Till Locks - Cut Cupboard Locks - Box Locks - Desk Locks - Straight Cupboard Locks - Wardrobe Locks - Nettlefold's Piano Lock - Spring Catches - Flush Bolts - Socket Castors - Screw Castors - Pin Castors - Castor Rims - Dining-table and Pivot Castors - Iron-plate Castors - Ball Castors - Wright's Ball Castor - Paw Castors - Butt Hinges-Back-flap Hinges - Card-table Hinges - Desk Hinges - Screen Hinges - Centre Hinges - Piano Hinges - Hinge Plates - Escutcheon Plates and Thread Escutcheons - Brass Handles.

To treat of cabinet brass - work in anything like an exhaustive manner in the present volume is, of course, out of the question; but to entirely ignore the more important articles would hardly be considerate towards the novice. Those things which are of general utility therefore, will receive attention in the present chapter, and will at any rate serve to show something of the extent to which the cabinet-maker is catered for by the cabinet brass-founder. Somehow or other the subject has almost escaped notice in handbooks purporting to be guides to the construction of furniture, or where it has been referred to in technical works the writers have concerned themselves more with the things used by builders and joiners than with those of the cabinet-maker. At present, of course, only those things which concern him will be mentioned.

Among the most prominent of these are locks, of which there are many varieties, not only in quality but in shape and general arrangement, to enable them to be used in various situations. With the peculiarities of construction and the differences between the various kinds, so far as the mechanism of the interior is concerned, it will be unnecessary to waste space. The quality is more a matter of price than anything else, whether the lock be lever, tumbler, or one of the somewhat numerous patents. For ordinary purposes, lever locks are generally more popular than other forms, but the user may safely consult his own ideas on the kind he gets.

The till lock is for drawers and similar parts of work. In it the bolt shoots upwards when the key is turned, catching in the fixed wood above, and so prevents the part to which it is attached being withdrawn. When fixing this or other locks which have to be let into the wood, the space it is to occupy should be carefully marked out with gauge and square, the waste wood being removed with a chisel. The exact place in which to cut the hole for the bolt to shoot into may be somewhat troublesome for the novice unless he knows how to find it. All difficulties, however, will disappear if he adopts the following expedient: After fixing the lock, smear the top of the bolt with a little colour of any kind - gas-black and glue, or anything of the sort - close the drawer and then turn the key as far as it will go. The bolt will then shoot against the bearer and leave an imprint showing the exact size and position of the space to be cut out. This may be done with an ordinary chisel, although there are bent ones made for the purpose. These, however, are not necessary in ordinary work. The position of keyholes must be accurately gauged, and they should be carefully cut, as nothing looks worse than a slovenly hole. The wider, or round part, for the shank of the key, should be bored and the rest cut out with a fine saw or chisel, as may be most convenient, and finished by filing, when necessary. For ordinary drawer work the most useful size is 2f inches long, with a distance to pin, i.e., space between top of lock through which bolt shoots and the pin on which key turns, 3/4 in. and 7/8 in.

It may be mentioned that in some locks there are no pins, the end of the key fitting into a hole bored through the outer plate of the lock. This form is sometimes considered to have advantages over the ordinary pipe key, inasmuch as it cannot get choked up with dirt and there is no lock-pin to be broken or displaced.

Cut cupboard locks are exactly similar to drawer locks in general principle and arrangement, the only difference being that as they are fixed in door-frames the bolts shoot at right angles to the keyholes. Were it not that a keyhole cut across a door-stile looks awkward, the drawer lock might be used instead of the cut cupboard lock, and vice versa in the case of drawers. Some locks having keyholes cut both ways, may be used either for cupboards or drawers. Cupboard locks are made right or left handed, i.e., for the bolt to shoot either to the right or left, so that by the exercise of a little discretion the cabinet-maker should never be under the necessity of making a keyhole upside down. In all cases the distance to pin should be considered, so that the keyhole may come fairly in the centre of the stile, though absolute exactitude in this respect can hardly be considered necessary, and is not always possible.

Box locks are, as their names indicates, used for boxes and parts where they can be fixed under similar conditions. In them the bolt, or rather bolts, are altogether concealed within the lock, hooking into links which sink into holes in the edges and forming parts of the plates which are always supplied with such locks. To find the position for fixing the plates, which of course should be sunk flush, it is only necessary to put the plate on the lock after this has been secured and shut down the lid so that this is marked.

When cut with keyholes in three ways, these locks may be used, as they often are, for right or left handed locks for sideboard pedestal or other doors, when these cover the ends, as well as for their ostensible purpose. When used for pedestals the locks, of course, are fitted to the ends and the plates on the doors, which - to simplify explanation - may then be considered as lids fitted perpendicularly.

Desk locks are similar in principle to those last-named, which, in office and other large desks, are often, indeed generally, used instead of the former. In the form ordinarily used on small fancy or portable desks, and specially entitled to the designation of desk lock, the hook-shaped bolts project, fitting in and hooking to plates with holes through them. It is, therefore, necessary not only to sink the plate, but to cut spaces for the bolts. A variety of lock with hook bolts is so made that these lie flush when not in use.