The Canary Book. 



wood you desire to plane" in an upright position. You will 

 likewise require an angular piece of wood, called a plug, to 

 fix it firmly between the bench and the "lug" (see Fig 2). 

 The board to be operated upon with this contrivance must 

 be placed on edge next the bench, and the plug put in 

 between it and the lug, and wedged tight with a wooden 

 mallet. When you wish to plane the flat surface of the 

 board, you will need a small iron hook driven well into the 

 bench with the point projecting towards you; fix the end of 

 the board with the hook in order to keep it steady during 

 the operation. There are proper contrivances for this 

 purpose, but a small hook is all that would be needed in 

 cage-making. 



In addition to a bench you will require a set of tools as 

 follows : Three saws a handsaw, a dove-tail saw, and a key- 

 hole saw, and if you intend to make ornamental cornices to 

 your cages, a small frame-saw as well; two planes at least, a 

 smoothing-plane and a trying-plane, and, if you like, a 

 "jack" plane for rough work besides; I would likewise 

 recommend you to get two grooving-planes, to "groove and 

 tongue" the boards which form the back of the cage. These 

 planes are known in the trade as a "pair of ploughs," and 

 are of different sizes according to the thickness of the wood 

 for which they are required; when for in. deals they are 

 called half -inch ploughs, and so on. Glue in the "tongue," 

 and this will not leave any aperture or receptacle for bird 

 vermin to enter and conceal themselves. You will require a 

 square, a gauge, a pair of compasses, a 24in. rule, a spoke- 

 shave, a few chisels, a stone to sharpen them upon, a brace 

 and four bits, iin., in., fin., and lin., a couple of hammers 

 of different sizes, a few bradawls (commonly called prickers), 

 a few gimlets of various sizes, a wooden mallet, two pairs 

 of pliers (one pair of which must be wire cutters), a pair 

 of pincers, a hand- vice, a stout pocket-knife, a glue-pot, and, 

 if you take my advice, an instrument called a "sash-fillister," 

 used for what is technically termed " rabbeting " that is, to 

 let the back of the cage flush with the ends the same as 



