HOME TRAINING IN CABINET WORK. PRACTICAL TALKS ON STRUCTURAL WOOD-WORKING. SECOND OF THE SERIES RO USKIN, in one of his essays, declares: "It may be proved with much certainty, that God intends no man to live in this world without working; but it seems to me no less evident that he intends every man to be happy in his work. It is written, 'In the sweat of thy brow,' but it was never written, 'In the breaking of thine heart shalt thou eat bread"." Fortunately, for the bread-winner, it is easy to learn to love the work for which the worker has any natural aptitude, and that which we love to do we learn to do well, and to enjoy, until in many cases the fascination of the work becomes a ruling passion. The instinct of doing things is a common one, and can be made a source of pleasure, healthy discipline and usefulness, even when the work is taken up as a recreation, and it is this purpose mainly that this series of Home Training in Cabinet-Work is intended to serve. When one has made with his own hands any object of use or ornament there is a sense of personal pride and satisfaction in the result, that no expenditure of money can buy, and this very fact serves to dignify the task and to stamp it with individuality. The old-time cabinet-maker wrought into his work not only his own personality, but something of the thought, suggestion or wish, of the person for whom the piece was made, and the result of the combined effort was very different from the machine-made products and automatic processes of to-day. The boy or man who spends a few leisure hours in working out the details and studying the results of his own handiwork, has found a source of personal gratification,-an expression of himself, that will more than repay the time and labor expended, and it seems to me that cabinet-work most naturally lends itself to such a purpose. At an early age, after having learned the trade of stone mason, besides working at many other trades, I came by the force of circumstances to take up cabinet work. I soon learned that I had come to one of the most interesting and fascinating of trades, and this interest and pleasure has grown with my growth, and strengthened with my strength, through every stage of my experience as a manufacturer and builder. I may therefore be pardoned for thinking that cabinet-work is of all the crafts the most generally helpful and stimulating, to both the constructive and creative faculties. That the pleasure of shaping things is a primitive instinct, outlasting the primitive stage of development, is evident in the whittling habit, which seems to unite leisure and meditation with a pastime and a definite purpose in their simplest forms, whether the result be a toy whistle or a walking-stick, or simply a pile of whittlings for fire kindlings. If you have ever seen the boy or man occupied with a jack-knife and stick, you can hardly fail to have noticed the air of contentment, mixed with silent satisfaction as he paused to note the progress of his work. This outward indication of a contented mind is generally characteristic of the artisan in the workshops where handicraft prevails, and with it is usually found the stamp of intelligence, in happy contrast to Markham's "Brother to the Ox." Something of the conquering spirit which marks the successful man in almost every department of human achievement, is generally traceable to the discipline and shaping influence incident to the mastery of the details of some form of manual labor in early life, or the dowry of heredity from a working ancestry. Therefore, without wishing to sermonize, I like to dwell upon this phase of the subject, and to insist that there is as much genuine satisfaction in the making of a chair or table, if well designed and well executed, as in producing a work of art or a finished essay. I should not be true to my own convictions in connection with these cabinet-work lessons, if I did not try to impress upon the reader the value of the moral, mental and physical discipline of manual labor, whether as a daily avocation or a restful and strengthening change for the brain worker in hours of leisure. To almost every boy or man, however, is given some natural tendency or capacity, which, if fostered, would enable him to excel in this special direction, but all are not born mechanics or cabinetmakers, any more than great painters or poets, and it is more with the purpose of encouraging and aiding those who are inclined to find pleasure and recreation in cabinet-work, than to instruct the journeyman, that the plans and drawings of this series are chosen. In putting these home lessons into practice it is necessary that the worker should have some natural ability for this kind of work, to be able to learn readily the use of the necessary tools and how to keep them in proper condition so that it will be a pleasure to work with them. A fondness for and knowledge of woods will also add much to the pleasure of the work, and a sense of proportion is also very necessary, but this, however, can be acquired by careful observation. At least some knowledge of drawing is required to be able to read and understand a detail, and to lay out work. The teaching of drawing in the public schools, and evening schools, is a very helpful factor in this direction, especially in the more practical elements of composition and design. In this connection there would seem to be no better practical application of lessons in drawing, than the working out of some one or more of the pieces shown in this series, the plans for which are intended to be so plain and clearly defined that with proper study and work the result will be reasonably satisfactory. As an easily progressive stage from the six simple pieces given in the former article, and to lend variety for choice, I have selected for the second lesson three tabourets and three tables, each of different design, simple, structural, and easily made, any one of which will make a useful addition to the home. Any suggestion, or choice for future pieces for study and practice, will be cheerfully considered and adopted if practicable. Reports of progress and photographs of any finished article will be gladly received and reproduced from time to time, as the series proceeds. T table. TWO DESIGNS FOR TABOURETS HESE pieces are almost identical in construction, yet differ in size and shape of A few construction points may be noted: Where the tenons of the legs come through the top they should be wedged-then planed flush with the top. In cutting the mortises for the stretchers of the square tabouret note that there is one-half an inch difference in the heights of the two stretchers. A dowel pin three-eights of an inch in diameter runs all the way through the legs holding the tenon of the stretcher-this is planed off flush with the sides of the leg. Any soft wood, as pine or white wood, may be used, or the harder woods, if desired. 18 in. 11 in. 17 in. I 2 in. 2 in. 134 in. 21/2 in. I in. pattern |