432 



MECHANICAL. 



punch square upon the tooth, but inclined 

 from you, so that it rests mainly upon 

 the point of the tooth, and hit it a light 

 blow with the hammer. Every tooth 

 should be bent in this manner, then the 

 saw turned over, and the operation 

 repeated. The set already in the saw will 

 be the guide as to the direction the tooth 

 is to be bent, if the saw, previous to 

 setting, is inclined to catch and jump, one 

 of three things is the matter : the set is 

 uneven ; a few teeth are longer than the 

 rest, or the teeth have been filed hooking. 

 Either of these troubles can be easily de- 

 tected and remedied. If by looking 

 along the teeth from end to end, an un- 

 evenness is seen, lay the blade upon the 

 head of an axe, or something of that 

 kind, and strike gently upon the sides of 

 the teeth with a hammer until all of the 

 set is removed; then set the saw as 

 above directed. If after the saw is 

 properly set, some of the teeth should be 

 longer than others, put the blade be- 

 tween two thin boards, three or four 

 inches wide, and as long as the saw, 

 screw them firmly in a vise, the same as 

 for filing, and run a flat saw-mill file 

 lengthwise along the teeth until they are 

 brought level. The saw is now ready for 

 filing. The file should be placed between 

 the teeth in a diagonal direction, but held 

 level. Every other space should be filed 

 from the small end to the handle ; then 

 the remaining spaces filed by holding the 

 file at an opposite angle. After this 

 operation is completed, then look across 

 the teeth again, and if the channel be- 

 tween the rows of teeth terminates in the 

 centre, the filing is good ; if it terminates 

 at one side of the center, the full side 

 needs more filing. If the saw catches 

 and jumps after jointing up, it will be 

 owing to the teeth having been filed too 

 hooking, or, in other words, the points in- 

 clined too much toward 'the narrow end of 

 the saw. This can be remedied by refiling 

 and taking off from the lower side of the 

 teeth enough to make them stand upright 

 on the blade. Always file where there is 

 sufficient light to enable you to see points 

 distinctly. Be exceedingly careful to 

 stop filing as soon as the tooth 

 is filed to a perfect point. One 

 thrust with a file after a tooth 

 has been brought to a complete 

 edge, will shorten it, and put the saw out 



of order just in proportion as the point is 

 filed off. Let the points be set uniformly,, 

 and only a little. Go over the teeth with 

 an old file, and give them a more per- 

 fect cutting-edge. Then lay the blade 

 flatly on a smooth board, and pass a fine- 

 gritted whetstone along the sides of the 

 points, to remove the wiry edge, and to 

 give the teeth as fine a cutting-edge as 

 practicable. 



SHEEP-SKINS, To prepare for Mats. 

 — Make a strong lather with hot water, 

 and let it stand till cold ; wash the fresh 

 skin in it, carefully squeezing out all the 

 dirt from the wool ; wash it in cold water 

 till all the soap is taken out. Dissolve a 

 pound each of salt and alum in two 

 gallons of hot water, and put the skin 

 into a tub sufficient to cover it; let it soak 

 for twelve hours, and hang it over a pole 

 to drain. When well drained, stretch it. 

 carefully on a board to dry, and stretch 

 several times while drying. Before it is 

 quite dry, sprinkle on the flesh side one 

 ounce each of fine pulverized alum and 

 saltpetre, rubbing it in well Try if the 

 wool be firm on the skin; if not, let it 

 remain a day or two, then rub again with 

 alum; fold the flesh sides together and 

 hang in the shade for two or three days,, 

 turning them over each day till quite 

 dry. Scrape the flesh side with a blunt 

 knife, and rub it with pumice or rotten 

 stone, 



SKINS (Small), Stretching and Curing. 

 — The market value of a skin is greatly 

 affected by the care taken in removing it 

 from the animal, and in drying it. The 

 common way is to tack the skin to the 

 barn door and let it remain stretched 

 until quite dry. The trapper in the 

 woods, having no such convenience as 

 the barn-door at hand, is obliged to 

 resort to other methods. One plan is to 

 dry the skin on a hoop. A skin to be 

 dried in this manner must not be ripped 

 down the belly, but it is cut from the 

 lower jaw of the animal to just below its 

 forelegs; the lips, eyes, and ears being cut 

 around, the skin is stripped off, leaving 

 the fur side inward. The hoop consists of 

 a branch of hickory or other elastic wood, 

 an inch through at the butt. This is 

 bent and pushed into the skin, which is 

 drawn tight, and fastened in place by 

 notches in the bow, drawing the skin of 

 the lip, into these notches. A much 



