THE 



ENGLISH CYCLOPEDIA 



ARTS AND SCIENCES. 



JOINERY. 



JOINERY. 



JOINERY, the art of uniting wood of small dimensions, for the 

 purpose of forming those fixed details of house- or ship-building which 

 are not connected with the solid framework of the structure : and it is 

 usually understood that the term joinery is applied to this particular 

 branch of the constructive arts, in contradistinction to the other 

 branches, carpentry and upholstery, the former of which deals exclu- 

 sively with the wooden framework of buildings, and the latter with 

 the moveable furniture. The articles ordinarily comprised within the 

 province of the joiner's art are doors, windows, shutters, floors, stair- 

 cases, cupboards, counters, shop-fronts, &c. ; and the respective descrip- 

 "f work are either plain, framed, or panelled. In order to ensure 

 their proper execution, it is necessary that the joiner should be 

 acquainted 1, with the nature and properties of wood; 2, with the 

 modes of putting the wood together, alike with reference to the 

 economical conversion of the wood, the strength of the assemblage, 

 and the resistance to atmospheric changes ; and 3, the general prin- 

 ciples of taste, in so far as they may influence the character of the 

 work. 



1. Tlie aoodi most commonly used for joiners' work in England are 

 the various kinds of fir and pine imported from the north of Europe 

 and from America ; oak, either native or foreign ; mahogany, rose- 

 wood, cedar, maple, satin-wood, though perhaps the three last-named 

 materials may be, more strictly speaking, regarded as furniture woods. 

 Locally, poplar, chestnut, walnut, ash, beech, and some kinds of birch 

 are used ; but the practice of London joiners is almost exclusively 

 confined to fir, oak, and mahogany. 



The fir-woods used for joinery are technically known under the 

 names of baulk, or of manufactured goodt, including under the latter 

 term planki, usually 11 inches wide by 3 inches thick ; dealt, 9 inches 

 wide by 3 inches thick ; and battens, 7 inches wide by 2,J inches thick ; 

 but it is to be observed that it is only in country districts, or where 

 very coarse work is admissible, that baulk timber is converted to these 

 used. The planks, deals, and battens are, again, either of white or 

 yellow deal, from the Baltic or Norwegian ports ; or they are of white, 

 yellow, or pitch pine, or more recently of the Vancouver's Island wood, 

 all of which are obtained from America. The best European yellow 

 deals come from St. Petersburg, or Qefle ; the best white deals, from 

 Archangel or Christiania ; but the Stockholm, or the Riga and Memel 

 deals, of either description, are of very nearly equal quality. Yellow 

 deal is more fitted for doors or other panelled work than white deals, 

 because it is less subject to warp or shrink ; -but the white deals are 

 harder than the yellow ones, and therefore are more used for flooring 

 purposes. Both white and yellow deals require, however, to be 

 seasoned, or exposed to the air in sheltered positions, for at least from 

 fotv to six years, before being employed for superior descriptions of 

 joiner's work. The ordinary American pine deals are of a very inferior 

 quality, whether as to grain or durability, and their use has been almost 

 entirely abandoned by English joiners since the differential duties upon 

 foreign timber have been reduced ; but the yellow pine is still largely 

 used, on account of its uniformly soft character, the straightness and 

 beauty of ita grain, and its immunity from knots ; and for these reasons 

 ! . 1 1 >! >ycd for moulded work, and for pianoforte making. The pitch- 

 pine is a very beautiful variety of the fir woods, of a rather deeper and 

 wanner colour than the yellow pine, and of much greater strength and 

 iliinit'iiity ; unfortunately, however, it is very costly, and is, therefore, 

 only used in cues where particularly sound and durable work is 

 required, as for ships' decks, floors, staircases in good houses, Ac. 

 But the Vancouver's Island timber seems to possess qualities of dura- 



ARTS ASD aCL DIV. VOL. V. 



bility, resistance to atmospheric changes, and colour, which place it in 

 a very superior category to any other description of fir wood, for those 

 joiner's purposes at least wherein it may not be absolutely necessary to 

 work the wood against the grain. The use of this Vancouver's Island 

 timber hag not, however, been sufficiently proved by experience to 

 warrant its application on a very large scale. 



The oak used in England is either obtained in the country or is 

 imported from Germany, or America, or Italy ; and it either comes to 

 market in the shape of baulk, log, or plank stuff, whilst in France short 

 ends, known as merrains, are much used for flooring purposes. The 

 baulk oak is used for making door- and window-cilia for the best 

 description of houses ; and as those articles of joinery are exposed to 

 alternations of moisture and dryness, it would be desirable to use for 

 them nothing but English oak, which resists those destructive actions 

 better than either the German or Italian oak, 'and infinitely better than 

 the American oak. For the more ornamental descriptions of joiners' 

 work wainscot logs are used, after having been sawn into plank stuff 

 and properly seasoned. The best of these loga are obtained from the 

 woods of the- interior of Germany, and they are exported from Riga 

 under the name of Dutch wainscot. This material, when properly 

 seasoned, is not liable to warp or to shrink ; it blackens with age, 

 but is always susceptible of receiving either a varnish or a polish ; its 

 texture is by no means unfavourable for working mouldings, either 

 with or against the grain ; it is very durable, strong, and hard, but by 

 reason of the latter property the labour upon it becomes considerably 

 greater than the labour upon deal or pine. Wainscot has one great 

 advantage over ordinary deal or pine namely, that it does not require 

 to be painted ; and though the Vancouver's Island timber, or the pitch- 

 pine, may dispense with that mode of decoratjon or protection, their 

 colours and Jtower (as workmen call the variations of tint or pattern in 

 the different parts of the wood) are certainly not so pleasing as those 

 the wainscot. For delicate wood-carving, the yellow pine is unques- 

 tionably superior to any other wood, because it is both softer and more 

 uniform in its texture; but wainscot is very well fitted for such 

 purposes, and the elaborate carving of the mediaeval pulpits, stalls, 

 confessionals, &c., may be cited as affording illustrations of the success 

 with which this wood may be applied to the higher branches of the 

 arts. The very remarkable pulpits and confessionals of Belgium and 

 of Northern Germany may be especially referred to on this score. 



The best mahogany which is introduced into this country for joiner's 

 work is the produce of the southern part of the island of Hayti; the 

 mahogany from the northern part of that island is of an inferior 

 quality, and approaches very nearly the character of the worst descrip- 

 tions of Honduras wood. The logs exported from Cuba are often very 

 beautiful, indeed almost equal to the best Hayti (or, as it is technically 

 called, the Spanish mahogany) ; but it. is not of such large dimensions 

 as the Honduras wood, nor is it so uniform in the beauty of its flower 

 as the Spanish. The best Honduras mahogany is very well adapted 

 for ordinary works and for ship-building; but it is usually of a straight 

 grain, without any varieties of tint, and is not therefore fitted for such 

 works as hand-rails, doors, counter-tops, &c., where variety of colour is 

 required. The commoner descriptions of Honduras wood are only used 

 for carriage-builders' purposes, for interiors of drawers, or even for ship- 

 building; and for all these purposes their low price, their great strength 

 and durability, and their singular freedom from any tendency to warp 

 or crack, make them very desirable. Mahogany of any description is 

 worked evenly, but with difficulty, and on those accounts the labour 

 upon it is expensive ; for ornamental carving it is admirably adapted, 



