ur tools may be made of the roughest lumber.

The plans here drawn will answer for the rough or fine material, but we
suppose that medium material is to be used. It will be taken for granted
that the reader is able to procure enough two-by-four-inch timber to
supply studs, ribs, purlins, rafters, beams, and posts for the frame shown
in Fig. 49. Two pieces of four-by-four-inch timber each fifteen feet long
should be made for sills by nailing two-by-fours together. Add to this
some tongue-and-grooved boarding or even rough boards for sides and roof,
some enthusiasm, and good American pluck and the shop is almost as good as
built.

First lay the foundation, eight by fifteen feet, and then you may proceed
to dig your post-holes. The outside of the posts should be flush or even
with the outside edges of the sills and end beams of the house as shown in
the diagram. If there are four posts on each of the long sides they should
be equal distances apart.

Dig the holes three feet deep, allowing six inches of the posts to
protrude above ground. If you drive two stakes a short distance beyond the
foundation in line with your foundation lines and run a string from the
top of one stake to the top of the other you can, without much trouble,
get it upon a perfect level by testing it and adjusting until the string
represents the level for your sill. When this is done, set your posts to
correspond to the level of the string, then place your sill on top of the
posts and test that with your level. If found to be correct, fill in the
dirt around the posts and pack it firmly, then spike your sill to the
posts and go through the same operation with opposite sets of posts and
sill.

Fig. 49.

[Illustration: Frame of two-by-fours milled lumber, with names of parts.]

The first difficult work is now done and, with the exception of the roof,
the rest only needs ordinary care.

It is supposed that you have already sawed off and prepared about nine
two-by-four-inch beams each of which is exactly eight feet long. Set these
on edge from sill to sill, equal distances apart, the edges of the end
beams being exactly even with the ends of the sills as in Fig. 49. See
that the beams all cross the sills at right angles and toe-nail them in
place. You may now neatly floor the foundation with one-inch boards; these
boards must be laid lengthwise with the building and crosswise with the
beams. When this is finished you will have a beautiful platform o