THE TURNER.

Turning is a very ingenious business.The turning-lathe was well known to the ancients, and the art of turning was carried by them to a great degree of perfection ; at least many of the ancient writers tell us so, and amongst others Pliny, who says, that vessels of the most valuable kind were tunned, and enriched with figures and ornaments, some of which are still to be found in the cabinets of
the curious.

The art of turning is of great importance in a variety of trades and occupations, both useful and ornamental. The architect uses it for
the ornaments both within and without highly-finished houses, and the mechanist Mid natural philosopher have recourse to it not only to embellish their instruments, but to adapt them to their different uses.

There are various kinds of lathes ; that represented in the plate is as useful for small work as any. Some require the aid of one or two men to turn the wheel ; but in this the wheel is turned by means of the treadle, by the same man who is employed in turning the wood. The thing to be turned is fixed on the lengthened axis of the smaller wheel, and upon the prop or rest, the chisel or other cutting instrument is supported ; and being brought to touch the wood while it is swiftly turning round, it takes off shavings to the greatest nicety.

The piece to be turned should be rounded before it is put in the lathe ; either with a small hatchet, or with a plane, &c shaving it down till it is every where nearly of equal thickness, leaving it a little larger than it is intended to be when finished off.

The young turner should endeavour to acquire a complete management of the gouge and chisel, which are the instruments by far
the most frequently used, and the most necessary in this art ; by them, of course of different sizes, almost all the soft woods are worked, and as to the harder materials, as box, ebony, ivory, &c. tbey are scarcely ever turned, except by shaving off. In that case gravers are used, with square, round, or triangular ends, These should be held horizontally while applied to the wood but the gouge and chisel must be used obliquely.

When the work is completely turned, it is next to be polished. Soft woods, as the pear tree, the hazel, and the maple, may be
polished , with fish skin or Dutch rushes. Fish skin, which is the skin of the shark, is always much better after it has been used, because, in its natural state, it is too rough to bring work to a proper degree of polish. The oldest plants of the Dutch rush are the best; but before they are used, they must be moistened with water. When the work is finished in this way, it is to be rubbed up with a little wax or olive oil. Ivory, horn, silver, and brass, are polished with pumice-stone, finely pounded and put upon leather. Different methods, and different substances, are made use of for this purpose by different workmen.

According to Dr. Paley, not a man in a million knows how an oval frame is turned : it may be thus made : take two ovals of metals,
exactly of the size of the oval wanted, fix them firmly on the spindle of the lathe, so as to turn round with it : fix between them the wood to be turned, and then it is readily cut with chisels or other tools, as the lathe goes into exactly the figure of the external ovals.

In fixing a lathe, great care should be taken that it be placed in a light situation, near the window, and neither so low as to oblige the
workman to stoop, in order to see his work, nor so high that the chips should come in his eyes.

The lathe to which we have referred, is such as is commonly employed by wood-turners, for whose use it is well adapted, but for turning metal an iron lathe is best ; it is sometimes constructed in the same form as a wooden one, only differing in the size of the parts, which are of cast-iron ; but this form is unwieldy, when applied to delicate and accurate work, such as is required by mechanics, clock-makers, &c. ; for their use the triangle bar lathe is admirably adapted, as it is also for gentlemen, who make this interesting art an amusement, being the most accurate and convenient of any kind of lathe. But we must refer to larger works, for a minute description of this useful machine.

Ivory is much used by the turner ; for a short account of which, and of the methods of dyeing it of different colours, we refer the reader to the article Comb-maker.

A journeyman in this business may earn a guinea and a half a week ; and those who work toys and smaller articles, much more. The lathes used in the nicer sorts of turning are very expensive, consequently the stock of a master is valuable; and no lad should be
brought up to the trade who has not something of a mechanical genius, because there is an almost endless variety in the trinkets made for sale, as may be seen in any large retail shop window.