100 A R C H I T 
ideally call out of winding ; then glue on the next courfe, 
breaking the joint in the middle of the under courfe, as 
ftiewn by the dotted lines in the Plate; and proceed thus 
with as many courfes as are required, and, when the whole 
is thoroughly dry, it may be lent to the turner. The bead¬ 
ing joints may be on one fide of a fillet, as (hewn in the 
elevation of the bale fig. 2, A A, B B, and C C. A bafe 
glued up in this manner will be the ftrongeft poffible, and 
be lefs liable to crack and fplit than by any of the me¬ 
thods heretofore adopted. 
The Jhaft of the column Ihould be glued up in eight or 
more ftaves, according to its intended dimenlions; obferv- 
ing always to have the joint in the middle of a fillet, and 
not in a flute, as it would very much weaken it; in the 
annexed Plate, fg. 3 and 4, is Ihewn the plan of the up¬ 
per and lower ends, or the horizontal fedtion at top and 
bottom. If eight pieces are fufticient for the column, de- 
feribe an odtagon round the ends, then draw lines from 
each angle of the odlagon to the centre, and it will give 
the bevii of the edges of the ftaves for the joints, which 
mud be quite ftraight from top to bottom ; only, that the 
Haves be narrower at the top, as is (hewn in the plate, fg. 4. 
The ftaves mud be of diffident thicknefs, becaufe the out- 
Hde is to be curved to the fwell of the column, by means 
of a diminifliing rule : then proceed to glue the pieces to¬ 
gether, one after the other as the glue dries ; block them 
well at the corners in the infide, which will greatly drength- 
en the joints; proceed in this manner to the lad Have; all 
the blocks mult be glued on and dried before the lad dave 
can be glued in : or pieces may be glued quite acrofs for 
the lad dave, fixed to the inlide of the two adjoining daves, 
or they may be fixed by ferews to each have ; then the 
under-fide of the lad Have mud be planed fo as to rub well 
on the crofs pieces, and when the dave is put in, and.glued 
upon the ciols pieces, it may be driven tight home like a 
wedge, and the whole will be firm and fubdantial through¬ 
out ; but care mud be taken that the daves and blocks are 
quite dry, otherwile the column after fome time will be in 
danger of coming to pieces at the joints : in gluing each 
piece, care mud alfo be taken to try it to the plan, or 
backing mould, as a trifling difference in each will make 
a very ienfible error in going round the column after the 
gluing. When the glue in the column is dry, proceed to 
work off the angles regularly all round ; the column will 
then have double the number of fldes, or cants ; proceed 
in the fame manner, working off the angles as before, fo 
as to make the column have its fides, or cants, quite re¬ 
gular ; ladly, make a plane to fit the curve of the column 
at the bottom, or rather flatter ; then round off' all the 
angles, until the furface of the column is quite fmooth : 
there is, however, one thing to be obferved in refipedt to 
the moulds for jointing the daves together ; that is, they 
are not exatdly true when applied in a direction perpendi¬ 
cular to the joint ; the proper method to find them true is 
the fame as is tiled to find the backing of a hip rafter, or 
of a pitch lky-light; but however, this. exaifinefs is not 
always attended to, the deviation from the truth being fo 
finall as fcareely to be difeerned. After the column is 
quite finilhed, it ought to be well painted, to preferve it 
from being injured by the weather. 
Another method is, glue up the column into two halves, 
and then glue thefe together; the blockings may be put 
in a conliderable way by hand ; but, if the column is too 
long, a rod of fufticient length may be ufed. Both of 
thefe methods have fome inconveniencies which cannot be 
avoided ; by the former method the laft joints cannot be 
rubbed together becaufe of the tapering of the ftave ; but 
if it is glued quickly, it will be pretty found: by the lat¬ 
ter method there will be an uncertainty of the blockings 
being found. In all cafes, however, obferve that the grain 
of the blocking pieces be put the fame way as the grain 
of the column, that ifaff'edted by weather they may expand 
alike. 
To Glue up the Ionic Capital. 
The manner of gluing up the Ionic capital for a column, 
E C T 17 R E. 
is reprefented in the annexed Plate, at fg. The parts 
marked B B, &c. are triangular blocks of wood, glued 
upon the front, in order-to complete the angular fquare - 
then the pieces A A A, See. are glued upon them ; this 
is conftdered as the beft method of gluing up the capital 
Another method is, to glue the triangular blocks C C, at 
the angle of the abacus; then the four fides of the abacus 
as D E F, may be made of one entire length, and mitered 
at the horns ; or they may have a joint in the middle of 
the abacus, where the role is placed, as the workman 
fliall think fit; this method will either do for a column or a 
pilafter. 
Methods of Diminishing Columns. 
In effecting the diminution of the ffiaft of a column, the 
ancients adopted a variety of methods ; beginning fome- 
times from the foot of the ffiaft, and at others from one 
quarter, or one-third, of its height; the lower part bein^- 
perfectly cylindrical. The former of thefe was mod in 
ufe amongft the ancients; and, being the moft natural 
and graceful, ought to have the preference, though the 
latter has been more univerfally praftifed by modern ar- 
tifts. The fir ft architects, fays M. Auzoult, probably made 
their columns in ftraight lines, in imitation of trees; fo 
that their ffiaft was a fruftrum of a cone : but, finding this 
form abrupt and difagreeable, they made ufe of°fome 
curve, which, fpringing from the extremities of the fu- 
penor and inferior diameters of the column, fwelled be¬ 
yond the fides of the cone, and by that means gave a more 
pleadng figure to the contour. Vitruvius, in the fecond 
chapter of his third book, mentions this practice, but in 
fo obfeure and curfory a manner, that his meaning has not 
been underftood ; and feveral of the modern archite<5ts, 
intending to conform themfelves to his doctrine, have 
made the diameters of their columns greater in the middle 
than at the foot of the ffiaft. Leon Baptifta, Alberti, and 
others of the Florentine and Roman architects, have car¬ 
ried this to a very great excefs; for which they have been 
juftly blamed, as it is neither natural, reafonable, nor 
beautiful. M. Auzoult obferves that a column, fuppo- 
fing its (liafts to be the fruftrum of a cone, may have an 
additional thicknefs in the middle, without being fwelled 
there beyond the bulk of its inferior parts ; and D (uppofes 
the addition mentioned by Vitruvius to fignify nothin ^ but 
the increafe towards the middle of the column, occafion- 
ed by changing the ftraight line, which at firft was in ufe-, 
for a curve. 'Ibis (uppofition is extremely juft, bein"' 
founded on what is obferved in the works of antiquity 1 ; 
where there is no inftance of columns thicker in the mid¬ 
dle than at the bottom, though all have the fwellin«- 
hinted at by Vitruvius, all of them being terminated by 
curves ; fome granite columns excepted, which are bound¬ 
ed by ftraight lines ; a proof, perhaps, of their great anti¬ 
quity. M. Blondel teaches various methods of diminjffiino- 
columns ; the beft of which is by means of the inftrument 
which Nicomedes invented to deferibe the firft conchoid: 
for this, being applied at the bottom of the ffiaft, performs 
at one fweep both the fwelling and the diminution ; giving 
fuch a graceful form to the column, that it is generally aU 
lowed to be the moft perfect practice hitherto difeovered. 
The columns in the Pantheon, accounted the moft beau¬ 
tiful among the antiques, are made in this manner; as ap¬ 
pears by the exaif meafures of one of them to be found in 
Defgodetz’s Antiquities of Rome. To have an accurate 
idea of the operation, it will be neceffary firft 10 tlefcribe 
Vignola’s method of diminution, on which it is grounded. 
Having defcribed the height of the ffiaft, and its inferior 
and fuperior diameters, draw a line indefinitely from C 
through D perpendicular to the axis of the column, as at 
fg. 1. of the following fcheme ; this done, fet off the dif- 
tance C D, which is the inferior femi-diameter, from A, 
the extreme point of the fuperior diameter, to B, a point 
in the axis. Then from A, through B, draw the line 
ABE, which will cut the indefinite line C D in E ; and 
from this point of interfeflion E, draw through the axis 
of the column any number of rays, as. E b a; °on each of 
2 which. 
