138 
RERAMIC STUDIO 
is much more easih" and quickly made and in most cases I 
believe it to be as strong, and sometimes stronger. 
Dowel wood, which can be bought at hardware stores, 
comes in round sticks about 3 feet long and from 3-16 of an 
inch to an inch in diameter. It costs about a cent a stick. 
The pieces to be joined by dowels are inade to fit perfectly, 
usually a plain butt joint, and corresponding holes are bored 
in them with a bit of the size of the dowel wood to be used. 
Dust and bits of wood are cleaned out of the holes and glue 
worked in them and on the faces of the pieces. The dowels are 
cut to a fraction less than the combined depth of the holes; 
the ends are trimmed by ruixning around them with a sharp 
knife or bit of sandpaper. They are then inserted in one side 
and the other piece forced down on them and clamped together 
until dry. 
There is a tendency among some craftsmen to look on the 
use of glue as objectionable and the resort of only the lazy or 
unskilled workman. This is not true, as it is a perfecth* 
legitimate method of joining wood, provided the reasonable 
rules of construction are regarded. Two boards properly glued 
are more apt to split on the grain than where they are joined; 
comes to be an eyesore and perpetual reproach. The whole 
article, unless small and simple, need not be put together at 
once, but, for instance, the back and front of a chair would be 
made separatelj- and then joined together by the side rails and 
braces. The pieces should stay in the clamps until the glue 
is thoroughly drj", several hours or more. A dry day is best 
for glueing. 
Another means of securing lightness with strength in con- 
struction, is bj^ glueing blocks on the inside, as in corners or 
wherever it seems best to reinforce the structiire. 
In casework with panels, the uprights and rails may Ije 
joined together with mortise and tenon, dowels or tongue and 
groove as seems best in each case. A groove is run in the up- 
right and rail for the panel, which should be able to work freely 
in it. It should be fastened in the center of the ends, so that 
shrinkage and expansion may be from that point and not from 
one edge to another. It should be about x of an inch smaller 
than the place allowed for it, so it will have room to expand 
without bulging in damp weather. If the piece is to be stained, 
the panel shovild be colored before it is put in, otherwise there 
will be a light line if it shrinks. 
and its use so strengthens a joint that greater lightness and 
grace are possible, and present use and convenience must often 
l)e considered before the soliditj^ which outlasts generations. 
Hot glue made fresh each time from flake or granular glue 
is best, but a good, reader made liqviid kind, such as Le Page's, 
is satisfactory and saves time in preparation though it takes 
longer to set. 
AH joints must be perfectly fitted in every part so there 
shall be no strain or twisting of one piece from another when the 
whole is clamped together. The pieces should be warm and the 
glue applied warm, and worked well into dowel holes and mortise 
and spread evenh' on dowels, tenons and all surfaces that come 
together, and it should be done as rapidly and neatly as possi- 
ble. The pieces are then put together and drawn tightly 
with clamps, small blocks of wood being placed between them 
and work so it shall not be marred or dented. When it is 
necessary to bring close fitting joints together with a mallet, 
a piece of wood .should be held against the surface to be forced, 
as it is almost impossible to get a dent out, and by far the best 
way is not to get one in. Every slip or carelessness of any kind 
Ills. IV, V and VI shows some ways of framing casework. 
111. VII shows some ways of setting in shelves. 
No. IV is a chiffonier of the simplest construction, the 
method being shown in the diagram. The partitions between 
the drawers are set in grooves and dowelled, the back is joined 
by dowels and run in grooves in the sides and fastened only 
at the top and bottom. 
No. V is a chest with one drawer. The plan of it shcnvs 
the method of building up corners where it is not desirable to 
have them solid. It is all dowelled together and the panels 
run in grooves. 
No. VI might be a bookcase, a china closet or cabinet. 
The lower plan shows how it is framed with mortise and tenon 
ioints and solid posts, and section of the bottom showing how 
it forms a stop for the doors. The other plan shows the fram- 
ing of the panels in the side and back. 
Ills. X and XI show an appropriate use of the keyed 
mortise and tenon, and, in the latter, the lap joint. 
111. VIII .shows how drawers are framed, the proper direc- 
tion of the grain and several ways of setting them in the frame. 
