16 FARM MECHANICS 



begins at the exact point where the other left off, and 

 so on the whole length of the stick. The final mark is 

 then made exactly sixteen feet from the first mark. 



In sawing the ends the saw kerf is cut from the waste 

 ends of the stick. The saw cuts to the mark but does 

 not cut it out. 



In using a rule carelessly a workman may gain one- 

 sixteenth of an inch every time he moves the rule, 

 which would mean half of an inch in laying off a 16- 

 foot pole, which would ruin it for carpenter work. If 

 the pole is afterwards used for staking fence posts, he 

 would gain one-half inch at each post, or a foot for 

 every twenty-four posts, a distance to bother consid- 

 erably in estimating acres. It is just as easy to meas- 

 ure exactly as it is to measure a little more or a little 

 less, and it marks the difference between right and 

 wrong. 



WOODWORKING BENCH 



In a farm workshop it is better to separate the wood- 

 working department as far as possible from the black- 

 smith shop. Working wood accumulates a great deal 

 of litter, shavings, blocks, and kindling wood, which 

 are in the way in the blacksmith shop, and a spark from 

 the anvil might set the shavings afire. 



A woodworking bench, Figure 7, carpenter's bench, 

 it is usually called, needs a short leg vise with wide 

 jaws. The top of the vise should be flush with the top 

 of the bench, so the boards may be worked when lying 

 flat on the top of the bench. For the same reason the 

 bench dog should lower down flush when not needed 

 to hold the end of the board. 



It is customary to make carpenter 's benches separate 

 from the shop, and large enough to stand alone, so they 

 may be moved out doors or into other buildings. 



