THE CHISEL.--The use of the chisel is to cut square or sharp-cornered holes in wood, especially mortices. A _mortice_ is the hole cut in a post or other piece of wood, in which another piece of wood cut to fit it, called a _tenon_, is put. The tenon and mortice should both be cut exactly, and so that they fit at right angles, firmly and securely. Tenons and mortices are of perpetual use in carpentering, and the young carpenter should learn as quickly as possible to make them. THE MALLET is to be used instead of the hammer for a variety of purposes. In cutting mortices, it is the mallet and not the hammer that is used, and in almost all cases where the chisel is employed, the mallet should be used. Were we to use a hammer to knock the end of the chisel, we should soon split its handle, or so bruise it, as to make it unservicable. THE GIMLET AND BRADAWL.--The gimlet is used to bore awls with, so that nails when they are driven in may not split the wood. Bradawls are used for the same purpose, before smaller nails, called _brads_, are put in. A bradawl is sometimes called a nail-piercer. There is a thread gimlet now come into use, but this requires much care in handling: it must be very gently put in, and very gently taken out, or it will snap like a piece of glass; but it is a very useful tool, and is a great improvement upon the old gimlet. PINCERS AND PLYERS.--Pincers are used to take loose nails out of wood, to wrench off staples, or other things that have been attached to wood. Plyers are a smaller kind of pincers, and are used for small work in the same way. They are very useful tools, and it is impossible to do without them. [Illustration] THE HAMMER.--Almost everybody knows how a hammer is used: it is used to drive nails with, and also to take them out. The hammer used to take out nails, is called a claw-hammer, from its having a claw at one part. The claw is placed under the head of the nail, when the handle of the hammer becomes a lever, and the head the fulcrum; and, placed in this position, the hand acquires great power,--sometimes amounting to at least a hundred-weight. In using a hammer, we should always be careful to use the kind of hammer necessary for the work to be done. FILES.--Files are of various uses, and we cannot do very well without them in carpentering. There are several kinds of files: one kind flat on one side and rounded at the other; another is flat on both sides, and another kind has three edges and three flat sides. The first is used for rasping wood or other things down to a level; and the others are used to file things into a point, or to cut them in pieces.