eful articles.

Sugar and maple are two hard woods which may be added to the list.
Sugar, particularly, is a good-working wood, but maple is more
difficult. Spruce, on the other hand, is the strongest and toughest
wood, considering its weight, which is but a little more than that of
pine.

DIFFERENCES IN THE WORKING OF WOODS.--Different woods are not worked
with equal facility by all the tools. Oak is an easy wood to handle
with a saw, but is, probably, aside from ash, the most difficult wood
known to plane.

Ash is hard for the saw or the plane. On the other hand, there is no
wood so easy to manipulate with the saw or plane as cherry. Pine is
easily worked with a plane, but difficult to saw; not on account of
hardness, but because it is so soft that the saw is liable to tear it.

FORCING SAWS IN WOOD.--One of the reasons why the forcing of saws is
such a bad practice will be observed in cutting white or yellow pine.
For cross-cutting, the saw should have fine teeth, not heavily set, and
evenly filed. To do a good job of cross-cutting, the saw must be held at
a greater angle, or should lay down flatter than in ripping, as by so
doing the lower side of the board will not break away as much as if the
saw should be held more nearly vertical.

These general observations are made in the hope that they will serve as
a guide to enable you to select your lumber with some degree of
intelligence before you commence work.

CHAPTER XIV

WOOD TURNING

ADVANTAGES OF WOOD TURNING.--This is not, strictly, in the carpenter's
domain; but a knowledge of its use will be of great service in the
trade, and particularly in cabinet making. I urge the ingenious youth to
rig up a wood-turning lathe, for the reason that it is a tool easily
made and one which may be readily turned by foot, if other power is not
available.

SIMPLE TURNING LATHE.--A very simple turning lathe may be made by
following these instructions:

THE RAILS.--Procure two straight 2" x 4" scantling (A), four feet long,
and planed on all sides. Bore four 3/8-inch holes at each end, as shown,
and 10 inches from one end four more holes. A plan of these holes is
shown in B, where the exact spacing is indicated. Then prepare two
pieces 2" x 4" scantling (C), planed, 42 inches long, one end of each
being chamfered off, as at 2, and provided with four bolt holes. Ten
inches down, and on the same side, with the chamfer (2) is a cross gain
(3), the same angle as th