Handbook in Woodwork and Carpentry for Teachers and Normal Schools by Charles A. King addresses the work of teaching a craft as well as the objects a student might make. Published by the American Book Company with a 1911 copyright, it belongs to King’s series on woodwork and carpentry. The title page names him as director of manual training at Eastern High School in Bay City, Michigan.
The teacher’s side of woodworking
The preface identifies this volume as a reference for teachers of manual training, woodwork and carpentry, including normal-school students preparing to teach those subjects. It offers suggestions for equipment and courses, discusses classroom difficulties and proposes ways of responding to them. Its audience is therefore broader than someone seeking instructions for a single project.
King distinguishes manual training from trade instruction while allowing some teaching principles to serve both. He cautions that parts of the discussion apply specifically to carpentry and joinery. That distinction helps the reader understand why a course for general education may organize work differently from a course preparing a worker for building practice.
The opening chapter considers exercises in joints, the value of larger models, the sequence in which tools are introduced and the importance assigned to the finished model. King treats the model as a means of developing the learner’s thought and skill. The educational purpose should guide the choice of work rather than be lost in judging the object alone.
Individual progress and classroom decisions
Further teaching hints concern individual work, new tools, gluing, discipline, selection of models, working drawings and stock cutting. The subjects show how closely teaching depends on arranging the conditions of work. A sound exercise can become less useful if the stock is poorly prepared or if the learner cannot connect the drawing with the task.
The carpentry and joinery chapter expands into construction, framing, shingling, arithmetic, the steel square, use of tools, smoothing, finishing and estimating. King connects practical work with the calculations and planning that support it. His estimating discussion, for example, recommends studying a small house and comparing students’ quantities with the actual information available.
These pages are useful to readers studying craft education because they preserve everyday teaching decisions. They address how a class progresses, how differences among pupils are handled and how work can be related to more complete construction problems.
Equipment, supplies and course planning
A separate chapter considers the equipment of a woodworking room. It includes economical equipment, comparison and care of tools, supplies and lists of equipment. The discussion recognizes that a school shop has to work within available resources while keeping tools accessible and serviceable.
One equipment list is arranged for twenty-four students. It includes benches, tool storage and individual tool outfits, with distinctions for more mature carpentry students. Such lists are historical records of a teaching shop, useful for understanding how space, storage and shared tools supported the course.
The suggested-course chapter then considers grading exercises, the time needed, outlines, research, written exercises and manual-training courses. King does not present one sequence as universally suitable. His preface explains that classroom circumstances differ, and the model sketches are intended as suggestions that may be adapted in dimension or difficulty.
Illustrated models and teaching notes
The largest practical section pairs special teaching hints with suggested designs. Its range includes a plant label, key tag, wedge, flower stick, pencil sharpener, silk winder, fish-line winder, hatrack and table mat. Larger examples include shelves, racks, a chest, a cutting board, a foot rest and tables.
The directions identify new subjects, stock preparation, making the model and tendencies that may need correction. This format gives a teacher more than a finished drawing. It connects the object with the operation being taught and with the errors likely to appear while students learn it.
The closing chapter supplies answers to arithmetic questions in King’s Elements of Construction. This makes the handbook a companion to the wider series, while its teaching discussions and model suggestions remain understandable as a separate volume.
Audience and practical relevance
This free ebook suits woodworking instructors, historians of education and readers planning a thoughtful progression of hand-tool exercises. Its self-sufficiency value lies in developing the ability to teach and organize practical work. The school arrangements and tool practices are historical and should be compared with current instruction before use. The PDF contains page images without searchable text, so the contents and model headings provide the principal navigation.
Book details
- Author: Charles A. King
- Publisher: American Book Company, New York, Cincinnati and Chicago
- Year: 1911
- Edition: No numbered edition stated; 1911 copyright
- Digital length: 144 PDF pages
- Language: English
- File size: 3.87 MB
