Mabch 27, 1897.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
2BB 
demn the wood for drafting purposes. It must be dry, 
gtraight-arraiued and absolutely free from gum For mere 
temporary use a wide board, or two pieces glued together, 
may ' e planed up and battened across the back or along the 
I dges; but we do not recommend such a makeshift exc^pt 
for the extra boards that come in handily for small odd jobs 
when the main board is in use. A good drawing board is a 
Fre 27. 
A— "Quaiter-sawn" or "comb-grain" board. 
B— Heart or "leaf-gTaln" board. 
source of joy to its possessor; with reasonable care it will 
last many years, and in selecting or making one some special 
trouble to get the best is justifiable. The material should be 
carefully selected, of quarter sawn or comb-grain Fig. 27 (a) 
rather than the kaf-grain (&). After being dressed on both 
sides to a little greater thickness than that proposed for the 
finished board, one side of the board is marked across with a 
pencil (Fig. 28) and it is then ripped into strips about 2in. 
wide. The edges of each strip must then be carefully fin- 
ished with a jointer plane until they are straight and 
square. 
Before gluing together, each piece should be inspected 
and all arranged with reference to the grain. The first strip 
cut from the board will be laid with the marked side up; the 
next strip will be turned over, the marked side being down ; 
and so in alternation through the strips cut from the two or 
FIG. 28. 
A— Board marked for sawing. 
B— Strips sawn and rearranged. 
three boards necessary to make up the required width. The 
reason for thus reversing each alternate strip is that the ten- 
dency of one side of the original board to warp more than 
the oiher will have little effect on the truth of the assem- 
blage of strips when glued up. Now the strips may be in- 
spected as to the longiiudinal svum, and the ends reversed if 
necessary, so that the grain in each pi- ce on the side which 
is to be the top will run in the same direction. The advan- 
tage of this will bs seen when it comes to the final planing 
up of the top and bottom, the plane cutting smoothly with- 
out ripping up the grain. Each strip being thus perfectly 
square and straight and the grain properly arranged, they 
are glued on the edges, well clamped together, and allowed 
to dry. 
In order to give the necessary strength to the board, as 
well as to prevent it from warping, cleats are fastened to the 
back, or some similar means adopted. As the board is cer- 
tain to shrink in width, some provision must be made in 
fastening the cleats, one common plan being to cut two 
dove-tailed gains across the lower side of the board. Fig 29 
(a), ia which a piece of hard wood {b) of corresponding taper is 
snugly fitted. This piece is screwed on top of a deeper 
piece (c), stiffening the board. In shrinking the board slides 
on the upper strip. To lessen the tendency to warp, a wide 
groove is sometimes cut in the middle of the lower side of 
each strip before they are glued up (d) 
In another style of board, wide, flat battens are used, with 
screws through them, one screw m each strip. To allow for 
contraction, the screw holes in the battens are made oblong, 
and a brass plate is put under the head of each screw, the 
strips thus having freedom to slide a little distance A round- 
headed screw, with a common brass washer about lin. diam- 
eter, will answer. 
FIG. 29. 
A— Dovetail gain In board. 
B— Strip to at dovetail. 
C— stiff ^ntng cleat. 
D— Grove to prevent board from warping. 
To those who, like ourselves, prefer a board with both 
sides smooth and unobstructed, we can recommend another 
plan Before the strips are glued together, several straight 
lines are marked across them from side to side, and holes are 
bored from edge to edge, long iron screw-bolts being run 
through these holes, Fig. 30 (a). After the board is dry and 
the bolts set up, two strips of mahogany may be got out, one 
for the front and one for the back edge; recesses are bored 
in each to cover the heads of the bolts on one edge, and the 
nuts on the other, and they are screwed on with ordinary 
wood screws (5). From time to time, as the board dries and 
FIG. 30. 
A— Brard bored f^r ) olts. 
B— Corner of board, sli wing end of bolt covered by outer strip. 
shrinks, the strip on the back may be removed and the nuts 
set up tight. When this shrinkage has gone on, as it wil', 
until lin. or so of the rod projects beyond the nut, all ti e 
nuts may be removed and a new strip of pine added the nuts 
being set up. and then the mahogany strip replaced. For a 
board 50 by 30in., five bolts of fin. round rod, with hex'igon 
nuts, are necessary; for a smaller board, ^in. rod will be heavy 
enough Such a board is light, and may be used with either 
side up; if it should warp a little the convex side can be used. 
With a little care in turning it over from time to time, and 
protecting it with a cover when not in use, it can be kept 
quite true. 
We have still in use a light traveling board made twenty 
years ago, 27x20in., and fin. thick. Instead of the screw 
bolts, each strip was mortised, |x2in., near each end, and 
a strip of sound hickory, iXlf in... was run into each 
slot, of course not being glued or fastened, except in the first 
strip, which was of soft Spanish cedar. This board is light 
and straight and very convenient to handle (Fig. 31). 
After a board is glued up and the two sidep faced effi 
smooth and true, the two edges are jointed tip straight, 
square and perfectly parallel. Then the ends are trued up 
at right angles to the edges, making a perfect rectangle of 
the board. Like the famed exploit of the second mate of 
the ship Guyascutus, this truing up of the four sides and 
angles of a board "ain't much of a thing to talk about," but 
it is likely to prove "a ticklish thing to do;" and when done, 
the truth of the work cannot be guaranteed for any length 
of time. It is very nice, in theory, to be able to use a T 
square at will from either of the edges or sides of the board, 
knowing that aU lines will be parallel or perpendicular; but 
FIG. 31. 
Small board with hardwood battens inside. 
in actual practice the draftsman may well be content if he 
can keep the left hand edge and the near side of the board 
perfectly straight and at right angles, so that his square may 
be used from either. The corners may be slightly rounded, 
as at {b) Fig 30. The surfaces of the board should never 
be oilecJ; they may be left as they come from the plane, or 
they may be finished with shellac varnish. When they be- 
come dirty or roughened in any way, they may be rubbed 
down with fine sandpaper, using a flat block of wood around 
which the sandpaper is wrapped. When not in use, the 
board should be stored on edge preferably in a dry place, but 
not subject to the direct heat of a stove or the sun. Several 
small boards of different sizes are desirable in addition 
to the main drawing board for small work, especially 
tracings, which may need to be left on the board in position 
for some time, work going on meanwhile on the large board. 
Spalding' St. ILiawrence Boat Company. 
The new annual catalogue of the Spalding St. Lawrence 
Boat Company, of Ogdensburgh, N. Y., is a marked improve- 
ment in appearance as well as make-up over previous publi- 
cations of the company, the letterpress being printed in a 
pleasing shade of green, with a very artistic cover of sage 
green. The company is this year devoting itself almost en- 
tirely to the larger and finer grades of sailing boats and 
small yachts, and it is to these popular craft that most of 
the book is devoted. They are described in detail as to 
model, construction and rig, and a very large number, in- 
cluding all types and many size.'', are listed. The different 
models are fitted for light or heavy centerboards, fixed or 
movable fins, etc., according to the intended uses of the pur- 
chaser. The rigs described vary in area from those for single- 
hand work up to the racing 20-footer or larger, and in style 
from yawl to cat, lugger and sloop. 
Among the new models is one that promises to become de- 
servedly popular, an all-round sailing boat, double-ended, 
16ft. over all, .lift. Sin. l.w.L, 4ft. Sin. beam and 6in. draft, an 
entirely new design with thoroughly modern lines, intended 
to take the place of the wider canoes and of the skiffs and 
other rowing boats fitted with sails. She is of course a 
single-.hander and a cruiser, but will carrv a party of half a 
dozen for a sail, and is useful for cruising, sailing, fishing or 
any similar purpose. 
In the way of i-owboats all of the best models have been 
retained and a new one added, a reproduction of the pleasure 
boat used on the Thames, in England — a very handsome and 
comfortable craft for pleasure rowing, picnic parties, etc. 
The company lists a large line of power launches for yacht 
tenders and of larger sizes, and also the Wing Marine Gas 
Engine, for which it is agent. 
Daring the past year large additions have been made to the 
stock of patterns for yacht brasswork and fittings, and the 
company is now prepared to furnish anything that may be 
wanted in this line. By special arrangement it is the sole 
agent in the States for the new fittings made by the Yacht 
Co. of Canada, as used on Glencairn, Sothis and other 15- 
footers, these now being made for both 15 and 20-footers. 
An important addition to the book is found in the many ex- 
cellent pen sketches of yachts under way. The book is 
more than a mere catalogue, and may fittingly be classed as 
a handbook of modern small boats. 
The American Model T. C. 
Ak interesting feature of the Forest and Stream exhibit 
was the display of model yachts arranged by the American 
Model Y. C. , of Brooklyn. At the top of the partition was 
placed the model yacht Star, owned and sailed by George W. 
Townley, present holder of the club's challenge trophy. On 
the floor in her cradle was the model yacht Wave, owned by 
Messrs. Cogswell & Thompson, of the Wave Crest M. Y. C, 
holder of the Outing cup. Both of these were complete sail 
ing models, fully rigged. 
The half models were eight in number, of which four are 
for the 20fb. class competition. One of these, by O. L. Gray 
was a fin-keel; the other three, by J. C. Meyers, Com. J. H. 
Lane and Frank Nichols, were centerboards. Two of ; h 
models were of galvanized iron and showed very neat work 
manship. There was ai^o a display of club flags and a grou 
of portraits of the officers of the club. 
The American Model Y. C. has recently received a chal 
lenge from the Wave Crest Model Y. C. for a second race for 
the trophy, which the latter club failed to capture last sea- 
son. The race will probably be sailed on July 4. On March 
28 a race will be sailed for the Outing cup; Mabel, O. L. 
Gray, A. M. Y. C, having challenged the holder, Wave 
Messrs. Cogswell & Thompson, Wave Crest M. Y. C. 
Portland Yacht Club. 
Portland, Me., March 19.— Herewith T nclose notice of 
March elections: The annual meeting of the Portland Y. C. 
last evening was largely attended. The annual reports of 
the officers and committees showed that the year had been a 
prosperous one for the club. Officers were elected as fol- 
low.';: Com., J. W. Bowers; Vice-Corn., C. W. Bray; Sec'y, 
C. P. Flagg; Treas., C. F. A. Weber; Meas., A. M. Smith. 
Trustees— W. Senter. J. C. Hamlin, C. W. Bray. Regatta 
(jom.— A. M. Smith, R. S Rand, J. C. Fox, W. F. Haddock. 
House Committee— W. W. Goold, P. I. Jones and J. C. Pox. 
The total membership is 278, a gain of 28 during the year. 
There are 67 yachts enrolled, again of 3. During the year two 
bonds have been retired; this reduces the debt to only $550. 
Hon. W. W. Thomas and J. S. Merritt, Esq., were elected 
honorary members. The matter of the date of the annual 
cruise was postponed to the April meeting. The date of the 
challenge cup regatta for first-class yachts was fixed for 
June 26. ChAS. F. Plaqg. 
