C54

THEORY OF ARCHITECTURE. Book II.

however, appears to be between 2,500 and 3,
.'500 revolutions per minute. A higher
vulocity beats tlie bearinj^s, dtstroys tlie balance, and causes injurious vibrations. To pro-
duce a good result the travel of the work should be very slow relatively to the travel of the
cutters. In some of the planing machines the cutters revolve with a velocity of 7,000
feet per minute, while the work advances at the rate of only 30 feet, but as a general rule
tlie work travels about Ti^th
of an inch for each stroke of the cutters. To withstand
this high velocity the framing of the machine requires to be perfectly constructed,
the bearings made of a hard alloy, and precautions taken for obviating the wear of them,
Ni'wlands' work gives illustrations and detailed descriptions of some of the machinery.
2l'2i(l. Mention must be made of Jordan's patent wood and stone carving machine, invented about
3843, and worked by Pratt iu 1845 to 18.50 on a large scale. It roughed out the material actording to
the design, leaving but little lahour to be received from the hands of the carrer. Moulded work has also
been obtained by applying red-bot irou moulds to the wood, and so charring off the superfluous wood.
Tiiis system is probably cheap, but the work is flat and spiritless. Carved panels for doors, consisting of
a thin veneer of wood on a layer of pulp, the whole pressed iu moulds, is put forward by the Decorative
Wood Company, and has a good appearance.
2124e. The introduction from New York, Sweden, and other places, of prepared flooring, readj'-made
doors and machine worked mouldings, out of well seasoned pine, is of great ad\antaj,e for cheap houses
in the neighbourhood of large centres of population.
2125. In joiners' worK executed during the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries, the wood has
neither warped, split, nor shrunk in the tenons and at other join;s. Tins excellence is
ascribed to the practice of seasoning the wood for at least six years after it was sawn, by
first leaving it in datnp places or even in water, and then stacking it in open piles under
cover, when it was often turned and sometimes smoked; after such treatment the wood,
when worked, has a tendency to acquire the appearance of Florentine bronze.
2
1
'25a. .A.S very old timber is likely to show shakes ana to be worm-eaten, the mediaeval
joiners felled oak from two to three hundred years old; i.e
,
timber which, at a yard from
the ground, measured from 66 or 72 to I'JO or 126
inches in girt without the albumen, and commenced
its conversion by marking it with one diameter cross-
ing another at right angles. The cuts on these lines
having been made, the quarters were sawn in vari-
ous ways, regard being bad, as much as possible,
to the texture of the wood. An unseasoned log of
oak splits as shown at A,
Jig.
739a. because the inner
concentric circles are harder and more compact than
the outer ones
;
therefore the latter, being the most
extensive in surface as well as the most porous, con-
tain a greater quantity of moisture, and shrink more
than tlie inner ones in drying, thus causing splits or
shakes leading to the centre. If timber be converted
without regard to this result of dryness, the stuff will
not only split, but will be so affected by changes of
"'*'"'""
weather as to twist. If the cuts be made in lines
converging, or even tending to the centre, the stuff may shrink in width but will neither
split nor warp. Although oak is formed like other exogenous trees by a succession of
layers, these are united and solidified in this particular wood by the medullary rays which
form a sort of natural dowel.
2I25t. The best method ofconverting oak for the use of the joiner is shown at
^,fg.
739a.,
in which there is no waste, as the triangular portions form featiier-edged laths for tiling
and otlier purposes. The next best method is that at C; that at D is inferior; but the
most economical method, where thickness is required, as for |)lanks or for moulded work,
is that marked E. Tlie resemblance to a watered silk, which is sometimes called the
feather, or flower, or curl, or pattern, of wainscot, is due to the medullary rays, which
show most vviien the saw follows the chink-grain as in B
;
in C and D the silky appear-
ance does not exist, as most of the rays are cut across
;
very slight examination will show
which course lias been followed, especially in the case of the quarter-grain stuff produced
by the method E. It is probable that the cross-cuts will follow the line of a layer, called
the felt-grain, in the plan marked B,
which is that adopted in Holland on timber furnished
in great part from Champagne (whe.ce, simply, the superiority of Dutch wainscot), and
in ail cases of split oak for lathing and for park paling.
(
Viollet-le-Duc).
2I25e- The wood principally used for joinery is of tinee sorts, pine, and white and
yellow deal ;
the two first for panelling, and the last for framing. Of late years much
American wood has been used, both for panels and frames. It works easily, is soft, free
from knots, but more liable to warp than white deal. But joinery is not of course limited
to the use of a particular sort of wood. Wiien the exporter cuts a log, the first thing done is
to get one good deal or more for the London market
;
the residue is then converted to
supply other maikets. Many deals 3 inches thick are sent to France, perhaps as large a
pro{)ortion as those of 2 inch and
1;|
inch, but they are not of so good a description as
those sent to Loudon, France is the great mart for all deals that will not suit tlic London