404 THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 



start in the auger and plumb that also, and keep it in an erect 

 position until the auger has entered the length of the pod, when 

 if the pod be true the auger will run very straight through. In 

 this way I have often bored a hole through a piece of scantling 

 twice the length of the auger, by boring at both ends. After an 

 auger has entered the length of the pod, the chips should be cleared 

 out often, especially in green timber, by turning the auger back 

 wards just enough to loosen the screw, and then drawing it 

 straight out, turning it forward as it is drawn out. If it be turned 

 backward it works the chips towards the bottom of the hole. Some 

 times an auger refuses to bore, in consequence of a shaving get 

 ting on the cutting edge ; and sometimes the screw will fill with 

 wood, and will not draw the auger in. This may be prevented 

 by filing the screw a little, and by sharpening the cutting edge. 

 If this does not remove the defect entirely, oil the screw, and bear 

 on the auger a little when boring. 



594. In boring pump logs, or wooden tubes which may be 

 eight or twelve feet long, or anything else of that description, a 

 long lathe is necessary, or something equivalent to it, by which 

 means the centre of each end of the stick and the screw of the 

 auger and the end of the shank will all range exactly in a 

 straight line. But the auger must be drawn out often, lest the chips 

 clog so firmly that there will be difficulty in withdrawing it at all. 



595. The neatest auger for this business consists of a pod some 

 eight or ten feet long, made very true, fitted neatly to turn in an 

 iron tube of the same length as the pod. The tube may be two 

 or more inches in diameter, and the lips of the auger cut a hole 

 just large enough for the tube to enter easily ; and the chips are 

 all brought out through the tube. Such an auger will bore 

 very true, and will not clog. The lips of such an auger cut a 

 hole just as large as the tube. This arrangement was patented, 

 and is now in use by a man in Elmira, N. Y. 



596. The tyro should be very careful, in boring hard wood, 

 not to thrust the shank of the auger or bit sideways, from right to 

 left, when first starting it in, because there is danger of bending 

 or breaking the screw. 



