C.Ar. III.

CARPENTRY. 615
Sect. IV.
CARPENTRY.
2003. Carpentry is tlie science of framing or letting into eacli oilier an assemblage of
pieces of timber, as are those of a roof, floor, centre, &c. It is distinguished from joinery
in being effected solely by tlie use of the are, the adze, tlie saw, and the chisel, whicli are
the carpenter's tools ; whereas joinery requires the use of the plwie. See 2102. et seq.
2001. Though necessarily of high antiquity, tlie very scanty information which Pliny
and Vitruvius have left us on the subject would merely show that the science was knowii
by the ancients. The roofs of Egypt present us with no more than flat coverings of massy
stone; a pediment roof, therefore, would seem to have been ainong the first efforts of con-
structive carpentry ; and upon the pitch which this, then and since, has received in different
ountries, we shall hereafter have to speak. The Greeks appear to have used carpentry in
the construction of tlieir floors and some other purposes
;
but in a country abounding itli
stone and marble, it is not likely that wood was much used in the interiors of their build-
ings, unless where lightness, as in doors, for instance, required its empl yment. With the
Romans it was much more commonly used; and from all that can be gathered, we may
consider them as the fathers of the science.
2005. Amo.'.g the moderns it has l)een very successfully cultivated ; and, with very few
exceptions, we may almost assert that the works of Palladio, Serlio, De Lorme, Sir
Ciiristoplier Wren, Perronet, and a t'aw others, exiiibit specimens which have scarcely been
siir(.assed in later times, notwitl'istanding the scientific form it has assumed in the present age.
2006. To the mechanical principles of carpentry we have, in Chap. I. Sect X. of this
book, directed the attentiun of the student
;
and to the section now under our (jen wo
should have added the words Descrijttire and Practical to Carpentry, but that mtic.i of
wiiat could have been said on that he.id has already been anticipated in the section on
Descriptive Geometry. Hence, in what follows, that which comes imder such pred cainent
will be only given in particular cases, for the purpose of saving time and tremble to tlie
reader in the application of its principles to them. We must, here, also reiiind the reader,
that under the section Reams, &c., and Timber, have been described the diH'erent sorts of
timber used for building purposes, their strengths, and the strains to which they are
subject and which they are capable of resisting ; and that therefore this section is confined
simply to putting pieces of timber together, so as to form the assemblage of timbers under
which we have commenced by deflning the science. 'l"o do that properly requires great
gkill and much thought. Considerable waste, and consequent expense to the architect's
employer, result from that ignorance which assigns to the scantlings of timber larger
dimensions than are absolutely necessary for the office of ench piece ; insufficient scantlings
will bring the architect into trouble and responsibility
;
and the improper connection of
the pieces will be equally ruinous to his reputation. The princijiles of practical carpentry
are, nevertheless, simple ; and though to form new combinations and hazard bold and
untried experiments in practice will require all the skill and science of a talented artist, the
ordinary routine of carpentering is to be learnt by a little application and a due exercise
of common sense.
2007. After these observations, we must introduce the student to the first operation
which in practice may arise. It is not every where that timber can be obtained in suf-
ficient lengths to stretch across the void he has to cover ; and it will in such cases be
necessary for him to know how one piece of timber may be .so joined to another, for tin;
purpose of lengthening it, that the two pieces, when joined, may be as nearly as possible
eipial in strength to one whole piece of timber of the same dimensions and length. This
operation is of great service to the builder, and is technically called satrjing. To perform
it, the joints are indented, and bolts are passed through the pieces within the length of the
indents, such bolts being confined above and below by means of nuts and screws. In
fi'j.
6-;.'?. four ways are
exhibited of accom-
plishing the object in
(juestion. AandBare
the methods usually
employed for joining
,
: r
1
1
r^ 1
D
rr-' 1
A^
!
together jilates, lintels,
i.-,j, i;i;i
and ties, in which bolts
are rarely necessary; but if such a method is used for scarfing beams, bolts must be em-
ployed. The stronger forms, whicli only should be used for beams, shown in C and D, are
not only in that reK])eet such as should, on that account, be used for beams, but are exe-
cuted without loss of length in the ])ieces of timber. The length of the joints of tiie
scarfing may be increased at ])lcasure ;
the diagrams are merely given to show the mode
of doing u hat was re<juired. With fir, however, when bolts are used, about four times