Читать книгу Boys' Make-at-Home Things - Carolyn Sherwin Bailey - Страница 6

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A GOOD practical workbench may be made by any boy who can handle the simplest tools and procure a little suitable lumber.

The lumber should be bought at a lumber yard, in the rough, which will cost a great deal less than finished boards.

It will require 26 ft. of two-by-four pine boards, 12 ft. of two-by-six’s, and 23 ft. of one-by-six’s. The two-by-four’s cost one and three-quarters cents a running foot, the two-by-six’s are two and a half cents, and the one-by-six’s, one and a half cents. The boards come in regular lengths, from ten feet up to sixteen, or in some cases, up to twenty-four feet long. It will be best to get a twenty-four foot one-by-six board if possible, a twelve foot two-by-six, one twelve foot and one fourteen foot two-by-four. This will make the total cost for boards one dollar and twelve cents.

Aside from the pine boards for the bench itself it will require a piece of oak measuring three by four inches and thirty-four inches long, for the bench vise; a screw and handle for the vise (costing thirty-five cents at any hardware store); a pound of four inch nails; and two square headed iron bolts, one half inch in diameter and four inches long, each fitted with two iron washers and one square nut.

Saw off, first, from the twelve foot two-by-four, four pieces thirty-three inches long. These are the legs of the bench, and they are to stand with their broad four-inch faces toward the ends of the bench. Then cut in each one of these joints like those shown in Fig. 1. The sides in which the joints are cut face toward each other at the ends of the bench and into them is fitted the supporting framework.

For the lower framework cut from the fourteen foot two-by-four two pieces forty-two inches long and four pieces nineteen inches long. Two of the nineteen-inch pieces are to be left as they are, but the other two and the two forty-two inch pieces should have joints cut at the ends like Fig. 2. These joints, as well as the joints in the uprights, are cut with a saw, and the wood is split out with a chisel. Then these four jointed pieces are fitted together and glued or nailed to form a framework nineteen by forty-two inches. The four uprights are then fitted in place and nailed, increasing the width of the ends to twenty-three inches. Then the other two nineteen-inch pieces are fitted into the top of the uprights across each end, and nailed in place. Four braces (Fig. 3) for the ends are made from two sixteen-inch pieces of the one-by-six stock. Each piece is first cut in two, lengthwise, with a rip saw. This makes four pieces twenty inches long by three inches wide. Mark the center joint of each end of each piece. Then measure on both sides, from each end, a distance of one and a half inches. Connect these points with the end points by a line and saw off the corners, leaving on each end a right-angled point. The braces are then nailed in place as shown in Fig. 4.

Diagrams of a Practical Work-bench.

Diagrams of a Practical Work-bench.

This finishes the body part of the bench. Next, cut from the one-by-six board a piece fifty-six inches long. Fit it across the front of the frame, just even, or flush with the top, and projecting seven inches beyond the uprights at either end. Then nail in position.

Cut from the twelve foot two-by-six board two pieces fifty-six inches long. Place one of them across the top of the bench at the extreme front, so that it is flush with the wide surface of the front board. Nail this to the end framework and nail the second piece in position just back of it.

It is necessary for this much of the top to be very heavy, for this is where the heavy strain of the work will come. The remainder of the top is made of two strips of one-by-six wood. In order to make this even with the two front strips which are thicker it is necessary to put pieces underneath it at each end. For these cut a piece of one-by-six board twelve inches long and rip it in two. Place these strips along the end frame, then place the top boards on them and nail all in position. When this is done the whole top of the bench may be made partially smooth, if it is desired, with a jack plane. Then cut one more strip of one-by-six fifty-six inches long and nail across the back of the bench, allowing it to project three inches above the top.

The vise, as it comes from the store, consists of a long, straight, square-headed screw about an inch in diameter, which ends in a round iron plate and a T-shaped pipe. The plate is loose but not removable. Through the T a long wooden handle fits. Beside this there is an elliptical plate holding a threaded pipe which the screw works in. To put it together, first make a piece from the remaining two-by-six like Fig. 5. This piece forms the inner side of the vise and fits inside of the front piece of the bench, just touching the under side of the top, and outside of the lower framework. Its edge should be four inches in from the front leg of the bench. Corresponding holes are made with a bit and brace in the front piece of the bench and counter-sunk a half inch. The two pieces are then bolted together, the heads of the bolts and the iron washer fitting down in the counter-sink, and the other washer being placed under the nut on the other side. The receptacle for the vise screw is fastened in position through the back of Fig. 5.

Next, the piece of oak is prepared for the vise jaw. It is slanted off at the ends like Fig. 6, the outer edges rounded, a hole somewhat larger than the vise screw cut through as shown, and a joint cut through with chisel and hammer near the bottom. Into this joint fit Fig. 7, a piece of wood one by four inches and twelve inches long, which is intended to keep the jaws of the vise approximately even. It fits into the oak with a drive fit and has holes zigzagged or “staggered” across it into which a round peg three inches fits. By placing this peg in different holes the bottom opening of the vise may be adjusted to correspond with the desired top opening.

The long screw of the vise is slipped through the hole made for it, and the plate is screwed in place.

Work Bench Complete.

This completes a bench which will prove a great help to the boy workman, and which takes scarcely more time in making than it has in describing.