Excerpt from Hand Made Furniture and How to Make It: Designed for the Use of Those Seeking Either a Pleasant and Profitable Occupation or Such Furniture for Their Homes as Shall Express Their Own Artistic Taste, and Stand for Sturdy Honesty of Purpose, Simple Beauty, Comfort and Durability

In our cuts we have made no attempt at fine drawing but have used the fewest possible lines for the sake of plainness and only so much shading as is necessary. Single lines usually designate the outline of solid parts. Dotted lines show the outlines of parts lying beneath the surface, or in other words, as if seen through the object, and are used merely to show the location of parts which would really be invisible. Wavv lines are generally used where only a part of a piece is shown and designate that the piece is really longer than drawn but the part beyond the wavy line is not necessary in the illustration. We have used shading to show end grain in some cases but. More often to show where a part is cut awav as in the side of a tenon, etc. Dimensions are shown by arrow pointed lines. Where these lines point in Opposite directions with the figures between them or point toward each other with the figures at the end of one arrow, they give the distance in both cases between the arrow points.

The choice of wood depends largely on the purpose for which it is to be used and personal taste. You will probably have no occasion to use other woods than fir, oak andmahogany, with possibly some pine. Fir is soft and likely to splinter if not carefully handled, but is easy to work, the grain is wavy and beautiful and it can be finished to equal oak i u beauty. Oak is harder but more durable and admits of a very high polish. It is much stronger and therefore, except where proportion requires size, the parts can be made much smaller than when using fir. As, for instance, in chair and table legs, braces, etc. Oak also bends better than fir but it is necessary to steam it for this purpose and unless you have proper steam box and clamps to hold it until dry, we do not advise attempt ing to bend the parts. Mahogany has been the most highly prized of these three woods until recently. And is the most expensive, but oak has largely taken its place in fine furniture of this style, as it is more in keeping with the straight lines. Pine is soft, light and not so likely to Splinter as fir, but has little grain and is not used extensively except in concealed parts where strength is not essential. In most lumber, and especially that with much fiake or grain, you will find that the grain does not lay flat on the surface, but comes up to the surface at an angle and in planing it is important to cut in the direction of this grain, not against it, as in the latter case it will chip up and leave nicks in the surface instead of cutting smooth. In using the scraper on fir you have to be careful or it will cut deeper in the soft grain of the wood than on the flake, and make a wavy surface instead of a flat one. This, however, can be avoided with a little care.

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