a Line between the two points, and note its situation of East, West, North, or South, as before. Do the like by the other sides; and if either a Quirk, or any Addition, be added to the Building, on any side of your Ground-plot, you must describe it also proportionably.

Then you are to consider what Apartments, or Partitions, to make on your Ground-plot, or second, or third Story, and to set them off from your Scale, beginning at your intended Front. As for example, Suppose your Ground-plot be a Long-square, 50 Foot in length, and 20 Foot wide: This Ground-plot will contain in its length two good Rooms, and a Yard behind it 10 Foot long. If you will, you may divide the 40 Foot into two equal parts, so will each Room be 20 Foot square: Or you may make the Rooms next the Front deeper, or shallower, and leave the remainder for the Back-Room: As here the Front Room is 25 Foot, and the Back-Room 15 Foot deep, and a setting off of 8 Foot broad and 10 Foot long taking out of the Yard, for a Buttery below stairs (if you will) and Closets above stairs over it. But what width and depth soever you intend your Rooms shall have, you must open your Compasses to that number of Feet on your Scale, and set off that Distance on the East, West, North, or South, Line, according to the Situation of that side it represents on your Ground-plot. If you set it off the East Line, you must also set it off on the West; if on the North Line, you must also set it off on the South Line: Because between the two Settings off on the East and West Lines, or North or South Lines, you must draw a straight Line of the length of your intended Partition. And in this manner you must from every Partition draw a Line in its proper place on the Paper, by measuring the Distances each Partition must have from the outside of the Ground-plot.

And thus you are also to describe by your Scale your Front, and several sides of the Carcase; allowing the Principal Posts, Posts, Enterduces, Quarterings, Braces, Gables, Doors, Windows, and Ornaments, their several sizes, and true positions by the Scale: Each side upon a Paper by it self: Unless we shall suppose our Master-Workman to understand Perspective; for for then he may, on a single piece of Paper, describe the whole Building, as it shall appear to the Eye at any assigned station.

§ 14. Of Foundations.

HAving drawn the Draft, the Master-Workman is first to cause the Cellars to be dug, if the House shall have Cellars. And then to try the Ground, that it be all over of an equal firmness, that when the weight of the Building is set upon it, it may not sink in any part. But if the Ground be hollow or weaker in any place, he strengthens it, sometimes by well ramming it down, and levelling it again with good dry Earth, Lime-Core, Rubbish, &c. or sometimes with ramming in Stones, or sometimes with well Planking it; or most securely by driving in Piles. But driving in of Piles is seldom used for Timber Houses, but for Stone, or Brick Houses, and that but in few places of England neither, but where the Ground proves fenny, or moorish. Therefore a farther account shall be given of Foundations, when I come to exercise upon Masonry, &c.

Then are the Celler-Walls to be brought up by a Bricklayer with Brick; for small Houses two Bricks thick, for bigger two and an half Bricks thick, or three or four Bricks thick, according to the bigness of the House, and quality of the Ground, as I shall shew when I come to Exercise on Bricklaying.

But if the House be designed to have no Cellars (as many Country-Houses have not) yet for the better securing the Foundation, and preserving the Timber from rotting, Master-Workmen will cause three, or four, or five course of Bricks to be laid, to lay their Ground-plates upon that Foundation.

The Foundation being made good, the Master-workman appoints his under-workmen their several Scantlins, for Ground-plates, Principal Posts, Posts, Bressummers, Girders, Trimmers, Joysts, &c. which they cut square, and frame their Timbers to, as has been taught in the several Exercises upon Joynery, (whither I referr you) and there set them up, each in his proper place, according to the Draft.

The Draft of a Foundation I have described in Plate 10, according to a Scale of eight Foot in an Inch; where you have the Front AB 20 Foot long, the sides AC and BD 50 Foot long. The Shop, or first Room, EE 25 Foot (as aforesaid) deep. I make the first Room a Shop, because I intend to describe Shop-windows, Stalls, &c. though you may Build according to any other purpose: the Kitching, or Back Room FF 15 Foot deep. A Buttry, or Closet, taken out of the Yard, marked G, 10 Foot deep, and 8 foot wide. H a Setting off in the Yard, 4 Foot square for the House of Office. I Leaving way in the Shop for a Stair-Case 6 foot, and 11 foot. K the Yard. L the Sink-hole 1 foot square. M Leaving way in the Kitching 6 foot deep, and 4 foot wide for the Chimneys.

I do not deliver this Draft of Partitions for the most commodious for this Ground-plot, nor is the House set out designed for any particular Inhabitant; which is one main purpose to be considered of the Master-Workman, before he make his Draft; for a Gentleman's house must not be divided as a Shop-keeper's, nor all Shop-keepers House a-like; for some Trades require a deeper, others may despence with a shallower Shop, and so an inconvenience may arise in both. For if the Shop be shallow, the Front Rooms upwards ought to be shallow also: because by the strict Rules of Architecture, all Partitions of Rooms ought to stand directly over one another: for if your Shop stands in an eminent Street, the Front Rooms are commonly more Airy than the Back Rooms; and always more commodious for observing publick Passages in the Street, and in that respect it will be inconvenient to make the Front Rooms shallow: But if you have a fair Prospect backwards of Gardens, Fields, &c. (which seldom happens in Cities) then it may be convenient to make your Back-Rooms the larger for Entertainment, &c. But I shall run no farther into this Argument: for I shall leave the Master-workman to consult Books of Architecture, and more particularly the Builder, which, in this case, they all ought to do.

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MECHANICK EXERCISES: OR, The Doctrine of Handy-Works. Continued in the ART of House-Carpentry.

AC, BD, CD, NO, Ground-plates, Wall-plates, Bressummers, Lintels, the Thickness of the Wall.

AB, Also a Ground-plate, or Ground-sell.

PP, The Summer.

QQQ, Girders.

I, The Well-houle for the Stairs, and Stair-case.

M, Leaving a way for the Chilmnies.

bb, Trimmers for the Chilmny-way and Stair-case.

aaaa, Joysts.

§ 15. Of Framing for the Floors.

THe four Plates, AB, AN, NO and BO, lying on the Foundation, are called Ground-plates. They are to be of good Oak, and for this size of Building about 8 Inches broad, and 6 Inches deep. They are to be framed into one another with Tennants and Mortesses. The longer Ground-plates AN and BO are commonly tennanted into the Front and Rear Ground-plates AB and NO, and into these two sides-Ground-plates are Mortesses made for the Tennants at the ends of the Joysts, to be fitted somewhat loosly in, at about 10 Inches distance from one another, as in the Draft. These Ground plates are to be bor'd with an Inch and half Augur, and well pinned into one another with round Oaken Pins, made tapering towards the point, and so strong, that with the hard blows of a Mallet, they may drive stiff into the Augre-hole, and keep the Tennant firmly in the Mortess. The manner of making a Tennant and Mortess is taught in Exercise 5. § 17. But because the Stuff Carpenters work upon, is generally heavy Timber, and consequently not so easily mannaged as the light Stuff Joyners work upon; therefore they do not at first pin their Tennants into their Mortesses with wooden pins, lest they should lie out of square, or any other intended Position: but laying a Block, or some other piece of Timber, under the corner of the Frame-work to bear it hollow off the Foundation, or what ever else it lies upon, they drive Hook Pins (described Plate 8. § 6.) into the four Augre-holes in the corners of the Ground-plates, and one by one fit the Plates either to a square, or any other intended Position: and when it is so fitted, they draw out their Hook Pins, and drive in the Wooden Pins (as aforesaid) and taking away the wooden Blocks one by one from under the corners of the Frame, they let it fall into its place.

But before they pin up the Frame of Ground-plates, they must fit in the Summer marked PP, and the Girders QQ, and all the Joysts marked aaaa, &c. and the Trimmers for the Stair-case, and Chilmney way marked bb, and the binding Joysts marked cc, for else you cannot get their Tennants into their respective Mortess holes. But they do I say fit all these in while the frame of Ground-plates lies loose, and may, corner by corner, be opened to let the respective Tennants into their respective Mortesses, which when all is done, they frame the Raising-plates just as the Ground-plates are framed; and then frame the Roof into the Raising-plates with Beams, Joysts, &c.

The Summer is in this Ground-plate placed at 25 foot distance from the Front, and is to be of the same Scantlin the principal Plates are of, for Reasons as shall be shewn hereafter: and the Girders are also to be of the same Scantlins the Summers and Ground-Plates are of, though according to the nice Rules of Architecture, the Back-Girder need not be so strong as the Front-Girder, because it Bears but at 14 foot length, and the Front-Girder Bears at 24 foot length: yet Carpenters (for uniformity) generally make them so, unless they build an House by the great, and are agreed for the Sum of Money, &c.

The Joysts Bearing at 8 Foot (as here they do) are to be 7 Inches deep, and 3 Inches Broad.

The Trimmers and Trimming Joysts are 5 Inches broad and 7 Inches deep, and these Joysts, Trimmers and Trimming-Joysts, are all to be pinned into their respected Mortesses; and then its flatness try'd with the Level, as was taught § 7.

§ 16. Of setting up the Carcass.

Though the Ground-plates, Girders, &c. be part of the Carcass, yet I thought fit in the last Section they should be laid, before I treated of the superstructure, which I shall now handle. The four Corner Posts called the Principal Posts marked AA, should be each of one piece, so long as to reach up to the Beam of the Roof, or Raising-Plate, and of the same Scantlin the Ground Plates are of, viz. 8 Inches broad, and 6 Inches thick, and set with one of its narrowest sides towards the Front. Its lower end is to be Tennanted, and let it into a Mortess made near the corner of the Ground-Plate Frame; and its upper end hath also a Tennant on it, to fit into a Mortess made in the Beam of the Roof, or Raising-piece.

At the heighth of the first Story in this Principal Post, must be made two Mortesses, one to receive the Tennant at the end of the Bressummer that lies in the Front, and the other to entertain the Tennant at the end of the Bressummer that lies in the Return-side.

Two such Mortesses must also be made in this Principal Post at the height of the second Story, to receive the Tennant at the ends of the Bressummers for that Story.

Though I have spoken singularly of one Principal Post, yet as you work this, you must work all four Principal Posts; and then set them plumb upright, which you must try with a Plumb-line described in Plate 8 §.

Having erected the Principal Posts upright, you must enter the Tennants of the Bressummers into their proper Mortesses, and with a Nail or two (about a single Ten or adouble Ten) tack one end of a deal Board, or some other like piece of stuff to the Bressummer, and the other end to the fram'd work of the Floor, to keep the Principal Posts upright, and in their places. Then set up the several Posts between the Principal Posts; but these Posts must be Tennanted at each end, because they are to be no longer than to reach from Story to Story, or from Entertise to Entertise, and are to be framed into the upper and under Bressummer. If the Entertises be not long enough, they set up a Principal Post between two or three lengths, to reach from the Ground-plate up to the Raising-plates.

It is to be remembred, that the Bressummers and Girders are laid flat upon one of their broadest sides, with their two narrowest sides perpendicular to the Ground-Plot; but the Joysts are to be laid contrary: for they are framed so as to lie with one of their narrowest sides upwards, with there two broadest sides perpendicular to the Ground-Plot. The reason is, because the Stuff of the Bressummers and Girders are less weakned by cutting the Mortesses in them in this position, than in the other position; for as the Tennants for those Mortesses are cut between the top and bottom sides, and the flat of the Tennants are no broader than the flat of the narrowest side of the Joysts; so the Mortesses they are to fit into, need be no broader than the breadth of the Tennant, and the Tennants are not to be above an inch thick, and consequently the Mortesses are to be made with an Inch Mortess-Chissel, as was shewn Numb. 5. § 17. for great care must be taken that the Bressummers and Girders be not weakned more than needs, lest the whole Floor dance.

These Tennants are cut through the two narrowest sides, rather than between the two broadest sides, because the stuff of the Girders retains more strength when least of the Grain of the stuff is cut: And the Tennants being made between the narrowest sides of the Joyces, requires their Mortess-holes no longer than the breadth of that Tennant: And that Tennant being but an Inch thick, requires its Mortess but an Inch wide to receive it; so that you Mortess into the Girder no more than three Inches wide with the Grain of the Stuff, and one Inch broad contrary to the Grain of the Stuff. But should the Tennant be cut between the two broad sides of the Joysts, the Mortess would be three Inches long, and but one Inch broad, and consequently, you must cut into the Girder three Inches cross the Gram of the Stuff, which would weaken it more than cutting six Inches with the Grain and one Inch cross.

But it may be objected that the Tennants of the Joysts being so small, and bearing at an inch thickness must needs be too weak.

Answer, first though the Tennants be indeed but an Inch thick, and three Inches broad; yet the whole Bearing of the Joyces do not solely depend upon their Tennants; because the Girders they are framed into, prove commonly somewhat Wainny upon their upper sides, and the Joysts are always scribed to project over that Waynniness, and so strengthen their Bearing by so much as they project over the roundness or waynniness of the upper side of the Girder.

Secondly, the Floor is boared with the length of the Boards athwart the Joysts, and these Boards firmly railed down to the Joysts, which also adds a great strength to them.

Thirdly, The Joysts are seldom made to Bear as at above ten foot in length, and should by, the Rule of good workmanship, not lie above ten Inches asunder at the most: so that this short Bearing and close discharging of one another, renders the whole floor firm enough for all common Occupation. But if the Joyces do bear at above ten foot in length, it ought to be the care of the Master Workman to provide stronger stuff for them, viz. Thicker and Broader. If not, they cut a Tusk on the upper side of the Tennant, and let that Tusk into the upper side of the Girders.

Having erected the Principal Post, and other Posts, and fitted in the Bressummers, Girders, Joysts, &c. upon the first Floor, they pin up all the Frame of Carcass-work. But though the Girders and Joysts described for this first floor, lie proper enough for it; yet for the second Story, and in this particular case, the Joysts lie not proper for the second Story; because in the second Story we have described a Balcony.

Therefore in this case you must frame the Front-Bressummer about seven Inches lower into the Principal Posts: Because the Joysts for the second Floor are not to be Mortessed into the Bressummer to lie even at the top with it, but must lie upon the Bressummer, and project over it so far as you design the Balcony to project beyond the Upright of the Front: And thus laying the Joysts upon the Bressummer renders them much stronger to bear the Balcony, than if Joysts were Tennanted into the Front of the Bressummer, and so project out into the Street from it.

But the truth is, Though I have given you a Draft of the Joysts lying athwart the Front and Rear for the first Floor, you may as well lay them Range with the two sides on the first Floor. But then the Bressummer that reaches from Front to Rear in the middle of the Floor must be stronger: And Girders must then be Tennanted into the Bressummer, and the Ground-plates at such a distance, that the Joysts may not Bear at above ten Foot in length. And the Tennants of the Joysts must be Tennanted into the Girders, so that they will then lye Range with the two Sides.

But, a word more of the Bressummer: I say (as before) the Bressummer to Bear at so great length must be stronger, though it should be discharged at the length of the Shop, (viz. at 25 Foot) with a Brick Wall, or a Foundation brought up of Brick. But if it shall have no Discharge of Brick-work, but Bear at the whole 40 Foot in length, your Bressummer must be yet considerably stronger than it need be, were it to Bear but 25 Foot in length; because the shorter all the Bearings of Timbers are, the firmer they Bear. But then the Fraiming work will take up more labour: And in many cases it is cheaper to put in stronger stuff for long Bearings, than to put a Girder between to Discharge the length of the Joysts to be framed into the Girders.

But to make short of this Argument, I shall give you the Scheme of Scantlins of Timbers at several Bearings for Summers, Girders, Joysts, Rafters, &c. as they are set down in the Act of Parliament for the rebuilding the City of London, after the late dreadful Fire: which Scantlins were well consulted by able Workmen before they were reduced into an Act.

Scantlins of Timber for the first sort of Houses.

Foot Inches Inches For the Floor Summers under—15—12—and—8 Wall-plates—7—and—5 Foot at foot—8. 6 Inches For the Roof Principal Rafters under—15 at top—5. Single Rafters—4—and—3 Inches. Length Foot Thickness Depth Joysts to—10—3—and—7 Inches Garret floors—3—6

Scantlins of Timber for the other two Sorts of Houses.

For the Floor Breadth Depth Thickness Depth Foot Foot Inches Inches Inches Inches Summers or Griders which bear in length from 10—to—15—11—and—8 Joysts which bear 10 foot 3—6 15—18—13—9 3—7 18—21—14—10 3—7 21—24—16—12 3—8 24—26—17—14 3—8 Inches Inches Principal Discharges upon Peers in the first Story in the Fronts 13 and 12 15—13 Binding Joysts with their Trimming Joysts Thickness Inches 5—depth equal to their own floors Inches Inches Wall-plates, or Raising Pieces and Beams 10 and 6 8—6 7—5 Inches Inches Lintels of Oak in the 1st. and 2d. Story—8 and 6 3d. Story—5—4

For the Roof Length Thickness Foot Foot Inches Inches Principal Rafters from 15 to 18 at foot 9 —7 at top 7 18—21 at foot 10 —8 at top 8 21—24 at foot 12 —8½ at top 9 24—26 at foot 13 —9 at top 9 Length Foot Foot Inches Inches Purlines from 15 to 18—9—8 18—21—12—9 Foot Inches Inches Single Rafters not exceeding in length—9—5—4 not exceeding in length—6—4—3½

Scantlins for Sawed Timber and Laths, usually brought out of the West Country, not less than

Breadth Thickness Foot Inches Inches Single Quarters in length—8—3½—1 ¾ Double Quarters in length—8—4—3 ½ Sawed Joysts in length—8—6—4 Laths in length—5/4—1 1/4—1 quarter and ½ Inch

Inches Stone Where Stone is used, to keep to these Scantlins— First sort of Houses Corner Peers—18 square Middle or Single Peers—14 and 12 Double Peers between House and House—14 and 18 Door-Jambs and Heads—12 and 8 Foot Inches 2d & 3d sorts— Corner Peers—2—6 square Middle or single Peers—18 square Double Peers between House and House-24 and 18 Door-Jambs and Heads—14 and 10

Foot Thickness Scantlins for Sewers 3 wide Side-walls—1 Brick ½ Bottom paved plain, and then 1 Brick on edge circular. 5 high Arch—1 Brick on end

General RULES.

IN every Foundation within the Ground add one Brick in thickness to the thickness of the Wall (as in the Scheme) next above the Foundation, to be set off in three Courses equally on both sides.

That no Timbor be laid within twelve Inches of the foreside of the Chimney-Jambs: And that all Joysts on the back of any Chimney be laid with a Trimmer at six Inches distance from the Back.

That no Timber be laid within the Tunnel of any Chimney, upon penalty to the Workman for every default Ten Shillings, and Ten Shillings every week it continues unreformed.

That no Joycts or Rafters be laid at greater distances from one to the other, than twelve Inches; and no Quarters at greater distance than fourteen Inches.

That no Joysts bear at longer length than Ten Foot; and no single Rafters at more in length than Nine Foot.

That all Roofs, Window-frames, and Cellar-floors be made of Oak.

The Tile-pins of Oak.

No Summers of Girders to lie over the Head of Doors and Windows.

No Summer or Girder to lie less than Ten Inches into the Wall, no Joysts than Eight Inches, and to be laid in Lome.

But yet the Carcass is not compleated, till the Quarters and Braces between the principal Posts and Posts are fitted in; the Window Frames made and set up, and the Principal Rafters, Purlins, Gables, &c. are also fram'd and set up. The manner of their Pitch and Scantlins you will see in Plate 11. And the reasons for several Pitches you may find among Books of Architecture. But the names of every Member you will find in the Alphabetical Table at the latter end of these Exercises on Carpentry, referred unto by Letters and Arithmetical Figures in the Plate aforesaid.

But now we will suppose the Carcass is thus finished. The Bricklayer is then to bring up the Chilmnies, and afterwards to Tile the House. And then the next work the Carpenter has to do, is to Bring up the Stairs, and Stair-Cases, and afterwards to Floor the Rooms, and Hang the Doors, &c. For should he either Bring up the Stairs and Stair-Cases, or Floor the Rooms before the House is Tiled, or otherwise covered, if wet Weather should happen it might injure the Stairs, Flooring, &c.

A, The Ground-plate, or Ground-sell. BB, BB, The Principal Posts. CC, The Binding Intertises, or indeed, more properly Interduces, Bressummers, Girders. D, Beam of the Roof, Bressummer, or Girder to the Garret Floor. EE, Principal Rafters. FF, Bressummers. G, Plate or Raising-piece, also a Beam. aa, Jaums or Door-posts. bb, Braces. cc, Jaums. d, Top-rail of the Balcony. ee, Bottom-rail of the Balcony. fff, Posts of the Balcony. ggg, Banisters. hh, Bressummers for the Shop-windows. H, King-piece or Joggle-piece. ii, Struts. kk, Top-beam, Coller-beam, Wind-beam, Strut-beam. lll, Door-head. II, The Feet of the principal Rafters. K, The Top of the Rafters. IIK, The Gable-end. LL, Knees of the Principal Rafters, to be made all of one piece with the Principal Rafters. M, The Fust of the House. NN, Purlins. OO, Shop-windows. PP, Flaps or Falls. mmm, Quarters. nn, Jaums of the Window. oo, Back and Head of the Window. pp, Transums. qq, Munnions. rr, Furrings, or Shreadings. V, Single light Windows or Luteons. sss, Rafters.

§ 16. Of Window Frames.

IN Brick Buildings the Window Frames are so framed, that the Tennants of the Head-sell, Ground-sell, and Transum, run though the outer Jaums about four Inches beyond them: And so they are set in a Lay of Morter upon the Brick Wall before the Peers on either side is brought up, at about three Inches within the Front; So that the Brick work over the Head and about the Jaums defend it from the Weather. Then the Bricklayer brings up the Peers on both sides, so that the four ends or Tennants that project through the outer Jaums being buried and trimmed into the Brick-work become a Fastning to the Window-Frame.

But if the Window-Frame stands on a Timber-house, the Head and Ground-sell are sometimes Tennanted into Posts of the Carcass; and then the Posts do the office of the outer Jaums of the Window-Frame; and the Head and Ground-sell are then called Entertises, and therefore both Head and Ground-sell, and Posts or Jaums, are rabbetted about half an Inch on the outside of the Front, to receive the Pane of Glass that is fitted to it. And thus (as I said) the Posts become part of the Window-Frame.

But the better way is to frame a Window as the Brick-work Window, and to project it an Inch and an half beyond the side of the Building, and to plaister against its sides, for the better securing the rest of the Carcass from the weather.

The Window-Frame hath every one of its Lights rabbetted on its outside about half on Inch into the Frame, and all these Rabbets, but that on the Ground-sell, are grooved square, but the Rabbets on the Ground-sell is bevell'd downwards, that Rain or Snow, &c. may the freelier fall off it. Into these Rabbets the several Panes of Glass-work is set, and fastned by the Glasier; as shall be shewed when I come to Exercise upon Glasing.

The square Corners of the Frame next the Glass is Bevell'd away both on the out and inside of the Building, that the Light may the freelier play upon the Glass. And upon that Bevel is commonly Stuck a Molding (for Ornament sake) according to the fancy of the Workman, but more generally according to the various Mode of the Times.

§ 17. Of Stairs, and Stair-Cases.

SEveral Writers of Architecture have delivered different Rules for the Height and Breadth of Steps, and that according to the several Capacities of the Stair-Cases. They forbid more than six, and less than four Inches for the Heighth of each Step, and more than sixteen, and lest than twelve, for the Breadth of each Step. But here we must understand they mean these Measures should be observed in large and sumptuous Buildings: But we have here proposed an ordinary private House, which will admit of no such Measures, for want of room. Therefore to our present purpose.

The first and second Pair of Stairs the Steps shall be about 7⅓ Inches high, and 10 Inches broad. The third Pair of Stairs each Step may be about 6 ½ Inches high, aud 9 ½ Inches broad. And for the fourth Pair of Stairs, each Step may be about 6 Inches high, and 9 Inches broad. But this Rule they do, or should follow, viz. to make all the Steps belonging to the same pair of Stairs of an equal height; which to do, they first consider the heighth of the Room in Feet and odd Inches, if any odd be, and multiply the Feet by 12, whose Product, with the number of odd Inches, gives the summ of the whole Heighth in Inches; which summ they divide by the number of Steps they intend to have in that Heighth, and the Quotient shall be the number of Inches and parts that each Step shall be high. Or, if they first design the Heighth of each Step in Inches, they try by Arithmetick how many times the Heighth of a Step they can have out of the whole Heighth of the Story, and so know the number of Steps.

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MECHANICK EXERCISES: OR, The Doctrine of Handy-Works. Continued in the ART of House-Carpentry.

STairs are either made about a Solid Newel, or an Open Newel, and sometimes mixt, viz. with a Solid Newel for some few Steps; then a straight or Foreright Ascent, whith Flyers upon the side of the square Open Newel, and afterwards a Solid Newel again. Than reiterate, &c.

The last, viz. the Mixt Newel'd Stairs, are commonly made in our Party-walled Houses in London, where now Light can be placed in the Stair-Case, because of the Party-walls; so that there is a necessity to let in a Sky-light through the Hollow Newel: But this sort of Stair Cases take up more room than those with a single solid Newel; because the Stairs of a solid Newel spread only upon one small Newel, as the several Foulds of the Fans Woman use spread about their Center: But these because they sometimes wind, and sometimes fly off from that winding, take therefore the more room up in the Stair-Case.

The manner of projecting them, is copiously taught in many Books of Architecture, whether I referr you: yet not to leave you wholly in the dark, I shall give you a small light into it. And first of the Solid Newel.

Winding Stairs are projected on a round Profile, whose Diameter is equal to the Base the Stair-Case is to stand on, suppose six foot square. This Profile hath its Circumference divided into 16 equal parts. The Semi-diameter of the Profile is divided into four equal parts, and one of them used for the Newel, and the rest for the length of the Steps: if you draw Lines from the Center through every one of the equal parts into the Circumference, the space between every two Lines will be the true Figure of a Winding-Step. And if they were all cut out and placed one above another, over the true place on the Profile round about the Newel, whose Diameter is one quarter the length of a Step, you would by supporting each Step with a Raiser have the modle of a true pair of Winding-Stairs. See Plate 10. Fig. 2.

Hollow Newel'd Stairs are made about a square Hollow Newel. We will suppose the Well-hole to be eleven foot long, and six foot wide; and we would bring up a pair of Stairs from the first Floor eleven foot high; it being intended that a Skie-light shall fall through the Hollow Newel upon the Stairs: we must therefore consider the width and breadth of the Hollow Newel; and in this example admit it to be two foot and a half wide, and two foot broad: by the width I mean the sides that range with the Front and Rear of the Building, and by the breadth I mean the sides that range with the Partywalls.

I find (by the Rule aforesaid) that if I assign 18 Steps up, each Step will be seven Inches and one third of an Inch high.

You must note, that the flying off, or else winding of these Steps will vary their places according as you design the first Ascent. For if you make the first Ascent as you come straight out of the Street (as in Plate 10.) on the South side, you will first ascend upon a Pitch of Flyers, which Pitch (making an Angle of 38 deg. with the Floor) with ten Steps raise you six Foot high above the Floor, and bring you eight Foot towards the North end of the Well-hole, by making each Step ten Inches broad.

But now you must leave Flyers, and make four Winding Steps. These Winding Steps are made about a solid Newel (as hath been taught) and this Newel serves also for a Post to Trim the Stair-Case too. This Post stands upon the Floor, and is prolonged upwards so high, that Mortesses made in it may receive the Tennants of the Top and Bottom Rails of the whole Stair-case for that Floor: these four Winding steps aforesaid, rounding one quarter about the Newel, turns your Face in your Ascent now towards the East; these four steps are raised 2 foot, 5 ⅓ Inches above the Flyers, so that (in all) your Stairs are now raised 8 foot 6 ⅔ Inches. Here remains now only 2 foot 5 ½ Inches to the Landing place, and these take up just four Flyers, which must be made as was taught before.

But now in your second pair of Stairs, it will be proper to begin your Ascent with your Face towards the West: for landing by the first pair of Stairs with your Face towards the East, you turn by the side of the Rail on the second Floor from the East towards the North, and at the further end of that Rail, you turn your Face again from the North towards the West, and begin your Ascent on the second pair of Stairs.

Between the Skie-light and the Ascent is a Post set upright to fasten Rails into: (to bound the Stair-case) from the bottom of which, viz. on the second Floor you trim up three Flyers, and then turn off a quarter of a Circle; with Winding steps: then again, Flyers to your designed pitch: and then again another quarter of a Circle with Winding steps. &c.

The Rail these Steps are built upon, being at the beginning or bottom of the Ascent framed or otherwise fastned to the first upright Post, must at its higher end be framed into the next Post also, with a Bevel Tennant, as you were taught to frame Quarters into one another, Numb. 5. § 17. Only with this difference, that there you were taught to frame Square; but here you must frame upon the Bevel, as you were taught, Numb. 5. § 19. This Post aforesaid bears upon the Floor, to make its Bearing the stronger; and this Post must be continued to such an heighth, as it may also serve to receive the Tennanted end of an upper and lower Rail framed into it. And between these Bevelling Rails, Bannisters make good the outside of the Stair-Case.

Though I have here described this Contrivance of a pair of Stairs, yet do I not deliver it as the best Patern for this building, or for these sorts of Stairs, nor matters it to our purpose whether it be or no; for (as I told you before) my undertaking is the Doctrine of Handy-works, not Architecture; but 'its Architecture considers the best forming of all Members in a Building for the capacity of the Ground-Plot, and the Convenience of the intended Inhabitant; but Carpenters (as Carpenters) only work by directions prescribed by the Architect.

These therefore are the common Rules that these sorts of Stairs, and indeed all others with carving according to the Profile or Ground-plot of the Stairs are made by. But those that will see many Inventions may consult Books of Architecture, &c.

§ 18. Of Flooring of Rooms.

THough Carpenters never Floor the Rooms till the Carcass is set up, and also inclosed by the Plaisterer, lest weather should wrong the Flooring; yet they generally Rough-plane their Boards for Flooring before they begin any thing else about the Building, that they may set them by to season: which thus they do, They lean them one by one on end aslant with the edge of the Board against a Bauk, somewhat above the height of half the length of the Board, and set another Board in the same posture on the other side the Bauk, so that above the Bauk they cross one another: then on the first side they set another Board in that posture, and on the second side another, till the whole number of Boards are set an end: being set in this posture, there remains the thickness of a Board between every Board all the length, but just where they cross one another, for the Air to pass through to dry and shrink them, against they have occasion to use them: But they set them under some covered Shed, that the Rain or Sun comes not at them: for if the Rain wet them, instead of shrinking them, it will smell them; or if the Sun shine fiercely upon them, it will dry them so fast, that the Boards will Tear or Shake, which is in Vulgar English Split or Crack.

They have another way to dry and season them, by laying them flat upon three or four Bauks, each Board about the breadth of a Board asunder, the whole length of the Bauks. Then they lay another Lay of Boards athwart upon them, each board also the breadth of a Board asunder; then another Lay athwart the last, till all are thus laid: so that in this position they also lie hollow for the Air to play between them.

Thus then, The Boards being Rough-plain'd and Season'd. They try one side slat, as by Numb. 6. § 31. and both the edges straight, as if they were to shoot a Joint; as by Numb. 4. § 4. and cut the Boards to an exact length: because if the Boards are not long enough to reach athwart the whole Room, the ends may all lie in a straight Line, that the straight ends of other Boards laid against them may make the truer Joint, and this they call a Beaking Joint. But before they lay them upon the Floor, they try with the Level (described § 7.) the flatness of the whole Frame of Flooring again, lest any part of it should be Cast since it was first framed together: and if any part of the Floor lie too high, they with the Adz (if the eminency be large) take it off, as was shewed § 2. Or if it be small, with the Jack-Plain, in Numb. 4. § 2. till it lie level with the rest of the Floor. But if any part of the Floor prove hollow, they lay a Chip, or some such thing, upon that hollow place, to bare up the Board, before they nail it down.

All this being done, they chuse a Board of the commonest thickness of the whole Pile for the first Board, and lay it close again one side of the Room athwart the Joysts, and so nail it firmly down with two Brads into every Joyst it crosses, each Brad about an Inch, or an Inch and a half within the edge of the Board.

If they should lay more a than ordinary thick or thin Board at the first, they would have a greater number of Boards to work to a Level than they need, because all the rest of the Boards must be equalized in thickness to the first.

Then they lay a second Board close to the first. But before they nail it down they again try how its sides agrees with the side of the first, and also how its thickness agrees with the first Board. If any part of its edge lie hollow off the edge of the first Board, they shoot off so much of the length of the Board from that hollowness towards either end, till it comply and make a close Joint with the first. But if the edge swell in any place, they plane of that swelling till it comply as aforesaid.

If the second Board prove thicker than the first, then with the Adz (as aforesaid) they hew away the under side of that Board (most commonly cross the Grain, lest with the Grain the edge of the Adz should slip too deep into the Board) in every part of it that shall bare upon a Joyst, and so sink it to a flat superficies to comply with the first Board. If the Board be too thin, they underlay that Board upon every Joyst with a Chip, &c.

And as this second Board is laid, so are the other Boards laid, if they be well assured the Boards are dry, and will not shrink: but if they doubt the driness of the Boards, they (sometimes do, or should) take a little more pains; for after they have nailed down the first Board, they will measure the breadth of two other Boards, laying them by the side of the first. But yet they will not allow them their full Room to lie in, but after there edges are true shot in a straight line, they will pinch them off about half a quarter of an Inch room more or less, according as they guess at the well-seasonedness of the Boards; by nailing down the fourth Board nearer to the first Board by half a quarter of an Inch (more or less) then the breadth of both Boards are. And though it be afterwards somewhat hard to get these two Boards into that narrow room, viz. between the first and fourth Board, yet they help themselves thus; The under-edge of these Boards that are to join to each other they Bevel somewhat away, and then the first and fourth Board being fast nailed down (as aforesaid) they set the outer edges of these two Boards again the two nailed Boards, letting the inner edges of the two loose Boards meet, and make an Angle perpendicular to the Floor. Then with two or three Men jumping all at once that Angle, these two Boards with this force and reiterated jumbs by degrees press flat down into the superficies of the Floor; or else with Forcing Pins and Wedges force them together: and then with Brads they nail them down, as they did the first Board. Thus afterwards they nail down a seventh Board, as they did the fourth, and then fit in the fifth and sixth Boards, as they did the second and third Boards. And so on, nailing down every third Board, and forcing two others between it and the last nailed Board, till the whole Floor be boarded.

But if these Boards are not long enough (as I hinted before) to reach through the whole Room, they examine how true the ends lie in a straight line with one another, by applying the edge of the Two-foot Rule to the ends, and where the ends of any Boards keep of the edge of the Two-foot Rule from complying with the whole range of ends, they with the Chissel and Mallet cut off that irregularity, holding and guiding the Chissel so that it may rather cut away more of the bottom than top of the Board, that so the Boards joined to the ends of the first laid Boards, may make on the Superficies of the Floor the finer and truer Joint.

Having thus Boarded the whole Room, notwithstanding they used their best diligence to do it exactly, yet may the edges of some Boards lie somewhat higher than the Board it lies next to: therefore they peruse the whole Floor, and wherethey find any irregularities they plane them off with the Plane, &c.

§ 19. The Hanging of Doors, Windows, &c.

THe Floors being Boarded, the next work is to Hang the Doors, in which though there be little difficulty, yet is there much care to be taking, that the Door open and shut well.

If the Door have a Door-Case (as Chamber-Doors, and Closet-Doors commonly have) the Jaums of the Door-Case must stand exactly perpendicular, which you must try by the Plumb-line, as by § 8. and the Head of the Door-Case or Entertise must be fitted exactly square to the Jaums, as you where taught Numb. 3. § 17, 18, 19. and the Angles of the Door must be made exactly square, and the Rabbets of the Door to fit exactly into the Rabbets of the Door-Case. But yet they commonly make the Door about one quarter of an Inch shorter than the insides of the Jaums of the Door-Case, lest if the Boards of the Floor chance to swell within the sweep of the Door, the bottom of the Door should drag upon the Floor.

They consider what sort of Hindges are properest for the Door they are to Hang. When they have a Street-door (which commonly is to take off and lift on) they use Hooks and Hindges. In a Battend-door, Back-door, or other Battend-door, or Shop-windows, they use Cross-Garnets. If a Framed Door, Side Hinges: And for Cup-board Doors, and such like, Duf-Tails. (See the description of these Hindges in Numb. 1. Fig. 1. 5, 6.) But what sort of Hindges soever they use, they have care to provide them of a strength proportionable to the size and weight of the Door they hang with them. Well-made Hindges I have described Numb. 1. fol. 20. Whither to avoid repetition I refer you.

If they hand a Street-door (which is commonly about six foot high) they first drive the Hooks into the Door-Post, by entering the Post first with an Augure: But the Bit of the Augure, must be less than the Shank of the Hook, and the hole boared not so long, because the Shank of the Hook, must be strongly forced into the Augure-hole, and should the Augure-hole be too wide, the Shank would be loose in it, and not stick strong enough in it. Therefore if the Shank be an Inch square, an half-Inch-Augure is big enough to bore that hole with, because it will then endure the heavier blows of an Hammer, to drive it so far as it must go; and the stronger it is forced in, the faster the Hook sticks. But yet they are carful not to split the Door-Post,

These Hooks are commonly drove in about Fifteen Inches and an half above the Ground-sell, and as much below the top of the Door. It is, or should be, their care to chuse the Pin of the lower Hook about a quarter of an Inch longer than that they use for the upper Hook (or else to make it so) because these Doors are commonly un-weildy to lift off and on, especially to lift both the Hindges on both the Hooks at once. Therefore when the lower Hindge is lifted on the lower Hook, if the Door be then lift-perpendicularly upright, so high as the under side of the upper Hindge may just reach the top of the upper Hook, you may the easier slip the Eye of the upper Hindge upon the Hook; whereas, if the lower Hook be either shorter, or just no longer than the other: instead of lifting it readily upon the upper Hook, you may lift it off the lower Hook, and so begin the labour again.

Having drove in the Hooks, they set the Rabbits of the Door within the Rabbits of the Door-Post, and underlay the bottom of the Door, with a Chip or two about half a quarter of an Inch thick, to raise the Door that it drag not. Then they put the Eyes of the Hindges over the Pins of the Hooks, and placing the Tail piece of the Hindges parallel to the bottom and top of the Door, they so nail them upon.

This is the Rule they generally observe for Hanging Doors, Shop-windows, &c. Only, sometimes instead of Nailing the Hindges upon the Door, they Rivet them on, for more strength. And then, after they have fitted the Door, or Window, into its Rabbits, and laid the Hindges in there proper place and position (as aforesaid) they make marks in the Nail-holes of the Hindge with the point of their Compasses upon the Door, and at those marks they Pierce holes, with a Piercer-Bit, that fits the shank of the Rivet; then they put the shank of the Rivet through the holes made in the Door: yet so that the Head of the Rivet be on the outside of the Door: and they also put the end of the Shank into the Nail-hole of the Hindge, and so whilst another man holds the head of the Hatchet against the Head of the Rivet, they with the Pen of their Hammer batter and spread the flat end of the Shank over the Hole, as was shewn Numb. 2. fol. 24. 25.

The Titles of some Books of Architecture. SEbastion Seirlio, in Folio. Hans Bloom's Five Collumns, Folio. Vignola, in Folio. Vignola, Or the Compleat Architect, in Octavo. Scamotzi, Quarto. Palladio, Quarto. Sir Henry Wotton's Elements of Architecture Quarto.

These Books are all Printed in English: But there are many others extant in several other Languages, of which Vitruvius is the chief: For from his Book the rest are generally derived; as Philip Le Orm, Ditterlin, Marlois, and many others, which being difficult to be had among Book-sellers, and these sufficient for information, I shall omit till another opportunity.

An Explanation of Terms used in Carpentry.

ADz, Plate 8. B § 2.

Arch, Any work wrought Circular, as the top part of some Window-frames, the top of some great Gates, the Roof of Vaults, &c.

Architrave, See Numb. 6. Plate 6. 1. and Plate 6. A. § 1.

Ax, Numb. 7. Plate 8. A.

BAck or Hip-molding. The backward Hips or Valley-Rafters in the way of an Angle for the back part of a Building.

Bannister, Numb. 8. Plate 11. g g g.

Base, is commonly the Bottom of a Cullumn. See Numb. 6. Plate 6. h. and Plate 7. B.

Batement, To abate or waste a piece of Stuff, by forming of it to a designed purpose. Thus instead of asking how much was cut off such a piece of Stuff, Carpenters ask what Batement that piece of Stuff had.

Batter, the side, or part of the side of a Wall, or any Timber that bulges from its bottom or foundation, is said to Batter, or hang over the Foundation

Battlement, A flat Roof or Platform to walk on. But Battlements are more properly Walls built about the Platform to inclose it, as is seen upon Towers for defence: Part of the Battlement being Breast high that Musquetiers may shoot over it, the other part Man-high, to secure Men from the shot of their Enemies.

Bauk, a piece of Fir unslit, from four to ten Inches square: and of many lengths.

Bear, Timber is said to Bear at its whole length, when neither a Brick-wall, or Posts, &c. stand between the ends of it. But if either a Brick-Wall or Posts, &c. be Trimmed up to that Timber, then it is said to Bear only at the distance between the Brick-wall or Post, and either end of the Timber. Thus Carpenters ask what

Bearing such a piece of Timber has? The answer is 10, 12, 15, &c. Foot, according to the length of the whole Timber, or else according to the distance between either end of the Timber, and a

Bearer, viz. a Post or Brick-wall that is Trimmed up between the two ends of a piece of Timber, to shorten its Bearing.

Bond, when Workmen say make good Bond, they mean fasten the two or more pieces of Timber well together, either with Tennanting and Mortessing, or Duff-tailing, &c.

Binding Joysts, See Trimmers, or Plate 10. b b b.

Brace, See Plate 11. b b b.

Brad, is a Nail to Floor Rooms with, they are about the size of a Ten-penny Nail, but have not their heads made with a shoulder over their shank, as other Nails, but are made pretty thick towards the upper end, that the very top of it may be driven into, and buried in the Board they nail down, so that the tops of these Brads will not catch (as the Heads of Nails would) the Thrums of the Mops when the Floor is washing. You may see them at most Ironmongers.

Break in, Carpenters with their Ripping Chissel do often Break in to Bricks-walls: that is, they cut holes, but indeed more properly break the Bricks by force, and make their hole to their size and form.

Bressummer, See Plate 11. C C, D, F F, h h.

Bring up, A Term most used among Carpenters, when they discourse Bricklayers; and then they say, Bring up the Foundation so high, Bring up such a wall, Bring up the Chimnies, &c. which is as much as to say, Build the Foundation so high, Build the Wall, Build the Chimnies, &c.

Butment, The piece of Ground in the Yard marked G, in Plate 10. is a Butment from the rest of the Ground-Plot.

Buttress, that stands on the outside a Wall to support it.

CAmber, A piece of Timber cut Arching, so as when a weight considerable, shall be set upon it, it may in length of time be reduced to a straight.

Cantilevers, Pieces of Wood framed into the Front or other sides of an House to sustain the Molding and Eaves over it.

Careass, is (as it were) the Skelleton of an House, before it is Lath'd and Plastered.

Cartouses, Ornamented Corbels.

Cleer Story Window, Windows that have no Transum in them.

Commander, See Numb. 7. Plate 8. K and § 10.

Coping over, is a sort of hanging over, but not square to its upright, but Bevelling on its under side, till it end in an edge.

Corbel, A piece of Timber set under another piece of Timber, to discharge its Bearing.

Crab, The Engine described Plate 9. E. and BCD several of its Appurtenances, viz. BCC Snatch-Blocks. D Levers. Its Office is to draw heavy Timber to a considerable height.

Crow, See Plate 8. L. Its Office is to remove heavy Timber, and therefore for strength is made of Iron.

Crown Post, See Plate 11. H. Also the King-Piece, or Joggle-piece.

DIscharge, A Brick-wall or a Post trim'd up to a piece of Timber over charg'd for its Bearing, is a Discharge to that Bearing.

Dormer, Plate 11. QR.

Double Quarters, See Quarter.

Draft, The Picture of an intended Building discribed on Paper, whereon is laid down the devised Divisions and Partitions of every Room in its due proportion to the whole Building, See Numb. 7. § 13.

Drag, A Door is said to Drag when either by its ill Hanging on its Hinges, or by the ill Boarding of the Room, the bottom edge of the Door rides (in its sweep) upon the Floor. See § 19.

Dragon-beams, are two strong Braces or Struts that stands under a Bressummer, meeting in an angle upon the shoulder of the King-piece. In Plate 11, ii are Dragon beams.

Draw knife. described Plate 8. E and § 5.

Draw Pins, described Plate 8. F and § 6.

Drug, described Plate 9 E and § 12.

ENter, When Tennants are put into Mortesses, they are said to Enter the Mortesses. Enterduce, or Entertise, described Plate 11. CC.

FEather-edge, Boards, or Planks, that have one edge thinner than another are called Feather-edge stuff.

Fir-Pole, A sort of stuff cut off of the Fir-tree, small and long, commonly from 10 to 16 Foot. They are sometimes used in sleight Buildings, to serve instead of Bauks and Quarters.

Flyers, are Stairs made of an Oblong square Figure, whose fore and backsides are parallel to each other; and so are their ends: the second of these Flyers stands parrallel behind the first, the third behind the second, and so are said to fly off from one anther.

Floor, in Carpentry, it is as well taken for the Fram'd work of Timber, as the Boarding over it.

Foot-pace, is a part of a pair of Stairs, whereon after four or six steps you arrive to a broad place, where you may take two or three paces before you ascend another step; thereby to ease the legs in ascending the rest of the steps.

Furrings, The making good of the Rafters Feet in the Cornice.

GAble, or Gable-end, in Plate 11. IIK.

Gain, The bevelling shoulder of a Joyst, or other Stuff: It is used for the Lapping of the end of a Joyst &c. upon a Trimmer or Girder, and then the thickness of the shoulder is cut into the Trimmer also Bevilling upwards, that it may just receive that Gain, and so the Joyst and Trimmer lie even and level upon their superficies. This way of working is used in a Floor or Hearth.

Girder, described Plate 10 QQ.

Ground Plate, described Plate 11 A.

Ground Plate, The piece of Ground a Building is to be erected upon.

HAng over, See Batter.

Hips, described Plate 11. EE, They are also called Principal Rafters, and Sleepers.

Hook-pin, described Plate 8. F.

JAck, described Plate 8. M. An Engine used for the removing and commodious placing of great Timber.

Jack-Plane, called so by Carpenters, but is indeed the same that Joyners call the Fore-Plane, See Numb. 4. § 2. and Plate 4. B 1.

Jaums, Door Posts are so called: So are the upright outer Posts of a Window frame, See Plate 11. aaaa, cc, nn.

Joggle-piece, See Plate 11. H.

Joysts. See Plate 10. aaaa.

Juffers, Stuff, about 4 or 5 inches square, and of several Lengths.

KIng-piece, See Joggle-piece.

Kerf, See Explanation of Terms in Numb, 6.

Knee, A piece of Timber growing angularly, or crooked, that is, a great Branch shooting out near the top of the Trunk of the Tree, and is so cut that the Trunk and the Branch make an angle; as in Plate 11. EL; being made out of one piece of stuff: it is called a Knee-piece, or Knee-Rafter.

LAnding-place, is the uppermost Step of a pair of Stairs, viz. The Floor of the Room you ascend upon.

Skirts, Projecting of the Eaves.

Level, See Plate 8. Gand § 7.

Lever, See Plate 9. D.

Lintel, In Brick-Buildings Carpenters lay a long piece of Timber over the Peers, to Trim with the Window-Frame: as well to Bear the thickness of the Brick-wall above it, as to make Bond with the sides of the Walls.

Long-Plane, The same that Joyners call a Joynter. See Numb. 4. B 2. § 4.

Luthern, See Dormer.

MOdillon, See Cantelever.

Molding, Moldings are stuck upon the edges of stuff to Ornament it: As on Chilmney-pieces, the inner edges of Window-frames, Shelves, &c. See Numb. 4. §. 9.

Munnion, the upright Post that divide the several Lights in a Window-frame, are called Munnions, See Plate 11. qqq.

NEwel, the upright post that a pair of Winding-stairs are turned about.

PItch, The Angle a Gable-end is set to, is called the Pitch of the Gable-end.

Planchier, An Ornament to which the Cornice is fastned.

Plate, A piece of Timber upon which some considerable weight is framed, is called a Plate. Hence Ground-Plate, Plate 11. A. Window-Plate, &c.

Plumb-line, described Plate 8. H § 8.

Posts, See Principal-Posts.

Prick-Posts, Posts that are framed into Bressummers, between Principal-Posts, for the strengthning of the Carcass.

Principal-Posts, The Corner Posts of a Carcass, See Plate 11. BB.

Profile, The same with Ground-Plot.

Projecture, is a jetting over the upright of a Building; Thus Balconies project into the Street.

Puncheons, Short pieces of Timber placed under some considerable weight to support it.

Pudlaies, Pieces of Stuff to do the Office of Hand-Spikes.

Purlins, See Plate 11. N N.

QUarters are single and double. Single Quarters are Sawen stuff, Two Inches thick, and Four Inches broad. The Double Quarters are sawen to Four Inches square.

Quartering, In the Front of the third Story in Plate 11. All the Work, except the Principal Posts, Jaums, and Window-frames, viz. The upright Trimming, and the Braces is called Quartering.

Quirk, A piece taken out of any regular Ground-plot, or Floor: For example, The whole Ground-plot ABCD. in Plate 10. is a regular Ground-plot. But if the piece K be taking out of it, K shall be a Quirk.

RAfter, See Plate 11. cccc.

Rail, Rails stand over and under Bannisters of Balconies, Stair-Cases, &c.

Raiser, is a Board set on edge under the Foreside of a step.

Raising-piece, Pieces that lie under the Beams upon Brick or Timber by the side of the House.

Rellish, See Projecture.

Return, Either of the adjoining sides of the Front of an House, or Ground-plot, is called a Return-side, as in Plate 10. the Front is AB, the Return-sides to this Front is AC and BD.

Ridge, the meeting of the Rafters on both sides the House is called the Ridge.

Ripping-Chissel, See Plate 8. D § 4.

Roof, The Covering of a House: But the word is used in Carpentery for the Triming work of the Covering.

SCribe, See Number 6. in Explanation of Terms.

Shake, Such Stuff as is crackt either with the heat of the Sun, or the droughth of the wind, is called Shaken Stuff.

Shingles, Small pieces of wood used to cover Houses with, instead of Tiles or Slates.

Shreadings, See Plate 11. the lower end of the Principal Rafters markt rr are called Shreadings, or Furrings.

Sleepers, The same with Purlins.

Snatch-blocks, See Plate 9. BCC.

Socket-Chissel, Described Plate 8. and § 3.

Soils, or Sells, are either Grounds-Sells described Plate 11. A. or Window-Sells, which are the bottom Pieces of Window Frames.

Stair-Case, The inclosure of a pair of Stairs, whether it be with Walls, or with Walls and Railes and Bannisters, &c.

Stancheons, See Puncheons.

Strut, See Dragon-beam.

Summer, In Plate 10. PP is a Summer, where into the Girders are Tennanted.

Ten-foot-Rod, See § 13.

Transom, The Piece that is framd a-cross a double Light Window. See Plate 11. PP.

Trim, When workmen fit a piece into other work, they say they Trim in a piece.

Trimmers, See Plate 10. bbbb.

Truss, See King-piece, or Joggle-piece.

Tusk, A Bevel shoulder, made to strengthen the Tennant of Joyst, which is let into the Girder.

VAlley Rafter, See Back, or Hip-Molding.

WEll hole, See Plate 10. I.

Wall Plate, In Plate 10. AC, BD and NO are Wall Plates.

Thus much of Carpentry. The next Exercises will (God Willing) be upon the Art of Turning, Soft Wood, Hard Wood, Ivory, Brass, Iron &c. With several Inventions of Oval-work, Rose-work, Rake-work, Angular-work, &c.

FINIS.

MECHANICK EXERCISES: OR, THE DOCTRINE OF Handy-Works.

Applied to the ART of Turning.

By JOSEPH MOXON, late Member of the Royal Society, and HYDROGRAPHER to King Charles II.

The Third Edition.

LONDON, Printed for, and Sold by J. Moxon, at the Atlas in Warwick-Lane, 1701.

MECHANICK EXERCISES: OR, The Doctrine of Handy-Works. Applied to the ART of TURNING.

Of Turning.

AS by placing one Foot of a pair of Compasses on a Plane, and moving about the other Foot or point, describes on that Plane a Circle with the moving point; so any Substance, be it Wood, Ivory, Brass, &c. pitcht steddy upon two points (as on an Axis) and moved about on that Axis, also describes a Circle Concentrick to the Axis: And an Edge-Tool set steddy to that part of the outside of the aforesaid Substance that is nearest the Axis, will in a Circumvolution of that Substance, cut off all the parts of Substance that lies farther off the Axis, and make the outside of that Substance also Concentrick to the Axis. This is a brief Collection, and indeed the whole Summ of Turning.

Now, as there is different Matter, or Substance, to be Turned, so there is also different Ways, and different Tools to be used in Turning each different Matter.

The different Matters are Soft Wood, Hard Wood, Ivory, Brass, Iron, &c. each of which (when I have described the Turners Tools for Soft Wood) I shall discourse upon. But,

§ I. Of the Lathe.

THE Lathe is described in Plate 12. A. This Machine is so vulgarly known, that though it cannot be described in Draft, so as all its parts shall appear at one single View, yet enough of it to give you the Names of its several Members, and their Uses are represented: viz.

aaaa The Legs or Stiles. bb The Cheeks or Sides. cc The Puppets. d The Screw. d The Pike. e The Rest. f The Handle of the Screw. g The Tennants of the Puppets. h The Wedge. i The Treddle. k The Cross-Treddle. l The Pole. m The String. n The Horn.

¶ 1. Of the Legs, or Stiles.

THE Legs, or Stiles, are commonly about two Foot and ten Inches high, and are set perpendicularly upright; having each of them a Tennant on its upperend, of the thickness the two Ceeks are to stand assunder: And on either side the Shoulder of these two Tennants, is laid one of the Cheeks close to the sides of the Tennants, and so pinned close to the Tennant, as was taught Numb. 5. §. 17. But a steddier and more secure way, is to have a strong Iron Screw made with a square Shank near the Head, that when it enters into a square hole made fit to it in the hithermost Cheek, it may not twist about, but by the Turning about of an Iron Nut, upon the fore-end of the Screw, the Nut shall draw the two Cheeks close to the two sides of the Tennants, or the upper ends of the Legs.

¶ 2. Of the Cheeks.

AS I told you, the Legs are to be set up directly perpendicular, so the Cheeks are to be fastned directly Horizontally upon them: And the Legs and Cheeks are to be fastned with Braces to the Floor, and other parts of the Room the Lathe stands in, according to the convenience of the Room for fastning, that the whole Lathe may stand as steddy and solid as may be. For if with Turning large Work the strength of the Tread should make the Lathe tremble, you will not be able to make true and neat Work; but the Tool will job into softer parts of the Stuff, and fly off where a Knot or other harder parts of the Stuff comes to the Tool.

¶ 3. Of the Puppets.

THe Puppets are square pieces of Wood, of a Substance convenient to the light or heavy work they intend to Turn: And Turnners will rather have their Puppets too strong than too weak; because, though the Puppets be very strong, yet they can turn light work with them; whereas if they be weak they cannot turn Heavy work with them: For the weight of heavy unequal tempered Stuff running about, will be apt both to shake the Puppets, and loosen the small hole of the Wedge in the Tennant; by either of which Inconveniencies the Work in the Lathe may tremble, as aforesaid.

And though no size for the height of the Puppets can be well asserted, because of the several Diameters of Work to be Turned, yet Workmen generally covet to have their Puppets as short as they well can, to bear their Work off the Cheeks of the Lathe, because these Puppets stand in the firmer, and are less subject to loosen. But then, if the Diameters of the work be large, the Puppets may be too short to Turn that work in: For the Pikes of the Puppets must stand somewhat more than half the Diameter of the Work above the superficies of the Cheeks. Therefore Turners have commonly two or three pair of Puppets to fit one Lathe, and always strive to use the shortest they can to serve their Work, unless the shortness of the Leggs of the Lathe, makes the workfall too low for the pitch of the Workman that is to work at the Lathe. Therefore in the making of the Lathe the height of the Legs with relation to the intended work, and height of the Workman, are to be well considered.

At the lower end of these Puppets are made two Tennants, of such a thickness, that they may easily slide in the Groove between the two Cheeks, and so long, that a Mortess through it of the length of the Cheeps depth, and a sufficient strength of Wood below it may be contained. Into this Mortess is fitted a Tapering-Wedge, somewhat less at the fore end, and bigger at the hinder end than the Mortess, that as it is forced into the Mortess with a Mallet, or a Maul, it may draw the bottom Shoulder of the Puppet close and firmly down upon the Cheeks, that they may neither joggle or tremble in working.

¶ 4. Of the Horn.

UPon the Right Hand Puppet on the out side near the top of it, is hung the Tip-end of an Horn with its Tip downwards, to hold Oyl in, and ought to have a Wooden round Cover to fit into it, that neither Chips or Dirt get in to spoil the Oyl; and in the handle of the Cover should be fitted a wooden Butten, which may serve for an Handle to the Cover: And through this Butten should be fastned an Iron Wyer to reach almost to the bottom of the Horn: This Wyer stands always in the Oyl, that so oft as the Workman has occasion to oyl the Centers of the Work, to make his work slip about the easier, he takes the wooden Cover by the Button, Wyer and all, and with the end of the Wyer, Oyls his Center-holes, and pops his-Wyer and Cover again into the Horn against he has occasion to use it the next time.

¶ 5. Of the Pikes and Screw.

NEar the upper end of one of these Puppets is fastned a strong Iron Pike, but its point is made of tempered Steel: and near the upper end of the other Puppet is fitted an Iron Screw quite through a Nut in the Puppet, whose point is also made of Temper'd Steel. This Iron Pike in one Puppet, and the Screw in the other Puppet are so fitted into the Puppets, that their Shanks lie in a straight Line with one another, and both their points lie also in that straight Line pointing to one another: And in the Head of the Iron Screw is a Hole where-into is fitted an Iron Handle about seven or eight Inches long, with a round Knob at each end of it that it slip not through the hole in the Head. This Iron Handle is to turn about the Screw forward or backward as your purpose shall require.

Upon the points of this Screw and Pike the Centers of the Work are pitcht, and afterwards screwed with the Screw hard, and so far into the Stuff, that it may not slip off the points in working, especially if it be soft Wood, and the work large and heavy.

Also, near the upper end of these Puppets, upon that side the Workman stands when he works, the Wood of the Puppets is wrought away to square flat shoulders somewhat below the Pikes, that the Rest may (if occasion be) lie near the Pikes, and bear steddy upon the Shoulders.

¶ 6. Of the Rest.

THE Rest is a square piece of Stuff about an Inch, or an Inch and half thick, and two Inches, or two and an half broad, and somewhat longer than the distance between the Puppets. Its Office is to rest the Tool upon, that it may lie in a steddy position while the Workman uses it.

¶ 7. Of the Side-Rest.

BUT besides this Rest, Turnners have another Rest, called the Side-Rest. This they use when they Turn the flats sides of Boards; because the flat sides of Boards standing athwart the Pikes, and this Rest standing also athwart the Pikes, they can the more conveniently rest their Tool upon it. It is marked e in plate 13, and is in the Plate disjunct from the Lathe; as well because it and the Common Rest cannot both together be exprest in Picture, as also because it is made to take off and put on as occasion requires.

The Rest is marked a, and is a piece of an Oaken plank, or Elm plank, about two Inches thick, and stands so high above the Cheeks of the Lathe as the points of the Pikes do, or sometimes a little higher: Its Breadth is about a Foot, or more, or less, as the Work requires, or the Workman fancies. The Bottom of it is firmly nailed to one side of a Quarter of Oak, or Elm, of about three Inches square, and two Foot, or two Foot and an half long, close to one end, as you see in the Figure at b, so as the Rest stand upright to the piece of Quartet. This piece of Quarter is as a Tennant to slide into a square Iron Collar marked e; This square Iron Collar is made so long as to reach through the depth of the Cheeks of the Lathe, and to receive the Quarter or Tennant thrust through it above the Cheeks, and a Wedge under the Cheeks marked d, which Wedge (when stiff knock'd up) draws the Tennant strong and firmly down to the Cheeks, and consequently keeps the Side-rest steddy on any part of the Cheeks, according as you slide the Collar forwards or backwards towards either Pike, or as you thrust the Rest nearer or farther to and from the Pikes,

Some Turners for some Work, instead of a plank for this Rest, fasten to one end of the Quarter or Tennant, a long Iron with a round Cilindrick Socket in it, as at the Figure marked f in Plate 13, a is the Socket of about an Inch, or an Inch and an half Diameter, to reach within two or three Inches as high as the Pikes, and into this Socket they put a long round Iron Shank, as in Figure g of the same Plate, a is the Shank, and at the top of this Shank is made the Rest, marked b. This Shank (I say) slips easily into the Socket, that it may be raised, or let down, as occasion requires, and by the help of a Screw through the Socket at e, may be fastned at that length.

The Rest, (by reason of its Round Shank) may be also turned with its upper edge more or less oblique or athwart the Work, or else parallel to the Work, according as the purpose may require.

Near one end of the Rest is fitted and fastned a piece of Wood about an Inch square, and ten or twelve Inches long: This piece of wood is fitted stiff into a square Hole or Mortess made in the Puppet, a little above the Shoulder for the Rest, to set the Rest to any distance from the Pikes, which, with the ends of wooden Screws entred into wooden Nuts on the further side of the Puppet, and coming through against the Rest, keeps the Rest from being thrust nearer to the work when the Workman is working.

¶ 8. Of the Treddle and Cross-Treddle.

ABout the middle between the ends, is placed a wooden Treddle about two Inches and an half broad, an Inch thick, and three Foot long, and sometimes three and an half, to four Foot long. The hinder end of it is fastned to the Floor, with a piece of Leather (sometimes a piece of the Upper-leather of an old Shoe, which piece of Leather is nailed to the under-side of the hinder end of the Treddle, so as to leave Leather enough beyond the end of the Treddle to nail down upon the Floor; which Treddle being thus nailed down, will move upwards, as the Spring of the Pole draws up the String; the String being also fastned to the fore-end of the Treddle.

The hinder end of the Treddle is nailed down about a Foot, or a Foot and an half behind the Lathe, and about the middle between both the Legs, so that the fore-end of the Treddle reaches beyond the fore-side of the Lathe, about a Foot and an half, or two Foot. And note, that the farther the Fore-end of the Treddle reaches out beyond the Fore-side of the Lathe, the greater will the sweep of the Fore-end of the Treddle be, and consequently it will draw the more String down; and the more String comes down at one Tread, the more Revolutions of the Work is made at one Tread, and therefore it makes the greater riddance of the Work.

But then again, if the Fore-end of the Treddle reach too far before the Fore-side of the Lathe, it may draw the end of the Pole so low as to break it: and it will also be the harder to Tread down, because the power commanding (which is the weight of the Tread) lies so far from the weight to be commanded, which is the strength of the Pole, augmented by the distance that the end of the Treddle hath from the Work in the Lathe; so that you may see, that the nearer the Fore-end of the Treddle lies to the Perpendicular of the Work in the Lathe, the easier the Tread will be: And some Turners that Turn altogether Small Work, have the Fore-end of the Treddle placed just under their work; so that their String works between the Cheeks of the Lathe; But then the Sweep of the Treddle being so small, the Pole draws up but a small length of String, and consequently makes the fewer Revolutions of the Work in one Tread, which hinders the riddance of the Work: unless with every Spring of the Pole, they should lift their Treading Leg so high, as to tire it quickly with binging it down again, after it is raised to so uncommodious a position.

This Tredle hath a square Notch in the middle of the further end, about an Inch and an half wide, and two Inches long, that the end of the String may be wound either off or on the Wood on either side the Notch, to lengthen or shorten the String, as the different Diameters of the Work shall require.

About the middle of the Treddle is fixed a round Iron Pin about half an Inch in Diameter; so as to stand upright about an Inch and an half, or two Inches long above the Treddle. And under the Cheeks is also fixed down the Cross-Treddle, which is such another piece of Wood as the Treddle is, but longer or shorter, according to the length of the Lathe: And in the middle of the Breadth of the Cross-Treddle, is made several holes all a-row to receive the Iron Pin set upright in the Treddle. These holes are commonly boared about two or three Inches assunder, that the Pin or the Treddle may be put into any one of them, according as the String is to be placed nearer to or further off either end of the Lathe.

¶ 9. Of the Pole.

THE Pole is commonly made of a Fir-pole, and is longer or shorter, or bigger or smaller, according to the weight of the Work the Workman designs to Turn: For the thicker the Pole is, the harder must the Tread be to bring it down; and for this reason, if the Pole prove too strong for their common or continued Work, they will weaken it by cutting away (with a Draw-knife, described Numb. 7. Plate 8. E, and § 5.) part of the substance off the upper and under sides of the Pole.

The thick end of this Pole is nailed (or indeed rather pinned) up to some Girder, or other Timber in the Ceiling of the Room, with one single Nail, or a Pin, that the Pole may move upon that Nail, or Pin, as on a Center, and its thin end pass from one Puppet to the other, as the Work may require. And at about a Foot distance or more, is also nailed up to some Joysts, or other Timbers of the Ceiling, two Cheeks of a convenient strength, and at the lower end of these two Cheeks is nailed a Quarter or Batten to bear the Pole, though the weight of a Tread be added to it, as you may see at n n in Plate 12.

¶ 10. Of the Side-Rest.

BUt it sometimes happens that the Ceiling of the Work-room is not high enough for the Pole to play upwards and downwards; Therefore in such case, they place the thin end of the Pole at some considerable distance off the Lathe, either before or behind it, and so make the Spring of the Pole Horizantal towards the Lathe, conveying and guiding the String from the Pole to the Work by throwing it over a Rowler, moving on two Iron Center-pins fastned at both ends, and placed parallel to the Cheeks of the Lathe, above the Work as high as they can; and thus every Tread draws the Rowler about: But should the Rowler not move about upon those Iron Pins, the String every Tread would both cut a Groove in the Ruler, and fret it self more or less upon the Rowler.

¶ 11. Of the Bow.

SOme Turners that work light Work, such as Cane-Heads, Ink-horns, &c. for which they need scarce remove the Puppets off their Lathe, use a Common Bow, such as Archers use. The middle of this Bow they fasten over Head, with its String Horizontally downwards, and in the middle of that String they fasten another String perpendicularly downwards, whose other end they fasten to the Treddle, and the String wound round their Work brings it about.

¶ 12. Of the Great Wheel.

BUt when Turners work Heavy Work, such as the Pole and Tread will not command, they use the Great Wheel. This Wheel is so commonly known, that I shall need give you no other description of it than the Figure it self, which you may see in Plate 14. a. It is turned about with one, and sometimes with two Iron Handles, according as the weight of the Work may require.

Its String hath both its ends strong and neatly fastned together, not with a Knot, but lapt over one another about three Inches in length, and so is firmly whipt about with small Gut, that it may the easier pass over the narrow Groove in the edge of the Rowler. This String is laid in the Groove made on the edge of the Wheel, and also in the Groove of the Work. But before it is laid upon both, one part of the String is lapt over and crosses the other, and the String receives the Form of a Figure of 8 (only one of its Bows or Circles becomes no bigger than the Groove in the Work, and the other as big as the Groove in the Wheel.)

Then the whole Frame wherein the Wheel is fixed is removed farther off the Lathe, that the String may draw tight upon the Work.

The reason why the String thus crosses it self, is, because it will touch and gird more upon the Groove of the Work, and consequently (as was said before ¶ 14.) will the better command the Work about.

The manner of Turning this Wheel, is as the manner of Turning other Wheels with Handles.

Besides the commanding Heavy Work about, the Wheel rids Work faster off than the Pole can do: because the springing up of the Pole makes an intermission in the running about of the Work, but with the Wheel the Work runs always the same way; so that the Tool need never be off it, unless it be to examine the Work as it is doing.

When the Wheel is used, its Edge stands athwart the Cheeks of the Lathe.

¶ 13. Of the Treddle-Wheel.

THis is a Wheel made of a round Board of about two Foot and an half Diameter, conveniently to stand under the Cheeks of the Lathe. It also hath a Groove on its Edge for the String to run in; it hath an Iron Axis with a Crook or Cranck at one end: And on this Crook is slipt the Noose of a Leather T·hong, which having its other end fastned to a Treddle, does, by keeping exact time in Treads, carry it swiftly about without intermission.

But the length of the Thong must be so fitted, that when the Wheel stands still, and the Crook at the end of the Axis hangs downwards, the end of the Treddle to which the Thong is fastned may hang about two or three Inches off the Ground: For then, giving the Wheel a small turn with the Hand, till the Crook rises to the highest, and passes a little beyond it; if just then (I say) the Workman gives a quick Tread tpon the Treddle to bring the Crook down again with a jerk, that Tread will set it in a motion for several revolutions; and then if he observes to make his next Tread just when the Crook comes about again to the same position, it will continue the motion, and cause of the motion, and and keep the Wheel always running the same way, if he punctually times his Treads.

The Treddle Wheel is used for small work only, as not having strength enough to carry heavy Work about, such as Cane-Heads, Small Boxes, &c. and it is fitted below the Cheeks between the Puppets, as the Bow is above.

Besides these Inventions to carry about the Work in the Lathe, there are many more; as with a great Iron Wheel, having Teeth on its edge, which Teeth are to fall into an Iron Nut upon an Iron Axis, pitcht upon the Pikes of the Puppets of the Lathe, or fitted into Collars, &c.

Also, for very Heavy Work, as Guns, Great Mortars, &c. Wheels turn'd with Wind, Water, or Horses, to carry the Work about. Of which more in their proper places.

¶ 14. Of the String.

UPon the thin end of the Pole is wound a considerable Bundle of String, That as a Mandrel requires to be bigger than ordinary, or the Work heavier, they may unwind so much of the String as will compass the Mandrel twice, or (if the Work be heavy) thrice; the easier to carry it about.

This String is made of the Guts of Beasts (most commonly of Sheep, and spun round of several thicknesses, of which the Workman chuses such sizes as are aptest for is Work; for large and heavy Work, very thick, but for small and light work, thin: And there are several reasons for his Choice; for a thin String will be too weak for heavy Work; but if it were not too weak for heavy work, it would be apt to mark soft wood more than a thick String would, when they are forc'd to shift the String, and let it run upon the Work. Besides, a thin String (though it were strong enough) would not so well bring heavy Work about; because being small, but little of the String touches the wood to command it, unless they wind it the oftner about the Work, which both takes up time, and hazards the breaking of the String, by the fretting of the several twists against one another.

Now a thick String is uncommodious for small work; because having a strength and stubbornness proportionable to its size, it will not comply closely to a piece of Work of small Diameter, but will be apt to slip about it, unless both Pole and Tread be very strong; and then, if the Center-holes be not very deep, and the Pikes fill them not very tight, and the Puppets also not very well fixt, the Strength of the String will alter the Center holes; especially, when the work is upon soft Wood, or else it will endanger the breaking the Work in its weakest place.

¶ 15. Of the Seat.

PArallel to the Cheeks on the inside the Lathe is fitted a Seat, about two and an half Inches square, and the whole length of the Lathe; having an Iron Pin fastned on either end the underside of it: It lies upon two Bearers of wood, that are fastned athwart the outer sides the Legs, (or else to set it higher) the outer ends of the Cheeks, according to the height of the person that works at the Lathe. These Bearers reach in length so far inwards, as that they may be capable to bear the Seat so far off from the Lathe, as in the Diameter of the Work they intend to Turn in the Lathe, and also the bulk of the Workman that stands between the Lathe and it, may be contained.

It is not called a Seat because it is so; but because the Workman places the upper part of his Buttocks against it, that he may stand the steddier to his Work, and consequently guide his Foot the firmer and exacter.

The two Bearers have several Holes made in them, from within sixteen Inches off the Lathe, to the ends of them, that the Iron Pins fastned in the ends of the Seat, may be removed nearer or farther off the Lathe, according to the greatness or smallness of the Diameter of their Work.

Having thus described the parts of a Common Lathe, I shall now follow with their other Tools also.

§ II. Of Gouges.

GOuges are marked BB in Plate 15. They do the Office of Fore-Plains in Joynery, and the Jack-plains in Carpentry, and serve only to take off the Irregularities the Hatchet, or sometimes the Draw-knife leaves, after the work is hewed or drawn pretty near a Round with either of them: And therefore as the Fore-plain is made with a Corner-edge, only to take off the Irregularities of a Board, so the Gouge that it may also take off the Irregularities or Extuberancies that lie farthest from the Axis of the Work, and also frame pretty near the hollow Moldings required in the Work, precede the Smoothing-Chissels. And that the Gouge may the more commodiously and effectually do it, the Blade of this Tool is formed about half round to an edge, and the two extream ends of this half round a little sloped off towards the middle of it, that a small part about the middle may the easier cut off the prominencies that are not concentrick to the Axis, and so bring the Work into a Method of Formation.

The hollow edge is ground upon the Corner of a Grind-stone, which in short time wears the out-side of that Corner to comply and form with the hollow of the Gouge. It is afterwards Set upon a round Whet-stone, that fits the hollow of the edge, or is somewhat less. But they do not Set their Gouges or Chissels as (I told you in Numb. 4. § 10.) the Joyners do; for Turners Tools being somewhat unweldy, by reason of their size, and long Handles, they lay the Blade of the Gouge with its convex side upon the Rest of the Lathe; and so with the Whet-stone in their right hand they rub upon the Basil the Grind-stone made, and as they rub, they often turn another part of the hollow of the edge to bear upon the round of the Whet-stone, till they have with the Whet-stone taken off the roughness of the Grind-stone.

Of these Gouges there are several sizes, viz. from a quarter of an Inch, to an whole Inch and sometimes, for very large Work, two Inches over.

The Handles to these Gouges (and indeed to all other Turning Tools) are not made as the Handles of Joyners or Carpenters Tools are, but tapering towards the end, and so long that the Handle may reach (when they use it) under the Arm-pit of the Workman, that he may have more stay and steddy management of the Tool.

MECHANICK EXERCISES: OR, The Doctrine of Handy-Works. Applied to the ART of TURNING.

§ III. Of Flat Chissels.

THE Flat Chissels are marked CC in Plate 15. These do the Office of Smoothing Plains in Joyning and Carpentry: for coming after the Gouges they cut off the prominent Risings that the Gouges leave above the hollow.

The edges of these Flat Chissels are not ground to such a Basil as the Joyners Chissels are, which are made on one of the Flat sides of the Chissels; But are Basil'd away on both the flat sides; so that the edge lies between both the sides in the middle of the Tool: And therefore either sides of the Tool may indifferently be applied to the Work; which could not well be, should the edge lie on one of the sides of the Tool: Because, if they should apply the Basil side of the Tool to the Work, the thickness of the Basil would bear the edge of the Tool off: And should they apply that side of the Tool the edge lies one to the Work, the swift coming about of the Work would (where a small irregularity of Stuff should happen) draw or job the suddain edge into the Stuff, and so dawk it; which if the Stuff be already small enough, would now be too small; because in Turnings, all Irregularities must be wrought smooth down.

Of those Flat Chissels there are several sizes, viz. from a quarter of an Inch, one Inch, two Inches, to three Inches broad, according to the largness of the Work.

These are Set with the Whet-stone as the Gouges are, only they often turn the Gouges upon the round side, because they would smoothen all the hollow edge; but these are laid flat upon the Rest, and with a flat Whet-stone rubbed on the Basil, as the Gouge was with the Round.

§ IV. Of Hooks.

THe Hook is marked D in Plate 15. As the Gouge is used when the Work lies before the Workman, viz. parallel to its Axis, and cuts right forwards, so the Hook is used when the Work stands on the right or left side the Workman, as the flat sides of Boards to be Turned do; and therefore this work may be said to lie athwart its Axis: and the Hook is made so as to cut on the right or left side a Board, and to take off the extuberances from the plain of the Board. But though this Tool does the Office of a Gouge, yet it is more difficult for a Workman to use than a Gouge; because it is made thinner and slenderer than a Gouge, that its Edge cutting at a greater Bearing from the Rest, may the easier come at the Stuff it works upon, and the farther the Edge that cuts lies from the Rest, the more difficult it is for a Workman to guide it; because it is then more subject to tremble; especially since (as aforesaid) the Edge of the Hook is and must be thinner than the Edge of the Gouge.

These Tools, as also the Gouges, and Flat-Chissels, are all about ten or twelve Inches long without the Handles.

The Hooks when they want sharpening cannot be ground as the Gouges and Chissels are; but they must be first softned in the Fire and turned straight, and then brought to an Edge, and by heating again red hot turned into its form: Then must it be hardned and tempered as you were taught Numb. 3. fol. 57, 58. Yet do not Workman proceed thus with their Hook every time it grows bluntish, but only when the Edge is either by long use, or bad Temper, grown so thick, that this following way will not help them: For they Whet the outer Edge with a Whetstone as they do other Tools. But because they cannot come at the inner Edge of the Hook with a Whetstone, unless the Hook be very wide, and the Whetstone very thin, they make use of a piece of Temper'd Steel, as sometimes the thin side of a Chissel, or the back of a Knife, and so with the Edge of the Square, scrape along the hollow Edge of the Hook, and force the Edge as much to the outside of the Hook as they can. Thus Butchers wear at their Girdles small round Rods of Steel well Tempered and polisht, that they may with quick dispatch whet their Knives upon it, by forcing the Edge forwards upon the Blade, or pressing down the Shoulder that hinders the Edge Entrance: For their Steels being so well polisht, cannot properly be said to to wear away any part of the Shoulder that should hinder the Edge from doing its Office.

§ V. Of Grooving Hooks, and Grooving Tools.

THe Grooving Hook is marked E in Plate 15, and hath its Tooth of different forms, according to the Fashion of the Groove to be made on the Plain of the Board; For sometimes its Tooth hath a Flat Edge, sometimes a round Edge, sometimes a point only, and sometimes two points, or other Forms as aforesaid.

Its whole Blade is made much stronger than the Gouge and Chissels, and hath the sides of its Edge more obtuse to make it the stronger.

The Flat Tools work the Boards Flat either to the Plain of the Board, or to a Flat Groove in the Board.

The Round Edge cuts an half-round hollow in the Board.

The Point cuts a fine Hollow Circle or Swage in the Flat of the Board; and being made Triangular, hath three Edges each of which cuts the Ridges smooth down that the Hook left upon the Board.

The Two-Point Grooving-Hook cuts two fine hollow Circles or Swages on the Plain of the Board.

The Grooving-Hooks do not work as the Hooks do; For the Hooks cut the Wood; but these do but indeed scrape off the Extuberancies, or fret into the Wood, and therefore they are very seldom used to Soft Wood, because its being loose, will not endure scraping without leaving a roughness upon the Work; But Hard Wood, or Ivory, (for the Reason converted) will.

§ VI. Of Mandrels. And ¶ 1. Of Flat Mandrels.

MAndrels are marked F 1. F 2. F 3. F 4. in Plate 15. There are different Sorts of Mandrels, and the sizes of them also different, according to the sizes of the Work.

1. Broad Flat Mandrels marked F 1. in Plate 15. with three or more little Iron Pegs, or Points, near the Verge of its Flat: And these are used for the Turning Flat Boards upon. For the backside of a Board placed Flat upon it, will when screwed up tight between the Pikes, by help of the Iron Pegs, remain in its place and position, whilst the Flat side of the Work is working upon.

Behind the Backside of this Mandrel (and indeed all other Mandrels) is fitted a long Shank, or Rowler, for the String to be wound about while the Work is Turning. This Rowler must be so large in Diameter, that the String wound about it may command the Work about. If the Work be large and heavy, the Rowler must be bigger than if the Work be light; for else the String will not command it about: But if the Diameter of the Rowler be smaller, the Work comes so much swifter about. The Rowler must also be so long between its Shoulers, that it may conveniently contain so many Diameters of the String as shall be necessary to wind about it.

This whole Mandrel is marked F 1. in Plate 15. • The Round Flat, or Face, of the Mandrel. b The Rowler. cc The Shoulders of the Rowler. ddd The Pegs.

¶ 2. Of Pin-Mandrels.

2. MAndrels are made with a long Wooden Shank, to fit stiff into a round hole that is made in the Work that is to be Turned. This Mandrel is called a Shank, or Pin-Mandrel, and is marked F 2. in Plate 15. And if the hole the Shank is to fit into be very small, and the Work to be fastned on it pretty heavy; then Turners fasten a round Iron Shank, or Pin, of the size of the Hole it is to be fitted into, and fasten their Work upon it, These Mandrels with Iron Shanks are used by Turners that Turn Bobbins, or such like Work: Because a Wooden Shank to fit the small Hole though the Work would not be strong enough to carry the Work about.

¶ 3. Of Hollow-Mandrels.

3. THere is another sort of Mandrels called Hollow Mandrels, described F 3. Plate 15. It is both a Hollow-Mandrel, and also used to Turn Hollow Work in it. This Mandrel hath but one Center-hole belonging to it, viz, at the Rowler End, or Neck; but it hath a Shank, which supplies the Office of another Center-hole, a the Hollow, b the Shank, or Neck. The Hollow is made so wide, that the Work intended to be Turned Hollow in it may fit very stiff into it, and so deep that it may contain the intended Work.

When it is used, it is pitcht upon the Center at the farther end of the Rowler, and hath its Shank put into one of the Holes of the Joint-Coller described in Plate 13. fig. G. that will best fit it: which Hole standing directly against the Pike in the hinder Puppet, and receiving the Shank into it, guides the Mandrel about, as if it were pitch upon two Centers: And the Work being forced stiff into the Hollow of this Mandrel, will be carried about with it, exposing the Fore-side of the work bare and free from the Joynt-Coller, and not impeded by Spikes from coming at the work: So that with the Hook, Grooving-Hook, Gouge, or Flat-Chissel, according as your work requires, you may come at it to Turn your intended Form.

Hollow Mandrels are also used in Collers that open not with a Joynt; but then the Spindle is made of Iron, and hath a Screw just at its end, upon which is screwed a Block with an hollow in it, made fit to receive the work stiff into it.

¶ 4. Of the Screw-Mandrel.

4. ANother sort of Mandrel is called the Screw-Mandrel, and is marked F 4. in Plate 15. a the Rowler of the Mandrel, b the Shank, or Screw, is made of Iron, having its two ends Round, and in the middle between the Round ends a Square the length of the Rowler, and this Square is fitted stiff into a Square Hole made through the middle of the Rowler that it turn not about in the Square Hole. In each Flat-end of this Iron Shank, or Spindle, is made a Center-Hole, whereinto the Pikes of the Puppets are pitcht when this Mandrel is used. This Iron Shank, or Axis, must be made very straight, and ought to be turned upon the two Center-Holes, for exactness; Because on one of the Round ends, or sometimes on both, a Screw, or indeed several Screws of several Diameters is made. That Screw next the end of the Shank is the smallest, viz. about three quarters of an Inch over, and takes up in length towards the middle of the Shank, about an Inch, or an Inch and an half; and so far from the end of the Shank it is of an equal Diameter all the way: And on this portion of the Shank is made a Male-screw of the finest Thread. The next Inch and half (wrought as before) hath another Male-screw; but about half a quarter of an Inch more in Diameter than the former, and hath its Threads courser. Another Inch and half hath its Diameter still greater, and its Threads yet courser. And thus you may make the Shank as long as you will, that you may have the more variety of Sizes for Screws.

These sorts of Mandrels are made for the making of Screws to Boxes, and their Lids, as shall be shewed in the next Paragraph.

¶ 5. Of Sockets, or Chocks, belonging to the Screw-Mandrel.

TO this Screw-Mandrel belongs so many Sockets as there are several sizes of Screws on the Shank. They are marked F5. in Plate 15. a the Socket, or Chock: b b, the Wooden Pin, c the Stay, d d the Notch to slip over the Male-screw.

These Hollow Sockets have Female Screws in them, made before the Notch to slip over the Male-screw of the Screw-Mandrel is cut. The manner of making Female-screws is taught Numb. 2. fol. 29, 30, 31. only instead of a Tap (used there) you use the several and different sizes of Screws made on the Screws-Mandrel to do the Office of a Tap into each respective Socket; which Sockets being only made of Hard Wood, it will easily perform, though the Shank, or Axis, be but Iron.

Therefore (as aforesaid) to each of the Male-screws on the Screw-Mandrel is fitted such a Socket, that you may chuse a Thread Courser or Finer as you please: But this Female-screw is open, or hath a Notch on one side of it, that it may slip over the Male-screw, and the Threads of each other fit into each others Grooves; and when they are thus fitted to one another, the further or open side of the Male-screw is gaged in, or pin'd on the Female-screw with a Wooden Pin thrust through two opposite Holes, made for that purpose in the Cheeks of the Wooden Sockets, that it shake not.

When the Treddle comes down in working, and the Socket is fitted on its proper Screw, and pinn'd stiff upon it, and the Stay held down to the Rest of the Lathe, then will the Socket, and consequently the Stay slide farwards upon the Male-screws; so that a Tool held steddy on any part of the Stay, and applied to the out or inside of your Work; that Tools point will describe and cut a Screw, whose Thread shall be of the same fineness that the Screw and the Shank is of.

§ VII. Of Collers.

THere are several fashion'd Collers; As the Joynt-Coller marked G, the Round-Coller marked H, and the Coller marked I, in Plate 13.

The Joynt-Coller is made of two Iron Cheeks marked b b, which moving upon a Joint c at the Bottom, may be set close together, or else opened as the two insides of the Joynt-Rule Carpenters use to do. On the the Inner Edge of each Cheek is formed as many half-round Holes or Semi-cirles as you please, or the length of the Cheeks will conveniently admit: These Semi-circles are made of different Diameters, that they may fit the Shanks, or Necks, of different siz'd Mandrels: And these Semi-Circles must be made so exactly against each other on the edges of the Cheeks, that when the two Cheeks moving upon their Joynt are clapt close together, the Semi-Circles on both the Cheeks shall become a perfect round hole, or Circumference.

Near the top of one of these Cheeks is fastned with a Center-pin, a Square Iron Coller marked d, with a small Handle to it marked e. This square Coller is made to contain the breadth of both the Cheeks when they are shut together, and to hold them so fast together, that they shall not start assunder; and yet is made so fit, that it may slip off and on both the Cheeks.

This Joynt-Coller may serve to do the Office of the other two Collers, and its one particular Office too: yet to save the Charge of the price of this Tool, Turners seldom use them, but make shift with either of the other; or sometimes with a Hole made in a Board only: But its particular Office is to hold a Mandrel, whose Neck is fitted to one its Holes, and the Work they are to Turn is required to stand out free from the outer Flat of the Cheeks of the Coller, the better to come at it with the Tool; such as are deep Boxes, or deep Cups, &c.

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MECHANICK EXERCISES: OR, The Doctrine of Handy-Works. Applied to the ART of TURNING. § VIII. Of the Mawl.

THE Mawl is marked K in Plate 13. The Figure of it there is Description sufficient: Its Office is to knock and unknock the Wedge in the Puppets: and to knock upon the back of the Cleaving Knife, when they split their Wood for their Work. The Joyner's Mallet would supply the Office of this Tool; but Use has made the Mawl more handy for them: Besides when one is batter'd to shivers, they can quickly, of a Chump of Wood, accommodate themselves with another.

§ IX. Of the Hatchet, Draw-knife, and Cleaving Knife.

THE Hatchet is marked L in Plate 4. It is of the same sort that Joyners use; which I described Num. 5. § 25. and therefore referr you thither. And the Draw-knife is described in Numb. 7. § 5. Plate 8. marked E. The Cleaving-knife marked M in Plate 13. needs no other Description than that Figure.

§ X. Of the Chopping-Block.

THE Chopping-Block is marked N in Plate 13. It is made of a piece of Elm-Tree placed with its Grain upwards and downwards as it grew. It hath three Leges in it, that stand stradling out from the underside of the Block to the Floor, and of such an height, as the Workman may have most Command of the Work. See the Figure. Sometimes Turners use instead of it, a piece of the Trunk of a Tree, of about a Foot and an half, or two Foot, in length from the Ground, or more or less.

§ XI. Of the Callippers.

THE Callippers is marked O in Plate 13. As common Compasses (described Numb. 6. § 32.) are for measuring Distances upon a plain Superficies; so Callippers measure the distance of any round Cilindrick Conical Body, either in their Extremity, or any part less than the Extream: So that when Workmen use them, they open the two points a a to their described width, and Turn so much Stuff off the intended place, till the two points of the Callippers fit just over their Work; so shall their Work have just the Diameter in that place, as is the distance between the two points of the Callippers, be it either Feet or Inches, &c.

§ XII. Of the Drill-Bench.

THere is yet another Tool, or rather a Machine used by some Turners, called a Drill-Bench. It is described in Plate 14. a a a a a thick Board, about three Inches thick, five Inches broad, and eighteen Inches long. b b two Stiles placed towards either end, and fastned upright. In the hithermost Stile is a Coller described § 7. and Plate 13. H, or any of the other Collers: And in the further Stile is fitted a square flat tempered piece of Steel having a Center-hole in the middle of it, and is placed just against the Center or middle point of the Hole of the Coller. c c the Rowler, whose hither end is Turned away, so as it just fit into the Coller, and at the further end of it, it hath a temper'd Steel Pin, to be placed in the Center-hole: And in the middle of the hither end of it, it hath a Piercer-Bit fastned straight in, so that it lie in a true straight Line, with the Axis of the Rowler. Of these Rowlers they have several, and Bits of different sizes fitted into them, that upon all occasions they may chuse one to fit their purpose.

On the under-side, about the middle of the Bench, is fitted and fastned athwart it a square Iron Coller, deep enough to reach through the Cheeks of the Lathe, and so much deeper as it may receive a Wooden Wedge, such a one as belongs to one of the Puppets: And by the force and strength of the Wedge, the whole Drill-bench is drawn down and fastned athwart the Cheeks of the Lathe.

When it is used, it stands athwart the Cheeks of the Lathe (as aforesaid) with the point or end of the Bit towards you; and then the String being turned twice or thrice about the Rowler, will (with Treading on the Treddle) turn the Rowler and its Bit forcibly about, and cause it to enter swiftly into a piece of Wood that shall be prest forwards upon the Bit.

When they use it, they hold the piece of Wood they intend to Drill, or Pierce, fast in both their Hands, right before them, and press it forwards upon the Piercer-Bit; so that by its running about, it cuts a straight round hole into the Wood, of what length they please.

But while the Pole is rising after every Tread, they press not against the Piercer-Bit, so that it is dis-ingaged from doing its Office in the Wood; but in that while, they nimbly give the Wood a turn in their hands, of about one third part of its Circumference; which makes the Bit very successive Tread, go the straighter through the middle of the Wood: And thus they reiterate Treads, and keep the Wood turning in their Hands, till the Bit is enter'd deep enough.

Thus much of the Tools used in common Turning: I shall proceed to the Working a Pattern or two in Soft Wood; which being well understood, may render a Practicer capable of most common Work.

§ XIII, Of Turning a Cilinder in Soft Wood,

THE Soft Wood Turners Use is commonly either Maple, Alder, Birch, Beech, Elm, Oak, Fir, &c. and for some particular purposes each of these sorts are best.

The First Pattern we purpose, shall be a Cilinder two Inches over, and eight Inches long: Therefore you must chuse a piece of Wood at lest two Inches and a quarter over, lest you want Stuff to work upon: Nay, if your Stuff prove shaken, or otherwise unsound, or your Center be not very exactly pitcht, you may want yet more Stuff; and that according as it proves more or less faulty, or as the Centers are more unequally pitcht. But supposing the Stuff good, you may take a piece of two Inches and a quarter over, as I said before, and about ten or eleven Inches long, For though the length of the Cilinder be but eight Inches, yet you must cut your Stuff long enough to make a Groove at one end of it besides, for the String to run in. If your Stuff be somewhat too big for your Scantlin, and not round enough to go into the Lathe, you must Hew it pretty near with the Hatchet to make it sizable, and afterwards smoothen it nearer with a Draw-knife, as you were taught, Numb. 7. § 5.

But if you have not Stuff at hand near your size, then you must Saw off your length from a Billet, or some other piece of Stuff, and with the Cleaving-knife and the Mawl, split it into a square piece near the size, and with the Draw-knife round off the Edges to maks it fit for the Lathe,

Then set your Puppets, and wedge them tight up, so as the Points of your Spikes stand pretty near the length of your Work assunder, and move the Pole, so as the end of it may hang over between the Pikes, and also fit the Iron Pin in the Treddle into a proper Hole in the Cross-Treddle, so as the end of the Treddle may draw the String below the Work into pretty near a straight Line with the string above the Work: And take the Work in your Right hand, and put it beyond the String before you, and with your left hand wind the String below the Work, but once about the Work, lest it should be too strong for your shallow Centers, as you shall understand by and by, and then with a pretty strength press the middle of one end of your Work over the Point of one of the Pikes, and so make a hole in your Work for one of the Center holes: Then screw your Pike wider or closer, according as the length of your Work requires, and pitch the other end of your Work upon the other Pike also, and screw your Work a little lightly up: Then try how the Centers are pitcht, by Treading the Treddle lightly down; and if you find the Centers are well pitcht, you may without more ado screw up your Work tight: But if your Centers, or either of them be not well pitcht, you must alter them. You may know when they are well pitcht, by treading softly upon your Treddle, and holding your Finger steddy on the Rest, direct the point of it pretty close to the Work: For if in a Revolution of your Work, its Outside keeps it an equal distance from the end of your Finger, you may conclude your Work is well pitcht. But if you find one side of your Work comes nearer your Finger than the other side, you must with your Flat Chissel, or Gouge, (or what is nearest at hand) knock softly, or hard, upon that side that comes nearest to your Finger, till you have forc'd the Pikes into the true Centers at the end of your Work; and then you may boldly screw it hard up: But you must be sure to screw it hard up; because it is Soft Wood you purpose to work upon, and the strength of the Pole may endanger the drawing or removing the Centers, if the Pikes have not good hold of them.

Having found your Centers, take your Work again off the Pikes, and wind the String once or twice more about your Work, that your String (as I said in Numb. 10. § 1. when I wrote of the String) may the better command it, and then wind off or on more String at the end of your Pole, or end of your Treddle, or both, if your Work require it, till the Pole draws the Treddle up a little above half the length of the Legs of the Lathe: For about the height your Leg may without sudden trying, command the Pole down again.

But before you begin to work upon the Stuff, I shall inform you how to Tread the Treddle; In which you may observe this General Rule; That the nearer the Fore-end of the Treddle you Tread, the easier you bring down the Pole; But then the Pole in its Spring rases your Leg the higher, and may draw the upper side of your Thigh against the underside of the Cheek of the Lathe, and with reiterated Risings Gawl, and also tire your Thigh.

Place therefore your Foot steddy upon the Treddle, so far forward as you can, to avoid the Poles Rising from drawing your Thigh against the underside of the Lathe; and Tread the Treddle nimbly down, but not quite so low as to knock against the Floor: Then abate the weight of your Tread, and let the Pole draw the Treddle up; but still keep your Foot steddy, and lightly Bearing upon the Treddle: For then your succeeding Treads will prove easier to your Leg and Thigh, and you will with your Foot the better and quicker command the Treddle. Then Tread again nimbly down as before, and keep this Train of Treading till your Work be finish'd, or that you may have occasion to stop and examine how rightly you proceed.

In all small Work the Tread is lightly and nimbly performed; but in large and heavy Work the Tread comes slow and heavily down.

This being premised, you may begin with your Gouge; Lay the Round side of it upon the Rest, and take the Handle of it in your Right hand, and lay the Fore and Middle Fingers of your Left Hand upon the Hollow of the Gouge near the Work, mounting the Edge about a quarter of an Inch above the Axis of your Work, and sinking your Right hand a little: for in this position the Gouge cuts best: And thus cut down on your Work near one end, a Groove for your String to run in: The Groove may be about an Inch, or an Inch and an half long: But it matters not much what depth. Then slip your String into the Groove, and if you find the String will not slip easily, you may put your Foot under the Treddle and lift it a little up, that the String when no weight is hanged to it, may slide the easier into the Groove.

And by the way you may take notice, that the deeper you cut down the Groove, the oftner will your Work come about every Tread; because the String that comes down every Tread, measure a small Circumference oftner than it does a greater Circumference: But then the Work is not so strongly carried about; because it hath a less portion of the String to command it. This I hint, not that in this our small proposed Pattern it is very considerable: For if you only cut the Groove down but so low as there may be a Shoulder at the end, and another against the Work, to keep the String from slipping out of the Groove, it will be sufficient: But in heavy Work this Groove ought to be cut with discretion.

Now come to the Forming of your Work, and hold your Gouge, as you were taught before, but somewhat lightly against your Work, beginning at one end, and sliding your Gouge gradually to the other, cutting with its Edge all the way you go, and bearing somewhat stiff against the Work every Tread you make on the Treddle: And withdrawing it again a little lightly from the Work every Spring of the Pole. And thus by Use you must habituate your self to let the Edge of your Tool bear upon the Work when the Pole and Treddle comes down, and to draw it back just off the Work, as the Pole and Treddle goes up. And thus you must continue till you have rough-wrought all your work from end to end.

If you have not at first brought your Work clean; that is, if you have not gone deep enough with your Gouge to take off all the Risings of the Stuff the Draw-knife left, even with the smallest part of your Work, you must in like manner (as before) work it over again. But you must have a special Care you take not too much Stuff away on any part of the whole Work: For this proposed Pattern being a Cilinder; if you take but a small matter too much away from any part, and make it smaller than your given measure there, the whole Work will be spoiled; as being smaller than the proposed Diameter: which to know, you may by opening the Points of your Callippers to two Inches on your Rule (the proposed Diameter of your Cilinder) try if the Points at that distance will just slip over the deepest Grooves of your Work (for we will not suppose that the Grooves are of an equal depth with the Rough-working of the Gouge) without straining the Joint, for then your Work is just sizeable: If not, work over again as before, &c. But we will now suppose you have not taken too much away, but have made a due process with your Gouge. Therefore now proceed, and use a Flat Chissel, about an Inch and an half broad, to take off the Irregularities the Gouge left.

Take the Handle of it in your Right Hand, as you did the Gouge, and clasping the Blade of it in your Left Hand, lean it steddy upon the Rest, holding the Edge a little assant over the Work, so as a Corner of the thin side of the Chissel may bear upon the Rest, and that the Flat side of the Chissel may make a small Angle with the Rest, and consequently with the Work; (which is parallel to the Rest) for should you set the edge of the Chissel parallel to the Work, it might run too fast into the Work, and dawk it. Therefore you must set the Chissel in such a position, that the lower Corner, or near the lower Corner of the edge, may cut lightly upon the Work: But this position is best described by a Figure, which to that purpose I have inserted in Plate 14. at O, where you may perceive in, or near, what position the Chissel must be set to cut the Work; and how the edge of the Chissel a b lying aslant the Work, and the further Corner of the edge of the Chissel b being somewhat mounted, as the Work comes about, the Bottom, or near the Bottom, of the edge of the Chissel is only capable to cut a narrow Shaving off the Work: and just in this manner you must keep the Chissel steddy bearing upon the Work, as the Pole comes down, and withdrawing it from the Work as the Pole Springs up (as you were taught to use the Gouge) and at the same time sliding it forwards from one end of the Work to the other, till it be wrought down all the way to its true Diameter between the points of the Callippers: For then a straight Ruler applied to your Work, the outside of your proposes Cilinder will be formed.

Only the ends must be cut down square to the length: Therefore open the points of your Compasses to the distance of eight Inches on your Rule, and prick that distance hard off upon your Work, that the points of your Compasses may leave visible marks, by placing one point as near one end as you can, to leave Stuff enough to cut straight down all the way; that is, to cut it square down at right Angles with the outside of the Work. Which to do, you must hold the Handle of the Flat Chissel in your Right hand (as before) and clasp the Blade of it in your Left, and lay one of the thin sides of it upon the Rest, so that the edge may stand upright, or very near upright against the Work. Then sink your Right hand somewhat below the Level of the Rest, that the lower Corner of the edge of the Chissel may mount, and being thrust steddy against the Work, just in the mark one Point of the Compasses made, Tread the Treddle, and cut a pretty deep Circle into the Stuff. But you must have a care you do not direct the cutting Corner of the Chissel inwards, but rather outwards, left you make the end hollow instead of Flat: For if you do take off too little at first, you may by degrees cut it down to a Flat afterwards. As you cut deeper into the Stuff, you must turn the Flat of the Chissel, and with it cut down the Shoulder just at the end on the outside the mark, for else that may hinder the Corner of the Edge of the Chissel for coming at the Work.

Note, that if you hold not the edge of the Chissel truly before the Work, but direct it inwards, and if you hold it not very steddy, and have a good guidance of it, the quick coming about of the Work, may draw the edge of the Chissel into it inwards and run a dawk on Cilinder, like the Grooves of a Screw; and so spoil your Work: For being once wrought to the true size, you cannot afterwards take any more off to cleanse it, &c.

The other end must be cut down as this.

§ 14. Of Turning Flat Boards.

IF your Board be thick enough, you may boar a round Hole in the middle of it; and Turn a Mandrel with a Pin a very little Tapering, to fit hard and stiff into the round Hole: And if the Hole and Pin be proportionable in size to the weight of the Board, the Pin will carry it about. But you must be very careful the Hole be boared exactly straight through the middle, and not inclining on either side the Board, more to any part of the Verge than to another; but that the middle of the Hole be exactly the Center of the Board the whole thickness through. This Pin-Mandrel is described Numb. 11. § 6. and Plate. 13.

If your Board be not thick enough to be fastned upon a Pin-Mandrel, or that your Work will not admit of an Hole to be bored through the middle of it, you may use the Flat Mandrel described Plate 13. F 2. And then you must with your Compasses find the Center on the backside of the Round Board (with several proffers if need require) till you have found it, and prick there an Hole for a mark: Then open the points of your Compasses to about the thickness of a Shilling wider than the Semidiameter of the Flat Mandrel; and with the points of your Compasses at that distance describe a Circle on the backside of the Board to be Turned, by placing one Foot in the prick mark, and turning about the other Foot. By this Circle you may pitch the Center of the Board exactly upon the Center of the Flat Mandrel: For the points of the Compasses being opened about the thickness of a Shilling wider than the Semidiameter of the Flat Mandrel will (when you have pitcht the Center of the Board on the Center of the Mandrel) place the outer Verge of the Mandrel the thickness of a Shilling round about within the Circle described on the backside of the Board: And when it is thus pitcht, you may, by laying the Board flat down, knock upon the Rowler end of the Mandrel, and drive the Pegs in the flat of the Mandrel into the Board, and so hold it steddy upon the Mandrel: Then find the Center on the Foreside of the Board also, as you were taught to find the Center on the backside, and put your Board and Mandrel upon the Pikes of the Puppets, and screw them hard up, as you have been taught before.

Sometimes Turners use this Flat Mandrel without Pegs, and then they chalk the Flat side of it very well, and clap the backside of the Board to it, which will (if the Board to be Turned be not too heavy, but be well screwed up between the Pikes) keep the Board steddy from slipping from its set-position, till you work it.

If in going about of your Work you find it Wabble, that is, that one side of the Flat incline either to the Right or Left Hand, you must with soft Blows of an Hammer, or other Tool at hand, set it to right, and then again screw it hard up: For so often as you thus strike upon the Verge to set the Board true, you force the Steel point of the Pike more or less (according to the softness of the Wood) towards that side of the Verge you strike upon; and therefore you may perceive a reason for screwing up the Pike so oft as you knock upon the outer Verge of the Board.

But we will now suppose the Board well pitcht and fastned on the Mandrel and Center; Therefore take the Side-Rest described in § 1. Numb. 10. ¶ 7. and Plate 83. at the Figure e, and f g, and fit it so into the Lathe, as the upper edge of it may stand range, or parallel to the side of the Board you are to work upon; and so wedge it hard up.

Now you must come to use the Hook, described Numb. 12. § 5. and Plate 15: For this Tool is most commodious to serve you instead of the Gouge, when the Work stands athwart the Pikes; because the end of the Blade of this Tool being on its Flat side turned into a Circular Figure, and that Circular Figure turned a little backwards, one of the Edges of this Circular Figure will conveniently (though the Tool be not held straight before the Work) come at any part of the Flat of the Board, and so by the Circulation of the Board against the Edge of the Hook, cut off its irregular Extuberances.

In the using of this Tool, you must place the end of the Handle under your Arm-pit, and hold your left hand on the upper side of the Blade of the Tool close to the Rest, and your Right hand close besides your Left Hand under the Tool, and with both your hands clasp the Tool hard, and press it steddy upon the Rest, and at the same time hold it also steddy, and yet lightly bearing against the Work, that by the swift coming about of the Work it draw not the Edge of the thin and tender Blade of the Hook into it.

You must not hold the Blade of this Tool perpendicularly before the Work, viz. parallel to the Pikes, but aslant, so as somewhat about the middle of the Convex of the Hook may touch against the Work. You may begin at the Verge, and so lay several Grooves close by one another till you come to the Center: But you must observe (as was said before in the Cilinder) that you lay all your Grooves of an equal depth into the Board: For if you lay one deeper than the rest, and an Hollow may not properly be in that place, you must again go over your work with your Hook, to work that dawk out: And then perhaps your Board may be made too thin for its intended purpose. But this Craft of the Hand must be acquired with some continued Use and Practice, which will better inform your Judgment what Errours you may be subject to commit, than many words (though significant) upon this Doctrine. And this I'm sure I found, when I first practised upon Turning.

Having thus with the Hook rough-plain'd the Board (for this Hook does in Turning the Office of a Fore-plain in Joynery) you must use the Triangular Grooving Tool, described Numb. 11. § 5. Plate 15. and with one of its Edges smoothen down the ridges the Hook left on the Board.

But if your Work require any Molding near the Verge, or any other part of it, you must work that Molding as near as you can with the Hook, especially where Hollows are required; for that cuts faster and smoother than any other Tool, and most artificially forms an Hollow.

If a Flat be to be laid in the Board, you must first use the Triangular Point Tool, and with it strike so many Threds as the breadth of the Flat requires, and lay each Thred almost so deep into the Board as you intend the Flat shall be: And afterwards to smoothen it down, you must use the Flat Grooving Tool, or a Flat Chissel, and with either of them finish the Flat to its intended Depth and Breadth. And where a fine Thred, or Circle, is to be laid in the Board, you must use the Triangular Point Tool. And thus as you see occasion, you must accommodate your self with a Tool apt and proper for your purpose, viz. such a Tool as will most conveniently come at, and from the intended Work. 〈1 page duplicate〉

MECHANICK EXERCISES: OR, The Doctrine of Handy-Works. Applied to the ART of TURNING. § XV. Of Turning Hard Wood, and Ivory.

IF the Wood be very hard, as Ebony, Lignum Vitae; or if it be Ivory, Bone or Horn they are to Turn; they neither use the same Tools they do for Soft Wood; because their edge is too tender: nor do they use their other Tools as they do soft Wood, For the Tools made for Hard Wood are made with a stonger Point, edge, &c. than they are for Soft, as was said Numb. 11. § 5. And they use them differently; because for Turning Soft Wood, they hold the Edge of the Gouge and Flat Chissel, at some considerable Distance from the Rest, mounting the Edge at such an Angle as will best cut off from the Work, as great a Chip as they can, or desire. And as they Turn the Work smaller, they guide the Chissel to follow the Work: But for Hard Wood, they raise the Rest near the Horizontal Plain of the Axis of the Work, setting it as close as conveniently they can to their Work, and lay their Tool flat and steddy upon the Rest; which being hard held in this position, does by the comming about of the Work, cut or tear off all the Extuberances the Tool touches in the sweep of the Work. So that (as I said before) as in Turning Soft Wood the Tool does somewhat follow the Work; in Turning Hard Wood the Work comes to the Tool: And therefore you may perceive a great reason they have to keep the Tool steddy: For should it in one sweep of the Work be thrust nearer the Axis in any place, it would there take off more than it should.

Having prepared the Work fit for the Lathe, either with Hewing (as hath been shewn Numb. 5. § 7. and Numb. 11. § 13.) or, as some Hard Woods and Ivory may require, with Rasping, they pitch it between the Pikes, as before has been shewn, or such Work as it may be, as Boxes, and generally all Hollow Work, they fit into Collers, either by screwing the Mandrel on an Iron Axis; or fitting it with some other of the Mandrels described Numb. 11. § 6. as is proper for it: As sometimes they fit the Work tight into an Hollow Mandrel, and the tight fitting in holds it whilst it is working upon: And sometimes, if the Work be very thin, they fix it on a Flat Mandrel with Cement; But they are always either to chuse one of the Mandrels described already in Numb. 11. § 6. or else contrive (as they often do) some other Mandrel convenient to the opportunity that accidentally their Business may require. For the Work (whether it be pitcht on the Pikes, or fitted into Hollow Mandrels, or otherwise) must run very steddy and tight about.

But having thus fitted it into the Lathe, they begin to work with the Sharp-pointed Grooving Tool, or else with the Triangular Grooving Tool, and with the point of either of these Tools break the Grain of the Wood, by laying small Grooves upon its Surface, till they have pretty well wrought away Extuberances, and brought the Work tollerably near an intended shape, by streightning, hollowing, and leaving Risings in their several proper places.

Afterwards with Edg'd Grooving Tools of a proper Breadth, they cut down and smoothen away the Extuberances left by the Sharp-pointed Grooving Tool, or the Triangular Grooving Tool, and bring the Work into a perfect shape. Which done, they smoothen the work with the Edge of a piece of a Blade of a broken Knife, basil'd away, by following the Work with it: That is, holding the basil'd Edge of the Knife close against the Work while it comes about: For then its sharp Edge scrapes or shaves off the little roughness the grosser Tools left upon the Work.

Lastly, they hold either a piece of Seal-Skin or Dutch Reeds (whose outer Skin or Filme somewhat finely cuts) pretty hard against the Work, and so make it smooth enough to polish.

Hard Wood they polish with Bees-Wax, viz. by holding Bees Wax against it, till it have sufficiently toucht it all over; and press it hard into it by holding hard the edge of a Flat piece of hard Wood made sizable and suitable to the Work they work upon, as the Work is going about. Then they set a Gloss on it with a very dry Woollen Rag, lightly smear'd with Sallad Oyl.

But Ivory they polish with Chalk and Water, and afterwards dry it with a Woollen Rag, and a light touch of Sallad Oyl; which at last they rub off again with a dry Woollen Rag, and so set a Gloss on it.

If there be a Screw to be made upon the thin Edge of an Ivory, or Hard Wood, or Brass Box, they use the Screw Mandrel, and its Socket, described Numb. 11. § 6. ¶ 4. and 5. as is shewn at the latter end of that Section.

§ XVI. Of Turning long and slender Work of Ivory.

SOme Turners to shew their Dexterity in Turning, and make others that know not the way how it is done admire at their Skill, Turn long and slender Sprigs of Ivory, as small as an Hay-stalk, and perhaps a Foot or more long: which to perform they cut a piece of Ivory to its intended length; but strong enough to bear working till they bring it to as small a Cilinder as they can; which being thus forwarded, they place a Joint Coller (as is described Numb. 11. § 7.) made small and fit for their purpose, just in the middle of their Work: only that their Work may Bear at a smaller length, and consequently be stronger for being thus supported while it is Turned yet smaller. Then they place other Collers between the Pikes, and the middle Coller, and Turn the whole Cilinder slender yet. And thus by placing Collers where ever they find the Work buckle, they (as aforesaid) with Sharp Tools, tender touches, somewhat a loose and fine String, weak Bow, and great care and diligence work the whole Cilinder down as small as they list, either with Moldings, or other Work upon it, as best likes them.

The properest Lathe to Turn this slender Work in, is the Turn-Bench described § 18. Plate 16.

§ XVII. Of the Brasiers Lathe and Turning Tools; and their manner of using them.

BRasiers that Turn Andirons, Pots, Kettles, &c. have their Lathe made different from the Common Turners Lathe, as you may see in Plate 16. at A. where the Cheeks, Puppets and Rest, &c. are much stronger, and the Pikes stronger and longer than those the common Turners use. Their Edge Tools which they call Hooks, are also of a different shape, as the Figures of them described at B1, B2, B3. in the said Plate shew, as being bent backwards and forwards towards the cutting end, somewhat like an z. And as the common Turners work with a round String made of Gut, as hath been described Numb. 10. § 1. ¶ 14. The Brasiers work with a Flat Leather Thong, which wrapping close and tight about the Rowler of their Mandrel, commands it the easier and more forciably about. Their Thong runs between the Cheeks of the Lathe.

The whole Lathe, and its parts, are made so strong, because the Matter they Turn being Mettal, is much heavier than Wood, and consequently with forciable coming about, would (if the Lathe were sleight) make it tremble, and so spoil the Work; as hath been said before.

The reason why the Hook is so turned backwards, and again forwards, towards the end, is, that they may the better direct the Edge of it as much below the Horizontal Plain of the Pikes as they list, the better (in many cases) to come at the Work: For contrary to Soft Wood, Hard Wood and Ivory Turners, they always dip the end of their Hook below the Rest, that so the Hook resting very steddy upon the Rest, and also against one of the Iron Pins standing upright in the Rest, and held very steddy forwards to the Work, the strong coming about of the Work against the strong Edge of the Hook, scrapes off the extuberant Mettle lying in that Sweep.

I need no further describe the Lathe, and other Tools that belong to Brasiers Turning; or more of the manner of using them; because, by the whole preceding Discourse, these Arguments are largely and sufficiently handled: especially considering I have given you the Figures of them in Plate 16. as aforesaid.

Only, their way of Whetting their Tools being different from the Whetting of other Turning Tools, I shall say somewhat to: For they Whet their Hooks upon a broad Flat Slate, holding the Hook almost perpendicular, that the Basil of its Edge may comply with the Flat of the Slate; with clasping the upper end of the Handle in their left hand to lean the heavier on it, and clutching the Shank of the Blade near the Hook-end in the right hand, to guide it: And thus with Spittle, or Water, rub forwards and backwards on the Slate, till they have sharpned the Edge of the Hook. But if it be a Round end Hook they whet, they chuse a Groove in the Slate fit to comply with the round edge of the Hook (for they have different sized Grooves in the Slate for that purpose) and so in it rub forwards and backwards as aforesaid.

§ XVIII. Of Turning Small Work of Brass, or other Mettle

SMall Work in Mettal is Turned in an Iron Lathe called a Turn-Bench. The Figure of it is described in Plate 16. at C. When they use it they screw it in the Chaps of a Vice, and having fitted their Work upon a small Iron Axis, with a Drill-Barrel fitted upon a square Shank at the end of the Axis next the left hand, they with a Drill-bow and Drill-string carry it about, as was shewn Numb. 1. fol. 6, 7. with this difference, that when a Hole is drill'd in a piece of Mettal, they hold the Drill-bow in their Right Hand; but when they Turn Small Work, they hold the Drill-bow in their left hand, and with their right hand use the Tool, which is commonly a Graver, or sometimes a Sculpter, fit to such Moldings as are to be made on the Mettal.

They begin to work first with the sharp point of a Graver, laying the Blade of it firm upon the Rest, and directing the point to the Work, and lay Circles upon it close to one another, till they have wrought it pretty true: Then with one of the broad Edges of the Graver they smoothen down what the Point left, and afterwards with Sculpters, Round or Flat, or great or small, they work their intended Moldings.

The Circumstances and Considerations in the choice of a Drill-bow and Drill-string for Turning, are the same with what you find Numb. 1. fol. 6, 7. for Drilling.

§ XIX. Of laying Moldings either upon Mettal, or Wood, without fitting the Work in a Lathe.

I Had, soon after the Fire of London, occasion to lay Moldings upon the Verges of several round and weighty flat pieces of Brass: And being at that time, by reason of the said Fire, unaccommodated of a Lathe of my own, I intended to put them out to be Turned: But then Turners were all full of Employment, which made them so unreasonable in their Prizes, that I was forc'd to contrive this following way to lay Moldings on their Verges.

I provided a strong Iron Bar for the Beam of a Sweep: (for the whole Tool marked in Plate 16, is by Mathematical Instrument-makers called a Sweep.) To this Tool is filed a Tooth of Steel with such Roundings and Hollows in the bottom of it, as I intended to have Hollows and Roundings upon my Work: For an Hollow on the Tooth, makes a Round upon the Work; and a Round upon the Tooth, makes an Hollow on the Work; even as they do in the Molding-Plains Joyners use. Then I placed the Center-point of the Sweep in a Center-hole made in a square Stud of Mettal, and fixed in the Center of the Plain of the Work: and removed the Socket that rides on the Beam of the Sweep, till the Tooth stood just upon its intended place on the Verge of the Work, and there screw'd the Socket fast to the Beam.

To work it out, I employ'd a Labourer, directing him in his left Hand to hold the Head of the Center-pin, and with his right Hand to draw about the Beam and Tooth, which (according to the strength) he us'd, cut and tore away great Flakes of the Mettal, till it receiv'd the whole and perfect Form the Tooth would make; which was as compleat a Molding as any Skilful Turner could have laid upon it.

Having such good Success upon Brass, I improv'd the invention so, as to make it serve for Wood also. And made a Plain-Stock with my intended Molding on the Sole of it, and fitted an Iron to that Stock with the same Molding the Sole had.

Through the sides of this Stock I fitted an Iron Beam, to do the Office of the Beam I used for the Sweep, viz. to keep the Plain always at what position I listed from the Center (for thus the Iron in the Plain wrought about the Center, even as the Tooth in the Sweep (before rehearsed) and to that purpose I made a round Hole of about half an Inch Diameter near the end of the Iron: Then in the Center of the Work I fixed a round Iron Pin, exactly to fit the said round Hole, putting the round Hole over the Pin, and fitting the Iron into the Stock commodious to work with. I used this Plain with both Hands, even as Joyners do other Plains: For the Iron Pin in the Hole of the Beam kept it to its due distance from the Center; so that neither hand was ingaged to guide it.

But note, The Stock of this Plain was not straight (as the Stocks of other Plains are) but by Hand cut Circular pretty near the size of the Diameter of the intended Molding: And yet was made to slide upon the Beam, farther from or nearer to the Center, as different Diameters of Verges might require.

§ XX. To Turn several Globes or Balls of Ivory within one another, with a Solid Ball in the middle.

YOU must first Turn your Ivory Ball or Globe truly round, of your intended Diameter: Then describe a Circle exactly through the middle, or Equinoctial of the Globe: Divide that Circle into four equal parts, and pitch one point of a pair of Compasses in one of those Divisions, and extend the other point to either of the next Divisions, and describe with it a Circle round about the Globe. Then remove the standing point of the Compasses to either of the next Divisions in the Equinoctial, and in like manner describe another Circle round about the Globe.

But note, that the moving Point of your Compasses must be somewhat bended inwards; For else its point will not describe a Circle on the greatest Extuberances of the Globe, but will slide off it.

Thus shall the Ball or Globe be divided into eight Spherical Quadrants: Describe as great a Circle as you can in each of these Quadrants, and each two Centers of every two opposite Circles shall have an imaginary Axis pass between them: And if the Globe be successively pitcht upon all the rest of the Centers, so as the imagined Axis passing between it and its opposite Center, lie in a straight line with the Pike and the Center of the Coller it is Turned in, the working out of all the Hollows on the Ball will be but common Turners Work, as you will find hereafter. This is in brief the Theory: But to the Practice.

You must use an Hollow Mandrel, made sit stifly to receive the convexity of the Globe in its concavity, so as it may stick firmly in the Mandrel, in its position: And you must take care that in pitching the Globe into the Mandrel, that the imaginary Axis of the Globe (which is the Line passing between the two Centers of the two opposite Circles as aforesaid) lie in a straight Line with the Axis of the Mandrel; which you may know by examining whether the Circle described with your Compasses (as aforesaid) on the Center (aforesaid) wabble not in a whole Revolution of the Globe, from the point of a Tool applied steddy to it.

Having thus pitcht the Globe true, and fixt it fast into the Mandrel, you must begin to work with the Triangular Grooving Point (described Numb. 11. § 5. and Plate 15.) placing the point of it pretty near the Center of the Circle, and work into the Ball with the Grooving Point, and so by degrees make a Hollow in the Ball so deep, and so wide, as you think convenient, I mean so deep from the Superficies of the Globe towards the Center of the Globe, and so wide from the Center of the Circle described on the Superficies of the Globe towards that Circle, as it may have a convenient Substance between this Hole, and the next intended to be Turned.

Thus must every one of the eight Circles described on the Globe, be successively by the same Rule, and after the same manner be pitcht outwards, and fixt into the Mandrel, and then Hollowed out as the first was. Where note, that every Hollow is to be Turned to the same depth and width exactly as the first was: Which to do, you must use a Gage made of a thin Plate of Iron or Brass, as is described in Plate 17. Fig. D. whose two sides from a the Bottom of the Gage, to b the Shoulder are the depth of the Hollow from the Superficies of the Globe towards the Center: b b is the width of the Hollow at the Superficies of the Globe; and a a is the bottom width of the Hollow; and the concave Arch between a a is an Arch that the Convexity of the little Solid Ball to be Turned within all the Spheres must comply with. So that when each Hollow is Turned, the Gage must be put into it to try how the sides of the Hollow complies with the sides of the Gage, and also how the Arch in the bottom of the Gage, complies with the surface of the Solid Ball in the middle.

Having thus Turned all the Hollows in the Globe, you must provide several thin and narrow Arching Grooving Tools, whose convex and concave Arches comply both with the Convexity and Concavity of each Globe, or Sphere, to be Turned within the outermost: So that begining at the bottom of the Hollow, you Turn just half way of the Solid Ball loose from the Sphere it is contained in, viz. as far as the Equinoctial of the Globe; and in thus Turning it, you must take great care, that the solid Ball on its Convexity and the Concavity of the Sphere it is contained in, be both at the same time Turned exactly Spherical.

Thus one half of the Solid Ball being Turned loose, you may in like manner Turn the next Sphere it is included in half loose also: And so successively as many Sphereas as you list.

Having thus Turned one half of all the Spheres loose, you must take the whole Globe out of the Hollow Mandrel, and pitcht and fix the Globe again into the Mandrel, so as the imagined Axis of the Hollow opposite to the last loosned Hollow lie in a straight line (as before was taught) with the Pike and Center of the Coller the Mandrel runs in, and then Turn the other half of the Solid Ball and Spheres also loose, as the first half was Turned.

§ XXI. To Turn a Globe with several loose Spheres in it, and a Solid Cube, or Dy, in the middle of it.

THis is Turned after the same manner the former Ball was Turned; only instead of dividing the Equinoctial of that Globe into four equal parts, the Equinoctial of this must be divided but into three equal parts, and their Semi-Circle draw through the divisions into either Pole of the Globe: So shall the Globe be divided into six equal parts, or Segments; in each of which parts must be described a Circle, as was described before in the Globes of eight equal parts; and in these six Circles must be made six Hollows, as before there was eight: But instead of working the Bottom of each hollow Spherical, now the Bottom must be wrought Flat: So shall the Cube when these six Hollows are thus made, be formed: and the Hollows being exactly of the same depth, and flat in the Bottom, the Cube or Dy will loosen, and each of the six Flats in the Bottom will become the six sides or Faces of the Cube.

The manner of loosning all the other inward Spheres, is as the Former: Only, that was loosned with twice pitching the Ball in the Mandrel, because the Centers of the Hollows lay opposite to one another; But to loosen this Ball will require three Pitchings into the Mandrel; because the Centers lie not opposite to one another.

§ XXII. To Turn a Cube, or Dy, in an Hollow Globe, that shall have but one Hole on the outside to work at.

THE Outside of this Globe must be Turned Round, viz. Spherical, as the former, and fixed in an Hollow Socket (as before hath been taught.) Then must an Hole be Turned in the Globe so deep and so wide as you please, as in the former Globes, and the Bottom of that Hole Turned flat, for one side, or Face of the Cube, or Dy: Then with a Semi-circular Tool loosen the whole Core, or middle of the Ball, and pitch the Core with the point opposite to the Center of the already flatted face of the Dy, outwards against the Hole in the Globe, and so fasten it in this position, by powring in some melted hard Wax, or other Cement; and then with a flat Tool Turn the foreside, (viz. the side opposite to the first side) flat also: Which done, loosen it out of the Wax, and successively pitch the other sides to be Turned flat carefully against the Hole, so as all the sides have right Angles to each other, and fastning them with Wax, or Cement (as before,) Turn them by the same Rule flat also.

Now to make this Thing more admirable to the ignorant Spectator, you may make the Dy as big as you can, and the Hole you Turn it at as little as you can; that it may the more puzzle the Wit of the Enquirer to find how so great a Dy should have Entrance at a small Hole, unless the hollow Ball were turned in two Halves, &c.

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MECHANICK EXERCISES: OR, The Doctrine of Handy-Works. Applied to the ART of TURNING. § XXIII. Of Turning Oval Work.

THis Work may be perform'd in the Common Lathe that goes either with the Treddle-Wheel, or the great Wheel; because the Work must run always one way, if the Puppet be made to it with the Machination described in Plate 17. and an Iron Axis be made to carry the Work about, and to its end be fitted and fastned a Brass Coller, with a Female Screw in it, to screw on the Mandrel that the Work you intend to Turn is fixt upon.

To the Foreside of this Puppet is fastned at b, as on a Center-pin, a strong Iron Coller marked b h, and this Coller is called the Moving Coller; because it moves between the Iron Shackle c c, and the Fore side of the Puppet. Into this Moving Coller is fitted the Hollow Axis marked c, so as to turn round in it as if it were in any of the other Collers formerly described; but the Moving Coller moving between the Shackles, and the Fore-side of the Puppet, carries the Hollow Axis with it athwart the Puppet, even so far as is the width of the Hollow between the Shackle, and the Fore-side of the Puppet. And thus by the moving of the Hollow Axis backwards and forwards the Work screwed in it, having an Edg'd, or a Pointed-Tool applied to it, receives that Oval Form which is made upon the Guide.

But to make it move thus to and from you, there are required several Machinal Helps: For there is a strong Steel Bow as at a, fastned about its middle part to the further side of the Puppet, which stands about an Inch forwarder than the Foreside of the Puppet with its hollow side to the Workman. And to the ends of this Steel Bow is fastned a strong String of Gut, and to the middle of that String in a Noos is fastned another strong Gut-string, with a Noos at its end. This last mentioned String is made exactly of that length that when the nearest side of the Guide, viz. its least Diameter is set into the Groove of the Guide-pulley, and the Bow is strained, and this String laid in the Groove of the String-pulley, the Noos at the end of it may be put over the Iron Button fixed in the top of the Moving-Coller. For then as the Treddle-Wheel carries the Axis about, the Guide being firmly fastned upon the Axis, comes also about; and having the Groove of the Guide-pulley set against the outer edge of the Guide, as the great Diameter of the Guide is turned against the Guide-pulley, the Moving-Coller being drawn by the strength of the Bow, draws the Hollow Axis along with it, as also the Work screwed in the Hollow Axis: And thus as the small Diameter of the Guide comes to the Guide-pulley, the small Diameter of the Work is Formed; and as the great Diameter of the Guide comes to the Guide-pulley, the great Diameter of the Work is formed.

This is the Sum of Oval Turning.

But that the whole Machine may be yet better understood, I shall more particularly give you the names of all its parts, together with a Description upon its most material parts, where the Fore-Puppet is more largely delineated in Plate 18. at A, where also some of the Members most difficult to be described, are drawn more at large by themselves.

a The Bow. b The Moving Coller. c c The Socket in which the Coller is moved. d The Stop-screw, to take out when the Hollow Axis moves in the Moving Coller. e The Hollow Axis. f The Head, in which is contained the several Guides. g The Center Head. h The Button. i The String-pulley. k The Wheel-pulley. l The Guide-pulley.

¶ 1. Of the Hollow Axis, and its Shank, marked a in Plate 18.

THE Shank is a Bar of Iron about an Inch thick, and two Foot long, having in its further end a Center-hole to pitch upon the Pike in the further Puppet; but its hither end is made square to fit tight into a square Socket, in the Brass Hollow Axis: And when it is thus fitted into the hither end of the Brass, it is Turned true Cilindrically round, so as to fit into the round Hole in the Moving Coller. The Diameter of the Round is about two Inches, and the length about two Inches straight; but then a Shoulder is Turned to the Brass Cilinder, to stop it from slipping through the Moving Center. In the Fore-end of this Hollow-Axis (viz. in the Brass Cilinder) is Turned a wide Hole about an Inch and a quarter Diameter, and an Inch deep: And in this wide Hole is Turned a Female Screw with a course Thread, to receive a Male Screw made behind the Mandrel that the Work is fixed upon.

About the middle of this Iron Shank is placed a Pulley made of Wainscot Board, about eight Inches Diameter, and an Inch thick, with a Groove on its outer edge about half an Inch wide, and half an Inch deep, for the String of the Treddle Wheel that carries the Axis about to run in: And betwen this Pulley you may (if you will) have several lengths of such Male-screws as was described Numb. 11. § 6. ¶ 4. and Plate 15. to make Screws with, if you please.

See the Figure a d c b, disjunct from the rest of the Work.

a The hinder end. d The Pulley of the Axis, or Wheel-pulley. c The Hollow, or Hole in the Fore-end of the Hollow Axis. b The Shoulder of the Hollow Axis.

¶ 2. Of the Moving Coller marked b, in Plate 18.

THis whole Member is called the Moving Coller, though the Coller strictly is only the round Hole at a, into which the Hollow Axis is fitted. It is made of Iron to reach from its top at h (the Button) down to the bottom of the Cheeks of the Lathe, as at b; upon which Pin (as on a Center) the whole Moving Coller moves backwards and forwards; its extream Breadth is about three Inches, and its thickness above a quarter of an Inch. Its Neck at c is clasped, but not fixed down to the Fore-side of the Puppet; for this Neck is only gaged in the Shackle marked c, so as the Neck (and consequently the whole Moving Coller) may slide from end to end of the Shackle forwards and backwards. d A small Female Screw, into which through a Hole in the Shackle is fitted a Male Screw to hold the Moving Coller and the Shackle togehter, that the Moving Coller may not move when only round Work is Turned in the Coller.

¶ 3. Of the Foreside of the Puppet, and the Shackle marked c.

UNder this Shackle (viz. between it and the Fore-side of the Puppet) moves the Neck of the Sliding-Coller from a to b, when the ends at c c are fixed down to the Fore-side of the Puppet with two Iron Screws.

¶ 4. Of the Hollow in the Puppet marked d.

IN the middle of the Puppet is hollowed out a Hole about three Inches between the Fore and Back-side of the Puppet, and four Inches athwart the Cheeks in the Puppet, and four Inches deep: So that about an Inch of Substance remains on each of the four upright sides. But the Top is quite open, (as at a) Through the middle of this square Hole runs the Iron Axis marked b b, on which is fixed the several Guides that are to be used in this sort of Working.

It is open at the Top, that Light may be let in to set the Guide-pulley to which Guide you please, and it is open on the hither side as at e e, about an Inch and an half above and below the Axis, that the Guide-pulley may be slid on its Axis to any of the Guides.

The Guide-pulley marked d, is a Brass Pulley of about an Inch Diameter, and a little above a quarter of an Inch thick, having a Groove in the Edge of it to receive the Edge of the Guide. It hath in its middle a round Hole about half an Inch Diameter, which round Hole slips over a round Iron Pin of the same Diameter, marked f f, so as it may slide from one end of the said Iron Pin to the other, according as the Guides may be fixed towards either end.

When it is used, the Groove in the Edge of this Guide-pulley is set against the Edge of the Guide, and being fitted tight on the round Iron Pin aforesaid, and the two ends of the Iron Pin fast fixed into the Wood of the Puppet, the Guide-pulley may indeed move round on the Iron Pin; but the strength of the Iron Pin, and Guide-pulley will resist the extuberick parts of the Edge of the Guide; and so with the assistance of the strength of the Steel Bow force the Guide and Hollow Axis to move backwards; and then an Edge-Tool held to the Work in the Mandrel screwed in the Hollow Axis, will describe the same Figure on the Work, as is on the outer Edge of the Guide.

Note, that when you are at Work, you must keep the Hole in the middle of the Guide-pulley well oyl'd, as also the round Iron Pin it slides and turns round upon; because this Guide-pulley ought to run round: For then the Axis will have and easier and swifter motion, the' it may indeed perform the Work if it run not round upon the Iron Pin.

§ XXIV. Of Rose-Work, &c.

ROse-Work Turning, or Works of any other Figure, are performed by the same Rule, and after the same manner as Oval Work is made; only by changing the Guides, and using one whose outer Edge is made with the Figure, or several Figures you intend to have on your Work.

§ XXV. Of Turning Swash-Work.

TO the Turning of Swash-Work you must have two such Puppets, as the Fore-puppet described in § 22. And also a Round Swash-board, about ten Inches Diameter, and an Inch and an half thick, as is a in Fig. B. Plate 18. Upon both the flat sides of this Swash Board, in a diametrical Line, is fastned upright an Arch of a Quardrant made of a Steel Plate, about half a quarter of an Inch thick, and an Inch and a quarter broad, as at b b, c c. The Convex edges of these Quadrants are cut into Notches, like the Teeth of an Hand-Saw; that accordins as you may have occasion to set the Swash-Board more or less a-slope, you may be accommodated with a Notch or Tooth to set it at. This Swash-Board hath an Hole made about its Center, to slip over the Iron Axis: And being thus slipt over the Iron Axis, you set it to that Slope you intend the Swash on your Work shall have. And to fix it fast in this position, you must put the Blades of the Quadrants into two Slits, made in the Iron Axis as at d d, and fit the two opposite Teeth against the two outer Shoulders of the Slits.

You must moreover make two strong Steel Springs as at c c, to reach from the bottom of the outer sides of the Puppets, being strong nailed, or rather screwed down there, which must reach up so high as the Axis. And in the inner sides of these Springs must be made two Center holes for the points of the Axis to be fitted in: For the Oval-Guide being fitted to one end of the Axis, and a Low-Puppet, as at f, wedged close to one side of the Swash-Board, when the Swash-Board stands in its greatest declirity; Then in a Revolution of the Axis, as the farther part of the circumference of the Swash-board comes to the Low-Puppet, one Spring will be forced backwards, and the other will spring forwards; and an Edg'd-Tool held against the Work fixed on the Axis, will make on the Work the Form of a Swash, &c.

These Oval-Engines, Swash-Engines, and all other Engines, are excellently well made by Mr. Thomas Oldfield, at the sign of the Flower-de-luce, near the Savoy in the Strand, London.

Thus much of Turning: My next Exercises will (God willing) be upon the Art of Printing.

An Explanation of Terms used in these Exercises of Turning, Alphabetically digisted.

AXIS. The imagined straight Line that passes through the two Center-points that Turned Work is Turned upon. Thus the imagined Line that passes between the two Pikes through the Work in the Lathe, is the Axis.

BOW. The Bow that Common Turners use is described Numb. 10 § 1. ¶ 11. And the Bow that Oval Turners use is described Numb. 14. § 23. and Plate 17, 18. at a.

Button. The Button is described Numb. 14. § 23. and Plate 17. at h.

CAllippers. Compasses with bowed shanks to measure the Diameter of any round Body. See Numb. 12. § 11. and Plate 14. at O.

Center-Head. See Numb. 14. § 23. and Plate 17. at g.

Cheeks. See Numb. 10. § 1. ¶ 2. and Plate 12. b b.

Chock. See Numb. 11. § 6 ¶ 5. and Plate 13. at F. 5. a.

Cleaving-knife. See Numb. 12. § 9. and Plate 13. at M.

Crank. The end of an Iron Axis turned Square down, and again turned Square to the first turning down, so that on the last turning down a Leather Thong is slip't, to Tread the Treddle-wheel about.

Collar. See Numb. 11. § 7. and Plate 13. at GHI.

Crook. See Crank.

Cross-Treddle. See Numb. 10. § 1. ¶ 8. and Plate 12. at k.

DRill-Barrel. See Numb. 1. Fol. 6. Plate 1. and Fig. 8. at C.

Drill-Bench. See Numb. 12. § 12. Plate 14. at a a a a.

Drill-Bow. See Numb. 1. Fol. 6, 7.

FEmale Screw. The Screw made in the round Hole of a Nut.

Flat-Chissel. See Numb. 11. § 3. and Plate 15. at C C.

Flat-Mandrel. See Numb. 11. § 6. and Plate 13. at F 1.

GOuge. See Numb. 10. § 2. ¶ 1. and Plate 15. at B B.

Great Wheel. See Numb. 10. § 1. ¶ 12. and Plate 14. at a.

Grooving Hooks. See Numb. 11. § 5. and Plate 15. at E.

Grooving Tools. See Grooving Hooks.

Guide. See Numb. 14. § 23. ¶ 4. and Plate 18.

Guide-Pulley. See Numb. 14. § 23. ¶ 4. and Plate 18. at d.

HEad. See Numb. 14. § 23. and Plate 17.

Hook. See Numb. 13. § 17. and Plate 16. at B 1. B 2. B 3.

Hollow Axis. See Numb. 17. § 17. and Plate 17. at e.

Hollow Mandrels. See Numb. 11. § 6. ¶ 3. and Plate 13. at F 3.

JOynt Collar. See Numb. 11. § 7. and Plate 13. at G.

LAthe. See Numb. 10. § 1. and Plate 12.

Legs. See Numb. 10. § 1. and Plate 12. at a a a a.

MAndrel. See Numb. 11. § 6. ¶ 1. and Plate 13. at F 1. F 2. F 3. F 4.

Mawl. See Numb. 12. § 8. and Plate 13. at K.

Male-Screw. The Screw made upon a Shank, or Pin.

Moving-Collar. See Numb. 14. § 23. ¶ 2. and Plate 18. at b.

NUT. A piece of Iron that a Female Screw is made in.

PIke. See Numb. 10. § 1. ¶ 5. and Plate 12.

Pin Mandrel. See Numb. 11. § 6. ¶ 2. and Plate 13. at F 2.

Pole. See Numb. 10. § 1. ¶. 9. and Plate 12 at l.

Puppet. See Numb. 10. § 1. ¶ 3. and Plate 12. at c c.

REst. See Numb. 10. § 1. ¶ 6. and Plate 12. at e.

Rowler. See Numb. 11. § 6. and Plate 13. F 1. at b.

SCrew-Mandrel. See Numb. 11. § 6. ¶ 4. and Plate 13. at F 4.

Seat. See Numb. 10. § 1. ¶ 15.

Shackels. See Numb. 14. § 23. ¶ 2. and Plate 18. V at c c.

Side-Rest. See Numb. 10. § 1. ¶ 7. and Plate 13. at e.

Socket. See Chock.

Steel-Bow. See Numb. 14. § 23. and Plate 18. at a.

Stop-Screw. See Numb. 14. § 23. and Plate 17. at d.

String. See Numb. 10. § 1. and Plate 12. at m.

String-Pulley. See Numb. 14. § 23. and Plate 17. at i.

Swash. A Swash is a Figure whose Circumference is not Round but Oval; and whose Moldings lie not at Right Angles, but Oblique to the Axis of the Work. See Numb. 14. § 25. and Plate 18. at Fig. B.

Swash-Board. See Numb. 14. § 25. and Plate 18. at a in Fig. B.

Sweep. See Numb. 13. § 19. and Plate 16. at D.

TRead. See Numb. 12. § 13. Fol. 209.

Treddle. See Numb. 10. § 1. and Plate 12. at i.

Treddle Wheel. See Numb. 10. § 1. ¶ 13.

Turn-Bench. See Numb. 13 § 18. and Plate 16. at C.

WAbble. When a piece of Work is not pitcht true upon its Centers, it will in a Revolution incline more on one side of its Circumference than on its opposite side. See Numb. 14. § 23. and Plate 17. at k.

There are several other Terms used in these Exercises of Turning, not explain'd here: But because they are used in some of the former Exercises, and there explain'd, I shall referr you to them.

A Catalogue of Globes, Coelestial and Terrestrial, Spheres, Maps, Sea-Plats, Mathematical Instruments, and Books, Made and Sold by J. Moxon, at the Sign of Atlas in Warwick-Lane, LONDON.

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There is invented by the Right Honourable the Earl of Castlemain, a new kind of Globe, call'd (for distinction sake) the English Globe; being a fix'd and immovable one, performing what the Ordinary ones do, and much more, even without their usual Appendancies; as Wooden Horizons, Brazen Meridians, Vertical Circles, &c. For it composses it self to the Site and Position of the World without the Mariners Compass, or the like foreign help; and besides other usual and surprising Operations (relating both to the Sun and Moon, and performed by the Shade alone) we have by it not only the constant proportion of Perpendiculars to their Shade, with several Corollaries thence arising, but also an easie, new and most compendious way of describing Dials on all Plains, as well Geometrically, as Mathematically: Most of which may be taught any one in few Hours, though never so unacquainted with the Mathematicks.

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MECHANICK EXERCISES: OR, THE DOCTRINE OF Handy-Works.

Applied to the ART of Bricklayers-Works.

LONDON, Printed for, and Sold by J. Moxon, at the Atlas in Warwick-Lane, and at his Shop, at the Entrance of the West End of Cornhill, 1700.

MECHANICK EXERCISES: OR, The Doctrine of Handy-Works. Applied to the Art of Bricklayers-Work. Definition.

BRicklayers-Work is an Art Manual, which Joins several Bodies so together, that they adhere like one entire Body.

Whether the White Mason, which is the Hewer of Stone, or the Red Mason, which is the Hewer of Brick, be the most Ancient, I know not; but in holy Writ, we read of making of Bricks, before we read of Digging or Hewing of Stone; therefore we may suppose the Red Mason (or Bricklayer) to be the most ancient.

The method that I shall use in Treating of this Art shall be this.

First, I will shew what Materials they use, and their Composition.

Secondly, I will treat of their Tools, and describe their Names and Uses.

Thirdly, I will declare their Method of Working, both in Bricks, Tiles, &c.

And First of Materials.

WHich are Comprised under Six heads, viz. 1. Bricks, 2. Tiles, 3. Morter, 4. Laths, 5. Nailes. 6. Tile-pins.

Of Bricks.

THey are made of Earth, of which the whiteish Chalky sort of Earth, and the Redish are the best.

At Lunenburgh in Saxony, they make them of a fat Earth full of Allom. Also there are good Bricks made at Pitane in Asia, of a Pumice sort of Earth, which being dryed, will swim in Water and not Sink.

Likewise the Antients made them of Earth which was Sandy.

But here in England they are made for the most part of a yellowish coloured fat Earth somewhat Redish.

And they are made of several sorts and sizes.

IN Holland they make small ones, being about Six Inches long, Three Inches Broad, and One Inch in thickness.

Which sort of Bricks, is commonly used here in England, to Pave Yards or Stables withal; and they make a good Pavement, and are very Durable, and being laid edge ways looks handsomly, especially if laid Herring-bone fashion.

They are also used in Soap-boilers Fats, and in making of Cisterns.

THE Common Bricks that are made here in England, are Nine Inches in Length, Four Inches and 1/4 in Breadth, and Two and an half in Thickness; and sometimes Three Inches thick.

Most Counties in England afford Earth for the making of Bricks.

BUT the best Earth that we have in England for making of Bricks, is in the County of Kent, from whence we have most of the Bricks which are Rubbed and Hewed for the Ornaments of the chief Fronts in the City of London: The Ornamental part of which Fronts, are done with the Reddest Bricks they can pick from among them; and the Rough or Plain Work, is done with the Grey Kentish Bricks; also those Grey Kentish Bricks are used in making of Cisterns to hold Water, and Horse-Ponds, and also Fats for Soap-Boilers; and I am of the Opinion, that no time will Impair or decay those Grey Kentish Bricks: But, as Pliny says, (speaking of Bricks,) that they will last to Eternity.

There are also in most Counties of England, Bricks made for the Paving of Floors of Rooms, Cellars, Dary-houses, &c. which are made of a stonger sort of Earth, than the Common Bricks for Building, the Earth being a kind of Clay, and in some Countries are called Clay Bricks, which are dearer than the Ordinary Bricks by about Six Shillings in a Thousand.

Likewise in several Counties, but chiefly in Surrey, are made Paving Tiles of Three several Magnitudes; the largest sort being Twelve Inches long, and Twelve broad, and one Inch and an half in Thickness.

The Second sort are Ten Inches long, and Ten Inches Broad, and one Inch and a Quarter thick.

The Third sort are Eight Inches long, Eight Broad, and one Inch thick.

Either of which sorts being Pollished or rubbed with sharp Sand on the Surface, and the joints made exactly square, and the sides equal, by hewing them with a Brick Ax, and rubbing them on a rubbing Stone with sharp Sand, makes an Excellent Pavement and pleasing to the Eye, especially when laid Arris ways.

Having thus described the several sorts of Bricks, and also Paving Tiles, we come in the next place to Treat of Tiles, made and used in the Covering of Roofs of Houses, both Publick and Particular, of which are Four sorts or Kinds.

The First sort are called Plain Tiles, being made of a strong sort of Earth like Clay; and are, or should be Ten Inches and an half in Length, in Breadth Six Inches and a Quarter, and in Thickness Three quarters of an Inch.

The second sort are Gutter or Hip Tiles, which are used sometimes for Vallies and Hips of Rooffs, altho' here at London, the Vallies are commonly Tiled with Plain Tiles, and the Hips with Ridge, or (as some call them) Roof Tiles: These Gutter Tiles are in Length Ten Inches and an half, with convenient Breadth and Thickness accordingly, and are made Circular or hollow, and wider at one end than at the other.

The third sort are Ridge or Roof Tiles, being in length Thirteen Inches, and made Circular breadthways like an half Cylinder, whose Diameter is about ten Inches, or more, and about half an Inch and half a quarter in thickness: These are laid upon the upper part, or ridge of the Roof, and also on the Hips.

The Fourth sort are Pan-Tiles, being about thirteen Inches long, with a Nob or Button to hang on the Laths, and are made hollow or circular breadthways, being eight Inches in breadth, and about half an Inch in thickness, or somewhat more. The best sort of these are brought from Holland into England, and are called Flemmish Pan-Tiles, we having such Tiles made here in England, but not so good: Which Flemmish Tiles are sometimes glazed, and are of a Lead, or blewish colour, and being glazed they are very durable and handsom.

Having done with the Description of Tiles, for the Covering of Roofs, we come in the next place to treat of Morter, and first of Lime, being the chief Material of which the Morter is made, for the Cementing or Joining of Tiles, as well as Bricks together, we will Treat of it in the first place.

Of Lime.

THere are two sorts, one made of Stone, which is the strongest, and the other of Chalk, both sorts being burnt in a Kilne.

The Lime that is made of soft Stone or Chalk is useful for Plastering of Seelings and Walls within Doors, or on the insides of Houses; and that made of hard Stone, is fit for Structures or Buildings, and Plastering without Doors, or on the out side of Buildings that lies in the Weather; and that which is made of greasy clammy Stone, is stronger than that made of lean poor stone; and that which is made of spongy stone, is lighter than that made of firm and close stone; that is again more Commodious for Plastering, this for Building.

Also very good Lime may be made of Mill-stone, not course and Sandy, but fine and Greasy.

Likewise of all kinds of Flints (but they are hard to burn except in a Reverbratory Kiln) except those that are roled in the Water, because a great part of its increase goes away by a kind of Glass.

But the Shells of Fish, as of Cockles, Oysters, &c. are good to burn for Lime.

And the Fire in Lime burnt, Asswages not, but lies hid, so that it appears to be cold, but Water excites it again, whereby it Slacks and crumbles into fine powder.

Lime also is useful in divers things, for 'tis useful in Oyles and Wines, and good to Manure Land with; some season new Wine with it, mittigating the unpleasantness of the Wine therewith.

Moreover quick Lime being cast into an Arched Vault, and Water thrown upon it, consumes dead Bodies put therein.

Also Diers and Tanners, and likewise Physicians, use it, but they choose the newest, to wit, that which is is newly drawn out of the Kiln, and not slack'd with Water or Air.

It will burn so Vehemently, that it makes crusts, and will fire Boards or Timber against which it lies; but being slackt for sometime, it burns no more, yet it warms and dries, and dissolves Flesh; and being washed three or Four times, it Bites or Eats not, but dries quickly.

Lime mixt with Sand is much used in Buildings, and Vitruvius says, that you may put three parts of Sand that is digged (or pit Sand) and one part of Lime to make Morter; but if the Sand be taken out of a River, or out of the Sea, then two parts thereof, and one of Lime; as also to River or Sea Sand, if you put a third part of Powder of Tiles or Bricks, (to wit, Tile, or Brick dust) it works the better.

But Vitruvius his Proportion of Sand seems too much, altho' he should mean the Lime before it is slacked, for one Bushel of Lime before it is slack'd, will be Five Pecks after 'tis slack'd.

Here at London, where for the most part our Lime is made of Chalk, we put about Thirty Six Bushels of Pit Sand, to Twenty Five Bushels of Quick-Lime, that is about one Bushel and half of Sand, to one Bushel of Lime.

And Lime mixt with Sand, and made into Morter, if it lie in an heap two or Three Years before 'tis used, it will be the stronger and better, and the reason of so many insufficient Buildings, is the using of the Morter, as soon as 'tis made, as Agricola saith.

Moreover there is other Morter used in making of Water-courses, Cisterns, Fish-ponds, &c. which is very hard and durable, as may be seen at Rome, at this day, which is called Maltha, from a kind of Bitumen Dug there; for as they build most firm Walls thereof naturally, so they use it in making of Cisterns to hold Water, and all manner of Water-works; and also in finishing or Plastering of Fronts to represent Stone.

And I find two kinds of Artifices used by the Antients, both of which is Compounded of Lime and Hogs-grease, but to one is added the Juice of Figs, and to the other Liquid Pitch; and the Lumps of Lime are first wet or Slack'd with Wine, then Pounded or beat with Hogs-grease, and Juice of Figs, or with the same and Pitch; that which hath Pitch in it, is blacker and easily Distinguished from the other by its Colour, and that which is Plastered with this Tarrace, is done over with Linseed Oil.

Metalists use a kind of Tarrace in their Vessels for fining of Mettals, that the melted Mettle run not out; for as the Moderns restrain Water, and contain it, so the Antients, this liquid Mettal, and 'tis compounded or made of Quick-Lime and Ox Blood, the Lime being beat to Powder and sifted, and then mixt with the Blood and beat with a Beater.

But their Cement differs from both the Malthas in Composition and use, for 'tis made of Dust or Powder of Marble, and Glew made of Bull or Ox Leather, and with this they glew pieces of Marble or Stones together.

In later times, two kinds of Cement are in use, in both which they use the Powder of Marble, or other Stone, to one is added the Whites of Eggs, to the other is added Pitch; to these some add other things, as the Gravers of Gems, they make it of Tile Dust and Pitch.

Another Material which Bricklayers use are Laths, which are made of heart of Oak, for out side Work, as Tiling and Plastering; and of Fir for inside Plastering and Pantile Lathing; their usual lengths being 5 Foot, and 4 Foot, and sometimes longer or shorter; their Breadth sometimes 2 Inches, and one Inch and an half, the thickness about 1/4 of an Inch or thicker: But for Pantiling, the Laths, are about Ten Foot long, one Inch and half Broad, and half an Inch or more thick.

Another Material is Nails, of which they use three sorts, one is called Reparation or Lath Nails, which are used for plain Tile Lathing, and outside and inside Lathing for Plastring; another sort are four Penny, and Six Penny Nails, used for Pantile Lathing; and a third sort are great Nails for Scaffolding.

Moreover they use Tile-Pins, which are sometimes made of Oak, and sometimes of Fir, which they drive into holes that are made in the Plain Tiles to hang them upon their Lathing.

They also put Ox or Cow Hair into the Mortar which they use for Plastering, being called Lime and Hair, which Hair keeps the Mortar from Cracking or Chaping, and makes it hold or bind together.

And whereas they make use of the sharpest Sand they can get (that being best) for Morter, to lay Bricks and Tiles in; so they choose a fat Loamy or Greasy Sand for Inside Plastering, by reason it sticks together, and is not so subject to fall assunder when they lay it on Seelings or Walls.

Having given you an account of the several Materials that are used in Bricklayers Work, we shall in the next place Treat of their Tools and their uses, which are as follows.

Tools used in Brick Work.

1. A Brick Trowel to take up the Morter with, and to spread it on the Bricks, with which also they cut the Bricks to such lengths as they have occasion, and also stop the joints.

2. A Brick Ax, with which they cut Bricks to what shape they please, as some for Arches both streight and Circular, others for the mouldings of Architecture, as Archytrave Friez and Cornice.

3. A Sawe made of Tinn, to sawe the Bricks which they cut.

4. A Rub-stone, which is round, and is about fourteen Inches diameter, and sometimes more or less at pleasure, on which they rub the Bricks which they cut into several shapes, and also others which they cut not, being call'd Rubbed Returns, and Rubbed Headers and Stretchers.

A Square, to try the bed of the Brick, (viz. that side which lies in the Morter) with the superficies or face of the Brick, to make the Brick square, or at Rect-angles one side with the other, which is done by rubing it on the Rub-stone till it exactly answers, or fits to the Square.

6. A Bevel, by which they cut the undersides of the Bricks, of Arches streight or circular, to such oblique Angles as the Arches require, and also for other Uses.

7. A Small Trannel of Iron, or a large Nail ground'd to a sharp point, with which they mark the Brick, either from a Square or Bevel, or a Mould made of thin Wainscot, or Pastboard, to direct them in the cutting thereof.

8. Some use a float Stone, with which they rub the moulding of the Brick, after they have cut it with the Ax, pretty near to the Pattern described on the Brick, by the Trannel from the Wainscot, or Pastboard Mould, that so they may make the Brick exactly to answer to the Pattern or Mould. Others use no Stone at all, but cut the Brick exactly to the Pattern with their Brick-Ax, leaving the Ax stroaks to be seen on the Brick, which, if they be streight and parallel one to another, look very prettily, and is the truest way of Working; but then they must take care, to Ax the Brick off, with an Ax that is exactly streight on the edge, that the moulding in the Brick be neither round nor hollow, from side to side of a Header, or from end to end of a Stretcher.

9. A Little Ruler, about 12 Inches in length, and 1 Inch and 1/2 broad, which they lay on the Brick to draw streight Lines by, with the Trannel or Nail.

10. A Banker, to cut the Bricks upon, which is a piece of Timber about six foot long, or more, according to the number of those who are to work at it, and 9 or 10 Inches square, which must be laid on two Piers of Brick, or fixt on Bearers of Timber about three foot high from the Floor, on which they stand to work.

11. They work up a Pier of Brick-work, about the same height to lay their Rubbing-Stone upon, which must be laid in Morter that it may lye fast.

12. A Grinding-Stone, to sharpen their Axes, Hammers, Trowels, &c. upon.

13. A Pair of Line Pins of Iron, with a length of Line on them about sixty feet in length, to lay each Row, or Course of Bricks, level on the Bed, and streight on the Surface by, a Line seldom holding to strein, or draw streight in length, above 50 or 60 feet.

14. A Plumb Rule about 4 foot long, with a Line and Plummet of Lead, to carry their Work upright, or perpendicular withal.

15. A Level, about 10 or 12 foot long, to set out their Foundations level, or parallel to the Horizon, and also to try whether the Walls of the Building, or Jambs of Chimneys, be carried level, as they raise the Work, that so they may bring up all their Brick-work to an exact horizontal height, at the laying on of ever floor of Carpentry.

16. A Large Square, to set their Walls at rectangles, which may also be done without a Square, by setting 6 foot from the angle one way, and 8 foot the other way, then if the Diagonal line, or Hypotenuse, be exactly 10 feet, the angle is a rectangle: If not, you must set the Wall that is to be at rectangles to the other, either this or that way, till the two measures of 6 and 8 feet answer exactly to 10 feet.

17. A Ten Foot and a Five Foot Rod, as also a Two Foot Rule, to take and lay down Lengths, and Breadths, and Heights.

18. A Jointing Rule, about 10 foot long, and about 4 Inches broad, whereby to run the long Joints of the Brick-work.

19. A Jointer of Iron, with which, and the foresaid, Rule, they joint the long Joints, and also the Cross Joints, these being done with the Jointer without the Rule.

20. Compasses, to describe the several Mouldings on Wainscot or Pastboard.

21. A Hammer, to cut Holes in Brick-work, and drive Nails for Scarfolding.

22. A Rammer, to Ramm the Foundations.

23. A Crow of Iron, to dig through a Wall, and also a Pick-Ax.

The Manner and Shapes of the foresaid Tools, you may see in Plate 1. and the Name of each Tool in the Page next the Plate wherein they are delineated.

The Names and Uses of Tools relating to Tyling.

1. A Lathing Hammer, to nail on the Laths withal, with two Gauge Stroaks (for Lathing for Tyling) cut upon the handle of it, one at 7 Inches from the head, and the other at 7 Inches and an half; some indeed Lath at 8 Inches, but that is too wide, occasioning Rainings in.

2. A Lathing Staff of Iron, in the form of a Cross, to stay the cross Laths while they are nailed to the long Laths, and also to clinch the Nails.

3. A Tyling Trowel, to take up the Morter and lay it on the Tiles, it being longer and narrower than a Brick-Trowel, altho' for a shift many times they use a Brick-Trowel to Tyle withal, when they have not a Tyling-Trowel.

4. A Bosse, made of Wood, with an Iron Hook, to hang on the Laths, or on a Ladder, in which the Labourer puts the Morter which the Tyler uses.

5. A Striker, which is only a piece of Lath about 10 Inches long, with which they strike, or cut off the Morter at the britches of the Tiles.

6. A Broome, to sweep the Tyling after 'tis strooke.

Of the Names and Uses of Tools relating to Plastering.

1. A Lathing Hammer, being the same as before in Tyling, with which the Laths are nailed on with its head, and with its Edge they cut them to any length, and likewise cut off any part of a Quarter, or Joyst, that sticks further out than the rest.

2. A Laying Trowel, to lay the Lime and Hair withall upon the Laths, it being larger than a Brick Trowel, and fastned to its handle in a different manner from the Brick Trowel.

3. A Hawke, made of Wood about the bigness of a square Trencher, with a handle to hold it by, whereon the Lime and Hair being put, they take from it more or less as they please.

4. A Setting Trowel, being less than the Laying Trowel, with which they finish the Plastering when it is almost dry, either by Trowelling and brishing it over with fair Water, or else by laying a thin Coat of fine Stuff made of clean Lime, and mixt with Hair without any Sand, and setting it, that is to say, Trowelling and brishing it.

5. A small Pointing Trowel, to go into sharp Angles.

6. Brishes, of three sorts, viz. A St • ck Brish, a Round Brish, and a Pencil. With these Brishes, they wet old Walls before they mend them, and also brish over their new Plastering when they set, or finish it, and moreover white and size their Plastering with them. The Pencil, or Drawing Tool, is used in blacking the bottoms, or lower parts of Rooms, &c.

7. Floats, made of Wood, with handles to them, which they sometimes use to float Seelings or Walls with, when they are minded to make their Plastering very streight and even, these Floats being some larger, and some lesser, than the Laying Trowels: Likewise they use Floats made to fit to Mouldings, for the finishing of several sorts of Mouldings with finishing Morter to represent Stone, such as Cornices, Facias, Archytraves, &c.

The finishing Morter to represent Stone, should be made of the strongest Lime, and the sharpest Sand you can get, which Sand must be washed in a large Tub, very well, till no Scum or Filth arise in the Water, when you stir it about, which sometimes will require to have clean Water 5 or 6 times, when the Sand is somewhat foul; and it requires a greater Proportion of Sand than the ordinary Morter, because it must be extreamly beaten, which will break all the Knots of Lime, and by that means it will require more Sand.

8. Streight Rules, of several lengths, to lay Quines streight by, and also to try whether the Plastering be laid true and streight, by applying the Rules to their Work.

9. A Pale, to hold Water or Whitewash, or White and Size.

10. Some use a Budget or Pocket to hang by their sides, to put their Nailes in when they Lath, and others Tuck and tye up their Aprons, and put the Nailes therein.

Having given you a Description of the several Tools and uses, there are some things yet remaining, which though they cannot be properly called Tools, yet they are Utensils, without which they cannot well perform their Work.

And they are.

1. LAdders, of several lengths, as Standard-Ladders, two Story, and one Story Ladders, &c.

2. Fir Poles, of several lengths for Standards and Ledgers for Scaffolding.

3. Putlogs, which are pieces of Timber, or short Poles, about 7 Foot long, which lies from the Ledgers into their Brickwork, to bear the Boards they stand on to Work, and to lay Bricks and Morter upon.

4. Fir Boards, about 10 Foot long, and any Breadth, but commonly about a Foot broad, because for the most part, four of them in breadth, makes the breadth of the Scaffold: Which Boards ought to be one Inch and 1/2 or two Inches in thickness, altho' commonly they make use of some, which are not above one Inch thick, which are sometimes subject to break, especially when the Putlogs lye far asunder from one another.

5. Chords, which should be well Pitched to preserve them from the weather, and from ro •• ing, with which they fasten the Ledgers to the Standards, or upright Poles.

6. Sieves, of several sorts, some larger, others lesser, some finer, others courser, to sift the Lime and Sand withall, before they wet it into Morter or Lime and Hair.

7. A Loame-hook, Beater, Shovel, Pick-Ax, Basket and Hod, which commonly belong to Bricklaiers Labourers, and may be called the Labourers Tools.

8. A Skreen made of Boards and Wyer, which performs the Office of a Sieve, and with which one Man will Skreen as much Lime, mixt with Sand or Rubish, as two Men can with a Sieve.

9. Boards or Tubs, to put the Morter in.

And except my memory fails me, these are all, or the most usual Tools and Utensils, which they make use of.

Having now given you an account of their several Materials, together with their necessary Tools and Utensils; we shall proceed in the next place to Treat of their Method of working, which is Various, some working after a better Method, and more concisely than others.

And First of Foundations.

'TIS usual, and also very convenient, for any person before he begins to Erect a Building, to have Designs or Draughts drawn upon Paper or Vellum, and also if it be a large Building, to have a Model of it made in Wainscot; in which Designs and Model, the Ground Plat or Ichnography of each Floor or Story, is Delineated and represented: As also the fashion and form of each Front, together with the Windows, Doors, and Ornaments, if they intend any, to wit, Facias, Rustick Quines, Architraves, Friezes and Cornices, are to be shewn in the Draughts or Designs of the Uprights or Orthographyes.

If more Fronts than one be shewn Perspectively in one Draught, then 'tis called Scenography, which is not easily understood, except by those who understand the Rules of Perspective.

Therefore it will be more Intelligible to the several Workmen, to have a Draught of each Front in a Paper by it self, and also to have a Draught of the Ground-Plat or Ichnography of every story, in a Paper by it self; because many times the Conveniences, or Contrivances in one Story, differs from those in another, either in bigness of Chimneys, or division of the Rooms, some being larger in one Story than another, and sometimes having more Chimnies in one Story than in another, &c.

All which things being well considered, and drawn on Papers, or a Model made thereof, before the Building is begun, there will be no need of Alterations, or Tearing and pulling the Building to pieces after it is begun; for besides the hindrance of the Procedure of the Work, it makes the Building lame and Deficient, nothing being so well done, when 'tis put up, and pulled down, and set up again, as if it were well done at first.

Besides it makes the Workmen uneasy, to see their Work, in which they have taken a great deal of pains, and used a great deal of Art, to be pull'd to pieces.

The drawing of Draughts is most commonly the work of a Surveyor, although there be many Master Workmen that will contrive a Building, and draw the Designs thereof, as well, and as curiously, as most Surveyors: Yea, some of them will do it better than some Surveyors; especially those Workmen who understand the Theorick part of Building, as well as the Practick.

MECHANICK EXERCISES: OR, The Doctrine of Handy-Works.

And now Concerning the Foundations.

AFter the Cellars are dug, if there are to be any, or, if none, after the Trenches are dug, in which the Walls are to stand; the Master-Bricklayer, or else his Foreman (which ought to be an ingenious Workman) must in the first place try all the Foundations, in several places, with an Iron Croe, and Rammer, or, indeed, with a Borer (such as Well-diggers use, to try what Ground they have to produce Water) to see whether the Foundations are all sound, and fit to bear the Weight which is to be set upon them. If he find any part of the Foundations defective, he ought to dig it deeper till he comes to firm ground; or if it proves to be loose, or made Ground to a great depth, then he must take care to make it good and sufficient to carry its Weight by Art, which may be done several ways.

First, If the Foundation be not very loose, and insufficient, it may be made good, by ramming in great Stones with a heavy Rammer, the Stones being placed close together, and about a foot wider on each side of the Trench than the width of the Wall is to be; because all Walls ought to have a Basis, or footing, at least 4 Inches on a side broader than the thickness of the Wall; which Stones being well rammed, and the Basis being 8 Inches more in breadth than the thickness of the Wall, and this 8 Inches being set off, about one Inch, or one Inch and an half at a time on both sides (that so the middle of the Wall may stand on the middle of the Basis) may make the Foundation good, and able to bear its Burden.

But if the Foundation be somewhat worse than as aforesaid, then he must get good pieces of Oak, whose length must be the breadth of the Trench, or about two foot longer than the breadth of the Wall, which must be laid cross the Foundation about two foot asunder, and being well rammed down, lay long Planks upon them, which planking need not be the length of the cross pieces, but only 4 Inches of a side wider than the Basis, or footing of the Wall is to be, and pin'd or spiked down to the pieces of Oak on which they lye.

But if the Foundations be so bad that this will not do, then he must provide good Piles made of Heart of Oak, of such a length as will reach good ground, whose Diameter must be about 1/12 part of their length, which must be drove or forced down with a Commander, or an Engin for that purpose, and then lay long Planks upon them, and spike or pinn the Planks to them, and the closer together that these Piles are drove the better it will be.

Moreover, if the Foundation be faulty but in here and there a place, and there be good Ground in the other parts of it, you may turn Arches over those insufficient places, which will discharge and take off the weight from the loose places.

And when you make these Arches to shun the difficulty of the Earth, and to save the charge of Expence, they must be made of Bricks and Morter that are very good, and be well wrought, that they do neither settle, nor give way.

You may observe for the greater strength of these Arches, or Discharges, to make them higher than a Semicircle, or half round, if the Work will admit of it, and to make the same, of Portions of Arches: As in Plate 3. Fig. 4. you may see, they are described from an Equilateral Triangle; that is to say, supposing the breadth of the Arch between the Piers to be A B; with this width, and from the points A and B, make the two Portions of the Arches A C and B C; this rising so high, adds great strength to the Arches to resist, or carry the Weight which they are to bear.

The ancient Architect Leon Baptista Albert advises, when the Earth on which we would make Pillars or Piers is of equal resistance, that is to say, not good, to turn Arches inversed, or upside down, and says, by this means one Pillar shall bear no more weight than another, when the Earth that is underneath is not so strong, or that it bears more than another part; which he doth thus.

Having wrought up the Pillars, or Piers, as high as is necessary from the Foundation, make from these Piers inverse Arches, as A B C in Plate 3. Fig. 5. whose Joints tend to the Center D.

By this construction he pretends for Example, that if the Pier F hath a worse Foundation, or hath a greater Weight, that is to say, is more charged than the other Piers, this charge, or weight, will be stopped, or stayed by the Inverse Arches A B C, I H K, because the Earth which is under these Arches keeps the Piers in the same height, that is to say, that they shall not sink.

But he must also suppose that this Earth is as firm as that of the Foundation of the Piers, or at least it must be made so.

The Ingenious Surveyor Mr. Hooke, now living at the Writing hereof, made use of this Artifice, as I am informed, in building the Lord Montague's brave house in Bloomsberry, in the County of Middlesex, and where he was then Surveyor.

The Foundations being all made firm, and levelled, the Master-Bricklayer, or his Foreman, must take care to see all the Foundations set truly out, according to the design of the Ground-Plat, or Cellar-floor, and that all his Walls be made of the same thickness as they are in the Design; which is very difficult to do, to wit, to take the true thickness of the Walls from a Design that is drawn to a small Scale, because the breadth of the Points of the Compasses will vary somewhat; therefore 'tis advisable for him that draws the Draught, to set the Dimensions in Figures to each Wall, Chimney, Window, &c. and then the Workman cannot so easily make a Mistake.

And because the well-working and bonding of Brick-Walls conduces very much to their strength, I will here add some necessary Rules to be observed in the laying of Bricks, to make the Walls strong and durable.

1. That the Morter be made of well burnt good Lime, and sharp Sand, and that it have a due proportion of Sand, that is to say, if it be very sharp, a Load of Land, being about 36 Bushels, is sufficient for an Hundred of Lime, being 25 Bushels, or an hundred Pecks, (for I imagine that the word Hundred of Lime is used, because it contains an hundred Pecks, and that in old Time they used to sell it by the Peck, but now by the Bushel,) to wit, to one Bushel of Quick Lime, a Bushel and half of Sand.

But if the Sand be not very sharp▪ then you may put a greater quantity of Sand, for Morter which hath its due proportion of Sand, is stronger than that which hath less Sand in it, altho' some think otherwise.

2dly, When you slack the Lime, take care to wet it every where a little, but do not over-wet it, and cover with Sand every laying, or bed of Lime, being about a Bushel at a time as you slack it up, that so the Steam, or Spirit of the Lime, may be kept in, and not flee away, but mix it self with the Sand, which will make the Morter much stronger, than if you slack all your Lime first, and throw on your Sand altogether at last, as some use to do.

3dly, That you beat all your Morter with a Beater three or four times over before you use it, for there by you break all the Knots of Lime that go through the Sieve, and incorporate the Sand and Lime well together, and the Air which the Beater forces into the Morter at every stroak, conduces very much to the strength thereof.

If I might advise any one that is minded to build well, or use strong Morter for Repairs, I would have them beat the Morter well, and let it lie 2 or 3 Days, and then beat it well again when 'tis to be used.

4thly, If you lay bricks in hot dry Wheather, and it be some small piece of Work that you would have very strong, dip every Brick you lay, all over in a Pale of Water, which will make the Wall much stronger than if the Bricks were laid dry: The reason why I mention a small piece of Work is, because 'tis a great deal of trouble to wet them for much Work, or a whole Building, and besides it makes the Workmen's Fingers sore; to prevent which, they may throw Pales of Water on the Wall after the Bricks are lay'd, as was done at the Building of Physicians College in Warwick Lane, by Order of the Surveyor, which was the aforesaid Ingenious Mr. Hooke. If I mistake not.

5thly, Cover all your Walls in the Summer-time to keep them from drying too hastily, for the Morter doth not Cement so strongly to the Bricks when it dries hastily, as when slowly.

6thly, Be sure to cover them very well in the Winter-time, to preserve them from Rain, Snow and Frost, which last is a great Enemy to all kinds of Morter, especially to that which hath taken wet just before the Frost.

7thly, In working up the Walls of a Building, do not work any Wall above 3 foot high before you work up the next adjoining Wall, that so you may join them together, and make good Bond in the work: For 'tis an ill Custom among some Bricklayers, to carry, or work up a whole Story of the Party-walls, before they work up the Fronts, or other Work adjoining, that should be bonded or work'd up together with them, which occasions Cracks and Settlings in the Walls.

8thly, Take care that you do not lay Joint on Joint, in the middle of the Walls as seldom as may be, but make bond there as well as on the outsides; for I have seen some, who in Working of a Brick and half Wall, have laid the Header on one side of the Wall, upright upon the Header on the other side of the Wall, and so all along through the whole course, which indeed necessarily follows from the inconsiderate setting up of the Quine at a Toothing; for 'tis common to Tooth in the stretching course 2 Inches with the Stretcher only, and the Header on the other side, to be set upright upon the Header on this side, which causes the Headers to lye Joint in Joint in the middle of the Wall, as in Plate 3. Fig. 1. you may see.

Whereas if the Header of one side of the Wall, toothed as much as the Stretcher on the other side, it would be a stronger Toothing, and the Joints of the Headers of one side, would be in the middle of the Headers of the course they lye upon of the other side, as in Plate 3. Fig. 2.

All that can be said for this ill Custom of working, is this, that the Header will not well hang 2 Inches over the Bricks underneath it; I grant it will not, but then it may be made, by having a piece of Fir, or any other Wood of the thickness of a Course of Bricks, and two Inches broad, and lay it on the last Toothing Course to bear it; or a Bat, put upon the last toothing, will bear it till the next Quine is set upon it, and then the Bat may be taken away:

9thly, The same Inconveniency happens at an upright Quine in a Brick and half Wall, where 'tis usual to lay a Closier next the Header on both sides of the Wall, and in so doing 'tis Joint in Joint all the length of the Wall, except by chance a three quartern Bat happen to be laid.

To prevent which Inconveniency, and to make the Wall much stronger, lay a Closure on one side, and none on the other side; but lay a three quarter Bat at the Quine in the stretching course, and in the Heading course adjoin an Header next to the Header at the Quine, as you may see it done in Plate 3, Fig. 1 and 2.

Where A and B in both Figures or Diagrams, represents a Brick and half Wall, having an upright Quine at A, and a Toothing at B, and the Prick Lines represents the Course of Bricks lay'd upon the other course: So in Fig. 1. the black Lines next you are an heading course, and the Prick-Lines next you, shew a Stretching course: And on the further side from you, the black Lines shew a stretching course, and the Prick-Lines an Heading course.

In which Fig. 1. is shewn the usual way of bad Working, but in Fig. 2. is shewn the true way it should be wrought, to be made firm and strong.

Also in Working a two Brick Wall, I would advise in the Stretching courses, wherein you lay stretching on both sides the Wall next the Line, so also to lay stretching in the middle of the Wall, and Closiers next to each stretching Course that lies next the Line, as in Fig. 3. of Plate 3. you may see.

Where the Diagram or Fig. A B, signifies a two Brick Wall; A being an upright Quine, and B the Toothing, in which, the Black lines represent the stretching course, and the Prickt Lines the Heading course, that lies upon the stretching course: In a two Brick Wall if you lay a closier next the upright Quine on both sides of the Wall, it makes good Bond.

10thly, In Summer time use your Morter as soft as you can, but in the Winter time pretty stiff or hard.

11thly, If you Build in the City of London, you must make all your Walls of such thicknesses as the Act of Parliament for rebuilding of the said City enjoyns, but in other places you may use your Discretion.

And because the Act of Parliament may not be in every Builders hands, I will therefore Incert so much of it as relates to Bricklayers Work, to wit, the Heights and number of Stories, and the Thickness of Walls of the Four several sorts of Buildings, which is as follows.

And be it further Enacted, That the said Houses of the First and least sort of Building Fronting by Streets or Lanes, as aforesaid, shall be of two Stories high, besides Cellars and Garrats; That the Cellars thereof 6 Foot and an half high, if the Springs of Water hinder not; and the First Story be 9 Foot high from the Floor to the Seeling; and the second Story 9 Foot high from the Floor to the Seeling; that all Walls in Front and Reer as high as the first Story, be of the full thickness of the length of 2 Bricks, and thence upwards to the Garrats of the thickness of one Brick and an half; and that the thickness of the Garrat Walls on the back part, be left to the Discretion of the Builder, so that the same be not less than the length of one Brick; and also that the thickness of the party Walls between these Houses of the First and lesser sort of Building, be one Brick and 1/2 as high as the said Garrats, and that the thickness of the Party Wall in the Garrat, be of the Thickness of the length of one Brick, at the least.

And be it further enacted, that the Houses of the second sort of Building fronting Streets and Lanes of Note, and the River of Thames, shall consist of Three Stories high, besides Cellars and Garrats as aforesaid; that the Cellars thereof be 6 Foot and 1/2 high, (if the Springs hinder not) that the first Story contain full 10 Foot in height from the Floor to the Seeling: The second full 10 Foot: The Third 9 Foot: That all the said Walls in Front and Reer, as high as the first Story, be 2 Bricks and 1/2 thick, and from thence upwards to the Garrat Floor, of 1 Brick and 1/2 thick; and the thickness of the Garrat Walls on the back part be left to the discretion of the Builder, so that the same be not less than one Brick thick: And also that the thickness of the Party-walls between every House of this second, and larger sort of Building, be two Bricks thick as high as the first Story, and thence upwards to the Garrats, of the thickness of 1 Brick and 1/2.

Also, that the Houses of the Third sort of Buildings, fronting the high and principal Streets, shall consist of 4 Stories high, besides Cellars and Garrats as aforesaid: That the first Story contain full 10 foot in height from the Floor to the Seeling; The Second 10 foot and 1/2; The Third 9 foot; The Fourth 8 foot and 1/2: That all the said Walls in Front and Reer, as high as the first Story, be of 2 Bricks and 1/2 in thickness, and from thence upwards to the Garrat Floor, of the thickness of 1 Brick and 1/2: That the thickness of the Garrat Walls on the back part be left to the discretion of the Builder, so as the same be not less than one Brick: And also that the Party-walls between every House, of this Third and larger sort of Building, be 2 Bricks thick as high as the first Floor, and thence upwards to Garrat Floor, the 1 1/2 Brick in thickness.

And, Be it further Enacted, That all Houses of the fourth sort of Building, being Mansion Houses, and of the greatest bigness, not fronting upon any of the Streets or Lanes as aforesaid; the Number of Stories, and the Height thereof, shall be left to the discretion of the Builder, so as he exceeds not 4 Stories.

Also, the same Act enjoins, that no Timber be laid within 12 Inches of the foreside of the Chimny Jambs; And that all Joysts on the back of any Chimny be laid with a Trimmer, at 6 Inches distant from the back: Also, That no Timber be laid within the Tunnel of any Chimny, upon Penalty to the Workman for every Default Ten Shillings, and Ten Shillings every week it continues unreform'd.

12dly, When you lay any Timber on Brick-work, as Torsels for Mantle-Trees to lye on, or Lintols over Windows, or Templets under Girders, or any other Timbers, lay them in Loam, which is a great preserver of Timber, for Morter eats and corrodes the Timber: Likewise the Joyst ends, and Girders which lye in the Walls, must be Loamed all over, to preserve them from the corroding of the Morter. Some Workmen pitch the ends of the Timber that lye in the Walls to preserve them from the Morter.

In the next place you shall have the Ground Plat of a Building, and its Explanation.

IN Plate 4, you have the Draught of a Ground Plat of a Building, which is 25 Feet, both in the Front and Reer Front; and 40 Feet in the Flank or Depth: The Front and Reer Front Walls, are 2 Bricks and / 2 in thickness; The Flank Walls are 2 Bricks in thickness, as you may prove by the Scale of Feet and Inches annext to the Design.

You may Imagine this Design to be the Ground Floor, having no Cellar beneath it: And the height of the Story between the Floor and the Seeling to be 10 Foot; and because we do suppose this Building to have Houses adjoining it on each side, therefore we have drawn the Stair-case with an open Nuel to give light to the Stairs; but if the House had stood by it self, without other Houses adjoyning, then we might have had light to the Stairs from the Flank Wall.

Explanation of the Design. F. The Front. R. Reer Front. B. Flank Walls. A. Piers of Brick. W. Windows of Timber. D. Door-cases of Timber. O. Chimneys. C. Jambs of Chimneys. H. Open Nuel to give light to the Stairs. K. Clossets. L. A Brick and half Wall between the Clossets. a. Funnels or Tunnels of Chimneys. 1. 2. 3. 4, &c. Steps of Stairs called Fliers. 8. 9. 10, &c. Steps of Stairs called Winders. e. Timber Partitions.

The Scale contains 32 Feet, with a Diagonal Line to shew the Inches in a Foot: For Example, if you would take of 8 Inches, take the Interval from 8 in the Horizontal Line to the Diagonal Line, and that is 8 Inches: From 3 in the Horizontal Line to the Diagonal Line, is 3 Inches, and so of the rest.

In the next Plate you have the Orthography, or upright of this ground Plat, and this the Explanation thereof, with a Scale of Feet and Inches annext thereto.

Explanation of Plate 5. A. The water-Table. B. First Fascia. C. Second Fascia. D. Three plain Courses of Bricks over the Arches: E. Cornice. F. Chimnies. G. Gable-end. H. Streight Arches. W. Shas Frames. S. Shas lights. K. Door-case. L. Window-Lights over the Door.

The Scale of Feet and Inches being the same, as in the Ground Plat of Plate 4. I need not say any thing concerning it, because I have there shewn the use of it.

And although I have in this Design, drawn the Fascias plain without any mouldings, yet sometimes they are made with Mouldings, which shew very neat and handsome, I have therefore in Plate 6. given you a Design of a Brick Fascia, wrought with Mouldings, in which Design.

S. Is Scima reversa. O. Joints of Mortor. P. Plain Courses. A. Astragal. B. Ovolo, or Boltel, reversed.

In the same Plate, you have the design of a Brick Cornice, and the Names of the Mouldings, are.

A. Scima recta, or Ogee. O. Joint of Morter. B. Scima reversa, or Scimatium. C. Corona, or Plancheer. D. Ovolo, or Boltel. E. Cavetto, or Casement.

In which Cornice, the Corona, or Plancheer, ought (according to the Rules of Architecture) to Sail over, or project more; but the length of a Brick being but about 8 inches when its head is rubbed for hewing, it will not hang, if it Sail over, more than is shewn in the Draught, which is about 3 Inches and an half. But if you would make it to project more, then you must Cement pieces to the ends of your bricks for tailing, or to make them longer: Of which Cement there is two sorts, one is called Gold Cement, and the other is hot, the making, and use whereof, we will shew towards the latter end.

To describe Mouldings on Wainscot, or Pastboard, for Patterns, to cut Bricks by.

There are two ways to describe the Hollows, and rounds of Moulding in Fascias, or Cornices; one from the oxi, or oxigonium, the other from the half round, or Semicircle; that makes the Moulding flatter, this more circular; I will shew both ways, and then you may make use of which you please.

First, we will describe a Cavetto, or Casement, both ways.

In Plate 7. the Fig. 1. is described from the oxi, in this manner; Having allowed the projecture of the Moulding at the bottom, and the Fillet at top, draw the Line a b, then with the Compasses taking the interval a b, place one point of the Compasses in a, and with the other describe the arch d, d; Then with one Foot in b, with the other describe the arch c c, and where these two arches Intersect each other, there is the Center to describe the Cavetto; Then fixing one Foot in the Center, extend the other to a or b, and describe the arch a g b.

You may describe it from a Semicircle thus: In Fig. 2. having allowed the projecture at bottom, and the Fillet at top, as before, draw the Line a b, bisect, or middle it, as at c, then upon c as a center, with the Interval c a, or c b, describe the Semicircle a d b, and bisect it in d, which is the Center to describe the Cavetto, or Casement by; then fixing one point of the Compasses in d, extend the other to a or b, and describe the Arch a g b.

To describe the Scima Recta, or Ogee, both ways.

Fig. 3. is described by the Oxi in this manner; having allowed the Fillet at top a, f, draw the Line a b, and bisect it, that is, part it in the middle in e; then with your Compasses take the Interval e b, and fixing one point in e, with the other describe the Arch c c, then with the same Interval, or distance, fixing one point in b, with the other, describe the Arch d d, and where these two Arches Intersect, or cut each other, there is the Center to describe the round, or lower part of the Ogee, to wit, e h b: Then fixing one point of the Compasses on the Intersection by d, extend the other to b, or e, and describe the arch e h b: Then to describe the Hollow, or upper part of the Ogee, take with your Compasses the Distance, or Interval e a, and fixing one point in e, with the other describe the arch c c, then keeping the Compasses, at the same distance, fix one foot in a, and with the other describe the arch d d, intersecting the other Arch in g: Then fixing one Foot in g, extend the other to e, or a, and describe the arch e h a, which compleats the Scima recta, or Ogee.

To describe the same Ogee by a Semicircle. Fig. 4.

1. After you have allowed the Fillet a f, draw the Line a b.

2. Bisect the Line in s.

3. Bisect s b and s a as at c c,.

4. On the Center c. with the Interval c a, describe the Semicircle s d a.

5. Middle it, as at d.

6. Fixing one point in d. extend the other to a or s, and describe the Arch a h s.

7. On the Center c, with the distance c b, describe the Semicircle b d s.

8. Middle it, as at d.

9. Fix one Foot in d, and extend the other to b or s.

10. Describe the arch b h s, which compleats the Scima recta, or Ogee; and after either of these ways, which you like best, you may describe any other Moulding.

And because many times Bricklayers make Archytrave Jambs and Arches, about Windows and Door-cases in a Front, I will therefore delineat an Archytrave to be cut in the length of a Brick; which is most usual, although you may make your Archytrave larger, and cut it in the length of one Brick and an half.

In Plate 7. Fig. 5. you have Delineated the ground Plat of an Archytrave Jamb, to be cut in the length of a Brick, which suppose to be F G, and also Imagine F E G to be a Stretcher, or a Stretching Archytrave: Also you may understand the design to be divided in the middle by the two Prick Lines on each side E, which represents a Joints of Morter, and Imagining it to be thus divided; then E F is called a Header; or a heading Archytrave, and E G is called a Jak.

Here follows the Names of the several parts of the Archytrave. A. Fillet. B. Scima. C. Upper Fascia. D. Lower Fasoia.

I did Intend here to have added something about the Arching of Vaults, but intending, God willing, to Treat largely of the Description of all manner of Arches, and making of Moulds, or Patterns, to cut them by, when I come to exercise in Masonry, which will succeed this: I shall therefore omit speaking of Vaults in this Exercise.

I shall now in the next place shew how to describe any Ellipsis Arch in Brick; and make the Moulds, as also to describe streight Arches, and make the Moulds for the same.

To describe an Oval to any Length and Breadth given.

An Ellipsis Arch is an half Oval: Therefore in Plate 8. Fig. 1. let the length given be A B, and the Breath C D.

Apply the two given Lines together, so that they may cut each other into two equal parts, and at right angles in the point E, then take half the line A B, between your Compasses, and setting one point of the Compasses in C, extend the other till it touch the line A B, in K and L, which two points are called the Focusses, or burning points, in which points drive two Nails, if you describe it on Boards, but upon Paper, as here, two Pins will do; the Pins being stuck fast in the points K and L, stick also another Pin in the Point C, then take a Thread, and Encompass these 3 Pins in form of a Triangle, pulling the Thread Tight, tye the two ends of the Thread together, by a knot at C, then taking out the Pin at C, take a Pencil of Black-Lead, holding it close to the inside of the Thread, and carrying the Pencil round upon the Paper, about the Pins, with the Thread always streight, the Ellipsis or Oval A C B D, will be thereby described.

Another way to describe the same. Here I shall only describe a Semi-Oval, being an Ellipsis-Arch.

In Fig. 2. let the length given be A B, and the Semidiameter or height of the Arch C D; Divide A B into 7 equal parts, then upon one Seventh part from A▪ as at E, raise a Perpendicular from the Line A B, (viz. E G) also at one Seventh part from B, as at F, raise another Perpendicular F H; then divide the Semidiameter given C D, into 15 equal Parts, and take Eleven of those Parts, and set upon the Perpendicular from E to G, and likewise from F to H; then taking the space between A and G, setting one point of the Compasses in A, describe the Arch G i, keeping the Compasses at the same distance, set one point in G, and describe another Arch, which will cut the former in the point by i; from which point, with the Radius A i, describe the Hanse A G; this being done, take between your Compasses the space B H, and setting one point in B, describe the arch I i, then remove your Compasses to H, and Intersect that Arch in the point by i, then setting your Compasses on the point i, with the same distance, describe a part of the Ellipsis B H, which is called the Hanse: The other part to be described from G to H, is called the Scheam, which to describe, continue or draw longer the Semidiameter D C, and in that line find a Center, whereon setting one point of the Compasses, the other point may touch the three points G D H, as on the Center I; whereby describe the Scheam G D H, which was to be done.

These Ellipsis, or Semi-Oval Arches, being neatly wrought in Brick, shew very pleasant, and are sometimes made over Gate-ways, and also over Kitchin-Chimnies, instead of Mantle-trees.

We will suppose an Ellipsis Arch to be made over a Chimny, whose Diameter between the Jambs is 8 feet, and the under side of the Arch at the Key to rise in height 18 Inches from the level of the place, whence you begin to spring the Arch; the height or depth of the Arch we will suppose to be made of the length of two Bricks, which when they are cut to the sweep of the Arch, will not contain above 14 Inches, and perhaps you must Cement pieces to many of the Courses in the Hanse to make them long enough to contain, or hold 14 Inches, especially if you intend to make the Courses of the Hanse, and the Courses of the Scheam to seem alike in greatness, on the under side of the Arch: For if you make the Hanse to come to a true Sommering for the Scheam, by that time that you have ended the Hanse, and are ready to set the first Courses of the Sheam: The Mould, and so likewise each Course in the Hanse, will be much less at the lower part, or under side of the Arch, than the Mould, or Courses of the Scheam, as you may perceive by the Hanse B K, in the 3d. Fig. which way of working these kind of Arches is stronger, than to make the Courses seem alike in bigness in Hanse and Scheam, altho' it be not so pleasing to the eye. In the 3. Fig. I will shew how to make one half of the Arch this way, and in the other half shew how to make the Courses in Hanse and Scheam of a bigness.

First, Describe the under side of the Arch, (viz. the Ellipsis A D B, whose Diameter A B is 8 feet, and the height C D 18 Inches) upon some smooth Floor, or streight plaistered Wall, or such like; then continue (viz draw longer) both the lines A B, C D, cutting each other at right Angles, then from A to E, also from B to F, likewise from D to G, set 14 Inches, the intended height of your Arch. Then describe another Ellipsis to that length and height, after this manner; lay a streight Ruler on the centre by I, and on the joining of the Hanse, and the Scheam together, as at K, and draw the line K L, then set one Point of your Compasses in the centre of the Hanse at M, and open the other Point of the Compasses to F, and describe the upper Hanse F L, likewise setting one Point of the Compasses in the centre by I, with the other extended to G, describe the Scheam G L, (although I speak here of Compasses, yet when you describe an Arch to its full bigness, you must make use of centre Lines or Rules; the last are best, because Lines are subject to stretch) then taking between your Compasses the thickness of a Brick, abating some small matter which will be rub'd off from both beds of the Brick; with the Compasses at this distance divide the upper Hanse from L to F into equal parts, and if they happen not to divide it into equal parts, then open them a small matter wider, or Shut them a small matter closer, till it doth divide it into equal parts, and look how many equal parts you divide the upper Hanse into, so many equal parts you must divide the lower Hanse from K to B into likewise (or you may divide the upper Hanse from the centre O, making a right Angle from each sommering Line to the Ellipsis, as is shewn in describing the streight Arches following; and from the centre O, and the Divisions in the upper Hanse being thus divided, you may draw the streight Lines to the lower Hanse, and not divide it with the Compasses) through each of which divisions with a Rule, and Pencil, draw streight lines, then get a piece of thin Wainscot, and make it to fit between two of these Lines, allowing what thickness for Morter you intend, this will be the Sommering Mould for the Hanse; then divide the upper Scheam likewise, with the Compasses at the same distance into equal parts, and laying a Ruler on the centre I, from each Division in the Scheam G L, draw streight Lines to the lower Scheam D K, then make another Sommering Mould to fit between two of these Lines, abating so much as you intend the thickness of your Joints of Morter to be, which if you set very close Morters, the breadth of the Line will be enough to allow; then laying the Inner edge of a Bevil streigth on the line K L, bring the Tongue to touch the under side of the first Course of the Scheam, then take up the Bevil, and set that Bevil line upon the Sommering Mould of the Scheam; which Bevil line serves for each Course in the Scheam; but you must take the Bevil of each Course in the Hanse, and set them upon your Sommering Mould by themselves, and Number them with 1, 2, 3, 4, &c. because each Course varies.

Thus having made your Sommering Moulds, in the next place you must make the Moulds for the length of your Stretchers, and for the breadth of the Headers and the Closiers; a piece of Wainscot 7 Inches long, and 3 Inches and an half broad will serve for the length of the Stretchers, and the breadth of the Headers, the Closiers will be 1 Inch and 3/4 broad. So the Closier will be half the breadth of the Header, and the Header half the length of the Stretcher, which will look well.

It remains now to speak something to the other part of the Arch, to wit, A D, whose Courses both in Hanse and Scheam, run alike upon the Ellipsis Lines, and seem of one bigness, although perhaps there may be some small matter of difference, by reason I have not divided the Courses to this Figure, from a right Angle, but every Course from the Angle, which it makes with the Ellipsis, which I chose rather to do, that so the Bevil of one Course, might not seem to run more upon the Ellipsis than the Bevil of another, and the difference of the thicknesses being so inconsiderate, is not discerned.

Having described both the Ellipsis lines A D, E G, divide each of them into a like number of equal parts, always remembring to make each Division on the upper Ellipsis line, no greater than the thickness of the Brick will contain, when it is wrought; then through each Division in both the Ellipses draw streight lines; continuing them 4 or 5 Inches above the upper Ellipsis Line, and as much below the Lower Ellipsis Line; then having provided some thin Sheets of fine Pastboard about 20 Inches square, cutting one edge streight, take one sheet and lay the streight edge even upon the line A E, so that it may cover both the Ellipsis lines, and being cut to advantage, it may cover 8 courses (or 9 of the streight Lines) having laid it thus upon the figure of the Arch, stick a Pin, or two, through it, to keep it in its place; then lay a Ruler upon the Past-board true to the 7, 8, or 9th. streight Line of the Arch, according as the Past-board is in bigness to cover them, and take a sharp Pen-knife, laying the Ruler upon the Past-board true to the streight line (whose ends being continued longer than the Arch is deep, as I directed before, will be seen beyond the Past-board) and cut the Past-board true to the Line, then take another sheet, and join to it, and cut it as you did the first, so continue till you have covered the Arch from AE, just to the line DG, sticking Pins in each Sheet to keep them in the places where you lay them: Then describe both the Ellipsis lines upon the Pastboard, from the same Centres and Radii that you described the Ellipsis's under the Past-board, and either divide the Ellipsis lines with the Compasses on the Past-board, or else draw lines upon the Past-board from or by the streight lines underneath them whose ends you see; but the surer way is to divide the Ellipsis's on the Past-board, and draw Lines through those Divisions, as you did beneath the Past-board; then set 7 Inches, being the length of each Stretcher, from A towards E, and from D towards G, and describe from the former Centres, the Ellipsis o o through each other course on the Past-board, as you may see in the Fig. also set three Inches and an half, being the breadth of the Header, from A towards E, and likewise from D towards G: Also set the same 3 Inches and an half from E towards A, and from G towards D, and describe these two Ellipsis lines from the same Centres through each Course, which the Ellipsis line of the Stretchers miss'd; likewise draw in the same Courses, two other Ellipsis lines, one Inch and 3/4 from each of those two Lines you drew last, which is the breadth of the Closiers; thus one Course of the Arch will be divided into two Stretchers, and the next to it into three Headers and two Closiers through the whole Arch; this being done, cut the Past-board according to the lines into several Courses, and each other Course into two Stretchers, and the Heading-courses into three Headers, and two Closiers, exactly according to the Sweep of the balcklead lines, and mark each Course with Figures, marking the first Course of the Hanse with 1, the next with 2, the third with 3, and so continue till you have marked all the Courses to the Key, or middle, for every Course differs; you were best to mark the lower Closier in each Course with a Cipher on the left hand of its own number, that you may know it readily from the upper Closier, and make no mistakes when you come to set them; also the middle Headers in each Course should be marked besides its own number; the thickness of the upper Header being easily discerned from the lower Header needs no marking besides its own number; the cross Joints, and likewise the under side and upper side of each Course must be cut circular, as the Past-boards which are your Moulds direct you.

If you will add a Keystone, and Chaptrels to the Arch, as in the Figure; let the breadth of the upper part of the Keystone be the height of the Arch, viz. 14 Inches, and Sommer, from the centre at I, then make your Chaptrels the same thickness that your lower part of the Keystone is, and let the Keystone break without the Arch, so much as you project or Sale over the Jaums with the Chaptrels.

Other kind of Circular Arches, as half Rounds and Scheams, being described from one Centre, are so plain and easy, that I need say nothing concerning them: But since Streight Arches are much used, and many Workmen know not the true way of describing them, I shall write something briefly concerning them. Streight Arches are used generally over Windows and Doors, and according to the breadth of the Piers between the Windows, so ought the Skew-back or Sommering of the Arch to be; for if the Piers be of a good breadth, as 3 or 4 Bricks in length, then the Streight Arch may be described (as its vulgarly said) from the Oxi, which being but part of a Word, is taken from the word Oxigonium, signifying an Equilateral Triangle, with three sharp Angles; but if the Piers are small, as sometimes they are but the length of two Bricks, and sometimes but one Brick and an half, then the breadth of the Window, or more, may be set down upon the middle Line for the Centre, which will give a less Skew-back, or Sommering, than the Centre from an Oxi. I will shew how to describe them both ways, and first from the Oxi.

Suppose a Streight Arch, one Brick and an half in height, to be made over a Window, 4 feet in width. [See Fig. 4.] wherein one half of the Arch is described from the Oxi, and the other half from the width of the Window, let the width of the Window be A B, taking the width between the Compasses, from A and B as two Centres, describe the two Arches, intersecting each other at P, (though I speak here of Compasses, yet when you describe the Arch to its full bigness, you must use a Ruler, or a Line, scarce any Compasses being to be got large enough.) Then draw another Line above the line A B, as the line CD, being parallel to it, at such a height as you intend your Arch to be, as in this Fig. at 12 Inches; but most commonly these sort of Arches are but 11 Inches in the height, or thereabouts, which answers to 4 Courses of Bricks, but you may make them more or less in height according as occasion requires; then laying a Ruler on the Centre P, and on the end of the line A, draw the line A C, which is vulgarly called the Skew-back for the Arch.

The next thing to be done, is to divide those two lines A B and C D into so many Courses as the Arch will contain; the thickness of a Brick being one of them, which some do by dividing the upper line into so many equal parts, and from those parts, and from the Centre P, draw the Sommering Lines or Courses; others divide both the upper and lower line into so many equal parts, and make no use of a Centre, but draw the Courses by a Ruler, being laid from the Divisions on the upper line, to the Divisions on the lower line, both which ways are false and erroneous; [but this by way of caution.]

Having drawn the Skew-back A C, take between your Compasses the thickness that a Brick will contain, which I suppose to be two Inches when it is rub'd, and setting one Point of the Compasses on the line C D, So that when you turn the other Point about, it may just touch the line A C in one place, and there make a Prick in the line C D, but do not draw the Sommering lines until you have gone over half the Arch, to see how you come to the Key, or middle; and if you happen to come just to the middle line, or want an Inch of it, then you may draw the lines, but if not, then you must open, or shut the Compasses a little till you do.

Then keeping one end of the Rule close to the Centre at P. (the surest way is to strike a small Nail in the Center P, and keep the Rule close to the Nail) lay the other end of the Rule close to the Prick that you made on the line C D, keeping the Compasses at the same width (viz. 2. Inches) set one Point of the Compasses on the line C D, as before, so that the other Point being turned about, may just pass by the Rule; and as it were touch it in one place, (you must remove the Point of the Compasses upon the line C D, farther or nearer to the Rule, until it just touch the Rule in one place,) and so continue with the Rule and Compasses, until you come to the middle line, and if it happen, that your last space want an Inch of the middle, then the middle of the Key-course will be the middle of the Arch, and the number of the Courses in the whose Arch will be odd, but if the last space happen to fall just upon the middle line E F, as it doth in the Fig. then the Joint is the middle of the Arch, (but if it should happen neither to come even to the line, nor want an Inch of it, then you must open or shut the Compasses a small matter, and begin again till it doth come right) and the number of the Courses in the whole Arch, is an even Number.

Note, When the number of all the Courses in the Arch, is an even Number, then you must begin the two sides contrary, viz. A Header to be the lower Brick of the first Course on one side (or half) of the Arch, and a Stretcher the lower Brick of the first Course on the oother side (or half) of the Arch: And contrariwise, if it happen that the Number of the Courses be an odd Number, as 25 or 27, or such like, then the first Courses of each half of the Arch, must be alike, that is, either both Headers, or both Stretchers, at the botom.

Thus having described the Arch, the next thing to be done, is to make the Sommering Mould, which to do, get a piece of thin Wainscot (being streight on one edge, and having one side Plained smooth, to set the Bevil strokes upon) about 14 Inches long, and any breadth above two Inches, then laying your Ruler, one end at the Centre P, and the other end even in the Skewback line, clap the streight edge of the Wainscot close to the Rule, so that the lower end of the Wainscot may lye a little below the line A B, then take away the Center Rule, but stir not the Wainscot; and laying a Ruler upon the Wainscot just over the line C D, strike a line upon the Wainscot, then set one Point of the Compasses being at the width of a Course, (viz. 2 Inches) upon that line, so that the other Point being turned about, may just touch the streight edge of the Wainscot; (as you did before in dividing the Courses) then make a Prick on the line on the Wainscot, and laying your Centre Rule upon it, and on the Centre P, draw a line upon the Wainscot by the Ruler, with a Pencil, or the Point of a Compass, and cut the Wainscot to that line, and make it streight by shooting it with a Plain, then your Wainscot will fit exactly between any two lines of the Arch; you may let it want the thickness of one of the lines, or some small matter more, which is enough for the thickness of a Mortar; the length of your Stretcher in this Arch, may be 8 Inches and 1/4, and the Header 3 Inches and 3/4, but if your Arch be but 11 Inches in height, then make your Stretcher 7 Inches and 1/2 long, and the Header 3 Inches 1/2; one piece of Wainscot will serve both for the length of the Stretcher, and the length of the Header, making it like a long square or Oblong, whose sides are 8 Inches 1/4, and 3 Inches and 3/4. Then take a Bevil, and laying the inner edge of it streight with the line A B, and the Angle of the Bevil just over the Angle at A, take off the Angle that the Skew-back line A C makes with the line A B, and set it upon the smoothed side of your Sommering Mould, for the Bevil stroke of your first Course; then drawing your Bevil towards E, streight in the line, until the Angle of the Bevil be just over the Angle, that the second Sommering line makes with the line A B; when it is so, draw the Tongue of the Bevil to lye even upon the second Sommering line; (In brief, cause the Bevil to lye exactly on the line A B, and on the second Sommering line) then take up your Bevil and lay it on the Mould; and strike that Bevil line on the Mould, with the Point of the Compasses, about half a quartar of an Inch distant from the first, and that is the Bevil of the underside of the second Course; proceed thus until you come to the middle line E F, but after you have set 3 Bevil lines upon your Sommering Mould, leave about 1/4 of an Inch between the third and the fourth, and so likewise between the 6th and 7th, and the 9th, and 10th, which will be a great help to you, in knowing the Number of each line on the Mould.

The Moulds for the other half of the Arch, namely E B, are made after the same manner, but the Arch is described from a Centre beneath P, as Q which causeth a less Skew-back (viz. B D.)

The diminishing of the Sommering Mould to any Skew-back may be found by the Rule of Three by dividing a foot into 10 equal parts, and each of these into 10 parts, so that the whole foot may contain 100 parts, then proceed thus. The upper line C F, will be 309, that is 3 Feet and almost one Inch, and the lower line A E will be 252, that is 2 Feet and an half an 2/100, and the upper part of the Sommering Mould will be 17 almost, that is, two Inches of such whereof there are 12 in a foot line measure; having these three Numbers (viz. 309, 252, 17) work according to the Rule of Three, and you will find 13 and 6/7 of 100 parts, that is almost 14 (such parts whereof there are 100 in a Foot line measure) for the breadth of the lower part of the Mould.

You may likewise find it Geometrically thus.

Having drawn the upper line and under line of the Arch, as C F, and A E, and drawn any Skew-back, as suppose A C in [Fig. 4.] make at discretion the Angle G C H in [Fig. 5.] then take the upper line C F, and set it from C. to F; also take the lower line A E, and set it from C to E, and draw the line E F; then take the thickness of your Brick, which suppose to be 2 Inches, and set it from F to G, and draw G H, parallel to F E, I say F G is the breadth of the upper part of the Sommering Mould, and E H the breadth of the lower part: Then make your Sommering, Mould, true to those two lines, and beginning in the middle line F E, describe the streight lines by the Mould from the Key F E, until you come to the Skew-back A C, and then take of the Bevil lines, and set them on your Sommering Mould.

FINIS.

I shall concude this Exercise with the Art of making two sorts of Cements, for the Cementing Bricks.

THere are two sorts of Cement, which some Bricklayers use in Cementing of Bricks for some kind of Mouldings, or in Cementing a block of Bricks, as they call it, for the Carving of Scroles or Capitals or such like, &c. One is called Cold Cement, the other is called hot Cement, because the former is made and used without Fire, but the latter is both made and used with Fire; the cold Cement being accounted a Secret, is known but to few Bricklayers, but the hot Cement is common.

To make the cold Cement.

TAke 1/2 a Pound of Old Cheshire-Cheese, pair of the Rine, and throw it away, cut or grate the Cheese very small, and put it into a Pot, put to it about a Pint of Cows-Milk, let it stand all Night, the next Morning get the Whites of 12 or 14 Eggs, then take 1/2 a Pound of the best Unslackt or Quick Lime that you can get, and beat it to Powder in a Morter, then Sift it through a fine Hair Sieve into a Tray or Bole of Wood, or into an Earthen Dish, to which put the Cheese and Milk, and stir them well together with a Trowel, or such like thing, breaking the Knots of Cheese, if there be any, then add the Whites of the Eggs, and Temper all well together, and so use it; this Cement will be of a white Colour, but if you would have it of the Colour of the Brick, put into it either some very fine Brick-Dust, or Almegram, not too much, but only just to colour it.

To make the hot Cement.

TAke One Pound of Rozin, one Quarter of a Pound of Bees-Wax, half an Ounce of fine Brick-Dust, half an Ounce of Chalk-Dust, or Powder of Chalk, Sift both the Brick-Dust and Chalk-Dust through a fine Hair Sieve, (you may beat the Brick and the Chalk in a Morter, before you Sift it) boil altogether in a Pipkin, or other Vessel, about a quarter of an hour, stirring it all the while with an Iron or a piece of Lath or such like, then take it of, and let it stand 4 or 5 Minutes, and 'tis fit for use.

Note, That the Bricks that are to be Cemented with this kind of Cement, must be made hot by the Fire before you spread the Cement on them, and then rub them to and froe on one another, as Joiners do, when they Glew two Boards together.

FINIS.

PAge 20. l. 1. r. informed. p. 20. l. 25. r. Sand. p. 24. l. 27. add be. p. 26. l. 3. r. to the Garrat Floor 1 1/2 Brick. p. 26. l. 33. 2 Bricks and 1/2 p. 32. l. 15. r. Plate 7, Fig. 6. p. 33. l. 4. r. Plate 7. Fig. 7. p. 34. l. 26. r. IX. Fig: p. 39, l. 33. r. Fig. X.

Scale of Feet and Inches 10

A Scale of Inc. and quar. to F. 1.

A Scale of Inches and quarters of an inch. to F. 2.