TILE#10 October 27th - TOOLING AND LEARNING

Once inside the workshop Timmy immediately thought that it was everything he'd ever wished for and never expected to find. In fact it was a lot more than he ever imagined since it was filled with tools and machines many of which he'd never seen before, such as a pole lathe set up for turning small pieces no longer than a yard.

"I've heard tell of the chair bodgers using such machines but they hide out in the forest to keep their secrets and protect their source of timber and withies. That's a right clever mechanism with that treadle to power it, I'd like to learn how to use it and I see you have something similar for drilling over there. I mostly used a brace and bit when working on ship carpentry as the timbers are hard oak and a regular drill bit won't even make a mark on one.

It's all the ship work that taught me how to understand the sort of mechanism that can be adapted for playthings and the different types of timber and their properties, use the right sort of treenail or trunnel for joinery and you'll never get the pieces apart again. Mortise and tenon and dovetail joints are mostly what I used for cabinetry but carpentry usus the heaviest timbers and you use what you can get. A sailor at sea in a storm with a sprung plank doesn't have time to be making proper trunnels, he'll use a lashing, bronze pins or even iron nails if need be."

The boy's a walking reference manual of tools and techniques thought George as he listened to Timmy's happy chatter. He'd obviously kept eyes and ears alert as he ran from one Citadel business to the next and acquired more than a smattering of the various specialised tools and processes used by mechanicians, foundrymen, tanners, printers, coopers and many others besides.

Between themselves Timmy and George informed, amused and educated each other throughout the morning until 1'o'clock. A lunchtime meal of pasties and tea, was brought to them by an arrangement of Charles with Peggy the pie lady, and barely noticed as the two fellow innovators learned what could be done with George's fresh ideas or Timmy's sketches. Plans were drawn up to facilitate setting up certain specialised processes, such as casting eutectic or white metal mixtures.

All too soon five'o'clock arrived and the works needed to be closed down for the day but George wouldn't let Timmy linger and shooed him off back to the Hodson's cottage with the parting words, "You'll be in trouble if you're late for dinner my boy! Let me do the shutters and lock up for the night and I'll see you tomorrow."