It will be noticed that the third volume of the series, " Constructive Carpentry/' deals with the working of rough lumber, or construction. It is a quite prevalent belief that because rough lumber is handled, the work must necessarily be rough, and therefore require little skill. On the contrary, the utmost skill, and the greatest knowledge, is required in the framing of a building, as a framer should understand all parts of a structure, and have knowledge of as many different kinds of work as possible.

Relation Of Chapters I And II

The subjects discussed in the previous chapter may be applied with equal force to the teaching of carpentry, since the future workman will pass over much the same ground in his elementary work as does the student of manual training.

Theory

Every student in carpentry should be required to look up in the various books and periodicals to which he has access, the theoretical aspects of each topic outlined in the textbook. These books of reference should be listed by the teacher, who should familiarize himself with the matter in them and catalogue the parts that he needs, before assigning subjects to the students for study.

Joints And Exercises

In " Elements of Construction " the exercises in joints form an important part of the work laid out for the student who intends to complete the course in carpentry, since they illustrate the different forms of construction. The teacher should see that each pupil acquires a thorough knowledge of the principles and the uses of each tool, and at intervals should assign a written exercise reviewing the work passed over.

It is not necessary that every student should work out every problem, but each member of the class should solve different ones according to his ability and needs. The construction and use of each tool should, however, be illustrated to the whole class, and its accompanying exercises explained in such a way that each student may be able to give an intelligent demonstration of the same. The joints and the use of the tools involved, should also be made the subjects of written exercises, the writing of which will aid the student in expressing himself intelligently.

Besides making the joints, one or more supplementary models should be made which will include as far as possible the principles of construction illustrated by the preceding exercises. As in the manual-training classes, the student should design his own supplementary models, assisted by the teacher.

If the teacher thinks it advisable, the exercises may be entirely dispensed with in the work of individuals who have a high degree of natural aptitude in the use of tools, and the supplementary work may be substituted. The extent to which this may be done depends much upon the teacher's judgment and tact, since the students generally do not enjoy the exercises so much as the work to which they lead, and unless the teacher feels that the reasons for this sort of discrimination are exceedingly well founded and apparent, a great difference should not be made. As the class in carpentry in an industrial school consists often of students of a wide range of ages, the above difference in the work frequently may be carried out with profit to the individuals. Construction. - At the proper place in the course, the students should build a flight of stairs, making them one quarter or one half size. This model flight should contain all the section posts, and the different sections should be constructed by various methods.

In teaching the construction of a frame building, a model should be built upon a small scale, as in stair building, several students working upon it. One as large as practicable may be built the first time, and the same material used by successive classes; the next house may be made somewhat smaller in its dimensions, if desired, but if the same material is used in different parts of the house, some of the longer pieces will have to be made new each time, and as there is always a demand for small pieces in a manual-training class, there will not be much waste. Another satisfactory method is to require each student to build a small house, using the scale of 3" to 1, which allows a 2" x 4" piece to be 1/2" x 1", and in measuring the lengths of pieces, the scale of 1" to 1'. This is also good practice for the student in working from one scale to another.

The house built should contain all the problems used in building a house with square angles, - a house with an ell or addition upon the side or back joined to the main house with a valley in the roof, and hips upon the corners of the main house, as described in Topic 53 E, " Constructive Carpentry," will contain the most essential framing problems that the carpenter has to solve.

The Blackboard

Abundance of blackboard space is an essential part of the equipment of a room in which carpentry, and in fact any form of tool work, is taught; and it should be used freely in demonstrations by means of diagrams, since the students should become familiar with methods of sketching and with working from sketches, and also should acquire facility in explaining their own thoughts graphically, as this is an important part of the training of a workman.

Treatment Of Facts

Facts in manual training, as in any other subject, should be impressed upon the student by comparisons, frequent reviews, tests, and examinations. Skill in the use of the gauge, ripsaw, cutting-off saw, and the planes should be acquired by continuous drill upon waste pieces of wood. After control of the planes has been gained, the student should be required to put his smoothing plane in order and to smooth a piece of hard, cross-grained wood to a surface, planing either way of the grain. This will impress upon him the fact that although a piece of wood may be ever so knurly or crossgrained, it is possible to plane it perfectly smooth, if the work is done skillfully.

The teacher should require the students to locate, upon buildings within easy reach of the school, different forms of construction, such as finish and details, and should explain these forms to the class by diagrams, making the exercise the basis of instruction upon various applications of the same principle.

As little as possible should be told the students; instead, by drawing out what they have previously learned, and by applying it, the teacher should make them find answers to their own questions.

Written Exercises

The course in carpentry should be so arranged that the written exercises may be required at times which will not interfere seriously with similar duties of the students in other departments of the school, and at regular stated periods, in order that the student may plan for a definite amount of work to be done each week. The teacher should be careful not to load the students intermittently, as that has a bad effect upon all of their school work. Frequent short written exercises, submitted weekly, are better than long tedious essays, which the average student will slight to the greatest extent possible. The material included under the different topics will offer numerous suggestions for outside reading and research, which the teacher may require of the student.

Each student should have a notebook devoted entirely to carpentry, in which should be placed all notes, written exercises, and such information as may be gathered from discussions in the class room. Sketches of details of construction should be neatly drawn. These notebooks should be kept in the schoolroom, and frequently examined by the teacher and corrected by the pupils.