so that he is at all times able to follow his occupation,
summer or winter, rain or shine; and this also further illustrates the
value of this branch of endeavor as a healthful recreation.

It is the aim of this book to teach boys the primary requirements--not
to generalize--but to show how to prepare and how to do the work; what
tools and materials to use; and in what manner the tools used may be
made most serviceable, and used most advantageously.

It would be of no value to describe and illustrate how a bracket is
made; or how the framework of a structure is provided with mortises and
tenons in order to hold it together. The boy must have something as a
base which will enable him to design his own creations, and not be an
imitator; his mind must develop with his body. It is the principal aim
of this book to give the boy something to think about while he is
learning how to bring each individual part to perfection.

If the boy understands that there is a principle underlying each
structural device; that there is a reason for making certain things a
definite way, he is imbued with an incentive which will sooner or later
develop into an initiative of his own.

It is this phase in the artisan's life which determines whether he will
be merely a machine or an intelligent organism.

This work puts together in a simple, concise form, not only the
fundamentals which every mechanic should learn to know, but it defines
every structural form used in this art, and illustrates all terms it is
necessary to use in the employment of carpentry. A full chapter is
devoted to drawings practically applied. All terms are diagrammed and
defined, so that the mind may readily grasp the ideas involved.

Finally, it will be observed that every illustration has been specially
drawn for this book. We have not adopted the plan usually followed in
books of this class, of taking stock illustrations of manufacturers'
tools and devices, nor have we thought it advisable to take a picture of
a tool or a machine and then write a description around it. We have
illustrated the book to explain "_how to do the work_"; also, to teach
the boy what the trade requires, and to give him the means whereby he
may readily find the form of every device, tool, and structure used in
the art.

CHAPTER I

TOOLS AND THEIR USES

KNOWLEDGE OF TOOLS.--A knowledge of tools and their uses is the first
and most important requirement. The saw, the plane, the hatc