i8 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



derstand the difference between this and 

 what happens when all four knives are cut- 

 ting, make another set for the compass the 

 same way and divide it up into eighth inch 

 steps instead of half inch and observe the 

 difference in the lines. This not only re- 

 duces the waves until they are invisible to 

 the eye, but it reduces the amount of cut 

 for each knife to such a fine point that there 

 is not much danger of splintering and tear- 

 ing out knots and cross grain. 



After this study a practical demon- 

 stration will make it both plain and con- 

 vincing that the secret of smoothness is in 

 making all the knives cut alike, and it will 

 also become apparent that if there were more 

 knives, say eight instead of four, the stock 

 could be made smoother even at a higher 

 speed. 



"But, what's all this got to do with it?" 

 may be asked. "Don't all flooring machines 

 run four knives, and don 't they make them 

 all cut?" The answer to this is an em- 

 phatic no, by those who have made a thor- 

 ough demonstration. There are many planer 

 men who will assert emphatically that they 

 ■ .in set four knives on a cutter head so thai 

 they will all cut. They can, too, but they 

 will not all cut evenly. The difference and 

 consequent marking will not be the same as 

 those shown in the diagram, partly because 

 the stock does not stand still while the knives 

 pass through a given section, and partly be- 

 cause each knife cuts some. But each knife 

 does not cut alike unless the knives have been 

 jointed off after having been carefully set 

 in tlic 1-111 1 < r head. One might happen to get 

 it right once in a hundred times, but to a 

 man who has seen the knives carefully set 

 in the cutter head of a flooring machine with 

 positive setting device, with microscopic ad- 

 justment, and then seen the work of these 

 same knives after and before having been 

 jointed off in motion, there is no use to argue 

 about the feasibility of adjusting and set- 

 ting four knives on a head so that they will 

 all cut the same. They can be set so thai 

 they will do fairly good work, but in planing 

 a real- smooth finish with all four knives cut- 

 ting exactly the same, the only practical w : i \ 

 is by jointing while in motion. 



Now, it goes without saying that jointing 

 does not improve the edge of the knife, and 

 does not .make it pull lighter either, so that 

 the lighter the jointing required the better, 

 and the finer the adjustment made before- 

 hand the less jointing will be required. 

 But some is necessary, and unless planer 

 practice changes materially, it is probable 

 that there will come a time when every 

 planer for fine work will have to have an 

 appliance for jointing the knives in motion. 



Manufacturers who have machines with- 

 out a jointing appliance might do well to 

 try a few experiments. Try carefully set- 

 ting the knives before whetting and then 

 run through a few rough boards to settle 

 the edges down and give an idea by leaving 

 their marks which knives are doing the 

 deepest Cutting. Then, guided by this, 



whet and shape the knives up, run them 

 awhile and repeat the operation. It will 

 likely be found that the longer the knives 

 can be kept on the head the more fre- 

 quently they are filed and whetted; if due 

 attention is given to the brightness of the 

 edge that indicates to what extent the 

 knife is doing the cutting, the better work 

 they will do. This would argue for com- 

 paratively soft knives which may be 

 dressed up on the machine and will not 

 have to be taken off every time they get 

 a little dull. And this Immediately sug- 

 gests another thing, and that is, knives 

 giving good finish to hardwood are fre- 

 quently ground differently from the average 

 planer knife. Something near the V point 

 seems to be the favorite, with the angles 

 and the bevels depending somewhat on the 

 position of the knife in the cutter head. 

 Matters of this kind call for different treat- 

 ment in the details of trying experiments, 

 but they do not alter the fact that the most 



important thing in connection with doing 

 smooth planer work on oak, no matter 

 whether it is for flooring or cabinet work, 

 is to make sure that all four of the knives 

 in the head are cutting, and cutting to the 

 same depth. It is the latter point many 

 experts fall down on. They figure that 

 they can make all cut, which they can, but 

 forget that to make them cut to exactly the 

 same depth is a different thing and many 

 have not yet learned that at present the 

 only possible way of getting them set posi- 

 tively to the same depth is by jointing 

 them off slightly after having them care- 

 fully set. On a machine that has not an 

 appliance for this purpose possibly some 

 home-made device could be fixed up. At 

 least, it is worth experimenting with, and, 

 unless you have seen some of this work 

 done, the result will likely bring some new 

 ideas in regard to planer practice and the 

 possibilities of smooth work at a high rate 

 of feed. 



The Modern Furniture Factory. 



SOME PHASES OF 



Trade conditions and the evolution of 

 machine/y have done away with the old- 

 time cabinet maker — at least, in this coun- 

 try, lie still survives in parts of France 

 and England, where the whole question of 

 furniture making from the rough plank to 

 the finish.'. I product is left in his hands. A 

 characteristic feature of his business was 

 the length of time he had at his disposal in 

 which to work out his stuff, while in this 

 country at this day it is necessary to get the 

 material from theplank to the consumer in 

 as short a time as possible. Lovers of the 

 antique in furniture claim that the old- 

 time business was an art and that modern 

 furniture does not approach in design or 

 construction the old handicraft. 



No one man performs all the work in the 

 construction of furniture in the up-to-date 

 factory. The cutters, machine men, cabinet 

 makers an.! finishers take the pieces in their 

 turn, and although there are now no general 

 craftsmen, each man is a specialist in his 

 particular department. Each phase of fur- 

 niture making, however, is dependent upon 

 the others, just as in the old-time trade. 

 Win n the machines cut up the stock in 

 preparation for joining there is no room fur 

 error in calculation or for misjudgment, 

 because when the machine is once set it 

 must necessarily do the work with absolute 

 correctness. As a consequence, there is 

 very little trouble with joints insofar as 

 fit is concerned. "When the joint is to be 

 plain-glued, the pieces are simply set edge 

 to e.lge an. I connected with glue. Such a 

 joint is strong when properly put together. 



The tongue. 1 joint and dovetailed joint 

 are used when great strength is required, 

 as in backs of chairs and in drawers. The 

 old craftsman who could construct a good 

 drawer and fit it properly so that it would 

 work firmly and smoothly v#as looked upon 



CABINET WOBK. 



as a master in the trade. This difficult 

 piece of work is now being done in modern 

 furniture making plants with au invariable 

 success that proves probably more than any 

 other ..ne thing the superiority of machines 

 ami present-day methods. It is not, how- 

 ever, au easy thing to construct the various 

 j. aits of the drawer so that it will run 

 smoothly and evenly. The common difficulty 

 which lias been observed by everyone of a 

 drawer becoming fast especially in damp 

 vvathcr shows hew carefully the work ought 

 to be done. In making a drawer the front 

 is constructed to fit as tightly as practicabl* 

 in the length and in width is cut slightly in 

 excess to allow for shrinkage. The drawer 

 sbles are also left a trifle full in length. 

 In most cases the lap dovetail is used in 

 front to fasten the si.les, and the back is 

 grooved ami glued. The grain must always 

 b. across the drawer, that is, from side to 

 side of it. As drawers are found in so- 

 many pieces of furniture, the importance of 

 this part of the furniture maker's craft is 

 apparent. Of course, the assembling of the 

 pie.es is a simple matter, as they are cut 

 i.. -ize on the machines and a miscut is 

 almost impossible. 



There seems to be an opinion abroad that 

 wooden bedsteads have been practically 

 superseded by iron and brass ones, but it is 

 erroneous. A walk through any shop mak- 

 ing high-class furniture shows that in this 

 detail the skill of the furniture maker is 

 still expended, although it is true that the 

 relative quantity once made has decreased. 

 This, however, is the case in bedsteads of 

 low quality. Some of the most beautiful 

 specimens of high .lass woodwork, in mate- 

 rial, figure of wood and the artistic carving 

 executed thereon, are found in the broad 

 surfaces of mahogany and oak bedsteads. 

 They are usually massive and veneered, the 



