IN undertaking this shop work you will find many things which are a little different to the regular recitation work to which you have been accustomed in the other subjects. Here you will have a chance to learn by doing as well as by thinking, and also to use some of the experience which you have had at home and elsewhere. There are so many activities going on about you that you are constantly meeting with many different kinds of material; the purpose of this work will be to help you to understand those things.

Shop work is not merely to furnish you employment for your hands, but to teach you to think as well as work, for skillful work comes only from hands that are properly guided by the mind. There are so many valuable and interesting things presented in these lessons that you have a chance to select such things which you desire to make. But before making your selection you should discuss it with your teacher. After you have made a selection and commenced a piece of work, complete it to the very best of your ability before leaving it. Sometimes a student wants to leave a piece of work before it is done; this disposition encourages very bad habits and is sure to develop a boy into an unsuccessful business man if it is continued. Always complete a task when you undertake it, even though you may find some portions of it a Tittle difficult.

In every lesson there are illustrations showing you just how the finished product will appear. The bill of material tells you exactly what lumber, hardware and other supplies are necessary in making the article. The material may not be furnished to you in exactly the number of pieces and sizes given in the bill, but with a little thought you will be able to cut the required pieces from stock lumber. In cutting from stock always be very careful to avoid wasting material. Always read over the bill and look at the picture and see if you can tell for which portion of the article each piece is intended.

The introductory statement on the first page should be very carefully read, for this will give you an idea of the purpose of the thing which you are to make and you will thus see that it is valuable from a practical standpoint. The references given at the bottom of the page are of great importance, not so much in training your hand as in teaching you to think accurately and to understand some of the great questions which are so important to men who are running the affairs of the world. If you have access to a good library you will be well paid for the effort of looking up all these references and studying them in detail. It would be an excellent plan to keep a notebook and write notes on such articles as are of particular interest. This information will be quite valuable in a very few years, when you are called upon to earn your way in the world and compete with men who are carrying on the activities of your community.

On the next page of each lesson you will find complete working drawings showing the shape and dimensions of every piece. You must not expect to understand a drawing perfectly at the first glance; it will require careful study of every drawing to be able to make your work as it should be. If you do not understand how to read drawings, turn to the chapter on mechanical and working drawings and study this chapter very carefully, for it will enable you to understand just how the drawings are made. All shop drawings are made on the same principles. The purpose of this chapter is to explain those things to you.

On the lower portion of this drawing space is given a number of ideas which you may use if you desire. This does not mean that the ways given on this page are the only ways in which an article can be made, but these are some of the ways which are quite often used. In many of the lessons you may be able to pick out some original plan which you will desire to use; it would be well for you to discuss your plan with your teacher, or possibly your parents, or some one who has had experience, and find out the good and poor points in your plan. If you work out a plan of your own, it would be very desirable for you to make a complete working drawing before undertaking the work. Your teacher will no doubt advise on this matter-

The working specifications on the next page are intended to assist you in making each part. These specifications do not attempt to tell you everything which you are expected to do. You are left to think for yourself. The references given in parentheses refer to the chapters in the supplement at the close of the book. If you are told to perform any sort of tool operation and do not understand it, turn back to the supplement and you will find an explanation, and possibly illustrations showing you exactly how this particular process should be executed. You should study these explanations very carefully and perform the processes accordingly. Do not fail to look up all of the references so you can be sure that you are handling your tools properly.

The suggestions for optional projects employing similar principles are intended to awaken your thought and to furnish you something to do during outside periods or home work. The principles which you gather from these lessons should be made valuable to you in your practical everyday life. If you will think very carefully you will notice that each suggestion guides you in the making of things which will be quite useful; they are of course not exactly like the things which you have made in the shop, but they employ the same principles, and you should be able to make them without any difficulty.

The real value which you get out of this work will depend very largely upon your ability to make useful articles about your home. The making of any one project in itself might not be of any great importance to you, but what you learn in making that thing may save you a great many dollars. Keep this in mind and try to learn as much as possible from whatever you are making; you can do this only by giving it your best attention and doing it the very best you know how. Some students have the habit of going to the teacher and asking whether a piece of work is 'good enough.' No piece of work is good enough unless it is the very best that you can do. Keep in mind that if you expect a piece of work to be beautiful and perfect when completed it must be correctly done from the very start. A little error in the beginning of a piece of work is quite likely to be evident when the thing is finished. The time to commence being careful is when you begin the project.

Another important thing which you are to learn from this work is the value of having a place for everything and keeping it in its proper place. There is no one subject in school which will give you such an excellent opportunity to show that you have habits of orderly arrangements. Always keep your tools in the proper place on your bench. See that your tools are kept sharp and clean. When you are through with your bench, remove the scraps, put the tools in the proper places and brush the dust from your bench. A business man would not want to employ a young man who has careless habits. The only way to develop habits of neatness and care is to practice such things in all of your work.

Be sure that you do not overlook the suggestions for community research. These suggestions will guide you into some of the most interesting things in connection with your school work.

There will be a great many things found out in this research work which will be worth while to enter in your notebook. You may not now see the value of keeping a notebook, but you will appreciate it after a few years.

The questions and problems are intended to point out to you some things worth remembering. So even though some of these questions and problems may seem a little difficult, it will be well worth your while to think about them and find the solution. It is not the things that are easiest done that give us most strength, so, even though some of the things may be difficult, approach them with a good will and determination and you will soon be quite proud of the results.

You should equip yourself, if possible, with a bench and some tools in some sort of shop so that you could do work at home. It does not require a separate building nor very much space; a corner in the garage, tool shed, barn or basement would answer very satisfactorily. You could make your own bench, following the instructions given in this text, and it would not require very much expense to equip yourself with the necessary tools. You no doubt could find some of the tools about your home; they would probably be satisfactory if put in good condition. Remember that one of the principal things in the use of tools is to have them sharp and free from rust, and kept where you can find them without loss of time. From time to time you could add a few tools to your stock, and in the course of a year or so be well supplied with the necessary tools for ordinary tasks.

Your parents would no doubt rather pay you for making a screen window or repairing a door or doing some other such task, and allow you to have the money for tools, than to have a mechanic come and do it. Possibly you may never care to become a carpenter or a woodworker of any sort, but nevertheless it will always be quite valuable to you to be able to handle tools with skill and to have a knowledge of good work when you see it.

A knowledge of the different kinds of wood and how they are finished will also be quite valuable to you. This information may save you a great many dollars in the purchase of furniture some time during your life.