The equipment necessary for beginning to work in wood may be very inexpensive, costing not more than $25. It is better to begin with a few good tools, well chosen, adding to the number others as they are needed. The total cost of a first class equipment need not exceed $50.00.

It is rarely wise to buy the sets already made up in cabinets, for the lists given often include cheap and dispensable tools, and the quality is apt to be not the best. One can soon learn to make a cabinet to fit his own tools. It is wise to consult one's local hardware dealer before buying as well as those firms that have made a specialty of handling woodworking equipments for schools and amateurs. The latter have special facilities for furnishing the proper high grade tools. The names and addresses of reliable firms may be found in the advertising pages of any of the educational journals'.

The following tools are recommended for the individual equipment of a beginner5:

The bench. The essential features of a good bench are: (1) Rigidity. This may be secured in a bench made with either mortise-and-tenon-joints, Fig. 6,A, or draw-bolt construction, Fig. 6,B. The bench should be firmly fastened to the floor by lag-screws passing thru the two foot pieces.

(2.) A maple top with trough at the back.

(3) A low tool rack, that is, one not above the top of the bench, which does not obscure the light and is not in the way for large work.

(4). A good vise. The strongest, most durable, and most convenient are the rapid-acting vises, with the working parts of metal, which require an occasional oiling.

4 For descriptions and illustrations of tools see Handwork in Wood, Chapter II (Wood A Medium Of Artistic Expression). Manual Arts Press, Peoria, 111.

5For school equipment see Handwork in Wood, Chapter VI (The Mitered Picture-Frame).

The jaws of the vise should be faced with maple. Sometimes there are two vises, a side vise and a tail vise. The latter is exceedingly convenient for certain kinds of work.

There are various benches and vises on the market. Among other good ones are those of the following firms:

E.

H. Sheldon & Co., 182 Nims St., Muskegon, Mich.

The Denver model (1 rapid-acting vise), price..........

$ 9.50

The Omaha model (2 repid-acting vises), price............................................

14.25

A.

L. Bemis, Worcester, Mass.

Sloyd Bench No. 4, price.........................................................

15.00

This has an iron vise, not quick acting, and a tail clamp.

Richards-Wilcox Mfg. Co., Aurora, 111.

No. 260. 1, side vise only..........................................

12.00

No. 260. 2, side and tail vise...........................................

16.00

Hammacher, Schlemmer & Co., 4th Av. and 13th St., New York,N.Y.

No. L ............................................

$ 8.50

No. J ............................................

12.50

No. K ............................................

20.00

These benches at this price are all equipped with a side and a tail vise, the last with a Toles rapid-acting vise. The rapid-acting vise adds about $6.00 to the cost, and by special order they may be attached to any standard bench. Among the many rapid-acting vises on the market are the W. C. Toles, Irving Park, Chicago, 111.; The Abernathy Vise & Tool Co., 233 W. 62d Place, Chicago, 111.; The Herriman Co., 15 S. Canal St., Chicago, 111.; the Eichards-Wilcox Co., Aurora, 111.

A very good arrangement is to have a rapid-acting side vise, and wood-screw tail vise.

In a word, the bench and vise may cost from $8.00 to $20.00. The tools*:

1

Stanley jack-plane No.5.........

$ 1.75

1

Stanley block-plane No.65 ½....

.80

1

Iron spokeshave, No.54.................

.25

6This list is made up from Hammacher, Schlemmer & Co.'s catalog No. 355. For pictures of these tools consult any of the books mentioned in the bibliography.

1

Stanley "Bed Bock" smooth-plane, No. 6037..........

1.60

*1

Stanley rabbet-plane and filletster, No. 788....................................................

1.10

1

Disston,s Crosscut-saw, No. 9, 22" 10 points............................................

1.15

1

Disston's Rip-saw, No. 9, 22", 8 points............................................

1.15

1

Disston's back-saw, No 4, 10" ....................................................

.95

*1

Turning-saw in frame 14", 3/16" blade........................................

.90

1

Buck Bros. firmer chisel, l", handled and sharpened........

.35

1

Buck Bros, firmer chisel, 1/2", handled and sharpened. ......

.25

1

Buck Bros. firmer chisel, 1/4", handled and sharpened........

.20

1

Buck Bros, firmer chisel, 1/8", handled and sharpened......

.20

1

Hammond's adze-eye hammer, No. 3, 7 oz.............

.45

*1

Round hickory mallet, No. 4.............................................................

.12

1

Hardened blade try-square, No. 5 1/2, 6"...............................................

.25

1

Beech marking-gage, No. 64 1/2, 8 ".................................................

.20

1

Sloyd knife, No. 7, 2 1/2" blade....................

or a good pocket knife.

.30

1

Medium hard lead pencil (No. 2).......................................................

.05

1

Boxwood rule, 2', 4-fold ...........................

.12

*1

Disston sliding T-bevel, No. 3, 6"...................

.25

*1

Pair Starrett's dividers, winged, No. 92, 8"...........................................

.75

1

Veneer scraper, No. 80.........................................................................

.70

2

Molding scrapers, No. 2 and No. 7..................

.15

1

Half-round wood file, K and F, 8", handled..............................................

.20

1

Rat-tail wood file, K & F, 8", handled..........................................................

.20

1

Slim taper triangular file, 6"................................................................

.10

1

Disston's Back-saw in frame 14", 3/16" blade..................................

.90

*1

Outside-bevel gouge, Buck Bros., firmer, No. 8, handled and sharpened, 1" ...........................................................................

.35

*1

inside-bevel gouge, regular sweep, No. 10, 3/4"..........

.45

*1

Addis carving tool, 3/16", No. 11, round maple handle

.38

1

Barber's ratchet brace, No. 33, 8" sweep............

1.40

1

Miter-box, beech, 12" long, No. 00 ..................

.30

Better ones are Olmstead's Patent No. 3............

1.25

*Miller's Falls Co. No. 15 1/2.....................

4.50

7If desirable to reduce expense substitute No. 603 for both No. 5 and No. 65½.

8The tools marked * are not essential for beginning work and may be purchased later.

Still larger ones are the Stanley No. 240, and the Langdon Acme, No. 68, which cost about $9.00.

1 Set twist bits, (3/32", 4/32", 5/32", 6/32", 7/32").....

.64

1 Set Russell Jennings auger-bits (4/16", 5/16", 6/16", 7/16", 8/16") ....................................

1.40

* 1 Clark's expansive bit, ½" to 1½" ...................

.57

1 Rose countersink, No. 10, ⅝" .................

.25

*1 Screwdriver-bit, ½", round blade 4" long............

.16

4 Bradawls, handled, 1", l¼", 1½"...................

.15

f '1 New Century screwdriver, 4"

.16

1 0. K. Nailset, 1/16"................................

.07

* 2 Carpenter's steel bar clamps, 3"

3.20

*2 Aldrich's oiled handscrews, No. 16, 10"..............

.80

* 1 Glue-pot.....................

.50

1 Glue-brush, ½"

.15

1 Glass-cutter, No. 10 ...................

.27

1 Flat varnish brush, No. 54, 1½", hard, rubber-bound,

(for shellac) ...........................

.30

2 Cheap tin-bound brushes, EE, 1"..................

.10

* 1 Pike Perrless junior tool-grinder ................

4.00

or 1 Robertson's concave tool-grinder (The Robertson Drill and Tool Co., Buffalo, N.Y.) ................

5.00

or 1 Niagara No. 10 Carborundum tool-grinder......

10.00

or 1 Empire tool-grinder (The Empire Tool Co., Albany, N. Y.)9........................................

2.80

1 Carborundum oilstone, medium and coarse combined, in.

iron box .................

1.15

1 quire sandpaper , No. 00 ........................

.30

1 quire sandpaper, No. 1 ........................

.30

Supplementary list of metalworking tools:

1 hand-drill, No. 04.................................

1.40

Drills, Morse's, No. 17, 1 each, Nos. 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60................................

.71

1 Iron vise, Parker's No. 30, oval slide ....................

1.15

9 It is well to learn to grind one's own tools as early as possible, but the expense of the grinder may be saved if there is another available, in a neighboring shop.

1 Pair end cutting nippres, No. 154, 5" ................

.88

1 Pair Compton's metal snips, No. 12, 2" .................

.63

1 Pair flatnosed pliers, No. 1806½, 5" ...............

.58

1 Mill bastard file, 8" , safe edge, handled ...............

.15

1 Mill smooth file, 8" , safe edge, handled .............

.15

Wood Stains. It is well to begin with some simple stain, already prepared. Among such on the market are:

Craftsman Stain, dark brown, No. 2, 1 quart for $1.00, Syracuse, N. Y.

Devoe & Reynolds, Penetrating Oil Stain, 1 quart for 70c, 101 Pulton St., N.Y.

The Bridgeport Wood Finishing Co., Penetrating Oil Stain, 1 pint, 20c, 155 Fulton St.

Wax. The easiest finish to apply and repair is wax. A convenient prepared form is:

Bridgeport Wood Finishing Company's Old Dutch Finish, price, 25c a pint.

Supplies. Nails, screws, etc., are now commonly put up in convenient packages, and would better be purchased as needed. Explicit directions will be given in each lesson as to what to obtain. A box •divided into compartments, or a set of boxes so divided, which may be stacked in a set of drawers, will add greatly to the convenience of handling nails and screws. Until this is provided they may be kept in their paper packages10.