CARPENTRY 



1197 



CARPETBAGGERS 



ridge-board. The dotted lines are added to 

 show what part this rafter will occupy in the 

 finished frame. Now mark where the 12" line 

 rests and move the square so that the 6" mark 

 rests on this point, as in position b. In the 

 sixth position of the square (c) the 12" mark 

 will be at a point directly over the edge of 

 the plate. Move the square to the seventh 

 position and mark the plumb cut of the notch. 

 The foot cut (/) will be at right angles to it. 



In cutting the studs between the plate and 

 the gable, remember that a stud one-third of 



board, which should be leveled with special 

 care, are put in place before the intermediate 

 rafters. Window and door frames are set 

 before siding. The order of construction of 

 the rest of the house is a matter of convenience. 



To mark the positions of the siding cover 

 a piece of strong twine with chalk, stretch 

 it along the line for the top of a piece of sid- 

 ing and snap it against the wall; it will leave 

 a distinct mark on the building paper. 



Nails should be large enough for strength, 

 but never of a size that will split the wood. 



Fig. 1 8 



the distance between the edge of the plate and 

 the king post will be one-third as high as the 

 latter. To cut the upper edge of one of these 

 studs mark a rise of one inch, one-half its 

 width. 



Construction. In erecting a house, make 

 frequent tests with a level. Set the sills in 

 place first, level them and be sure that their 

 corners are square. Next lay and level the 

 joists; to make certain that their tops are 

 all at the same height lay a long board across 

 them to hold the level. Set the corner posts 

 in place, using the level to make sure that 

 they are perpendicular. They may be held in 

 position by temporary braces. Some car- 

 penters nail the plate to the studs before 

 putting the latter in place, but this makes 

 a heavy wall to lift, and for amateurs it may 

 be better to nail the plate to the corner posts 

 first, setting up the studs one by one. The 

 window and door openings are not sawed until 

 after the frame of studs is all up, and it is 

 often convenient to lay the rough flooring 

 first, so that the carpenters can walk about. 

 Rafters should not be erected until the ceil- 

 ing beams are spiked in place, or their weight 

 will spread the walls apart. Enough of the 

 sheathing to hold the frame in the position 

 in which its members have been found to be 

 level and perpendicular should also precede 

 the rafters. The end rafters and the ridge 



For names of different sizes of nails see the 

 article on that subject. 



The only hardware necessary for the build- 

 ing will be locks and hinges. Small pieces of 

 tin called flashing must be placed where the 

 chimney is built through the roof, to prevent 

 the leaking of water into the house. C.H.H. 



CARPETBAGGERS, kahr'pet bag erz. Af- 

 ter the close of the War of Secession nearly 

 all the whites in the Southern states were 

 deprived by Congress of the privilege of vot- 

 ing, because they had taken part in the rebel- 

 lion against the government. This condition 

 was taken advantage of by unscrupulous 

 politicians and adventurers from the North, 

 who took up a temporary residence in the 

 Southern states that they might control the 

 negro vote and be elected to office. The name 

 comes from the old-fashioned traveling bag, 

 which was made of carpet with leather mount- 

 ings. The carpet-bag suggested the temporary 

 character of the residence of these Northern 

 adventurers. The state governments adminis- 

 tered under those conditions were of the worst 

 sort imaginable. Enormous taxes were levied 

 and the money was frequently spent in 

 extravagance and speculation, leaving the 

 states burdened with debt. See RECONSTRUC- 

 TION. 



The name is also sometimes applied to those 

 Northern politicians who, before the war, took 



