Woodworking Woodwork Exercises 17 



with the grain any twisting of the saw blade once the saw- 

 cut is started will result in the cracking of the wood. 



Plane up the base similarly, and cut a " thumb gauge " (Fig. 9) 

 from a piece of i" x f" wood. Apply this to the upper face, and 

 mark the depth all the way round the wood, and the amount 

 overlapping the face. 



By means of a jack plane remove the wood thus indicated, 

 first along, then across the grain, and so form a chamfer round the 

 upper face (Fig. 10). 



Draw two parallel lines lengthwise across the top of the face, 

 equidistant from the middle, and the width of the first piece apart. 

 Mark out if" of this on each side the centre. Take the mortis- 

 ing chisel, place it in the space thus marked out, the flat face 

 towards the outer edge of the marked-out rectangle, and about 

 i" away from extremity. Hold the chisel quite vertically, and 

 give a sharp blow with the mallet. By a sloping cut remove 

 the wedge-shaped piece so made, and then proceed to advance 

 the chisel toward the end of the groove, always keeping the 

 chisel upright, and the flat face facing the end of the groove. 

 Do not attempt to go through the wood at first, but be content 

 to cut out the groove to correct shape, and with square edges. 

 Having reached one end of the groove, reverse wood or chisel, 

 commence at the same point as before, and gradually cut to the 

 second end of the groove, advancing about -fa" at each cut. The 

 cut-out wood may be removed by using the chisel as a lever. 

 Having cleared the whole of the upper portion of this slot, 

 recommence as before, and cut out the rest. It is important to 

 cut the edges square to the face, otherwise the upright portion of 

 the stand will not be vertical, or, if made vertical, will not be a 

 tight fit in the groove or slot now cut. 



Next, plane up the wood containing the back strut, and cut it 

 diagonally right through (Fig. 1 1). One of the pieces is then to 

 have the newly sawn edge planed up and the acute angle of the 

 triangle removed (for appearance sake) by a chisel. To do this 

 put the wood down on a cutting block (spare piece of wood), and 

 holding the firmer chisel in the right hand vertically, guiding with 

 the forefinger of the left, cut off the end by a sharp pressure on the 

 chisel handle. Do not cut off too much at a time, or the fibres 

 will offer so much resistance that they bend, and a clean cut will 

 not result. Better take several cuts, a little further back each time, 

 until the cut is about " wide. 



The triangle so made will not fill up the place it is to fit, and 

 it may now be further prepared by squaring to the hypotenuse in 



C 



