Motion being given to the fly-wheel by means of the treadle and crank, is communicated to the pulley upon the mandrel. Upon the screw of this mandrel, B, the work is fixed; being usually held in a chuck suited to its particular form, but sometimes it is screwed directly upon the mandrel. The rest, C, is then fixed near it, and the tool is supported thereon and held firmly while the work revolves against it. All this is easy to understand—it is not so easy to carry it into practice. Attention to the following directions will enable the young mechanic to become a good turner in course of time; but the art cannot be practically learned in a day, and it needs experience and considerable practice to become anything like a proficient.

If the construction of the lathe itself is understood, the first consideration is what tools and chucks are necessary. I shall speak of the latter first, as little or nothing can be done without them. First comes the prong-chuck, for soft wood (Fig. 41, A). This, like all others, is made to screw upon the mandrel. Its use is to hold one end of any piece of wood while the other is supported by the point, E, of the poppit, H, which poppit can be moved at pleasure along the lathe-bed, and fixed at any given place by a hand-nut below. The point itself can be advanced or drawn back by turning the handle, K. A piece of wood thus mounted must of necessity revolve with the mandrel, because, although it can and will turn round upon the point of the back poppit, it cannot do so upon the fork or prong, which enters and holds it securely. This chuck, or one of the same nature, is always used for cylinders of soft wood, which can be supported at both ends, such as tool-handles, chair-legs, and other work not requiring to be hollowed out.

It sometimes happens, however, especially if the work is at all rough, or considerably out of truth, that the piece slips round upon the fork or prong, especially if it does not enter deeply enough; and in addition, tool-handles and round rulers, and many articles that have to be similarly supported at both ends, are made of hard wood, into which this prong will not readily enter.

In such cases, and indeed as a general substitute for the first, a chuck called a “cross-chuck” is to be used (Fig. 41, L, M). The centre of the little cross (which is of steel, and fits into the same square or round hole in the socket which carries the prong, and which is also used to hold drills, pieces of iron rod which are to be turned, and other articles) is made to revolve in the precise axial line of the mandrel, or to run true with it, as it is called. The arms of the cross are to be imbedded in the work, which is best effected by making in the latter two saw-cuts at right angles with each other (Fig. 41, N), which represents a piece ready for mounting.

The next chuck is equally necessary (Fig. 41, O). It is a taper screw of steel, fixed in a socket which can be attached to the mandrel. Two sizes of this chuck would be useful for a large lathe, but for such a one as will probably be purchased by the young amateur, one only, with a screw of medium size, will suffice. The use of this chuck is to hold pieces which only require to be supported at one end, so that a tool can be used to work upon the other, either to mould it into the required form, or to hollow it out for a box or bowl. Of course you might screw such work on the mandrel-nose itself, but it would make a very large hole in the end, whereas this taper screw only requires a moderately sized gimlet-hole. It is therefore a much more convenient way of attaching work to the mandrel, and is of extensive use.

The cup-chuck is the last required. It is sketched at P, and is sometimes of iron, but generally of brass. There are several sizes made and sold with lathes, but you need not have at most more than one or two, as I shall show you how to make wooden ones, which answer as well, if not better. The flat plates, R, R², can scarcely be called chucks, but they generally come into the list of such. The latter has five projecting points, which, sticking into such a thing as a flat-board (like a bread-platter, or round pulley), hold it sufficiently firm when the back centre is brought up against the other side of the piece, to allow of its being turned. The other is merely a flat plate with holes in it, through which screws can be passed from behind into any odd bit of wood of 2 or 3 inches in thickness, whereby a chuck can be quickly made to suit any required purpose. Two or three of these would be convenient, one of which should be nearly as large as the lathe will carry; and in this one a great many holes and slots should be made. This is called a face-plate, and, in addition to the ordinary screws, whereby pieces of wood are attached to it, it is fitted with clamps and bolts of various forms, for the purpose of holding securely upon its face all kinds of flat works in wood or metal,—such as cog-wheels, which have to be bored out and faced. The young model-maker will find a face-plate of great service. The larger one should be of iron, as it will be cheaper than brass.

We now pass on to chucks for metal turning. These are of various shapes. First in order comes the centre chuck and dog, for holding rods of iron which can be supported at both ends. The commonest form is represented in Fig. 41, S, T. S is such a face-plate almost as I have described, but it has a pin projecting from it, and also a steel centre-point. The latter is often made to screw out and in, which is the best plan. The pin can be slid to any point in the face-plate, and clamped by a nut at the back. T is called a dog, and of these two at least will be required, if the young mechanic intends to work in metal.

The way of using these is shown at T². The rod of iron has a hole drilled at each end, as nearly in the centre as possible. It is first indented with a punch, then a drill is put into the drill chuck, and one end of the rod brought against it as it revolves, while the back poppit centre-point is screwed against the indentation at the other end. A little oil is applied to the drill to assist its working, and the rod itself is prevented from turning round either by grasping it with the hand or screwing a hand-vice upon it, so that this comes against the bed or the rest; or it can be held in the hand, which has one advantage, namely, that the operator can feel exactly what is the resistance caused by the drill, and can regulate the pressure accordingly. The screw of the poppit is, of course, to be very slowly and steadily advanced during the process. All drilling in the lathe is done in this way, but in boring out long holes, the action is often reversed, the work being kept in motion while the tool is advanced, without being allowed to revolve. You need not bore more than one-eighth of an inch for light work, but must do the same at each end of the rod. The holes thus made should be of such a size as not to let the extreme end of the back centre-point touch the bottom, or it will soon be worn down and blunted;—remember this in all future work.

Supposing the rod to be thus bored at each end, place the centre-chuck upon the mandrel, instead of the drill-chuck, and mount the bar between this and the point of the back-centre. Thus placed, it will be accurately supported, but if the lathe is put in motion, it will not turn round. Now come into use the little dogs. Remove the bar, and choosing a dog of which the open part is tolerably near the size of it, slip it over the end about half an inch, and there fix it by tightening the little screw, which, you observe, will drive the bar as far as possible towards the smaller part of the opening, and when it can go no farther, will secure it as in a vice. It is a good plan to file a slight flat upon the bar, just where the screw of the carrier will come. Now replace the bar, and when the lathe is put in motion, the tail of the carrier should come against the projecting pin in the face of the face-plate, which will compel the iron to go round with it. This is the way all bars of metal are mounted. I shall not tell you yet how they are to be turned, because this would interfere with the order of my description.

To mount in the lathe such pieces as cylinders of engines, which require to be bored, or any other objects which have to be turned on one or both faces, the young mechanic must make wooden chucks, and bore them out exactly to fit the article and hold it securely. There are metal chucks expressly made to take all work of this kind, and which are so contrived that they will also hold it truly central, but they are costly, and need not be obtained with the first lathe—at any rate, not until absolutely required, and that will be, I know, a long time hence; ay, a very long time, for many good workmen have never even seen, much less possessed one of them. Perhaps I may draw and explain one in a future page, as well as some other chucks, which it is not necessary to notice here.

The chucks then absolutely necessary are these—

Now as to tools. Their name is legion—tools for iron, brass, ivory, hard and soft wood; and many an odd shilling will be well laid out from time to time in adding to the stock. Happily those most needed are not costly—about $3 a dozen without handles, which latter may be had at 10 cents each and upwards, according to the material and finish, all with iron or brass ferules, so necessary to prevent splitting. You may buy your first few simple tools handled, but after you have these you can turn as many handles as you like, and you can buy ferules of all sizes at any regular tool-shop.

I may as well tell you that in a great many country towns you will be unable to obtain turning tools except gouges and chisels, so that when you buy your lathe in London, as you will find the best plan (or in Manchester, Birmingham, or other manufacturing town, if nearer to you), you must lay in a little stock of tools at the same time, and take future opportunities of getting more. In regular tool-shops you will have them laid before you by dozens of every conceivable shape and size, so that your great difficulty would be what to pick out if it were not for some such directions as I am now about to give you.

First, you will want gouges and chisels. Begin with two sizes of each—one of half an inch, the other of 1 inch in width. These are to be mounted in long handles.

Now, with these alone you can do all the plain work in soft wood which does not require to be hollowed out, tool-handles, chair-legs, legs of towel-horses, round rulers, and all sorts of things, and to a certain extent you can turn out the insides of wooden chucks, bowls, and boxes, but not very easily with these alone. Hence you must add some of those shown in Fig. 42. These I shall endeavour to assort as follows:—

A to F are for hollowing out hard woods; G and H are hook-tools (very difficult to use) for hollowing out soft wood boxes and bowls.

I and K show the edge and side of a parting tool for cutting off the ends of cylindrical pieces, separating the turned from the unturned parts, and for all similar work. [A tenon-saw held still against a piece revolving in the lathe will often serve to cut it in two, but parting tools must also be had, and two are better than one, as a thick one should be kept for common woods, and a thin one for ivory and precious materials; sometimes one with a notched edge is used for cutting off soft wood.]

L to O are for turning iron and steel. The first is a graver, of which all sizes are made; one of a quarter inch width on either face is large enough. It is a square bar of steel ground off cornerwise so as to form a lozenge-shaped face. This is an essential tool for iron, and will do all sorts of work.

M is a hook or heel tool, made sometimes with a flat edge and sometimes with a rounded one, the latter being most useful. It is a very powerful tool, much used by some, especially for heavy work—I don’t think you need get one at present. If I am able to teach you to use a graver it will do almost as much work, and is a neater tool. If you use a tool of the nature of heel-tools at all, I think, on the whole, the nail-head tool, N, either round or square, is the best. It is at all events handy for roughing down work, and when it is reduced nearly to the size required, and is partly smoothed, the graver will finish it.

O is an inside tool for hollowing out iron. There are different shapes of this used, each turner giving the preference to some particular pattern to which he has habituated himself. None of these tools for metal have sharp edges—at least they would not appear so to an ordinary observer. The angle of the edge is 60° to 80°, or even 90°, which is, as you know, a right angle, and is that most generally used for the cutting edges of tools intended for brass, as U, V, W, of which V is a most useful pattern. Those for hard wood have edges a little more keen, but after all they scrape rather than cut; the only tools for wood with keen edges being the gouge and chisel.

P are callipers for measuring the outside of work of all kinds. Q and R are the same, arranged for in and outside work. The first is an ordinary pair closed until the ends have crossed, which they will all do; but if the inside of hollow work to be gauged is small, they will not enter it. In this case none are so generally useful as the in-and-out callipers, R, for when accurately made (and if not you can easily correct them with a small file), the one end will measure the external diameter of work, and at the same time the other end will be found to have its points separated to such a distance, that if you were to turn a box or chuck to this inside measure, the cylinder first turned will exactly fit it. Thus if you turn a box-cover, and take the size of it with the straight end of the callipers, and then turn down the rim of the box until it is just the size indicated by the curved ends, the one will exactly fit the other. In turning a piston to fit the cylinder of an engine, you would work with this useful tool.

S is the turner’s square. The blade slides stiffly and accurately in a slot in the brass, being kept by a spring at one side from working loose. This square is used to gauge the depth of boxes and other works which are to be turned to an exact size, and it also serves to test the squareness of many kinds of work. Suppose, for instance, you had turned a box, you would put the blade of this tool against the bottom and press upon it till the brass rested across the rim, touching it in two opposite places. Now possibly the inside may be smaller at the bottom than at the top. Test it by bringing the steel blade edgewise against it. You will see whether the brass still touches in two places across the mouth of the box. The squareness of the outside with the top or bottom can be tested in a similar way. We shall have occasion to recur to this when we come to boring and fitting engine cylinders.

S² is another small square, which is often serviceable where the carpenter’s square cannot be used. If you intend to make models, you will want both of these; at the same time, it is quite possible to make the latter of iron, or even thick tin, if you have the former, as an accurate guide to work by.

T represents a pair of spring-compasses or callipers. They are used to set off distances, and have the advantage of not being liable to shift their position when once they are set to any required width. You will require a pair of compasses of some sort, and if not already provided, these are the best you can have.

There are many other tools, which, though not absolutely turning tools, are more or less used in connection with the lathe, but these need not now be further alluded to, and I shall go on to describe as clearly as possible the method of working at the lathe with hand-tools, commencing with the operation of turning soft wood with the gouge and chisel; but I must first give a short chapter upon the nature of woods used.