Handwork in Wood Part 7

The _turning-saw_, Fig. 95, is a narrow saw, set in a frame, which stretches the saw tight, so that it works as a tension saw (cf. p. 62).

The best frames are made so that the handles which hold the blade can revolve in the frame. The turning-saw is used chiefly for cutting curves. A 14 inch blade, 3/16 of an inch wide is a good size for ordinary use. The teeth are like those of a rip-saw, so that they are quite likely to tear the wood in cutting across the grain. Allowance should be made for this and the surplus removed with a spokeshave. The turning-saw may be used to cut on either the pulling or the pus.h.i.+ng stroke, with the teeth pointed either toward or away from the worker.

The pulling cut is generally better, as it puts less strain on the frame than the pus.h.i.+ng cut. Both hands should grasp the frame as near the end of the blade as possible, Fig. 95. Turns are made by revolving the frame on the blade as an axis, which should always be kept at right angles to the surface of the board. Care should be taken not to twist the blade.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 95. Using a Turning Saw.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 96. Saw-Vise.]

_To file and set a saw_, the saw is first fastened in the saw-vise, Fig. 96, with the teeth up. It is then top-jointed by running a flat file or a saw-jointer, Fig. 97, back and forth lengthwise along the tops of the teeth to bring them to a level. After jointing the saw should be set. For this purpose a saw-set, Fig. 98, is necessary.

Every alternate tooth is bent in the direction of its set by the plunger in the instrument pus.h.i.+ng against the anvil, which is an adjustable eccentric disc. After the saw is set, it is filed. This is done with a triangular file, Fig. 144, p. 90, which is held in the right hand and its point in the thumb and fingers of the left.

Pressure is applied only on the forward stroke, which should be long and even, the file being raised above the tooth on the return stroke.

The file should cut in the direction of the set, that is, the teeth having the set away from the worker are filed first. Every alternate tooth, 1st. 3d, 5th, etc., is filed, and then the saw is reversed and the other set, the 2nd, 4th, 6th, etc., is filed.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 97. A Saw-Jointer.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 98. Saw-Set.]

In filing a rip-saw the file should move exactly perpendicularly to the plane of the saw blade, that is, directly across the teeth. The filing is done on the back of the teeth, the file just touching the face of the next one. The filing is continued, with one, two, or three strokes, for each tooth, as the case may require, or just until each tooth is sharp.

In filing a crosscut-saw, the file is held pointing upward and toward the point of the saw. The file should cut in the direction of the set. The angle of the cutting edge is determined by the horizontal inclination of the file to the blade; the angle of the point is determined by the perpendicular inclination of the file to the blade.

Finally the sides of the teeth are rubbed lightly with a slipstone to remove the wire edge. It should always be remembered that a saw is an edge tool, and its edges are as liable to injury as any edges.

PLANES.

The _plane_ is a modified chisel. The chief difference in action between a chisel and a plane in paring is this: the back of the chisel lies close down on the surface of the wood that is cut, and acts as a guide; whereas, in the plane, the cutter is elevated at an angle away from the surface of the wood, and only its cutting edge touches the wood, and it is held and guided mechanically by the plane mechanism.

In other words, a plane is a chisel firmly held in a device which raises the cutter at an angle from the work, regulates the depth of the cut, and favors the cutting rather than the splitting action.

An ill.u.s.tration of a chisel converted into a plane is the adjustable _chisel-gage_, Fig. 99.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 99. Adjustable Chisel-Gage.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 100. Wooden Bench-Plane.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 101. Section of Jack Plane.]

The plane has developed as follows: it was first a chisel held in a block of wood. This is all that oriental planes are now, simply a sharpened wedge driven into a block of wood. When the hole works too loose, the j.a.panese carpenter inserts a piece of paper to tighten it, or he makes a new block. The first improvement was the addition of a wooden wedge to hold in place the "plane-iron", as the cutter was formerly called. In this form, the cutter or plane-iron, tho still wedge-shaped, was reversed, being made heavier at the cutting edge in order to facilitate fastening it in the wooden plane-stock by means of the wooden wedge. Then a handle was added for convenience. Then came the cap, the object of which is to break back the shaving and thus weaken it as soon as possible after it is cut. Until a few years ago, this was all that there was in a plane, and such planes are still common, Fig. 100. Finally there appeared the iron plane, Fig. 101, with it various mechanical adjustments. The following are the parts of the Bailey iron plane:[4]

1. Cutter, or bit, or blade, or _plane-iron_.

2. Cap, or _plane-iron cap_, or curling iron.

3. Cutter screw, or _plane-iron Screw_.

4. Clamp, or _lever cap_, or wedge.

5. Clamp screw, or _cap screw_.

6. _Frog_.

7. _Y Adjustment_.

8. Bra.s.s set screw, or _bra.s.s adjusting nut_.

9. Lever (for _lateral adjustment_).

10. _Frog screw_.

11. _Handle_.

12. _k.n.o.b_.

13. _Handle bolt and nut_.

14. k.n.o.b screw, or _k.n.o.b bolt and nut_.

15. _Handle screw_.

16. _Bottom_, or sole.

17. Toe.

18. Heel.

19. Throat.

20. Thumb piece, or clamp lever, or cam.

[Footnote 4: The numbers and names in italics are those given in Stanley's Catalog, No. 34. Some of these names, as "plane-iron,"

are survivals from the days of the wooden plane and are obviously unsuitable now.]

There are various principles involved in the action of the plane. The effect of the flat sole is to regulate the cut of the cutter. If the surface be uneven, the cutter will not cut at all, or but little, in pa.s.sing over low places, since the toe and heel of the sole will then be resting on higher places; but when the cutter reaches a high place a shaving will be taken off. Hence it follows that the longer the plane, the straighter will be the surface produced. The length of the plane used is determined by the length of the wood to be planed, and the degree of straightness desired.

The part of the sole directly in front of the cutter presses firmly down on the wood and so prevents the shaving from splitting far in advance of the edge. It follows that the narrowness of the mouth in a plane is an important factor in the production of smooth surfaces.

This can be regulated by adjusting the toe in the block-plane, and by moving the frog in the jack- and smooth-planes.

A recent improvement in jack-, smooth-, and fore-planes consists of an adjustable frog, by means of which the throat can be narrowed or widened at will by means of a set-screw in the rear of the frog without removing the clamp and cutter. It is made by Sargent and Company. The Stanley "Bed Rock" plane has a similar but less convenient device.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 102. Sighting Along the Sole of Jack-Plane.]

The splitting of the wood in advance of the edge is also prevented by the breaking of the shaving as it hits against the cutter or its cap.

Hence the advantage of bending up and breaking or partly breaking the shaving as soon as possible after it is cut. This shows why the cap is set close to the edge of the cutter. Another reason is that it thereby stiffens the cutter and prevents "chattering." If a thick shaving be desired the cap has to be set farther back. In a smooth-plane 1/32 inch is enough, in a jack-plane 1/8 inch is often desirable. The following are the planes in common use:

The _jack-plane_, Fig. 102, 14" to 15" long, is the one used where a considerable amount of material is to be taken off to bring a piece of wood to size, and therefore the outline of the cutting edge instead of being straight is slightly curved or "crowned" so that in planing the surface of a board it makes a series of shallow grooves, the ridges of which must afterward be smoothed off by another plane. Also for beginners whose hands are not strong it is sometimes wise to grind the cutter with some "crown", in order to take off narrow shavings, which require less strength. For school use, where the jack-plane is used for all purposes, the cutter is usually ground almost straight and only the corners rounded as in the smooth-plane and the fore-plane.[5]

[Footnote 5: In whetting a plane-bit, a slight crown may be given it by rubbing a bit harder at the ends of the edge than in the middle. Strop in the same way as a chisel (p. 59).]

The _fore-plane_, 22" to 26" long, and the _jointer_, 28" to 30" long, are large planes, similar to the jack-plane, except that the cutting edge is straight. They are used for straightening and smoothing long pieces.

The _smooth-plane_, 5-1/2" to 10" long, is a short plane, similar to the jack-plane, except that the cutting edge is straight. It is used for smoothing.

These four planes, the jack-plane, the fore-plane, the jointer, and the smooth-plane, are essentially alike, and directions for the use of one apply to all.

There are two chief adjustments in the Bailey iron plane: the bra.s.s set-screw, see 8 in Fig. 101, which regulates the depth of the cut, and the lever, 9, which moves the cutter sidewise so that it may be made to cut evenly. The skilful worker keeps constant watch of these adjustments. It is well to form the habit of always sighting along the sole before beginning to plane, in order to see that the cutter projects properly, Fig. 102. It is a common mistake among beginners to let the cutter project too far.

It is important to know what is the best order of procedure in planing up a board. There are often reasons for omitting the planing up of one or more surfaces, but it is wise to form the habit of following a regular order, and the following is suggested as a good one:

1. Working face. Plane one broad side flat and smooth. Finish with the plane set to cut line shavings. Test with try-square. Mark this face with a distinct pencil mark, A, Fig. 103.

2. Working edge. Plane one narrow side straight and square with the working face. Test with try-square, pressing the block of the try-square against the working face. Mark the working edge with two distinct pencil marks, B, Fig. 103.

3. End. First mark the width on the working face with the marking-gage, C, 1-2, Fig. 103. Chisel off the corner, _a_, of the piece outside this gaged line. True and smooth this end with the plane, making it square with both working face and working edge, D, 2, 3, 4, Fig. 103.

4. Length. Measure the length from the finished end, D, 2-3-4, score across the working face, D, 5-6, and working edge, D, 6-7, using a sharp knife point and the try-square. Saw just outside this line, D, 5-6-7, with the back-saw, cut off the narrow corner, D, _b_, beyond the gaged line and plane true, E, Fig. 103.

5. Width. Plane to the center of the gaged line, E, 1-2. Test this edge from the working face, F, Fig. 103.

6. Thickness. Mark the thickness with the marking-gage all around the piece, F, 8-9-10. Plane to the center of the gaged line, G, Fig. 103.

Test this face for flatness.