A shorter course in woodworking

Teachers, parents, business men, and mechanics are demanding that the training of youth be more practical. A satisfactory system must meet the demands of the pupil or the individual student, that his interest and enthusiasm may be so aroused as to call forth his best efforts; of the educator, that the subject may be presented to the pupil in the way best for his general development; of the mechanic, that the most practical methods may be adopted; and of the business man that the pupils be trained in up to date methods and modern ways of thinking.

This book is not meant to conflict with courses in woodworking now in use, but rather to fit in with any system; for the approved methods of work the result of the experience of generations of workmen should be known to all teachers, pupils, and individual students.

No set course of procedure can be adopted by all, nor is there any necessarily logical order in which many of the tools and operations must be taken up, although some are naturally brought into use before others. Therefore the material in this book is so arranged that it can be used in any order, and any desired topic can be referred to readily.

When class exercises are begun with oral and manual demonstrations many pupils do not readily grasp and assimilate the new ideas, technical terms, and details during one demonstration by the teacher, and it is believed that a general manual which can be used as a textbook and reference book will be helpful and time saving to both teacher and pupil.

Manual training, from a pedagogical point of view, is a comparatively new subject. Therefore many teachers of woodworking naturally belong to one of two classes at present. First, professional teachers who have studied the subject with reference to teaching and, second, skilled mechanics who have taken up the work of instructing. It is natural and inevitable that many of the first class should be more or less lacking in practical knowledge and breadth of woodworking experience, and that those of the second class should lack the knowledge, training, and experience of the teacher. It is hoped that this book may be of help to both classes and also of use to the independent student.

A number of what may be called typical models is given — simple examples of various classes of work. These are to show the approved methods of construction, and the principles are applicable to many similar articles.

The aim of the systems of work used in schools ranges all the way from the general development of the pupil's faculties to turning out trained workmen. Each of these systems has its place, but in the matter of using the modern machinery there is some disagreement between the methods of many schools and those of the workshop. The day, has passed for the old fashioned all round mechanic who was a hand workman only. The day for the modern narrow specialist who is but a cog in a machine is passing away. The mechanic of the future must not only be an all round hand worker but he must also understand and use the machines of his line of work. He will be broader and better developed than those of either of the other two classes. This fact seems to be overlooked by some who advocate an almost interminable course of hand work alone, on the ground that it is best for the general development of the pupil. Often he is kept using tools for their educative value which the mechanic never uses unless obliged. For example, no practical workman would think of using a bow saw for anything which could be done by a band saw or jig saw, while the pupil is kept at work with this almost obsolete tool, long after he has learned from it all that is worthwhile. On the other hand the extremists who would have nothing done by hand which can be done by machine would cause the pupil to miss the great development and training (physical, mental, and moral) which undoubtedly comes from varied and continued hand-work.

Machinery is of course unsafe for small children, and it is good practice for hand and eye to use the bow saw, for example, therefore the pupil should learn the use of this tool, but having mastered it reasonably well he should not be obliged to use it longer. If old enough he should be taught the use of the band saw (or the jigsaw), for machinery has its educative value as well as hand work.

If too young to be trusted with machinery the sawing should be done for him. If power machines are out of the question, excellent ones to be run by foot (or hand) can be bought for a small sum. Also, for another example, after the pupil has acquired the skill to plane down surfaces accurately, it is a great waste of time, and is discouraging, for him to continue to do work which should be done by machinery.

Looked at from an artistic and sentimental point of view there is something about hand work the personal equation which no machine can supply, but from a purely mechanical point of view it is idle to claim, as is frequently done, that hand work is necessarily superior to thoroughly executed machine work. Two men cannot scrape a board in a day so accurately and smoothly as a first-class scraping machine can do it in fifteen seconds. We may prefer the hand scraped table for its human touch, but mechanically it is inferior to that scraped by machine. In most so called hand work of the present day machinery is largely used to save time, labor, and expense.

It is a mistaken view to scorn the help of machinery. The advantages of hand work need not be sacrificed, but the position of machinery must be recognized, for it has come to stay and the age demands it. The time saved by the help of machinery will enable him who has hand work, or general development, alone in view to advance to more difficult problems in hand work, instead of being held back by doing over and over again what he has once learned.

The way which seems the most logical and to promise the best all round results, whether the final aim be general development or special technical training, is to follow the natural process of evolution. That is, give the pupil a good thorough course in the essentials of hand work. When he has acquired a reasonable degree of skill with any tools and processes now obsolete in practical work, let such work thereafter be done by machine. There will still be enough hand operations left to test to the utmost the skill of the most brilliant pupil or instructor. It is partly a question of time saving. The question is not whether the pupil is well employed or not, but whether his time is being used in the best way and so as to save as much as possible for further advancement.

The maker of a manual on the subject of woodworking is in danger of saying too much or too little. If he is not explicit enough the pupil is hindered from lack of sufficient data. If he explains matters which should be learned by observation, experience, investigation, and experiment or which should be left to the intelligence and common sense of teacher and pupil, he retards the student instead of developing his faculties. The effort has therefore been made to give the necessary facts and no more, that each teacher may be free to arrange his methods of procedure according to his circumstances, and that the pupil may have a chance to work out his own salvation.