Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1867-11-07
5}lisfellaueuns Artitles.
THE JAPANEsE AND THEIR TOOLS.

Miatemat1eo11s Art1fles.
THE JAPANESE AND THEIR TOOLS.
The Japanese calling themselves the Ha
ya-ta kee troupe are fitting up the stage of
the Metropolitan Theatre in the similitude
of Japanese temple, for the exhibition of
their feats of strength and legerdemain.-
They are said to be all of one family, and
the very carpenters who are doing the joiner
work are, members of that family. Japan
ese carpenters have an advantage over Amer
ican mechanics, in the fact that they have
four hands instead Of two, their toes being
handy as their fingers. But they gain moth
/ ing by it, because they make no use of work
benches or vices. If a Japanese carpenter
wants to sharpen saw, he squats on his
hams, places the back Of the tool to be op-
Grated on the ground, grips one end of the
saw with his left hand, seizes the other with
the toes of his right foot, and goes to work
with as much confidence as Yankee car
penter at bench. Their tools are not like
American tools, though they have faint
similarity, showing that all tools have one
common parentsge, whether their inventor
was Tubal Cain or some other officer. All
Japanese saws are shaped like butchers
cleavers. The handle is like the handle of
q cleaver, but Aattish, as if whitfield out of
piece of inch board, the metal shank of
the saw is driven into that handle, and the
whole is secured by being wrapped with
fine split cane. The metal Of the saw is
about the substance of our saws, but the
teeth are narrower, giving more of them to
an inch, and much longer. They are all
pointed towards the handle and cut the
wood like so many hooks. When Japanese
wants to rip plank, he places it across any
thing which will elevate the end a few
inches, then stands on the wood and cuts
lit by selling the cleaver-l looking saw in
both hands and pulling it towards him.
Thus, by number of short, quick, up
strokes, he gets through plank not so
speedily, but quite as effectively us an A.
merican carpenter would with the long,
slow, down stroke of the rip saw. The
planes are small, with single irons, no han
dies. The planes are shorter, lighter, and
the wood shallower than ours, being gener-
ally not more than an inch deep. To plane
o piece of wood they lay it on the
ground, squat on their hams, hold it fast
with their toes, and work the plane with
both hands towards them. To drill hole
they have short awl, inserted in the end
of round stick eight or ten inches long.
They take the wood between their toes,
squat as before, and make the hole by rub
bing the handle of the awl between their
hands in less time than one of our capen-
ters could drill one with a gimblet. Their
hammers are solid cylindrical pieces, mot
made shapely with waists and graceful OUT
line like ours. They have the same fatsi-
ded handles as the saws. The Japs have
iron squares, not unlike American squares,
marked with degrees. Their measures are
brass, very light, and futed. On one side
the inch, or what stands for the inch with
us, is 3-16 inches, and divided into ten
parts. On the other side is a different scale,
measuring 1 1916 inches, and divided into
twelve parts. Some of their tools appear
to be mere children's toys; for instance,
they have smoothing plane q inches long,
inch broad and half an inch thick. Their
chissels are light and small. The cutting
parts of some are the size and shape of a
section of half dollar the square side
being the cutting edge, and round metal
shaft connecting the convex side with a
wooden handle. The most ingenious article
in their tool chest is chalk line. 1t is a
wooden cup containing o spongy substance
stepped in Indian ink. This is pierced
front and back the marking line passes
through it. The end of the line is attached
to small awl; the other end of the line
after passing through the cup, is wound
round reel not unlike fishing rod reel,
which takes the place of the handle Of the
cup. To mark line down plank, the
Japenese carpenter sticks the awl in at one
end of the proposed line, carries the cup to
the other, the line paying itself out as he
does so he holds the line down to the board
when he reaches the desired spot, strikes
the mark, and then takes up his cup and
reels up the line as he walks back to the
spot where he inserted the awl. The pro.
cess of paying out the line and of reeling
it up again both draw it through the ink
supply in the cup and keep it ready for &C,
tion.-San Francisco Bulletin. .