To keep the nailset in its place on the nail-head it may be held closely against the third finger of the left hand, which rests on the wood close to the nail. When a nailset is lacking, the head of a brad, held nearly flat, may be used. But care is necessary to avoid bruising the wood.
The advance in ease of handworking may largely be measured by the facilities for holding materials or other tools. The primitive man used no devices for holding except his hands and feet. The Japanese, who perhaps are the most skilful of joiners, still largely use their fingers and toes. On the other hand, Anglo-Saxons have developed an enormous variety of methods for holding work and tools.
[Illustration: Fig. 166. Bench made with Pinned Mortise-and-Tenon Joints, Low Back.]
[Illustration: Fig. 167. Woodworking Bench used at Pratt Institute, Showing Self-Adjusting Upright Vise.]
_Benches._ The essential features of a work-bench are a firm, steady table with a vise and places for tools. The joints are either pinned or wedged mortise-and-tenon, or draw-bolt joints. The best benches are made of maple, the tops being strips joined or tongued-and-grooved together. It is common also to have a trough at the back of the top of the bench, i. e., a space 6" or 8" wide, set lower than the upper surface, in which tools may be placed so as not to roll off. A low pillow, fastened at the left hand end of the trough, on which to set planes in order that the edge of the cutter may not be injured, is an advantage. The tool-rack is of capital importance. It has been common in school benches to affix it to a board, which rises considerably above the top of the bench, Fig. 169, but a better plan is to have the top of it no higher than the bench-top, Fig. 166. Then the light on the bench is not obscured, and when a flat top is needed for large work it can readily be had by removing the tools. Elaborate benches with lock drawers are also much used in the shops of large city schools.
[Illustration: Fig. 168. A Rapid-Acting Vise.]
_Vises_ for holding wood are of three general styles, (1) those with an upright wooden jaw, Fig. 167, which holds wide pieces of work well. They are now made with an automatic adjusting device by which the jaw and the face of the bench are kept parallel; (2) wooden vises with a horizontal jaw, guided by parallel runners, Fig. 166, and, (3) metal rapid-acting vises, Fig. 168. The latter are the most durable and in most respects more convenient. Special vises are also made for wood-carvers, for saw-filing, etc.