Popular Technology Volume II Part 13

THE CARVER.

1. Carving, in its widest sense, is the art of forming figures in various hard substances by means of some cutting instruments, such as a chisel or graver; but, in the restricted sense in which the term is generally applied, it has reference to the production of figures in wood.

2. Carving in wood, in all countries where it has been practised, has ever preceded sculpture, or carving in stone. It is, therefore, an art of the highest antiquity; and, although the same with sculpture in some of its applications, yet it differs from it somewhat in the mode of execution, according with the nature of the material.

3. The art of carving is very extensive in its application, being used in the decorative parts of architecture, both civil and naval, and likewise in ornamenting cabinet-ware, as well as in forming patterns for casting in metals, particularly in iron and bra.s.s. The Gothic style of architecture is peculiarly rich in carved work; and the productions of some ages are more so than those of others.

4. The style of Louis the Fourteenth, of France, so called because practised in his reign, was more overloaded with ornament than any other. A lighter and more beautiful style succeeded, which is still employed for some purposes; but generally the chaste and simple line of Grecian ornament now prevails.

5. In executing any proposed work, a drawing is first made on paper, commonly with a lead-pencil. The part of the paper not embraced in the outline is then cut away, and the remaining portion is laid upon the surface of the wood. The outlines are next drawn on the wood, by moving the pencil around those on the paper. The design having been thus transferred, the superfluous portions of the wood are cut away with carving tools, of which there is a considerable variety of both size and form. The tools are driven with a mallet or with the palm of the hand, but in most cases with the latter.

6. A capacity for designing, and a knowledge of drawing and modelling, are particularly necessary to make a finished carver. Without these qualifications, at least in some degree, one may be a mechanic, but not an artist. The subject most difficult of execution, is the human figure, and in producing it with accuracy, the same qualifications in the artist are required, and the same general process is pursued, as in producing it in marble.

THE GILDER.

1. Carving and gilding are, in most cases, ostensibly united as one business, although in fact they are branches of manufacture totally distinct. The gilder, therefore, who writes over his door, "Carver and Gilder," seldom has any practical knowledge of carving. For every thing in this line of work, he is dependent on the carver, who commonly pursues his business in a private way.

2. The operation of gilding, as performed by those whose business is now under consideration, is executed chiefly on wood. It is employed most frequently for picture and looking-gla.s.s frames, and for upholstery fixtures. It is a mechanical process, and consists in applying gold-leaf to surfaces, in such a manner as to adhere with tenacity.

3. Before the application of the metal, a tedious process must be performed, by way of preparation. The surface to be gilded is successively covered with from five to seven coats of glutinous size, made by boiling sc.r.a.ps of parchment in water, with the addition of a little whiting. The average thickness of the coat thus produced, is about one-sixteenth of an inch.

4. The surface is next rubbed with freestone and pumice stone, of a shape corresponding with the pattern of the frame, while a small quant.i.ty of water is occasionally applied, to increase their effects.

After this, the sizing is rendered still smoother, by friction with sand-paper. This surface is then covered with three coats of _burnished gold size_, which is composed of English pipe clay, venison suet, and French bole, or red chalk, mixed in a suitable quant.i.ty of weak parchment size. The preparation is completed by rubbing the surface with worn sand-paper, by washing it in water with a sponge, and by rubbing it with a piece of cloth.

5. The leaf is laid on with a broad, but thin brush, called a _tip_.

Before the gold is applied, however, the surface is well wet with alcohol and water. When dry, the parts designed to be bright, are burnished with a polished agate or flint. In the best kind of work, a second coat of the leaf is required. In gilding irregular surfaces, such as the ornaments at the corners of frames, a size made of linseed-oil, white lead, yellow ochre, and j.a.pan, is laid on a few hours before the application of the leaf. This is called _gilding in oil_.

6. The ornaments on the frames are cast in moulds, and are made of a composition of glue, whiting, rosin, turpentine, and Burgundy pitch.

The moulds are taken from patterns, originally executed by the carver.

[Ill.u.s.tration: COOPER.]

THE COOPER.

1. The cooper manufactures casks, tubs, pails, and various other articles for domestic use, as well as vessels for containing all kinds of liquids and merchandise of a dry nature. He also applies hoops to boxes which are to be transported, with their valuable contents, to a distance from the cities.

2. The productions of this art being of prime necessity, the trade must have been exercised at a very early period. Roman writers on rural economy speak of the existence of its productions more than two thousand years ago; nevertheless they are still unknown in some countries, and there the inhabitants keep or carry liquids in skins daubed over with pitch.

3. Bottles of this kind were used, more or less, in all parts of the Roman empire, in the days of our Savior; and to such he alluded, when speaking of putting new wine into old bottles. Earthen vessels of various dimensions, were also in extensive use at the same time. The custom of keeping wine in such vessels, is still common in the southern parts of Europe. Pliny accords to the Piedmontese the merit of introducing casks. In his time, they were daubed with pitch.

4. Cedar and oak are the woods chiefly employed as materials in this business; and the persons who carry it on, as well as journeymen, confine their attention to the production of wares from one or the other of these woods; hence the division of the workmen into _cedar coopers_ and _oak coopers_.

5. It is not always the case, however, that every cooper executes all kinds of work belonging to either one of these divisions of the trade; but this is not because there is any peculiar difficulty attending any part of the business, but because some particular kind of coopering is required in preference to others; for example, in some places, flour barrels are the casks most needed; in others, those for sugar, tobacco, pearlash, or some kind of spirits.

6. In ill.u.s.trating the general operations of this business, we will describe the process of making a tub. The timber is first cut to the proper length with the kind of saw used in the cities for cutting fire-wood. It is next split into pieces with a _frow_, the curvature of which corresponds, at least with some degree of exactness, to that of the proposed vessel. The several pieces are then shaved on the edges with a straight _drawing-knife_, on the inside with one of a concave form, and on the outside with one of corresponding convexity.

7. After this, they are jointed on a long plane, which is placed with its face upwards, in an inclined position. The workman is guided in giving the proper angle to the surface cut with the plane, by a wooden gauge of peculiar form. The staves, having been thus prepared, are set up in a _truss-hoop_; and after this has been driven down, one or two others which are to remain are put on. The outside is then made smooth with a convex drawing-knife, and the inside with a smoothing-plane, the edge of which is circular, to correspond with the form of the surface. The inside of small wooden vessels is generally made smooth with a crooked drawing-knife.

8. The staves are now sawn off to a uniform length at the bottom, and a groove is cut for the insertion of the bottom. The latter operation is performed by means of a cutting instrument fixed in a kind of gauge. The several pieces to compose the bottom are brought to the proper form and smoothness with a straight drawing-knife; and, having been slightly fastened together by wooden pins, the whole, as one piece, is inserted in its proper place by driving it down from the top on the inside. The whole process is finished by driving on the hoops, and making the holes in the handles.

9. The cedar employed in this business is a considerable tree, which grows in various parts of the world, but especially in the United States, where it occupies large tracts called _cedar_ or _cypress swamps_. The wood is soft, smooth, and of an aromatic smell. It is likewise much used for shingles. The Dismal Swamp, lying in Virginia and North Carolina, contains an abundance of this kind of timber.

10. The operations in oak vary from those in cedar so far as to conform to the nature of the material, and the form of the vessels manufactured. In bringing the staves to the proper form, the workman is guided altogether by the eye; and, if they must be bent, they require to be heated. The fire for this purpose is made of shavings and chips in a small furnace of sheet iron, called a _crusset_. The hoops, both for cedar and oak wares, are made of thin strips of iron, or of small oak, hickory, ash, or cedar saplings. Within a few years, several machines have been invented, for getting out staves, and for bringing them to the proper form, as well as for performing several other parts of the cooper's operations.

11. The coopers in England derive a great deal of their employment from the West India trade. Barrels, puncheons, and hogsheads, are carried out of the country filled with dry goods, and are returned filled with rum and sugar. In the United States, much work of this kind is done for the same market; but then the staves and heads are only fitted and marked here, to be afterwards put together in the West Indies.

[Ill.u.s.tration: WHEELWRIGHT.]

THE WHEELWRIGHT.

1. The artisan who makes the wood-work of common wheel carriages, or the wheels of coaches, is denominated a wheelwright; but, under this head, we propose to include whatever we may say on constructing and finishing wheel carriages in general.

2. It must be evident, even to a superficial observer, that this business, in its different branches, occupies a large s.p.a.ce in our domestic industry, since almost every farmer in the country owns a vehicle of some sort, and since the streets of our busy cities and towns exhibit, during a great part of the day, scenes of bustle occasioned, in a great measure, by the pa.s.sing and repa.s.sing of carriages of different kinds.

3. The princ.i.p.al kinds of wheel carriages made in this country, are the cart, the wagon, the gig, and the coach; and of each of these there are various sorts, differing in strength and mode of construction, to suit the particular purposes to which they are to be applied. The business of making these vehicles is divided into a number of branches; but, as the manufacture of the coach embraces a greater variety of operations than any other species of carriage, we have selected it as affording the best means of explaining the operations of the whole business.

4. In large establishments for making coaches and other vehicles of the best workmanship, the operators confine their attention to the execution of particular parts of the work; for example, one man makes the wheels, another the carriage and body, another fashions and applies the iron, another does the painting and polishing, and another the tr.i.m.m.i.n.g. In smaller establishments, a greater proportion of the work is executed by one person.

5. The wheels of the coach, as well as those of every other vehicle in which they are used, are composed of a _hub_, and several _spokes_, and _felloes_. The hubs are commonly made of a kind of tough wood, called _gum_, which is reduced to the desired form in the lathe. The hole through the centre is made with a common auger, and enlarged with one tapering towards the point, and having through its whole length two cutting edges. The mortices for the spokes are made with a chisel driven with a mallet.

6. The spokes are made of white oak, and the felloes, of ash or hickory; and both are brought to the required form and smoothness with the saw, axe, drawing-knife, spoke-shave, chisel, and sand-paper. The const.i.tuent parts of the _carriage_, or _running gears_, are the _axles_, _perch_, and _spring_-_beds_, or _bolsters_, to which are added the _tongue_, or _pole_, and some other parts connected with it.

7. The joints in this part of the vehicle are made perfectly tight by the application of putty; whereas, in the body, glue is used for this purpose. The latter substance will not answer in the former case, since it cannot bear exposure to water. The wood generally employed for the carriage part, as well as for the frame of the body, is ash; and the several parts are sawn from planks of suitable thickness. In this part of the work, the operator is guided by patterns made of thin pine boards. The panels of the body are made of thin boards of poplar or ba.s.s-wood. The manner in which the several parts are dressed and put together is too obvious to need description.

8. The wheels and the carriage, after having received one coat of paint, are sent to the blacksmith to be ironed. The hub is bound, at each end with hoops of iron, commonly plated with bra.s.s or silver, and the outside rim or felloes are bound with an iron _tire_, and fastened with strong nails or spikes. The tires are made red-hot before they are applied, that they may be made to fit in every part with accuracy.

9. Bands, bolts, or strips of iron, are applied to those parts of the wood-work which may be exposed to friction, or which require additional strength. The axles are also made of wrought iron, either by the blacksmith who executes the other iron work, or by persons who manufacture them by the quant.i.ty for sale. The same remark is applicable to the _thorough-boxes_, which are inserted into the hub to prevent injury by friction, and to cause the wheel to revolve with freedom and accuracy.

10. The painting, varnishing, and polishing, of the body of the coach, when done in the best manner, comprise a tedious process. It is first covered with a coat of paint; the grain of the wood is then filled up with putty, and the surface is again covered with paint. Five coats of _filling_, composed of ochre, j.a.pan varnish, and spirits of turpentine, are next successively applied. After the surface has been rubbed with a solid piece of pumice-stone, it is again painted, and rubbed with sand-paper. Several coats of paint are next laid on, and the work is finished by the application of a few coats of copal-varnish, and by the use of pumice-stone. The painting and varnishing of the wheels and carriage part, is far less expensive and tedious.

11. The nature of the tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs, and the manner in which they are put together and applied, need not be described, since a few moments'

inspection of a finished vehicle of this kind, will give any one a clear conception of the whole of this branch of the business. So far as tr.i.m.m.i.n.g the inside, and the manufacture of cushions are concerned, the operations are similar to those of the upholsterer.

12. Wheel carriages may be cla.s.sed among the primitive inventions, although the first authentic notice we have of their use, we find in the scripture history of Joseph, the son of Jacob, in which it is related, that this great and good man "was made to ride in the second chariot" of the king's, and that he sent wagons from Egypt to convey thither his father and family from the land of Canaan.

13. Covered wagons were used in the days of Moses; and the wandering Scythians, in the time of the Romans, had them covered with leather.

The seat for the driver is said to have been invented by Oxylus, an aetolian, who took possession of the kingdom of Elis, about 1100 years before Christ. Many of the nations of antiquity used chariots in the field of battle, and the axles were sometimes armed with scythes or some other sharp cutting instruments. Two persons commonly occupied one vehicle, one of whom drove the horses, and the other fought the enemy. The inhabitants of the promised land fought in chariots, even before the settlement of the people of Israel in that country; and the Greeks likewise employed them, for warlike purposes, at the siege of Troy.

14. The carriages used by the Romans were of various kinds, some of which were carried on the shoulders of men, and others, having two or four wheels, were drawn by horses, a.s.ses, mules, or oxen.

Nevertheless, neither they, nor any other nation of antiquity, ever suspended the body of any carriage on leathers, or supported it on springs; and the use of almost every species of vehicle for the conveyance of persons, was banished by the policy of the barbarous nations that afterwards became masters of civilized Europe, the feudal lords conceiving it important, that their military va.s.sals should serve them on horseback.