Rustic Carpentry: With Numerous Engravings and Diagrams

This Handbook contains, in a form convenient for everyday use, a number of articles on Rustic Carpentry contributed by various authors to Work-one of the journals it is my fortune to edit. Readers who may desire additional information respecting special details of the matters dealt with in this Handbook, or instructions on kindred subjects, should address a question to the Editor of Work, La Belle Sauvage, London, EC., so that it may be answered in the columns of that journal. P. N. HASLUCK. La Belle Sauvage, London. Chapter I Light Rustic Work Rustic carpentry does not demand great skill in woodworking, but it does require a large amount of artistic perception. The tools needed are but few, and the materials employed are comparatively cheap, although in many districts they are becoming dearer every year. It may be said that any articles made from the now popular bamboo may be made quite as effectively in light rustic work. For light rustic work, sticks of hazel, cherry, yew, blackthorn, birch, larch, fir, and the prunings of many varieties of shrubs may be used; but it is necessary that the material should be cut at the proper season, and thoroughly dried before being worked up. The sticks should be cut in mid-winter, as at that time the sap is at rest; if cut in the summer time the bark will peel off. If peeled sticks are required, they should be cut in the spring, when the sap is rising, as at that time the rind will come off easily. In some districts the copses are cleared of undergrowth periodically, and the sticks (generally hazel) sold to hurdle and spar makers. A selection of these sticks would be very suitable for the purpose here described. The sticks should be stacked in an open shed in an upright position if possible, and in such a manner that the air can freely circulate around them. When they are required for fishing rods or walking sticks they are hung up to season-this keeps them straighter; but the hanging of them up is not necessary for the work about to be dealt with. When the sticks have been put away for from six to twelve months, according to size, they will be ready for use, after being rubbed with a cloth or brushed to clean off the dust and bring up the colour of the bark. Fir cones may often be worked into a design, and bits of rough bark and the warts and burrs found on old elm trees may be collected by the rustic worker and put by for future use.