... . * Stair-Building Made Easy, BEING A FULL AND CLEAR DESCRIPTION OF THE ART OF BUILDING THE BODIES, CARRIAGES AND CASES FOR ALL KINDS OF STAIRS AND STEPS. TOGETHER WITH ILLUSTRATIONS SHOWING THE MANNER OF LAYING OUT STAIRS, FORMING TREADS AND RISERS, BUILDING CYLINDERS, PREPARING STRINGS, WITH INSTRUCTIONS FOR MAKING CARRIAGES FOR COMMON, PLATFORM, DOG-LEGGED AND WINDING STAIRS. TO WHICH IS ADDED An Illustrated Glossary of Terms used in Stair-Building, and Designs for Newels, Balusters, Brackets, Stair-Mouldings and Sections of Hand-Rails. FRED. T. HODGSON, EDITOR OF "THE BUILDER AND WOOD-WORKER"; AUTHOR OF "THE CARPEN- 'S STEEL SQUARE, AND ITS USES," ETC., ETC. NBV7 YORK: THE INDUSTRIAL PUBLICATION COMPANY. 1684. [REFUGE Many books have been written on Stairs and Hand-Hailing, but so far as ray experience extends, one of two objections has prevented them from being universally adopted by the operative workman. First, the books have been written by men who did not seem to think it necessary to begin at the beginning, and first teach the young workman how to build a stair of the humblest sort, and thus lead him, step by step, until he became able, by gradual and natural acquirement, to erect and com- plete stairs of a better description. This objection, I have found, by close observation and a knowledge of the wants of young workmen, to be fatal to the large sale of any work published on the subject ; and though I am fully aware that to the workman who has, from practical experience in the workshop or in the building, obtained a fair knowledge of stair-build- ing and hand-railing, some one or other of the many excellent works now obtainable is a necessity, and it is not intended that this work will replace the more advanced ones. Tot, I think, that even the advanced stair- I milder will be able to find something here that will more than repay for the cost. The second objection I have met with to the books on this subject now in the market, is their high price. Young and struggling workmen cannot atTnrd to pay fancy prices for books they do not understand. GOULD'S AMERICAN STAIR-BUILDER, which is the lowest priced book on the subject published in this country, costs $3.00; while MONCKTON'S NATIONAL STATR- BFILDER costs $5.00, and RIDDELL'S UNIVERSAL STAIR-BUILDER costs $7.50; and so it is with CUPPER, DEGRAFF, LOTH and other works. Doubt- It -s. these books, every one of them, are worth the money asked for them, rv PKEFACE. and the advanced workman wouid not bo witliout a copy of one or the other of them if he had to pay double the market price ; but while these books may be invaluable to the advanced stair-builder, they are not at all adapted to the wants of the uninitiated ; and are as much out of place on the shelves of the young apprentice as a learned treatise on the lost tribes of Israel would be in the hands of a child struggling with alphabetical word- making. I have tried to avoid both the objections mentioned ; first, by presuming that the reader knows nothing about the art of stair-building when he buys this book, and must necessarily commence at the beginning, and work his way up; second, by keeping the cost of the book down to such a price that the poorest apprentice boy may be able to procure it. This book will be followed by another on the same subject, one that will begin where this leaves off, thus enabling the student to pursue the subject to its highest domain. Of course, it is intended that each work will be complete in itself, and that both works will cover the whole ground of Stair-Building and Hand-Bailing. FEED. T. HODGSON. New York, November 1, 1884. TABLE OF CONTENTS. Preliminary, - Use of Terms, - - . Introduction, -._ ---.. General Directions, -----_. Stairs Generally, Staircases, ------___ Treads, .... Risers, Rise and Run, Strings Generally, Flights, Filers and Landings. - - - - . Winders. Spaces and Nosings. Cylinders. Newels and Balusters, -.-... Method of Setting Out Stairs, ---... Consecutive Flights, Rules for Laying Out Strings, - 20 Graphical Method of Laying Out SI airs. - - - - 22 Layinir Out Stairs by Figures, --.___ 23 Plans of Stairs, 23 Pitch-Boards, 25 Fenced Pitch-boards ---..._. 20 (1MB Of Pitch-board, 27 Method i.rrslng Pilch-board, 27 Cunstnirlion of Steps, ---_.._ 29 Another Method of Same. .. ~. ..... JQ French, German. Italian. English and American Method- - - 31 Line of Nosiiiirs. 31 Sflieme for si rings. - - ... 33 Ilnii!N<; MADE EASY. 13 a taper wedge may be driven in, so as to force the tread and riser close to the face shoulders, thus making a tight joint. Rough strings are cut from undressed plank, and are used for strengthening the stairs. Sometimes a combination of rough cut strings are used for circular or geometrical stairs, and when framed together form the support or carriage of the stairs. Stave strings are built up strings, and are composed of narrow pieces glued, nailed, or bolted together, to form some portion of a cylinder. These are sometimes used for circular stairs, though in ordinary practice the circular part of a string is a part of the main string bent around a cylinder to give it the right curve. Notched strings are strings that only carry treads. They are generally somewhat narrower than the treads, and are housed right across their whole width. A sample of this kind of string is shown at Figs. 2 and 3, where the housings for the treads are numbered. These kinds of strings are chiefly used in cellars, or for steps answer- ing a like puqx>se. A Flight is a continued series of steps without a landing or other resting place. A Landing is a resting point or platform where one flight ends, and where another may start from in any direction. A Flier is the regular step, and is of parallel width its entire length. A Winder is a tread wider at one end than at the ether. These winders are used for turning a corner or going round a curve. The small end of winders is sometimes called a quoin. A Quarter Space is a landing extending half across the width of stairs. Half Space is a landing extending right across the width of stairs. Sometimes landings are made of greater area than the fore- going spaces would permit. The Line Of Nosings is tangent to the nosings of the steps, and is therefore parallel to the inclination of the stair. 14 STAIR-KUII.D1NO MADE EASY. Cylinders Or Well Holes. These are semicircular or quarter-circular openings, around which the stairs are carried. The openings are formed by either building the cylinder with staves or bending stuff to the proper curve. Newels. These are posts or columns either turned or built up. Generally there is one of these posts at the foot of the stairs, and the hand-rail either mitres into the cap of the post or it "butts" against a square left purposely for it. Balusters. These are smaller posts of either turned work, square, or wrought work, and are designed to support the hand- rail, and give strength and a finished appearance to the whole work. A number of designs for newels and balusters will be given further on. Besides the terms given in the foregoing, there are many others 1 may have to use in the body of the work, 'and when they are not thoroughly understood, the student is advised to look for the explanation in the glossary, which will be found at the end of the book. Having given these explanations, which for the present may be considered ample, I will endeavor to de- scribe some of the more sim- ple contrivances that have been used in various places for the purpose of getting from one plane to another. The ladder, which is com- posed of two sides and a number of rungs or cleats running across the sides, may be considered the simplest form of a stair, for the same principles are involved in the construction of a common ladder as are necessary for the building of a first-class straight flight of stairs. Fig. 1. Fig. 2. STAIR-RUIL IN', MADK KASV. That kind of stair which, after the common ladder, is the most simple, is formed of a thick plank placed at a convenient angle to form the ascent, and upon it are nailed pieces of wood to give a firm footing. This (Fig. i) is often used in scaffolding. The stair next in degree is composed of horizontal planks form- ing steps, just sufficiently wide to give a footing; the planks are tenoned on the ends and let into mortises in two raking pianks ; the mortises are sometimes rectangular, as at d (Fig. 2), and some- JOIST Fig. 3. times they follow the inclination of the sides, as b and c. In the better sort the outer edge of the step has a nosing, as at c. The i6 STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. tenons of the steps are sometimes made so long as to pass entirely through the sides, and are secured by keys on the outside : to pre- serve the planks which form the steps from splitting, the sides of the raking pieces are grooved to receive their ends. The opposite side pieces, too, are often bound together by iron rods ; one end of each rod having a rivet head, and the other end being screwed with a nut to embrace the side pieces. Such rods should be placed near the middle of a step, and close to its under side. This method of building stairs, or rather steps, will be better un- derstood by a study of Fig. 3, where the string for the steps are shown along with the method of getting the right angle for the lay of the treads. In using the steel square to get the " pitch " or angle ot the tread, proceed as shown in the cut. The height of the rise in this case is nine inches, so it will be seen that it is an easy matter to lay off the string as the long side of the square hangs plumb, and nine inches up its length will be the distance from the top of one step to the top of the next one. The opening in the floor at the top of the string shows the end of the trim- ming joists, which in this case are five feet apart. There is a contrivance for economizing space sometimes used, which, perhaps, it may be well to mention, as the ascent is thereby made in about one-half the space other- wise required. The width of this kind of stair is divided into two sets of steps, both of equal length and width, but the Fiy. 4. risers, except the first and STAIR-BUILDING MADK KASY. last, are made twice the usual height; thus, if the line a B (Fig. 4) be 72 inches, and the width c r> 33 inches, and it is necessary to rise 80 inches, divide the line a B in nine equal parts, and make the step equal to two of these parts; also, divide the width in two equal parts, and the height into ten equal parts, which gives 8 inches for the tread, 8 inches for the bottom riser, and 16 inches for the intermediate risers a a, etc., and 8 for the top riser b. Arrange the risers in such order that the face line of one riser shall be in the midway betwixt the face of the one next below and the one next above, as will better be seen by reference to Fig. 5. The height of the risers is so dis- posed that the bottom riser shall have the face of the first step 8 inches from the floor, whilst the first step on b shall be 16 inches from the floor, and the succeeding risers 16 inches each. In using this stair, one foot is placed on a step of one flight, as at a (Fig. 4), and the other on a step of the other flight, as at b, and so on alternately. Such stairs will only admit the passage of one per- son at a time. When it is required to admit of two persons passing each other, three Fig. 5. Fig. 6. Fig. 7. flights arc necessary, the centre flight being made wider than the exterior flights (Figs. 6 and 7). This contrivance may be used in 1 8 STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. places not sufficiently spacious to admit of stairs of the usual con- struction. When houses began to be built in stories, the stairs were placed from story to story in straight flights like ladders. They were erected on the exterior of the building, and to shelter them when so placed, great projection was given to the roofs. To save the extent of space required by straight flights, the stairs were made to turn upon themselves in a spiral form, and were enclosed in tur- rets. A newel, either square or round, reaching from the ground to the roof, served to support the inner ends of the steps, and the outer ends were let into the walls, or supported on notched boards attached to the walls. At a later period the stairs came to be inclosed within the build- ing itself and for a long time preserved the spiral form, which the former situation had necessitated. Another method of forming a stair expeditiously, is to notch out the side pieces on their upper edge sufficiently to receive the steps and risers, thus: a a the side pieces, b b the risers, and c c the step boards or treads (Fig. 8). The risers are nailed at the ends to the sides or strings, and the steps are nailed to the risers and also to the strings. Such methods as have been described are often used in warehouses, factories, and agricultural buildings. Where communication between the stories is fre- Fig. 8 quent, the qualities necessary in the stairs are ease and convenience in using, combined with sufficient strength and durability. Economy of space in the construction of stairs is an important consideration. To obtain this, the stairs are made to turn upon themselves, one flight being carried above an- other at such a height as will admit of head room to a full grown person. Method Of Setting Out Stairs where the building is already erected, or the general plan of Hie building is understood. The first objects to be ascertained are the situation of the first STAIR-BUILDING MADK EASY. and last risers, and the height of the story wherein the stair is to be placed. A sketch is made of the plan of the hall to the extent of 10 or 12 feet from the supposed place of the foot of the stair, and all the doorways, branching passages, or windows which can pos- sibly come in contact with the stair from its commencement to its expected termination or landing are noted. The sketch necessarily includes a portion of the entrance-hall in one part, and of the lobby or landing in the other, and on it have to be laid down the expected lines of the first and last risers. The height of the story is next to be exactly determined and taken on a rod; then, assuming a height of riser suitable to the place, a trial is made, by division, how often this height is contained in the height of the story, and the quotient, if there be no remainder, will be the number of risers in the story. Should there be a remainder on the first division, the operation is reversed, the number of inches in the height being made the divi- dend, and the before-found quotient the divisor, and the operation of division by reduction is carried on, till the height of the riser isf obtained to the thirty-second part of an inch. These heights ar0 then set off on the story rod as exactly as possible. The next operation is to show the risers on the plan, but for this no arbitrary rule can A be given ; the designer must exercise his ingenuity. When two flights are necessary for a story, it is desirable that each flight should consist of an equal number of risers; but this will depend on the form of the staircase, the situation and height of the doors, and other obsta- cles to be passed over or under, as the case may be. Try what the width of the tread will be by setting off, upon the line n a, in Figure 9, the width of the landing from the wall A B; and dividing the length of the flight into is many equal spaces as it is intended 2O STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. there should be steps in each flight. The landing covers one riser, and therefore the number of steps in a flight will be always one fewer than the number of risers. The width of tread which can be obtained for each flight will thus be found, and consistent with the situation the plan will be so far decided. A pitch-board should now be formed to the angle of inclination; this is done by making a piece of thin board in the shape of a right-angled triangle, the base of which is the exact going of the step, and its perpendicular the height of the riser. If the stair be a newel stair, its width will be found by setting out the plan and section of the newel on the landing (if one newel, it should, of course, stand in the middle of the width) ; then, in collection with the newel, mark the place of the outer or front String, and also the place of the back or wall string, according to the intended thickness of each. This should be done not only to a scale on the plan, but likewise to the full size on the rod. Set off on the rod, in the thickness of each string, the depth of the grooving of the steps into the string ; mark also on the plan the place and section of the bottom newel; the same figure answers for the place of the top newel of the second flight, the flights being supposed of equal length. The front string is usually framed into the middle of the newel, and thus the centres of the rail, the newels, the balusters, and the front string range with each other; the width of the flights will thus be shown on the rod. It is a general maxim that the greater the breadth of a step the less should be the height of the riser; and conversely, the less the breadth of step, the greater should be the height of the riser. Ex- perience shows that a step of 12 inches, width and 5^ inches rise may be taken as a standard ; and if from this it is attempted to deduce a rule of proportion, substituting, for the sake of whole numbers, the dimensions in half-inches, namely, 24 and 11, then, in order to find any other width corresponding in inverse propor- tion, Say as 24 : ii :: 12 : 22 24 : ii :: 19 : 13-8 24 : 1 1 : : 20 : 13*2. STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. 21 Thus it will be seen that a step of 6 inches in width will require the riser to be 1 1 inches, a step of 9)^ inches will need the riser to be nearly 7 inches, and that a step of 10 inches requires a riser of about 6^6 inches. The same thing is thus otherwise expressed. Let T be the tread and R the riser of any step which is found to have proper porpoi> tion, then to find the proportion of any other tread /, and riser r, RXT TXR --- = /, or --- = r. r t Take, for example, a step with a tread of 12 and a riser of 5^ inches as the standard, then to find the breadth of the tread when the given riser is 8 inches, and substituting these values for / and r in the formula, we have inches as the breadth of tread. Suppose, again, the given breadth to be 13 inches, we have =5-3 inches as the height of riser. This process of inverse proportion may be performed graphically as follows ; Fig. 10. Let the^read and riser of a step of approved proportion be rep- resented by the sides c t>, 6e, of the triangle a be. Fig. 10. Through 22 STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. the point a, draw a line d af, parallel to the step line c b. Then to find the riser for any other step, set off on the line c b, from the point c to //, the required width of a step, say 10 inches, and draw d d; draw also c d, and continue it to the line ba, and the point of intersection there will show the height of riser corresponding to the tread c d. In like manner, if the width given be 18 inches, set it off in the point 6; draw 6 e and c d, and through //draw the perpendicu- lar ^/>. 32 STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. tended to stand above the treads as shown in the dotted line. On this line apply the pitch-board as explained on previous pages. In laying out housed strings it is as well to take the fence off the pitch-board, as it can be handled much better yvithout it, as the long side will have to be kept close to the gauge line, to insure good work. The top lines for treads, and the face lines for risers, are the lines that define the step, and cannot be changed; but the back line of the riser and the lower line of the tread should be made to run so that the housing or groove will be wider at the under side of the string than at the junction of the riser and tread at the nosing, where the grooves will be the same width as the riser and tread are in thickness separately. The nosing projects over the riser, as will be seen, and to mark this portion out it is usual to make a template or pattern for the pur- pose. Indeed, it is best to make a template to lay out the whole housing of the tread, and in shape like the shaded part shown in the illustration. The reason the grooves are left wider at the back edge of tread is so that -a wedge can be driven between the tread and the lower edge of the groove, to force the top side of the tread close to the upper edge of the groove, thus making a tight joint and insuring strength and rigidity to the whole structure. The risers are iilso wedged in place, as will be shown in Fig. 23. After the treads and risers are laid out on the string, a sharp-pointed knife blade should be used to mark the lines for the face of the riser and the top of the tread, then a fine tenon saw should be used to saw down to the exact depth. This will not be difficult to perform when the hole forming the nosing recess has been bored to the proper depth. A gauge line should be made on the back edge of the string to indi- cate the depth of the housing. Care should be taken in removing the w^ood from the grooves that too much is not taken or the grooves made too deep. A gauge for trying the depth may be made out of a piece of hard wood, say about four inches long and three inches wide, by about one-half inch in thickness. Make a tenon on the centre of one end, about three-quarters of an inch in width, and cut the shoulders back sufficiently far enough to admit the STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. 33 tenon being long enough to touch the bottom of the groove or housing, when the shoulders rest on the face of the string. At Fig. 23 I show a sectional elevation through the steps. The Heads, /, /, and the risers, r, ;*, are shown in position. These are secured, as will be seen by means of the wedges, x, x, and y,y, which are to be well covered with glue before they are inserted and driven home. Stairs made after this manner are strong and per- fectly solid under foot. I hare now shown you the way to make an open string, and how to make a housed string. There are several other methods of mak- ing a stair string than those shown you already ; one way is to form two tenons on the end of the tread, which fit into mortises cut through the string. This method makes a very strong stair if the string is sufficiently wide enough to allow for the loss of strength caused by making the mortises. At Fig. 24 several ways of forming an open string are shown. Fie. 23. Fig. 24. Different methods of uniting the risers and treads are shown. They may be grooved and tongued, as in steps 5 and 6, or 34 STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. feathered as in step 4, or rabbeted as at step 3 ; in every case the joint should be glued and blocked. Sometimes the riser is housed into the tread as at x. The tread is also sometimes tongued into the riser, but this is not good construction, and should be avoided. R, s show a rough string or scantling, having pieces, r, b, steps 2, 3 and 4 nailed or screwed on to it to support the treads. Triangu- lar pieces may be nailed on the top edge of the scantling to sup- port the treads as shown at steps 5 and 6. A rough string, cor- responding to the open string, may be used in place of any of the foregoing methods. The under edge of all rough strings should be made to coincide with the lower edge of the furring or cleat nailed on the inside lower edge of the outside cut string, and so arranged that the lathing will nail on the furring, the rough strings, and the lower edge of the wall string. I have now described several methods of dealing with strings, but there still are a few other things connected with strings, both housed and open, that will be necessary to explain before you can proceed to put up a fair flight of stairs. The connection of the wall string to the base of the lower and upper floors, and the man- ner of affixing the outer or cut string to the upper joist and to the newel, are matters that must not be overlooked, and I intend to show how these things are accomplished, in due time. I will pro- ceed now to describe the method of finishing the tread and riser at the end of the step that rests on the outer string. Fig. 25 gives two views of a portion of a better-class stair, a stair with cut and mitered string, or open string stair. In referring to the plan, ws shows the wall string; RS the rough string placed there to give the structure strength ; and o s the outer or cut string. At a, a the ends of the risers are shown, and it will be noticed they are mitered against the vertical or riser line of the string, thus pre- venting the end wood of the riser from being seen. The other end of the riser is in the housing in the wall string. The outer end of the tread is also mitered at the nosing, and a piece of stuff made or worked like the nosing is mitered against, or returned at the end of the tread. The end of this returned piece is again returned on to the string, as shown in the upper portion of the cut, STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. 35 cove in this case, is also re- I 8 at n. The moulding, which is a turned round the string and into itself. The mortises shown at the black points, B, B, B, etc., are for the balusters. It is always the proper thing to saw the ends of the tread ready for the balus- ters before they are attached to the string, then when the time arrives to put up the rail the back end of the mortise may be cut out, when the tread will be ready to re- ceive the baluster. The mortise is dove- tailed, and, of course, the tenon in the bal- uster must be made to suit. The tread is finished on the bench, and the return nosing is fitted to it and tacked on so that it may taken off to insert the balusters, when the rail is being put in position. At Fig. 26 I show the end of a step on a cut and mitered string, which is bracketed. B shows the bracket and the manner in which the end is finished. Brackets on stairs are generally about fo of an inch thick, and may be of almost any design that is in keeping with the surroundings. When a stair is bracketed, the point of the riser on its string end should be left standing past the string the thickness of the bracket, and the end of the bracket mitres against it, thus avoiding the necessity of showing end wood or joint. The JOS Fig. 25. STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. cove should finish inside the length of the bracket, and the nosing should finish just outside the length of the bracket. When brackets are employed they should continue along the cyl- inder, and all around the well hole and trimmers, though they may be varied to suit condi- tions when continuously run- ning on a straight horizontal facia. A number of designs Fig 26 for brackets will be shown further on. Fig. 27 shows the manner in which a wall string is finished at the foot of the stairs, s shows the string with a moulding wrought on the upper edge. This moulding may be a simple ogee, or may ronsist of a number of members, or may be only a bead, or the edge of the string may be left quite plain; this will be regulated in a great measure by the style of finish in the hall, or wherever the STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. 37 stairs are placed. B shows a portion of the baseboard, the top edge of which has the same finish as the top edge of the string. B and A together show the junction of the string and base. The dotted line shows when a piece of stuff has been glued on to the string to make it wide enough at the junction to get the ease-off or curve. F F, show the blocks glued in the angle of the steps to make them firm and solid. Fig. 28. The Figure 28 shows the manner in which the wall string s is finished at the top of the stairs. It will be noticed that the mould- ing is worked round the ease-off at A to suit the width of the base at B. The string is cut over the floor horizontally and vertically or plumb against the joists. The plaster line under the stairs and on the ceiling is also shown. Fig. 29 shows the cut or open string at the foot of the stairs, and the manner of dealing with it at its junction with the newel post K. The point of the string should be mor- 38 STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. tised into the newel two, three, or four inches, as shown by the dotted lines, and the mortise made in the newel should be made near the centre, so that the centre of the baluster will be directly opposite the central line of the newel post. The proper Avay to manage this is to measure the central line of the baluster on the tread, and then make this line correspond with the central line of the newel post. By a careful attendance to this matter, much trouble will be avoided where a turned cap is used to receive the Fig. 29. lower part of the rail. The lower riser, in a stair of this kind, will be something shorter than the ones that follow it, as it must be cut between the newel and the wall string. A portion of the tread, as well as the riser, will also " butt " against the newel, as shown at w. STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. 39 If there is no spandril or wall under the open string it may run down to the floor, as shown at o. The piece o is glued on to the string, and the moulding is worked on the curve. If there is a wall under the string s, then the base B, shown by the dotted lines, will finish against the string, and it should have a moulding stuck on its upper edge the same as the one on the lower edge of the string, if any, and this moulding should mitre into the one on the string. When there is a base the piece o is dispensed with. The square of the newel should run down by the side of a joist, as shown, and be firmly secured to it by iron knees or other suit- able devices. If the joist run the other way, try and get the newel post against it, if possible, either by furring out the joist or cutting a portion off the thickness of the newel. The solidity of a Fig. 30. stair, and the firmness of the rail, depend very much on the rigidity of the newel post. Fig. 30 shows how the cut string is finished at the top of the stairs. This illustration requires no explanation after the foregoing lias been examined. So far I have dealt with those stairs having a newel at the bot- tom only, but it is just as well here to let the reader understand that there are many modifications of straight and return stairs, that 4 o STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. have from two to four and six newels. When any of these condi- tions arise, the treatment of strings at their finishing points may necessarily be somewhat different than that described, but the gen- eral principles, as shown and explained, will hold good. I do not intend, however, to leave the subject here, as I want to make everything as clear to the student as possible, so will give a few examples of stairs having more than one newel. Before proceeding to describe and illustrate neweled stairs, it will be proper to say something about the " well," or opening in the floors through which the traveler on the stairs ascends and de- scends from one floor to another. Fig. 31 shows a well-hole, and the manner of trimming it. In this case the stairs are placed against the wall, but this is not neces- sary in all cases, as the " well-hole may be placed in any part of a building. The arrangement of the trimming varies according as the joists are at right angles to or parallel to the wall against which the stairs are 'built. In the former case the joists are cut short and tusk- tenoned into the heavy trimmer T T, as shown in the cut. This n >\ \ ffi* I ' 11 U n T. r TJ 'A i . J \ gs - -'' - '^ffifijjjjp-.- y$%$/ffiffi" ^ffiffifz?^' Fig. 31. trimmer is again tusk -tenoned into two heavy joists, TJ, T j, which form the ends of the " well-hole." These heavy joists are called trimming joists, and as they have to carry a much heavier load than other joists on the same floor, they are left much heavier. Some- times two or three joists are put together, side by side, and are bolted or spiked together to give them the desired unity and strength. STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. If the opening runs parallel with the joists, the timber forming the side of the " well-hole" might be left a little heavier than the other joists, as it will have to carry short trimmers, T j, T j, and the joists running into them. The method shown here is more particularly adapted to brick buildings, but there is no reason why the same system may not be applied to frame buildings. Usually, in cheap frame build- ings, the trimmers are ~ spiked against the ends of the joists, and the ends of the trimmers are supported by being spiked to the trimming joists T j, T j. This is not very workmanlike, or very secure, and I would advise its discon- tinuance, as it is not nearly so strong or dur- able as the old method of framing the joists and trimmers together. I show at Fig. 32 a stair with three newels and a platform. In this example the first tread, No. i, stands forward of the newel post two-thirds of its width. This is not ne- cessary in every case, but is sometimes done to suit conditions in the hallway. The second newel is placed at twelfth riser, and sup 42 STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. ports the upper end of the first cut string, and the lower end of the second cut string. The platform, 12, is supported by joists framed into the wall and fastened against a trimmer, which runs from the wall to the newel along the line 12. This is the case only when the second newel runs down to the floor. If the second newel does not run down to the floor, the framework supporting the plat- form will need being built on studding. The third newel stands at the top of the stairs, and is fastened to the joists of the second floor, or to the trimmer, something after the fashion of fastening as shown at Fig. 29. In this example the stairs have sixteen risers and fifteen treads the platform or landing, 12, making one tread. The figures 16 show the floor in the second story. This style of stair will require a well-hole in shape about as the plan shown, and, where strength is required, the newel at the plat- form should run from floor to floor, and act as a support to the joists and trimmers on which the second floor is laid. Perhaps the best way to go about building these stairs by a new beginner will be to " lay out " the work on the lower floor in the exact place where they are going, making everything full size. There will be no difficulty in doing this, and if the position of the first riser and the three newel posts are accurately defined, the building of the stairs will be an easy matter. Plumb lines may be raised from the lines on the floor, and the positions of the pint form and each riser easily determined. Not only is it best to line out on the floor stairs having more than one newel, but it is perhaps the safest way for a new beginner to line out in exact position on ///K EASY. 4 6 STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. fixed cross bearers, c b. These would not be necessary if the stairs were narrow, but are inserted here for the sake of illustration. In this example four winders are introduced to show the defects of such an arrangement. Four winders should never be placed in a stair of this kind where it is possible to avoid such an arrangement, as it will be seen in the cut that the width of the treads at eighteen inches from the newel can never be more than seven inches. Tims, the treads of the winders must be narrower than those of the fliers, and, therefore, often inconvenient. Four winders, however, are often employed, as they are sometimes necessary in order to gain the height required within the space available. SECOND FLOOR Fig. 35. At Fig. 35 I show a portion of a stair in which both strings are housed, and in which the outer string is finished between newels. This style would suit the stairs shown at Figs. 33 and 34. STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. 47 The hand-rail and style of balusters, and method of putting them in, are also shown. As the rail is straight, and the newel and bal- usters turned, and not difficult to work, it was deemed proper to insert them here as examples of a neweled stair finished. Again, at Fig. 36 I furnish another example of a portion of fin- ished stairs at its foot. In this case the balusters and newel are simply made from square stuff, dressed and cham- fered. The strings are housed and closed in, and the balusters on the outer string simply rest on it, only having a dowel or small tenon on their lower ends. The ball on the top of the newel is turned separately, and is fast- ened by means of a pin which is glued into the newel ; this pin should be turned on the ball. The upper ends of the balusters fit into a groove made the right width and about half an inch deep on the under side of the hand-rail. At Fig. 37 I show a portion of a straight stair having landings and newels, but still running only in one direction. In this case there is, in the first flight, eleven steps, then a landing, /T, of greater or lesser dimensions; then a second flight begins and con- tinues until the next floor is reached. Sometimes, when the stories are more than ordinary height, there are two or more landings or "rests," and there may be only seven or nine steps between the landings. The mode of construction is shown quite clearly in this cut, and the positions of strings, carriages, newels and joists are all represented. The letters and figures exhibited, both on plan and elevation, are self explanatory. Fig. 36. STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. Fig. 37. STAlR-IHJILDlNt; MAHK KASY. 49 With regard to laying out the strings and carriages for dog-legged and winding stairs, I may say that I will explain all about this a little further on, or after the student gets a little more familiar with the method of laying out the stairs on plan. It is in order now, however, to describe and explain the manner of dealing with the bodies and carriages of geometrical stairs; but before entering into the subject largely, it may be as well to make a few preliminary re- marks : A geometrical stair has no newel posts. The flights are arranged around a well-hole in the centre, sometimes called an "open newel" or a " cylinder ; " and each step is secured by having one end housed into the wall string, the other end resting upon the outer string, but partly deriving support from the step below it. The rail of a geometrical stair is uninterrupted in its course from top to bottom, The treads of these kind of stairs should be strong and substan- tial, and the risers and tread should be put together in a thorough workmanlike manner. Nowhere on a building is the best kind of workmanship more necessary than on the stairs, and more particu- larly is this the case with geometrical stairs than with straight or dog-legged stairs. The cut strings of these kind of stairs should have a flat bar of iron screwed on their inner edges after being bent to the proper shape. Figs. 38 and 39 show the sectional elevation and plan of a geo- metrical stair with winders. The portion of the staircase shown in Fig. 39 consists of six fliers, then eight winders, then seven more fliers, making twenty-two steps, leading to a half-space landing on the floor above; from this the stairs again rise, commencing with the step marked 23, the remainder being broken off to show the first flight. The treads of the lower flight and winders are also omitted, in order to show the supports below. The steps are formed in the way described in previous pages, \\ith in this case feather-tongued joints between the treads and risers. The treads and risers are well housed into the wall string, the 5 STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. outer ends resting upon a cut and inhered string, and intermediate support is afforded by a rough string, to the side of which is nailed a rough notched bracket or string, cut to fit the under side of the steps, and to serve like an ordinary string. Fig. 38.-Elevation. The strings themselves are framed in between the trimming joists provided in the floors, and pitching pieces, PP, projecting from the wall at the level of the first and last winders; one of these latter is shown at P P, but the other is covered by the fifteenth step. STAIR Bl'll. DIM. MADK KASY. 51 The trimming joist, just below No. i step, extends, of course, right across the whole width of the stair but it is in the plan (Fig. 39) supposed to be broken off just under the outer string in order to avoid confusing the plan of the first step. The winders are supported throughout their length by bearers, b b, the inner ends of which are built and wedged into the wall of the staircase, the outer ends being tenoned into the circular wreathed portion of the outer string. The inner side of the staircase is finished and embellished by a. 5- STA1K-BUII.DINO MADK EASY. skirting notched on tlie under side to fit the steps, and if the wall is brick it is secured on grounds fastened on to plugs in the brick- work. If the walls are of wood, the string may be secured quite easily. In some cases two crown bearers are provided for each winder, one being framed in between longitudinal bearers in the centre as well as at the wide end. If very thick treads are used the bearers and rough strings may be omitted altogether, the steps being wedged into the wall and projecting without further support till they reach the outer string. Fig. 40. Elevation. Fig. 40 is a portion of a stair somewhat similar to that shown at Fig. 38, but with different description of joints between the treads STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. 53 and risers, enlarged so as to show the plaster and other details, which could not be made clear upon a very small scale. At Fig. 41 I show a plan and elevation of a stair having a cir- 1 1 , ; Iff J Fig. 41. Plan and Elevation. cular well-hole, but having no winders. This is the common straight stair with a newel at its foot, and a continuous rail from the newel to top of stairs, and by aid of a wreath around the whole well-hole and up through the upper stories of the house when there are two or more floors. This is the most common kind of stairs, and for an ordinary dwelling, is the most convenient. The manner of building them is easily acquired, and no workman of any pretensions should rest satisfied without having a thorough knowledge of the way in which they are constructed and put up. Indeed, every country carpen- ter who has skill enough to superintend the building of a good farm house should be able to build a stair of this kind, rail and all complete. 54 STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. In Figs. 12 and 39, I show plans of stairs, the lines of risers of which are drawn from a common centre, which is also the centre of the circle that forms the cylinder or well-hole. In a stair of this kind it is found very difficult to build a graceful rail, and in order to avoid the ungracefulness in the shape of the rail that usually occurs when the plan of the stair is laid ' out this way, an expedient is adopted, which, I believe, was first introduced by the French, and which is called " balancing" or " dancing" the steps around the well, that is, they are drawn so as not to converge to the same point, but so that each is directed upon a different point formed in a manner somewhat intricate, and which will be de- scribed further on. Fig. 42. In Fig. 42, the first four and the last four steps are parallel, but the remainder "balance" or "dance" as described above. The treads are numbered in this illustration, and the line of hand-rail- STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. 55 ing H R, H R, is clearly shown. The trimmer T at the top of the stairs is also shown, and the rough strings, RS, RS, R s, or carriages, are represented by the dotted lines. This plan represents a stair with a curtail step, and a scroll hand- rail resting over the curve of the curtail step. This kind of stair is not much in vogue now in this country, though it is adopted oc- casionally, in some of the larger cities. The use of heavy newel posts instead of the curtail steps, is the prevailing style at present. In laying out geometrical stairs, the steps are arranged on the principles as described in the foregoing. The well-hole in the centre is first laid down and the steps arranged around it. In circular stairs with an open well-hole, as in Figure 12, the hand- rail being on the inner side, the width of tread proportioned to the use of steps should be set off along the dotted line, 18 inches in from the hand-rail, for the reasons given in the foregoing. In stairs with the rail on the outside, as sometimes occurs, it will be sufficient if the treads have the proper width in the centre of their length. When laying out stairs practically on the building itself, the height to be gained should be carefully marked out upon the " story rod" as before described, on which are marked divisions corresponding to the number and height to the risers ; a similar rod is marked so as to show the treads; and from these rods the steps should be carefully marked upon the walls of the staircase. A rod should also be prepared having marked upon it the exact width of the stairs, the length of steps, the position and size of newels, and also the size of the wall and outer strings, showing the thickness and depth of the housings. The expert stair-builder, of course, may dispense with some of these precautionary measures, and will in many cases, build his stairs in the " shop," putting them all together ready to " set in position " before they leave his work-bench. To be able to do this, and have stairs "fit" without further "cutting" or "paring," after it leaves the shop, is an achievement that any workman may be justly proud of. The young workman, however, should follow the directions I give in the foregoing, and though it may take a 56 STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. little more time at the commencement, much chagrin, trouble ami time may be saved 'in the end, and, let me say right here, that in no place in a building will a " botched " job be more apparent than on a stair which every one belonging to the household, and every friend and visitor of the family, see and use every day ; and a stair badly constructed or " botched " by bad workmanship or carelessness in the laying out, is sure to bring a bad and unenvia- ble reputation to the men who design and build them. With regard to having the steps "dance" around the well this may be accomplished either by calculation or graphically. By the first method, the step which is in the centre of the circular arc is regarded as a fixed line, and the divergence from parallelism has to be made between it and the extremes either way. But it is not necessary to begin the divergence at the first step, nor indeed is it advisable, and in general the first and last three or four steps are left unaltered, so that they may be perfectly parallel to the land- ing. Suppose then that the divergence is fixed to commence at the fourth step, it becomes necessary to distribute eight spaces along the centre of the string, commencing at the centre line of the stairs, which, from the centre line to the fourth riser, shall fol- low some law of uniform progression, say that of arithmetical progression, as being the most simple. The progression then will consist of eight terms, the sum of which shall be equal to the length from the centre to the fourth step. Suppose that its development is 66 inches, a length composed of the breadth of three fliers, 3, 4, 5, namely, 36 inches, and the sum of the widths of the ends of the five winding steps, 8, 9, 10, n, 12, namely, 30 inches, Subtracting from 66 inches. The width of eight steps of the same width as the winders 48 " There is obtained the difference 18 " from which is to be furnished the progressive increase to the steps as they proceed from the centre to riser No. 4. Suppose these in- crements to follow the law of the natural numbers 12345678, etc., the sum of which is 36, divide the difference 18 by 36, and STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. 57 the quotient, 0.5 inches, is the first line of the progression, and the steps will increase as follows : The end of step No. n =6.5 " 10 = 7 9 = 7-5 " 8 = 8 7 = 8.5 6 = 9 5 = 9-5 " " 4 = 10 The sum of which is 66 These widths, taken from a scale, are to be set off on the line of balusters, and from the points so obtained lines are to be drawn through the divisions of the centre line. It is easy to perceive that Fig. 43. 58 STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. by this method, and by varying the progression, any form may be given to the curve of the string. The graphic method, however, yet to be described, is prefer- able to the method by calculation, seeing that it is important to give a graceful curve to the development of the string, and we will fully explain this method a little further on. Fig. 44. Figs. 43 and 44 are the plan and elevation of a geometrical stair, composed of straight flights, with quarter space landings, and rising 15 feet 9 inches. STAIR-BUI LDIXG MADE EASY. 59 The first flight is shown in Fig. 44, 'partly in section, exhibiting the carriage c c, T the trimmer joists for quarter space, and v the trimmer joists of the floor below, with the lower end of the iron baluster fastened by a screw and nut K EASY. 6l 02 STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. the axis of the stair, and the grooves filled up with bars of wood carefully glued in, and the whole left to dry when bent to the proper shape. Another method in making stairs hollowed in the face to the curvature of the well-hole, and setting out as much of the string Fig. 48. on each piece as will cover its width, then glueing the staves, edge to edge, without any veneer. This method, though expeditious, is not safe. I show a cylinder at Fig. 49 which shows the manner of build- ing the staves edge to edge, with keys of wood dovetailed into the backs of the staves at the joints, STAIR-HUILD1NG MADK KASY. 63 Another method >s sometimes prac- ticed, when the curved surface is of great length and large sweep, as in the back strings of circular stairs. In this a por- tion of cylindric surface is formed on a solid piece of plank about three or four feet in length ; and the string being set out on a veneer board sufficiently thin to bend easily, is laid down round the curve, with such a number of pieces of like thick- ness as will make the required thickness of the string-board. In working this method the glue is introduced between the veneers with a thin piece of board, and the veneers quickly strained down to the curved piece with hand-screws. A string can be formed in this way to almost any length by glueing a few feet at a time, and when that dries, removing the cylindrical curve and glueing down more, till the whole is completed. Several other ways will suggest themselves to the workman, to build up a good solid circular string-board. At Fig. 50 I show a plan of a semi-circular stair having winders radiating from a common centre. The dotted lines show the car- riage or rough strings, g, A, e, /, and/, c and D show the trimmer at the top of the stair, and E and g show the central or main sup- ports. These carriage, or string pieces, are of course cut out, like an ordinary string. Fig. 5 1 shows a plan of an elliptical stair, and in which is shown the method of building the carriage for same. Fig. 52 is the longest carriage, A B, shown in the plan; it is formed of one pine board, 1 1 inches wide by 3 or 4 in thickness ; its length of bearing betwixt the walls is about 15 feet. To find the best position for the carriages, lay a straight edge on the plan, and by its application find where a right line will be divided into nearly equal parts by the intersection of the risers. The object of this will readily be understood if it is considered that in a series of steps of equal width and risers of equal height, the angles will be 6 4 STAIR-BUILDING MADK KASY. in a straight line, whereas in a series of unequal steps and equal risers, the angles will deviate from a straight line in proportion to the inequality in the width of steps. Notwithstanding the inequal- ity in the width of steps which thus often occurs, it seldom Imp- pens that carriages may not be applied to stairs, if their situation be carefully selected by the means above mentioned. The double Fijr. 50. line, A B, is taken from the plan with the lines of risers crossing at various angles of inclination. These lines represent the back sur- face of each riser, according to the number on ench. The double line, A B, will therefore be understood as representing the thickness of the piece. Lines drawn from the intersections of each of the risers perpendicularly on A B, Fig. 52, will present the width of STAIR-BUH.DING MADE EASY. bevel which each notching will require in the carriage at the junc- tion of the wall. No. 8 crosses very obliquely; No. 9 with some- what less obliquity ; No. 10 with still less, and the obliquity con- tinually diminishes, till at 13 the crossing is at right angles, pre- senting only one line. The remaining numbers are bevelled in the reverse direction, gradually increasing to No. 19, where the car- riage enters the wall. The complete lines show the side of the carriage next the well-hole, while the dotted lines represent 66 STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. 67 the side next the wall. The most expeditious method of set- ting out such carriages is to draw them out at full size on a floor. Having first set out the plan of the stairs at full size, take off the widtli of every step, in the order in which it occurs, marking that width, and at right angles thereto draw the connecting riser, thus proceeding step by step till the whole length of the carriage is completed; next set out one side of the carriage as a face side and square over to the back, allowing the bevel as found on the plan; then, with a pair of compasses prick off to the under edge at each angle, for the strength; this will define the curvature for the under side with its proper wind, to suit the ceiling surface of the stairs. The bearer, c D, Fig. 51, is a level piece wedged in the wall, with Fig. 53. its square end abutting against the side of the carriage, A B; the dotted line on the upper side of the carriage, Fig. 52, and the straight dotted line on its under side, are intended to show the edges of an u-inch pine board previous to its being cut; the shaded part at each end shows its bearing in the wall; at the riser 68 STAIR BUILDING MADE EASY. ,8 is shown a corpsing, to receive the lower end of the carriage, Fig. 54, c L; and at the riser 16, a similar corpsing to receive the carriage, Fig. 55, G H; Fig. 53 is the carriage, E F, Fig. 51, par- allel with A B, Fig. 51, against which the front string is nailed; each of the last mentioned is formed in the same manner as the one already described. The carriages, Figs. 53, 54 and 55, have the number of the risers figured on them. This method of framing the carriages of stairs is not yet much practiced. It was introduced more than forty years ago, and has given greater satisfaction than the more laborious process of fram- ing for every step which is not only weaker from the greater num- ber of joints, but is also more expensive. It is now gradually coming into use. In circular strings the string board for the circular part is pre- pared in several different ways. Each of these will now be de- scribed, the first being that adopted in veneered strings. One indispensable requisite in forming a veneered string, is called by joiners a cylinder; it is, however, in fact, a semi-cylinder joined to two parallel sides. An apparatus of this kind must first be formed of a diameter equal to the distance betwixt the faces of the strings in the stairs. STAIR-BUILDING MA UK. F.ASY. Fiff. 65. Take some flexible material, as a slip of paper, and measure tin- exact stretch-out of the circular part of the cylinder, from the springing line on one side, to the springing line on the other. I.a\ this out as a straight line on a drawing-board ; then examine the plan of the stairs, and meas- ure therefrom the pre- cise place of each riser coming in contact with or near to the circular part of the well-hole as it intersects on the line of the face of the string, and also the distance of such riser from the springing lines. These distances should all be carefully marked on the slip of paper and transferred to the drawing-board; then, with the pitch-board, set out the development of the line of steps, by making each step equal to the width found, and connecting with it at right angles. its proper height of riser. When the whole development has been set out on the drawing-board, mark from the angles of the steps downwards the dimension for the strength of carriage; by this means it will be seen what shape and size of veneer will be required. The whole of the setting out must now be transferred to the la. of the veneer; then with the point of an awl prick through the an gles of the steps and risers, and trace the lines on the back as well as on the front; the veneer must now be bent down on the cylinder, bringing the springing lines and centre lines of the string to mm cide as exactly as possible with those of the cylinder; the whole string must then be carefully backed by staving pieces glued on it. with the joints and grain parallel to the axis of the < ylindei ; the lines on the back of the string will serve to indicate the quantity >! the veneer to be covered by the staving; the \\lmle must l>e all.me.l i<> remain on the cylinder till sufficiently dry and film , it is next int.. I t> y STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. the work by cutting away all the superfluous wood, as directed by the lines on the face of the veneer, and then being perfectly fitted to the steps, risers and connecting string; it must be firmly nailed both to the steps and risers, and also to the carriages; each heading joint in the string should be grooved and tongued with a glued tongue. There is another method of gluing up the strings sometimes prac- ticed. In this the string is set out as before described, but instead of using a thin veneer, an inch board is taken, on the face of which the development of steps, risers, springing and centre lines must be carefully set out as before ; the edge of the board must be gauged from the face, equal to the thickness of a veener, which would bend round the cylinder ; the string must then be confined down on the work- bench, and grooves made by a dado plane on its back in the direc- tion of the riser, and at about half an inch distant from each other, till the whole width of the cylindric surface is formed into a series of grooves; these grooves are then filled with keys of wood which are placed in as the string is bent round to the right curve. For wall strings hav- m S l ar S e or l n g curves a saw kerf in the direc- tion of the riser, or in Fj 56 other words, the kerf should be plumb when the string is in position. The manner of cutting these kerfs is shown at Fig. 56. It will be noticed that the kerfs stop at the gauge line which is about a quarter of an inch from the face of the stuff, the square is placed there to show that the lines on the edge of the string should point towards the common centre of the cylin- der. At Fig. 57, I show a plan of a stairs with winders radiating from different centres, and show the strings both for inner and outer bear- ers, with the lines for carriage timbers, which are all shown in posi- tion. On the lines a 1 P and c } d* are marked the width of the treads. From the line & ifi in the plan the elevation of the front string is constructed ; b a is the stretchout of the starting cylinder, ac is the straight part of the string, and cd the stretchout of the land- It STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. y 2 STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. ing cylinder. After laying out the steps and risers in the elevation, the curved line representing the lower edge of the string is drawn. This line should be so located as to maintain the width of the string about alike at all points measuring square across. Easements are required at top and bottom, and must be obtained in such a manner as to preserve the average width of the string. In order to complete the easement within the string itself, it is often necessary, as shown in this figure at d, to glue two or three inches of straight wood on to the cylinder where it joins the facia. This may be avoided by making a part of the easement on the straight facia. Among workmen both of these methods are employed, some giving preference to one and some to the other some using them inter- changeably, depending upon the particular circumstances of the case. The dotted lines shown in the elevation of the front string, in those portions corresponding to the cylinders in the plan, show the lengths of the several pieces of cylinder stuff before the steps and risers are cut out. In making the string-piece, the line of its lower edge is drawn partly by hand, as shown at b and d, partly by marking with a flexible straight-edge bent into the cylinder, and on the straight part by bending a strip of wood to suit the curve required and marking along the side of it. Referring again to the plan, B 2 D 2 is the stretchout of the wall string, and from this line in the plan the elevation of the wall string is to be constructed, as shown in the engraving. B A is the first, corresponding with B 1 A 1 in the plan. From A to c is the sec- ond piece corresponding with A 1 c 1 in the plan. The easements run to a level at the corners A and c ; likewise at the top and bottom, where they join the base. At Fig. 58, I show a plan of a stairs with sixteen risers and the winders "dancing" around the well-hole. The wall-strings are shown both prepared and in position at A A, B B, and c c. The butt of B joins to the top of A, and the butt of c joins to the top of B. The connections of the strings will be easily understood by a careful examination. The newel, N, in this case is of large diameter, say from 10 to 12 STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. 7* indies. The treads are ten indies wide, and the well-hole is ten inches in diameter. Fijr. 58. At Fig. 59, I show a stair with winders radiating to a common centre. In this stair there are thirteen treads and fourteen risei-. The first wall string is omitted, but the second and third, n and c, are shown. After mastering the details of Fig. 58, there will l>e no difficulty in understanding this with the aid of the following instruc- tions : B is the cross-string. Always glue up cross-strings for stairs of this description, 10 12 14 or 16 inches wide, as the case may l>e. then make aline, a b; from that line square off the end of yom string. After squaring the end from the line you must set in the thi( ki the other wall string, and set out the groove (to receive the tongue of A); then set on the other half of kite-winder; then set up a user 74 STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. square with the winder ; set up the other winders, and the half-winder square with the half-winder; allow tongue, etc., as before descnbed. There will be enough stuff to form all easements, etc. c is the other wall-string, having half a winder, one winder, three flyers, and up. The up is a riser that takes on to the land- ing. This string will be set out similar to the first, only you must Fig. 59. not forget the up. You must groove the winder end of string to receive tongue of cross-string; also glue a piece on to carry out your winder and form the easements. When you are setting out strings the pitch-board is the face of riser and top of tread ; so you allow the thickness of the riser in and thickness of tread down, and a little more for wedging. The general depth for housing is half an inch. In all cases you must plow and tongue, glue joints, etc. STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. 75 In A I have not shown the string finished, but in c it is done. The strings are prepared as in A, and after the steps are glued up, rounded and the hollow worked, they are then marked as shown in c. I now show how the outside or cut-string and well are prepared. In getting out the cut-string I suppose you to have a board, say 10 inches wide, the pitch-board being 9 inches on the going and 6 inches on the riser. Then, by squaring the pitch-board across from the raking side to the angle of the tread and riser, you willl have 5 inches, thus leaving 5 inches. Then make a template 5 inches wide, and apply it to the bottom of the string, and the pitch- board to that, and mark off your steps. Cut the going square. The risings are mitered. The back edge of step 3, and the front edge of step 10, are the springing lines of the well-hole. The string must be left longer for tenoning or halving to the well-string. Before applying the veneer on the cylinder, you must stretch out your well, and when marking the springing line upon the veneer, set up your steps before bending it on the cylinder, so that when you have properly blocked and glued and the work is set, it can be taken off the cylinder and the steps cut. It is then ready to be fitted to the other strings. Fig. 60 shows a plan, d, of a stairs with a quarter turn, and four winders. The strings, with their ease-offs, are also shown at a and c . A portion of the inner string, c, is shown at If. The outer, or wall string, is shown at a, with portions of the fliers, and the wide ends of all the winders. At c, portions of the upper and lower strings are shown, with a sectional view of a tew of the fliers, and all the narrow ends of the winders in the cylin- der. This illustration is clear and requires no further description. Fig. 61 shows the plan of a stairs which turn around a central post. This kind of stair is frequently used in large stores :md in club-houses and other similar places. Fig. 62 shows the elevation of the stairs complete, with rail and central newel. Stairs of this kind have a very graceful appear- ance if judgment is used in planning them. They are not very difficult to build, as the following details will show. 76 STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. Fig. 61. Fig. 63 exhibits the manner of framing the carriage. The pieces on the ends of the risers are dovetailed strongly into the rough risers, and the supports under the treads are also well secured into the riser and to each other. The staving, which forms a kind of barrel around the lower portion of the post, form resting points for the rough risers, which are secured strongly to post and staves on both sides of the barrel. The manner of securing, notching and arrangement, is clearly shown in the engraving. Fig. 64 shows the manner in which the ends of the rough riser STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. Fig. 62. STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. So STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. are finished, showing the dovetailed ends, joints and a flat iron bar screwed to the built string. This iron bar should be about a quar- ter of an inch thick, and not less than three inches wide ; the screws should be heavy and not less than one and three-quar- ters of an inch long. A thin veneer should be bent over the outside string, and notched nicely under the tread. This veneer should be fastened with glue and screws. Furring should be used over and be- low the iron bar, so as to bring the face of the wood work a little more than flush with" the face of the iron. When well made, these stairs are very strong, and it is sur- prising how much of a load they will bear without visible deflection. At Fig. 65 I show an eleva- tion of the stairs shown on the plan at Fig. 50. The well-hole of this stair is semi- circular; the student will no- tice how gracefully the lines sweep up to the third floor. This kind of stair looks very well, notwithstanding the fact that the winders converge to- wards the common centre, which, as I have before stated, should be avoided when possible, and this may be in almost every case. Fig. 66 shows the elevation of the elliptical stairs, the plan of which is shown at Fig. 51. This style of stairs is perhaps the handsomest and most costly that can be built. The manner of STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. 8l Fig. 66. STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. constructing it is similar to that of building a semi-circular stair. The strings may be "built up" over a semi-ellipse form made for the purpose, and glued together the same as described in previous pages. Veneers should, of course, be glued over the face of the strings if they are built up with staves ; if the strings are built up with long thin pieces glued together, plenty of time should be given them to dry and harden after gluing before they are used or cut for treads and risers, STAIR-BUII.IM.V. MU'I I \ gj It will be noticed that on this stairs the enls of the steps are bracketed. The bracket in this case is of very simple form, but is one that has been very much used by stair-builders in times past. Further on I will give some examples of brackets that are in more common use now. In many good houses the stair bracket is dis- pensed with, as some architects think their use is in bad taste. Such men, however, as Wren, Inigo Jones, Downing, Hatfield and Mullet have used them freely and with complete success, and for my part, I do not think a main stairs in any building worth liv- ing in, is properly finished, if the exposed outside string is not bracketed. I have now pretty well covered the whole ground of building the cases, carriages and bodies of stairs, but there will be cases and conditions arise in practice that I may not have provided for, and which will have to be worked out by the ingenuity and skill of the workman. Indeed, there are many things in stair-building that cannot well be foreseen, but which will not present any insur- mountable difficulty to the workman of ready wit and expertness after what has been said in the foregoing pages. While a goodly portion of the matter and illustrations in this work are original, and published for the first time, I take pleasuie in acknowledging that a large portion of both text and illustrations are taken from quite a number of sources that are recognized as authoritative on the subject discussed. Chief among the source-' drawn from, I may mention: "Building Construction," vol.2; " Newland's Carpenters' and Joiners' Assistant ; " " Tarbuck on Stairs;" " Hatfield's American House-Joiner;" "Builder and Wood-Worker; " " Carpentry and Building ; " etc., etc. In most cases, the position and general plan of the stairs are de- cided upon by the architect, where one is employed, but the ar- rangement, in detail, of the treads and risers is generally left to the joiner who builds them. The arrangement of the risers in mil to the well-hole requires some study, for the "fall" of the hand-rail depends upon their position. This has been partly explained before and should not be lost sight of, for many stairs, easy, elegant and graceful in themselves, STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. Fig. 67. Fig. 68. Fig. 69. Fig. 70. Fig. 7L STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. BALUSTERS. Fig. 72. . 73. Hg. .'4. Fifr 75. Fig. 76. 86 STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. a STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. NEWELS. Fig. 84. Fig. 85. . K STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. NEWELS, Fig. 87. Fier. 88. STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. 89 require hand-rails of an inconvenient form and such as cannot be made to look well, and which require much more labor and material to make, than the rails would have done if the risers and treads had been properly arranged. To provide for this, I would suggest that the student would again read and study that portion of this work that relates to dancing or balancing the steps around the well-hole. A little experience in hand-railing will enable the stu- dent to avoid awkward rails. The student should cultivate the useful habit of observing the stairs and rails around him, and should carefully note the positions of the risers of those which appear or feel awkward, asking himself why they are inconvenient ; should he ever fail to find a satisfac- tory answer, he will have learned the positions which he should avoid, and will better understand the method of arrangement when he comes to consider it practically. In determining the size of a well-hole, its length must be well considered, and ample provision made for height from the tread directly under the trimmer, and in no case should this height be less than six feet six inches. Frequently, the man who builds the stairs will be called upon to decide on the style of rail and design of balusters and newel. To enable him to meet this emergency with intelligence and satisfaction to himself and the proprietor, I present for his consideration a number of designs for both balusters and newels : Figs. 67, 68, 69, 70 and 71, show a number of plain balusters that may be used in a variety of stairs ; Figs. 67 and 68 are adapted for the more common sorts of stairs; while Fig. 69, which has an octagon shaft, is better adapted for a stairs of some pretensions. Fig. 70 is especially adapted for stairs with closed strings and heavy rails. Fig. 71 may be us.-d in almost any stairs. Figs. 72, 73, 74, 75 and 7 6 > show a more ornate class of balusters than those mentioned. Figs. 72, 73 and 74 are designed for stairs with closed strings and heavy rail. Fig. 75 is intended to be bored in the rail and dovetailed into the step. Fig. 76 is intended for a close string stair, and is intended to be fastened to the outside of the string. This system of attaching tin- baluster to the outside of the string has obtained considerable pop. 9 o STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. ulaiity of late, and is really a very good method of placing the balusters. Figs. 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82 and 83 show seven popular examples of new- els suitable for almost any kinds of ordinary stairs. Fig. 79 has an octa- gon shaft and turned members and cap. Figs. 80 and 81 have octagon shafts panelled, with carved rosettes and cap. These are adapted for the better kinds of stairs in city and town houses. Figs. 82 and 83 show more elaborate posts; these may be used in the better class of villas and cottages. The five examples of "built newel posts" shown at Figs. 84, 85, 86, 87 and 88, are intended for first-class residences or hotels. These newels are " built up " of costly woods, or are veneered, and as a rule are very costly. The good workman will have no difficulty in building any of these, if the cost is only allowed him. Most of the examples of these balusters and newels may be obtained from regular dealers, and we would advise the young stair-builder to purchase these newels and balusters already made at the factory rather than attempt to make them himself, or allow even the country turner to make them for him. Where these things are manu- factured there are means and appli- ances at hand that enables the manu- facturers to make them so cheap that the everyday workman would starve Fi~ 89. STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. 91 on the prices. Then again, the large manufacturer always has a large amount of material of good quality to draw from, and can insure good work, which are advantages the country workman rarely possesses. Fig. 89 shows a newel post adapted for gas-lights. The same design of post may be used for a kerosene lamp. The lamp may be held in a basket made of brass, iron wire, or other suitable mate- Fig. 90,-Newel an.l Kail. rial- or it may stand on a guarded platform prepared for the pur- pose, or by other device which the cunning workman will trouble in perfecting. g-2 STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. There are many other kinds and styles of balusters and newels than the ones shown. Fig. 90 shows a portion of a square newel with a carved top, in- cised panels and turned cap. The balusters in this case are square, because that form is in keeping with the style of newel and rail shown in this example. A section of the rail is also shown, which, it will be noticed, is rather peculiar in shape; this style of newel baluster, and rail is well adapted for small cottages in rural districts, or for seaside cottages. By referring to Figs. 35 and 36, pages 46 and 47, several other designs for balusters and newels will be seen. At Fig. 35 the ar- rangement of balusters is worth examining and studying, as the system pursued may be varied to almost any extent. At Fig. 36 the newel and balusters are very plain but very effec- tive. The taper chamfers on the newel and the parallel chamfers on the balusters are easily wrought, and may be often adopted with gratifying results. STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. 93 MISCELLANEOUS. N this chapter I propose to say a few things concerning stairs that may be useful to the workman, in aiding him to work out some little things that have not been mentioned in the main body of the book. To begin with, I show and explain, on pages 56 and 57, a method of dancing the treads around the well-holes of stairs ob- tained by computation, but which, as I stated at the time, is not the best way to obtain the width of the inner ends of the winders in order to secure a graceful line of rail. At Fig. 91, 1 show a graphi- Flg. 91. cal method of determining the widths of the inner ends of the wind- ers so that a rail having a graceful and smooth swrrp may be ob- tained : Let the dotted line s m /, Fig. 91, represent the kneed line g4 STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. made by the first division of the stairs in the lower part, corre- sponding to the nosing of the fliers, and the upper part, ;;/ n, to that of the winders. Bisect the line of the winders m n in /, and raise a perpendicular, / /'. Then set off m s equal to m /, and make s r perpendicular to s m. The intersection of these two perpen- diculars, s r and//, gives the centre of the arc of a circle, tangen- tial in s and / to the sides of the angle s m p. In like manner is found the arc to which/ , n o, are tangents, and a species of cyma is formed by the two arcs, which is a graceful double curve line without knees. This line is met by the horizontal lines, which in- dicate the surface of the treads, the point / being always the fixed point of the centre step, the twelfth in this example. Therefore, the heights of the risers are drawn from the story rod to meet the curved line of development, s p o, and are thence transferred to the baluster line on the plan. By adopting this method a handsome rail will always be the re- sult. It frequently happens that the stair-builder will be called upon to reduce or enlarge some moulding or bracket in connection with the stairs he is building, and to provide for an emergency of this kind, I herewith show, at Fig. 92, a method by which a reduc- tion or enlargement may be accomplished without changing the actual shape or contour of the the moulding or bracket. The manner of making the reduction or enlargement will be seen at once. If A is the original, then make the line B twice the length if twice the size is desired or one and a half the length, if only one and a half enlargement is wanted ; run the lines at the members as shown until they cut the line A. Then on the line B, prick off, with the compasses the points shown i^ or 2, or 2^, or as much larger as you want the enlarged moulding, then join by lines the points on B to the lines on A ; then square over from the line B, touch- ing all the points, and give those lines raised on B the same length as the corresponding lines on A, and this work is complete. In ordinary stairs the rail runs into a cap on the top of the newel post, and this cap is sometimes made as much as 8 or 10 STAIR-BUILDING MADK. KASY. 95 inches in diameter. When this is the case, the face or moulding on the edge of the cap requires to be a little different in outline. The turner who makes the cap will of course know nothing of this, Fig. 92. therefore it will devolve upon the man who builds the stairs to make patterns for the cap. Fig. 93 shows the manner by which the correct shape of the cap may be obtained, or by which different sizes of the rail may be made which will mitre into each other without over wood. Tin- divisions A, B, c, D, E, F and G, on the rail correspond to the figures i, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, etc., on the cap. These latter divisions may be made greater or smaller, according to the size of cap or rail desired. The manner of finding the points to describe the semi-circles, is ob- vious and requires no further description. Many times the workman will find that he has to cut a thin string or skirting board over a rough wall string, or perhaps to fit in against a plastered wall where there has been no string left to slum- ;il><>\r the trends and risers. This is always a troublesome piece of work, and requires great care and exact workmanship to make anything like a good job. 9 6 STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. Fig. 93. K \>V. 'Jl At "Fig. 94, I show an instrument, in two positions, A and B, that has been especially designed for this purpose. In the cut is shown a bevel made to the rake of the skirting, and the oilier perpendu ulai to the stair, and a sliding piece to be applied to the perpendicular Fiji. 9-L side of the bevel with a hooked point of iron or steel, to stand forward al the bottom so much that the sliding piece may dear the nosfog of the step. I shall proceed to show its application. 1 ay the Skirting over the top of the steps, as shown, and let a xeiy fine notch be made on the front edg* of your shdmg piece the hei-ht of a step or rather higher; then apply the pomt ol the sliding piece to the internal corner of a step and ,,,irk JTOUI *knt in* in the notch, the bevel being supposed to be brought do* I the slHler; again, Bpposin g you want to take a point a, the Dosing , s . u ,1,,,,-vnuMvtlH- Level applied under, apply the , .to voursluHn, p-c triglyphsand modillious are so arranged, that one coincides with the axis or line of axis of each column: in like man- ner, the windows or other openings in the several stories of a fu9aila must all be in the same respective axis, whether they are all of the same breadth or not. In geometry, the straight line in a plane figure, abont which it revolves to produce or generate a solid. In mechanics, the axis of a balance is the line upon which it moves or turns. In turning, an im aginary line passing longitudinally through the middle of the body to be turned, from one point to the other of the two cones, by which the 104 GLOSSARY. work is suspended, or between the back centre and the centre of the collar of the puppet which supports the end of the mandril at the chuck. Axis of a Circle or sphere. Any line drawn through the centre and ter- minated at the circumference on both sides. Of a cone, the line from the vertex to the centre of the base. Of a cylinder, the line from the centre of the one end to that of the other. In peritrochlo, a wheel and axle, one of the five mechanical powers, or simple machines; contrived chiefly for the raising of weights to a considerable height, as water from a well, etc. Of rotation, of any solid, the line about which the body really revolves when it is put in motion. In every possible change of position of a rigid body relatively to a fixed centre, there is a line traversing that centre whose direction is not changed ; that is the axis of rotation. Back. The side opposite to the face or breast of any piece of architec- ture. In a recess on a quadrangular plane, the face is that surface which has the two adjacent planes, called the sides, elbows, or gables. When a piece of timber is fixed in a horizontal or in an inclined position, the upper side is called the back, and the lower the breast. Thus the upper side of the hand-rail of a staircase is properly called the back. The same is to be understood with regard to the curved ribs of a ceiling and the rafters of a roof, whose story edges are always called the back. Back. When a piece of timber is placed in position, the upper side is called the back and the lower the breast. Baluster. A small column or pillar used in a balustrade. Balusters are generally placed round the gallery in the stern and the quarter gal- lery of large ships. (See pages 14, 46, 47, 84, 85; and Figs. 98-107). Balustrade. A series or row of balusters, joined by a rail, serving for a rest to the arms, or as a fence or enclosure to balconies, altars, stair- cases, etc. Balustrades, when intended for use, or against windows, on flights of steps, terraces, and the like, should not be more than three feet six inches, nor less than three feet in height. When used for ornament, as on the summit of a building, their height may be from two-thirds to four-fifths of the entablature whereon they are employed; and this pro- portion is to be taken exclusive of their zoccolo or plinth, so that from the proper point of sight the whole balustrade may be exposed to view. There are various species of balusters; if single bellied, the best way is to divide the total height of the space allotted for the balustrade into thirteen equal parts, the height of the baluster to be eight, of the base- three, and of the cornice two of those parts; or divide the total height into fourteen parts, making the baluster eight, the base four, and the cornice two. If double-bellied, the height should be divided into four- teen parts, two of which are to be given to the cornice, three to the base, and the remainder to the baluster. The distance between two balusters should not be more than half the diameter of the baluster in its thickest part, nor less than one-third of it; but on inclined planes the intervals should not be quite so wide. Band. A flat or square member or moulding, smaller than the facia. Basement. The lower part of a building. Base Mouldings. The mouldings immediately above the plinth of a wull, pillar or pedestal. S A R Y. ISA 1. 1 STKKS. I0 5 I'i-S. '.IS. 99. lirj. 103. 104. 105. lOfi. 107. Hearing 1 of a JH'CCCI of limber. -That part of a piece of timber which is unsupported, or is between two or more props. Hearing 1 . The lengtli between bearers or walls; thus, if a bearer rests on walls twenty feet apart, the bearing is said to be twenty feet. Hearing Wall, or partition. A wall which is built npon the soli.l, and made to support another wall or partition, either in the name or a transverse position. When the supported wall is built in the same di- rection as the wall it supports, it is said to have a solid bearing, but when built in a transverse direction, or uot supported through-nil n- length, a false bearing. Beak. A small fillet in the under edge of a projecting corni.v. m tended to prevent the rain from passing between the cornice and n Belfry. That part of a steeple in which the bells are hung. 1M\. Of the Corinthian and Composite Oniers. It is used to denol,- the body of the e.ipilul by reason of its shape to an Inverted bell. Boll-roof. -Somewhat similar in its curves to a bell. licit. A course, of stones projecting from a brick or Rtone wall, u'l-n- erally placed in a line with tho sills of the first tf'-or window, it is eilli.T moulded fluted, plane or enriched will, patras at r.-gular inl.-rv.iU B times eall.-d stone strni". 106 GLOSSARY. Belvedere or Look out. A turret or lantern raised above the roof of an observatory for the purpose of enjoying a fine prospect. Benda. See Fascia. |{<> v<>l. AQ instrument used by artificers, one leg whereof is frequently curved according to the sweep of au arch or vault. It is movable upon a pivot or centre so as to render it capable of being set at any angle. The make and use of it are much the same as those of the common square and mitre, except that those are fixed, the first at an augle of 90 and the second at an angle of 45; whereas the bevel being movable, it may in some way supply in some measure the office of both; and yet supply the deficiency of both, which is, indeed, its principal use, inasmuch as it serves to set off or transfer angles either greater or less than 95 or 45 degrees. Any angle that is not square is called a bevel angle, whether it be more obtuse or more acute than a right angle, but if it be one-half as much as a right angle, viz., 45, the workmen call it & mitre. They have also a term half mitre, which is an angle one-quarter of a quadrant or square, that is, an angle of 22 degrees. Bevel angle. A term used by workmen to denote any angle besides those of 90 or 45 degrees. Billet moulding.-See Moulding. Bond-timbers. Timbers placed in a horizontal direction in the walls of a building in tiers, and in which the battens, laths, etc., are secured. In rubble work, walls are better plugged for this purpose. Bonds. This general term includes the whole of the timbers that are disposed in a wall as bond-timbers, wall plates, lintels and templates. Bridging-joists. Pieces of timber, or joists in naked flooring, extend- ing in a direction parallel with the girder and supported by bearers called binding joists which lie in a transverse direction. Brackets in Gothic architecture are usually of very elegant design, and are mostly sculptured to represent angels, heads, foliage, and many other beautiful devices. They are used to support statues under niches, pillars which have their bases at a height above the ground, and for various other purposes. Brackets for stairs are sometimes used under the ends of wooden steps, next to the well-hole, by way of ornaments, for they have only the appearance of support. Nicholson. (See Figs. 26, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114 and 115). Fig. 108. Fig. 109. Fig. no. GLOSSARY. 107 r Fig. 111. Fig. 112. Fig. 113. Fig. 114. Bracket-stairs. The same method must be observed, with regard to taking the dimensions and laying down the plan and section, as in dog- liug-stairs. In all stairs whatever, after having ascertained the number of steps, take a rod the height of the story, from the surface of the lower floor to the surface of the upper floor; divide the rod into as many equal parts as there are to be risers; then if you have a level surface to work upon below the stairs, try each one of the risers as you go on: this will prevent any defect. (See Figs. 116 and 117). Canting. The cutting away a part of an angular body at one of its angles, that the section may form a parallelogram, whose edges are par- allel from the intersection of the adjoining planes. Carriage. The timber work which supports the steps of a wooden stair. (See pages 43, 45, 54, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69 and 71). Cased. A term which signifies that the outside of a building is faced or covered with materials of a better quality. Cavetto. A concave ornamental moulding, opposed in effect to the ovolo the quadrant of a circle. Chamfer. To channel or make indentures in stones, pillars, or other ornamented parts of a building. Chamfer. The arris of anything originally right angled, cut aslope, or bevel, so that the plane it then forms is inclined less than a ri(j;ht angle to the other planes with which it intersects. If it is not carried the whole extent of the piece, it is returned, and then it is said to be stop chamfered. (See page 47). Chase Mortise. The mode of inserting or mortising inclined trans- verse joists into parallel timbers in ceilings. Close String. In dog-leg stairs, a stair-case without an open newel. (See pages 46 and 47). Cockle Stairs. -A winding staircase. Common. -A line, angle surface, etc., which belongs equally to several objects. Common centering is a centering without trusses, having a beam at bottom. Common joists are the beams in naked flooring t which the joists are fixed. Common rafters m a roof are thos the laths are attached. Cross-banded. A term applied to a veneer on a hand-roil, the grain of which crosses that of the rail. Cross-beam. -A large beam going from wall to wall, or a girder that holds the side of the house together. Curtail step. The first step by which a stair is ascended finiHlmiK :il the end in "form of a scroll following the plan of the band-nuT.- Nicholson. io8 GLOSSARY. Fig. 116. Fig. 117. GLOSSARY. 109 . A moulding with an undulating or waved profile, partly con- vex and partly concave, called by workmen an ogee. When the hollow part is uppermost, it is called a cy ma-recta; when the con vex partis above a cyma-reversa; when it is the upper moulding of a cornice it is ralU-d cymatinm. Cylinder. A cylinder is a solid, described by geometricians as gener- ated by the rotation of a rectangle about one of its sides, supposed to be at rest; this quiescent side is called the axis of the cylinder, therefore the base and top of the cylinder are equal or similar circles. A prism is a solid, whose base and top are similar right line figures, with sides formed in planes, and rising perpendicularly from the base to the top. The cylinder, so called by joiners, is a solid figure, compounded of the two last-mentioned figures; its base is composed of a semicircle joined to a rif/ht-angled parallelogram. This last compound figure is intended when- ever the word cylinder occurs in the preceding work, unless the word geometrical be prefixed. (See pages 14, 63 and 98). Definitions ill Geometry. 1. A point is that which hath no parts, or which hath no magnitude. 2. A line is length without breadth. 3. A superficies has length and breadth. 4. A solid is a figure of three dimensions, having length, breadth, ard thickness. Hence surfaces are extremities of solids, and lines the ex- tremities of surfaces, and points the extremities of lines. If two lines will always coincide however applied, when any two points in the one coincide with the two points in the other, the two lines are called straight lines, or otherwise right lines. A curve continually changes its direction between its extreme points, or has no part straight. Parallel lines are always at the same distance, and will never im-ct, though ever so far produced. Oblique right lines change their distance, and would meet, if produced. One line is perpendicular to another when it inclines no more to one side than another. A straight line is a tangent to a circle when it touches the circle with- out cutting, when both are produced. An angle is the inclination of two lines towards one another in the sunn- plane, meeting in a point. Angles are either right, acute, or obtuse. A right angle is that which is made by one line perpendicular to an- other, or when the angles on each side are equal. An acute angle is less than a right angle. An obtuse angle is greater than a right angle. A plane is a surface with which a straight line will everywlirn- i-t.in- cide; and is otherwise called ft straight surface. Plane figures, bounded by right lines, have names according to the number of their sides, or of their angles, for they have as many sides as angles: the least number is three. An equilateral triangle is that whose three sides are equal. An isosceles triangle has only two sides equal. A scalene triangle has all sides unequal. A right-angled triangle has only one right ftOgle. Other triangles are oblique-angled, and are either obtMW OT MOta, An acute-angled triangle has all its angles aruU-. HO GLOSSARY. An obtuse-angled triangle has one obtuse angle. A figure of four sides, or angles, is called a quadrilateral or quad- rangle. A parallelogram is a quadrilr.teral, which has both pairs of its opposite sides parallel, and takes the following particular names: A rectangle is a parallelogram, having all its angles right ones. A square is an equilateral rectangle, having all its sides equal, and nil its angles right angles. A rhombus s an equilateral parallelogram whose angles are oblique. A rhomboid is an oblique-angled parallelogram, and its opposite sides only are equal. A trapezium is a quadrilateral, which has neither pair of its sides parallel. A trapezoid has only one of its sides parallel. Plane figures having more than four sides, are in general called poly- gons, and receive other particular names according to the number of their sides or angles. A pentagon is a polygon of five sides, a hexagon of six sides, a hep- tagon seven, an octagon eight, an enueagou nine, a decagon ten, an uude- cagon eleven, and a dodecagon twelve sides. A regular polygon has all its sides and its angles equal; and if they are not equal, the polygon is irregular. An equilateral triangle is also a regular figure of three sides, and a square is one of four; the former being called a trigon, and the latter a tetragon. A circle is a plane figure, bounded by a curve line, called the circum- ference, which is everywhere equidistant, from a certain point within, called its centre. TLe radius of a circle is a right line drawn from the centre to the cir- cumference. A diameter of a circle is a right line drawn through the centre, ter- minating on both sides of the circumference. An arc of a circle is any part of the circumference. A chord is a right line joining the extremities of an arc. A segment is any part of a circle bounded by an arc and its chord. A semicircle is half a circle, or a segment cut off by the diameter. A sector is any part of a circle bounded by an arc, and two radii drawn to its extremities. A quadrant, or quarter of a circle, is a sector having a quarter part ot the circumference for its arc, and the two radii perpendicular to each other. The height or altitude of any figure is a perpendicular let fall from an angle or its vertex to the opposite side, called the base. The measure of any right-lined angle is an arc of any circle contained between the two lines which form the angle, the angular point being the A solid is said to be cut by a plane when it is divided into two parts, ol which the common surface of separation is a plane, and this plane is called a section. Definitions of solids. A prism is a solid, the ends of which are similar and equal parallel planes and the sides parallelograms. PriSm ^ P er P endicalar to the sides, the prism is rism are bli( l ue to the sides - the P^sm is called an GLOSSARY. Ill If the ends and sides are equal squares, the prism is called a cube. If the base or ends are parallelograms, the solid is called a parallele- piped. If the bases and sides are rectangles, the prism is called a rectangular prism. If the ends are circles, the prism is called a cylinder. If the ends or bases are ellipses, the prism is called a cylindroid. A solid, standing upon any plane figure for its base, the sides of which are plane triangles, meeting in one point, is called a pyramid. The solid is denominated from its base, as a triangular pyramid is one upon a triangular base, a square pyramid one upon a square base, etc. If the base is a circle or an ellipsis, then the pyramid is called a cone. If a solid be terminated by two dissimilar parallel planes as ends, and the remaining surfaces joining the ends be also planes, the solid is called a prismoid. If a part of a pyramid next to the vertex be cut off by a plane parallel to the base, the portion of the pyramid contained between the cutting plane and the base is called the frustum of a pyramid. A solid, the base of which is a rectangle, the four sides joining the base plane surfaces, and two opposite ones meeting in a line parallel to the base, is called a cuneus or wedge. A solid terminated by a surface which is everywhere equally distant from a certain point within it is called a sphere or globe. If a sphere be cut by any two planes, the portion contained between the planes is called a zone, and each of the parts contained by a plane and the curved surface is called a segment. If a semi-ellipsis, having an axis for its diameter, be revolved round this axis until it come to tha place whence the motion began, the solid formed by the circumvolution is called a spheroid. If the spheroid be generated round the greater axis, the solid is called a prolate spheroid. If the solid be generated round the lesser axis, the solid is called an oblate spheroid. A solid of any of the above structures, hollow within, so as to contain a solid of the same structure, is called a hollow solid. These terms are frequently used in stair-building. Dog-legged stairs. Such as are solid between the upper flights, or those that have no well-hole; and the rail and balusters of both the progressive and retrogressive flight, fall in the same vertical plane. The steps are fixed to strings, newels, and carriages; and the ends of the steps of the inferior kind terminate only on the side of the string. Nicholson. (See pages 43 and 45). Dove-tailing. -The method of fastening one piece of wood to another, by projecting pins, cut in the form of dove-tails in one pioc-e, and let into hollows of the same form in the other. Dove-tailing is either exposed or concealed; concealed dove-tailing is of two kinds, lapped and mitered. Draught, or Drawing.-Architectural composition or design, is nn- derstoo.l to bo a necessary mode of conveying instructions to the practical builder and the workmen, by exhibiting a comprehensive view of a pro- jected building; drawings for this purpose must be executed with cleuv ness and precision, conformable to a regular scale of proportions. 1 ! IAIJH, elevations, and sections are to represent the internal features of the apartments, halls, passages, and various arrangements 112 GLOSSARY. convenience, and the external facades, porticos, domes, and other out- ward appendages. Drawings of the sm;iller parts of an edifice will be required numerous in proportion to their extent and variety of form. Where the trades of a building differ considerably, elevations of each of them will be required, and more than one general view of the pro- jected building will be necessary to give satisfaction to the proprietor. Ellipse. That curve called by workmen an oval. Face Mould. The pattern for marking the plunk or board out of which ornamental hand-railings for stairs and other works are cut. Face Mould. In the preparation of the hand-rail of a stair, a mould for drawing the proper figure on both sides of the plank; so that when cut by a saw held at a certain inclination, the two surfaces of the rail piece will be everywhere perpendicular to the plan, when laid in their intended posi tioii. Nicholson. Fascia. Aflat broad member in the entablature of columns or other parts of buildings but of small projection. The architraves in some of the orders, are composed of three bands or fascia; the Tuscan and the Doric ought to have only one. Ornamental projections from the walls of brick buildings over any of the windows, except the uppermost are called fascia. Feather-edged Boards, are narrow boards made thin at one edge, like shingles or some kinds of olapboarding. Fox-tail wedging, is a peculiar mode of mortising, in which the end of the tenon is notched beyond the mortise and is split, and a wedge inserted which being forcibly driven in, enlarges the tenon and renders the joint firm and immovable. Flight of stairs. In a staircase is the series of steps from one landing place to another. Thus the same staircase between one floor and another )nay consist f more than one flight of steps; the flight being reckoned from one landing to another. Floor. The pavement or boarded lower horizontal surface of an apart- ment. It is constructed of earth, brick, Ktoue, wood, or other materials. Carpenters include in the term the frame timber work on which the boarding is laid, as well as the boards themselves. In carpentry, it de- notes the timbers which support the boarding, called also naked flouring and carcass flooring. The term floor is, moreover, applied to the stories of a building, as basement floor, ground floor, etc. When there is no sunk story, the ground story becomes the basement floor, and the next floor the principal floor, containing the principal rooms; in many country houses they are on the ground floor, but in those of the town mostly on the one pair floor. The expressions one pair, two pair, etc., imply a story above the first flight of stairs from the ground, and so on. Frame. The name given to the woodwork of windows, doors, etc.; and in carpentry, to the timber works, supporting floors, roofs, etc. Fnrring. The furring of those scantlings or laths upon the edges of any number of timbers in a range, when such timbers are out of the sur- face they were intended to form, either from their gravity or in couse- ice ot an original deficiency of the timbers in their depth. Thus the ibers ot a floor, though level at first, oftentimes require to be furred; same operation is frequently necessary in the reparation of old roofs GLOSSARY. 113 mid the same work is required sometimes in new as well as old floors. Papworih. Geometrical Stair. A flight of stairs, supported only by the wall at one end of the steps. Geometrical Elevation. A drawing of the front or side of a building, the projection of a vertical plane of the front or aide of a building or other object. Ground-joists, are joists supporting the floor immediately above the ground. Ground floor. The lowest story of a building. Half-space, or resting place. The interval between two flights of steps in a staircase. Hall. The first large apartment on entering a house. The public room of a corporative body. A manor-house. Hall. A name applied indifferently to the same large apartment on entering a house, to the public room of a corporative body; a court of justice or a manor-house. Vitruvixis mentions three sorts of halls; the Tetrastyle, which has four columns supporting the ceiling; the Corinthian, which has columns all around, and is vaulted; and the Egyptian, which has a peristyle of Corinthian columns, bearing a second order with a ceiling. These were called ceci. In magnificent edifices, where the hall is larger and loftier than ordinary, and is placed in the middle of the house, it is called a saloon; and a royal apartment consists of a hall or chamber of guards, a chamber, an antechamber, a cabinet chamber, and a gallery. Halving. The junction of two pieces of timber, by inserting one into the other. Hand-rail, of a stair, a rail raised upon slender posts, called balusters, intended to assist persons in ascending and descending, and to protect them from falling down the well-hole. (See sections at Figs. 118, 119, 120, 121, 122 and 123). Fig. 118. Hnllow newel An opening in the middle of the staircase. The t-rm Is used in contradistinction to solid newel, into which the ends of the steps are built. In the hollow newel, or well-hole, the steps are only support, d nt one end by the surrounding wall of the staircase, the ends next the hollow being unsupported. Nicholson. GLOSSARY. Fig. 120. Fig. 121. . 122. Fig. 123. GLOSSARY. lie Housing. The space excavated out of a body, for the insertion of some part of the extremity of another, in order to fasten the two together: thus the string-board of a stair is most frequently excavated, or notched out for the reception of steps. The term is also applied to a niche for containing a statue. Nicholson. Joinery. That branch in building confined to the nicer and more or- namental parts of carpentry. Joinery. The practice of framing or joining wood for the internal and external finishings of houses; thus the covering and lining of rough walls, the covering of rough timbers, the manufacture of doors, shutters, sashes, stairs, and the like are classed under this head. Joint. The surface of separation between two bodies brought into contact and held firmly together, either by some cementing medium, or by the weight of one body lying upon another. A joint is not merely the contact of two surfaces, though the nearer they approach the more per- fect the joint. In masonry, the distances of the planes intended to form the joint is comparatively considerable because of the coarseness of the particles which enter into the composition of the cement. Joists. The timbers to which the boards of a floor or the laths of a ceiling are nailed. Kerf. A slit or cut in a piece of timber or in a stone, usually ap- plied to that made by a saw *or axe. Keys. In naked flooring are pieces of timber fixed in between the joists by mortise and tenon; when these are fastened with their ends pro- jecting against sides, they are termed strutting pieces. Keys. Pieces inserted in boards to prevent warping. Knee. A convex bend in the back of a hand-rail. Knee. A part of the back of a hand-railing of a convex form, the re- verse of a ramp, which is a back of a hand-rail and is concave; also, any piece of timber bent to an angular joint. Landing. The terminating floor of a flight of stairs, either above or below. fapworth. Members. The different parts of a building, the different parts of an entablature, the different mouldings of a cornice, etc. Mortise. In carpentry, a hole cut in a piece of wood, to receive a cor- responding projection formed upon another piece. The labor of making deep mortises, in hard wood, may be lessen first boring a number of holes with the auger in the part to I. as the compartments between may then more easily be cut away by tl C BefOM employing the saw to cut the shoulder of a tenon in neat work, if the line of its entrance be correctly determined by nicking the place with a paring chisel, there will be no danger of the wood th irthe H n eatness 8 and durability of a juncture depend entirely on the sides of the mortise coming exactly in contact with the Bides of the te and 'as this is not easily performed when a mortise is to pass enl through a piece of stuff, the space allotted for it should be fi rectly gauged on both sides. One half is then to be cut from one Bid*, and the other half from the opposite Kitle; and as any irr^uUntu.K which may arise from an error in the direction of the chisel will thus 1 Il6 GLOSSARY. fined to the middle of the mortise, they will be of very little hindrance to the exact fitting of the sides of the mortise and tenon. Moreover, as the tenon is expanded by wedges after it is driven in, the sides of the mortise may, in a small degree, be inclined towards each other, near the shoulders of the tenon. Mouldings. A term applied to all the varieties of outline or contour given to the angles of the various subordinate parts and features of buildings, whether projections or cavities, such as cornices, capitals, bases, door or window jambs, and heads, etc. There are eight sorts of regular mouldings, viz., the Ovolo, the Talon, the Cyma, the Cavetto, the Torus, the Astragal, the Scotia, and the Fillet. Nails, used in building, are small metallic spikes serving to bind or fasten the parts together. There are several kinds of nails, called by numerous names. In the middle ages, nails were frequently used much ornamented, of which there are several very beautiful existing speci- mens, particularly in church doors and the gates of large mansions. Naked. This term is applied, in architecture, to a plain surface, or that which is unfinished; as the naked walls, the naked flooring, that is, uncovered; the word is sometimes applied to flat surfaces before the mouldings and other ornaments have been fixed. Newel. In architecture, the upright post or central column, round which the steps of a circular staircase are made to wind; being that part of the staircase by which they are sustained. The newel is, properly, a cylinder of stone which bears on the ground, and is formed by the ends of the steps of the winding-stairs. There are also newels of wood, which are pieces of wood placed perpen- dicularly, receiving the tenons of the steps of wooden stairs into their mortises, and wherein are fitted the shafts and rests of the staircase, and the flight of each story. In some of the Tudor and Elizabethan resi- dences, some very fine examples maybe seen of the newel richly orna- mented, and adding much to the beauty of the staircase. Nicholson. Newel. The central column round which the steps of a circular stair- case wind; the principal post at the angles and foot of a staircase. In the Tudor and Elizabeth! an residences very beautiful examples exist, adding much to the beauty of the staircase. Pedestal. The square support of a column, statue, etc. ; and the base or lower part of an order of columns: it consists of a plinth for a base; the die; and a talon crowned for a cornice. When the height and width are equal, it is termed a square pedestal ; one which supports two columns, a double pedestal; and if it supports a row of columns without any break, it is a continued pedestal. The lowest and most simple kind of pedestel is the Tuscan, which is about thre modules in height by one authority, and five by another. Pitchlng-pieee. A horizontal timber, with one of its ends wedged into the wall at the top of a flight of stairs, to support the upper end of the rough strings. Plan. The draught of a building taken on the ground floor, showing the distribution, form and extent of its several rooms, passages, etc. In plans of buildings, the massive parts, as walls, etc., are generally distin- guished by a dark shade, or shade of tints approaching the color of brick or stone. In a geometrical plan, the parts are represented in their natural proportions. The raised plan of a building is the elevation. GLOSSARY. 117 Plancere. The underpart of the roof of a corona, which is the superior part of the coruice betweeu two cymatia. Platband. Any square mouldiiig with little projection; the fascia of an architrave;- the list between the fluting*, etc. Platform. A row of beams which support the timber work of a roof, lying at the top of a wall; a terrace or open walk on the top of a build- ing. Plinth. The solid support or base of a column, or pedestal. In a wall, the term plinth is applied to two or three row of bricks which pro- ject from it to auy flat moulding in a front wall, to make the floors BUS tain the eaves, or the larmier of a chimney. Plug and Feather. A mode of dividing large stone by means of a large tapering wedge, or key, and wedged-shaped pieces of iron, called feathers, driven into holes, previously drilled, into the rock to forcibly split it. Ramp. A concave bend in the back of a hand-rail. Recess. A cavity in a wall, left either for ornament or use when it is to receive some furniture, as a sideboard, or to add to the quantity of room; and for ornament when made in the form of a niche, to give beauty and variety to the building. Sagging. The bending of a body in the middle by its own weight. Scantling. The measure to which a piece of timber is to be or has been cut. Scantling. The dimensions of a piece of timber in breadth and thick- ness; also, quarter! ugs for a partition, when under five inches square, also applied to stone in a cubical form. Scarfing. The joining of two pieces of timber by bolting or nailing transversely together, so that the two appear but one. Scarfing. The joining and bolting of two pieces of timber together transversely, so that the two appear as one. Scenography. The representation of solids in perspective. Scotia. The hollow moulding in the base of a column, between the fillets of the tori. Scotia. A semi-circular concave moulding in the bases of Ionic col- umns. Also, the groove or channel cut in the projecting angle of the Doric corona. Scroll. A carved curvilinear ornament, somewhat resembling in pro- file the turnings of a ram's horns. Hatfield. Skeleton. In carpentry, a shell or framing. In surveying, the outline of a trigonometrical survey. In artillery, a light shell for projecting com- bustibles. In cotton- spinning, a kind of case frame. A skeleton key, a key constructed to fit almost any set of wards in a lock. Sliding rule. A rule constructed with logarithmic lines, formed upon a slip of wood, brass or ivory, inserted in a groove, in a rule made to slide longitudinally therein, so that by means of another scale upon the rule itself the contents of a surface or solid may be known. Soffit. In architecture, the internal concave surface of the arch. Any timber ceiling formed of cross-beams or flying cornices, the square -.nn partments or panels of which are enriched with sculpture, painting, or gilding. 1x8 GLOSSARY. Solids are all bodies that have three dimensions; and among geo- metricians those that are terminated by regular planes are called regular solids, such as the tetrahedron, hexahedron, octahedron, dodecahedron, aud icosahedron. Spandril. The angle formed by a stairway. Spandril bracketing. A cradling of brackets fixed between one or more curves, each in u vertical plane, and in tho circumference of a circle whose plane is horizontal. Spherical bracketing. Brackets of such a form that the surface of lath aud plaster will form a spherical surface. Spiral. A curve line of a circular kind which in its progress recedes from its centre. Spiral. Tn geometry, a curve-line of the circular kind, which in its pro- gress always recedes more aud more from its centre. In architecture, a curve that ascends winding about a cone or spire, so that all its points continually approach its axis. Spirit-leYel. A cylindrical glass tube, filled with spirit of wine, except a small bubble of air. In whatever position the tube may be placed, the bubble of air will always tend to the highest part of it; but when placed in a perfectly horizontal position, the bubble will remain stationary at tbe centre of the tube. Splay. A slanting or bevelling in the sides of an opening to a wall for n window or door, so that the outside profile of the window is larger tlian that of the inside; it is done for the purpose of facilitating the ad- mission of light. It is a term applied to whatever has one side making an oblique angle with the other: thus, the heading joists of a boarded floor are frequently splayed iu their thickness. The word fining is some- times applied to an aperture, in the same sense as splayed. Spring Bevel of a Rail. The angle made by the top of the plant with a vertical plane touching the ends of the rail piece, which terminates the concave side. Squaring a Hand-rail. The method of cutting a plank to the form of a v staircase, so that all the vertical sections may be right angles. Stairs, (from the Saxo,, stager) in a building, the steps whereby to as- cend and descend from one story to another ho^Soml Fia - ep ? f S ' airS in Peneral nse in comm dwelling GLOSSARY. 119 4 inches, or 160 inches, 160 ~ 7 = 22 3-7, which would be the number re- quired, but as all the steps must be of equal heights, we should rather take 23 risers, provided the staircase room would allow it, aud BO make the height of each somewhat less than 7 inches. The most certain method of erecting a staircase is, to provide a rod of sufficient length to reach from one floor to another, divided into aa many equal parts as the intended number of risers, and try every step as it is set, to its exact height. The breadth of the staircase may be from 6 to 20 feet, according to the use or application of the building, or the form or proportions of the plan. If the steps be less than 3 feet in length, the staircase becomes incon- venient for the passing of furniture, as is frequently the case in small houses. Though it is desirable to have such rules as are here laid down for regulating the proportions of the heights, breadths, and lengths, of steps, architects and workmen cannot be so strictly tied to them, but that they may vary them as circumstances may demand. Nicholson. Stairs are constructions composed of horizouital planes elevated above each other, forming steps; affording the means of communication be- tween the different stories of a building. In the distribution of a house of several stories, the stairs occupy an important place. In new constructions their form maybe regular, but in the reparation or remodelling of old buildings, the first consideration is generally to make the distribution suitable for the living and lodging rooms, and then to convert to the use of the stairs the spaces which may remain; giving to them such forms in plan as will render them agreea- ble to the sight, and commodious in the use. When houses began to be built in stories, the stairs were placed from story to story in straight flights like ladders. They were erected on the exterior of the building, aud to shelter them when so placed, great projection was given to the roofs. To save the extent of space required by straight flights, the stairs were made to tnrn upon themselves in a spiral form, and were inclosed in turrets. A newel, either square or round reaching from the ground to the roof, served to support the inner ends of the steps, aud the outer ends were let into the walls, or supported on notched boards attached to the walls. At a later period the stairs came to be inclosed within the b itself and for a long time preserved the spiral form, which Tne artment in which the stair i. place.1. i. callej tie "'metorizoDlal part ot a step i. called the frarf. the rertical part the the l,redth or distance from riser to riser ** < " tl I10< are of co rse C, the step, .re narrower .t one end than the olh, they .r. " ste ^^ ler space. I20 GLOSSARY. When (lie landing occupies the whole width of the staircase it is called So much of a stair as is included between two landings is called a Hl(jht, especially if the risers are parallel with each other: the steps in "this case are fliers. The outward edge of a step is named the nosing ; if it project beyond the riser, so as to receive a hollow moulding glued under it, it is a moulded nosing. A straight-edge laid on the nosings represents the angle of the stairs, and is denominated the line of nosings. The raking pieces which support the ends of the steps are called strings. The inner one, placed against the wall, is the watt string ; the other the outer string. If the outer string be cut to mitre with the end of the riser, it is a cut and mitered siring ; but when the strings are grooved to re- ceive the ends of the treads and risers, they are said to be housed, and the grooves are termed housings. Stairs in which the outer string of the upper flight stands perpendicu- larly over that of the lower flight are called dog-legged stairs, otherwise newel stairs, from the fact of a piece of stuff called a newel, being used as the axis of the spiral of the stair; the newel is generally ornamented by turning, or in some other way. The outer strings in such stairs are tenoned into the newel, as also are the first and last risers of the flight. Newland. Staircase. A term applied to the whole set of stairs, with the walls, supporting the steps, leading from one story to another. The same stair- case frequently conducts to the top of the building, and thus consists of as many stories as the building itself. When the height of the story .is considerable, resting places become necessary, which go under the name of quarter-paces and half-paces, ac- cording as the passenger has to pass a rigkt angle, or two right angles; that is, as he has to describe a quadrant or a semi-circle. In very high stories that admit of sufficient head-room, and where the space allowed for the staircase is confined, the ^staircase may have two revolutions i a the height of one story, which will lessen the height of the steps; but in grand staircases, only one revolution can be admitted, the length and breadth of the space on the plan being always proportioned to the height of the building, so as to admit of fixed proportions. In contriving a grand edifice, particular attention must be paid to the situation ot the space occupied by the stairs, so as to give them the most easy command of the rooms. With regard to the lighting of a grand staircase, a skylight or rather lantern, is the most appropriate; for the light thus admitted, is powerful, and the design admits of greater elegance; indeed, where the staircase does not adjoin the exterior walls, this is the only method by which light can be admitted. In small buildings, the position of the staircase is indicated by the general distribution of the plan; but in large edifices, this is not so obvi- ous, but must at last be determined by considering naturally its connec- tion with other apartments. Nicholson. Staircases. It was in the reign of Elizabeth that staircases first be- came features in English houses. Hand-rails and balustrades, unlike the rickety contrivances of modern days, were of gigantic proportions, and presented at ouce a bold, picturesque, and secure appearance; yet so variously and fancifully decorated, that their effect was always pleasing and free from clumsiness. In the middle of Verulam House was a deli- GLOSSARY. 121 cate staircase of wood, which was cnriously carved; and on the post* of every interstice was fixed some figure, as a grave divine with his book and spectacles, a mendicant friar, etc. In two of the principal chambers of Wressil Castle are small beautiful staircases, with octagon screens. embattled at the top, and covered with very bold sculpture, containing double flights of stairs, winding round each other, after the design of Palladio. The east stairs at Wimbledon House lead from the marble par- lor to the great gallery and the dining-room, and are richly adorned with wainscot of oak round the outsides thereof, all well gilt with fillets and stars of gold. The steps of these stairs were in number 33, and 6 feet 6 inches long, adorned with 5-foot paces, all varnished black and white, and chequer-work; the highest of which foot-pace is a very large one, and benched with a wainscot bench, all garnished with gold. Staircases, in ordinary modern practice, should be light, spacious, and easy, seeming to invite people to ascend. Principal staircases should not be narrower than 4 feet, so that if two persons meet thereon, they may pass each other with convenience; bmt they may be extended in breadth to 10 or 12 feet, according to the importance of the building. The steps should never exceed 6 inches in height, nor be less than 4 inches; but this latter height is only allowable in very wide staircases. The breadth, or the flat horizontal part, which is called the trend of the step, should not be less than a foot, nor exceed 15 inches. Weale. StaTCS. /n joinery, the boards that are joined together laterally, in order to form a hollow cylinder, cylindroid, cone, or conoid, or any frus- tum of these bodies. The shafts of columns, in joinery, are frequently glued up in staves. Steps, (from the Saxon, step), the degrees of a staircase, by which we rise, consisting of two parts, one horizontal, called treads, the other verti- cal called risers. When steps are placed round the circumference of a circle, or an ellipsis, or any segments of them, they are called winders ; but when the sides are straight, they are calledXyers. The flrst or lower step, with a scroll wrought upon its end, according to the plan of the hand-rail is called the curtail step. Stretched out. A term applied to a surface that will jnst cover a body so extended that all its parts are in a plane, or may be made to coincide with a plane. Striking A term used to denote the draught of lines on the surface of a body- the term is also used to denote the drawing of lines on the face of a piece of stuff for mortises, and cutting the shoulders of tenons. Another application of the word occurs in the practice of joinery, to note the act of running a moulding with a plane The striking of a centre is the removal of the timber framing upon which an arch IH Jilt, af its completion. String or String Pie<*.-That part of a flight of stairs which forms its ceiling or sofite. See Carriage. Strine Board.-In wooden stairs, the board next the well-hole which recdvelfthVends of the steps; its face follows the direction of he well - hole, whatever the form: when curved, it is frequently formed in tb ck- nesses glued together, though sometimes it is got out of the solid, hi a hnnd-rail. Strlnir-board -In wooden stairs, a board placed next to the well -bole, and terfflrng the ends of the steps. The face of string-boards fol- 122 GLOSSARY. lows the direction of the well-hole, whether it be prismatic or an m^ verted cone. String-boards are sometimes glued in several thicknesses, witu the fibres of the wood running in the direction of the steps; some- times they are wrought out of solid, like a hand-rail, the grain of the wood being in the same direction; and they are also glued up like columns, viz., having the fibres vertical. Brackets are most frequently placed upon the string-boards, and mitered into the risers. Nicholson. Tangent. In geometry, a right line perpendicularly raised on the ex- tremity of a radius, which touches a circle so that it would never cut it, although infinitely produced, or, in other words, it would never come within its circumference. Templet. A mould used in masonry and brickwork, for the purpose of cutting or setting the work. When great nicety is required, two temp- lets should be used, one for moulding the end of the work, and its re- verse for trying the face. Where many stones or bricks are required to be done with the same mould, the templets ought to be be made of copper. Nicholson. Tenon. In carpentry, the square end of a piece of wood or metal di- minished to one-third of its thickness, to be received into a hole in an- other piece, called the mortise, for the joining or fastening of the two together. Tread of the step of a stair. The horizontal part of the step. Trimmed. When a piece of work is fitted between two others pre- viously executed, it is said to be trimmed in between them; thus, a parti- tion wall is said to be trimmed up between the floor and the ceiling; a post between two beams, a trimmer between joists, etc. Nicholson. Trimmed, is also applied to the putting of anything into shape, by cutting it away by degrees until it be of the proposed form. Nicholson. Trimmed-out. An expression applied to the trimmers of stairs, when brought forward to receive the rough strings. Trimmer. A small beam into which the ends of several joists are framed. Beams of this kind are either stair-trimmers, hearth-trimmers, or tail-trimmers. Nicholson. Trimming Joists. The two joists into which each end of the trimmer is framed. The distance of the trimming-joists, when employed in fire-places, must be such as to take in not only the fire-place, but the flues on each side of it. Trimming-joists ought to be stronger than the other joists, on account of the support they have to give. Nicholson. Veneer. A very thin leaf of wood, of a superior quality, for covering doors or articles of furniture, made of an inferior wood. Nicholson. Vestibule. The place before the entrance to Roman houses; it was surrounded by a wall. In modern houses the small ante-room which leads from the outside to the principal hall. Vitruvian Scroll. A peculiar pattern, consisting of convolved undu- lations, used in classical architecture. Volute. The characteristic ornaments and indicial marks of the Ionic capital formed by circumvolving spiral mouldings are termed volutes. The small circle in which the spiral or springs terminate is called the eye of the volute. The introduction of volutes is said by Vitruvius to have arisen from an imitation of the mode in which women were for- GLOSSARY. 123 mevly accustomed to ornament their huir; but they are thought, with greater probability, to have represented the horns of the Amuionmn Jupiter. Wedge. The wedge is a solid piece of wood or metal, generally made in the form of a triangle prism, of which the two ends or bases are eqiml and similar plane triangles and the three sides rectangular parallelo- grams: and it is called rectangular, isosceles, or scalene, according as its equal and similar bases are composed of right-angled, isosceles, or sca- lene triangles. As a mechanical power, the wedge performs its office, sometimes in raising heavy bodies, but more frequently in dividing or cleaving them; hence all those instruments which are used in separating the parts of bodies, such as axes, adzes, knives, swords, coulters, chisels, planes, saws, files, nails, spades, etc., are only different modifi- cations that fall under the general denomination of the wedge. Wedging. The insertion of triangular prisms into the end of a tenon, to make it till the mortise so completely as to prevent its being with- drawn. Well. The place occupied by the flight of stairs. The space left be- yond the ends of the steps is called the well-hole. Well-Staircase. A winding staircase of ascent, or descent, to differ- ent parts of a building, so called from the walls enclosing it resembling a well; called frequently a geometrical staircase. Winders. Stairs, steps not parallel to each other. The winders are supported by rough pieces called bearers, wedged into the wall, and secured to the strings. When the front string is ornamented with brackets, it is called a bracketed stair. Twenty-seventh Edition DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE OF Practical Books AND PERIODICALS, PUBLISHED AND FOR SALE BY THE INDUSTRIAL PUBLICATION CO. " KNOWl^EDOE IS POWZK." ry Any of these Books may be obtained from any Bookseller or Newsdealer, or will b sentTree by mail to any part of the United States or Canada ON RECEIPT OF PRICE. Remittances should be made in Bank Drafts, Postal Order*, or Registered letter*. Frac- tional parts of a dollar may be sent in postage stamps of small denominations, but we will not receive postage stamps to the amount of $1.00 or over. Postage stamps of large denominations, and Canadian postage stamps are of no use to us. Canadian currency and British postage stamps will be received in any quantity, imt only from forttfn corrttfinultnU. New Editions of this catalogue, containing descriptions of New Books, are issued from time to time, and will be sent free to any address on appl.cation. Addreta all order, to INDUSTRIAL, PUBLICATION CO., 294 Broadway, New York. TWO IVET^ BOOKS STAIR-BUILDING MADE EASY. BEING A FULL AND CLEAR DESCRIPTION OF THE ART OF BUILDING THE BODIES, CARRIAGES, AND CASES FOR ALL KINDS OF STAIRS AND STEPS, Together with Illustrations showing: the Ulainiier of Laying 1 Out Stairs, Forming Treads and Risers, Building Cylinders, Preparing Strings, With Instructions for Making Carriages for Common, Platform, Dog-L.egged, and Winding Stairs. To which is added an Illustrated Glossary of Terms used iu Stair-Build- ing, and Designs for Newels, Balusters. Brackets, Stair- Mouldings, and Sections of Hand-Rails. By FRED. T. HODGSON. work takes hold at the very beginning of the subject, and carries the student along by easy stages, until the entire subject of Stair- Building has been unfolded, so far as ordinary practice can ever require. This book, and the one on HAND-RAILING, described below, cover nearly the whole subject of STAIK-BUILDING. A NEW SYSTEM OF HAND-RAILING, Or, How to Cut Hand-Railing for Circular and other Stairs, Square from the Plank, without tip, aid of a Falling Mould. THE SYSTEM IS NEW, NOVEL, ECONOMIC, AND EASILY LEARNED. Rules, Instructions, and Working Drawings for Building Rails for Seven Different Kinds of Stairs are given. BY AN OLD STAIR-BUILDER. Edited and Corrected by FRED, T. HODOSON, JUST PUBLISH KD. A New and Important Work for Architects, Builders, Plumbers, Sanitary Engineers, and all House-Holders. WATER-CLOSETS A HISTORICAL, MECHANICAL, AND SANITARY TREATISE. By GLENN BROWN, Architect. Associate American Institute of Architects. Neatly Bound in Cloth, with Gilt Title, Price, - - - $1.00 This book contains over 250 engravings, drawn expressly for the work by the author. The drawings are so clear that the distinctive features of every device are easily seen at a glance, and the descriptions are particularly full and thorough. The paramount importance of this department of the construction of our houses renders all comment upon the value of such a work unnecessary. Sent Iot Paid on Re-ei|H ol* Irlce. INDUSTRIAL PUBLICATION CO,, 29* BROADWAY, NEW YORK. NOW READY, Second ana Enlarged Edition. The Steel Square AND ITS USES. By FRED. T. This is the only work on THE STEEL SQUARE AND ITS USES ever published. It is Thorough, Exhaustive, Clear, aucl Easily Understood. Confounding terms and scientific phrases have been religiously avoided where possible, and everything in the book has been made so plain that a boy twelve years of age, possessing ordinary intelligence, can under- stand it from end to end. The New Edition is Illustrated with over Seventy-five Wood cuts, showing how the Square may be used for solving almost every problem in the whole Art of Carpentry. The following synopsis of the contents of the work will give some idea of its character and scope. History of the "Square." Descrip- tion, with Explanations of the Rules, Fig- ures, Scales, and Divisions shown on good Squares. Brace Rules. Octagonal Scale, Board, Plank and Scantling Rules, fully explained and described. How to lay out Rafters, Hips, Jack- Rafters, Purlins, Bevel Works, etc., etc. Backing for Hips, Lengths and Bevels of Valley Rafters. Laying out Stairs and Strings. How to describe Circles, Ellipses, Parabolas and other figures, with the Square. How to obtain Bevels for Hoppers and all kinds of Splayed Work and Spring Mouldings, by the Square. Bisecting Circles, Proportion of Cir- cles, Division of Widths, Bisection of Angles, Diminishing Stiles, Centering Circles, etc., etc. Theoretical Rafters, Cuts for Mitre Boxes, Measurement of Surfaces, including Painting, Plastering, Shingling, Siding, Flooring, Rough Boarding, Tinning and Roofing. Rules for describing Octagons and Polygons of every description, and how to find their angles and areas. Rules forfinding the lengths of Rafters and Hips of Irregular Roofs. Cuts for Equal and Unequal Mitres, Trusses and Bevel Timber Work. The Development of Hip and Curved Roofs; Veranda Rafters, Straight and Curved ; Hopper Cuts of all kinds, Angle Corner-pieces, Splayed Work for Gothic Heads, etc., etc., and many other things useful to the Operative Mechanic. Handsomely Bound in Cloth with Gilt Title. Price OWE DOLLAR, The Carpenter's Steel Square, AND HOW TO USE IT. OPINIONS OF THE PRKSS. This little work consists of a republication of some papers contributed by its talented author some time ago to the A ineruau BmUer, and which were received with so much favor by anisans, for whom they were written, as to induce their author to collect them into the present volume." * * "The work is well illustrated by upwards of fifty cuts which have been well engraved, and can hardly fail to gixe any one an idea of the capabilities of the steel square, and what can be accomplished from it when in skilful hands." Journal of Franklin Institute, I'hiui. " A most valuable little treatise of 70 pages upon that commonplace subject, the 'steel square,' being a description of that useful tool, and its uses in obtaining the lengths and bevels of rafters, hips, groins, braces, brackets, purlins, collar beams and jack i afters, and its application in obtaining the bevels and cut* forhoppers, spring moldings, octa- gons, stairs, diminished stiles, etc. , illustrated by over 50 wood cuts. Mr. Hodgson has succeeded admirably in demonstrating that the study of the value and use of the square is by no means the dry subject one would suppose, and that as a tool in the hands of an intelligent workm.in, its possibilities are far beyond the standard usually concetk-d to il. Itis a valuable book for theuseof the carpenter, and should be upon the office dskof every retailer of lumber, from the valuable hints it will give him as a guide to his negotiations with his customers in figuring out their wants. It is, in fact, uell adapted to the wants of every man who has a shed or fence to erect upon his premises, or who wishes to keep a check upon his builder." Xcirth-svtstern Lumber- man, Chicago, fit. "This is a little book that no carpenter, joiner, cabinetmaker, or amateur wood- worker, can do without, if they wish to keep up with the times in their several branches ul" trade. " We believe this is the first and only book that has been written on this subject :dGne, and we must say, that the duty of writing it fell into good hands as he author has handled his subject in a masterly manner. One is struck with astonishment at the number of difficult and apparently intricate problems this simple instrument the square is made to solve, and in such a manner that any mechanic who can read the figures .m thr lool can work out the solutions. The lengths and bevels of rafters, hips, braces, trusses purlins, collar beams, and jack rafters are obtained as if by magic, and without thought or calculation. " The work R handsomely gotten up, printed on heavy white paper, substantially bound, and cleanly turned out. The some fifty odd wood cuts are almost equal to steel engravings, and the whole get-up is a credit to both author and publisher, and the IM price at which it is sold, (75 cents), places it within reach of every w.xxl u -rkcr. nu matter how poor he may be." Enterprise, Collingwood, Out. " It is a timely book on the subjectm hand, and we can safely recommend it I petent to fill a long felt vacancy in the mechanics' library. The work present', a valu- able collection of rules and data connected with the framing square, to the *! roofing problems, br.,ces, hoppers, etc.,ac."OriMa Packet, Ont. " Some fifty engravings aid in the description of the square and its uses in obtaining lengths and bevels of all kinds; also, its application in obtaining the beveta and cut* for all conceivable shapes used in the wood shops. Any wood-worker poMewnr thw book will find its cost, seventy-five cents, is not to be compared with us real vaL. M.J usefulness in the shop." The Carriage Monthly, Fhila. " The work is a very valuable one, and should be in the haods of every Messenger, Collingtvood, Ont. "The work will be of very great service to carpenters and builders " Ont. PEACTICAL CAEPENTEY. UKING A GUIDE TO THE Correct Workins and Laying Out of all Wuds of Carpenters' and Joiners' M ork. . RaUing Mouldings, Circular Work, Etc., Etc. " TO WHICH IS PREFIXED A THOROUGH TREATISE ON CARPENTER'S GEOMETRY." ILLUSTRATED BY OVER 3OO ENGRAVINGS. By FRED. T. HODGSON, Handsomely Bound in Cloth, Frice $1.OO. This is the most complete book of the kind ever published. It is Thorough Practical and Reliable, and at the same time is written in a style so plain that any workman or apprentice can easily un- derstand it The annexed table of contents will give a better idea of its scope and value than can be had from any amount of notices or descriptions : TABLE OF CONTENTS. PAET I. GEOMETRY. Straight Lines. Curved Lines. Solids. Compound Linos. Parallel Lines- Oblique or Converging Lines. Plane Figures. Angles. Bight Angles. Acute Angles. Obtuse Anglos. Right- angled Triangles. Quadrilateral Figures. Parallelograms. Rect- angles. Squares. Rhomboids. Trapeziums. Trapezoids. Diag- onals. Polygons. Pentagons. Hexagons, -r Heptagons. Octa- gons. Circles. Chords. Tangents Sectors. Quadrants. A res. Concentric and Eccentric Circles. Altitudes. Problems I. to XXlA. Drawing of Angles. Construction of Geometrical Figures. Bisec- tion of Lines. Triseetion of Lines and Angles. Division of Lines into any Number of Parts. Construction of Triangles, Squares and Parallelograms. Construction of Proportionate Squares. Con- struction of Polygons. Areas of Polygons. \reas of Concentric Rings and Circles. Segments of Circles. The use of Ordinates for Obtaining Arcs of Circles. Drawing !tn Ellipse with a Trammel. Drawing an Ellipse hy means of a Sr ring. Same by Ordinates. Baking Ellipses.Ovals. Sixty-two Illustrations. TAUT II. ABCttES, CEXT&ES -Window and Door Heads.-Somi -circular Arch.- begmental Arches. -Stilted Areheti. Horseshoe An-h.-Lanoet Arch. -Equilateral Arch.-Oothic Tracery.-Wheei-Wiudows.-Eauila- teral Tracery. Square Tracery. Finished Leaf Tracery. Tweuty- two Illustrations. PART III. ROOFS. Saddle Roof. Lean-to or Shed Roof. Simple Hip-Roof. Pyramidal Roof. Theoretical Roof. Roof with Straining Beam. Gothic Roof. Hammer-Beam Roofs. Curved Principal Roofs. Roofs with Suspending Rods. Deck Roofs. King-post and Prin- cipal Roof. Queen -post and Principal Ro< f. Roof s wit h Laminated Arches. Strapped Roof Frames. Tic-beam Roofs. Roofs for Long Spans. Theatre Roof. Church Roof. Mansard Roof. Slopes ol Roofs. Rules for Determining the Sizes of Timbers for Roofs. Acute and Obtuse Angled Hip-Roofs. Development of Hip-Roofs. Obtaining Lengths and Bevels of Rafters. Backing Hip-Rafters. Lengths. Bevels and Cuts of Purlins. Circular, Conical and Seg- mental Roofs. Rafters with Variable Curves. Veranda Rafters. Development of all kinds of Rafters. Curved Mansard Rafters. Framed Mansard Roofs. Lines and Rules for obtaining various kinds of Information. Thirty-four Illustrations. PART IV. COVERING OP ROOFS. Shingling Common Roofs. Shingling Hip- Roofs.-Method of Shingling on Hip Corner. Covering Circular Roofs.--Covering Ellipsoidal Roofs. Valley Roofs. Four Illustra- tions. PART V. THF MTTERING AND ADJUSTING op MOULDINGS. Mitering of Spring Mouldings. Preparing th Mitre-box for Cutting Spring Mould- Ings Riilos for Cutting Mouldings, with Diagram*. Mitre-boxes of various forms. Lines for Spring Mouldings of various kinds.- Seven Illustrations. PART VI. - AN-D SKYLiGHTs.-Raised Skylisrhts.-SkylighN with H!n- gon Skylights with Spgrnontnl Rib'* .-Angle-bars, with yctagon Hkyllgnts witn segmenrni IHO^. anni^-M". " and Dingrnms. showinghowto obtain the Anc PS Forms. etc.-Sasn- Bars, Hints on their Construction. Twelve Illustrations. PART VIL MoULDIVGS.- -Enli Lines for Circular PART VIII. IEKY. Dovetailing. Common Dovetailing. Lapped Dovetailing. 31ind Dovetailing. Square Dovetailing. Splay Dovetailing. .tegular and Irregular Dovetailing. Lines and Cuts for Hoppers and Splayed Work. Angles and Mitres for Splayed Work. Nineteen Illustrations. PART IX. MISCELLANEOUS PKOBLEMS. Bent Work for Splayed Jambs. Develop- ment of Cylinders. Rules and Diagrams for Taking Dimensions. Angular and Curved Measurements. Eight Illustrations. PART X. JOINTS AND STEAPS. Mortise and Tenon Joints. Toggle Joints. Hook Joints. Tongue Joint. Lap Splice. Scarfing. Wedge Joints. King-bolts. Straps, Iron Ties, Sockets, Bearing-plates, Rings Swivels and other Iron Fastenings. Straining Timbers, Struts and King-pieces. Three Plates, Sixty-five Illustrations. PART XI. HINGING AND SWING JOINTS. Door Hinging. Centre-pin Hinging. Blind Hinging. Folding Hinging. Knuckle Hinging. Pew Hing- ing. Window Hinging. Half-turn Hinge. Full-turn Hinge. Back Flap Hinging. Rule-joint Hinging. Rebate Hinging. Three Plates, Fifty-one Illustrations. PART XII. USEFUL RULES AND TABLES Hints on the Construction of Centres. Rules for Estimating. Form of Estimate. Items for Estimating, - Remarks on Fences. Nails: sizes, weights, lengths and numbers. Cornices, Proportions and Projections for Different Styles of Archi- tecture: and Tall and Low Buildings, Verandas, Bay Windows and Porches. Proportion of Base-boards, Dados, Wainscots and Sur- bqses. Woods. Hard and Soft, their Preparation, and how to nish. Strength and Resistance of Timber of various kinds. los, showing Weight and other qualities of Wood and Timber. .iirs. Width of Treads and Risers; their Cost; how to Estimate on . them, etc, Inclinations of Roofs. Contents of Boxes, Bins and Barrels. Arithmetical Signs. Mensuration of Superficies. Areas of Squares Tri.-mglps, Circles, Regular and Irregular Polygons. Properties of Circles. Solid Bodies. Gunter's Chain. Drawing and Drawing Instruments. Coloring Drawings. Coloring for Various Building Materials. Drawing Papei-s. Sizes of Drawing Papers. Table of Board Measure. Nautical Table. Measure of Time. Authorized Metric System. Measures of Length. Mea- sures of Surfaces. Measures of Cnpaeity. Weights. American Weights and Measures. Square Measurp. Cubic Measure. Cir- cular Measure.-Decimal Approximations. -Form of Building A NEW BOOK FOB CABINET MAKERS, UPHOLSTERERS, FlIfMTl HE MEN, AMA- TEUR WOOD FINISHERS, ETC,, ETC, HINTS AND Practical Information FOR CABINET-MAKEES, UPHOLSTERERS, AND FURNITURE MEN GENERALLY. TOGETHER WITH A DESCRIPTION OF ALL KINDS OF FINISHING, WITH FULL DIRECTIONS THEREFOR VARNISHES POL- ISHES-STAINS FOR WOOD DYES FOR WOOD- GILDING AND .SILVERING RECEIPTS FOR THE FACTORY LACQUERS, METALS, MAR- BLES, ETC. PICTURES, ENGRAVINGS, ETC. MISCELLANEOUS. This work contains an Immense Amount of the most Useful Information for those who are engaged m Manufacture, Superin- tendence, or Construction of Furniture or Wood Work of any Kind. It is one of the Cheapest and Best Books EV.T Publish. . I. and contains Over 1,000 Hints, Suggestions, Methods, And Inscription* of Tool*, nnd ^l:i i. i i;i u. All the Recipes, Rules and Directions liav.- IMTII rjirrfnlh K. vised and Corrected by I'ra.-tiral Mm of Rn-at rxp-n.-ii.T. so that they will ! found thoroughly trustworthy. Priw, Koiiinl in Cloth, with Sid.' Title in fiolil. #1.00. SENT TO ANY AI>IKI>- >\ SAWS. THEIR USE, CARE AND ABUSE. HOW TO SELECT, AND HOW TO FILE THEM. Being a Complete Guide for Selecting, Using and Filing all kinds of Hand- Saws, Back-saws, Compass and Key-hole Saws, Web, Hack and Butcher's Saws ; showing the Shapes, Forms, Angles, Pitches and Sizes of Saw-Teeth suitable for all kinds of Saws, and for all kinds of Wood, Bone, Ivory and Metal ; together with Hints and Suggestions on the Choice of Files, Saw- Sets, Filing Clamps, and other Matters pertain- ing to the Care and Management of all Classes of Hand and other Small Saws. ipie work is intended more particularly for Operative Carpenters, Joiners, Cabinet-Makers, Carriage Builders, and Wood- Workers Generally, Amateurs or Professionals. ILLUSTRATED B\ OVER SEVENTY-FIVE ENGRAVINGS. By FRED. T. HODGSON, AUTHOR OF " THE STEEL SQUARE AND ITS USES." " THE BUILDER'S GUIDE ATD ESTIMATOR'S PRICK BOOK," PRACTICAL CARPENTRY," ETC., ETC. Price - 01.00. TABLE OF 1 CONTENTS. PAET I. History of the Saw. Saws of the 'J reeks. Invention of the First Saws. Eygptian Bronze Saws in the British Museum. Antiquity of Saws.-- Mention of Saws in Holy Writ. Saws of the Stone Age. Saws of the Bouth-sea Islanders. Saws for Cutting Stone. Japanese Saws. Dif- ferent Varieties of Saws. Manner of Using Saws by the Ancients. Assyrian Saws. Invention of Circular and Band-Saws. First Circular- Saws in America. PAET II. Philosopny 01 the Cutting Qualities of Saw-Teeth. The " Why and Where- fore" of the Cutting Pitch and Angles of Kip-Saw Teeth. The Round Gullet-Tooth. Chisel-Teeth and their Action on the Wood. On the Various Angles Required for Cutting Hard and Soft Woods, with Explanations of Space, Pitch, Gullet, Gauge, Set. Rake and Points. Names of Saws, with Dimensions. Form of Teeth, Descriptions and Explanations. How to Choose a Saw ; with Hints as to Form, Quality, Make and " Hang " of a Saw. with Remarks Concerning Different Makers Sash-Saws. Dovetail-Saws, Rip-Saws, Panel-Saws, Cross-cut Saws, Bow-Saws, Web-Saws, Key-hole Saws, Compass-Saws and Tenon- Saws. PART III. !Iow to Use Hand-Saws. How to Saw Well and Easily. Hints for Sawing Straight. Rules for New Beginners. French, German and American Workmen. Saws Filed to Work on the Pull-Stroke Changeable Key-hole Saws. Use of Back-Saws. Use of Web-Saws. Care of Buck-Saws._The Buck-Saw; the Terror of Boyhood, and Whv. The Butcher's-Saw. the Hack-Saw, and the Surgeo'n's-Saw with Descrip- tion of Each, and Hints a^ to their Management, TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued). PART IV. Filing and Setting Hand-Saws. The Qualities Required to make a GOOQ Filer. Rules in some Old-lime Joiner Shops.- Can-less Filine and ite Consequences. Clamping Saws for Filing The Line of Teeth Angular Groove on Cutting Edge of Saw. Filing Backs of Teeth Jointing the Sides of Teeth. Shape of Teeth for Cross-cutting Hard Wood. Medium and Soft Wood. Cutting. Angles Required for Various Degrees of Hardness in Woods. Angle to Hold the File. The True Theory of Saw-Filing. Buckling and "Twisting Saws; How Done and How Avoided. " Hook and Pitch." Careless Use of Saws, and the Injuries Done to them in Consequence The Filing of PinVivnt Saws, and why One Class of Saws Require Different Treatment from Another. The Saw that Scrapes, and the Saw that Cuts ; the " Why " ot tlii.- in- ference. Why Some Men do Much More Work than Others, and with Greater Ease, when Sawing. PART V. Miscellaneous Saws ; their Uses, How to Care for Them, and How to Use Them. The M Tooth, Teeth that Cut Both Ways, Crenate Teeth, Brier Teeth, Gullet Teeth, Parrot-bill Teeth. Hog Teeth, the Lancet and other Fancy Forms of Teeth, Described and Explained. The Old- style u Peg Tooth," for Two-handed Cross-cut Saws. Various Exam- ples of the u Peg-Tooth Saw. Hack-Saws ; How to Use and How to Keep in Order Butcher's-Saws, Surgeon's-Saws, Saws for Cutting Combs, Ivory, Brass, Gold, and Silver. -Circular-Saws for Cutting Metal, Ivory, Tortoise-shell, and other Hard Materials Jig-Saws, Band-Saws ; their Uses and How to Keep them in Order ScrolkSaws ; their Uses and Care. Progress of the Band-Saw ; its Future ; How to Make them do Clean Work Heating Saws; Rules for their Manage- ment. Why Circular-Saws Burst. PART VI. Remarks on Saws, Files. Sets, and other Appliances Saw-Files; what Constitutes a Good One, and How to SelectDifferent Qualities of Saw-Files and How to Know the Various Grades Why there are Different GradesHints on the Use of Fllrs.-Cimilar-Saws that an- not Circular.-How to Become an Expert Sawyer, s, I ot riivnlur- Saws; Table of Same. -Speed of Reciprocal ing-Saws, or JIff-gft Speed of Feed for SameWorking Action of Ban. -saws.- How Band- Saws Became Possible.-French and American Band-saw Blac * Inside Sawing with Band-saws Detachable Band-Saws A ids . Saw-Filing. -Saw-Clamps. -Saw-Filer* ***&, Haml->.'ti:i with Punch and Hammer. Setting will. "Set-." Mar him. Band-Saw Setters Devices for Holding Saws wl.ile b.-in-_' x-t and Filed. PART VII. Mill-Saws. Saws with Few Teeth. Plaster and Plastering. MORTARS AND CEMENTS. IIOU TO MAKE, AND HOW TO USE. BEING A COMPLETE GUIDE FOR THE PLASTERER IN THE PREPARATION AND APPLICATION OF ALL KINDS OF PLASTER, STUCCO, PORTLAND CEMENT, HYDRAULIC CEMENTS, LIME OF TIEL, ROSENDALE AND OTHER CEMENTS, WITH USEFUL AND PRACTICAL INFORMA- TION ON THE CHEMISTRY, QUALITIES AND USES OF THE VARIOUS KINDS OF LIMES AND CEMENTS. TO- GETHER WITH RULES FOR MEASURING, COMPUTING, AND VALUING PLASTER AND STUCCO WORK. TO WHICH IS APPENDED AN ILLUSTRATED GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED IN PLASTERING, ETC. Besides numerous Engravings in the text, there are three Plates, giving some forty figures of Ceilings, Centrepieces, Cornices, Panels and Soffits. By FRED. T. HODGSON, frice $ 1 .OO. INDEX. Description of Plates, Preface, . 1 TOOLS AND MATERIALS. The Hoe or Drag, The Hawk, . . . ' . PAr.E . 10 10 The Operator. The Scratcher, . Trowels, . 11 11 The Hod, The Sieve, Moulds, .'.'.' Centre Moulds, The Pointer, . The Paddle, . ' . 11 11 . 12 12 Sand Screens, Mortar-Beds. . The Slack Box Lath, . .'.*." 1, 12 , 12 Nail Pocket, Out off Saw PA OP, 12 IS 13 19 14 14 14 IS 16 15 IN-DEX (Continued). MATERIALS EMPLOYED IN PLASTERING. Internal Postering, Coarse Siuir. Fine Stuff, . Putty, PACE . 16 If, . 16 16 Hi K '.JO 17, 18 17 17 Substitutes for Sand, Marble Du>i. Hair, ..""" Colors. . Whitewash FAG* . 23 24 . 24 24 24 Stucco, Lime, ... .17. Plaster-of- Paris, Laths, . . . . . . Cements Whiling. . Baylor's Portland c.-ment, Mastic for Pluteriof, Stable Floors. Concrete for foundations, Keene's Cement, . Metallic Criurnt. Portland-Cement siuceo, . Lias Cement, . . . . Rough Cast, .... External Plastering. Scagliola Carton Pierre, .... 25 . 25 25 . 25 25 . W 27 . 27 28 . 28 29 PAGE 35-41 41 . 42 Calcination, 18 18 Quicklime, Slaking Air Slaking Hydraulicity, . Hydraulic Limes, . Sand, 18 . 19 1! . 20 22 PAGE . 30 31 . 32 32 . 34 35 > OPERATIONS. General Instructions, Float ing the Work, Trowelling and Rendering, Running Cornices, Ornamental Cornices, Flowers and Cast Work, Papier Mache, 42 Stamped Leather, . Stearate of Lime, . 42 . 42-43 PLASTERER'S MEASUREMENT. I'AGE Measuring and Valuation. . . 44 Mensuration of Superfices, . . 44 Taking Dimensions, . .44 Specifications. .... 46 Rendering to Walls, ... 46 Lath and Plaster Work to Ceilings. 47 Lath and Plaster Work to Partitions, 47 MISCELLANEOUS MEMORANDA PAGE Hard Hydraulic Cement, . . 54 Colored Cements, ... 54 Brick-Dust Cement, ... 54 Hardening Plaster, ... 54 Mastic Cement, . . . .54 Cement for Outside Brick Walls. 55 To Mend Plaster Models, . . 55 Cheap Concrete Flooring. . . 55 To Make Moulds 55 Artificial Building Stone, . . 56 Artificial Marble 56, Hard Mortar 56 Marble-Worker's Cement, . .56 Mason's Cement 67 1 Whitewash 57, I!. M| \Vash for Brirks. . . . 57 1 To Whiten Internal Walls. . . 57 Concrete 58 Papier Mache 58 Plaster Ornaments, ... 59 Fibrous Plaster 59 Staining Marble 59 Marble. . . . 59 GLOSSARY OF TERMS. A to Z, Measuring Cornices, Measuring Stucco, Coloring, .... Summary, . . . . Pugging Whitewashing and Coloring, PAGE . 47 48 . 48 48-50 . 50 51-53 To Take Wax Moulds from Plaster, 59 Cement for Mouldings. . . .60 Cement Floors for Cellars, . . 60 Wash CO Coloring in Distemper, . . 61 Mortar 61 Caution, 1 Concrete Walls External Since 62 Proportions of Materials, . . 6: I'ii//olana, Grout 63 Weight* of Materials, ... 64 Items Cist.-nis Warkboard> '"'' MraMirinu' l'hi-irivr'> Work, . N..t.-.- 6 Mortars and AY USE. Rev. JOHN HI. HERON, A. M., Editor. CONTEXTS. 1 Title Page. I !* A Table showing distance of the a! Dedication and Copyright. principal American Cities froiv 3. Editor's Preface. New York, the difference i 3. Editor's Preface. 4. Contents. 5. Over 20,000 Synonymous Words. 6. Foreign Words and Phrases in general use. 7. Domestic and Foreign Postage Rates and Laws and Stamp Duties. 8. Value Foreign Coins as per author- ized standard U. S. Mint. 9. Use of Capital Letters. 10. Rules for Punctuation. 11. Abbreviations and their use. 12. A Perpetual Calendar. 16. Our Deportment. An Int 13. An Interest Table. in Time, and the present Popula- tion of Each. 15. Our Country and Government; the Area of the U. S. ( how acquired; acqui nd Te Population of States and Terri- tories, Number of Electoral Votes eh is entitled to, Represents- The tives, etc.; The Executive and Judicial Branches of the Govern- ment, duties of officials, their salaries ; American Progress, etc., etc. . 17. A Complete Index. Thousands of people have long felt the need of such a work as this. The correspondent, student, literary worker, or any person who has any writing to do, is constantly annoyed to think of just the right words to use in order to convey the idea intended and make a smooth and finished sentence. The Writers' and Travellers' Ready Reference Book contains 20,000 synonymous words, alphabetically arranged', and this feature of it not only supplies this often much needed word, but it at the same time EDUCATES the searcher and enables him to express himself verbally with grace and ease. To the writer this list of Synonymous Words is second only to the Spelling Book. The use of Capitals, rules for Punctuation and use of Abbreviations are all-important, and frequently a lack of their observance or an ignorance of their proper use turns what " might have been" a successful life into another channel because such things as these caused some person to reject the application which otherwise would have been the successful turning point in the career of the writer. We cannot always carry a Spelling Book or Dictionary with us, and nowhere is information on these points so concisely given and "so handy for reference as in the Writers' and Travellers' Ready Reference Book. We often spend considerable time and go to lots of trouble to ascertain something about Postage Rates. There are but few of us who do not need a list to give us the meaning of Foreign Words and Phrases which we constantly come across in reading. A Calendar, Interest Table, and table showing the value of Foreign Coins, are all eminently practical and useful. All these this little book contains. The one table showing at a glance the population of the principal American cities, the distance of each from New York City, and the difference in time, is a marvel of condensation. and is worth more than the price of the book to any traveller. Under the head of "Our Country and Government" is given the pith of a large volume, JUST SUCH facts as every American ought to possess, and they can be obtained nowhere else for less than/owr times the money. Good manners and an observance of a few simple Rules of Etiquette often do more towards winning friends and making one happy, than wealth, or the most classic education. They always go further than either or both towards making a gentleman or lady. Such Gems of Deportment as are of value to all, will be found in the " Pocket Manual." 5 u w>>ld perfect and educate yourself in these matters, by all means, P YOU would save yourself from many annovances and much loss of time and money, GET IT. IP YOU would make an inexpensive, appropriate and useful present to any person, GET IT. The Pocket Manual is printed from new and perfect plates, on fine tinted paper, C Ver8 ' with Ink and G ld THE POCKET MANUAL NUJMBKR, TWO, OB, A KKY TO A PROFITABLE OCCUPATION FOR ANY PKKNUX, REV. JOHN M. HERON, A.M., EDITOR. TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS WORTH OF INFORMATION IN THE POCKET. How to Become a Short- Hand Writer, or complete and practical instruction in Phonography, by CURTIS HAVEN. Pres't Pliila. College of Phonography, etc. How to Become a Proof-reader, by JOSEPH JOHNSON, experienced proof- reader. 1 1 ii w to Become a Telegraph Opera- tor, by J. W. CHOUSE, Ex Supt. Pa. R. R. Wires. Eastern Division. How to Use a Type- Writer, or simple instructions for operating with a Writing Machine. By J. W. EARLE. Phila. Manager Remington Type- writer Co. How to Get a Farm from U. S. By ARTHUR BRADLEY, Attorney. How to Manufacture Super-phos- phate of Lime and Guano. i;>, M FRANZ. Scientist. How to Raise Poultry or Poultry and Kggs as a Business. Ry M. H. PEN- DLSTON, editor "Poultry Messen- ger." How to Become a Dressmaker. I ' < directions for learningtodo finished work for one's self or as a business, by Mrss ISABEL CRAWFORD, Practical Dressmaker. How to Draw and Paint Flowers, etc., Srom nature or otherwise. By PROF. OHN COLLINS. Artist. EVERY ARTICLE, with the exception of one or two of the |es* importan' is ORIGINAL, and has been prepared with the UTMOST CARE bv a per* (par- ticular experience, reputation and ability for the subject. mutch priMMM matter ami xo able a corps of irrHivn //vis nrrer before presented in a book of the size aii'l ]>r'u-f. ILLUSTRATIONS. Several articles have IH-II illustrated at a hcav The Subscription Book i',u,i ,,,--.,. Its /"flnei tirowth. Desirability, et,-.. by W. H.THOMPSON. Publish,. r How to Become a Book-keeper mid Practical Instructions lor H.M.k- keepers. By THOMA.S MAY I'IIK. i. M.A., Of the Peiree College ..I Hil-l- negS, J'hila. How to Make out Reports and Audit Acc'ts of Building AMoclatlonn, what Building Associations are and how conducted. By THOMAS GAJTF- NEY. Practical AocoUDtaot and Building Association Expert. Directions for Silk Culture, with in- struction-- for raiding Worms, spjn- ning Coei s, etc., liv Mus. M. E. CUNNINGHAM, asfti&tod by the silk Culture Association. Collecting Old Coins. Tables of dif- ferent coins with market price* etc By G. L. FANCHER. NnmiBmatlst Stamps Collecting, and How to Bay and Sell stump*. ]{\ L. \\. I n IUH.N PhilateliM ami Stam'p Dealer. How to Make Soap. By FRAKK P. HARMED, Chemist of the Penti Chemic.il Work-. Ambition, Eiiterprlne and Iiiteip-ity. I-.N Rev. JOHX M. HI:I:..\-. \.M Table of Wages by the Month. Fi , , m the American Home and Farm C>- . pense. The lessons in short hand were produced by photo-. -ngrax ing from pen dratoingi ir> TIMES the size. There are -..im- 'jr, ,,r these, prof. Collln* 1 ' lattilu and branlifnllv Illustrated. e -.-vei . ( | d Attorney Bradley's articles are The skill of the engraver has been iv.jiiiivd in rendering other features. The Pocket Manual is printed on the rf/ ( -s/ rose tint pnper made for it. from new and perfect plate-. /'/// n ////( ai-imml fdc/, pui/f. <-.>ntaiiiH 334 Price, Bound in Finest English doth, Bed Edges. Gold Side Stamp, 60 THE BEE-KEEPERS' GUIDE; OR, By A.. J. COOK., Lansing. Michigan, PROF. OF ENTOMOLOGY IN THE STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. 0000 SOXjX) I3XT SI3SL YIE 350 PAGES. 192 ILLUSTRATIONS. This is a new edition of Prof. Cook's Manual of the Apiary, enlarged and ele- gantly illustrated. The first edition of 3,000 copies was exhausted in about 18 months a sale unprecedented in the annals of bee-culture. The tenth 1,000 has been thoroughly revised, much new matter and in any costly illustrations added, and has been produced with grea" care, patient study, and persistent research. It comprises a full delineation of the anatomy and physiology of the honeybee, illustrated with many expensive wood engravings; the products of the Honey Bee ; the races of bees ; full description of honey- producing plants, trees, shrubs, etc., splendidly illustrated ; and last, though not least, detailed instructions for the various manipulations necessary in the apiary. Read the Following Opinions of the Book: 1 feel like thanking God that we have such a man as Prof. Cook to take hold of the subject of bee-culture in the masterly way in which he has done it. Gleanings in Bee Cnlture. It is a book which does credit to our calling ; one that every bee-keeper may welcome as a fit exponent of the science which gives pleasure to all who are engaged in it. American Bee Journal. It is just what might have been expected from the distinguished author a work acceptable to the ordinary bee-man, and a delight to the student ot scientific apiculture. Bee-Keepers' Magazine. Cook's new "Manual of tlie Apiary." comes with high ecomiums from America, and certainly it appears to have cut the ground from under future book-makers for some time to come. British Bee Journal. Prof. A. J. Cook's "Manual of the Apiary" contains, besides the description of the anatomy and physiology of the honey bee. beautifully illustrated, the pro- ducts and races of the bees, honey plants the instruction) for the different operations performed in the hives' All agree that it is the work of a Musi IT. and is of real value. L'ApicHlteur, Paris. I have read with a great deal of interest the copy of Cook's Manual you sent me, and I intend to publish extracts from it in the '" Bulletin " of the Society of Apiculture of the Department of the Somme, so that our apiarists may be aware of the value of this estimable work. It is a credit to the author as well as the publishers. I have never yet met with a work, either French or foreign, which I like so much. L' Abbe L. DuBois, at La Malmaison Aisne. France. Every point connected with the subject is handled in a clear, exhaustive, yet pithy and practical manner. Rural New Yorker. The most thorough work on the apiary ever published, and the only one illus- trating the various bee plants. -Lapsing (Mich.) Republican. Treating the art in all ils different branches in a clear, concise and interesting manner. The Canadian Entomologist. It is the fullest, most practical, and most satisfactory treatise on the subject now before the public. Country Gentleman. Prof. Cook's valuable Manual has been my constant guide in my operations and successful management of the Apiary. J. P. WKST. I have derived more practical knowledge from Prof! Cook's New Manual of the Apiary than from any other book. E. H. WYXKOOP With Cook's Manual I am more than pleased. It is fully up with the times in every particular. The richest reward awaits its author -A E WFN/.KI Price, by Mail, J1.25. Free by mail on receipt of price. INDUSTRIAL PUBLICATION CO., 204 Broadway, New York. GENESIS AND GEOLOGY. The only really scientific and logical system of harmony botweem Genesis and Geology is to be found in a little work, just published, M THE CHEMICAL HISTORY The Six Days of Creation. BY JOHN PHIN, C. E., 1 vol., 12mo., cloth. 7S ecnti. In this work an attempt is made to show that the account given of the Creation, in the first chapter of Genesis, agrees titeraUy with the record developed by the investigations of modern science. May be ordered through any bookseller. Single copies sent by mail, on receipt of price, The following are a few of the Opimont of the Prett: This ia a small book, but full of matter. The author believes in the book of Oenesi as the 'work of Moses, and believes in the entire correctness of the statements mad* by Moses .in regard to the work of creation. He defends the accuracy of the first chapter of Genesis, and defends it from a scientific standpoint We think this book is full of interest and value; and as the discussions concerning the harmony of science and "faith are rife at the present day, we commend the reasonings of Mr. Pbin to the great number of readers and students who are investigating these subjects. Tkt Presbyterian (Philadelphia). The author gives a new solution of this difficult question, and certainly present* many very plausible arguments in support of his theory. Sunday-School Workman. A very candid and ingenious essay. Christian Union (H. W. Beecher's paper). It is a topic which needs a calm and well-directed intellect to approach, and Mr. Phin has surrounded its discussion with thoughts of the deepest interest to all minds seek- ing rest on this much perplexing question. Journal of the TelegrapK. The reasons and conclusions are clear, distinct, and natural. The book will interest and instruct, and is intended to lead the reasoning mind to firmer faith in the light ol revelation. New York Globe. No one can read this book without compensation, without becoming more thoughtful concerning the phenomena of creation ; and he need lose none of bis reverence for th supremacy of the Divine Law. Rural Neva-Yorker. We could say much in commendation of Prof. Phin's little book. An Intelligent reader can hardly fail to be interested in it, and many might be benefited. C*mtrg Oentleman. The book can not fail to Interest even those who do not fully accept tb theory H Idvocates. Bottom Journal ofChemittry. It is a new scientific view of the matter. Phrenological Journal. The book, although not large, will prove exceedingly interesting to all wbo have ever directed attention to this matter, and contains more solid and iuggetiv - than many voluminous treatises on the subject. Insurance Monitor. The work is ingenious and original, and present* many striking suggestion*. JBMTV ean Baptitt. We believe Prof. Phin has started upon the correct basis, and hit theory U mainly tenable. His views are presented in a manner which, though ten*, U easily compr*- ended. Paterton Daily Ovardian. A New and TAve Book on the Gun. Just Published. Price 75 cents, in cloth. PLAIN DIRECTIONS FOB ACQUIRING THE ART OF SHOOTING ON THE WING, With Useful Hints concerning all that relates to Guns and Shooi ; ng. and particularly in regard to the art of Loading so a? to Kill. To which has been added several Valuable and hitherto Secret Recipes, of Great Practical Importance to the Sportsman. BY AN OLD GAMEKEEPER. Sem. tree vy mail on receipt of price. Opinion f of the frest. The directions are so plain that they cannot well be mistaken, and they are expressed in the fewest possible words. Turf, Field and Farm. Facing the title-page is one of the handsomest, best-executed woodcuts, we have ever seen, it is entitled "The Wounded Snipe," and almost equals a steel engraving. Baptist Union. Aom its pages we should think even the most experienced sportsman might derive some new ideas, while the beginner will Ind it an invaluable assistant. Country Gentleman. For concise instructions as to how to shoot, to select, load, 5arry, and keep a eun in order, otc., it cannot be surpassed. Western Rural. i. pleasantly written, and, it seems, to us, correct and practical treatise on the sportsman's art; a modest little book, but one from the reading of which a erood deal of the right kind of knowlert^ is to be gained. A^^non's Journal A practical and well-written han.lbook, especially adapted for ine use of young sportsmen, as it j.ives sensible advice on the manipulation of firearms, and the rules and etiquette of *he field Scientific American. RECENT ISSUES. Collodio-Etching, A Guide to Collodio-Etching. By Rev. Benjamin Hartley. Illustrated by the Author. 12mo., Cloth, Neat, - . $1.00. This volume gives complete ami minute instructions for one of tin- most delightful of Amateur Arts. It is fully illustrate! l.y wood-cuts of all' the apparatus used (which is very simple and easily mud- . and also by actual photo prints of the etchings themselves. Scientific Experiments. Easy Experiments in Chemistry and Natural Philoso- phy. For Educational Institutions of all Grades, and for Private Students. By G. Dallas Lind, Author of "Methods of Teaching in Country Schools," and "Normal Outlines of the Common School Branches." Paper, - 40 cents. This book, besides being a valuable guide fur the teacher am! studeut, will afford scientific amusement sufficient to brighten the evenings of a whole winter. The Builder's Guide and Estimator's Price Book. Being a Compilation of Current Prices of Lumber, Hardware, Glass, Plumbers' Supplies, Paints, Slates. Stones, Limes, Cements. Bricks, Tin, and other Building Materials; also, Prices of Labor, and Cost of Performing the Several Kinds of Work Required in Building. To- gether with Prices of Doors, Frames. Sashes. Stairs. Mouldings, Newels, and other Maehine \\'"H<. T.I -vhieh is appended a large number of Building Kules, Data. Tables, and Useful Memoranda, WITH a tittoMMT] M Architectural and Building Terms. By Fred. T. Hodg- son, Editor of "The Builder and Wood-Worker," Author of "The Steel Square and Its Uses." etc., etc. ., Cloth,' - - Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes. By the Rev. T. W. Webb, M.A., F.R.A.S. Fourth Edi- tion, Revised and Greatly Enlarged. Fully Illustrated with Engravings and a large Map of the Moon. Cloth, - - $3.00 This edition has been made for us by the English publishers, and is hi every respect the same as the English edition. The work itself is too well known to require commendation at our hands. Bfo one that owns even the commonest kind of a telescope can afford to do without it " Many things, deemed invisible to secondary instruments, are plain enough to one who ' knows how to see them.' "SMYTH. " When an object is once discerned by a superior power, an inferior one will suffice to see it afterwards." STB. W. HEKSCHEL. Chemical History of the Six Days of Creation. By John Phin, Editor of the " American Journal of Microscopy " and the " Young Scientist." 12 mo., Cloth, - 75 cents. In this volume an attempt is made to trace the evolution of our globe from the primeval state of nebulous mist, " without form and void," and existing in "darkness," or with an entire absence of the manifestations of the physical forces, to the condition in which it was fitted to become the habitation of man. While the statements and conclusions are rigidly scientific, it gives some exceedingly novel views of a rather hackneyed subject. Ponds and Ditches. A Work on Pond Life and Kindred Objects. By M. C. Cooke, M.A., LL.D. Cloth, 12mo., - - 75 cents. This is a most interesting volume by a well-known author and microscopist. It is very freely illustrated with engravings of the objects usually found in pond water. Microscopical Examination of Drinking Water. A Guide to the Microscopical Examination of Drinking Water. By J. D. McDonald. 8vo., Cloth, 24 plates, .... $2 75 How to Put Up a Lightning Rod. Plain Directions for the Construction and Erection of Lightning Hods. By John Phin, C.E., editor of the "Young Scientist," author of "Chemical History of the Six Days of the Creation," etc. Second Edition. En- larged and Fully Illustrated. 12 mo., Cloth, Gilt Title, - 50 cents. This is a simple and practical little work, intended to convey just such information as will enable every property owner to decide whether or not his buildings are thoroughly protected. It is not written in the interest of any patent or particular article of manufacture, and by fol- lowing its directions, any ordinarily skilful mechanic can put up a rod that will afford perfect protection, and that will not infringe any patent. Every owner of a house or barn ought to procure a copy. Lectures in a Workshop. By T. P. Pemberton, formerly Associate Editor of the "Technologist;" Author of "The Student's Illustrated Guide to Practical Draughting." With an appendix con- taining the famous papers by Whitworth "On Plane Metallic Surfaces or True Planes;" "On an Uniform System of Screw Threads ; " " Address to the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Glasgow;" "On Standard Decimal Measures of Length." 12 mo., Cloth, Gilt, $1,00 We have here a sprightly fascinating book, full of valuable hints, interesting anecdotes and sharp saying*. It is not a compilation of dull sermons or dry mathematics, but a live, readable book. The papers by Whitworth, now first made accessible to the American reader, form the basis of our modern systems of accurate work. Mechanical Draughting for Self-Taught Students. The Student's Illustrated Guide to Practical Draught- ing. A series of Practical Instructions for Machinists, Mechanics, Apprentices, and Students at Engineering Establishments and Technical Institutes. By 1 Pemberton, Draughtsman and Mechanical I'.nu-i- neer. Illustrated with Numerous Engravings. Cloth Gilt, - This Is a simple but thorough l>o..k l.v a draughtsman ..f lwntv IK. years' experience. It is intended for iH-giiin.-rs nn.1 .-If -tanuht stu- dents, as well as for those who pursue the study under the direction of a teacher. demerits and Glue. A Practical Treatise on the Preparation and Use of all Kinds of Cements, Glue, and Paste. By John Phin, Editor of the "Young Scientist" and the "American Journal of Microscopy." Stiff Covers, - - - 25 cents. This is the first of a Series of ' Work Manuals," which are intended to be thoroughly trustworthy and practical. They are not mere reprints of old matter, but fresh presentations of valuable material, representing the latest developments of science. Every mechanic and householder will find the volume on Cements of almost everyday use. It contains nearly 200 recipes for the preparation of cements for almost every conceivable purpose. The Amateur's Hand-Book of Practical Information. For the Workshop and the Laboratory. Second Edition. Greatly Enlarged. Neatly Bound, - 15 cents. This is a handy little book, containing just the information needed by Amateurs in the Workshop and Laboratory. Directions for making Alloys, Fusible Metals, Cements, Glues, etc. ; and for Solder- ing, Brazing, Lacquering, Bronzing, Staining and Polishing Wood. Tempering Tools, Cutting and Working Glass, Varnishing, Silvering, Gilding, Preparing Skins, etc., etc. The New Edition contains extended directions for preparing PoiLsh- ing Powders, Freezing Mixtures, Colored Lights for tableaux, Solu- tions for rendering ladies' dresses incombustible, etc. There has also been added a very large number of new and valuable receipts. Five Hundred and Seven Mechanical Movements. Embracing all those which are Most Important in Dy- namics, Hydraulics, Hydrostatics, Pneumatics, Steam Engines, Mill and Other Gearing, Presses, Horology and Miscellaneous Machinery; and including Many Move- ments never before published, and several of which have only recently come into use. By Henry T. Brown, editor of the "American Artisan." Eleventh Edition. $1.00 This work is a perfect Cyclopaedia of Mechanical Inventions, which are here reduced to first principles, and classified so as to be readily available. Every mechanic that hopes to be more than a rule-of- thumb worker ought to have a copy. The Engineer's Slide Rule and Its Applications. A Complete Investigation of the Principles upon which the Slide Rule is Constructed, together with the Method of its Application to all the Purposes of the Pni-ti,-ai Mechanic. By William Toukes. - - 23 cents. Rhymes of Science : Wise and Otherwise. By O. W. Holmes, Bret Harte, Ingoklsby, Prof. Forbes, Prof. J. W. McQ. Raiikine, Hon. R. W. Raymond, and others. With Illustrations. Cloth, Gilt Title, 50 cents. We advise all our readers into whose souls the sunlight of fuu ever enters to purchase this little book. " Making light of cereous things " has been said, by a high authority, to be " &wicked profession." but tho genius which caii balance the ponderosity of an ichthyosaur upon tho ddieate point of a euphonious rhyme, or bear aloft a bulky lepto- rhyncus on the sparkling foam of a soul-stirring love ditty, is worthy worthy of a purchaser. Philadelphia Medical News. Instruction in the Art of Wood Engraving. A Manual of Instruction in the Art of Wood Engraving; with a Description of the Necessary Tools and API >arat us, and Concise Directions for their Use; Explanation of the Terms Used, and the Methods Employed for Pro- ducing the Various Classes of Wood Engravings. By S. E. Fuller. Fully Illustrated with Engravings by the author, separate sheets of engravings for transfer and practice being added. New Edition, N-atly Bound, .... 30 cents. What to Do in Case of Accident. What to Do and How to Do It in Case of Acrid. -nt. A Book for Everybody. 12 mo., Cloth, Gilt Title, 50 cents. This is one of the most useful books ever publishi-d. It t.-i what to do in case of a<--i.|,-!,ts. su.'ti as S.-vtv Cut*. Sprain*. l>M.-:i- tions, Broken Bones. Burns with Fire. Scalds. Hums with r,,iT,,-iv.! rh.-mi.-als, Sunstroke. Suffocation by Foul Air. Hanging. Drowning. Frost-Bite, Fainting, Stings. Bites. Starvation. Lightning. RoimM, Accidents from Machinery and from th- Falling of Scaffolding, (iun- shot Wounds, etc.. etc. It ought tofe in vry h-.ii.s.-. f,,r y.ung ami old are liable to accident, and the directions given in this book might be tho means of saving many a valuable life. A mew Book for Bee-Keepers. A Dictionary of Practical Apiculture, giving the correct mean- ing of nearly Five Hundred Terms, according to the usage of the best writers. Intended as a Guide to Uniformity of Ex- pression amongst Bee-Keepers. With Numerous Illustra- tions, Notes, and Practical Hints. By John Phin, Author of "How to Use the Microscope," etc. Editor of the "Young Scientist." Price, Cloth, Gilt, 50 cts. This work gives not only the correct meaning of five hunch-ed different words, specially used in bee-keeping, but an immense amount of valuable information under the different headings. The labor expended upon it has been very great, the definitions having been gathered from the mode in which the words are used by our best writers on bee-keeping, and from the Imperial, Richardson's, Skeat's, Webster's, Worcester's and other English Dictionaries. The technical information relating to matters connected with bee-keeping has been gathei-ed from the Technical Dictionaries of Brando, Muspratt, Ure, Wagner, Watts, and others. Under the heads Bee, Oamb, Glucose, Honey, Race, Species, Sugar, Wax and others, it brings together a large number of important facts and figures which are now scattered through our bee-literature, and through costly scientific works, and are not easily found when wanted. Here they can be referred to at once under the proper head. How to Become a Good Mechanic. Intended as a Practical Guide to Self-taught Men ; telling What to Study ; What Books to Use ; How to Begin ; What Difficulties will be Met; How to Overcome them. In a Avord, how to carry on such a Course of Self-instruction as will en- able the Young Mechanic to Else from the Bench to some- thing higher. Paper, -- - - - - -15 cts. This is not a book of " goody-goody " advice, neither is it an advertise- ment of any special system, nor docs it advocate any hobby. It gives plain, practical advice in regard to acquiring that knowledge which alone can enable a young man engaged in any profession or occupation connected witli the industrial arts to attain a position higher than that of a mere workman. The Horse. A Treatise on the Horse and his Diseases. By J. B. Kendall, M.D. 76 Engravings. Paper, 20 cts. A Treatise giving an index of diseases, and the symptoms; cause and treatment of each, a table giving all the principal drugs used for the horse, with the ordinary dose, effects and antidote when a poison ; a table with an engraving of the horse's teeth at different ages, with rules for telling the age of the horse; a valuable collection of recipes, and much valuable in- formation. Section Cutting. A Practical Guide to the Preparation and Mounting a. ^Sections for the Microscope ; Special Prominence being ^iven to the Subject of Animal Sections By Sylvester Jfarsh. Beprinted from the London edition. With Illustrations. 12mo., Cloth, Gilt Title. - 75 cents. This is undoubtedly the most thorough treatise extant; upon sectiot cutting in all its details. The American edition has been greatlj enlarged by valuable explanatory notes, and also by extended direc- tions, illustrated with engravings, for selecting and sharpening knives and razors. A Book for Beginners with the Microscope. Being an abridgment of " Practical Hints on the Selection and Use of the Microscope." By John Phin. Fully illus- trated, and neatly and strongly bound in boards. 30 cts. This book was prepared for the use of those who, having no know- ledge of the use of the microscope, or, indeed, of any scientific appar- atus, desire simple and practical instruction in the best methods ol managing the instrument and preparing objects. How to Use the Microscope. " Practical Hints on the Selection and Use of the Micro- scrope." Intended for Beginners. By John Phin, Editor of the "American Journal of Microscopy." Fourth Edition. Greatly enlarged, with over 80 engrav- ings in the text, and 6 full-page engravings, printed on heavy tint paper. 12mo., cloth, gilt title, - $1.00 The Microscope. By Andrew Boss. Fully Illustrated. 12mo., Cloth, Gilt Title. 75 cents. This is the celebrated article contributed by Andrew Roes to the "Penny Cyclopaedia," and quoted so frequently by writere on the Microscope. Carpenter and Hogg, in the last editions of their works on the Microscope, and Brooke, in his treatise on Natural Philoso- phy, all refer to this article as tho best source for full and H.-ar information in regard to the principles upon which tin- inl>Tii achromatic Microscope is constructed. It should he in the library of every person to whom the Microscope Is more than a toy. I*. It written in simole language, free from abstruse technicalltiee. The Microscopisfs Annual for 1879. Contains List of all the Microscopical Societies in the country, with names of officers, days of meeting, etc. ; etc. ; Alphabetical and Classified Lists of all the Manu- .foeturers of Microscopes and Objectives, Dissecting Ap- paratus, Microscopic Objects, Materials for Microscopists, in Europe and America, etc., etc. ; Postal Kates, Rules and Regulations, prepared expressly for microscopists ; Weights and Measures, with tables and rules for the con- version of different measures into each other; Custom Duties and Regulations in regard to Instruments and Books ; Value of the Moneys of all Countries in IT. S. Dollars ; Value of the Lines on Nobert's Test Plates ; Table of Moller's Probe Platte, with the number of lines to inch on the several diatoms, etc., etc. ; Focal Value of the Objectives of those makers who Number their Objectives (Hartnack, Nachet, etc.) ; Focal Value of the Eye-pieces of different makers; Magnifying Power of Eye-pieces and Objectives, etc., etc. The whole form- ing an indispensable companion for every working micro- scopist. Limp Cloth, Gilt 25 cent*. Microscope Objectives. The Angular Aperture of Microscope Objectives. By Dr. George E. Blackham. 8vo., Cloth. Eighteen full page illustrations printed on extra fine paper. $1.25. Sold only by Subscription. This is the elaborate paper on Angular Aperture, read by Dr. Blackham before the Microscopical Congress, held at Indianapolis, Kutzing on Diatoms. Nearly ready. The Siliceous Shelled Bacillarue or Diatornaceae ; the History of their Discovery and Classification ; their Dis- tribution, Collection, and Life-History. By Friedrich Traugott Kutzing. Translated from the German by Prof. Hamilton L. Smith, of Geneva, N. Y. 12mo., Cloth, Gilt, ... 50 cents. FOURTH EDITION. Greatly Enlarged, witk over 80 illustrations in the Ttxt aud(> full page Engravings, printed on Heavy Tint Paper. i Vol. \into., 240 p.tges. Neatly Bound in Cloth, Gilt Title. Price$i.ao. HOW TO USE THE MICROSCOPE. A SIMPLE AND PRACTICAL BOOK, INTENDED KOK BEGINNERS. BY JOHN PHIN, Editor of " The American Journal of Microscopy." CONDENSED TABLE OF CONTENTS. THE MICROSCOPE. What it Is; What it Does; Different Kinds of Microscopes; I'rinciples of its Construction ; Names of the Different Parts. SIMPLE MICROSCOPES. Hand Magnifiers; Doublets; Power of Two or More Lenses When Used Together; Stanhope Lens; Coddington Lens; Achromatic Doublets and Triplets ; Twenty-five Cent Microscopes and How to Make Them ; Penny Microscopes, to Show Eels in Paste and VTnegar. DISSECTING MICROSCOPES. Essentials of a Good Dissecting Microscope. COMPOUND MICROSCOPES. Cheap Foreign Stands; The Ross Model; The Jackson Model; The Continental Model; The New American Model; Cheap American Stands; The Binocular Microscope; The Binocular Eye-piece; The Inverted Micro- scope; Lithological Microscopes; The Aquarium Microscope; Microscopes for Special Purposes; "Class" Microscopes. OBJECTIVES. Defects of Common Lenses; Spherical Aberration; Chromatic do. ; Corrected Objectives: Defining Power ; Achromatism; Aberration r , Form ; Flatne.v. of Field; Angular Aperture; Penetrating Power : Working Distan e; Immersion and "Homogeneous" Lenses; Duplex Fronts; French Triplets, etc., fie. TESTING OBJECTIVES. General Rules; Accepted Standards Diatoms, Ruled Lines, Artificial Star; Podura; Nobert's Lines; Moller's Probe Platte, etc., etc. SELECTION OF A MICROSCOPE Must be Adapted to Requirements and Skill of User; Microscopes for Botany; For Physicians; For Students. ACCESSORY APPARATUS. Stage Forceps; Forceps Carrier; Plain Slides; Concave Slides; Watch- Glass Holder; Animalcule Cage; Zoophyte Trough: The Weber Slide; The Cell-Trough; The Compressorium ; Gravity Compressonum; Growing Slides; Frog Plate; Table; Double Nose-piece. ILLUMINATION. Sun-Light; Artificial Light Candles, Gas, Lamps, etc., etc. ILLUMINATION OF OPAQUE OBJECTS. Bulls-Eye Condenser; Side Reflector; The Lieberkuhn; The Parabolic Reflector; Vertical Illuminators. ILLUMINATION OF TRANSPARENT OBJECTS. Direct and Reflected Light; Axial or Central Ligb ; Oblique Light ; The Achromatic Condenser; The Webster Condenser, and How to Use i; Wenham's Reflex Illuminator, and How to Use it; TheWenham Prism; The "Half-Button;" The Woodward Illuminator; Tones' Illuminating Traverse Lens; The Spot Lens; The Parabolic Illuminator; Polarized Light. How TO USE THE MICROSCOPE. General Rules; Hints to Beginners. How TO USE OBJECTIVES OF LARGE APERTURE. Collar-Correction, etc. CARE OF THE MICROSCOPE. Should be Kept Covered; Care of Objectives: Pre- cautions to be Used when Corrosive Vapors and Liquids are Employed; To Protect ih Objectives from Vapors which Corrode Glass; Cleaning the Objectives; Cleaning th Brass Work, COLLECTING OBIECTS. Whereto Find Objects; What to Look for ; How to Capture Them. THE PREPARATION AND EXAMINATION OF OBJF.CTS. Cutting Thin Sections of Sof Substances; Valentine's Knife; Sections of Wood and Bone: Improved Section Cutter; Sections of Rock ; Knives; Scissors; Needles; Dissecting Pans and Dishes; Dissecting Microscopes; Separation of Deposits from Liquids; Preparing Whole Insects; Feet, Eye-, Tongues, Wings, etc., of Insects; Use of Chemical Tests: Liquid* for Moistening Objects; Refractive Powers of Different Liquids: lod-Serum ; Artifci* 1 ..od-Serum; Cover* for Keeping Out Dust; Errors in Microscopic Observations. PRESERVATIVE PROCESSES. General Principles; Preservative Media .APPARATUS FOR MOUNTING OUJKCTS. Slides; Covers; Cells; 1 urn-Tables, eu.. A CEMENTS AND VARNISHES. General Rules for Using. MOUNTING OBJECTS. Mounting Transparent Objects Dry: in Balsam: in Liquid* Whole Insects: How to Get Rid of Air-Bubbles: Mounting Opaque Objects. FINISHING THB SLIDES. Cabinets; Maltwood Finder ; Microscopical Fallaciev SUBSCRIPTION REDUCED TO $4.00. Forty -first Year of Eepublication! *F3BC3B London Lancet for 1885. A Monthly Journal of British and Foreign Medicine, Physiology, Surgery, Chemistry, Criticism, Literature and News. CONDUCTED BY JAMES G. WAKLEY, M.D., M.R.C.S. (Editor since 1855), and THOMAS H. WAKXEY, F.R.C.S. EF 1 The American Edition, a * n o \* published by the Industrial Publication < <.. contains EVERY- I 1 1 1 >< relating: to Medical Matters that appears in the original London edition. THE LANCET is the oldest and most Practical Medical Journal published in the English language, and is the national British organ of Science in its relations to the human frame. THE LANCET is edited by a corps of the most distinguished physicians of the British Metropolis, and numbers among its contributors the best medical and surgical talent of Europe. THE LANCET for 1882 will contain over 1200 double-column pages of closely printed matter, exclusive of the advertising sheets. The type is clear, and printed on iich reading he Atlantic. . ____, the Standard Journal of Medicine and Surgery. Illustrated with engravings by the best artists. printed matter, exclusive ot the advertising sheets. 1 he type is clear, and I the very best calendered book paper. Ourp^ges contain nearly twice as muc matter as any other monthly medical journal published on this side of the Every effort will be made to continue this Work, as it ever has been, the Subscription, if paid in Advance, $4.00 per year. If not Strictly in Advance $5.00 per year. Single numbers 40 cts, CLUB H.A.TES. Strictly in Advance. 2 copies, one year, --..... $ 7. 50 or $3.75 each 3 ' ... ... I0 . 5 o " 3.50 " 4 ....... i 3 .. 20 " 3-30 " J -.---- 16.00 " 3 20 " Send for our Enlarged Prospectus and Club Rates with other Journals. A speci- men copy will be sent on receipt of four three cent stamps. THE INDUSTRIAL PUBLICATION COMPANY, New York. JSTEW FOR Fret or Scroll Sawyers, MR. F. "f. HODGSON, whose admirable series of articles on the USE OF THE SCROLL SAW are now in course of publication in the YOUNG SCIENTIST, has pre- pared for us a series of * 1:1 i: VM: i: > of which the following is a list : No. i. This shows one side, back, and bottom, of a pen rack. It may be made of ebony, walnut, or other dark wood. No. 2. Design for inlaying drawer fronts, table tops, box lids, and many other things. It is a sumach leaf pattern. No. 3. Design (or a thermometer stand. It may be made of any hard wood or alabaster. The method of putting together is obvious. No. 4. This shows a design for a lamp screen. The open part may be covered "th tinted silk, or other suitable material, with some appropriate device worked on th the needle, or, if preferred, ornaments may be painted on the silk, etc. No. 5. A case for containing visiting cards. Will look best made of white holly. No. 6. A placque stand, it may be made of any kind of dark or medium wood. No. 7. A design for ornaments suitable for a window cornice. It should \x made of black walnut, and overlaid on some light colored hard wood. No. 8 A design for a jewel casket. This will l>e very pretty made of white holly and lined with blue velvet. It also looks well made of ebony lined with crimson. No. 9. Frame. Will look well made of any dark wood. No. 10. Frame. Intended to be made in pairs. Looks well made of white holly, with leaves and flowers painted on wide stile. No. ii. Horseshoe. Can be made of any kind of wood and used for a pen rack. When decorated with gold and colors, looks very handsome. No. 12. Design for a hinge strap. If made of black walnut, and planted on a white or oaken door, will look well. No. 13. Design for a napkin ring. May be made of any kind of hard w>-od. No. 14. Hinge strap for doors with narrow stiles No. 15. Centre ornament for panel. No. 16. Corner ornament for panel. No. 17. Key-hole escutcheon. These designs we have had photo-lithographed and printed on good paper, so that the outlines are sharp, and the opposite sides of each design symmetrical. Common designs are printed from coarse wooden blocks, and are rough and unequal, so thai it is often impossible to make good work from them. The series embraces over forty different pieces, and designs of equal quality camvot be had for less than five, ten or fifteen cents each. We offer them for twenty riv.- cents for the set, which is an average price of only one cent and a half each. Mailed to any address on receipt of price. INDUSTRIAL PUBLICATION CO., New York. REDUCED FIGURES OF NEW DESIGNS FOR FRET OR SCROLL SAWYERS. SIZE OF SHEETS 28 BY 22 INCHES. \For description see preceding page.) TM 5670 H6? THE LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Santa Barbara THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE STAMPED BELOW. A 000 588 286 5