In a previous volume - Modern Carpentry - I made a fairly successful attempt to put together a series of plain and simple examples of working problems and their solution suited to the capacity of all ordinary mechanics, and owing to the fact that many thousands of that volume have found their way into the hands of carpenters and joiners in the United States, Mexico and Canada, and to the other fact that the author, as well as the publishers, have received hundreds of letters asking for something more on the same lines, of a higher grade, it has been determined to make another or more volumes, on the same subject, hence "Modern Carpentry and Joinery" advanced course.

In the present work I have drawn largely from acknowledged authorities and from workmen of recognized ability to which have been added the results of my own experience and observation and my knowledge of the kinks and secrets of the woodworking trades. In a work of this kind the reader must expect to find something he has met in other places, and perhaps in other adaptations, but I think that upon careful analysis he will find the presentation of the cases somewhat improved, and rendered in a more simple and understandable manner. The selections, too, I think will be found more suitable and more appropriate to the present-day practice than most of the matter found in recent technical literature on the subject. At any rate, it has been my endeavor in the formation of the present volume to place in a handy form, instructive examples of the better class of work of the carpenters and joiners “Art.”

It is not intended to repeat what has already been published in the first volume of Modern Carpentry, unless such repetition will be necessary to explain or formulate some similar matter.

Young men are apt to think that because they have a fair knowledge of their trades, they know all that is required and if they peruse the first volume of this work, and have mastered its contents, they have reached the limit. This, of course, is a great mistake, as will readily be discovered by a glance over the matter of the present volume, and I can say right here, and now, that even the present volume does not by any means cover the whole subject, for, at least a half dozen other volumes could be written without touching on the other two already in the market, and the subject would not nearly be exhausted.

It is not necessary for me to quote the authorities from whom I have drawn, unless the matter is of such importance as to demand special recognition. I may say, however, that in very few books written during the last 25 years on the subject of carpentry, there has been but very little presented that had not been published before in some form or other, but the descriptions generally, in most cases — not in all — have been improved more or less; and the present book does not differ a great deal from most others that have preceded it, only that it is more up-to-date, and more suited to 20th century requirements.

It must also be understood, that while this book goes out to the public under my name as author, I do not claim authorship, for really, it is more of a compilation than an original work, but, I do claim that the selections and compilations made are better and more suited to the wants of the present-day workman than can be found in any other similar work published in this or any other country.

FRED T. HODGSON,


WINDOWS GENERALLY.

Size and Position. The size and position of window openings are influenced by the size of the rooms, and the purposes for which the building is used. For the sake of ventilation, and also to secure good lighting, the windows should be placed at as great a height as the construction of the room will allow. In dwelling-houses the height of the sill is usually about 2' 6" above the inside floor level.

Construction. The framework holding the glass of the window may be fixed or movable. It must be so prepared that the glass can be replaced easily when necessary. In warehouses, workshops and similar buildings, the frames holding the glass are often fixed as Fast Sheets (Fig. 66%). As, however, this arrangement affords no means of ventilation, it is more usual to have the glass fixed in lighter frames called Sashes. If the sashes are hung to solid rebated frames, and open as doors do, the windows are called Casement Sashes. If they slide vertically and are balanced by weights or by each other, the window is a Sash and Frame Window. Other methods of arranging sashes, either hinged, pivoted or made to slide past each other, are described in detail later.

Sashes. The terms used for the various parts of sashes and fast sheets are somewhat similar to those employed in describing doors. Thus, the Styles are the outer uprights, and the Rails are the main horizontal cross-pieces: top rails, meeting rails, and bottom rails being distinguished. Any intermediate members, whether vertical or horizontal, are named Bars.

Sashes are from 1 1/2 to 3 inches thick. The inner edge of the outer face is Rebated to receive the glass. The inner face is left either square, chamfered, or moulded; two common forms of moulding are lamb's-tongue (Fig. 68) and ovolo (Fig. 69). The size of the rebate is indicated in Fig. 70 ; it varies with the thickness of the sash, its depth being always a little more than one-third this thickness. The width of the rebate varies from a quarter of an inch to half an inch, and the mould is usually sunk the same depth as the rebate. This last fact is of some importance, as it affects the shoulder lines; and with hand work it influences the amount of labor in the making of the sashes.

As little material as possible is used in the sashes, in order that the light shall not be interfered with. In general, the styles and top rail are square in section before being rebated and moulded. In casement sashes, however, it is often advisable to have the outer styles a little wider than the thickness, especially when they are tongued into the frame. The width of the bottom rail is from one and a half to twice the thickness of the sash. Sash bars which require rebating and moulding on both sides, should be as narrow as possible, in order not to interrupt the light. They are usually from five-eighths of an inch to one and a quarter inches wide.

Joints of Sashes. The sashes are framed together by means of the Mortise and Tenon Joint (Fig. 71). The proportions of the thickness and width of tenons, haunched tenons, &c., are to a large extent applicable here. Hardwood cross-tongues are sometimes inserted to strengthen the joints while thick sashes should have Double Tenons. An alternative to halving in sash bars is to arrange that the bar which is subjected to the greater stress - as for example, the vertical bars in sliding sashes, and the horizontal bars in hinged casement sashes - shall be continuous; this continuous bar is mortised to receive the other, which is scribed i. e. cut to fit the first, and on which the short tenons are left. This method is called Franking the Sash Bars, and is illustrated in Fig. 72.

Casement Windows. Casement windows may be hinged in such a manner that they open either inwards or outwards. They may consist either of one sash, or of folding sashes, and are hung with butt hinges to solid rebated frames. These Frames consist of jambs, head and sill. The head and sill "run through" and are mortised near the ends to receive tenons formed on the ends of the jambs. The upper surface of the sill is weathered to throw off rain water. Casement windows which reach to the floor are usually called French Casements. Their sashes require an extra depth of bottom rail.

Casement Sashes Opening Inwards. Figs. 73, 74 show the elevation and vertical and horizontal sections, of a window opening in a 14" brick wall fitted with a casement window having folding sashes to open inwards. In this class of window the frame is rebated for the sashes on the inner side. Each sash has, on the outer edge of the outer style, a semi-circular tongue, which fits into a corresponding groove in the jamb of the frame. This tongue renders the vertical joint between the sash and frame more likely to be weather proof; it is to provide for the tongue that the extra width of style already referred to is necessary. The tongue, however, is often omitted, as in Fig. 77. It will be seen readily that, if the sash were in one width, it would be impossible to have a tongue on more than one edge of it. With casement sashes opening inwards the greatest difficulty is found, however, in making a water-tight joint between the bottom rail of the sash and the sill of the frame. Figs. 77 and 78 show two methods by which this may be accomplished. An essential feature of all these sashes is a small groove or Throating on the under edge of the bottom rail; this prevents the water from getting through. The groove in the rebate of the sill (Fig. 78) is provided to collect any water that may drive through the joint.


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