At this stage the young carver will need to decide whether he will follow the pencil lines exactly. If he is a very expert sawyer he may, but it is much safer to leave a little wood to be removed by pocket-knife, chisel, or file. It is easy to do this; but if he saws out a little too much wood, if he transgresses the pencil line, he cannot put back the wood he has wrongfully cut away. After the filing a little rubbing with sandpaper will complete the work. Sometimes it is an advantage to adjust the saw in its frame with the teeth inside or sideways.
$How to make a Schooner.$--Take a block of wood two feet four inches long, eight inches wide, and eight inches deep. We name this as a convenient size; but a boy may if he likes make his boat twice this size, or half this size, and so long as he makes his alterations in proportion it will not matter. Try to get the wood without knots or other faults. White pine or deal with a straight grain is the best, for this wood is easy to cut into shape, and it is light.
Before the schooner is shaped it should be hollowed. Draw a straight line with pencil along the centre of the upper surface of the block A B (Fig. 1). If the breadth of the block is eight inches then the centre will be four inches from each edge. Next, in a similar way divide the length of the block into two equal parts with a pencil line C D. If the length is two feet four inches then this line will be one foot two from each end of the block. Now divide the length into three equal parts by the lines E F and G H. One third of two feet four inches is nine inches and one third of an inch, so that each of the three parts will have this measurement. Draw now the line I J C B and when this line is of the right shape make a tracing of it, and from the tracing a cardboard model. By placing this model upon the other side of the line A B and drawing round its edge you will get the line B D K I and it will be exactly like I J C B, a very important matter. With a knife, gouge, and chisel the boat may now be hollowed with care, and we may repeat that it is easier to hollow the block before its outside has been shaped than afterwards, because it stands now more firmly upon the table or bench.