Griffith is listed as Supervisor of Manual Training, Oak Park, Illinois. A prominent figure in the Industrial Arts movement, Griffith authored several noted woodworker's manuals. Three years later, February 1913, also Countryside Magazine and Suburban Life, he published "How to Make a Mission Seat",  Since this article contains a set of  "how-to-do-it" instructions  -- when mentioning that the project requires mortise-and-tenon joinery -- you would think that Griffith would give for  the prospective builder details about how (or at least "where") to manage the creation of mortise and tenons. However, since there are no instructions, we must assume that Griffith himself knew that readers of  Countryside Magazine and Suburban Life  knew about making mortise and tenons -- an assumption for which I have doubts -- or had ready access to these instructions. While a search of the "How to Make a Mission Seat" article doesn't mention woodworker's manuals, notice that below -- highlighted -- Griffith recommends that newbies go out and buy one. (For a selected (not comprehensive) list of woodworker's manuals published up to 1910, check out this page. I selected this document as a companion to the 1906 Hall document. (The article by Hall is also published in Suburban Life.)  Hall gives us his adventures in constructing a Morris chair -- with foot-powered tools. While we have no photo of Hall, notice near the bottom of this article by Griffith is a well-stocked workshop, including many power tools as well as electric lighting. Several observations come to mind. The electricity is almost certainly Direct-Current -- electrification (meaning Alternative Current) in cities didn't begin for another five years -- see account in Chapter 3. Below,the person in the photo -- notice his bow tie -- is likely a professional -- doctor, dentist, lawyer, or a businessman  -- because the working class still are contending with 60-hour work weeks, and would very not be able to afford tools of this quality.

Document 42: IRA S. GRIFFITH "Recreation with Tools" Countryside Magazine and Suburban Life 10 June 1910 pp 22+ That true but trite saying, "All work and no play makes  Jack a dull boy," is as true of Jack the man as it is of Jack the boy. Every person should have some interest, aside from that of his daily work, if he would maintain that balance and poise—physical and mental—which is so essential to right living.  Probably nothing has greater fascination, or gives more satisfactory returns to the sincere participant, than woodworking. Granted that one has decided upon this form of recreation, the ques­tions of workshop and equipment arise. To assist the beginner in answering these questions is the purpose with which this article has been written.  First, the workshop. The usual place for the home workshop is in the basement. This is not the most suitable place, but is usually elected because it is most available. Basements are almost always damp, espe­cially in the summer time. The steel of which woodworking tools are made is very susceptible to the effects of moisture, and the result is good neither for the tools nor the work. Satisfactory cabinetwork can not be done with rusty tools. If at all possible, have the shop on the first floor, where there will be plenty of light and no dampness. Attic workshops are unsatisfactory, because of the difficulty in getting lumber up and the resulting pieces of furniture down.  With the location of the workshop decided, there comes the question of a suitable bench. If one is not troubled with the necessity of hus­banding his resources, the most satisfactory thing to do is to purchase one of the better grade of manual-training benches, such as are used in the manual-training and technical schools. These benches vary greatly in price; a very good one can be purchased for $10.50, including vises. This bench is twenty-four by seventy-eight inches, with a top made by gluing together strips of maple two and one-quarter inches wide. A rapid-acting vise, while not a necessity, is a great saver of time. A person who has never used one should investigate before deciding upon the old kind.  If one would rather build his own bench, a serviceable affair, such as carpenters use, can be easily and cheaply made. It may be built to the wall, or made to stand upon its own feet, as desired. If built to the wall, place it in front of a window, so as to have the light come across the bench. The legs should be made of 2 x 4 inch stock, such as carpenters use for the walls and rafters of frame houses. The cross-rails should be of one-inch stock, dressed on two surfaces to a thickness of seven‑eighths of an inch. The top is made of a two-inch by twelve-inch oak plank at the work side, while the rest is of one-inch stuff. That the whole top may be level, the one-inch boards are "furred" up by placing strips of necessary thickness upon the rails. The vise jaw is to be made of one and one-half-inch oak. The fixtures for such a vise will cost about sixty cents, and can be purchased at any  hardware store. A bench stop can be made by cutting a v-shaped slot in the end of a piece of one-inch stock and nailing this to the bench top.  When it comes to the question of purchasing tools, the greatest latitude is possible. There are, however, certain tools which are necessary for the general run of home cabinet- work. Their names and list prices are given below. The prices here given are for the very best of the respective makes, and are subject to discounts when bought in quantity lots. A beginner should remember that it is better to have few tools, and those good ones, than to stock up on a lot of cheap ones. A cheap tool which will not " hold an edge" is a poor investment, from every point of view. If it is not possible to purchase the tools as here listed, without sacrificing the quality, begin at the head of the list and purchase what you can ; the test can be got as needed.    To this list might be added a miter-box, block-plane, jointer, cabi­net clamps, glue-pot, steel square, etc.   No satisfactory work can be done with dull tools. Access to a grindstone is necessary. A stone mounted on a neat metal frame, to be run by hand or foot, can be gut for about four dollars. Nothing has done more to discourage amateur woodworkers than their unwillingness to take time to sharpen and keep their tools in working order. Make racks for the tools convenient to the bench, so that each tool may have its place. This encourages good work, saves time, and prevents injury to the tools.  Woodworking is a science as well as a practice. If the amateur would get the most out of his recreation, he needs to  know some what of the methods of procedure. The fundamental tool processes and steps in joint-making are simple and easily learned. Get a good book on woodworking — one that tells how to "square up stock," how to sharpen tools, how to make typical joints. etc., and keep it at the bench for ready reference. It will he found the most valuable " tool" for getting satisfactory results that you possess. Some of these books on woodwork also tell how to put on the various wood finishes, how to tell the different woods, etc. Such a book can be got for a dollar.  When it comes to the ordering of lumber, t w o practices are common, if one orders from a planing-mill, he may have his stock machine-planed on two or four sides to the exact size his pieces are to be. In case he orders his pieces planed on two sides, he adds about one-half an inch to the length of the piece, as it is to be when in place in the piece of furniture, and one‑fourth of an inch to the width. This is to allow for his planing. If the four sides are machine-planed to exact size, only in the length is allowance made.       The second is to order stock  entirely rough, as the saw-mill leaves it. It is very seldom that one needs to use stock entirely in the rough; even the lumber-yards in the smallest places carry stock mill-planed to stock thicknesses. In making out your lumber order, the following form will be found satisfactory to your lumber dealer: Number of Feet.        Pieces.           Thickness.      Width. Length.           Description.   Price. The unit of measure is the board-foot, which is one inch thick and twelve inches square. Boards that are less than one inch thick are sold by the square foot, surface measure; the price per foot is correspondingly less, however. Prices are usually based upon the thousand feet.  No 1 lumber used for furniture should be first-grade, clear, free from knots, sap and other im­perfections, and thoroughly seasoned. S–2–S and S–4-S are abbreviations used to describe stock that is to be machine - planed on two and four sides, respectively.  The most available wood, one that gives as good service and takes as fine a finish as any other, and is reasonable in price, is quarter-sawed white oak. Plain-sawed red oak is equally ser­viceable, and costs about the same as white oak; but, owing to the larger grain, it is not so much used in furniture-making. It is quite satisfactory however, in Mission pieces.  Chestnut takes a good finish, but, being soft, is not much used for furniture. Other species of wood, such as mahogany and walnut, are desir­able, but their cost is prohibitive. Soft close-grained woods, such as pine and poplar, are sometimes recommended by writers of magazine articles for use iii furniture-construction, but are hardly worthy of the effort that will be put upon the piece. They scar easily, and do not take fin­ishes that will compare with those of the coarse-grained woods. Quarter-sawed oak is of the same tree as plain-sawed, but costs slightly more be-cause of the extra expense involved in cutting it into boards.  The popularity of the soft-gloss, waxed finishes makes wood finishing comparatively easy to learn. On coarse-grained woods a stain is first applied, unless a natural finish is wanted in which case a coat or two of paste filler, colored appropriately, is used. This, when dry, is followed by two coats of wax. Shellac, and copal varnish finishes, rubbed, are within the ability of any amateur who is willing to do a little study of the methods com­monly used .