Lost Art Press

Surrey Larcenies &c.

Posted on by fitz

stolen_saw300. Edward Turner was indicted for stealing, on the 4th of November, 1 saw, value 1l. 7s., the goods of William Beal, and that he had been before convicted of felony.

William Beal. I am a sawyer, and live at Mr. Langton’s timber-yard, Narrow-wall. I lost a saw, on the 4th of November, from that yard—I was at work with it all that evening—I left it under the roof of the sawpit—I returned the next morning, as soon as it was light, and missed it— I found it at the pawnbroker’s—I do not know the prisoner—this is the saw—it cost me 29s. when new.

Henry Garrod. I live at No. 51, Charlotte-terrace, Lambeth. On the 4th of November, I took this saw in pledge from the prisoner, in the name of James Turner—I am sure it was James.

William Turner. I was standing before Mr. Hickinbotham’s shop, on the 4th of November, and saw the prisoner take the saw to pawn—I am no relation of his.

Stephen Warley, (police-constable L 121.) I took the prisoner into custody, and produce the saw.

William Driver. I am a cooper, and was a constable. I produce a certificate of the prisoner’s former conviction, which I got from Mr. Lawson’s, the clerk of the peace for Surrey—the prisoner is the man (read.)

Prisoner’s Defence. I pledged the saw and a copper glue-pot—on the 6th I went to get it out, and I had not got sufficient money—this is the ticket he gave me—he put a wrong name on my ticket—I had not sufficient money to get the things out, and left some articles for them— this is the hand-writing on the ticket.

GUILTY. Aged 22.—Transported for Fourteen Years.

Taken in short-hand by Henry Buckler.

Central Criminal Court. Minutes of Evidence Vol. III – 1836

—Jeff Burks

Observations from Indostan

Posted on by fitz

india_sawyers

The muſcular ſtrength of the Indian is ſtill leſs than might be expected from the appearance of the texture of his frame. Two Engliſh ſawyers have performed in one day the work of thirty-two Indians: allowances made for the difference of dexterity, and the advantage of European inſtruments, the diſparity is ſtill very great; and would have been more, had the Indian been obliged to have worked with the inſtrument of the European, as he would ſcarcely have been able to have wielded it.

As much as the labourer in Indoſtan is deficient in the capacity of exerting a great deal of ſtrength at an onſet, ſo is he endowed with a certain ſuppleneſs throughout all his frame, which enables him to work long in his own degree of labour; and which renders thoſe contortions and poſtures, which would cramp the inhabitant of northern regions, no conſtraint to him. There are not more extraordinary tumblers in the world. Their meſſengers will go fifty miles a day, for twenty or thirty days without intermiſſion. Their infantry march faſter, and with leſs wearineſs, than Europeans; but could not march at all, if they were to carry the ſame baggage and accoutrements.

Robert Orme

Historical Fragments of the Mogul Empire of the Morattores, and of the English Concerns in Indostan – 1805

(more…)

Rambles in the Woodland

Posted on by fitz

the_woods_in_autumn

As, in talking over these matters, we had generally been guided rather by objects that happened to lie before us than by any regular and arranged plan, such as would be adopted in a book, we did not think it needful to continue any part of our subject longer than it seemed useful and interesting to the young people; and when anything a little different from the matter in hand came in our way, we noticed it in the best manner we could; and we often found the attention relieved by so doing.

It chanced, as we were walking in the Forest, and before any regular conversation had commenced, that we came to a spot where a number of men were busily employed in felling a large tree; and we were led, from this incident, to turn our attention to the subject of Work In The Woods and the Management of Timber Logs.
(more…)

Holtzapffel on Pit Sawing

Posted on by fitz

01_book_of_trade_1806

The long saw, pit saw, or whip saw, which follows in the table, is also the next saw that is commonly applied to the piece of timber, which is then placed over the saw-pit, in order that the saw may he used in the vertical position by two men, called respectively the top-man and the pit-man, the former of whom stands upon the piece of timber about to be sawn.

The positions of the men are highly favourable, as they can give the saw a nearly perpendicular traverse of three or four feet; and in the up or return stroke, the saw is removed a few inches from the end of the saw cut, to avoid blunting the teeth, and to allow the sawdust free escape.
(more…)

The Great Handsaw Contest of Los Angeles County

Posted on by Lost Art Press

mikeandRonHerman

Helpful people are starting to point out the senior discounts to me, and the AARP cards coming in the mail are reminding me of the first time I was a senior back at Venice High School. Go Gondos! This was back when there were still woodshops in high schools. We actually had two woodshops, you heard me, two woodshops! We had a great shop teacher, Mr. Francis. He was knowledgeable and a nice guy with a good sense of humor. He understood that not everyone wanted to be in school; some students had drug businesses to run, while others, lacking the entrepreneurial spirit, were just waiting to be old enough so they would not be forced by the state to attend. Mr. Francis graded on a points system; do your clean-up everyday and you could get a “D” in the class, pick up a couple of shop jobs and you had a “C.” This meant you didn’t have to interrupt your domino game to do woodworking and left the rest of the shop open to those of us who did.

The powers that be had decided it was time to replace all of the benchtops at the school with new ones. This left a pile of old planks waiting to be used for something, and Mr. Francis, Johnny on the spot, decided that an all-woodshop sawing contest was in order. The offending pieces of wood were clamped firmly in a vise and the students began sawing them up into smaller pieces and timing their efforts. (Do you see the beginnings of a Hand Tool Olympics here?). By the time my fourth-period shop class rolled around the pile of planks was considerably smaller and the pile of scraps considerably larger. The saws in the tool cabinet all now resembled corkscrews or twisty mountain roads, but it was time to step up! I had been sawing wood with handsaws for some time before this great event and had some knowledge of how it was done. Most of the students held the belief that saws with great big teeth would surely cut faster so the ripsaws were in rough shape, the crosscut saws with their smaller teeth would obviously be less effective, and so a couple of them had been largely left alone and were more or less usable. I straightened one out over the corner of a bench, found a block of paraffin and lubed the blade and prepared to make my mark on the world of high school sporting events by cutting the previous best time, and the plank, in half. By the end of the day, all of the saws were in rough shape, all of the planks were scraps and I was mockingly called Paul Bunyan due to my Minnesota heritage.

It has been a downhill slide since my glory days of high school. I am still straightening saws, but now I also have to clean off the rust and sharpen them.

Good night Mr. Francis wherever you are!

— Mike Siemsen, Mike Siemsen School of Woodworking

Editor’s note: Mike’s forthcoming DVD, “The Naked Woodworker,” is edited and is with Ben Strano to clean up some audio hums and pops. Look for it in July.