Mechanical Expertise
The carpenter’s mechanical expertise spans practical repair work and creative solutions. He handles stove boats, sprung spars, and clumsy-bladed oars; inserts bull’s eyes in decks and tree-nails in hull planks. His skill extends to both utilitarian tasks and capricious demands, making him unhesitatingly capable across conflicting aptitudes.
The Vice-Bench
The vice-bench serves as the carpenter’s grand stage for enacting his manifold roles. This long, rude, ponderous table contains vices of different sizes, both iron and wood, secured against the Try-works when whales are not alongside. Here he performs the bulk of his varied work.
Diverse Craftsmanship
The carpenter’s diverse craftsmanship manifests in countless examples: filing down oversized belaying pins, constructing elaborate bird cages from whalebone and ivory, mixing medicinal lotions, painting vermillion stars on oar blades, drilling sailor ears for shark-bone earrings, and extracting teeth with improvised tools. Each task demonstrates his adaptability and readiness.
Impersonal Attitude
The carpenter maintains an impersonal attitude toward his work and subjects. He regards teeth as bits of ivory, heads as mere top-blocks, and men themselves as capstans. This detachment makes him equally indifferent and unsentimental across all situations and persons.
The Stolid Worker
The carpenter exhibits remarkable impersonal stolidity, resembling the general silence of the visible world. While eternally active in countless modes, the world holds its peace and ignores all. This stolidity involves an all-ramifying heartlessness, though punctuated at times by old crutch-like humor and grizzled wittiness.
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