work. In the matter of the adjustment of the tool, as well as in all
other operations referred to, experiment is recommended as the best
means of gaining valuable knowledge in the matter of turning metals.


ROTARY CUTTERS.

The saving of files, time, materials, and patience, by the employment
of such rotary cutters as may be profitably used in connection with a
foot lathe, can hardly be appreciated by one who has never attempted
to use this class of tools. It is astonishing how much very hard labor
may be saved by means of a small circular saw like that shown in Fig.
1. This tool, like many others described in this series of articles,
can, in most instances, be purchased cheaper than it can be made, and
the chances are in favor of its being a more perfect article. However,
it is not so difficult to make as one might suppose. A piece of sheet
steel may be chucked upon the face plate, or on a wooden block
attached to the face plate, where it may be bored to fit the saw
mandrel, and cut in circular form by means of a suitable hand tool. It
may then be placed upon the mandrel and turned true, and it is well
enough to make it a little thinner in the middle than at the
periphery.

[Illustration: Rotary Cutting Tools.]

There are several methods of forming the teeth on a circular saw. It
may be spaced and filed, or it may be knurled, as shown in Fig. 2, and
then filed, leaving every third or fourth tooth formed by the knurl,
or it may, for some purposes, be knurled and not filed at all. Another
way of forming the teeth is to employ a hub, something like that used