One form of lathe is simplicity itself: two thick
stakes are driven in the ground, so far apart as to include the object to
be turned; a cross piece is lashed to them (by a creeper cut out of the
jungle), for the double purpose of holding them together, and of serving
as a rest for the gouge. The object is turned with a thong, as already
described.
Charcoal, Tar, and Pitch.--Charcoal.--Dig a hole in the earth, or choose
some gigantic burrow, or old well, and fill it with piles of wood,
arranging them so as to leave a kind of chimney down the centre: the top
of the hole is now to be covered over with sods excepting the chimney,
down which a brand is dropped to set fire to the wood. The burning should
be governed by opening or shutting the chimney-top with a flat stone; it
should proceed very gradually, for the wood ought to smoulder, and never
attain to a bright red heat: the operation will require from two days to
a week. The tarry products of the wood drain to the bottom of the well.
Tar is made by burning larch, fir, or pine, as though charcoal had to be
made; dead or withered trees, and especially their roots, yield tar most
copiously. A vast deal is easily obtained. It collects at the bottom of
the pit, and a hole with smooth sides should be dug there, into which it
may drain. For making tar on a smaller scale:--ram an iron pot full of
pine wood; reverse it and lay it upon a board pierced with a hole one
inch in diameter; then prop the board over another pot buried in the
earth.
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