Practical Mechanics for Boys | Page 4

make this a leading text in the presentation of this book; namely, that
individual merit and stimulus is something of such extreme importance
that it should be made the keynote for every boy who tries to become a
mechanic.
The machinist easily occupies a leading place in the multitude of trades
and occupations. There is hardly an article of use but comes to the
market through his hands. His labor is most diverse, and in his
employment doing machine work he is called upon to do things which
vary widely in their character.
These require special knowledge, particular tools, and more frequently
than otherwise, a high order of inventive ability to enable him to
accomplish the task.
The boy should be taught, at the outset, that certain things must be
learned thoroughly, and that habits in a machine shop can be bad as
well as good. When he once becomes accustomed to putting a tool back
in its rightful place the moment he is through with it, he has taken a
long step toward efficiency.
When he grasps a tool and presents it to the work without turning it
over several times, or has acquired the knack of picking up the right
tool at the proper place, he is making strides in the direction of
becoming a rapid and skilled workman.
These, and many other things of like import, will require our attention
throughout the various chapters.
It is not the intention of the book to make every boy who reads and
studies it, a machinist; nor have we any desire to present a lot of useful
articles as samples of what to make. The object is to show the boy what
are the requirements necessary to make him a machinist; how to hold,
handle, sharpen and grind the various tools; the proper ones to use for
each particular character of work; how the various machines are
handled and cared for; the best materials to use; and suggest the

numerous things which can be done in a shop which will pave the way
for making his work pleasant as well as profitable.
It also analyzes the manner in which the job is laid out; how to set the
tools to get the most effective work; and explains what is meant by
making a finished piece of workmanship. These things, properly
acquired, each must determine in his own mind whether he is adapted
to follow up the work.
Over and above all, we shall try to give the boy some stimulus for his
work. Unless he takes an interest in what he is doing, he will never
become an artisan in the true sense of the word.
Go through the book, and see whether, here and there, you do not get
some glimpses of what it means to take a pleasure in doing each
particular thing, and you will find in every instance that it is a
satisfaction because you have learned to perform it with ease.
I do not know of anything which has done as much to advance the arts
and manufactures, during the last century, as the universal desire to
improve the form, shape and structure of tools; and the effort to invent
new ones. This finds its reflection everywhere in the production of new
and improved products.
In this particular I have been led to formulate a homely sentence which
expresses the idea: Invention consists in doing an old thing a new way;
or a new thing any way.
THE AUTHOR.
CHAPTER I
ON TOOLS GENERALLY
Judging from the favorable comments of educators, on the general
arrangement of the subject matter in the work on "Carpentry for Boys,"
I am disposed to follow that plan in this book in so far as it pertains to
tools.

In this field, as in "Carpentry," I do not find any guide which is adapted
to teach the boy the fundamentals of mechanics. Writers usually
overlook the fact, that as the boy knows nothing whatever about the
subject, he could not be expected to know anything about tools.
To describe them gives a start in the education, but it is far short of
what is necessary for one in his condition. If he is told that the chisel or
bit for a lathe has a diamond point, or is round-nosed, and must be
ground at a certain angle, he naturally wants to know, as all boys do,
why it should be at that angle.
So in the setting of the tools with relation to the work, the holding and
manipulation of the file, of the drill for accurate boring, together with
numerous little things, are all taken for granted, and the boy blunders
along with the ultimate object in sight, without having the pathway
cleared so he may readily reach the goal.
VARIED