| By Author | [ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z | Other Symbols ] |
| By Title | [ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z | Other Symbols ] |
| By Language |
|
Download this book: [ ASCII ] Look for this book on Amazon Tweet |
Title: Handicraft for boys
Author: Collins, A. Frederick (Archie Frederick)
Language: English
As this book started as an ASCII text book there are no pictures available.
*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Handicraft for boys" ***
Transcriber’s Notes
Text printed in italics and bold face in the source document has
been transcribed _between underscores_ and _between equal signs=
respectively. Small capitals have been transcribed as ALL CAPITALS.
Text ~between tildes~ represents letter-like shapes rather than
characters. Text +between plus signs+ was printed in the specific
font mentioned, or in a sans-serif font.
More Transcriber’s Notes may be found at the end of this text.
HANDICRAFT FOR BOYS
[Illustration: A MODEL ENGINE CONSTRUCTED FROM DIAGRAMS SHOWN IN THIS
BOOK]
HANDICRAFT
FOR BOYS
BY
A. FREDERICK COLLINS
INVENTOR OF THE WIRELESS TELEPHONE
_Author of “Inventing for Boys,” “The
Boys’ Book of Submarines,” etc._
_WITH 185 ILLUSTRATIONS AND DIAGRAMS_
[Illustration]
NEW YORK
FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
PUBLISHERS
_Copyright, 1918, by_
FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
_All rights reserved_
TO
MY NEPHEW AND NIECE
CLARENCE AND MAY ZEITLER
A WORD TO THE BOY
Your life, if you live it like the average boy, is split up into four
parts and these are (1) eating, (2) sleeping, (3) working and (4)
playing.
Now I haven’t a word to say about the first three phases of your
existence for you will attend pretty well to the eating and sleeping
ends, and your elders will quite likely see to it that you get enough
work to do in and out of school.
But when it comes to playing I want to edge in, for this is a very
important and often a sadly neglected part of your daily routine. There
are three kinds of playing, namely (a) where your mind only is engaged
as for instance at dominoes, checkers or chess, (b) where your body is
chiefly in action as in gymnastics and outdoor games, and (c) where
your mind and body are doing something more or less constructive.
This book which I have written for you deals with playing of the latter
kind and while I don’t want you to get so interested in any of the
various arts and crafts described to the extent of using all your spare
hours doing it, still it is a great mistake not to have a hobby such
as jig-sawing, printing, die-sinking or the like. There is something
tremendously fascinating about visualizing things in your brain and
then fashioning them with your hands and you ought to do it.
Different from other kinds of playing the by-products of these arts and
crafts last a long time after your efforts have been spent upon them
and it is a source of great pleasure to look at them once in a while
and know that you made them with your own hands.
Not only is there the fun of planning and doing the things I have
described, but you will at the same time pick up a lot of information
and, what is of far more value, your brain and eyes and hands will
learn to work together like a dynamo direct connected to an engine, and
then you can depend on them to serve you well whenever the occasion may
arise.
A. FREDERICK COLLINS.
“The Antlers,”
Congers, N. Y.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. CARPENTRY WORK AND CABINET MAKING 1
THE TOOLS YOU NEED -- THE KINDS OF TOOLS -- SOME HINTS ON
USING TOOLS
How to Hold a Hammer -- How to Use a Saw -- How to Use
a Plane -- How to Use Chisels and Gouges -- How to Use
a Brace and Bit -- How to Use a Rule -- How to Use a
Marking Gauge -- How to Use Hand Screws and Clamps --
How to Use a Nail Set -- How to Use a Gimlet -- How to
Drive Nails and Screws -- How to Make a Glue-Pot -- How
to Make Good Glue and How to Use It
HOW TO SHARPEN YOUR TOOLS
About Sharpening Saws -- About Sharpening Chisels and
Plane Bits -- About Sharpening Auger Bits
HOW TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR TOOLS -- REMOVING RUST FROM
TOOLS -- TO ETCH YOUR NAME ON TOOLS -- KINDS OF WOOD TO
USE
Pine; Cedar; Mahogany; Oak; Birch; Walnut
HOW TO MAKE JOINTS
Edge Joints -- Corner Joints
ABOUT WORKING DRAWINGS -- THINGS FOR YOU TO MAKE
How to Make a Work Bench -- How to Make a Tool Chest
II. SCROLL SAWING, WOOD TURNING, WOOD CARVING, ETC. 24
ALL ABOUT SCROLL SAWING
SCROLL SAWING OUTFITS -- A CHEAP SCROLL SAWING OUTFIT
How to Use the Scroll Saw
A FEW OTHER HELPFUL THINGS
A Hand Saw-Table -- Files for Scroll Work -- A Twist
Drill Stock -- A Pair of Pliers -- A Small Hammer --
Scroll Saw Blades
HOW TO TRACE A DESIGN ON WOOD -- DESIGNS FOR SCROLL
SAWING -- FOOT-POWER SCROLL SAWS
The Cricket Scroll Saw -- The Lester Scroll saw --
The Fleetwood Scroll Saw
HOW A FOOT-POWER SCROLL SAW WORKS -- HOW TO SAW ON A
FOOT-POWER SCROLL SAW -- FANCY WOODS FOR SCROLL SAW
OUTFITS -- TABLE OF SCROLL SAW WOODS -- TRIMMINGS FOR
BOXES, ETC.
TURNING IN WOOD
GET A LATHE FIRST
How a Lathe is Made
THE CHEAPEST LATHE YOU CAN BUY
Attachments for the Companion Lathe
TURNING TOOLS FOR WOOD -- HOW TO TURN WOOD
THE ART OF WOOD CARVING
YOUR SET OF CARVING TOOLS -- THE BEST WOODS FOR CARVING
-- KINDS OF WOOD CARVING
Chip Carving -- Panel Carving -- Carving in Solid
Wood
PYROGRAPHY, OR WOOD BURNING
THE NECESSARY TOOLS
How to Make an Etching Tool -- How to Make an Alcohol
Lamp -- A Better Outfit -- About the Designs -- How
to Burn in the Designs
COLORING AND STAINING WOOD
Where to Buy Stains -- Ebony Stain -- Fumed Oak
III. METALS AND METAL WORKING 56
YOUR KIT OF TOOLS -- THE VARIOUS KINDS OF TOOLS -- SOME
HINTS ON USING THE TOOLS
About Sharpening Tools
METALS AND THEIR USES
Iron
Wrought Iron
Steel
Tin
Zinc
Lead
Copper
Aluminum
A FEW USEFUL ALLOYS
Brass Type-Metal Pewter
HOW TO DO METAL WORK -- FIRST SKETCH YOUR IDEAS --
SHEET METAL WORK
Cutting and Sawing -- Making Seams and Joints
HOW TO SOLDER METALS
Fluxes Solders
BOLTS AND RIVETS -- BENDING SHEET METAL -- FINISHING UP
METALS -- COLORING METALS
Bluing Steel -- Bluing Brass -- Giving Brass a Green
Color -- Giving Brass a Dull Look -- Frosting Brass
Articles -- Lacquering Brass and Copper -- How to
Make the Lacquer
IV. VENETIAN IRON, REPOUSSÉ, PIERCED BRASS AND PEWTER WORK 76
VENETIAN BENT IRON WORK
THE TOOLS YOU MUST HAVE -- THE MATERIALS YOU NEED --
WHAT TO DO FIRST
Making a Simple Design
HOW TO MAKE A TOASTER -- HOW TO MAKE AN EGG BOILER --
HOW TO MAKE A VENETIAN PLATE HOLDER
A Dead Black Finish for Iron Work
DOING REPOUSSÉ WORK
TOOLS NEEDED FOR REPOUSSÉ WORK -- HOW TO PREPARE THE
WORK -- TRACING THE DESIGN -- BOSSING THE WORK -- HOW
TO MAKE A FLAT CANDLESTICK -- HOW TO MAKE A PHOTO FRAME
Cleaning and Polishing Metal Work -- Finishing,
Coloring and Lacquering Metals
PIERCED METAL WORK
THE OUTFIT TO DO IT WITH -- HOW TO DO THE WORK
CASTING AND WORKING PEWTER
SOMETHING ABOUT PEWTER -- HOW TO MAKE PEWTER -- ABOUT
WORKING PEWTER -- HOW TO CAST PEWTER -- THE PATTERNS
NECESSARY -- MAKING THE MOLD -- FINISHING THE WARE
ENGRAVING ON METAL
THE TOOLS THAT ARE USED -- HOW TO ENGRAVE ON METAL
V. DRAWING SIMPLY EXPLAINED 103
FREE-HAND DRAWING
TALENT VERSUS PRACTICE -- PICTURES FOR YOU TO DRAW --
SIMPLE LINE SKETCHES -- SKETCHING SIMPLE OUTLINE
FIGURES -- THE PROPORTIONS OF THE HUMAN FIGURE -- HOW
TO DRAW FACES -- SKETCHING STILL LIFE OBJECTS --
DRAWING IN PERSPECTIVE
The Vanishing Point
HOW TO SHADE A DRAWING
WORKING DRAWINGS
DRAWING TOOLS YOU SHOULD HAVE -- SIMPLE WORKING
DRAWINGS
Making Plain Drawings -- Isometric Perspective
Drawings
SOME SIMPLE AIDS TO DRAWING
HOW TO DRAW A CIRCLE -- HOW TO DRAW A SPIRAL -- HOW TO
DRAW AN ELLIPSE -- HOW TO MAKE AND USE A PANTAGRAPH --
HOW TO MAKE A REFLECTING DRAWING BOARD -- HOW TO MAKE
TRACINGS -- TO MAKE LASTING IMPRESSIONS -- THE ANCIENT
AND HONORED ART OF CUTTING SILHOUETTES -- TRANSFER
PICTURES OF DECALCOMANIA
How to Transfer the Pictures
VI. SOME KINKS IN PHOTOGRAPHY 131
HOW TO MAKE BLUE PRINTS
The Materials Required
ANOTHER KIND OF CONTACT PRINTING
To Tone and Fix the Pictures -- Receipt for a
Combined Toning and Fixing Solution
THE SIMPLEST KIND OF A CAMERA -- HOW TO DEVELOP A DRY
PLATE
How to Make the Developer -- How to Make a Fixing
Bath
A GOOD AND CHEAP CAMERA -- HOW TO MAKE AN ENLARGING
APPARATUS -- HOW TO MAKE AN ENLARGEMENT
A Developer for Bromide Paper
HOW TO MAKE A REFLECTOSCOPE
How to Use the Reflectoscope
HOW TO MAKE A MAGIC LANTERN
How to Work the Lantern
HOW TO MAKE LANTERN SLIDES -- HOW TO MAKE RADIUM
PHOTOGRAPHS
TRICK PHOTOGRAPHY
SPIRIT PHOTOGRAPHS -- ONE WAY TO CATCH BIG FISH --
TAKING CARICATURE PHOTOGRAPHS
VII. PRINTING AND ITS ALLIED ARTS 157
KINDS OF PRINTING PRESSES -- THE PARTS OF A SELF-INKING
PRESS -- HOW THE PRESS WORKS -- SIZES AND PRICES OF
PRESSES -- THE OUTFIT YOU NEED
Outfit for a 3 × 5 Press -- Outfit for a 5 × 8 Press
-- Outfit for an 8 × 10 Press
ABOUT TYPE AND TYPE SETTING
Relative Number of Type Letters -- Styles of Type --
The Parts of a Type -- The Sizes of Type -- Table of
Type Sizes -- Your Type Cases -- Setting the Type
MAKING READY -- PRINTING THE JOB -- HOW TO CLEAN TYPE
-- ABOUT DISTRIBUTING TYPE -- THE INK AND ROLLERS --
PRINTING IN COLORS -- PRINTING IN GOLD -- AND FINALLY
YOUR STOCK SUPPLY
THE ART OF PAPER MAKING
WHAT PAPER IS -- HOW TO MAKE PAPER
Making the Pulp -- The Molds You Need -- Laying the
Paper
SIZING AND FINISHING
HOW TO BIND BOOKS
Making the Cover -- Sewing the Book -- Putting on the
title
VIII. RUBBER STAMPS, DIE SINKING, BURNING BRANDS AND STENCILS 183
RUBBER STAMPS
HOW TO MAKE RUBBER STAMPS
The Materials Needed
MAKING THE MOLD -- VULCANIZING THE RUBBER -- MOUNTING
THE RUBBER -- HOW TO USE A RUBBER STAMP
How to Make an Ink Pad
HOW TO MAKE RUBBER STAMP INK -- HOW TO MAKE A COPYGRAPH
PAD -- HOW TO COPY A LETTER -- HOW TO MAKE HECTOGRAPH
INKS
DIE SINKING
HOW TO MAKE BADGES, NAME PLATES, ETC. -- HOW TO SINK
THE LETTERS -- FINISHING UP THE BADGE
BURNING BRANDS
HOW TO MAKE A BURNING BRAND
How to Use the Burning Brand
STENCILS
HOW TO CUT STENCILS
Cutting Paper Stencils -- Cutting Brass Stencils --
How to Use Practical Stencils -- How to Make Stencil
Ink -- How to Use Decorative Stencils -- Mixing
Colors for Stenciling Borders
IX. THE ART OF WORKING GLASS 202
WHAT GLASS IS -- HOW TO CUT GLASS -- HOW TO USE A GLASS
CUTTER -- HOW TO FINISH OFF GLASS EDGES -- HOW TO DRILL
HOLES IN GLASS -- A COUPLE OF WAYS TO CUT GLASS TUBING
-- HOW TO CUT GLASS DISKS -- HOW TO BEND GLASS TUBING
What a Bunsen Burner Is
HOW TO BLOW GLASS -- TO ROUND THE ENDS OF TUBES -- TO
BORDER THE ENDS OF TUBES -- TO SEAL ONE END OF A TUBE
-- TO MAKE A GLASS NOZZLE -- TO MAKE A HOLE IN A TUBE
-- TO JOIN TWO TUBES OF THE SAME SIZE -- TO JOIN A TUBE
TO THE SIDE OF ANOTHER TUBE -- TO BLOW A BULB ON THE
END OF A TUBE
How to Make a Blowpipe -- How to Blow a Bulb
HOW TO ETCH GLASS
The Sand Blast Process -- How to Make Ground Glass --
The Acid Process
HOW TO CEMENT GLASS -- A SIMPLE WAY TO FROST GLASS
SUBSTITUTES FOR GLASS
Mica
Gelatine
HOW TO SILVER A MIRROR
X. TOYS FOR THE KIDDIES 227
HOW TO MAKE A POLICEMAN’S PUZZLE -- HOW TO MAKE AN
AUTOMOBILE TRUCK -- HOW TO MAKE A SWELL COASTER -- HOW
TO MAKE A NIFTY WHEELBARROW -- HOW TO MAKE A HIGH-LOW
SWING -- HOW TO MAKE A STICK HORSE -- HOW TO MAKE A
PONY AND CART -- HOW TO MAKE A LIFE-LIKE GOOSE -- HOW
TO MAKE A DANCING SAMBO -- HOW TO MAKE A WIRELESS PUP
XI. HOME MADE MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS 252
THE MUSICAL COINS
How to Make Them -- How to Play Them
THE MUSICAL TOMATO CANS
How to Make Them -- To Play the Musical Tomato Cans
THE MUSICAL GLASSES
How to Make Them -- How to Play the Glasses
THE TUBULAR HARP
How to Make It -- How to Play the Harp
THE MUSICAL PUSH PIPE
How to Make It -- How to Play the Push Pipe
THE CURIOUS XYLOPHONE
How to Make It -- How to Play the Xylophone
THE PECULIAR TUBAPHONE
How to Make It -- How to Play the Tubaphone
THE CATHEDRAL CHIMES
How to Make Them -- How to Play the Cathedral Chimes
THE AEOLIAN HARP
How to Make It -- How the Wind Plays It
AN EGYPTIAN FIDDLE
How to Make It -- How to Make the Bow
XII. SOME EVENING ENTERTAINMENTS 274
CARTOONS WHILE YOU WAIT
Drawing the Cartoons
THIRTY MINUTES OF CHEMISTRY -- THE MYSTIC GLASS OF MILK
-- THE MAGIC FOUNTAIN -- THE VICIOUS SOAP BUBBLES --
THE UNCANNY WHEEL -- GIVING A TRAVELOGUE -- AN
ELECTRICAL SOIRÉE -- DEMONSTRATING ELECTRICITY WITHOUT
APPARATUS
The Electrified Papers -- How to Electrify a Person
-- How Like Repels Like
MAKING EXPERIMENTS WITH APPARATUS
The Induction, or Spark Coil -- Demonstrating
Wireless Telegraphy
READING PALMS FOR FUN
How to Read Palms
A TALK ON THE STEAM ENGINE
Making the Model Engine
HOW THE ENGINE WORKS
ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
A Model Engine, Showing the Principal Working Parts _Frontispiece_
Some Useful Wood Working Tools 3
A Few More Common Wood Working Tools 5
A Clamp Often Comes in Handy 7
How Edge Joints Are Made 17
How Corner Joints Are Made 19
An Easily Made Work Bench 20
A Wood Vise for Your Work Bench 21
A Carpenter’s Tool Chest 22
The Tray for Your Tool Chest 23
A Simple and Cheap Sawing Outfit 25
The Right Way to Use a Hand Scroll Saw 27
A Hand Scroll Saw Table 28
Some Necessary Scroll Sawing Tools 29
Mechanical Masterpieces Made With a Scroll Saw 31
The Cheapest Foot-power Scroll Saw Made 32
The Lester Scroll Saw with Turning Lathe Attachment 33
The Fleetwood Scroll Saw 34
The Chief Parts of a Turning Lathe 37
The Cheapest Wood Turning Lathe Made 39
A Set of Wood Turning Tools 41
Putting the Rough Wood in the Lathe 42
The Right Way to Hold a Wood Working Tool 42
Sizing the Turned Work 43
Kinds and Sweeps of Carving Tools 45
Markers for Stamping in Backgrounds 46
Schemes for Holding Work When Carving 46
Kinds of Carving 48
A Carved Watch Case Holder 49
The Tool Used for Pyrography 52
An Outfit that Burns Benzine Vapor 53
How the Tool is Heated 54
Burning in the Design 54
The Chief Metal Working Tools 58
Some Other Metal Working Tools 59
How Metal Seams and Joints are Made 70
Materials You Need for Venetian Iron Work 77
A Useful Bent Iron Toaster 79
How to Make an Egg Boiler 80
An Artistic Venetian Plate Holder 81
A Sconce for a Candle 83
How to Hold a Repoussé Hammer 84
A Punch and Punch Designs for Repoussé Work 85
How to Hold a Repoussé Punch 85
A Repoussé Candlestick 87
A Repoussé Photo Frame 89
The Tools You Need for Pierced Brass Work 90
A Pierced Brass Candle Shade 91
A Pierced Brass Toast Sign 93
Iron Ladle for Melting Pewter 95
How a Pewter Casting is Made 96
Home Made Pewter Ware 98
Tools for Engraving on Metal 99
How to Hold a Graver 100
An Engraving on a Sheet of Copper 101
A Simple Line Drawing of a Man and a Horse 104
A Simple Outline Drawing of a Boxer and a Race Horse 105
The Proportions of the Human Body 106
A Full View of the Face 107
A Profile View of the Face 108
The Vanishing Points of a Perspective Drawing 109
How to Find the Vanishing Point 110
The Vanishing Points Put to Use 111
The Drawing Tools You Need 112
The T Square and Triangle on the Drawing Board 114
The Plan Drawing for a Box 115
The Box Drawn in Isometric Perspective 116
How the Lines for Isometric Drawings are Made 117
A Sheet of Isometric Drawing Paper 118
The Proportions of an Isometric Ellipse 119
How to Draw a Circle with a Thread 120
How to Draw a Spiral with a Thread 121
How to Draw an Ellipse with a Thread 122
How a Pantagraph is Made and Used 122
How a Reflecting Drawing Board is Made and Used 123
A Lasting Carbon (Soot) Impression of Your Hand 125
Silhouettes of Your Great-Grand-pa and Great-Grand-ma (When They
Were Young) 127
A Photo Printing Frame 131
An Easily Made Pin-hole Camera 135
The Pin-hole Camera Complete with Cloth and Rubber Bands 137
Two Cheap and Good Cameras 139
A Home-made Enlarging Apparatus 141
A Home-made Enlarging Apparatus 143
A Home-made Enlarging Apparatus 144
A Cheaply Made Reflectoscope 145
A Cross Section Top View of the Reflectoscope 146
The Reflectoscope Ready for Use 147
The Parts of a Home-made Magic Lantern 149
The Magic Lantern Ready for Use 150
A Photograph of a Coin Made with Radium 152
One Way to Catch a Cod 155
How Caricatures are Made 156
A Model Self-inking Printing Press 159
An Outfit for a Model Press 162
The Parts of a Type 165
How the Type Cases are Arranged 167
The Upper Case 168
The Lower Case 168
How to Hold a Composing Stick 169
Putting a Stick of Type in the Chase 170
Tools for Locking Up a Chase 171
A Frame for Paper Making 177
How to Cut Boards and Cloth for Book Binding 179
Sewing on the Muslin Flap 180
The Bound Book Complete 181
The Matrix Frame, Chase and Boards for Making Rubber Stamps 184
The Type in the Chase. Plaster of Paris Impression in the Matrix
Frame 186
The Matrix with the Rubber Gum in Place Ready to Vulcanize 187
The Rubber Stamp Ready to Use 188
Pulling an Impression from the Copygraph 191
First Steps in Making a Badge 192
The Badge on a Flat-iron in a Vise. Sinking in the Letters 193
Steel Letters and Figures for Die Sinking 194
Last Steps in Making a Badge 195
A Burning Brand of Iron or Copper 197
Stencil Letters and Stencils 199
Glass Cutters 204
The Right Way to Hold a Diamond Point Glass Cutter 205
How to Cut a Pane of Glass 205
A Cutter for Glass Tubes 207
A Circular Glass Cutter 208
Kinds of Bunsen Burners 210
Bordering the End of a Tube 211
Sealing Off the End of a Tube 212
How to Make a Hole in a Tube 212
Welding Two Tubes Together. Making a T Tube 213
A Regular Blow-Pipe 214
Cross Section of a Home-made Blow-pipe 215
The Glass Blowing Arrangement Ready to Use 216
A Regular Foot Bellows 217
First Steps in Blowing a Glass Bulb 218
Making a Thick Ring of Glass 218
Last Step in Blowing a Glass Bulb 219
Part of the Apparatus for Sand Blast Etching 220
Sand Blast Apparatus Put Together Ready for Etching 221
Etching Glass with Acid 223
A Policeman’s Puzzle, or Now Will You Be Good 228
Plans for the Automobile Truck 229
The Automobile Truck Ready to Run 230
Plans for a Swell Coaster 231
The Coaster Ready to Ride On 232
Plans for the Nifty Wheelbarrow. The Barrow Ready to Wheel 234
Plans for the High-low Swing 236
The Swing Ready to Swing Low, Swing High 237
Ride a Stick Horse to Banbury Cross 238
Plans for a Pony and Cart. The Pony and Cart When Done 240
How the Life-like Goose is Made 241
Goosie, Goosie Gander, Where Shall I Wander 242
The Dancing Sambo 243
The Mechanism of the Dancing Sambo 244
The Wireless Pup, the Slot in the Floor of the Dog House 245
The Back End of the Dog House 246
The Spanker with Electric Solenoid Control 247
Cross Section Side View of the Wireless Pup Ready for Action 248
The Front End View of the Wireless Pup House 249
When You Call the Wireless Pup or Clap Your Hands He Comes Out of
His Dog House in a Hurry 250
The Musical Coin 253
How to Hold the Musical Coin to Spin It 254
The Chopin Tomato Can 255
The Musical Glasses 257
The Harp of a Thousand Thrills 258
How to Play the Harp 259
Parts of a Musical Push Pipe 261
How the Push Pipe is Played 263
A Xylophone. The Bars are Made of Wood 264
A Tubaphone. The Bars are Made of Metal Tubes 265
The Cathedral Chimes 266
The Harp of Aeolus 268
Plans for an Egyptian Fiddle 271
How the Bow is Made 272
How the Fiddle is Played 273
How an Easel is Made 276
First Principles of Cartooning 278
Three Simple Cartoons that You Can Do 279
The Oracle of Amor, or Are You in Love? 280
The Mystic Fountain 282
Making Hydrogen Chloride Gas 283
The Vicious Soap Bubbles 285
The Uncanny Wheel 287
The Electrified Papers 291
A Simple Wireless Demonstration Set 294
Cross Section of the Coherer Showing Its Construction 295
The Parts of the Hand Named According to Science 296
The Parts of the Hand Named According to Palmistry 298
Working Drawings for the Demonstration Steam Engine. Cross Section
Side View of the Engine 302
End View of the Engine. The Crank Shaft. The Rocker Arm 304
Top View of the Engine 306
The Steam Engine Ready to Demonstrate 309
HANDICRAFT FOR BOYS
CHAPTER I
CARPENTRY WORK AND CABINET MAKING
Did you ever think about what you’d do if you were shipwrecked on a
tropical island like Robinson Crusoe?
Well, if you had a good, strong pocket-knife with you it wouldn’t be
so terribly bad and in a few months’ time you’d have fashioned all the
things you’d need to furnish a three-room palmetto bungalow.
To be sure your furniture wouldn’t be very highly finished but it would
be awfully artistic and while in a civilized community it might be
looked upon as a rare exhibit of savage workmanship, it would serve you
nobly and well in your island home.
But you don’t have to be marooned on a lonely isle or limited to the
use of a jack-knife to show your prowess as a worker in wood. All you
need to do is to get some out of the way room where there is plenty of
light for a workshop and buy a few _good_ tools to work with and you’ll
take as keen a pleasure in making useful things with your own hands as
Robinson Crusoe did.
=The Tools You Need.=--It is a great mistake to go out and buy a cheap
chest of tools of whatever size for while there is always a large
number of tools in it they are usually of a very poor quality.
If you can afford to buy a chest of good tools and will get them of a
regular tool supply house you can then buy a chest of tools safely. Now
to make any ordinary piece of woodwork you don’t need many tools but
each one should be the very best, for therein half the pleasure lies.
=The Kind of Tools.=--The tools used for _cabinet making_, as the
finer kinds of joinery are called, are exactly the same as those used
for carpentry though they are usually kept a little sharper and there
should be a few more of them.
All the tools you will need at first are shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and
these are (1) a cast-steel, adze-eye, bell-faced _hammer_[1] weighing
about 9 ounces, which is a regular carpenter’s hammer. (2) A _mallet_,
made of hickory, with a 2¹⁄₂ inch face and try to get one in which the
handle goes clear through the head and is wedged in.
[1] The Ohio Tool Company makes good hammers.
(3) Four saws,[2] namely (a) a 16 inch _crosscut saw_--usually called
a _handsaw_--which is used for sawing off boards across the grain, (b)
a 20 inch _rip-saw_, for sawing with the grain so that a board can be
sawed lengthwise, (c) a _back saw_ or _miter saw_ as it is sometimes
called; it is about 12 inches long and has about 20 teeth to the inch
so that it makes a very fine and smooth cut. (d) A _compass saw_; it
has a narrow, tapering blade about 10 inches long and is used to cut
out holes in boards, and to cut _disks_, or wheels of wood. The blade
of a _keyhole saw_ is thinner and narrower than a compass saw and,
hence, smaller holes and shorter curves can be cut with it than with a
compass saw.
[2] Disston saws are the kind to get.
[Illustration:
_THE WAY TO SAW A BOARD_
_A CARPENTER’S HAMMER AND HOW TO HOLD IT_
_SAWING OFF A STRIP WITH A BACK SAW AND MITER BOX_
_WHERE A COMPASS SAW COMES IN HANDY_
_HOW TO HOLD A SMOOTHING PLANE_
_A FIRMER CHISEL IN USE_
FIG. 1. SOME USEFUL WOOD WORKING TOOLS]
(4) A _miter box_ (pronounced mi′-ter) is a little trough of wood
formed of a bottom with two sides screwed to it but without a top or
ends. The sides of the box have saw-cuts in them, or _kerfs_ as they
are called, at angles of 45 and 90 degrees so that strips of wood,
molding and the like can be sawed accurately across, or _mitered_, to
make a corner joint.
(5) Three planes[3] and these are (a) a _block plane_ for small light
work; (b) a _smoothing plane_ which is a little longer and has a handle
and is _set fine_, that is the _bit_, or blade is finely adjusted for
finishing work; and (c) a _jack-plane_, which is a large plane used for
planing off rough surfaces.
[3] I like Stanley planes the best.
(6) Three chisels,[4] or _firmer chisels_ as they are called. These are
regular flat, bevel-edged carpenter’s chisels and the blades should be
¹⁄₈, ¹⁄₄, and ¹⁄₂ inch wide, respectively.
[4] Buck Brothers are noted for their chisels.
(7) Three gouges,[5] or _firmer gouges_, to give them their full name.
These gouges are simply chisels with curved cutting edges so that a
rounded groove can be cut in a board. Get them with blades having ¹⁄₄,
³⁄₈ and ¹⁄₂ inch regular _sweep_, as the curve of the cutting edge is
called.
[5] Buck Brothers’ gouges are also good.
[Illustration:
_BORING A HOLE WITH A BRACE AND BIT_
_THE SCREW DRIVER AND HOW TO USE IT_
_HOW THE TRY SQUARE IS USED_
_A NAIL SET AND HOW TO HOLD IT_
_USING A MARKING GAUGE_
_THE RIGHT WAY TO SHARPEN A CHISEL_
FIG. 2. A FEW MORE COMMON WOOD WORKING TOOLS]
(8) A _brace_ and five _auger bits_.[6] A brace and bit, as you know,
is a tool to _bore_ holes in wood with. You ought to have five bits and
get them ¹⁄₄, ⁵⁄₁₆, ³⁄₈, ⁷⁄₁₆ and ¹⁄₂ an inch in diameter.
[6] When you buy auger bits get the genuine Russel Jennings.
(9) A _maple_ or a _boxwood rule_; this should be a regular, 2-foot,
four fold carpenter’s rule. (10) A _marking gauge_; the _bar_ of the
gauge is graduated in 16ths of an inch and the _adjustable_ head of one
good enough to work with is fitted with a brass thumb screw.
(11) An iron bound _try-square_ with a 6, or better, a 9-inch blade.
This is used not only to make measurements with but to _try_ whether a
thing is _square_ or not, hence its name.
(12) Two _screw drivers_, one for small and the other for large screws.
(13) Two _double cut gimlets_, one ¹⁄₈ and the other ³⁄₁₆ inch in
diameter; these are useful for making holes for starting screws and the
like.
(14) Four _hand screws_, or _clamps_ as they are more often called;
these are made of wood and are used to clamp two or more pieces of wood
together when they are being bored or after they are glued. The jaws
should be about 7 inches long and they should open at least 4 inches
wide. They only cost a quarter apiece.
(15) A _nail set_; this is a steel punch for driving the head of a
nail below the surface of the wood without denting it.
(16) A _Washita oil-stone_ is the right kind to sharpen wood-working
tools on; a stone ¹⁄₂ or ³⁄₄ inch thick, 2 inches wide and 4 or 5
inches long will be large enough and you should make a box with a cover
to keep it in and so protect it from the dust.
[Illustration: FIG. 2M. A CLAMP OFTEN COMES IN HANDY]
(17) A sewing machine _oil can_ filled with sewing machine oil, or any
other good, light lubricating oil, is needed for sharpening your tools.
(18) A small can of Le Page’s _liquid glue_, or if you want to make
your own glue then get a _glue-pot_ and _brush_. You can buy a ¹⁄₂ pint
can of liquid glue for a quarter or less, or you can buy a cast iron,
water-jacketed glue pot which holds a pint for about 40 cents. Get a
small round _bristle brush_ for a glue brush.
=Some Hints on Using Tools.=--Since I have used tools ever since I was
old enough to hold a hammer I can easily tell you just how you should
handle them but to become a skilled workman you must be willing to do
the rest and that is to practice.
_How to Hold a Hammer._--When you use a hammer, grasp the handle a
couple of inches from the free end and hold it so that it will swing
freely and easily in your hand and keep your hand and wrist above the
level of the nail or whatever it is you are pounding; this takes the
jar off of your arm and makes the work of using it surer and less
tiresome. Never use a hammer on wood-work of any kind.
When you use a mallet as for driving chisels hold it rather close to
its head, and need I tell you never to use a wooden mallet to drive
nails with.
_How to Use a Saw._--Hold the wood to be sawed with your left hand--I
am taking it for granted that you are righthanded; put all of the
fingers of your right hand through the hole in the handle of the saw
with your thumb on the other side and grip the handle firmly.
To start the saw put it on the mark where you want to saw the board and
rest your thumb against the side of it to guide and steady it. Stand so
that your eye will look down the back of the saw and don’t hold it too
straight but at an angle of 45 degrees, that is half way between the
horizontal and the vertical. Of course this does not apply to a back
saw or a keyhole saw.
_How to Use a Plane._--Since a smooth plane has no handle lay your
right hand over the tail of it and rest your left hand on the nose of
it. Make short, quick strokes, pressing down on the plane as it goes
forward and letting up on it a little as you draw it back.
A jack-plane has a handle on it something like a saw-handle and it is
held like a saw with your right hand. If there is no knob on the nose
of it hold it by laying your left hand across it. When using a jack
plane give it a long stroke with even pressure and you will take off
the same thickness of shaving all the way along.
_How to Use Chisels and Gouges._--To hold a chisel properly when
cutting a groove grip it a couple of inches below the top of the handle
with your left hand. Hold it with the beveled edge down from you and at
a slight angle from the horizontal when making grooves, and at a slight
angle from the vertical when cutting a mortise. Gouges are used in the
same way as chisels.
_How to Use a Brace and Bit._--Set the sharp pointed end of the bit on
the exact spot which is to be the center of the hole you are to bore.
Hold the top handle of the brace with your left hand and the crank
handle with your right hand. Have the top of the brace and the bit in a
line with your eye and after you start to bore _sight_ the bit on both
sides of the hole you are boring to see that it is _plumb_--that is
straight up and down.
_How to Use a Rule._--A carpenter’s rule is two feet long and divided
into inches which are sub-divided again into 8ths and 16ths of an inch.
In making measurements for joinery use the rule accurately or you will
have misfits.
_How to Use a Marking Gauge._--This is a useful device to mark off one
or more parallel lines on a board when one edge of it is straight.
The head slides on a wooden bar near one end of which is a steel
point. The bar is _graduated_, that is, it is spaced off in inches and
fractions of an inch like a rule and this makes it easy to set the head
at any distance from the steel point.
When you have set the gauge hold the head against the edge of the board
you want to mark, press the steel point against the _surface_ and draw
the gauge along with both hands when the point will scratch a line.
_How to Use Hand Screws or Clamps._--Put the pieces of wood that are to
be held together between the jaws of the clamp and screw each screw up
a little at a time so that the jaws are kept even, that is parallel.
_How to Use a Nail Set._--A _finishing nail_, that is, a nail having a
head only a shade larger than the shank, is used for the finer kinds
of woodwork. After you have driven in a nail until its head is within,
say, ¹⁄₈ inch of the surface put the small, hollow end of your nail
set on it, hold them together with your thumb and forefinger and drive
it in by hitting the nail set with your hammer. After the head is sunk
below the surface of the wood fill in the hole with a _wood filler_[7]
when neither the nail nor the hole can be seen.
[7] To make a wood-filler, melt 1 ounce of white resin and 1 ounce of
yellow wax in a pan and add enough _ochre_, which can be had in any
color, to give it the color of the wood you are using. Stir it well
and fill the dent while hot. This filler sticks well to the wood and
when dry is very hard.
_How to Use a Gimlet._--After you have started a hole with a gimlet
give it a complete turn and then half a turn back each time, for by so
doing it will be far less liable to split the wood. Moisten the point
of the gimlet and it will go in easier.
_How to Drive Nails and Screws._--Put a little common brown soap on the
ends of nails and screws before you drive them in and you will find
that it greatly lessens the friction.
_How to Make a Glue-Pot._--In these days of preparedness it is easier
to buy ready made glue than it is to make it yourself; moreover it is
just about as cheap, nearly as good and certainly far less trouble.
If you insist on making your own glue though, you must, first of all,
have a glue-pot of the right kind to make it in. As I have already
mentioned a glue-pot is made of two pots one inside the other. The
outside pot is half filled with water and the inside one contains the
glue.
You can improvise a glue-pot by using a tomato can for the outside pot
and a pepper or mustard can for the inside pot. While it won’t look
quite as shop-like as the kind you buy it will work just as well.
_How to Make Good Glue and How to Use It._--To make good glue, put
some small pieces of genuine Peter Cooper or imported French Coignet
glue into the inside glue pot in enough water to cover it. The outer
pot is set on a fire and the water in it is brought to a boil. Stir the
glue until it is all melted, when it should be about as thick as sewing
machine oil. Skim off the scum that forms when the glue is boiling.
In using home-made glue have it very hot, for the hotter it is the
stronger the joint it will make; further put it on both surfaces of the
wood to be glued together very thinly as this also tends to make it
stick tighter.
=How to Sharpen Your Tools.=--You must have sharp tools if you expect
to do a job like a carpenter or a cabinet maker.
_About Sharpening Saws._--This is done by filing the teeth with a _hand
saw taper file_ and the saw must be held in a _saw-vise_, that is a
vise with long jaws which keep the saw from vibrating.
When the saw is filed the teeth must be _set_, which means that one
tooth is bent one way a trifle and the next one to it is bent the other
way and this is done with a tool called a _saw set_.
You ought to learn to file your own saws but it would be just as well,
or a little better, to let a man who makes a business of filing saws do
this job for you at first. Keep your saws oiled when not in use.
_About Sharpening Chisels and Plane Bits._--To sharpen a chisel or
a plane bit put a few drops of oil on your Washita oil stone; hold
the beveled edge of the tool on it and toward you, and see to it that
it rests flat on the stone or you will make it rounding and the edge
uneven.
When you get it at exactly the right angle grasp it firmly with both
hands and then move it on the stone, forth and back, pressing down on
it pretty hard as it moves away from you, and easing up on it as you
draw it toward you.
When a chisel or a plane-bit gets a nick in it it must be ground out on
a grind stone; if you haven’t one get a carpenter to do it for you, and
when you get it back _hone_ it, that is, sharpen it on your oil stone
as before.
Get a Washita _slip stone_ for the touching up gouges and instead of
rubbing the edge of the gouge on the stone you rub the stone on the
gouge. Never try to grind a woodworking tool on an emery wheel.
_About Sharpening Auger Bits._--An ordinary auger-bit seldom needs
sharpening but when it does the _cutter_ of it must be sharpened on the
inside. A very fine file can be used for this purpose and then hone it
with a slip of an oil stone.
=How to Take Care of Your Tools.=--If your workshop is nice and dry you
don’t need to put your tools away in a chest or a cabinet after you get
through using them each time.
But if you use them only once in awhile it is a good plan to wipe them
off with a piece of cheese-cloth moistened with oil and then lock them
up where neither the baby can get them nor the hired girl from across
the street can borrow them.
=Removing Rust from Tools.=--Should any of your tools show signs of
rusting you can get the rust off by rubbing some sweet oil on the
rusted part; let it stand a couple of days and then rub it with very
finely powdered unslacked lime.
=To Etch Your Name on Tools.=--Clean the saw, or whatever tool you want
to _etch_ your name on, with a hot solution made by dissolving some
_sodium carbonate_, commonly called _soda_, in water and be careful not
to touch the cleaned surface with your fingers.
Next cover the cleaned surface with a thin layer of melted wax or
paraffin and when it is cold scratch your name clear through it with a
darning needle or some other sharp pointed tool so that the steel is
exposed and the acid solution can act on it.
Put ¹⁄₂ an ounce of water into a glass stoppered bottle and add ¹⁄₂ an
ounce of _nitric acid_.[8] Shake the solution well to mix it, dip a
splint of wood into it and touch the scratched in letters with it until
the acid covers the exposed parts of the steel.
[8] Nitric acid is a _poison_ and you must so label the bottle
containing it. Do not pour the water into the acid as it will splash
about. Be careful not to get it on your clothes, but if you should,
brush some ammonia over it as this will neutralize it and stop its
action.
Let the acid solution stay on for a half or an hour and then wash it
off with hot water, scrape off the paraffin and you will find your name
etched on the steel exactly as you marked it.
=Kinds of Wood to Use.=--There are many kinds of woods and each one
has its special use in the arts and crafts. For carpentry and cabinet
making you will probably not use more than half-a-dozen woods and these
are, (1) _pine_; (2) _cedar_; (3) _mahogany_; (4) _oak_; (5) _birch_
and (6) _walnut_.
_Pine._--This is a good wood for making things in general. There are
two kinds of pine and these are (a) _white pine_ and (b) _yellow pine_.
White pine is very soft, light and straight grained and it is a
pleasure to use it even if it is only to sit on a fence and whittle
it with a pocket knife. (I wish I could do it again.) You can make
benches, boxes, toys and a hundred and one other things out of it but
it is too soft for furniture and cabinet work.
Yellow, or Georgia pine has a fine yellow color, and a beautiful grain
and together they are very showy. It is harder than white pine and
while it can be used where the latter cannot, it is not nearly as easy
to work.
_Cedar._--This fragrant wood belongs to the pine family and it is
nearly as soft as pine. There are two kinds of cedar and these are (a)
_red cedar_ and (b) _white cedar_.
Red cedar is the kind you want to get to make things of; it has a
pastel red color and a fragrant odor and it is this latter property
that makes it a good wood for wardrobe chests, for moths do not like
it. Next to white pine it is about the easiest wood to work and it is
especially nice for making all small articles, such as glove boxes,
handkerchief boxes and the like.
_Mahogany._--Also and likewise there are two kinds of mahogany and
these are (a) _Honduras mahogany_ and (b) _Spanish mahogany_.
Honduras mahogany is the kind that cigar boxes are made of and it is
much softer and lighter in both weight and color than Spanish mahogany.
You can make all manner of nice things of the better grades of Honduras
mahogany and, curiously enough, it stays glued better than any other
wood. It is nearly as easy to work as pine and it takes a fine polish.
Spanish mahogany is like Honduras mahogany in name only. It is a fine,
close-grained dark-red-brown or yellow-brown colored wood, takes a very
high polish and makes the finest kind of furniture.
_Oak._--This is a strong, beautiful wood and is useful in making all
kinds of furniture the design of which should be plain.
It is not an easy wood to work and tools when used on it soon lose
their cutting edges. But after you have made a piece of furniture you
can depend on it that it will last to the end of time, nearly.
_Birch._--This wood belongs to the oak family but different from oak
it is quite easy to work. It is light in color, fine grained, so tough
and elastic it cannot be easily broken, and it takes a fine polish. For
these reasons it makes nice furniture and it is a very good wood for
turning.
It is from the bark of the birch that the Indians made their canoes,
but this is a story of the long ago and we must stick to the present.
_Walnut._--This is a good old English wood; it is the finest kind of
wood that can be used for ornamental furniture, gun stocks and wherever
else a beautiful color and a showy grain are wanted. It is easier to
work than oak and is a fine wood for carving.
=How to Make Joints.=--The word _joint_ in woodworking means the place
where two or more pieces of wood are fitted together, and hence the
words _joiner_ and _joinery_ in woodworking parlance.
[Illustration:
A· _THE SQUARE OR BUTT JOINT_
B· _THE PLAIN LAP JOINT_
C· _THE BEVELED LAP JOINT_
D· _THE REBATED JOINT_
E· _THE TONGUE AND GROOVE JOINT_
FIG. 3. HOW EDGE JOINTS ARE MADE]
There are two chief kinds of joints and these are, (1) where two flat
surfaces are fixed to each other, and (2) where the edges of two boards
meet to form a corner. Though there are many ways to make both kinds of
joints I shall only tell you about half-a-dozen which you will find the
most useful for your needs.
_Edge Joints._--There are three easy ways to make flat, or edge joints
and these are (a) the _square_, or _butt joint_; (b) the _lap-joint_
and (c) the _matched joint_, all of which are shown in Fig. 3.
In the square joint the edges of the boards are simply _butted_
together and nailed, screwed or glued. This joint is very weak unless
the abutting ends are fastened to something else.
In the simplest form of lap-joint the edge of one board is laid on top
of the other board and these are nailed or otherwise fastened together.
A neater lap joint is made by cutting away half of the edge of each
end of the boards so that when they are fitted and fixed together the
surfaces of the boards at the joints are even and smooth.
A better joint than the lap-joint is made by planing a _tongue_ on the
edge of one board and a groove in the other. To do this easily, neatly
and quickly you need a _rabbet plane_ and as this is quite a costly
tool, you can get along very well without it by using the lap-joints.
_Corner Joints._--There are five corner joints which you should know
about and these are (a) the _butt_, or _square joint_; (b) the _lap_,
or _rebated joint_; (c) the _mitered corner pieced joint_; (d) the
_common dove-tail box joint_, and (e) the _regular dove-tail joint_,
pictures of all of which are shown in Fig. 4.
Now when you can saw a board off straight, plane it true and make a
good joint you will have small trouble in making anything in wood that
you want to make.
[Illustration:
A· _THE BUTT OR SQUARE JOINT_
B· _THE REBATED JOINT_
C· _THE MITERED CORNER PIECE JOINT_
D· _THE SIMPLE BOX DOVETAIL_
E· _A BETTER FORM OF DOVETAIL_
FIG. 4. HOW CORNER JOINTS ARE MADE]
=About Working Drawings.=--When most boys--to say nothing of the
majority of men--start to make something they simply knit their
eyebrows (not high-brows) and think out how it will look in the
_concrete_--that is when it is all done and ready to use.
Then they go ahead and begin to saw up the lumber and put the pieces
together. The result is that when the object is finished it looks very
different from the thing they so proudly pictured in their mind’s eye.
Now the right way to build what you want and have it look as it ought
to is to make a _working drawing_ of it.
To do this draw a picture of it to a _scale_, of say 1 inch to the
foot; that is, if it is to be 4 feet long draw it 4 inches long. The
drawings I have made of the work-bench and the tool box which follow
will show you how to make simple working drawings and the last part of
Chapter III explains it all in detail, so read it carefully.
=Things for You to Make.=--When you have your workshop ready, your
tools at hand, the foregoing ideas of woods in your mind and know about
simple working drawings you can go ahead and make things and your first
job will probably be to make a bench.
[Illustration: FIG. 5. AN EASILY MADE WORK BENCH]
_How to Make a Work Bench._--Go to a lumber yard or a planing mill
and get one 2 × 2 _scantling_ 12 feet long for the legs, and two 2 ×
2 scantlings for the cross bars and the side bars; the middle cross
bar can be any kind of a thick piece of wood. If you can’t get 2 × 2
scantlings get 2 × 4’s and have whichever size you get planed smooth on
all sides.
At the same time get three boards 1 or 2 inches thick, 10 inches wide
and 6 feet long for the top of the bench and two boards 1 inch thick,
10 inches wide and 4 feet long for the tool board. Saw the scantlings
up so that you will have four pieces for the legs 2 feet 9 inches long;
four cross-bars 2 feet 6 inches long, and two side bars 3 feet 6 inches
long.
Build up the frame of the bench first as shown in Fig. 5; then nail, or
better, screw a cross-bar to the middle of the 6 foot boards, lay them
on top of the frame and nail or screw them to the end cross bars. When
you have the bench thus far along put on the _vise_.
[Illustration: FIG. 6. A WOOD VISE FOR YOUR WORK BENCH]
A wood-worker’s vise as shown at A and B in Fig. 6 can be bought for
$3.50 on up to about $9.00. The jaws are about 4 inches wide and 12
inches long and they open nearly 12 inches. All you have to do to fix
it to your bench is to screw the rear jaw to the front left hand edge
of the top of the bench as shown in Fig. 5.
The tool board is not an absolute necessity but it is a great
convenience. To make it saw off two boards 4 feet long, nail
them together with a couple of strips of wood--these are called
_cleats_--and round off one end as shown in Fig. 5. Screw the tool
board to the back of the bench and you are all ready to make things in
wood.
[Illustration: FIG. 7A. A CARPENTER’S TOOL CHEST]
_How to Make a Tool Chest._--Either birch or chestnut are good woods
to make your tool chest of. Make the box, that is the lower part of
the chest, and the lid for it of ³⁄₄ inch thick stuff; have the box
9 inches high, 12 inches wide and 30 inches long and have the lid
3 inches high, 12 inches wide and 30 inches long. Screw the boards
together as nails will not hold tight enough. See A Fig. 7.
Screw a strip of wood inside the chest for the tray to rest on; put two
or three hinges on the box and lid and be particular how you do it or
the lid will not fit evenly on the chest. Fasten a _staple_ on front of
the box in the middle near the top and a _hasp_ on the cover so that
you can put on a padlock, or better you can put on a regular chest lock
which is handier and makes a neater looking job. To keep the lid from
falling back when you open it, screw a piece of chain about 8 inches
long to it and the box and this will serve as a check.
[Illustration: FIG. 7B. THE TRAY FOR YOUR TOOL CHEST]
Finally make a tray of ¹⁄₂ or ⁵⁄₈ inch thick wood as shown at B in Fig.
7. Make the ends 6 inches high and 6 inches long and saw out the handle
grips with your keyhole saw. Make the sides and partitions 4¹⁄₂ inches
high and 28¹⁄₂ inches long, screw them together and put on the bottom.
By making the tray narrower than the chest you can slide it back and
forth and so get such tools out of the bottom as you may need without
lifting the tray each time you do so.
_Note._--You can buy any tool I have described in this chapter of any
hardware dealer or tool supply company in your town or if one is not at
hand Hammacher, Schlemmer and Company, corner of Fourth Avenue and 13th
Street, New York City, will supply you with just what you want.
CHAPTER II
SCROLL SAWING, WOOD TURNING, WOOD CARVING, ETC.
As you may have observed, it takes a pretty good sized room for a shop
and quite a lot of tools to do carpenter work and cabinet making.
Now if you find it hard to get these things don’t be discouraged
because there are other kinds of woodwork that take neither a whole
room nor a chest of tools, and the chief ones of these are (1) _scroll
sawing_; (2) _wood turning_; (3) _wood carving_ and (4) _pyrography_.
Not only are the pursuits of these trades pleasant but they are
profitable because whether the art objects you make are useful or not
the work trains your mind, your eyes and your hands at one and the same
time and when you get these three factors working harmoniously together
you have achieved something that will be valuable to you as long as you
live.
All About Scroll Sawing
Scroll sawing, fret sawing and jig sawing all mean precisely the same
thing and that is sawing interlaced and ornamental designs out of wood,
or _fretwork_ as it is called.
With a scroll saw frame costing 50 cents and a few thin boards you can
saw out the most exquisite patterns and make the most dainty articles
imaginable. There is more pleasure, of course, in using a regular foot
power scroll saw, but you can do just as good work with a hand frame
and though it takes a little longer you’ll enjoy it immensely.
=Scroll Sawing Outfits.=--A scroll saw is a very simple piece of
apparatus and it consists of a fine saw fixed in a frame, or otherwise
supported, so that it can be moved up and down, and it is narrow enough
to turn sharp curves.
Now scroll saws, as I shall call them, are of three kinds and these are
(1) those worked by hand; (2) those run by foot-power, and (3) those
operated by other kinds of power.
[Illustration: FIG. 8. A SIMPLE AND CHEAP SCROLL SAWING OUTFIT]
=A Cheap Scroll Sawing Outfit.=--The simplest and cheapest scroll
sawing outfit consists of (a) a _scroll saw frame_; (b) a dozen _saw
blades_, and (c) an _awl_, all of which are shown in Fig. 8. If it
is your idea to saw out brackets and other fancy knickknacks you
ought to have a sheet of (d) _impression paper_,[9] (e) some _sheet
designs_,[10] and (f) some _fancy wood_.
[9] This is ordinary carbon paper such as is used for typewriting.
[10] See Fancy Woods for Scroll Sawing in this chapter.
The scroll saw frame is a bent iron or steel bar, usually
nickel-plated, which forms a frame about 5 inches wide and 12 inches
long. A handle is fitted to one end and a clamp to each end so that the
saw blade can be held tight in the frame.
_How to Use the Scroll Saw._--The first thing to do is to put a saw
blade in the frame and be sure to have the points of the teeth _down_,
that is toward the handle.
Next mark the design you intend to saw out on a thin piece of wood[11]
planed nice and smooth on both sides, hold it flat on the edge of the
table with your left hand, grip the saw handle with your right hand and
hold it so that the saw blade is vertical as shown in Fig. 9.
[11] Both can be bought of L. H. Wild, 171 Avenue A, New York City.
You are ready now to begin to saw out the design; set the sawblade on
the line, jig the saw frame up and down and be careful to give it even
and smooth strokes. You will be surprised to find how easily it works.
When you are sawing turn the wood and not the saw frame--the latter
can be turned a little sometimes to advantage--and hold it so that
the back of the frame is always toward you and the blade should move
forward but very slightly.
[Illustration: FIG. 9. THE RIGHT WAY TO USE A HAND SCROLL SAW]
When you want to saw a piece out of the inside of the board, take your
awl and make a hole in it by giving it a twisting motion to prevent
it from splitting the wood. Now unscrew one of the clamps of your saw
frame and put the free end of the saw through the hole, clamp it in the
frame and start to saw again.
=A Few Other Helpful Things.=--A _Hand Saw-Table_.--You can saw out
your designs much more easily and neatly if you use a hand saw table as
shown in Fig. 10. This is a board about 4 × 6 inches on the sides with
a V sawed out of one end and a clamp screwed to the bottom of it.
[Illustration: FIG. 10. A HAND SCROLL SAW TABLE]
This makes the end of the board project out from the table it is
clamped to, raises the wood you are sawing from the surface of it and
gives you a firm grip on it. You can easily make a saw table or you can
buy one for 50 cents.[12]
[12] The Millers Falls Company, Millers Falls, Mass., makes them and
nearly all tool companies sell them.
_Files for Scroll Work._--To do a really neat job at scroll sawing you
should have a set of scroll saw files. These files are long and thin
and are made round, oval, knife edge, half round and three cornered as
shown at A in Fig. 11.
_A Twist Drill Stock._--A twist drill stock and a drill, see B, Fig.
11, is far better for making holes in wood than an awl and as they only
cost 50 cents you should have one. You can make a hole in a ¹⁄₈ inch
thick board in the ¹⁄₁₀₀th part of a minute.
_A Pair of Pliers._--A pair of flat-nose, side cutting pliers is a very
useful tool which will go a long way toward making your scroll sawing
efforts a success. A pair is shown at C in Fig. 11.
_A Small Hammer._--And finally get a small hammer to drive brads with
as pictured at D.
_Scroll Saw Blades._--There are two kinds made and these are known as
(1) _Star saw blades_ and (2) _German saw blades_.
[Illustration:
_SCROLL SAWYER’S FILES_
_A TWIST DRILL STOCK_
_FLAT NOSE, SIDE CUTTING PLIERS_
_A SMALL HAMMER_
_SAW BLADES (HALF SIZE)_
_THE TEETH OF A SAW ARE PLACED WIDE APART TO CUT CLEAN_
FIG. 11. SOME NECESSARY SCROLL SAWING TOOLS]
As one is as good as the other by all means buy Star blades. The sizes
from 1 to 10 are shown at E in Fig. 11, but three smaller and two
larger sizes are made. The smaller sizes cost 10 cents a dozen and the
larger sizes 15 cents a dozen. The spacing of the teeth on the blade is
shown at F.
=How to Trace a Design on Wood.=--You can draw your own designs or buy
them printed ready to use. In either case you must transfer the design
to the surface of the wood you are going to saw.
To do this lay a sheet of _carbon paper_ as typists call it, or
_impression paper_ as jig sawyers call it, with the prepared side next
to the wood; lay the design sheet on top of it; and fasten the corners
of the sheets to the wood with glue, or, better, with _thumb tacks_.[13]
[13] Thumb tacks are short, flat headed tacks used by draughtsmen.
Now take a sharp, hard lead pencil or a piece of pointed bone and trace
the outline of the design. When you have it all done you will find that
the design is plainly marked in black lines on the wood--that is except
where you forgot to trace it.
=Designs for Scroll Sawing.=--Designs in great variety can be bought
of H. L. Wild, Publisher, 171 Avenue A, New York City. Besides glove
boxes, handkerchief boxes, bird cages, clock cases, thread and thimble
stands, photo frames and a thousand and one other pretty and useful
articles you can get patterns for doll furniture, alphabets and
mechanical designs like the horizontal engine shown at A in Fig. 12 and
the fire engine shown at B.
=Foot-Power Scroll Saws.=--There are several makes of foot-power scroll
saws on the market and the prices of these range from $4.50 to $25.
_The Cricket Scroll Saw._--This is the cheapest foot-power scroll saw
that you can buy and is the one that sells for $4.50. It has a _table_
that tilts which permits you to saw your work on a _bevel_--that is on
a slant--so that you can _inlay_ it with some other kind of wood or
metal.
[Illustration:
=A=--_A HORIZONTAL STEAM ENGINE_
=B=--_A FIRE ENGINE_
FIG. 12. MECHANICAL MASTERPIECES MADE WITH A SCROLL SAW]
This little machine weighs 17 pounds and is 33 inches high; it is made
of lighter castings than the machines which follow but it will do just
about as good work as the higher priced ones. Fig. 13 shows what it
looks like.
[Illustration: FIG. 13. THE CHEAPEST FOOT-POWER SCROLL SAW MADE]
_The Lester Scroll Saw._--This is a well made saw, has a cast iron
frame and the _arms_ of the saw frame and the _pitman_--that is, the
rod which connects the crank wheel with the frame--are of ash.
The Lester has several very handy attachments and these are (a) an
_automatic dust blower_, which blows the sawdust away from the line
you are sawing on; (b) an _adjustable lever saw clamp_ with a hinged
jaw which prevents the saw blades from breaking; and (c) a _drilling
attachment_.
[Illustration: FIG. 14. THE LESTER SCROLL SAW WITH TURNING LATHE
ATTACHMENT]
This saw, which is shown in Fig. 14, costs $10.00, is 35 inches high
and weighs in the neighborhood of 30 pounds. The lathe attachment costs
$2.00 extra.
_The Fleetwood Scroll Saw._--This is the best and consequently the
most expensive foot power scroll saw made. It has a swing of nearly
16 inches. It is fitted with a tilting table, a vertical drill and a
blowing attachment. A scroll saw of this kind with a plain stand can be
bought for $21.00, or one with a fancy stand, see Fig. 15, can be had
for $25.00.
[Illustration: FIG. 15. THE FLEETWOOD SCROLL SAW]
=How a Foot-Power Scroll Saw Works.=--If you will look again at Figs.
13 and 14 you will see that the scroll saws shown have saw frames very
like a hand saw frame. The lower part of the frame is connected with a
crank on the end of a spindle, which has a small grooved wheel fixed
to it, by a pitman or rod and the treadle is connected with the large
drive wheel by another pitman; finally the drive wheel is belted to the
small grooved wheel.
Now when you work the treadle with your foot it produces a
_reciprocating motion_ and this is changed by the pitman into _rotary
motion_ which it imparts to the drive wheel. Since the grooved, or
driven, wheel is smaller than the drive wheel it revolves faster and
this gives the pitman connected with it a very rapid rotary motion on
one end but as it is pivoted to the frame which in turn is pivoted at
the rear end it is changed into an up and down or reciprocating motion
exactly like the treadle but many times faster.
The Fleetwood works a little differently, in that instead of a frame
the pitman is connected with a metal block that slides in a guide. The
lower end of the saw is fastened to the upper end of this sliding block
and the top of the saw blade is fixed to the end of a long, curved
spring whose elasticity tends to make it fly up.
This action keeps the saw blade always taut and pulls it up except
when the pitman pulls the block down and the saw with it. This is the
principle on which large power jig saws used in shops are worked.
=How to Saw on a Foot-Power Scroll Saw.=--Lay the board you are going
to saw flat on the table of the machine and put your finger tips of
both hands on top of the board; when possible keep one hand on one side
of the saw and the other hand on the opposite side of it.
Press down hard enough on the work to keep it on the table against the
up strokes of the saw; as the top of the table is polished it is easy
to slide the work around and keep the saw on the line. Run the saw at
an even speed and do not feed the wood against the blade too fast.
TABLE OF SCROLL SAW WOODS
_Price per foot_
_planed to a thickness of_
_Name_ _¹⁄₁₆ to ¹⁄₈ in._ _³⁄₁₆ in._ _¹⁄₄ in._
Poplar, or White Wood or Bass $0.07 $0.08 $0.09
Spanish Cedar .10 .12 .14
White Maple .10 .12 .15
Sycamore .11 .13 .15
Hazel Wood .11 .13 .15
Oak or White Ash .11 .13 .15
White Holly .12 .14 .16
Black Walnut .14 .16 .18
Bird’s Eye Maple .14 .16 .18
Mahogany .14 .16 .18
Cocobola .20 .25 .30
Amaranth .20 .25 .30
Rosewood .25 .30 .40
Satin Wood .30 .35 .40
Tulip .50 .60 .75
Real Ebony .50 .50 .50
These woods can be bought of H. L. Wild, 171 Avenue A, New York City,
or of J. Gabriel and Company, 672 Grand Street, Brooklyn, N. Y.
=Fancy Woods for Scroll Saw Work.=--Fancy woods that are planed on
both sides for scroll sawing can be bought in thicknesses of ¹⁄₁₆, ¹⁄₈,
³⁄₁₆ and ¹⁄₄ inch. Wood that is ¹⁄₈ inch thick is the best to use for
all ordinary work.
The foregoing list gives the name, thickness and price of the chief
common and fancy woods that are good for scroll sawing.
=Trimmings for Boxes, Etc.=--Brass hinges, knobs, screws, drawer pulls,
box hooks, French screws and wire nails, that is brads, catches, metal
legs, small locks, escutcheons, turned moldings, etc., can be bought of
the above dealers who specialize in scroll sawyer’s materials.
Turning in Wood
And now we come to another and highly fascinating kind of wood-work and
this is to spin a stick of wood in a lathe and shape it with a chisel
or gouge, or _wood turning_ as it is called.
While the outfit you need to turn wood with costs more than for scroll
sawing you will never forget the pleasure of rounding up of a bit of
wood into a shapely form, no, not if you were to live a thousand years.
=Get a Lathe First.=--It is far better to buy a lathe than to try to
make one, that is if you expect to turn anything on it, for in the
first place it is hard to get the things to make one with and in the
second you can buy one for very little money.
_How a Lathe is Made._--A wood turning lathe consists of four
principal parts, and these are (1) the _headstock_; (2) the _rest_; (3)
the _tailstock_; (4) the _bed_ and (5) the _stand_, the first three
parts of which are shown in Fig. 16.
[Illustration:
_SPUR_
_HEAD STOCK_
_REST_
_TAIL STOCK_
FIG. 16. THE CHIEF PARTS OF A TURNING LATHE]
The head stock is fixed to the bed of the stand; it is formed of a
_cone pulley_ mounted on a spindle in a frame. A _spur center_ is
screwed to the spindle and this holds the wood tightly in place while
it is being turned. The rest, which is adjustable, is used to lay your
turning tool on and so keep it in position. A long and short rest
usually go with the better lathes.
The tailstock has two adjustments, the first of which allows it to be
slipped back and forth on the bed and clamped at any point which gives
a rough adjustment, and the second is a spindle which is threaded on
one end and has a _taper center_, that is a sharp point on the other
end. This allows the piece of wood which is to be turned to be set
between the spur center of the headstock and the taper center of the
tailstock.
These parts rest on the bed of the lathe and this in turn is mounted
on a stand. The stand is fitted with a drive wheel and this is driven
by a treadle with which it is connected by a pitman exactly like a
foot-power scroll saw.
[Illustration: FIG. 17. THE CHEAPEST WOOD TURNING LATHE MADE]
=The Cheapest Lathe You Can Buy.=--The cheapest lathe you buy is called
the _Companion_; it is made by the Millers Falls Company, Millers
Falls, N. Y., and it costs $10.50. It has a long and a short rest,
three turning tools and a 2 inch face plate and spur center. When you
get it uncrate it, set it up, oil it well and you are ready to do some
turning. The lathe is shown complete in Fig. 17.
_Attachments for the Companion Lathe._--This lathe is fitted with a 4
inch emery wheel without extra charge. A very useful attachment is a
circular saw 3 inches in diameter and a saw table 6 × 7 inches with a
straight edge guide; it costs $1.25 extra. A scroll saw attachment that
can be clamped on the lathe bed may be bought for $3.00 extra. Both of
these attachments are shown in Fig. 17. Of course better and larger
lathes can be had for more money.
=Turning Tools for Wood.=--The tools used for turning wood[14] are
simply chisels and gouges. The chisels are made with four kinds of
points, namely, (1) _skew point_; (2) _round point_; (3) _square
point_, and (4) _spear point_, and these are shown in Fig. 18. These
chisels can be bought in all sizes from ¹⁄₄ inch to 1 inch wide.
[14] Buck Bros.’ turning tools for wood are counted best.
Gouges also come in sizes from ¹⁄₄ inch up to 1 inch, and a _parting
tool_, which is used to cut off a turned piece and which is simply a V
shaped chisel, can be had in ¹⁄₂, ⁵⁄₈ and ³⁄₄ inch sizes. These turning
tools are also shown in Fig. 18. You can buy them fitted with applewood
handles and sharpened ready for use for about 50 cents apiece. You
can buy them of hardware dealers or of Hammacher, Schlemmer and Co.,
Fourth Ave. and 13th Street, New York.
[Illustration:
_SKEW POINT_
_ROUND POINT_
_SQUARE POINT_
_SPEAR POINT_
_THE GOUGE_
_THE PARTING TOOL_
FIG. 18. A SET OF WOOD TURNING TOOLS]
=How to Turn Wood.=--Before you can turn out a really good job on a
lathe you must practice awhile. A good thing to try your hand on is to
make some tool handles. The size of these will, of course, depend on
what you intend to use them for.
Take a stick of wood, round or square, it doesn’t in the least matter,
a couple of inches longer and a trifle larger than the largest diameter
that the handle is to be and drive one end against the spurs of the
face plate as shown in Fig. 19.
This done screw up the feed of the tailstock until the back-center is
forced into the end of the wood about ¹⁄₈ of an inch; clamp the rest
so that it comes to within ¹⁄₄ an inch of the wood you are going to
turn and you are ready for work.
[Illustration: FIG. 19. PUTTING THE ROUGH WOOD IN THE LATHE]
Now put your foot on the treadle and work it up and down; very soon
the speed of the drive wheel will carry it round smoothly and it will
deliver considerable power to the pulley of the headstock. If the drive
wheel is 5 times as large as the pulley and you treadle the drive wheel
100 times every minute, the stick of wood which you want to turn will
revolve 500 times a minute.
[Illustration: FIG. 20. THE RIGHT WAY TO HOLD A WOOD WORKING TOOL]
When you have the wood rotating at about this speed grip the handle of
it firmly with your right hand, lay the back of the chisel on the rest
and press down on the blade with your left hand as shown in Fig. 20. Of
course the top edge of the wood is turning toward you.
Whatever you do when you are roughing down a stick of wood don’t try to
take off too large a cut. Go at it very gently with the point of your
chisel and as it begins to cut you can swing the tool around so that
the whole width of the blade is cutting.
_Gouges_ are used in the same way as chisels and with them you can turn
out hollow parts. A _parting tool_ is used for cutting off the ends of
the wood after you have finished turning it.
[Illustration:
_SIZING WITH A PAIR OF CALIPERS_
_A REGULAR SIZING TOOL_
FIG. 21. SIZING THE TURNED WORK]
When you want to turn a piece of wood down to a given size you can do
so by testing it with a pair of calipers, as shown in Fig. 21, or
you can size it with a regular sizing tool. To size the work measure
off the distance between the points of the calipers with a rule for
whatever thickness you want the turned part; then as you turn the wood
you can try it from time to time until the wood will just slip through
between the points.
The Art of Wood Carving
Carving is by all odds the hardest of all woodworking processes to
learn and yet there are some simple forms of it that are at once easy
to do and pretty to look at. While carving is an art in itself it can
be used with fine effect in combination with some kinds of scroll sawed
and turned work.
=Your Set of Carving Tools.=--To begin with you can get along very
well with a set of six carving tools. A set of this number is made up
of a ³⁄₈ inch, a ¹⁄₄ inch, a ¹⁄₂ inch and a ⁵⁄₁₆ inch _straight shank_
carving tools and two of these are _chisels_ and four are _gouges_, so
you see that they are just about the same as carpenters’ and turners’
chisels and gouges. Such a set of tools costs about $3.00.
A better set contains a dozen carving tools and this includes the above
tools as well as a couple of _bent fluting gouges_, with ¹⁄₈ and ¹⁄₄
inch _sweeps_, a couple of _front bent tools_, a _straight parting
tool_, and a _veining tool_, all of which is shown at A in Fig. 22; the
sweeps, as the curved cutting edges are called, are shown at B.
The _tangs_ of these tools, that is the sharp ends which fit into the
handles, have shoulders on them to prevent the handles from creeping
and splitting. The best carving tools on the market are those made by
S. J. Addis of London, and you can’t go wrong if you buy them.
[Illustration:
=A=
_STRAIGHT CHISEL_
_SHORT BEND GOUGE_
_SKEW CHISEL_
_STRAIGHT PARTING TOOL_
_STRAIGHT GOUGE_
_LONG BEND GOUGE_
_FLUTING GOUGE_
_FRONT BEND GOUGE_
_VEINING TOOL_
_BENT FILE_
=B=
_SWEEPS OF WOOD CARVING TOOLS_
=C=
_CARVER’S MALLET_
FIG. 22. KINDS AND SWEEPS OF CARVING TOOLS]
Carving tools as they come from the makers are sharpened but not
_honed_, that is the tools are ground sharp, but the _inside bevel_
of the tools must be rubbed up with an oil stone slip and most wood
carvers like to do this themselves.
When you buy a set of carving tools you also want to get a carver’s
mallet made of _lignum-vitæ_[15] with a face 2¹⁄₂ inches in diameter
and, as you will see in Fig. 22, its shape is quite different from
the ordinary kinds. Also get a _Washita oil stone_, and an _Arkansas
carving tool slip_, which is a small wedge-shaped oil-stone.
[15] _Lignum-vitæ_ is a greenish-brown wood and is very hard and
heavy. It grows in tropical America.
[Illustration: FIG. 23. MARKERS FOR STAMPING IN BACKGROUNDS]
Two or more _markers_, which are stamps made of tool steel, are very
useful for stamping in background work. A number of different designs
are shown in Fig. 23 and they cost about a quarter apiece.
[Illustration:
_A SNIB_
_A HAND CLAMP_
_A CARVER’S VISE_
FIG. 24. SCHEMES FOR HOLDING WORK WHEN CARVING]
To hold the work while you are carving it you can make two or more
_snibs_ as shown at A in Fig. 24. These little clamps are sawed out
pieces of wood with an ordinary wood screw through the thick end, and
when you want to carve a flat piece of work clip it with a couple of
snibs and screw the latter to your bench. A better scheme is to use a
couple of hand screws as shown at B. For carving in relief you will
need a wood-carver’s vise as shown at C.
=The Best Woods for Carving.=--A wood that is suitable for carving must
be tough, even grained and free from knots. For a beginner, and I guess
you are one, _yellow pine_ is a good wood to practice on as it is soft
and easy to work but you must be careful not to splinter it along the
grain.
Oak is much tougher but it is a fine wood for carving and you will not
need to take the care to prevent splintering as with pine. Black walnut
and mahogany are beautiful woods and are nice to carve, while for finer
work apple, pear, sycamore and California redwood are largely used.
=Kinds of Wood Carving.=--There are three kinds of wood carving in
general and these are (1) _chip_, or surface carving, (2) _panel_ or
relief carving, and (3) _figure_ carving, as shown in Fig. 25.
When you cut your initials in the top of your desk at school you made a
primitive attempt at what is called chip carving. Most likely you got
the birch for it but it was only the savage instinct for decorative art
that was trying to find expression in you, and so it’s not your fault.
(But don’t do it again.) Any kind of carving on a flat surface is
called chip carving, and some of it is very beautiful. It is shown at
A.
[Illustration:
=A=--_PLAIN PANEL_
=B=--_FANCY PANEL_
=C=--_FIGURE CARVING_
FIG. 25. KINDS OF CARVING]
Panel carving is done on flat pieces of wood also but the design is
made by cutting out or _sinking_ the ground, as shown at B. Sometimes
when it is desirable to make some part stand out in relief above the
surface it is carved out of a separate piece of wood and _planted on_,
that is glued on.
To carve a lily of the valley or a deer’s head out of a solid block of
wood is not as easy as the other kinds of carving, but if you have a
natural aptitude for using tools and an eye for art you can succeed as
well as the next one.
[Illustration: FIG. 25D. A CARVED WATCH CASE HOLDER]
_Chip Carving._--You will need only three tools for chip carving and
these are (1) a ¹⁄₄ inch chisel; (2) a parting tool and (3) a veining
tool.
The first thing is to get the design you want to carve on the board.
To do this you can either draw the design directly on the board, or,
better, lay a sheet of impression paper on the board and then the
design you want to transfer on top of it and trace it with a lead
pencil.
Screw the board to your bench with two or more snibs and you are ready
for work. Carve out the heavier lines with the parting tool and the
lighter lines with the veining tool. Use the chisel to cut the corners
sharp and make the lines clean and even. In chip carving _grounds_ are
never put in.
_Panel Carving._--In this kind of carving leaves, berries, scrolls and
the like are carved out of the surface of the board and as the ground
is sunk these objects stand out in relief.
Begin by drawing, or transferring, the pattern to the board as before;
then cut it out with gouges and chisels as shown at A and finally use
the veining tool for the radiating lines. The head can be carved out of
a separate piece of wood glued to the ground, or _planted_ on as it is
called. The work can be oiled and polished but never varnish it. It is
shown finished at C.
To make a watch case holder like the one shown at D saw out a piece of
walnut, or other wood, ¹⁄₄ inch thick and draw on the design.
Carve the cross and lower part of the case by chipping it; carve the
leaves in relief and put in the veins with the veining tool. Now saw
out another piece for the pocket 1 inch thick and carve out the front
and the back to the shape shown at D so that it is only ¹⁄₈ inch thick
when finished and glue it to the other part when you will have a watch
case holder of the vintage of 1875.
_Carving in Solid Wood._--This ranges all the way from carving simple
leaves as shown at D to the human form divine.
To carve out leaves on a flat surface draw the design as before and
carve them out with your gouge to look as much like real leaves as you
can and to give them the final touch of beauty cut the veins in with
your veining tool.
For carving out heads, as for example the one shown at C, mark the
shape of the object which you intend to carve on the sides of the block
as it would look if you cut it down through the middle. Now screw up
the block in your vise and cut away the sides with your chisels and
gouges, using the mallet to do it with. All you want to do at first is
to get the rough shape of the figure.
When you have done this you can go ahead and finish up the work with
your chisels and gouges. To give the carving a life-like appearance do
not use files or sandpaper on it and do not varnish or polish it.
Pyrography, or Wood Burning
This is a simple and pleasing art and one that is easy to practice. It
gets its didactic name from the Greek word _pyro_, which means fire,
and _graph_, to write, that is writing with fire, only in pyrography
you draw with fire instead.
=The Necessary Tools.=--The chief tool you need is called an _etching_
tool. This is formed of a piece of iron, copper or platinum with a
curved point which is heated in a flame until it is red or white hot.
When it is hot you press the curved point against the wood upon which
you have drawn the design and it burns the lines into it.
[Illustration:
_=A=--THE ETCHING TOOL_
_=B=--COMPLETE WITH HANDLE_
FIG. 26. THE TOOL USED FOR PYROGRAPHY]
_How to Make an Etching Tool._--Get a piece of copper rod ¹⁄₄ inch in
diameter and 3 inches long; file one end down to a point to the shape
shown at A and B in Fig. 26 and put a file handle on the other end.
_How to Make an Alcohol Lamp._--The etching tool must be heated in
either an alcohol or a Bunsen flame. You can make an alcohol lamp of
an ink bottle that will serve the purpose very well. Make a hole in
the cork about ¹⁄₄ inch in diameter and make a tin tube 1 inch long
that will fit it snugly. Braid a wick of string and put it through the
tin-tube; fill the bottle with alcohol and your lamp is done. If you
can get gas you can use a Bunsen burner[16] which makes a hotter flame
and is less trouble.
[16] Can be bought of the L. E. Knott Apparatus Company, Boston, Mass.
_A Better Outfit._--A good outfit which has a platinum pointed tool
and burns alcohol vapor, see C, can be bought for $3.00 and more.[17]
If you have gas in your house you can buy a tool which uses it for 50
cents or less.
[17] Everything needed for pyrography can be had of the Frost and
Adams Co., Cornhill, Boston.
[Illustration:
_=C=--AN OUTFIT THAT BURNS ALCOHOL VAPOR_
FIG. 26C. AN OUTFIT THAT BURNS BENZINE VAPOR]
_About the Designs._--If you are good at drawing you can make your own
designs, but if not you can buy them ready to use. Draw your designs
on soft white pine or basswood with a soft lead pencil having a blunt
point. Photo frames, plaques, tie racks, collar boxes and things which
you can saw out on your scroll saw are greatly improved by burning.
_How to Burn in the Design._--Heat the tool until it is red-hot, or if
it is platinum until it is white hot as shown at D. Hold the tool as
shown at E and without using too much pressure draw and push the point
along the lines until they are burnt in evenly.
When you have burnt in the design burn in the background by making a
lot of closely spaced lines; then burn in more parallel lines across
the first set. This produces a cross-hatched effect which at a distance
makes the design stand out in bold relief.
[Illustration: FIG. 26D. HOW THE TOOL IS HEATED]
[Illustration:
_=E=_
FIG. 26E. BURNING IN THE DESIGN]
When you have become a little expert you can shade the design but don’t
try it until you can burn the lines in evenly.
=Coloring and Staining Wood.=--Stains and dyes of all colors can be
bought of the Devoe and Reynolds Company, 101 Fulton Street, New York.
_Ebony Stain._--Brush the wood with a saturated solution of
_ferrous-sulphate_ and it will make it inky black. When used on white
holly, or any other close grained wood, it gives it a real ebony look.
Put the solution on with a soft brush. After the ebony stain has been
used the wood should be polished with wax to give it a dull finish.
_Fumed Oak._--Oak can be colored a beautiful brown by putting it in a
box with a tight fitting lid in which is a saucer of ammonia; paste
up the cracks around the lid tight and leave it for a couple of days
when it will take on a brown color which is known by the trade name of
_fumed oak_.
CHAPTER III
METALS AND METAL WORKING
There is something about working metals that makes a tremendously
strong appeal to a fellow and yet it is just as easy to fashion these
elements as it is to shape wood, that is, if you have the right kind of
tools to do it with.
Then there is another good thing about working metals and that is the
tools you need don’t cost very much and you can soon make enough useful
things to pay for them.
Metal working, like wood working, can be divided into two classes and
these are (1) the strictly practical, and (2) the purely ornamental,
but you can often combine them in an object which possesses both
utility and artistic merit.
It is my intention to tell you in this chapter about the tools that
you need to do ordinary metal work, such as sawing, drilling, bending,
filing, etc. As in working wood you ought to have a bench, or a good
strong table will do.
=Your Kit of Tools.=--To work metals you will need certain tools
according to the kind of work you intend to do. If you get all of
those I have listed below you will have nearly all the hand tools you
need to do any kind of a job that may come up. The following list is
quite a full one and a kit which includes all of them will cost in the
neighborhood of fifteen dollars. You don’t need to buy all of them at
once, however, but just get a tool at a time as you must have it until
your kit is complete.
=The Various Kinds of Tools.=--Metal working tools are tempered harder
than wood working tools and are made of what is known as _tool-steel_.
For your kit of machinists’ tools get (1) a ball pein hammer which
weighs about 8 ounces--this is a regular machinists’ hammer; (2) a pair
of 4 inch side cutting pliers; (3) a pair of 8 inch tinners’ snips
which makes a 2 inch cut; (4) a jeweler’s adjustable saw frame; (5) a
hack saw frame to hold an 8 inch saw blade; (6) a hand drill stock with
a chuck for holding round shank drills from 0 to ³⁄₁₆ inch in diameter.
(7) Four Morse twist drills ¹⁄₁₆, ³⁄₃₂, ¹⁄₈ and ³⁄₁₆ inch in diameter;
(8) a 6 inch steel rule, graduated into 8ths, 16ths, 32nds and 64ths of
an inch; (9) a machinist’s steel square with a 2¹⁄₂ inch blade; (10)
a pair of 3 inch spring dividers; (11) a pair of 3 inch inside spring
calipers; (12) a pair of 3 inch outside calipers; (13) a center punch;
(14) a No. 1 set of screw cutting taps and dies, this set contains a
_stock_ or handle and five taps and five dies which cut ⁷⁄₆₄, ⁹⁄₆₄,
⁵⁄₃₂, ³⁄₁₆, and ⁷⁄₃₂ inch in diameter.
(15) A few files--flat, hand, round and half-round in shape and the
_smooth_ and _second cut_ will be the most useful; (16) several screw
drivers, small and large; (17) a soldering copper that weighs about ¹⁄₂
a pound; (18) a can of soldering paste, or you can make a soldering
fluid yourself, and (19) an alcohol lamp, which I told you how to make
in the last chapter, or a Bunsen burner if you have a supply of gas,
and (20) a machinist’s vise. All of these tools are shown in Figs. 27
and 28.
[Illustration:
_TINNER’S SNIPS_
_SOLDERING COPPER AND ALCOHOL LAMP_
_FLAT NOSE SIDE CUTTING PLIERS_
_FLAT NOSE PLIERS_
_ROUND NOSE PLIERS_
_A BENCH LEVEL_
_A WIRE GUAGE_
_A ROSE COUNTERSINK_
_A TAPER REAMER_
_OIL CAN AND OIL STONE_
_SET OF SCREW CUTTING TAPS AND DIES_
_MACHINIST’S VISE_
FIG. 27. THE CHIEF METAL WORKING TOOLS]
[Illustration:
_JEWELLER’S HAMMER_
_BALL PEIN HAMMER_
_HAND DRILL STOCK AND DRILL_
_SPRING DIVIDERS_
_SPRING CALIPERS OUTSIDE_
_SPRING CALIPERS INSIDE_
_JEWELLER’S ADJUSTABLE SAW FRAME_
_HACK SAW_
_6″ STEEL RULE_
_MACHINIST’S STEEL SQUARE_
_CENTER PUNCH_
_COLD CHISEL_
1--_SHELL SQUARE TAPER_
2--_ROUND OR RAT TAIL_
3--_HAND OR FLAT_
_KINDS OF FILES_
FIG. 28. SOME OTHER METAL WORKING TOOLS]
=Some Hints on Using the Tools.=--(1) When you want to rivet something
use the ball pein end of the hammer to pound down the end of the rivet
as this will spread it out in every direction evenly and you can make
it nice and round. (2) Side cutting pliers are useful to hold and bend
bits of metal with and to cut off pieces of wire as well. (3) Tinner’s
snips are simply large powerful shears and you can cut sheet metal up
to ³⁄₃₂ of an inch thick with an ordinary pair. When you cut a sheet of
heavy metal with them let the lower blade and handle rest on your bench
and you can get a better leverage on it. Metals that are thicker than
³⁄₃₂ inch must be sawed.
(4) While metals can be sawed by using a special saw blade in a scroll
saw frame you should use a jeweler’s saw frame with jeweler’s saws for
metal--I prefer the _Fish Brand_ for fine work. (5) For heavier work
use a machinist’s hack saw; put the piece of metal in a vise and have
the part you want to saw close to the jaws of the vise so that it will
not vibrate; use a little pressure on the outward, or cutting stroke,
and let up on it as you draw the saw back or you will dull the teeth.
(6) In using twist drills, and these are the only satisfactory kind for
metal work, be mighty careful not to press too hard on the drill stock
and don’t try to crowd the drill into cutting faster than it will cut
at the speed with which it is turning. In drilling iron keep plenty of
oil on the drill point.
(7) You can measure much more accurately with a steel rule than you can
with a wood rule and whereas measurements in cabinet work down to ¹⁄₁₆
inch are close enough, for metal work it should not be more than ¹⁄₃₂nd
of an inch, and for machine work make your measurements to ¹⁄₆₄th of an
inch. (8) A small steel square is better in every way for metal work
than a carpenters’ try square but you will find it quite expensive.
(9) The advantage of spring dividers over the ordinary kind is that you
can set them very accurately and they will stay where you set them. In
scribing a circle with a pair of dividers mark the center with your
center punch first as this will prevent your dividers from slipping.
(10) Inside calipers are used for measuring the inside diameters of
cylinders and the like, and, conversely (11), outside calipers are used
for measuring the outside of anything that is round. In either case you
measure the distance between the points of your caliper with your rule
to find the diameter of the thing. (12) A center punch is always useful
to make a starting point in metal with, for it can’t be rubbed off or
lost sight of.
(13) A set of taps and dies to cut screw threads with in metal of
whatever kind is a joy forever. All metal work becomes easy if you have
a set of these screw cutting tools and it is next to impossible to make
things if you haven’t got them.
When you are cutting threads in a piece of metal with the tap, the hole
in the metal must of course be a trifle smaller than the diameter of
the tap; the tap is put into a handle called a _stock_ and as you cut
the threads in the metal don’t turn the stock continuously around but
give it one complete turn forward and then half-a-turn backward and you
will be less apt to break the tap.
The same method holds good when you are cutting threads on a rod with
a die; in this case the rod must be a little larger than the hole in
the die. In threading iron use plenty of oil on the tap or die, but for
brass and the softer metals a lubricant is not needed.
(14) In filing work press down on the outward or cutting stroke and
ease up on the file on the return stroke for the teeth of a file are
set like the teeth of a saw, that is, so that the cut is made on the
out stroke.
A small file can be held in one hand and the work you are filing in the
other which can be rested on the edge of the bench but heavier work
must be put in a vise and the file held firmly by the handle with one
hand and the end steadied and guided by the fingers of your other hand.
(15) In putting in a screw always use the largest size screw-driver
whose blade will fit the slot in the head of the screw; this will
prevent the blade of the screw-driver from twisting the edges of the
slot out of shape.
(16) Before a soldering copper can be used, if it is a new one, it must
be _tinned_, that is the point of it must be coated with solder. To
tin it get a pine board about 1 inch thick, 4 inches wide and 6 inches
long, and put some brown resin and bits of solder on it.
File off the copper until the point is sharp and it is bright and
smooth; heat the copper and then melt the resin and solder on the board
with it and rub the copper in them on all sides until a film of solder
is formed on it.
(17) It is cheaper to buy a stick of soldering paste than it is to make
it but you can easily and cheaply make a good _soldering fluid_ by
dissolving a teaspoonful of _zinc chloride_ in an ink bottle full of
clean water.
In heating the soldering iron keep it near the tip of the flame; if
you use an alcohol lamp don’t have the wick too high and if you use a
Bunsen burner adjust the openings in it until the flame is as nearly
invisible as you can get it.
_About Sharpening Tools._--The only metal working tools you will
need to sharpen are the twist drills and these can be sharpened on a
_carborundum oil stone_. Hold the beveled edge of the drill point on
the stone and move it to and fro, being very careful to keep the drill
perfectly straight up and down while you are sharpening it.
=Metals and their Uses.=--Like woods each metal has its especial uses
and it will depend largely on what you are going to make as to the kind
of metal you should make it of.
There are five chief metals and a couple of _alloys_, which are formed
by melting and mixing two or more metals together, which you will find
the most useful and I shall describe these for you in detail.
_Iron._--This is the most useful metal we have. When it is pure it has
a silvery color, is very _tenacious_, which means that it is tough; it
is _malleable_, that is it can be hammered without cracking, and it is
_ductile_ in that it can be drawn out into wire without breaking.
It is hard to get pure iron for nearly all of it contains a small
percent of carbon, silica, phosphorus, sulphur or other elements.
These substances in iron give it different properties. For instance
_cast-iron_ has a large amount of carbon in it; this kind of iron is
good to cast into molds but it cannot be hammered or drawn without
danger of cracking or breaking.
_Wrought iron_ has very little carbon or other substances in it and
this makes it easy to work because it can be hammered or drawn. _Steel_
contains more carbon than wrought iron but it has less carbon than cast
iron; steel can be cast, forged, tempered and hardened by heating it
red hot and then suddenly cooling it.
_Tin._--This is a white metal that looks very much like silver, and it
is so malleable that it can be hammered out into very thin sheets and
which you know so well as _tin-foil_.
It is not found in very many places but the ancients called Britain
the _Tin Islands_ because they got it chiefly from there. What we
ordinarily call _tin_ is really _tin plate_, that is thin sheet iron
coated with tin, and it is used as a covering for other metals because
it does not rust or oxidize in air.
Tin is largely used in making alloys such as soft solder, type-metal,
pewter, etc. It has a very low melting point.
_Zinc._--This is a bluish white metal and though it is sometimes found
in a pure state it is usually found in combination with other elements.
When it is heated to different temperatures it behaves in various
ways; for instance when it is cold it is quite brittle, but at 100 to
150 degrees _Fahrenheit_,[18] it can be easily rolled into sheets and
rods; curiously though when it is heated to 200 degrees or over it gets
brittle again.
[18] The _Fahrenheit_ thermometer scale is the one generally used in
this country. Fahrenheit was a German scientist who lived 200 years
ago, and he invented the mercurial thermometer.
Zinc is easy to cut and when mixed with copper it forms the alloy we
know as brass.
_Lead._--This is the softest metal known and it has a bluish-gray
color. It is very heavy and melts at a low temperature.
Lead was one of the earliest metals known and if you will read the
_Book of Job_ you will find it mentioned there. It has been used
from time immemorial in making water-pipes, utensils, etc., and the
ancient Romans made weights of it. Since it is so soft it can be easily
hammered into any shape or it can be rolled or drawn.
It is also largely used in forming alloys with other metals, thus
_solder_ is made of 50 parts of lead and 50 parts of tin; _type-metal_
is made of 80 parts of lead and 20 parts of antimony; and _pewter_ is
made of 25 parts of lead and 75 parts of tin.
_Copper._--This metal is found in a pure state in large quantities
around Lake Superior in the United States and in Chili, South America.
It is a fairly hard metal of a reddish color, has a high luster, is
malleable, and ductile.
Long before iron was known utensils and weapons for the chase and war
were made of copper and copper tools have been found that were made by
the ancients and tempered even as steel is tempered now, but the art
was lost when iron came into use.
Copper is now largely used in the arts and trades as for the sheathing
and bolts of ships, the conducting parts of electrical apparatus, in
making alloys, such as bronze of which tin is the other metal. Copper
is easily hammered and drawn but it is so tough that it is hard to saw
and drill.
It does not oxidize in dry air but in moist air it gradually changes
and takes on a layer of _carbonate of copper_ which gives it a very
beautiful and artistic appearance and makes it look as if it was a
thousand years old.
_Aluminum._--This metal is found everywhere in nature but as it is
never found free it is only in the last few years that it has been
extracted in large quantities and cheaply enough to bring it into use.
It has a bright bluish white color nearly like that of tin and is the
lightest common metal known.[19] It does not tarnish either in dry or
moist air; it is malleable and ductile and as easy to work as brass
but it is very hard to solder but there are soldering compounds on
the market by which it can be soldered. Aluminum can be bought[20] in
sheets of any thickness, or in rods or tubes of any size.
[19] Aluminum when mixed with magnesium makes an alloy called
_magnaleum_ and this is lighter than aluminum alone.
[20] Sold by the Aluminum Co. of America, 120 Broadway, N. Y.
=A Few Useful Alloys.=--When two or more metals are melted together and
mixed they form what is called an alloy.
_Brass._--This well known alloy is made by mixing zinc with copper.
There are twenty or more different kinds of brass but common brass is
made of 36 parts of zinc and 64 parts of copper.
Brass is harder than copper and while it can be hammered and drawn it
is not nearly as malleable or as ductile as copper. It can be sawed,
drilled, threaded and machined easily and is about the best alloy you
can use for making small parts of machines.
_Type-metal._--All kinds of metals _shrink_ when they cool after being
run into a mold and so the edges of the castings are never very sharp.
Now type metal which is an alloy made of 80 parts of lead and 20
parts of antimony will _expand_ and this is the reason why type is
so beautifully clear and sharp. So if you want to cast little parts
of machines and engines and the like you can do a good job by using
type-metal. As it melts at a low temperature you can melt it in an iron
ladle over the kitchen fire.
_Pewter._--This alloy, which is made of 75 parts of tin and 25 parts of
lead, in Colonial days was much used for making all kinds of table-ware
and household utensils and it will come into vogue again I hope. More
will be said about this alloy and how to work it in the next chapter.
=How to Do Metal Work.=--Now that you know about tools and the
properties of metals there are a few other little things which, if you
will bear them in mind, will enable you to make nearly anything you
want to. The first has to do with drawing and the others with working
the metals themselves.
=First Sketch Your Ideas.=--To start out and try to make an object
which you have in mind without sketching it on paper first so that you
can see just what size to cut and shape it, and how it will look when
you have finished it, is the first step toward being a disappointed boy.
When you get an _abstract idea_ for a design or a machine that you
want to put in _concrete form_ take a rule and compasses, pencil and
paper and draw it out _to scale_, that is, make a drawing of it and
mark the sizes, or dimensions, of each part just as it should be when
the thing is done.
By roughly sketching the object, or, better, by making an accurate
working drawing of it before you do anything else you will save time,
patience and materials.[21]
[21] How to make working drawings is explained in Chapter V. Fuller
directions will be found in _Inventing for Boys_, by the present
author, published by Frederick A. Stokes Company, N. Y.
=Sheet Metal Work.=--_Cutting and Sawing._--After having traced or
otherwise marked out the design or shape you want on the sheet of metal
with the sharp point of your center punch or an awl, or _scribed_ it
with your dividers you can cut it out with your snips if the sheet is
thin enough. If it is too thick to be sheared then saw it out with your
jeweler’s or hack saw.
Should you want to make a hole or an open design of any kind in thin
sheet metal you can easily punch it in with your center punch, or cut
it out with a stencil cutter’s chisel, which is simply a very sharp
cold chisel.[22] But should the metal be too thick to punch or cut in
this way drill a small hole in it and you can then saw out the part
with a jeweler’s saw frame and blade just as you would saw out a piece
of wood with a scroll saw, though you may have to hold the metal in a
vise.
[22] See Chapter VIII.
_Making Seams and Joints._--The next thing to do after having cut out
the different pieces of metal is to put them together. The way you do
this will again depend very largely on the thickness of the metals, but
in any event where the pieces meet, a seam or a joint must be made.
[Illustration:
=A=--_LAP SEAM_
=B=--_GROOVED SEAM_
=C=--_LAP SEAM RIVETED_
=D=--_BUTT JOINT BOLTED_
=E=--_BOX LAP JOINT_
=F=--_BOX GROOVED SEAM_
=G=--_BUTT & PIECED JOINT_
=H=--_CORNER BUTT JOINT SCREWED_
=I=--_CIRCULAR LAP SEAM_
=J=--_CIRCULAR FOLDED SEAM_
=K=--_CIRCULAR OVERFOLD SEAM_
FIG. 29. HOW METAL SEAMS AND JOINTS ARE MADE]
If the metal is thin the pieces can be lapped and then soldered or
riveted together as shown at A in Fig. 29 or you can make a folded seam
as shown at B. If, however, the metal is thick you can make a lap seam
and either rivet or bolt it together with screws having nuts on them as
shown at C.
A strong _butt seam_ can be made by _hard soldering_ or _brazing_ the
edges together but it takes a hot flame and considerable skill to do
a good job of this kind. Another way to make a butt seam of two thick
sheets of metal is to lay them with their edges together and then
rivet a strip or plate on both sides of them as shown at D.
In making corner joints one or both edges of the sheet should be bent
over as pictured at E when they can be soldered, riveted or bolted
together; or a grooved seam can be made as shown at F if the metal is
thin enough.
If the pieces of metal are say ¹⁄₁₆ inch or more thick you can put a
three cornered piece of metal in the corner and drill and thread it so
that the pieces which form the butt joint can be screwed to it as shown
at G, or if one of the pieces is thick enough you can drill and thread
it and screw the other piece to it as shown at H.
When putting ends on tubes and cylinders you can make a circular lap
seam as shown at I, or a circular folded seam as at J or a circular
overfolded seam as shown at K.
=How to Solder Metals.=--The great secret in soldering metals is to
have them perfectly clean and then if you use the right kind of _flux_
and the proper solder you will not have any trouble.
_Fluxes._--After you have cleaned the surfaces to be soldered you must
use a flux to prevent the metal from oxidizing and to make the solder
stick. Different metals require fluxes of different kinds.
When soldering bright new tinware use powdered resin for the flux, but
if the parts are old then scrape and clean them well and use a flux of
_zinc chloride_ solution. To make it dissolve 5 cents’ worth of zinc
chloride--which is muriate of zinc--in a small clean inkbottle full of
warm water; or you can make the muriate of zinc by dissolving some zinc
clippings in muriatic acid and to make the soldering fluid add some
water to it.
This kind of a soldering fluid is a good flux for tin, iron, steel,
brass and copper. It is good for all ordinary work but it must be
washed off from iron or steel as it will rust them very quickly. To
solder copper _sal ammoniac_ can be used.
The only kind of a flux to solder zinc with is a solution made of 10
per cent. of muriatic acid and 90 per cent. of water. For lead, pewter
and any alloy with lead in it use tallow, Gallipoli oil or Venice
turpentine. Resin can be used successfully for all metals provided they
are scraped bright and clean before they are soldered.
_Solders._--Just as certain metals require given fluxes so also do
these metals need special solders.
For soldering tinware a fine tinner’s solder made of 1 part of tin and
1 part of lead flows best. For soldering lead use a fine plumber’s
solder which is formed of 1 part of tin and 2 parts of lead. To solder
pewter which melts at a low temperature use a pewterer’s solder which
is composed of 3 parts of lead and 1 part of bismuth.
=Bolts and Rivets.=--Where two pieces of metal are to be fixed together
so that they can be taken apart again, machine screws with nuts on
them, or bolts,[23] will be found useful.
[23] Machine screws and bolts for model work can be bought of Luther
H. Wightman, Boston, Mass.
A good kind of rivet for small work is known as _tinner’s_ rivets;
they are made of iron and have a length of ⁵⁄₃₂ of a inch. Now a rivet
can either be hammered down so that the point spreads out and forms a
_burr_, or a _washer_, which is called a _burr_, can be slipped down
over it and the end then peined down. Copper-rivets as small as ¹⁄₄
inch in length can be bought at most hardware stores.
=Bending Sheet Metal.=--To bend a metal sheet put it on a wood or metal
form and pound it into shape with a wooden mallet.
The edges of a piece of sheet metal can be bent either by pounding it
over the sharp corner of an iron bar, or if a very small part is to be
bent use a pair of round or flat nose pliers. A thick piece of sheet
metal can be bent by putting it in your vise and pounding over the edge
with a hammer.
=Finishing Up Metals.=--Of course all the rough parts must be smoothed
up with a file; then use emery paper or emery cloth to rub out the
file marks and finally finish off the surface by polishing it with
_crocus_[24] put on with a cloth.
[24] Crocus is a powder made of iron rust.
=Coloring Metals.=--Many things that you make of metal can be greatly
improved in appearance by coloring them.
_Bluing Steel._--First polish the articles and clean them by immersing
them in a hot solution of _caustic soda_. Now put the screws, or
whatever it is you want to blue, in an iron pan half full of dry, clean
sand and heat them over a fire.
Keep moving the articles around with a pair of tweezers until they are
the color you want them and then drop them into clean oil.
_Bluing Brass._--Polished pieces of brass can be given a fine color by
putting them in a solution made as follows:
Stir 1¹⁄₂ drams of _antimony sulphide_,[25] 2 ounces of _calcined soda_
in ³⁄₄ of a pint of water; to this solution add 2¹⁄₄ drams of _kermes_.
Stir well, filter it and then mix it with 2¹⁄₄ drams of _tartar_, 5¹⁄₂
drams of _hyposulphite of soda_ dissolved in ³⁄₄ pint of water when it
is ready to use.
[25] This and all other chemicals can be bought of Eimer and Amend,
Fourth Ave. and 18th Street, New York.
_Giving Brass a Green Color._--Make a solution of 2 ounces of _copper
sulphate_, ¹⁄₂ an ounce of _sal ammoniac_ and 25 ounces of water.
Suspend the articles to be greened in the solution and boil it until
you get the color you want.
_Giving Brass a Dull Look._--First clean the articles thoroughly; then
mix ¹⁄₄ ounce of _iron rust_ and ¹⁄₄ ounce of _white arsenic_ in 4
ounces of _muriatic acid_. Use a brush and paint the articles with this
solution until it takes on the proper dull appearance. Then wipe it
off, oil, dry and lacquer it.
_Frosting Brass Articles._--Hang the brass articles in a boiling
solution of _caustic potash_, wash them off in clean water and dip them
in _nitric acid_ until the oxide is gone, wash them again and throw
them in sawdust to dry; heat them a little and lacquer while they are
warm.
_Lacquering Brass and Copper._--To lacquer a brass or a copper article
dip it in a weak solution of _sulphuric_ acid and water and then wash
it in clean water. Next put the article on a piece of sheet iron and
heat it over a gas jet or in an oven.
It must not be heated enough to color it but just so that when you
place your moistened finger to it it will sizzle; now put on the
lacquer and this can be done by brushing the article over with a
camel’s hair brush or by dipping the article into the lacquer.
_How to Make the Lacquer._--Put 1 ounce of _tumeric powder_, 2 drams of
_annatto_ and 2 drams of _saffron_ into 1 pint of alcohol.
Let it stand for a week or 10 days and shake it often; pour the
clear liquid into a bottle and put in 3 ounces of yellow shellac;
let it stand for a couple of weeks more; shake it often and pour off
carefully. Then you can put it on. Lacquers can be bought ready made
from Hanson and Van Winkle, Dealers in Electroplating Supplies, Newark,
N. J.
CHAPTER IV
VENETIAN IRON, REPOUSSÉ, PIERCED BRASS AND PEWTER WORK
Venetian Bent Iron Work
A very pretty and most useful kind of ornamental iron work came into
vogue in Venice, Italy, a long time ago, and as it is easy to do and
you need only a few tools and inexpensive materials to do it with, you
ought to try your hand at it.
Venetian iron work consists of bending thin, narrow strips of wrought
iron into scrolls and other shapes and then fixing them together with
little iron clamps called _binders_.
In this way objects such as egg boilers, candlestick _sconces_,
lanterns and brackets to hang them on, photograph frames and helpful
and artistic creations without end can be made.
=The Tools You Must Have.=--You will need very few tools for making
Venetian iron work and these are (1) a pair of flat nose 5 inch
pliers;[26] (2) a pair of round nose 5 inch pliers; (3) a box-wood
four-fold, 2-foot rule; (4) a vise; (5) a pair of tinner’s snips and
(6) a small riveting hammer, all of which are shown in Fig. 27.
[26] This means that the pliers are 5 inches long.
=The Materials You Need.=--The work is made of ¹⁄₃₂ inch thick soft
iron strips and this can be bought[27] in four different widths, namely
¹⁄₈, ³⁄₁₆, ¹⁄₄, and ³⁄₈ inch.
[27] Complete manual training outfits for Venetian bent iron work can
be bought of Hammacher, Schlemmer and Co., Fourth Avenue and 13th
St., New York.
In general it is the best practice to use the ³⁄₁₆ and ¹⁄₄ inch wide
strips for all designs except the smallest and largest. The strip iron
comes in coils of 50 feet and the prices range from 16 cents to 25
cents a coil.
[Illustration:
_BINDERS_
_COIL OF WROUGHT IRON STRIP_
_LEAD WIRE FOR MEASURING_
FIG. 30. MATERIALS YOU NEED FOR VENETIAN IRON WORK]
Then you will need a package of _binders_--these are merely bits of
strip iron cut off and bent as shown in Fig. 30, they come in four
widths and cost about 10 cents a hundred. Also get a couple of 3 foot
pieces of lead wire for with these you can quickly form the scrolls
and circles you intend to make of iron, then straighten them out and
accurately measure off the length of iron you need. They cost 5 cents
a strip.
=What to Do First.=--_Making a Simple Design._--The first thing to do
after you get your tools and materials together is to draw on a sheet
of paper the object you are to make of bent iron.
=How to Make a Toaster.=--This is a good piece of work to start with
because it is formed chiefly of straight lines. Draw a plan of it as
shown in Fig. 31, full size and then measure the frame and the inside
strips--you will observe that there are two of the latter--and find out
exactly how long each strip should be.
Now measure and cut off three strips of iron and allow an extra inch
for lapping the long strip that forms the frame. This done mark off the
points where the strips are to be bent and use your flat nose pliers to
bend the sharp corners and your round nose pliers to bend the curved
parts of the frame.
Lap the ends of the strip forming the frame on the side ¹⁄₂ an inch,
fasten the joint by putting a binder on it with your pliers and a light
tap with your hammer will tighten it up.
Now if you will look again at Fig. 31, you will see that one end of the
right inside strip projects up and beyond the rest of it and this end
sets in the handle of the frame and strengthens it; put a binder on
each place where it is shown in the drawing including the handle. Fix
in the left inside bent strip with binders and put the binders on so
that the rough ends will be inside, file down the rough places, rub
the toaster all over with a piece of fine emery cloth until it is nice
and smooth, rub it with some sweet oil, polish it off with a soft cloth
and then present it to Pietro or Hilda or Wo Nang Fong or whoever it is
that presides over the kitchen.
[Illustration: FIG. 31. A USEFUL BENT IRON TOASTER]
=How to Make an Egg Boiler.=--Having made the toaster you are ready to
try your hand at something a little harder and a good design for your
next piece of work is an egg boiler.
The picture may look a little complicated but as a matter of fact there
is very little to it. There are only three parts to the egg boiler and
these are (a) the egg holders; (b) the legs, and (c) the handle. Each
of the four egg holders is formed of a ring or strip of iron just
large enough so that an egg will slip through it; lap the ends and put
on a binder to hold the joint tight.
[Illustration: FIG. 32. HOW MAKE AN EGG BOILER]
Mark, cut off and bend the ends of two strips over ¹⁄₂ an inch, for the
half ovals on which the egg rests and then bend the strips to fit the
shape of the egg. This done, loop the ends of each half oval over the
ring and press them down hard with your pliers to hold them in place.
The way an egg holder is made is shown at A in Fig. 32.
Each leg is a short strip bent over and pressed on to the top of the
ring. It is made rigid by putting a binder on it and to one of the half
ovals as shown at B. To make the handle take a piece of lead wire and
bend it to fit the outline shown at C; then straighten it out and cut
off a strip of iron of the same length. Bend the ends of it over ¹⁄₂ an
inch and shape it up with your round nose pliers.
Now join the four rings together with binders and loop and press the
ends of the handle on to the rings that are furthest apart as shown at
B. File, rub up and polish the egg boiler and give it to the _chef_
with your compliments.
=How to Make a Venetian Plate Holder.=--To make this plate holder you
will have to add a hand drill, a ¹⁄₈ inch twist drill, and a center
punch--which are described in Chapter III--to your list of tools.
[Illustration: FIG. 33. AN ARTISTIC VENETIAN PLATE HOLDER]
The plate holder is of more simple construction than the egg boiler but
as you have emerged from the kitchen into the dining room you will
have to do a very fine job. It consists of four legs as shown in Fig.
33, riveted to a ring.
Draw the design on paper full size and this will depend on the diameter
of the plate it is to hold. Find the length of the legs with your lead
wire and measure and cut off the strips of iron accordingly. Likewise
find the length of iron strips it will take for the ring and allow 1
inch or over for the lap joint.
[Illustration: FIG. 34. A SCONCE FOR A CANDLE]
Now drill ¹⁄₈ inch holes in each strip you intend to use for the legs,
half way between the top and bottom of it and drill four holes in the
ring at equi-distant points. Bend the strips into the artistic curves
shown, using, of course, your round nose pliers to do it with, and bend
the ring over a round form--a broomstick will do, but a larger form
will work better.
Finally rivet the legs to the ring and see to it that you make a good
job of it; slip the top of the legs into place over the plate and you
will have a piece of Venetian iron work you can be proud of.
You can design and make pretty bent iron stands for vases in a manner
very like that used for the plate holder; card racks, photograph
frames, lamp shades, etc., can be made in the same manner; and as you
become more adept at the work you can point and shape up the iron by
heating it in an alcohol lamp, or a Bunsen burner and hammering it.
When you can do this you will be able to make a _sconce_, that is, an
ornamental _mural_[28] bracket for holding a candle as shown in Fig. 34.
[28] Mural means anything that is supported by or has to do with a
wall.
Further you can twist and weave the iron strips for the sides and doors
of boxes and book-cases and either line them with silk or put stained
glass back of them. In fact the most beautiful things imaginable can be
wrought from bent iron strips especially when rivets are used to put
the work together.
_A Dead Black Finish for Iron Work._--Get 25 cents’ worth of _japan
gold size_ and 10 cents’ worth of _pure drop black ground in
turpentine_ and mix them together.
If it is too thick thin it with turpentine and put it on with a soft
brush. When dry it will be dead black and neither air nor moisture will
spoil it.
Doing Repoussé Work
_Repoussé_ (pronounced re-poo′-say) is a French word and means to form
in relief, and _repoussage_ (pronounced re-poo′-sazh) is the word you
want to use when you mean the process of producing designs in relief on
sheet metal by hammering it on the back.
=Tools Needed for Repoussé Work.=--Very few tools are needed for this
kind of work but it is important to use the right kind.
The _repoussé hammer_ is a jeweler’s hammer which has one end, or face
of it flat and the other rounded like a peining hammer; it is shown in
Fig. 35.
[Illustration: FIG. 35. HOW TO HOLD A REPOUSSÉ HAMMER]
Then a number of blunt chisels and markers called _repoussé tools_
as shown at B, Fig. 35, are needed to emboss the design in the sheet
metal. These tools cost about 30 cents apiece and a set of eight or ten
tools will serve you well. For the bolder parts of the work boxwood
punches can be used but steel punches are always used for the finer
work.
[Illustration: FIG. 35B. A PUNCH AND PUNCH DESIGNS FOR REPOUSSÉ WORK]
=How to Prepare the Work.=--The kind of metal that is easiest to work
is _cold-rolled sheet copper_[29] No. 32 Brown and Sharp gauge, but
brass, aluminum and pewter can also be hammered.
[29] Can be bought of Patterson Brothers, Park Row, New York, or of
the Frost and Adams Co., Cornhill, Boston, Mass.
[Illustration: FIG. 35C. HOW TO HOLD A REPOUSSÉ PUNCH]
To get the work ready fasten the piece of sheet metal to a wooden
block with a cement made as follows: melt 1 pound of Burgundy pitch
in an iron pan, or skillet, and stir in 1 pound of _dental_ plaster of
paris,[30] until they are thoroughly mixed. Then put in a tablespoonful
each of tallow and of resin which will make the cement stick better.
[30] This is very fine plaster and can be bought of any dentist.
Take a board 1 inch thick, 10 inches wide and 12 inches long and make
a tray of it by nailing a strip of wood around it so that it is ¹⁄₂ an
inch higher than the surface of the board. Pour the cement while it is
still hot on the board and press the sheet of metal hard down on it;
let it get cold when it will be firmly cemented to it.
=Tracing the Design.=--After you have drawn the design on the sheet of
metal either with a pencil or by means of transfer paper you can begin
to _trace_ the design by punching it with the straight and curved edge
chisels.
To hold a chisel right, grip it between your thumb and index finger,
let your next, or _medius_, finger lie gently on the shank of the tool
and your third, or _annularis_, finger rest on the sheet of metal as
shown at C in Fig. 35.
The handle of the hammer is long, thin and springy and you hold it by
the end with your index finger laying on it as shown at A in Fig. 35.
Do not strike the tool hard or the punch may go clear through the metal
sheet but instead give it a succession of light, gentle taps at the
rate of about 100 a minute or so and you will make the tracing nice and
even.
=Bossing the Work.=--After you have traced the outline of the design
with the chisels hold the plate over an alcohol or a Bunsen flame and
when it is hot enough you can take it off of the cement.
Then cement it to the block again, but this time put the other side
down. Now use your boxwood or steel punches and hammer the copper, or
other metal, into bold relief or you can matt the ground with any one
of the numerous punches shown at B.
[Illustration:
_THE DESIGN ON THE METAL_
_THE RING FOR THE CANDLE_
_THE CANDLESTICK WHEN DONE_
FIG. 36. A REPOUSSÉ CANDLESTICK]
=How to Make a Flat Candlestick.=--This is a good piece of work for
you to start with because it is at once simple, artistic and more or
less useful. To make it, cut out a sheet of brass 6¹⁄₂ inches square
and draw a spider and his web and a poor little fly or two making a
bee-line for it as shown at A in Fig. 36.
Punch the outline with your chisels and raise the bodies of the insects
with your molding tools. The ground can be left flat or you can put it
in with a marker. When you have the bossing done _scallop_ the edges
with your snips and bend them up so that it is 5 inches square.
For the handle cut a strip of brass ³⁄₄ inch wide and 4³⁄₄ inches long;
raise the middle of it by hammering it in a groove cut in a block of
hard wood; bend it and then rivet it to a corner of the brass sheet.
To make the ring which holds the candle cut out a strip of brass 1 inch
high and 3 inches long and cut out three tongues as shown at B. Scribe
a circle in a corner of the sheet of brass, cut three slots on it, slip
the tongues through the slots and bend them over.
Rub the candlestick all over with some _brass polish_ and then cover
the bottom with a piece of green billiard cloth if you can get it, or
any other kind you may have at hand. It is shown complete at C.
=How to Make a Photo Frame.=--The front of this frame can be made of
brass, copper or German silver and the back of it can be made of a
sheet of tin or brass.
You can make the frame round, oblong or square and with a round or an
oval opening in it to suit your fancy. Suppose you make the outside of
it 7 × 9 inches and the oval opening 3¹⁄₂ × 5 inches as shown at A in
Fig. 37. Draw or transfer the design to the surface of the metal and
work it into shape as I have previously described.
Do not cut the opening or trim the metal sheet to the size you want
them until after you have hammered it as this draws the metal out.
After you have finished the front make a back for it of sheet tin or
brass, 5 inches wide and 6 inches long, and bend over the edge of one
end and both of the side edges ³⁄₈ inch as shown at B.
Solder the edges to the back of the frame and then solder a _stay_, or
stand on the back of it. This completes the frame and the photograph
can be slipped in it between the front and the back.
[Illustration:
_THE HAMMERED FRONT_
_THE BACK OF THE FRAME_
FIG. 37. A REPOUSSÉ PHOTO FRAME]
_Cleaning and Polishing Brass, Copper and German Silver._--To clean any
of these metals mix some powdered _rotten stone_ with some machine oil
and rub them with a pad made of a soft flannel rag.
To polish wipe off the rotten stone and oil perfectly clean and then
rub the work with a chamois skin dampened with alcohol and on which you
have put some _red rouge_.
_Frosting, Coloring and Lacquering Metals._--You will find recipes for
finishing articles in these styles in Chapter III.
Pierced Metal Work
This is by all odds the simplest and easiest of all art metal work and
you won’t need any practice to make a good job; then the tools and
materials cost but very little and the finished work is really pretty.
[Illustration:
_THE MALLET_
_A TRACING POINT_
_THUMB TACK_
a _MODELING TOOL_
b _MODELING TOOL_
_STIPPLING AWLS_
FIG. 38A. THE TOOLS YOU NEED FOR PIERCED BRASS WORK]
=The Outfit to Do It With.=--_The Tools._--These are very few indeed
and include (1) a pear-shaped mallet for stippling; (2) a tracing
point; (3) a couple of modeling tools; (4) an awl with a tempered
point, and (5) a metal folder, all of which are shown at A in Fig. 38.
You will also need (a) a sheet of designs; (b) a sheet of carbon, or
impression paper; (c) a dozen or more split shanks to fasten the edges
of the work together; (d) a drawing board about 12 × 18 inches on the
sides of which the sheet metal is tacked while you are working it, and
(e) some thumb tacks for tacking the work to the board.
[Illustration:
_A CANDLE SHADE_
_THE FINISHED CANDLE SHADE_
FIG. 38B. A PIERCED BRASS CANDLE SHADE]
You will need too, of course, the sheet metal and this can be of brass,
copper or German silver and you can buy sheets of these metals that are
already cut out for candle shades, lanterns, photo-frames and numerous
other articles with the designs marked on them ready to use[31] or you
can buy the sheet metal and the designs separately and then transfer
and cut them out yourself.
[31] All tools and materials for pierced metal work can be bought of
Frost and Adams, Boston, Mass.
An outfit for pierced brass work can be bought for as little as 60
cents and you can buy any number of brass or copper cutouts with the
designs stamped on them for 25 cents each, or of German silver for 50
cents each.
=How to Do the Work.=--The first thing to do is to lay the sheet of
metal with the design on it on your drawing board and fasten it there
with thumb tacks.
Now with your stippling awl punch little holes about ¹⁄₁₆ inch apart
all along the outline of the design. The background is then _stippled_
with the awl, that is, dotted all over but not punched through, and the
closer the dots are the prettier it will look.
Use a small modeling tool to put the veins in the leaves and after you
have done this use a larger modeling tool and shape up the leaves or
whatever the design may be.
To do this grip the tool in your hand and press it hard on the edge of
the leaf and force it in toward the vein and at the same time ease up
on it. This is all there is to the actual work of piercing brass.
After you have made the design take some _brass polish_, put it on a
little wad of cheese cloth and rub off the remaining marks and then
polish it with a clean cloth.
Since the brass or other metal for pierced brass work is very thin you
will have to back it up with thin wood, although candle shades and
other small articles can be used as they are. A design for a candle
shade is shown at B and the finished candlestick at C, while one for
a toast panel that can be hung on the wall with a Venetian bent iron
hanger which I described on page 76 is shown at D.
[Illustration:
’Tis easy enough to be pleasant,
When life goes by with a song;
But the nan worth while,
is the man who will smile,
When everything else goes wrong.
FIG. 38D. A PIERCED BRASS TOAST SIGN]
Casting and Working Pewter
Since nearly all metals excepting tin and lead have high melting
points, it is hard to melt them unless you have a regular furnace.
=Something About Pewter.=--But casting metals is a fascinating process
and you can do it by melting 25 parts of lead and 75 parts of tin
together which forms an alloy called _pewter_.
This alloy is as old as the hills and for ten or eleven centuries
before the golden age of invention--that is to say the beginning of the
19th century--pewter utensils were used in nearly every home in every
civilized country.
Then came the invention of cheap processes for making pottery and
glass and those good old hard alloys known as _britannia metal_, which
is formed of tin, copper and antimony, and _German silver_, which is
German all right, for it was first made at Hildburghausen, Germany, but
it is not silver at all for it is formed of nickel, zinc and copper,
went entirely out of use.
But there is a dignity and a beauty about pewter that none of the other
common metals have and it may be revived one of these days for efforts
are now being made to produce it again in all its former glory.
=How to Make Pewter.=--I do not know of any place where you can buy
pewter but you can easily make the alloy yourself.
You can get the lead in your home town wherever you live at any
plumbing shop but you may not be able to get the tin so easily. You
can, however, get it by sending to the _Conley Tin Foil Company_, 521
West 25th Street, New York, and at the present time they are quoting
_pig tin_ in blocks at 75 cents a pound.
When you have the lead and the tin melt the lead in an iron ladle, see
Fig. 39, over the kitchen fire and skim off the _dross_, that is,
the impurities in it that come to the surface, and then put in the
tin. After both are melted stir them well and then pour the alloy thus
formed, which is pewter, in a pan that is oiled with sweet oil, to keep
it from sticking and so make sheets of it of whatever thickness you
want.
[Illustration: FIG. 39. IRON LADLE FOR MELTING PEWTER]
=About Working Pewter.=--Pewter can be worked like any other malleable
metal, only easier because it is softer and more ductile, hence it can
be hammered into any shape.
It can be cast as you will presently see and it can be soldered
by using a flux of tallow, Gallipoli oil or Venice turpentine and
_pewterer’s solder_, which is made of 1 part of lead, 1 part of
tin and 2 parts of _bismuth_.[32] This solder melts at 203 degrees
_Fahrenheit_, that is at a temperature of 9 degrees less than that at
which water boils.
[32] Bismuth is a reddish white metal.
=How to Cast Pewter.=--The way in which pewter is usually cast is by
making molds of iron and brass and pouring the metal into them. But you
can do a very good job of casting pewter by making and using plaster of
Paris molds.
In making any kind of castings you need a flask, that is a wooden
frame made in halves, as shown in Fig. 40; the top half of the flask is
called the _cope_ and this must be fitted with pins that set in holes
in the bottom of the frame or _drag_, as it is called.
[Illustration: FIG. 40. HOW A PEWTER CASTING IS MADE]
When these pins set in the holes they keep the top and bottom parts of
the flask together so that after the mold is made they can be taken
apart and the pattern removed and then when they are put together again
ready for the metal to be poured they will be exactly even. Make the
top and bottom halves of the flask a couple of inches larger all round
and a couple of inches deeper than the size of the pattern you are
going to cast.
=The Patterns Necessary.=--You can saw or turn or carve out of wood
anything you want to cast in pewter, provided it is not too intricate,
and after sandpapering it nice and smooth all over give it a couple of
coats of _shellac varnish_.[33]
[33] This can be bought already made at paint stores or you can make
it by dissolving some yellow shellac in alcohol.
If it is your idea to make table-ware of pewter you can use ordinary
china dishes for your patterns, provided they are without handles, but
before making a mold with any kind of a pattern in plaster oil it well
all over with _sweet oil_, using a brush for the purpose, so that it
will not stick and then you can _draw_ it easily.
=Making the Mold.=--Lay the drag, that is the lower half of the flask,
on a board or a table; mix dental plaster of Paris with water until it
is about as thick as batter and fill the drag with it.
Just before the plaster begins to set, that is, harden, take your
pattern, whether it is one you have made or a china dish, oil it and
press it down into the plaster until it is nearly even with the top
edge of the pattern and let it stay there until the plaster is hard,
that is, over night.
Then brush sweet oil over the top of both the pattern and the hard
plaster which must come about _flush_, that is even, with the top of
the drag. Now put on the cope and fill it with plaster, smooth it off
even with the top edge and let the plaster get hard.
Your next move is to lift the cope from the drag which you can do
without trouble and then lift the pattern from the drag, using the
point of a knife if it seems inclined to stick.
Drill a ¹⁄₄ inch hole through the plaster in the cope, fit the cope to
the drag again and then pour in the pewter. When it is cold take the
flask apart, take the casting out gently and don’t spoil it even if
you have to break the mold.
Where cups, tankards or other hollow vessels are to be cast make a mold
for it just as though it was a solid piece; now pour in the melted
pewter and when it has cooled enough to form a solid layer turn the
mold upside down and let the melted metal run out which will leave it
hollow. If handles are needed cast them separately and solder them on
to the body of the vessel. Some finished pewter ware is shown at C.
[Illustration: FIG. 40C. HOME MADE PEWTER WARE]
=Finishing the Ware.=--Plates and the like can be scraped with a steel
scraper and when they are nice and smooth rub them with a rag dipped in
oil and whiting, but do not polish them.
If you have a turning lathe of any kind you can put your cups and other
round objects in it and turn it up with a _bent inside_ turning tool,
a _flat tool_ and a _round point tool_ such as is used for turning
brass, ivory, etc., and which you can buy for a quarter apiece,[34] and
this will leave the pewter bright and beautiful.
[34] These tools can be bought of Luther M. Wightman, Milk Street,
Boston, Mass.
Engraving on Metal
Engraving on metal is a beautiful art. The method is simple and the
effect is striking but it requires a good deal of patience and long
practice to do really good work.
[Illustration: FIG. 41. TOOLS FOR ENGRAVING ON METAL
A. Shapes of gravers.
B. Handles for gravers.]
=The Tools That Are Used.=--Engraving tools, or _gravers_ as they are
called, are made in ten or a dozen shapes but the _knife_, _round_ and
_lozenge_ gravers will be enough to do all ordinary work with. The
different shapes are shown at A in Fig. 41.
All of the gravers are about the same length, that is 4¹⁄₂ or 5 inches,
and they are fitted with knob shaped handles a third of which has been
cut away as shown at B, so that the graver can be gripped in the palm
of the hand with the flat side against it which keeps the tool in the
right position. The way to hold a graver is shown at C.
[Illustration: FIG. 41C. HOW TO HOLD A GRAVER]
=How to Engrave on Metal.=--If the object to be engraved is very small
it should be fixed to a block of wood with the Burgundy pitch compound
above described, but if it is a large object it need not be mounted.
In either case an _engraving pad_, that is, a round, thick leather
pad filled with sand, is a very great convenience to rest the work on
because it permits the work to be easily turned in any direction and
held at any angle while it is being engraved.
[Illustration: FIG. 41D. AN ENGRAVING ON A SHEET OF COPPER]
Rolled sheet copper is a good metal to practice on and you can trace
the design you want to engrave on it by dabbing a thin film of
_engraver’s wax_[35] on the metal surface with your finger and then
sketching the outline with a _bone stylus_, that is a piece of bone
having a sharp point. An example of art engraving is shown at D in Fig.
41.
[35] You can use _beeswax_ but it is better to make a wax by melting
together 3 parts of _beeswax_, 3 parts of _tallow_, 1 part of _Canada
balsam_ and 1 part of _olive oil_. Or you can buy a small cake of
_Chinese white_, wet your finger, rub it on the white and then dab it
on the metal surface.
CHAPTER V
DRAWING SIMPLY EXPLAINED
Free-hand Drawing
A picture made by the hand and eye and without the aid of a rule and
compass is called _free-hand drawing_.
To be able to do free-hand drawing is one of the nicest accomplishments
you can have for then you can sketch the things you see and want to
remember; and, further, sketches made with a pencil or pen and ink are,
to my way of thinking, just as interesting as photographs provided they
are well done.
=Talent versus Practice.=--Some fellows have a natural bent for
sketching and are what you might call born artists, while others seem
to be entirely minus this talent and the only way they can ever learn
to sketch is by following certain rules and then practicing.
Now the chances are you have a little talent but whether you have or
not if you will follow the simple instructions I have written down in
this chapter you will be surprised to find what really clever pictures
you can draw.
=Pictures for You to Draw.=--There are two kinds of free-hand sketches
for you to do and these are (1) of _life models_ and (2) of _still
life_, that is, fruit, flowers, furniture and inanimate objects of all
kinds.
I shall tell you first how to make simple drawings of living figures
including man and beast and by beginning where your savage ancestor
left off you will be able to at least represent anything your fancy
dictates.
=Simple Line Sketches.=--As you will see by looking at A and B in
Fig. 42, the sketches of the man and horse consist of merely straight
lines but you will also observe that A looks like a boxer because the
_action_ is there.
[Illustration: FIG. 42. A SIMPLE LINE DRAWING OF A MAN AND A HORSE]
This is because when I sketched it I was careful to note the exact
position of the boxer’s head, arms, legs and body as they appeared
at that given moment. The keynote in sketching a figure in action is
always to draw it, not as you wish or believe it to look but as it
actually is.
The line sketches A and B only look as like a man landing a right,
and a horse coming down the home stretch as they do because (a) all
the lines are properly _proportioned_, that is, of the right length
when compared with each other, and (b) they are set in the correct
positions. The way to become a good judge of proportion is always to
notice the _relative_ sizes of the things you draw.
=Sketching Simple Outline Figures.=--When you can sketch straight line
figures to show men and animals in action you can then draw outlines
around them and so make them much more realistic as shown at A and B in
Fig. 43.
[Illustration: FIG. 43. SIMPLE OUTLINE DRAWING OF A BOXER AND A RACE
HORSE]
To do this draw a straight line sketch first and then draw the outline
around it, when you can rub out the straight lines if you want to.
In these outline sketches you will see that only the lines that are
actually needed to give the picture the _contour_, that is, the shape
of the figure, or body, are used.
=The Proportions of the Human Figure.=--If you will remember when you
are drawing a picture of the human form that the whole figure from neck
to toe should be 7 times as long as the head; that the body proper, or
_torso_ as it is called, is 4 times as long as the head; that the arms
are as long as the body, and that the legs should be 4 times the length
of the head measured to the inside of the crotch, as you will see if
you will look at A in Fig. 44, you will have it in proportion.
[Illustration: FIG. 44A. THE PROPORTIONS OF THE HUMAN BODY]
=How to Draw Faces.=--You can easily draw fairly natural looking faces
if you will rule off a number of squares on a sheet of paper as shown
at B and C in Fig. 44.
The full view of the head of a human being is shaped like an egg
standing on its small end, and the _profile_ (pronounced pro´-feel)
view, that is the side view of the head, is more nearly square; if in
the latter case the square is divided into two triangles, the face will
be found to nearly fill one of them and the hair the other.
[Illustration: FIG. 44B. A FULL VIEW OF THE FACE]
Both of these figures show the right sizes to make the eyes, ears,
nose and mouth, that the eyes are on a line with the _helix_, or upper
border of the ears and that the top of the nose is on a line with the
_lobe_, or lower edge of the ear. It is mighty good practice to sketch
the faces of your friends in this fashion.
=Sketching Still Life Objects.=--It is always more or less hard to
sketch inanimate objects with anything like a true portrayal of them
from memory but it is quite easy to do so if you have the object itself
set up before you to pattern after and then draw it as you see it.
[Illustration: FIG. 44C. A PROFILE VIEW OF THE FACE]
If you can do a creditable drawing in this manner with your eye and
hand alone it is art, but if you use a rule or a pair of dividers
to measure off the proportions and then mark them on your paper, it
degenerates into a purely mechanical process; but you can take your
choice and do it whichever way you want to.
=Drawing in Perspective.=--The first thing to know about drawing in
perspective is what _perspective_ means. To do a drawing of an object
or a view on a sheet of paper as it appears to the eye you must draw it
in perspective.
As an illustration, when you look down a railroad track you will see
that the rails look very far apart at your feet, but in the distance
they seem to come to a point and then vanish; this is quite natural for
nearby objects always look larger than when they are at a distance.
So too, when you look at the top of a box the edge _a_ will seem
longer than the edge _b_, which is farther away from the eye, and the
lines _c_ and _d_ which form the other edges would meet if they were
projected as shown by the dotted lines at A in Fig. 45, and the same
thing is true for the front and the side of the box.
[Illustration: FIG. 45A. THE VANISHING POINTS OF A PERSPECTIVE DRAWING]
_The Vanishing Point._--So when you draw a box or any other object in
perspective the lines will meet if you draw them out far enough and
then vanish, and hence this is called the _vanishing point_.
To find the vanishing point of the surface of an object, such as the
top of a box, hold a pencil out in front of yourself at arm’s length
and shut one eye, as shown at B; then tilt the pencil until it follows
the side line that you are going to draw; now open your eye and you
will see that the line of the box that seemed at first to be straight
is really slanting.
Draw a line on your paper at this slant, or _angle_ as it is called,
and do the same with the other line and draw it, when the two lines
will meet and this is the vanishing point. You can draw in now the
front and back lines of the top.
[Illustration: FIG. 45B. HOW TO FIND THE VANISHING POINT]
Houses and all other objects should be drawn with vanishing points if
they are to conform to the first principles of art, but for certain
kinds of mechanical drawing art is sacrificed for the sake of showing
the sizes of the object and an abnormal picture results which is called
an _isometric perspective_.
But houses and all other large objects should be drawn with vanishing
points or they will not look real. A barn drawn in this way is shown at
C, and you will see that the roof looks perfectly natural since the
lines forming it run to vanishing points.
[Illustration: FIG. 45C. THE VANISHING POINTS PUT TO USE]
=How to Shade a Drawing.=--When you do a drawing from an object you
will see that the light falling on certain parts of it seems white, or
_high lights_, as they are called, and on other parts where it does not
fall it is dark.
To shade your drawing so that it will show the lights and shadows
exactly as the object does, you should study the latter, and put the
_shading_, as it is called, on the former just as nearly like it as
you can. But in shading a drawing there must be no sharp lines to show
where the light leaves off and the shadow begins, but you must make
them merge gradually one into the other, as shown at A in Fig. 45.
Working Drawings
And now we come to drawings of another kind and these are not intended
to please the eye but to work from, hence they are called _working
drawings_.
When most boys, and many men, want to make anything of wood or metal
they get busy with their tools forthwith and whack it out willy-nilly
and of course a punk job results.
Now the right way to make an article--unless you are going to crochet a
sweater--is to (1) see it in your mind’s eye, (2) then draw it out on
paper to _scale_, and (3) build it up from the _plan_ as the picture
is called. By working this way you will be able to figure out just how
much material you will need for it; see exactly how the various parts
fit together, and know that it will look just right when it is done.
=Drawing Tools You Should Have.=--Drawing instruments, or _drawing
tools_ as they are commonly called, consist for the most part of (1)
one or more pairs of _dividers_; (2) one or more pairs of _compasses_
with pen and pencil points, and (3) one or more _ruling pens_. One of
each of the above tools will be enough for you to begin with. A cheap
set is shown in Fig. 46.
[Illustration: FIG. 46. THE DRAWING TOOLS YOU NEED]
Then you will need (4) a rule, or _scale_ as it is called; (5)
a _protractor_; (6) a T _square_ 20 inches long; (7) a 30 degree
_triangle_ 5 inches long; (8) some _drawing paper_[36] not less than 10
× 12 inches; (9) a couple of medium hard (HHH) lead pencils,[37] (10)
a good _rubber eraser_;[38] (11) a bottle of Higgins’ _India ink_,[39]
(12) a few _thumb tacks_, and (13) a _drawing board_ about 12 × 17
inches. And now let’s see what these tools and other things are for and
how they are used.
[36] Get a 2-ply bristol board with a medium or smooth surface.
[37] _Koh-i-noor_ or _Venus_ pencils are good ones.
[38] Get Faber’s red rubber _Van Dyke_.
[39] This is a prepared India ink but you can make your own by
rubbing up _stick India ink_ with water.
A pair of dividers is a tool having hinged legs, the free ends of which
are pointed; they are used to take, mark off and subdivide distances.
The compasses are made like the dividers, but one end has a needle
point and the other is hollow so that either a pencil or a drawing pen
point can be slipped into it; this tool is used to draw curves and
circles, either with a pencil or in ink.
A ruling pen is formed of two bowed steel blades having a screw
adjustment so that they can be forced together or drawn apart and
so make lines of varying widths. Not only is a ruling pen different
from a writing pen but the ink that is used with it is thicker than
an ordinary writing ink. This pen is used to make straight lines by
running it along the edge of a rule or T square.
A protractor is a semi-circle of brass or of German silver and it is
divided into 180 _degrees_--since it is half of a circle and there are
360 degrees in a circle. You can buy one for a quarter.
By placing the edge of your rule in the center of the straight edge of
the protractor and laying it on any one of the lines--they are numbered
from 0 to 180--you will find the number of degrees the edge of the rule
is from the horizontal.
[Illustration: FIG. 47. THE T SQUARE AND TRIANGLE ON THE DRAWING BOARD]
The T square is laid with the _head_, that is the short thick piece,
against the left hand edge of the drawing board which brings the
_blade_, that is the long thin piece flat on and across the board. The
triangle is placed against the straight edge. The triangle is laid on
the board with one of its edges against the blade of the T square as
shown in Fig. 47.
=Simple Working Drawings.=--There are two kinds of working drawings
that will be of use to you and these are, (1) _plan drawings_, and (2)
_isometric_ (pronounced i-so-met´-ric) _drawings_ and you will find
both of these quite easy to do.
_Making Plan Drawings._--Suppose now you want to draw the plans of a
box which, let’s imagine, is to be 5 inches high, 6 inches wide and 8
inches long. The first thing to do is to draw out a view of the bottom,
which also serves as the top since they are alike, and you will have a
rectangle like that shown at A in Fig. 48, and mark the dimensions on
it, that is, the _width_ and the _length_ of the box. This you do by
running a couple of arrows in each direction and marking in the size.
[Illustration: FIG. 48A. THE PLAN DRAWINGS FOR A BOX]
Next draw one of the sides as shown at B and this will give you the
_height_ and the _length_ of the box and mark in the sizes, that is 5
and 8 inches accordingly. Finally draw the end and you will have the
_height_ and _width_ of the box as shown at C and again you mark in the
dimensions.
It is easy to see now that if you have all three dimensions, namely
_length_, _breadth_ and _thickness_, and that if you make a box in wood
or metal it will look like the picture shown at D which is in isometric
perspective.
[Illustration: FIG. 48D. THE BOX DRAWN IN ISOMETRIC PERSPECTIVE]
_Isometric Perspective Drawings._--The kind of perspective drawings I
told you how to do under the caption of _Drawing in Perspective_ is
true perspective but engineers do drawings which they call _isometric
perspective_, that is, while the object seems to stand out in relief
there are no vanishing points.
This kind of perspective is purely mechanical and not in the least
artistic but it is a great aid when you intend to make anything, for
you can still draw the lines to scale and see exactly how the finished
object will look.
To make a drawing of this kind draw a line on a sheet of paper near
the bottom and two 30 degree lines from the ends and a vertical line
through them where they meet as shown at A in Fig. 49.
Now there are four ways by which you can get the 30 degree lines on
paper and these are (1) to buy _isometric ruled paper_, that is paper
on which the lines are already ruled; you can buy this paper for 15
cents a quire of any dealer in drawing materials or of Keuffel and
Esser, 127 Fulton Street, New York City. This is the easiest and best
way.
[Illustration: FIG. 49A. HOW THE LINES FOR ISOMETRIC DRAWINGS ARE MADE]
(2) Take a sheet of white paper exactly 5¹⁄₈ inches wide and 10 inches
long and draw two diagonal lines from corner to corner so that they
will cross each other, then draw a vertical line through the middle and
a horizontal line near the bottom. The diagonal and horizontal lines
will be 30 degrees apart.
(3) By laying a 30 degree triangle on your T square and drawing a line
along the 30 degree side of it as shown in Fig. 47; and (4) by laying
off 30 degree lines with a protractor.
To do this tack a sheet of paper on your drawing board and draw a
horizontal line near the bottom of the paper with your T square; put
your protractor on the horizontal line near one end, lay the edge of
the rule on the center of the protractor and exactly on the 30 degree
scale mark and then draw a line.
[Illustration: FIG. 49B. A SHEET OF ISOMETRIC DRAWING PAPER]
Slide the protractor on the opposite side of the board, draw another
30 degree diagonal line so that it will cross the first one and draw a
vertical line down through the middle of the paper.
Having, now, your sheet of isometric ruled paper you are ready to do
the drawing. Whatever the picture is to be, all you need to do is to
follow the 30 degree lines and the vertical lines and you simply can’t
help getting it in perspective.
In drawing isometric perspective circles, such as wheels, disks and
the like, they are always shown as _ellipses_, that is, closed oblong
curves. To draw an _isometric ellipse_,[40] make it in the proportion
of ⁵⁄₈ to 1, that is, if it is ⁵⁄₈ inch wide, as we will call its
_minor axis_, then make it 1 inch long, as we will call its _major
axis_, as shown at C in Fig. 49, and you will have one that is near
enough the right shape for your purpose; thus if you want to show a
tube or a pipe, draw it as pictured at C. Now with these few principles
well in mind you can make a working drawing of nearly anything you
please.
[40] A more complete description of isometric ellipses will be found
in _Inventing for Boys_ by the present author and published by
Frederick A. Stokes Co., of New York.
[Illustration: FIG. 49C. THE PROPORTIONS OF AN ISOMETRIC ELLIPSE]
Some Simple Aids to Drawing
=How to Draw a Circle.=--Should you ever want to draw a circle and have
no compasses at hand or should you want to draw a larger circle than
you can with your compasses tie a bit of strong thread to a pin, make a
loop in the string at whatever length you want the _radius_--that is
half of the diameter of the circle--to be.
This done, drive the pin in at the point where you want the center of
the circle, put the point of a lead pencil in the loop and move it
around the pin, as shown at A in Fig. 50, keeping the thread taut and a
perfect circle, nearly, will result.
[Illustration: FIG. 50A. HOW TO DRAW A CIRCLE WITH A THREAD]
=How to Draw a Spiral.=--Make a loop in one end of a thread as before
and tie the other end tightly to a large pin; wind the thread around
the pin until all of it is on except the loop; push the pin through the
paper on which you want to draw the spiral and into the drawing board
as shown at B.
Next put the point of the pencil in the loop and move it around the pin
just as you did in making the circle and you will find that you have
drawn a very pretty geometrical spiral which is known as the _spiral
of Archimedes_. It is so called because Archimedes was the first to
explain that it was caused by a point moving with uniform angular speed
and receding from the center at a constant rate.
[Illustration: FIG. 50B. HOW TO DRAW A SPIRAL WITH A THREAD]
=How to Draw an Ellipse.=--An ellipse can be drawn in the same way as a
circle, that is, by means of a string; but instead of one pin you will
need two and each pin is driven in at the _foci_ of the ellipse you are
to draw as shown at C. Simply make a loop of the string, slip it over
the pins, put the pencil point in the loop and move it around the pins
when an ellipse will be formed.
=How to Make and Use a Pantagraph.=--A pantagraph is a simple
mechanical linkage for enlarging, copying or reducing the size of a
picture. It is shown in Fig. 51.
To make one of these instruments get four strips of wood about ¹⁄₈ inch
thick, ¹⁄₂ an inch wide, and 18 or 20 inches long. Now drill ¹⁄₁₆ inch
holes ¹⁄₄ inch apart in each stick the whole length of it. In the ends
of three of the sticks make a hole the size of a lead pencil.
[Illustration: FIG. 50C. HOW TO DRAW AN ELLIPSE WITH A THREAD]
[Illustration: FIG. 51. HOW A PANTAGRAPH IS MADE AND USED]
Make two tin tubes each ¹⁄₂ an inch long and fit them into the holes
in the ends of the sticks and push a bit of pencil through each tube;
screw a block of wood ¹⁄₂ an inch thick to your drawing board and
screw one end of another stick to the block and the sticks together
with screw eyes.
Now tack a sheet of paper under the pencil in the free end of the stick
and a picture under the pencil in the jointed ends of the sticks, then
trace the picture with the latter, and the other pencil will make an
enlargement of the picture. By changing the position of the sticks a
picture can be copied or reduced in the same way. A pantagraph can be
bought for as little as 25 cents or for as much as $125.00.[41]
[41] A pantagraph can be bought of any dealer in art supplies or
drawing materials.
[Illustration: FIG. 52. HOW A REFLECTING DRAWING BOARD IS MADE AND USED]
=How to Make a Reflecting Drawing Board.=--This is a very simple and
easily made optical apparatus for copying pictures and making drawings
of flat objects. Get a smooth board, or your drawing board will do;
make a wood frame and fit an 8 × 10 sheet of clear glass in it and
screw the frame to the middle of the board as shown in Fig. 52.
Now all you have to do is to lay a picture or a flat object, such as
a leaf or a butterfly, on one side of the glass and a sheet of paper
on the other side and look into the glass at a sharp slant, or _acute
angle_ would be the better term, and you will see the picture projected
plainly on the paper so that you can easily draw it in with a pencil.
=How to Make Tracings.=--A very easy and effective way to copy any
picture already drawn, or even a photograph, _in line_, is to use
_tracing paper_.
This kind of paper, which you can buy of any dealer in drawing
materials, is quite transparent and very tough. To make a tracing
lay the drawing you want to copy on your drawing board, then lay the
tracing paper on top of it, rough side up, and push a thumb tack into
each corner to hold them together.
Now trace the outline of the picture with a pencil and then draw in the
lines with _India ink_. If the paper does not take the ink readily rub
the surface of it with a little powdered chalk on a soft rag. You can
make as many duplicate copies as you want by using a _printing frame_
and _blue paper_ according to the directions given in the next chapter.
=To Make Lasting Impressions.=--Here is an easy way to make lasting
impressions of your own and your friends’ finger prints and hands.
Take a sheet of heavy glazed white paper, say 5 × 7 inches, and hold
it over a kerosene lamp with the chimney removed and the top of the
burner thrown back so that the flame will smoke like a locomotive. Keep
moving the paper about to make the soot, which is simply particles
of nearly pure carbon, cover the surface of the paper as evenly as
possible.
[Illustration: FIG. 53. A LASTING CARBON (SOOT) IMPRESSION OF YOUR
HAND]
Lay the smoked paper on a table and then press the palm of your hand
flat down on it; you must be careful not to press your fingers down too
hard or the sharpness of the fine lines will be destroyed. To get a
clear impression of the lines in the hollow of your hand press down on
the back of it with the fingers of your other hand.
After you have made the _print_, as the impression is called, pour on
some _flint varnish_, which is the kind that photographers use to cover
the films of glass negatives. You can buy it at any photo supply house.
Pour a teaspoonful on one corner of the paper and let it flow down and
across until the whole surface is evenly covered. As this is a genuine
carbon process the prints cannot fade and they will last as long as the
paper lasts. A print of this kind made by the author 18 years ago is
shown in Fig. 53.
=The Ancient and Honored Art of Cutting Silhouettes.=--Since you are of
the younger generation let me tell you just what a _silhouette_ is, and
why.
It is a profile, or side view, of the head of a person cut out of black
paper and mounted on a white card, or else cut out of white paper with
a piece of black silk back of it so that it looks like a shadow in
miniature of the sitter.
It was so called after M. de Silhouette, a French Minister of Finance
in 1759; his rigid economy in the conduct of his office caused his name
to be tacked on to everything cheap and as photography had not yet
been discovered and painted portraits were costly, the paper outlines
filled in with black were the cheapest substitute known and hence the
name.
But as the years rolled by silhouettes became a dignified and honored
art and so when our great grandfather and grandmother wanted to have
their pictures made--not taken--they went to a shears and paste artist
who cut out their silhouettes.
[Illustration: FIG. 54. SILHOUETTES OF YOUR GREAT-GRAND-PA AND
GREAT-GRAND-MA (WHEN THEY WERE YOUNG)]
While the art of cutting silhouettes is all but a lost one because
photography is so easy and shows all the details, still you can make
them with some black glazed paper and a pair of sharp shears with a
little practice.
Take a sheet of black glazed paper[42] about 2 inches wide and 3 inches
long and seat your sitter with the side of his or her face turned
toward you. Now with a pair of sharp shears begin to cut the paper,
starting at the chin and going on up the face to the hair, then around
to the back of the head and finally cutting out the collar and bust.
[42] Glazed paper can be bought at stationery stores or you can get
it from Dennison Mfg. Co., 5th Ave. and 26th St., N. Y. C.
All the time you are cutting you must keep your artistic eye on the
profile of your sitter and your mechanical eye on your shears and paper
and you will be truly surprised to find how little knack it takes to
get a reasonably faithful likeness. A pair of silhouettes are shown in
Fig. 54.
=Transfer Pictures, or Decalcomania.=--Of course you know what transfer
pictures are. There are very few boys indeed who have not bought and
used little 5 cent packages of jim-crow transfer pictures and you will
remember that usually only about half of the picture transferred came
off. But this was because they were made for fun and not for real work.
Now transfer pictures, or _decalcomania_ (pronounced
de-cal´-co-ma´-ni-a) or _decalcomanie_ as the French call it, from
the Latin _de_ which means down, plus _calquer_, which is Latin for
trace, plus _mania_ which is Greek for madness, are used by hundreds
of thousands by painters and decorators in every line of work. These
pictures are made with skill and care and when used properly will not
break or come off.
These transfer pictures can be bought in 10,000 different subjects
and cost from 1¹⁄₂ cents to a couple of dollars each. The pictures
include every subject imaginable from simple little flowers to birds
with wonderful plumage and from cupids in groups to world’s fair
buildings; then there are letters and monograms and beautiful crests
and coats-of-arms in gold and brilliant colors.
When you get ready to do decalcomanie write to Palm, Fechteler and
Company, 67 Fifth Avenue, New York, or to their western branch at 54
West Lake Street, Chicago, Ills., for a price-list and this will give
you a description, the height and length of each picture, the number of
pictures on a sheet and the price per sheet.
_How to Transfer the Pictures._--The regular pictures can be
transferred to wood, metal, painted surfaces, etc., but instead of
soaking them in water alone as you used to with the toy pictures you
give the face of them a very thin coat of a good, quick drying, rubbing
varnish which you can get at a paint store, or better, use a transfer
varnish which you can buy of the above company for 35 cents for a ¹⁄₂
pint can.
After you have applied the varnish to the face of the picture let it
dry until it is very _tacky_; now put the face of the transfer down on
the surface, wet it with water on a sponge and roll it down hard with a
felt roller.
In a couple of minutes wet the paper again thoroughly with water and
peel it off; roll it down at once with a wet felt roller and tap it off
with a piece of chamois skin. After the design or picture has dried for
20 minutes or so, the varnish around it can be removed by dampening it
with dilute turpentine, ammonia or, better, with a _detergent_ made of
equal parts of turpentine and crude oil and _immediately_ rubbing it
away lightly and quickly with a dry, soft rag.
After the picture has been transferred as above, it should be given one
or more protecting coats of varnish the next day.
CHAPTER VI
SOME KINKS IN PHOTOGRAPHY
Since the slogan _you press the button and we’ll do the rest_ has
come to be so well known everybody makes photographs. But there are a
number of kinks in and side issues of photography that are amusing,
instructive or useful and which if you do not already know about will
prove of service to you.
=How to Make Blue Prints.=--This is the very simplest and one of the
most useful kinds of photography. You need but very little material to
make the pictures with and the little you need will cost less than a
dollar.
[Illustration: FIG. 55. A PHOTO PRINTING FRAME]
_The Materials Required._--Buy, or you can make, (1) a 5 × 7 _printing
frame_ as shown in Fig. 55 and get a sheet of clear glass to fit it,
and (2) a couple of dozen sheets of 5 × 7 _blue-paper_[43] which you
can buy at any photographic supply house.
[43] You can make blue print paper by dissolving _ammonium ferric
citrate_ in warm water and coating the surface of the paper with it
by floating it on top of the solution.
Now take one of the drawings you have made on tracing paper or on
tracing cloth with India ink as I described in the last chapter and
lay it with its inked surface on the glass; lay on this a sheet of
blue-paper with its _sensitized_ side on the tracing paper or cloth;
put the back of the printing frame on top of the blue-paper, press the
springs into place and set the frame in the sunlight.
Every few minutes open a _half_ of the hinged back of the printing
frame and take a look at the blue paper to see if the printing is far
enough along. When the lines of the drawing show plainly on it take the
_print_ out of the frame and _wash_ it, as it is called, by letting
water run on it or by putting it through several changes of water.
When it is well washed hang it up on a line by a corner to dry and
you will have a good, clear print with white lines on a blue ground.
In this way by using a negative that you have made with a camera,
especially if it is a marine view, you can get some very pretty and
artistic pictures.
=Another Kind of Contact Printing.=--If you like nature you can use
the above process of contact printing to fine advantage. Instead of
blue paper it is better to use what is known as _solio_ paper[44] or
_silver paper_.[45]
[44] Solio paper is coated first with gelatin and then with silver.
[45] Silver paper is coated first with albumen and then with silver.
To make a _contact_ silver print first put a finely veined leaf, the
filmy wing of a butterfly, a piece of delicate lace or any other thin,
_translucent_ object on the glass in the printing frame, lay a sheet of
solio, or silver paper over it, then put the back in the frame and fix
the springs.
Set the frame so that the sunlight will fall full on the glass side
of it. From time to time open half of the hinged back and see how the
print is coming on; make the print a couple of shades darker than you
want it when finished, but be careful not to overexpose it for silver
paper prints much quicker than blue paper.
_To Tone and Fix the Picture._--To _tone_ a silver print means to
change its color and give it more brilliancy and this is done by
putting it in a chemical solution made of _chloride of gold, or toning
bath_ as it is called.
To _fix_ a print means to treat it so that the light will no longer act
upon it and this is done with a solution of _hyposulphite of soda_ or
just _hypo_ as it is called for short.
The easiest way to tone and fix your silver prints is to buy a bottle
of _solio toning solution_[46] which is a combined toning and fixing
bath. Take the print from the frame and do not wash it but put it into
a tray in which you have mixed _2 ounces of solio toning solution_ and
_4 ounces of cold water_.
[46] It can be bought at any store where photographic materials are
sold or you can make it yourself from the formula given on this page.
When the print takes on the proper color put it into another tray
containing a solution made of _1 ounce of salt_ and _32 ounces of
water_; let it stay in this bath for 5 minutes to stop the toning. Now
put the print into another tray and wash it in 16 changes of water or
in running water for an hour. If you make a half or a dozen prints at
once you can tone and fix them at the same time.
_Recipe for a Combined Toning and Fixing Solution._--To make a combined
toning and fixing bath mix up two solutions, called stock solutions, as
follows:
_Stock Solution A._--Dissolve in 20 ounces of cold water 2 ounces
of _hypo_, 1¹⁄₂ ounces of _alum in crystals_ and ¹⁄₂ an ounce of
_granulated sugar_. Then dissolve ¹⁄₂ an ounce of _borax_ in 2 ounces
of hot water and mix it with the hypo solution; let it stand over night
and then pour off the clear liquid.
_Stock Solution B._--Dissolve ³⁄₄ of a grain of _pure chloride of gold_
and 32 grains of _acetate of lead_ in 4 ounces of water.
Now when you want to tone a picture or half a dozen 4 × 5 prints, take
4 ounces of the stock solution A and ¹⁄₂ an ounce of the stock solution
B and pour them into a tray and tone them as I have previously
described.
=The Simplest Kind of a Camera.=--When you can buy a real camera for
two or three dollars it seems of little use to make one, so just
consider the camera I shall describe as a scientific curiosity rather
than an apparatus of utility.
[Illustration: FIG. 56. AN EASILY MADE PIN-HOLE CAMERA
A. Cross section showing the notched strips.
B. The way the shutter works.]
To make a _pin-hole camera_, so called because a pin hole takes the
place of a lens, form a box of pasteboard or of thin wood 4 inches
square and 8 inches long; cut a hole ³⁄₈ of an inch in diameter in
one end for the pin hole. Fit a strip of wood ¹⁄₂ an inch thick and 4
inches long, having notches cut into it to a depth of ¹⁄₈ inch, to the
sides of the box as shown at A in Fig. 56. These notched strips are to
hold a _sensitized dry plate_.[47] Next make a _shutter_, that is, a
little device to open and close the pin-hole; it is simply a bit of
sheet brass 2¹⁄₂ inches long, ¹⁄₄ inch wide at one end and ¹⁄₂ an inch
wide at the other end as shown at B. Drill a hole ¹⁄₈ inch in diameter
in the center of the strip of brass and pivot this to the front of the
box so that it is on a horizontal line with the center of the hole.
[47] A _dry plate_ is a sheet of glass coated on one side with
gelatin and bromide of silver which makes it sensitive to light.
Now to make the pin-hole, and certainly no pin-hole was ever more
important than this one. Glue a thick piece of nice smooth tinfoil over
the hole on the inside of the box and with a fairly good-sized pin, or
better a needle, prick a smooth hole in the center of it.
You are ready now to take a picture and to do so slip a sheet of
_ground glass_[48] into the grooves in the camera up close and then
farther back until you can see the picture plain. This done take the
camera into your _dark-room_,[49] and _load_ a dry plate into it,
put the cover on the box and fasten a black cloth over it with a
rubber-band as shown at C in Fig. 56.
[48] You will find directions for making it in Chapter IX.
[49] A _dark room_ must be used because a ray of any kind of light
except _red_ will spoil a dry plate the instant it strikes it. A
red-lamp can be bought for a quarter or you can make one and either
use a sheet of red glass or red dark-room paper.
Go out and point your camera at the object you want to photograph, be
it a landscape, a seascape or a scapegoat, press down on the lever for
a second, let go of it when it will drop back and cover the pin-hole
again and the _exposure_ is made.
=How to Develop a Dry Plate.=--Next take your camera into your
dark-room and _develop_ the plate, that is, immerse it in a chemical
solution called a _developer_ to bring the picture out on it. To do
this you must get a tray and put the exposed dry-plate in it, film side
up, and pour the _developer_ over it.
[Illustration: FIG. 56C. THE PIN-HOLE CAMERA COMPLETE WITH CLOTH AND
RUBBER BAND]
Rock the tray after you have poured the developer over the plate
to keep the solution flowing forth and back evenly over it all the
time. When you see the image very plainly take the plate out of the
developer, wash it in clean water and then lay it with the film side up
in a tray containing the _fixing bath_.
Let the _negative_--when the plate is exposed and developed it is
called a negative--remain in the fixing bath until all the white parts,
that is, the free silver which was not affected by the light, have
disappeared and then let a gentle stream of water run on it for an hour
or wash it in 16 changes of clean water. Stand it in a _negative rack_
over night to dry and then you can make prints from it.
_How to Make the Developer._--You can make a good, tried and true
developer in two solutions as follows:
_Pyro Solution, A._--Take 1 ounce of _pyrogallic acid_, called _pyro_
for short, dissolve it in 28 ounces of water and then add 20 minims of
_sulphuric_ acid.
_Soda Solution, B._--Dissolve 2 ounces of _desiccated_[50] _carbonate
of soda_ and 3 ounces of _sulphite of soda_ in 28 ounces of water.
[50] _Desiccate_ means thoroughly dry.
When you want to develop a plate mix ¹⁄₂ an ounce of the _pyro
solution_ and ¹⁄₂ an ounce of the _soda solution_ with 4 ounces of
water and to do this you need a _graduated glass_.
_How to Make a Fixing Bath._--To make a good fixing bath for dry plates
dissolve 1 ounce of hypo, 60 grains of _sulphite of soda_ in crystals
and ¹⁄₄ ounce of _borax_ in 20 ounces of water. A developer can only be
used for one or two plates but you can fix 50 plates in the same fixing
bath.
=A Good and Cheap Camera.=--To take real pictures you want a real
camera. Now there are many kinds of hand cameras but there is only one
size that I am going to try to interest you in and that is one which
will make pictures 3¹⁄₂ × 4¹⁄₂ inches.
With a camera of this size you can take nicely proportioned little
pictures to give to your friends, to keep in your album, to make
enlargements of and to make _lantern slides_ of by direct contact
printing and this will save you a lot of trouble.
[Illustration: FIG. 57. TWO CHEAP AND GOOD CAMERAS
A. A Brownie box kodak.
B. A folding kodak.]
The cheapest 3¹⁄₄ × 4¹⁄₄ camera you can buy is a No. 3 _Brownie box
kodak_,[51] see A Fig. 57, which costs about $3.00. A _folding_ No.
3 Brownie camera, shown at B, will serve your needs much better and
this one will cost you in the neighborhood of $5.50, or you can buy a
_Graflex camera_[52] for $75.00 if father is rich and mother doesn’t
care.
[51] These cameras can be bought most anywhere or you can send to the
Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, N. Y.
[52] With this kind of a camera you can see the object you are
photographing up to the very instant you snap the shutter.
Every good camera has what is called a _rectilinear lens_, that is, a
compound lens formed of two _achromatic_ lenses, which means that each
acromatic lens is made up again of two lenses one of which is of _crown
glass_ and the other is of _flint glass_, and these two latter lenses
are cemented together with _Canada balsam_.[53]
[53] This is a clear gum that is obtained from a tree called the
_Canada balsam_.
Now whereas a common _convex_ lens will produce all the colors of
the rainbow around its edges when a ray of light passes through
it, an acromatic lens lets through only the white light and while
a single convex lens makes the straight lines of a building curved
in the picture, an acromatic lens keeps all the lines straight, or
_rectilinear_, and hence its name.
These little cameras are filled with mechanical _snap shutters_ and
they use _roll films_, that is the _sensitive silver_ and _gelatine
emulsion_ is spread on a thin celluloid film instead of on glass
plates. These roll films come on spools in lengths of ¹⁄₂ and 1 dozen
each and they can be loaded into the camera in daylight. The same kind
of developing and fixing solutions are used for films that are used for
dry-plates.
=How to Make an Enlarging Apparatus.=--To make an enlarged picture of a
small negative take out the back of your camera and get two perfectly
clear sheets of glass to fit the opening.
Make a box of ¹⁄₄ inch thick wood, 6 inches wide, 6 inches long and 7
inches high and have the top of it separate so that it can be lifted
off and put on the box. In the middle of the top near one edge cut a
hole 1¹⁄₄ inches in diameter and put an electric light socket--to which
a cord and plug is fixed--in it as far as it will go and then screw in
a _nitrogen_ 100 watt electric lamp[54] which gives about 75 candle
power, as shown at A in Fig. 58.
[54] The Delco Light Co., 52 Park Place, New York, sells these lamps
and all other electrical supplies.
[Illustration: FIG. 58A. A HOME-MADE ENLARGING APPARATUS
The lamp set in the top of the illuminating box.]
Cut a hole out of the front board 3¹⁄₂ x 4¹⁄₂ inches and fasten a sheet
of _ground glass_[55] or, better, of _opal glass_[56] over the opening.
Get a sheet of bright tin 6 inches wide and 10 inches long, bend it
into a semi-circle and set it in the box so that it will reflect the
light from the lamp in front of it through the ground glass screen as
shown at B.
[55] Ground glass can be bought at a glazier’s or you can make it as
explained in Chapter IX.
[56] Opal glass.
Next make a stand for holding the _bromide paper_[57] which is to be
used for the enlargement. About the easiest way to do this is to take
a 1 inch thick board 6 inches wide and saw off a piece 12 inches long.
Fasten your drawing board to it with a couple of angle blocks as shown
at D, and you are ready to make an enlargement.
[57] Bromide paper is a paper sensitized with a compound of silver
and bromine.
=How to Make an Enlargement.=--When you have the apparatus ready set
the camera and the _illuminator_, as the box with the light in it is
called, on another table. Put the negative between two plain sheets
of glass and then fasten them to the camera with a couple of large
rubber bands; set the illuminator with the ground-glass screen close up
against the negative in the back of the camera, as shown at C.
Now set the drawing board stand about 4 feet away from the lens of the
camera to make an 8 × 10 enlargement. Open the shutter, turn on the
light and _focus_ the camera, that is, move the stand to and from the
camera until the enlarged picture is sharp. When you get it so, close
the shutter and cover up the cracks where the light leaks through with
a dark cloth.
Make the room perfectly dark except for your dark-room light and then
put a sheet of bromide paper on the drawing board with thumb tacks.
Open the shutter of the lens and expose the paper to the light passing
through the negative and then close it again. The bromide paper is
developed and fixed just like a dry plate when your enlargement is done.
[Illustration: FIG. 58B. A HOME-MADE ENLARGING APPARATUS
B. The illuminator showing the tin reflector in it.
C. The camera.
D. The stand for holding the bromide paper.]
In handling bromide paper you must be almost as careful as you are with
dry plates or films. Before making a picture it is a good scheme to
test the length of time to expose the paper. To do this take a sheet of
bromide paper and cut it into strips 1 inch wide and 10 inches long;
fasten a strip at a time diagonally across the board and expose the
first one for say 5 minutes and then develop it, when you can usually
tell about how long the exposure should be.
_A Developer for Bromide Paper._--A good stock solution developer
for bromide paper, velox paper, films and dry plates can be made by
adding these chemicals to 25 ounces of hot water in the order named
and stirring in each one until it is dissolved; _elon_ ¹⁄₈ ounce;
_desiccated sulphite of soda_ 1⁷⁄₈ ounces; _hydrochinon_ ¹⁄₂ ounce;
_desiccated carbonate of soda_ 5¹⁄₄ ounces; _potassium bromide_ 30
grains and wood alcohol 3 ounces.
[Illustration: FIG. 58C. A HOME-MADE ENLARGING APPARATUS
E. Cross section top view of the enlarging apparatus.]
This developer will keep for a long time if the bottle containing it
is kept full, otherwise the air will act on it. To develop six 8 × 10
bromide prints use 1 ounce of the stock solution and 6 ounces of water.
To fix bromide prints keep them moving in a bath made by dissolving
8 ounces of hypo in 2 quarts of water and then adding ¹⁄₄ ounce of
_metabisulphite of potassium_ and ¹⁄₄ ounce of _powdered alum_. Let
the prints remain in this bath for about 10 minutes and then wash them
thoroughly.
=How to Make a Reflectoscope.=--A _reflectoscope_ is a kind of magic
lantern but instead of using transparent glass slides you can use any
picture or _opaque_ object such as the works of a watch, your hand,
etc, and throw an image of it on the screen.
[Illustration: FIG. 59 A CHEAPLY MADE REFLECTOSCOPE
A. The projector.
B. The illuminator.]
If you have a folding camera[58] you can convert it into a dandy
reflectoscope, so get busy with your tools. Make a box--it is really
two boxes fastened together--of the peculiar shape shown in Fig. 59,
and it can be of wood or of metal as you wish.
[58] A box camera can not be used because its focus is fixed.
First make the larger box, which we will call the _projector_, and this
should be 4¹⁄₂ inches long, 5 inches wide and 5 inches high[59]--and
leave the front, back and one side off. To the top and bottom fasten
on two wood cleats ¹⁄₂ an inch square and 5 inches long to fix the
projector to the camera with. This box is shown at A in Fig. 59.
[59] It must fit the back of your camera.
[Illustration: FIG. 59C. A CROSS SECTION TOP VIEW OF THE REFLECTOSCOPE]
This done, make another box for the _illuminator_ 3 inches wide, 3
inches long on one side, and 4³⁄₄ inches long on the other side, and 5
inches high. Bend a piece of bright tin for the reflector and set this
in the back as shown at B.
Cut a 1¹⁄₄ inch hole through the top for an electric lamp as described
in the directions for making an enlarging lantern; the top should be
tight fitting but so made that it can be taken off and put on at your
pleasure.
Now glue, screw, solder or otherwise fix the two boxes together and
the reflecting part of the apparatus is done. To complete it fasten
the back of your camera to the cleats on the top and bottom of the box
with strong rubber bands as shown at C, which is a top view of the
reflectoscope.
[Illustration: FIG. 59D. THE REFLECTOSCOPE READY FOR USE]
_To Use the Reflectoscope._--Tack a white sheet to the wall and set
the reflectoscope at a distance of about 10 feet from it with the lens
pointing toward it, of course.
Next turn on the light in the box and turn off all the lights in the
room and make it as dark as you can. Hold a picture of any kind against
the opening in the back of the projector box and then focus the camera
until the picture on the screen is as sharp as you can get it.
The way the reflectoscope works is like this: the picture is projected
upon the screen in virtue of the fact that the direct light from the
lamp, as well as that portion of it which is reflected back by the
tin, is thrown against the surface of the picture or object held in
the opening; from this the light is reflected through the lens which
enlarges it and projects it on the screen.
=How to Make a Magic Lantern.=--To make a magic lantern out of a camera
is just as easy as it is to make a reflectoscope but you will have
to buy a _condensing lens_[60] and this will cost 50 cents to $1.00,
according to size.
[60] The L. E. Knott Apparatus Co., Boston, Mass., sells a 2 inch
condensing lens for 50 cents; a 3 inch one for 75 cents, and a 4¹⁄₂
inch one for $1.10.
For this lantern you can use either a box or a bellows camera, though
the latter is better because the picture can be focused. Whichever you
use make a base of a 1 inch thick board, 5¹⁄₂ inches wide and 14 inches
long and nail or screw two strips of wood ¹⁄₂ an inch wide, ³⁄₄ inch
high and 8 inches long along the edges on one side as shown at A in
Fig. 60.
If your camera is of the box kind set it in between the strips on the
base on the front end, but if it is of the bellows type then you will
have to make a shelf for it as shown at B to hold the camera in place
as shown at C.
Next make an illuminator as described above in the text _How to Make
an Enlarging Apparatus_, but instead of covering the front with ground
glass make a board to fit it and cut a hole in it the exact size of
the condensing lens. This lens is a _plano_ or a double convex lens as
shown at D and while it should be 4¹⁄₂ inches in diameter to get all
of the picture on the screen you can use a lens as small as 2 inches
though all of the picture will not show.
[Illustration:
_THE BASE OF THE LANTERN_
_THE FRAME TO HOLD A POCKET FOLDING CAMERA_
_HOW THE CAMERA IS FIXED TO THE FRAME_
_PLANO CONVEX
DOUBLE CONVEX
CONDENSING LENSES_
_ONE OF THE LANTERN SLIDE HOLDERS_
_FRONT BOARD ILLUMINATOR_
FIG. 60. THE PARTS OF A HOME-MADE MAGIC LANTERN]
Cut out six clips of sheet brass ³⁄₁₆ inch wide and ¹⁄₂ an inch long
and punch a hole in the end of each piece. Screw three of these clips
to each side of the board at equi-distant points around the hole so
that the end of each one projects over the edge of the hole ¹⁄₈ inch.
Now put the lens in the hole and adjust the ends of the clips so that
they will hold the lens in place as shown at E.
The next and last thing to do is to cut two strips of tin or brass 1
inch wide and 3 inches long and bend each one over the long way as
shown at F; punch three holes near the lower edge of each one and screw
one of them above and one below the condensing lens on the board 3¹⁄₄
inches apart as shown at E. These bent strips form the holder for the
lantern slides. The magic lantern complete is shown at G.
[Illustration: FIG. 60G. THE MAGIC LANTERN READY FOR USE]
_How to Work the Lantern._--Tack a bed-sheet up on the wall; turn on
the light in the illuminator and turn off all the lights in the room;
slip a lantern slide upside down in the holder and then push the rear
end of the camera--having first taken out the back--close up to the
lantern slide holder.
If you are using a box camera move the whole lantern back until the
picture is as large as you want it and it is still bright enough. If it
is a pocket folding camera you can focus it and get a picture with much
better definition.
=How to Make Lantern Slides.=--A lantern slide is a sheet of glass
with a transparent picture on it. A standard lantern slide is 3¹⁄₄ ×
4¹⁄₄ inches and one of this size can be used in any full sized magic
lantern or _stereopticon_.[61]
[61] A _stereopticon_ is really two magic lanterns, but the word is
now often used to mean a high-grade magic lantern.
To make lantern slides by _direct contact_ printing is not a hard thing
to do at all, and all the equipment you need to make them besides the
chemicals is a printing frame. Put a sheet of clean glass in it and lay
your negative on it with the film side up.
Now lay the _lantern slide plate_[62] with the film side _down_ on the
negative just as though you were going to make a print, but you must
make it in your dark room, using a white light to expose it of course,
for it is just as sensitive as a dry plate or a film. When you expose
it hold the printing frame about 12 inches away from the light.
[62] Lantern slide plates can be bought at any photographic supply
house.
A lantern slide plate is developed, fixed and washed exactly like a dry
plate but to get the best results you should use the kind of developer
called for in the directions that come with the plates.
When you have the lantern slide made, place a sheet of clear glass of
the same size--called the _cover-glass_--on the film side of it and
bind the edges with _passepartout binding_, that is a strip of paper
gummed on one side. It is then ready for use.
=How to Make Radium Photographs.=--You can make radium photographs,
or _skiagraphs_ as they are called, with any one of a number of
_radioactive_ substances and at a very small outlay.
The four most important radioactive substances, if we except _radium_
itself, are _black uranium oxide_, _pitchblende_, _thorium nitrate_ and
_uranium nitrate_. You can buy any one of these substances in a glass
stoppered bottle for $1.00 or the set of four for $3.50.[63]
[63] The L. E. Knott Apparatus Co., Boston, carries these radioactive
substances in stock.
While the _radioactivity_ of these substances is low it is sufficient
to make a shadow-picture--and this is all that an X-ray picture is--of
a coin or other small object if it is laid on top of a dry plate sealed
in a black paper envelope, which is opaque to the light.
[Illustration: FIG. 61. A PHOTOGRAPH OF A COIN MADE WITH RADIUM]
That is, the coin is laid on the envelope containing the dry plate,
and the bottle with the radioactive substance in it is laid on top of
the coin. Let them remain undisturbed in this way for a couple of days
and you will find on developing the plate a very good _radiograph_, or
shadow picture of the coin as shown in Fig. 61.
Trick Photography
=Spirit Photographs.=--When photography was young Sir John Herschel,
the great astronomer, got up what he called _magic photographs_ and
these have been worked under the name of _spirit photographs_ by half
of the _mediums_ in the business.
The idea is to show the victim of superstition his future wife or her
future husband. To this end the medium shows a piece of perfectly blank
paper about an inch square. She--sometimes it’s a he--then dips the bit
of paper into a saucer of what seems to be ordinary, common every day
water and with much dignity and mysticism presses it to the forehead of
the aforesaid ninny who would fain know what the partner of his, or her
joys and sorrows will look like. (What’s the use when they will know so
well afterward?)
Be that as it may, when the medium removes the bit of paper from the
simpleton’s forehead a photograph has really and truly appeared on it
and--there you are! (Fifty cents, please.)
Now the trick is done like this and you can have some fun repeating
it. Print some photos postage-stamp size of boys and girls on ordinary
silver paper and fix them in hypo dissolved in water but don’t tone
them; wash them well and then soak them in a _saturated solution_[64]
of _bichloride of mercury_ which will bleach out the picture and leave
the paper perfectly white again; this done dry the paper and put it
away until you want to use it.
[64] A saturated solution of bichloride of mercury is one in which
all of the mercury has been dissolved in the water that it will
dissolve at its present temperature and pressure.
When you do, make a strong solution of hypo, soak the picture in it for
a minute or two, press it to your subject’s forehead and the picture
will appear.
=One Way to Catch Big Fish.=--Of course you know that when an object
very near the camera is photographed it will look proportionately
larger than when it is photographed a little way off from it. It is
simply a case of exaggerated perspective.
Hence the camera is an apparatus very well adapted for _camouflage_ as
the French call _faking_. You can easily try it out by having a friend
lean back in a chair and put his feet on the table. (If the table is
of highly polished mahogany request him kindly to take off his spurs
first.)
Stand your camera in front of him so that his feet will be nearest the
lens and then take his picture. The result is that he will be about all
boots and very little head.
Another and deeper dyed trick is to photograph a fellow--choose one who
is noted for his whaling yarns--with a fish dangling at the end of a
pole and line as shown at A in Fig. 62. This will make the fish loom up
as big as the cod in a _Scott’s Emulsion_ ad., and the boy will be the
size of the lone fisherman as shown at B. It will be some time before
the scales will drop from the eyes of the person who is sizing up the
picture.
You want to use a _small stop_ in your lens when you make a picture of
this kind so that the definition will be as sharp in the foreground as
it is in the background.
[Illustration: FIG. 62. ONE WAY TO CATCH A COD
A. How it is done.
B. How it looks when done.]
=Taking Caricature Photographs.=--The word _caricature_ (pronounced
care´-i-ca-ture) means a portrait in which some part of it is distorted
so that it produces a comical effect.
Now there are a lot of ways to make photographic caricatures but one
of the best is to use what is called a _special foreground_. This
foreground is a sheet of cardboard or a piece of muslin stretched on a
frame about 1¹⁄₂ feet wide and 2¹⁄₂ feet long.
Draw on the cardboard or muslin any kind of a funny little body such as
an anemic fellow in a bathing suit, or a lank athlete rowing in a tub,
or a gilded youth riding a donkey; and finally cut out a place around
his collar for the neck of the sitter. Seat your subject and have him
hold the foreground as shown at C in Fig. 62 so that his head comes
just above the collar of the picture and then take a photograph of him.
[Illustration: FIG. 62C. HOW CARICATURES ARE MADE]
If now the background--that is the ground back of the sitter--and the
foreground--namely the one painted on the cardboard--are of the same
shade you can trim the print so that it will look exactly as if your
friend was in the Orient on his way to Mecca. (If you will keep this
picture for 20 years the fellow who sat for it will gladly pay you a
hundred dollars for it.)
CHAPTER VII
PRINTING AND ITS ALLIED ARTS
If there ever was a boy who did not want a printing press I have yet to
meet him. Ever since the day when Gutenburg[65] invented movable types,
and that was some 500 years ago, every boy--and not a few men--have
wanted to set a few stickfuls of type and run off some impressions on a
press, and many thousands of them have gratified that highly civilized
ambition.
[65] Johanne Gutenburg was a German printer. He invented movable
types about the year of 1450.
But you fellows of to-day have all the best of it, for you can buy
a printing outfit complete for $1.50 on up to anything you want to
pay for it. After all is said and done though, you can get more real
enjoyment out of a small self-inking press than you can out of a larger
one. Not only is there a lot of fun in printing cards, etc., for
yourself but there is money in it too, if you go about it the right
way, but that is another story.[66]
[66] To make money out of job-printing on a small scale read _Money
Making for Boys_ by the present author and published by Dodd, Mead
and Co., New York City.
=Kinds of Printing Presses.=--There are two kinds of printing presses
made and these are (1) _hand inked_ presses, and (2) _self-inking_
presses.
You can make a printing press out of wood but to do a good job you must
have a press built of iron and properly _machined_, that is finished
up, for to do good printing a good outfit is needed to begin with.
Small hand inked and self-inking presses are sold in the toy
departments of nearly all stores at prices ranging from $1.50 to $5.00
and this will include a font of type. Many of these little presses are
made which use type about half the length of regular type and if you
get a press of this kind you will never know the real joy of printing.
=The Parts of a Self-Inking Press.=--The _Excelsior_ is the name of a
small self-inking printing press that has been on the market for 50
years and it is a good one. The description of it which follows will
fit any other model self-inking press just as well, for they are all
built on the same principle.
There are seven chief parts to this press and these are (1) the body;
(2) the type bed; (3) the platen; (4) the ink-roller carriage; (5) the
ink table; (6) the chase, and (7) the handle, all of which are shown in
Fig. 63.
The body of the press serves to support all the other parts. The bed,
as you will see, is really a part of the body casting and the feet of
the type rest against it. For this reason it must be perfectly smooth
and even, and it is planed off, that is machined, to make it so.
The platen is pivoted to the middle of the body and it swings up to
and parallel with the bed and away from and out at an angle to it. The
card, or sheet of paper to be printed is laid on the platen and is
brought up and into contact with the type which rests on the bed. A
pair of grippers are hinged to the platen to hold the paper in place
while it is being printed but releases it when the platen moves back.
[Illustration: FIG. 63. A MODEL SELF-INKING PRINTING PRESS]
The ink-roller carriage is connected by levers to the platen and when
the latter moves to and fro the rollers run over the type to ink it;
the rollers get their ink from the ink table and this is a disk which
revolves and on which the ink is spread; the ink table is made to
revolve a little at a time so that the rollers will pass over every
part of it in every direction and so distribute the ink evenly.
The type when set is _locked_ in an iron frame called a _chase_ and
this fits on the bed; and finally all the movable parts are coupled to
the handle and when this is moved up and down it makes them perform
their various functions.
=How the Press Works.=--Let’s suppose now, that you have the type set
in the chase and the chase is fixed in the press; that you have put
some ink on the ink-table and a card or a sheet of paper on the platen.
Now when you press down on the handle it moves the platen up, the
grippers hold the card, or sheet of paper to it, the arms pivoted to
the platen pull the ink rollers up and over the type and on to the ink
table which turns through a small _arc_, that is, part of a circle, by
a ratchet so that it keeps a fresh surface exposed to the ink rollers
all the time.
When the card, or paper makes contact with the type you pull the handle
up; this swings the platen back; the grippers relax their pressure;
the ink-rollers move down over the face of the type; you take out the
printed card or sheet with your left hand and put in a blank one with
your right hand, when you are ready to make another impression.
It may surprise you to know that any one can print from 500 to 600
cards an hour and if you are expert you can run off from 1,000 to 2,000
cards per hour.
=Sizes and Prices of Presses.=--The Excelsior press comes in three
sizes and the price depends on the size of the chase. (1) A press
having a chase 3 × 5 inches costs $5.00 and this is large enough to
print cards, labels, envelopes, etc.; (2) a 5 × 8 press costs $18.00
and this one will do nice jobs up to postal card size; and (3) a 6
× 10 press costs $25.00 and is large enough to print bill-heads,
letter-heads and circulars, or you can print a little newspaper on it.
=The Outfit You Need.=--Your outfit will, of course, depend largely on
the size of press you have.
_Outfit for a 3 × 5 Press._--A couple of dollars will buy all the
_fixtures_ you need and these consist of (a) a _font of type_, (b) some
_leads_, (c) a _type case_, (d) an assortment of _furniture_, and (e) a
can of _black ink_.
A font of type means enough of a kind having the same _face_ and
_body_ and the right amount of each letter to set up an ordinary job.
You will find more about type under the next heading called _Type and
Typesetting_. Leads are thin strips of type metal less than type-high
which are used to separate the lines of type; and a type case is a
shallow wooden tray divided into little compartments called _boxes_ in
which the letters of a font of type are kept apart.
_Outfit for a 5 × 8 Press._--The fixtures of a press of this size
include all of those named above and (a) three fonts of type, (b) type
cases for them; (c) a set of _gage pins_, and (d) a pair of _tweezers_,
or a _bodkin_. The gage-pins are pinned into the paper backing on the
platen to keep the card or sheet from slipping and to hold it in its
proper place. The tweezers, or bodkin, which is a large needle, is used
for picking out type from a form when you are correcting it.
_Outfit for an 8 × 10 Press._--This outfit should have all the
fixtures of both of those described above and you will need not less
than four fonts of type, while a _composing stick_, which is a little
metal tray to hold the type in as you set it, is a necessity. These
fixtures are shown in Fig. 64.
[Illustration:
_PAPER GUAGE_
_=A=--WOOD FURNITURE_
_=B=--A LEAD_
_=D=--A BOUGHT GUAGE PIN_
_=E=--REGULAR PRINTER’S TWEEZERS WITH COARSE SERRATED FLAT POINTS_
_A BODKIN_
_=C=--A COMMON PIN BENT FOR A GUAGE PIN_
_A COMPOSING STICK_
FIG. 64. AN OUTFIT FOR A MODEL PRESS]
=About Type and Setting Type.=--_Relative Number of Type Letters._--In
looking over type catalogues you will see that the fonts are listed
as 4A, or 8A-10A, etc. Now this means that in the 4A font there are 4
capital A letters and that all of the other letters are in proportion
to the A’s that are likely to be used, thus:
[Illustration:
A 4A FONT
A B C D E F G H I J K L M
No. of letters to font 4 2 3 3 5 2 2 3 4 2 2 3 3
N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
No. of letters to font 4 4 3 2 4 4 4 2 2 2 2 2 2]
With an 8A-10a font there are of course twice as many of each capital
letter as in a 4A font while of the _lower case_ letters, which means
the small ones, there are 10 a’s and the number of the others are in
proportion to their use, thus:
[Illustration:
AN 8A-10a FONT
a b c d e f g h i j k l m
No. of letters to font 10 4 6 8 18 4 4 8 10 2 3 8 6
n o p q r s t u v w x y z
No. of letters to font 10 10 6 3 10 10 10 6 4 4 2 4 2]
_Styles of Type._--For card work you want a plain block letter font
like that shown at A, a script like B, or an old English like that
shown at C.
For envelopes, bill, letter head and other job work three fonts of
engraved plate style as shown at D, E and F will give good results.
[Illustration:
23A $1.00
A +THEODORE ROOSEVELT+ +1234567890+
8A 24a $4.50
B +Miss Alice Verlet+ +123456789+
11A 34a $2.50
C +Lieut. John Hodder Stuart+ +123456789+
22A $1.00
D +ENGRAVED CARD STYLE IS PREFERRED+ +52468+
16A $1.05
E +HANDSOME ENGRAVED EFFECTS+ +123+
A16 $1.25
F +ENGRAVED PLATE STYLE+ +140+]
For circulars you should have several fonts of different styles of type
as shown at G, H, I, J and K.
[Illustration:
18A 36a $2.90
G +CLEAR CUT Faces Popular+ +123+
15A $1.95
H +EXCELSIOR PRESSES+ +12345+
A $2.10
I +GRAINO+ +1+
10A 15a $5.35
J +GOOD for many places+ +3+
11a 20a $3.00
K +Good and Clear for poster and circular
printing. A fine addition to any
printing office.+ +12345678+]
And finally should you intend to print a cook-book, a town directory
or a newspaper you will need a half, or a full font of _12 point plain
pica Roman_, as it is called, and which is shown at L.
[Illustration:
L +12 Point No. 1, 25 lbs. $12.00. (Half font, 12¹⁄₂ lbs., $6.50)
PLAIN Pica Roman, a FACE for many uses. Books, circulars and
jobbing. Very clear and easy to read. Cast from nickel metal and
most durable known.+ +£ $ L z 1234567890+]
_The Parts of a Type._--Before explaining how to set type, make ready
and print, there are a few little things about letters and about type
which are good to know.
First let’s take, by way of illustration, the letter +H+ =H=.
Now you will observe that the first +H+ is plain and the second
one is embellished by fine lines at the top and bottom and these
embellishments are called _ser′-ifs_.
As simple a bit of metal as a type has more parts to it than you can
shake a stick at, but you ought to learn them by heart. Named, these
parts are (a) the _body_ of the type; (b) the _front_; (c) the _back_;
(d) the _face_ or _letter_; (e) the _nicks_; (f) the _feet_; (g) the
_groove_; (h) the _shoulder_; (i) the _bevel_, and (k) the _pin marks_,
and all of these are pointed out in Fig. 65.
[Illustration: FIG. 65. THE PARTS OF A TYPE]
It very often happens in _italics_ and script type that a part of a
letter will stand out beyond the body and this little extension is
called the _kern_. The nick in the type is to help the type-setter,
or _compositor_ as he is called, to set the type the right way in the
stick, that is you always set the type with the nicks down and toward
you.
The pin-mark is made by a sharp instrument which removes it from the
mold. Finally a c e m n o r s u v w x z are called short letters; j
is a long letter in that it takes up the full breadth of the face;
b d f h i l t are _upstroke_, or ascending letters, while g p q are
_downstroke_ or descending letters.
_The Sizes of Type._--Type is made in standard sizes and not so very
long ago each size was known by a name. Then a change was made and the
_point system_,[67] as it is called, came into general use. The sizes
under the old and the new systems are given in the following table and
it will enable you to know type sizes both by name and by point.
[67] This is the standard system of sizes for type bodies. It is so
called because it is measured in decimal points or fractions of an
inch; that is, 1 point is .0138 inch, so that _nonpareil_, as it used
to be called, is now 6 point and bourgeois is 9 point, etc.
[Illustration:
TABLE OF TYPE SIZES
OLD NAMES OF SIZES NEW POINT SIZES
Pearl 5 point
Agate 5¹⁄₂ “
Nonpareil 6 “
Minion 7 “
Brevier 8 “
Bourgeois 9 “
Long Primer 10 “
Small Pica 11 “
Pica 12 “
English 14 “
Great Primer 18 “]
_Your Type Cases._--There are two kinds of _type cases_ and these are
made to hold (1) the capital, or _upper case_ letters, and (2) the
small or _lower case_ letters.
The reason the capitals are called _upper case_ letters is because
the case that holds them is set higher on the _composing stand_ than
the case which holds the small letters; this brings the small letters
nearer to the hand of the compositor and as they are used more than
the _caps_ he can set the type faster. The arrangement of the cases is
shown at A in Fig. 66.
[Illustration: FIG. 66A. HOW THE TYPE CASES ARE ARRANGED]
There are several schemes of type-cases but I shall only describe three
of them. The first is a small type case 12¹⁄₂ inches square with 48
boxes in it and you can buy one for 35 cents. It is good enough for any
one who doesn’t want to go to the bother of learning the regular case.
A plan view of the _lay_ of a regular upper and a lower case is shown
at B and C. You will see that the =e= box in the lower case is larger
than any other and this is because there are more =e=’s used in setting
up a job than any other one letter. And you will also observe that the
letters are distributed and the boxes spaced in a very uneven way, but
this arrangement brings the letters that are used the most into the
easiest places to reach.
[Illustration: FIG. 66B. THE UPPER CASE]
[Illustration: FIG. 66C. THE LOWER CASE]
_Setting the Type._--Where you have more than one line to set you
should by all means use a _composing stick_ and a small one will cost
you a dollar. It should be held in the left hand as shown in Fig. 67,
that is, with the open side from you and the slide to the left.
Now read a few lines of your _copy_, pick the first letter from its box
and set it in the _left hand_ corner of the stick with the nick in the
type toward your thumb. Take the next letter from its box and let it
slide into the composing stick against the first letter and so on from
_left_ to _right_ until you have the first word set up.
[Illustration: FIG. 67. HOW TO HOLD A COMPOSING STICK]
Now put in a medium sized _space_, which is made just like a type but
only shoulder high and without any letter on it, and begin to set the
next word. If when you get to the end of the line there is a space left
but not enough to start another word, put a thin space between the
words to lengthen out the line, or _justify_ it as it is called.
When you have set the line put a lead, that is a thin strip of
typemetal which comes to the shoulder of the type, against it and start
a new line and so on until you have the stick half full of type.
The type must now be taken out of the stick and placed on a smooth
surface, such as a piece of slate or a stone called an _imposing
stone_, and to do this without dropping some or all of the type and
making _pi_ of it, takes practice. To do it like a journeyman, put a
lead at the top and bottom of the type, set the stick on the stone,
grip the top and bottom with your fore fingers and thumbs and the sides
with your other fingers, hold it tight and you can then easily lift it
out and into the chase as shown in Fig. 68.
[Illustration: FIG. 68. PUTTING A STICK OF TYPE IN THE CHASE]
A good way for you to do it at first is to wet the type after you have
it set in the composing stick when it will hold together without much
trouble. When you can manage half-a-stick full of type you can then
try a stick full.
=Making Ready.=--After you have the type, which is to make up the
_form_, set in the _chase_ on the imposing stone, or table, fill in the
top and bottom spaces with long pieces of wood furniture and the ends
with hollow metal furniture and then _lock up the form_, that is screw
or otherwise fix it in the chase.
Now there are two kinds of chases used with small presses and these
are (1) _screw_ chases and (2) _plain_ chases. A screw chase has a
couple of screws fitted into the top of it so that after the type and
furniture are in the chase you only need to tighten up the screws to
hold the form in place.
[Illustration: FIG. 69. TOOLS FOR LOCKING UP A CHASE]
When a plain chase is used, _quoins_, that is wedges made of wood, as
shown in Fig. 69--you can get a dozen hickory ones for a nickel--must
be set in between the furniture and the chase and these are forced
together with a mallet and a _shooting stick_, so that the type is held
firmly in place.
The next thing to do is to _plane_ the form, that is, you take a block
of wood one side of which is covered with a piece of felt. Lay this on
the type and tap it gently with the mallet to get all of the type even
on top. You can make a _planer_ or buy one for a quarter ready made.
This done, fit the chase in the press and put three or four sheets of
paper on the platen by means of the pivoted bands on the edge of the
latter. Ink the type and run off a few impressions; but be careful that
the grippers are set so that they will just catch the _edges_ of the
sheet but will not strike the type form.
If part of the impression does not come out plain, paste a piece of
paper on the paper backing on the platen and, oppositely, if a part of
the impression is too heavy a bit of the under sheet of paper backing
must be cut away.
When the impression is even on the platen sheet paste a piece of
cardboard below and another to the left hand side of it so that the
card or the sheet of paper will lay on the platen in exactly the right
place every time you feed it in.
Instead of cardboard you can use three bent pins to gage the sheet, or,
still better, use regular steel gage pins (see Fig. 64), for these can
be adjusted to a nicety.
=Printing the Job.=--All that remains for you to do now is to put about
as much ink as you can get on the point of the blade of a penknife on
the ink table and then roll it out thin and even with a small hand
roller.
Lay your stock on the table to the right of the press and feed in a
card or a sheet at a time with your right hand and see to it that you
get it in squarely against the gage pins; take away your hand and press
the handle down with your left hand; raise it up, take the printed
sheet out with your left hand, feed in another one and so on until the
job is done.
=How to Clean Type.=--As soon as you have printed a job take the chase
from the press and before you unlock the form rub the face of the type
with a rag dipped in benzine, or turpentine and when all the ink and
smut is gone wipe it with a clean rag.
If the type gets clogged up with ink wash it out with a tooth-brush
dipped in benzine and when the ink on the table and the rollers gets
dirty or does not work well wash it off with benzine also. To do good
printing everything must be immaculately clean.
=About Distributing Type.=--After you have cleaned the type, unlock
the form and then take a line o’ type at a time on a lead in your left
hand; pick off two or three letters at once and drop each one into its
respective box.
=The Ink and Rollers.=--_The Ink._--While of course you will buy your
ink all ready to use you may like to know how it is made. Here’s a
recipe for a printing ink that is as old as the hills and as good as
gold: _Balsam of capivi_ 4¹⁄₂ ounces; _lampblack_ 1¹⁄₂ ounces; _indigo_
⁵⁄₈ ounce; _India red_ ³⁄₈ ounce, and _turpentine dry soap_ 1¹⁄₂
ounces; mix these ingredients well in a _mortar_ with a _pestle_; then
mix the mass with _boiled linseed oil_ to the right thickness.
When buying ink for job printing get one that is a _quick drier_ and
this costs from 50 cents to $1.50 a pound according to quality. You can
also buy colored inks in red, white, blue, yellow, green, brown and
purple in 4 ounce cans for 60 cents a can.
_The Rollers._--While it is cheaper and better to buy ink rollers ready
made, if you want to try your hand at making them yourself get 1 pound
_Peter Cooper’s best glue_; 1 quart _best sugar house syrup_, and 1
pint of _glycerine_.
Soak the glue in rain water until it is soft, drain off all the excess
water, put it in a glue pot and set it on a slow fire until it is
melted. Now put in the syrup, boil it for half an hour, stirring it the
while, and skim off the scum that comes to the top.
About 5 minutes before you take it from the fire add the other things
and then pour the mixture into the mold, which is simply a brass
cylinder of the diameter and length you want the roller. The _stock_,
as the spindle of the roller is called, is set exactly in the middle of
the mold and the composition is poured into it.
=Printing in Colors.=--Printing in two or more colors, or _color
printing_, is not only interesting work to do, but profitable, since
you can easily get orders for it. It is a little harder to do a good
job with colored inks than it is with black ink, but if you will use
plain type and good colored ink you will have small trouble in doing a
creditable job.
=Printing in Gold.=--When you want to print in gilt instead of in
black you can do it either by printing in black ink first and then
dusting bronze powder over it with a tuft of cotton, or print the job
with _gold size_ which makes the powder stick better. Dust the excess
powder off with a bit of cotton when the letters will stand out in gold
beautifully.
You can buy a 3 ounce can of gold size for a quarter and bronze powder
can be had in 1 ounce cans in gold, silver, cardinal red and copper.
All of the above materials can be bought of the Kelsey Press Company,
Meriden, Conn., and you ought to send for one of their catalogues.
=And Finally Your Stock Supply.=--You will need a supply of both
visiting and business cards; paper for labels, handbills and
newspapers--that is, if you intend to print one--and paper for
bill-heads, statements, letter-heads and envelopes to match them.
Cards come in all sizes and colors and in any quantity however small;
they are sold under the name of _thin white_, _thin colored_, _heavy
china_, _business bristol_, _fine bristol_, _extra fine bristol_,
_satin enameled_ and _linen finished bristol_. Then there are cards
with gold beveled and lace edges; fancy embossed, with round edges, and
for mourning.
Paper can be bought that is gummed on one side for labels; linen and
bond papers are used for correspondence; the cheapest kind of white and
colored paper is good enough for handbills but you should use a good
white stock for newspaper work. Before ordering stock of any kind the
best way to do is to send for a full set of samples and then you will
know just what you are buying.
The Art of Paper Making
Of course you know what paper looks like and how it feels, but it is
not so likely that you know what it is and how it is made; but paper
making is an art so old, so wonderful and so useful, that you ought to
make enough to know all about it.
=What Paper Is.=--Paper is made by chemical and mechanical processes
from rags, straw or wood into thin sheets. These materials are formed
of fibers made up of what chemists call _cellulose_[68] and this
substance is in turn composed of C₆H₁₀O₅, that is 6 atoms of carbon, 10
atoms of hydrogen and 5 atoms of oxygen.
[68] Cellulose forms the ground-work of all vegetable tissues whether
they are the tender shoots of a fern or the hard wood of trees.
=How to Make Paper.=--Whatever material you use to make the paper of it
must be converted into a _pulp_ first. Cotton or linen makes the best
paper--this is called rag paper--because these materials are nearly
pure cellulose to begin with.
_Making the Pulp._--To make a little paper take about a pound of white
cotton or linen rags and cut them up into little bits; boil them in a
solution of _caustic soda_ for a couple of hours, to get out all the
dirt and grease, and stir them often.
Next wash out the dirty water that has resulted from boiling them
and then the cotton or linen must be broken up and beaten until the
fibers are separated. You can do this by putting the fabrics into a
chopping bowl, wetting it down with clean water and then using a pair
of chopping knives on them until the fibers are cut fine, and you must
change the water often. In paper mills a _rag engine_, as it is called,
is used to wash and break up the rags.
[Illustration: FIG. 70. A FRAME FOR PAPER MAKING]
_The Molds You Need._--Make half-a-dozen frames of wood ¹⁄₄ inch thick
and ¹⁄₂ an inch wide, and about 5 × 8 inches on the sides; and cover
these with brass wire netting having about 20 wires to the inch as
shown in Fig. 70. School slate frames are good for this purpose.
_Laying the Paper._--Now spread a thin layer of pulp on the wire
netting of each frame, or mold, and set them to one side to dry. When
you have all the molds filled and the pulp is dry turn each frame
upside down on a sheet of blotting paper and lay another sheet of
blotting paper over the paper you are making.
In this way pile up the blotting paper and the paper in the making
and then put them under pressure; this you can do by placing the pile
between two smooth 1 inch thick boards and screwing them together with
a couple of wood clamps.[69] After an hour or so you can take the
clamps from the pile and separate the sheets of paper from the blotting
paper.
[69] A description of these clamps will be found in Chapter I.
Next place the paper between sheets of _oil board_,[70] make a pile of
them and screw them up between the wood clamps again good and tight
and leave them there over night; then hang up each sheet of paper by a
corner with a clip and let it dry.
[70] This is a heavy oiled paper and you can buy it at a painter’s
supply store, or of C. B. Hewitt and Bros., 48 Beekman St., New York
City.
=Sizing and Finishing.=--When the sheets are dry take them down and lay
them carefully in a pile for _sizing_. Make the sizing by dissolving
_gelatine_ in hot water until it is about as thick as milk with the
cream in it.
Pour the sizing into a shallow dish or, better, a photographic tray;
lay each sheet, first one side and then the other, on the sizing and
be careful to wet it evenly all over. Put the sized paper between the
sheets of oil board again, make a pile of them, screw on the wood
clamps, let them stay under pressure for half a day and, finally when
you take them out let them dry slowly and you will have a _hand made
paper_ that you have made with your own hands.
How to Bind Books
If you will look at this book carefully you will conclude that it would
be next to impossible to bind one that would even faintly resemble it.
But while I do not want you to believe that you can do a job that would
anywhere nearly equal it, you can bind a book good enough so that you
will not feel ashamed to let any one see it.
[Illustration:
THE BOARDS
BOARDS GLUED TO CLOTH
WIDTH OF BOOK
FIG. 71. HOW TO CUT BOARDS AND CLOTH FOR BOOK BINDING]
_Making the Cover._--First mark out with a rule and then cut out two
pieces of pasteboard each of which is just as wide as the book you are
going to bind and ¹⁄₄ inch longer as shown at A in Fig. 71.
Lay these boards on a piece of muslin or calico, or you can buy regular
book-binder’s cloth for the purpose[71] and cut it 2 inches wider than
the length of the boards and three times as long as the width of one
of them as shown at B.
[71] For book binders’ materials of all kinds send to Thomas Garner
and Co., 181 William Street, New York. For book binders’ leather
materials address Du Pont Febrikoid Co., Equitable Bldg., New York.
Coat these boards on one side with a good glue laid on thin and glue
them to the cloth so that they will be separated from each other by a
space ¹⁄₂ an inch wider than the thickness of the book you are binding
as shown at B and C; this done glue the edges of the cloth over on to
the other sides of the boards as shown at D in Fig. 72.
[Illustration: FIG. 72. SEWING ON THE MUSLIN FLAP]
While the back is drying take a piece of good muslin and cut it 1¹⁄₂
inches shorter than the length of the book and within 2 inches as wide
as the width of the back of the book when it is flat open. For instance
suppose the book is 5 inches wide and 1 inch thick which is 11 inches
in all; then you would cut the muslin 9 inches long. The muslin on the
book is shown at E.
_Sewing the Book._--The next operation is to sew this piece to the
back of the book; for this work you will need a thin sharp awl, a
hammer, a large darning needle and some strong linen thread--waxed
thread is the best.
Before doing so, however, take a sheet of good white paper and make a
couple of fly-leaves for the front and back of the book; now punch a
line of holes ¹⁄₈ inch from the back, through the book as shown at F,
then put on the piece of muslin and sew it to the book good and tight,
and be sure the flaps are even.
[Illustration: FIG. 73. THE BOUND BOOK COMPLETE]
This done spread some glue on the pasteboard covers, place the back
of the book on the cloth binding between the covers, turn it over on
the front cover and rub the muslin down smooth on it; then do the same
thing with the back. All that remains for you to do now is to turn back
one of the blank pages which you sewed on to the book and glue it on
the cover which will conceal the muslin flap.
After you have bound the book lay it between a couple of smooth boards
and screw it up tight between the jaws of a pair of wood clamps. Let it
stay there over night and in the morning when you take the wood clamps
off you will have one more book to add to your five foot shelf.
_Putting on the Title._--If you have a printing press you can print
the title of the book and the author’s name--don’t forget the author’s
name--on a slip of heavy paper and gild it, or on a piece of cloth and
glue it to the front of the cover as shown in Fig. 73.
CHAPTER VIII
RUBBER STAMPS, DIE SINKING, BURNING BRANDS AND STENCILS
Rubber Stamps
A _rubber stamp_ is type matter molded in rubber which is then mounted
on a block with a handle as shown in Fig. 77. When the stamp is inked
and then pressed on a smooth surface it leaves an impression on it.
Rubber stamps are useful for marking tags, books, boxes, bundles, etc.,
but it is very bad taste to use them for letter-heads and envelopes.
=How to Make Rubber Stamps.=--_The Materials Needed._--To make rubber
stamps you will need (1) one or more fonts of type; (2) a composing
stick if you intend setting up more than one line; (3) a frame called
a chase, 4 × 5 inches on the sides made of a strip of wood 1 inch wide
and 1³⁄₁₆ inch high, which is the height of type from its feet to its
shoulder; (4) another frame, called the _matrix frame_, made of a strip
of wood 1 inch wide, ³⁄₈ inch thick and 4 × 5 inches on the sides.
These two frames are shown at A and B in Fig. 74. (5) Two smooth boards
1 inch thick, 6 inches wide and 7 inches long; (6) a tooth-brush; (7)
a couple of pounds of _dental plaster of Paris_, and (8) a ¹⁄₄ pound of
_pure unvulcanized rubber_.
Dental plaster is finer than the ordinary kind and you can buy all
you will need from your family dentist for 5 or 10 cents a pound.
Unvulcanized rubber for rubber stamps comes in sheets about ³⁄₁₆ inch
thick and is sold under the name of _signature stamp gum_ and you can
buy it for about $1.00 a pound.[72]
[72] You can buy signature stamp gum of The Goodyear Tire and Rubber
Company, 10 Central Park West, New York City. In ordering of this
firm ask for No. 4093, ³⁄₁₆ inch thick.
[Illustration: FIG. 74. THE MATRIX FRAME, CHASE AND BOARDS FOR MAKING
RUBBER STAMPS]
Unvulcanized rubber is crude india-rubber mixed with sulphur and when
this is heated it gets very soft and can be molded by putting it under
pressure; when it gets cold it is not only much stronger than before
but it is very elastic as well.
=Making the Mold.=--Since you know how to make pewter castings and how
to set type, making a rubber stamp will be as easy as rolling off a log.
When you have the type set up that you want to make the rubber stamp
of, put a _lead_[73] on each side of it, oil it all over with sweet
oil and tie a string around it tight. Lay the thick, shoulder high
wood frame over the type matter you have set and see that it is in the
middle of it.
[73] See the preceding chapter on printing.
Next mix up a little more than enough plaster with cold water in a bowl
to fill the frame; stir it with a tablespoon and make it about as thick
as sorghum molasses. Pour the plaster all around the type in the frame
and fill up the space between them as high as the face of the type.
Now let the plaster _set_,[74] that is, get hard, which it will do in
a very few minutes. When it is hard enough to hold the type in place
and yet before it gets solid take the tooth-brush, dip it in water and
brush away the plaster until it is exactly even with the frame, and
hence, even with the shoulders of the type as shown in Fig. 75.
[74] When _calcium sulphate_ is heated it loses its water of
crystallization and forms a powder, which we call plaster of Paris;
the plaster has the power of taking up water and forming a solid
substance, and this process is called _setting_.
When the plaster has set hard oil the face of the type and the plaster
with sweet oil; now lay the thin frame over the thick frame; mix up
some more plaster with water and make it thin enough so that it will
flow easily into every little space of the type and fill the frame up
with it.
Let this frame stay on the lower frame over night so that it will get
very hard and you can then lift it off, when a very sharp impression
of the type faces will be formed in it shoulder deep, that is as deep
in the plaster as the face of the type is high. This frame with its
plaster impression is called the _matrix_.
[Illustration: FIG. 75D. THE TYPE IN THE CHASE. E. PLASTER OF PARIS
IMPRESSION IN THE MATRIX FRAME]
=Vulcanizing the Rubber.=--Cut a piece of the unvulcanized gum rubber
¹⁄₄ inch wider and longer all round than the impression of the type;
peel the strip of muslin from the strip of rubber gum and lay it on the
matrix. Put one of the boards on top of the rubber and the other on the
bottom of the matrix and screw them together tight with the iron clamps
as shown in Fig. 76.
Half fill a kettle with water; lay the mold on top of the kettle--but
not in the water--and put both of them in a hot oven for 30 minutes.
When the rubber gum gets hot it softens and the pressure of the screws
forces it into the letters of the matrix and so makes rubber type of
them. The steam from the kettle will keep the wood from charring and
the rubber from burning but has no other action on it.
[Illustration: FIG. 76. THE MATRIX WITH THE RUBBER GUM IN PLACE READY
TO VULCANIZE]
The heat _vulcanizes_[75] the rubber gum and makes it springy and
stretchy, but if it gets too hot it will become hard and you will
have _hard rubber_ instead. To get just the right degree of heat a
_vulcanizer_,[76] which is simply a little boiler with a thermometer on
top, is used by rubber stamp makers.
[75] Vulcanizing is the process of heating raw India rubber with
sulphur; the sulphur combines with the rubber to form a new compound.
If a large amount of sulphur is used and great heat is used _hard
rubber_, or _vulcanite_, or _ebonite_ is formed. If a small amount of
sulphur and a low heat are used the elastic rubber that is so common
is formed.
[76] The S. S. White Dental Mfg. Co., 5 Union Square, New York, sells
them, and unvulcanized rubber as well.
=Mounting the Rubber.=--All that you need to do now is to trim off
the edges of the rubber stamp with a pair of shears and mount it on a
smooth block of wood having a handle as shown in Fig. 77.
[Illustration: FIG. 77. THE RUBBER STAMP READY TO USE]
=How to Use a Rubber Stamp.=--A special kind of ink is used for rubber
stamps, as writing ink is too thin and printing ink spoils the rubber.
_To Make an Ink Pad._--Cut out two blocks of pine wood each of which is
¹⁄₄ inch thick, 2 inches wide and 3 inches long; cut out four strips of
woolen cloth 2 × 3 inches, lay two of the strips on each block and then
cover the latter by gluing a piece of muslin over it.
Pour a dozen or 15 drops of _rubber stamp ink_ on each pad and rub the
surfaces of both of them together to distribute the ink evenly. When
not in use keep their inked surfaces together and in a box so that the
dust will not get on them.[77]
[77] You can buy a good rubber stamp pad for a quarter. Rubber
stamps, pads, and ink can be bought of the Everson and Reed Co., 88
Chambers St., N. Y. C.
=To Make Rubber Stamp Inks.=--_A Black Ink._--Mix 3 parts of
_lampblack_ with 7 parts of _olive oil_.
_A Red Ink._--Mix 2 parts of _vermilion_ with 3 parts of _olive oil_.
_A Blue Ink._--Mix 3 parts of _aniline blue_ and 6 parts of _oleic
acid_ with 94 parts of _castor oil_.
_A Green Ink._--Mix 25 parts of _aniline blue_, 15 parts _aniline lemon
yellow_, 50 parts _oleic acid_ and _castor oil_ 950 parts.
=How to Make a Copygraph Pad.=--A _copygraph pad_, or _hectograph_,
as it is often called--from the Greek _hekaton_ which means 100, and
_graph_ to write, hence to write a hundred--is a gelatine pad for
duplicating a letter or a drawing.
To use a copygraph pad you must write your original letter with an
_aniline_ ink; then you lay it on the pad and rub it down with your
fingers. When you remove the sheet an impression will be left on the
face of the pad and if now you lay a sheet of clean paper on the pad,
rub it and _pull_ it off you will have a copy almost as bright and
clear as the original. In this way as many as 50 or 100 copies of the
original letter can be made.
To make a copygraph pad put 1 ounce of the best gelatine in enough
water to cover it and let it stand for 24 hours. Put a tablespoonful
of table salt into a cup of water, pour it into the outside can of a
_water jacketed_ pot. Put 6 ounces of glycerine in the inside pot, set
the pot on the stove and heat it good and hot, or to be exact, to about
200 degrees _Fahrenheit_.
Drain off all the water from the gelatine and put the latter in the
glycerine while it is yet on the fire; stir the mixture slowly every
once in a while in order to prevent bubbles from forming, and skim off
the froth that forms on top of it. When you have a nice smooth mixture
stir in a teaspoonful of oil of cloves to keep it sweet.
Next make a pan of sheet zinc a little larger than the letter you want
to copy and ¹⁄₂ an inch high, or you can use a tin pie pan if you
merely want to try it out. Set the pan on a level table, fill it with
the hot mixture, let it stand over night and it is ready to use.
=How to Copy a Letter.=--You must write your letter with a special
aniline ink, called _hectograph ink_, and use a new steel pen to do it
with.
While the writing is getting dry take a small clean sponge, wet it with
cold water, squeeze it as dry as you can, wash the face of the gelatine
with it before you try to make an impression or else you will spoil the
pad.
This done, lay the sheet of paper with the written side down on the pad
and gently rub your fingers over every part of it. Let the paper stay
on the pad for a couple of minutes, then grip a corner of it and pull
it slowly and evenly from the pad as shown in Fig. 78. Now you are
ready to make your copies.
To do this lay a clean sheet of paper on the pad, rub it as you did the
original, let it remain for a minute and pull it off. Keep on making
copies until you have as many as you want or the impression gets too
faint.
[Illustration: FIG. 78. PULLING AN IMPRESSION FROM THE COPYGRAPH]
When you get through pulling copies wash the face of the pad with a
moist sponge and let it dry thoroughly before you make a new copy.
=How to Make Hectograph Inks.=--_Black Ink._--Mix 10 parts of _methyl
violet_; 20 parts of _nigrosene_; 30 parts of _glycerine_; 5 parts of
_gum arabic_ and 60 parts of alcohol. Heat it until the anilines are
dissolved and stir until all are thoroughly mixed.
_Red Ink._--Mix 10 parts of _fuchsin_, 10 parts of alcohol; 10 parts of
glycerine and 50 parts of water. Heat and stir as before.
Die Sinking
=How to Make Badges, etc.=--It is fascinating work to sink a name into
a piece of sheet metal with steel dies and yet it is very easy if you
have the tools and you can make some money out of it too, for every boy
wants a badge or a medal.
[Illustration:
_SHEET OF GERMAN SILVER OR BRASS WITH SHIELD MARKED ON IT_
_THE SHIELD CUT OUT_
FIG. 79A, B. FIRST STEPS IN MAKING A BADGE]
Badges can be made of any kind of sheet metal ¹⁄₆₄ inch thick or more
but _German silver_[78] makes mighty pretty ones for it takes a high
polish and remains bright a long time. To cut out a shield, a star or
any kind of a badge get a ¹⁄₄ and a ¹⁄₂ inch straight cold chisel and
a ¹⁄₄ and a ¹⁄₂ inch curved cold chisel,[79] also a block of hard wood
one side of which must be nice and smooth.[80]
[78] You can buy German silver in any quantity and thickness of
Patterson Bros., Park Row, N. Y.
[79] The P. F. Smith Co., 325 West 42nd St., N. Y. C, make these
chisels.
[80] You can make it so by scraping it with a piece of glass.
Draw the outline of the badge you intend to make on a sheet of metal;
lay the latter on the block of wood and then cut it out with your
chisels and hammer as shown at A and B in Fig. 79. When you have it cut
out, file off the rough edges.
=How to Sink the Letters.=--For this part of the work you will need a
set of ¹⁄₈ inch _steel letters_[81] as shown in Fig. 80 and they will
cost in the neighborhood of $3.00.
[81] Can be had of Hammacher, Schlemmer and Co., Fourth Ave. and 13th
Street, New York.
[Illustration: FIG. 79C. THE BADGE ON A FLAT-IRON IN A VISE. D. SINKING
IN THE LETTERS]
Mark the lines on the badge on which the letters are to be sunk with a
very soft lead pencil, or, better, wax the surface all over by tapping
it with your finger on which you have rubbed some white wax and then
mark the lines with a sharp pointed piece of bone. Otherwise you will
have trouble in getting the lines out.
Now lay the badge on a perfectly smooth piece of iron--a flat-iron
screwed in a vise, see C, is good. Then take the middle letter of the
name you are going to stamp and hold it with the notched side toward
you and with the _serifs_[82] on the lower edge of the letter exactly
on the middle of the line you have drawn as shown at D.
[82] See Chapter VII, on Printing.
[Illustration: FIG. 80. STEEL LETTERS AND FIGURES FOR DIE SINKING]
Hold the steel letter perfectly straight and give it a goodly blow
with the hammer when the die will sink into the metal and leave the
impression of the letter below the surface. Finish stamping the name by
working both ways from the middle letter, for this is the way to get
the name on the badge evenly.
With a set of steel letters and figures you can also stamp key checks,
jewelers’ checks, baggage checks and name plates and also sink names
on wood, metal, leather, etc.
=Finishing Up the Badge.=--The next thing to do is to solder a pin on
the back of the badge as shown at E in Fig. 79. Scrape the back up and
down the middle bright and clean; put a small safety pin on the badge
and hold them together with a pair of tweezers. Then put on a couple of
drops of _soldering fluid_.[83]
[83] See page 31.
[Illustration:
THE BACK WITH PIN SOLDERED ON
READY TO WEAR
FIG. 79E, F. LAST STEPS IN MAKING A BADGE]
Hold the badge with the pin on top of it in the flame of your alcohol
lamp or Bunsen burner and when the soldering fluid begins to sizzle
touch the pin with a piece of wire solder. When the solder runs let it
cool and the pin will be on securely enough for all ordinary purposes.
Next polish up the badge by rubbing it with powdered _rottenstone_
mixed with a little machine oil and then finish it off with some
_crocus_. If you have a lathe of any kind get a _felt wheel_[84] and
use the rottenstone and oil on it and then the crocus.
[84] F. W. Gesswein Co., Inc., 16 John St., sells engravers’,
opticians’, platers’ and polishers’ supplies.
Heat the stamped surface of the pin just a little and put some _black
enamel_, which you can get at the hardware store, into the letters; rub
off all that sticks to the surface but leave all that is in the sunk
letters. Put it away and let the enamel dry thoroughly when you will
have a regular badge as shown at F.
Burning Brands
A burning brand is useful to mark the handles of tools, boxes or
anything made of wood by burning a name or a design into them.
=How to Make a Burning Brand.=--To make a burning brand, say with your
initials on it, make a cardboard box ³⁄₄ inch wide, 1 inch high and 3
inches long and without a top.
Mix up some plaster of Paris, fill the box with it and let it set. When
it is perfectly hard and dry tear the cardboard box away from it, and
on the narrow side of it, that is the one that is ³⁄₄ inch wide, mark
out your initials, reversing the letters just as they are on type.
Take a sharp pocket knife and cut away the plaster from around the
letters to a depth of ³⁄₈ inch, thus leaving the letters standing out
in relief like type letters as shown at A in Fig. 81. Give it a couple
of coats of _shellac varnish_[85] which not only protects the plaster
to a certain extent but prevents it from sticking to the mold.
[85] You can make this varnish by dissolving yellow gum shellac in
alcohol or you can buy it at a paint store.
[Illustration:
_A PLASTER OF PARIS PATTERN FOR A BURNING BRAND_
_THE BURNING BRAND COMPLETE_
FIG. 81. A BURNING BRAND OF IRON OR COPPER]
Now take this pattern to a brass foundry and have a brass casting made
of it. When you get it file it up nice and smooth and be careful to
keep the surface of the letters perfectly flat. This done, drill a ³⁄₁₆
inch hole in the center of the back of the brand to a depth of ¹⁄₂ an
inch and thread it with a ³⁄₁₆ inch tap.
The next and last thing to do is to get an iron rod ¹⁄₄ inch in
diameter, and 12 inches long, bend a ring on one end, thread the other
end with a ³⁄₁₆ inch die and screw it into the brand, when it will look
like B.
_How to Use the Burning Brand._--To use the burning brand put it in a
fire and when it is about red hot, take it out and press it firmly on
the wood you want to mark and your initials will be left on the wood
as long as the wood lasts, nearly.
Stencils
A stencil is a piece of heavy paper or thin sheet of metal in which
letters or a design are cut through with broken lines, and it is used
for marking the letters or design on any smooth surface by daubing a
color on it through the open spaces with a brush or sponge.
There are two kinds of stencils, namely (1) those used for practical
work and (2) those used for decorative purposes.
=How to Cut Stencils.=--You can cut your stencils in either (a) _oil
board_,[86] or (b) in thin _sheet brass_ or _copper_. _Paper stencils_,
as those cut in oil board are called, are much easier to make than
those cut in sheet metal and as they are quite durable they will
probably serve your every need.
[86] Oil board can be bought of C. B. Hewitt and Bros., 48 Beekman
St., New York.
_Cutting Paper Stencils._--All you need to cut paper stencils with is
a sheet of oil board and a pen-knife with a good, sharp-pointed blade.
A stencil alphabet is shown at A in Fig. 82 and by taking a look at it
you will see exactly where the lines must be broken to hold the letters
together.
First mark out with a pencil the size of the sheet you want the stencil
to be and then draw a line down through the middle to divide it into
equal parts. For every line of letters you want draw a pair of lines
across the oil board and have the space between them whatever you want
the height of the letters to be.
When you mark in the name or word start with the middle letter and
draw it on the middle line of the board and then draw in the rest of
the letters to the right and to the left; by lettering the oil board
or metal this way you will get the whole name or word exactly in the
middle of the sheet.
[Illustration: FIG. 82. STENCIL LETTERS AND STENCILS
A. How stencil letters are cut.
B. A stencil for marking boxes.
C. Decorative stencil for wall borders.]
To cut the stencil lay it on a smooth board and hold your knife just as
you do a pen when you write but with your fingers a little closer to
the point. Start at the top of each line if it is a vertical one, or
on the left hand side if it is horizontal; hold the knife at a slight
angle so that all the lines you cut will slant in toward the center of
the letter and so bevel the paper. In cutting the stencil you can turn
the sheet around to bring the lines into the best position for cutting.
It does not take much pressure to cut through the board but press down
hard enough on the blade to make the first cut go clear through and
never cut over the same line twice and also make the cuts run right up
sharp into the corners. It takes very small skill to cut stencils but
the chief part of the art lies in drawing the letters or the designs on
the paper or metal.
_Cutting Brass Stencils._--To cut sheet metal stencils use
_annealed_[87] sheet metal about No. 25 _Brown and Sharpe gauge_;[88]
mark out the letters or design as for paper stencils and then cut them
with _stencil chisels_. When you have the stencil all cut file the
_burr_ off of the edges of the letters or design with a fine file and
file them at an angle so that all the edges are sharp. A practical
stencil is shown at B.
[87] Patterson Bros., Park Row, New York, carry sheet brass and
copper in stock for stencils.
[88] The Brown and Sharpe Wire Gage is also used for measuring the
thickness of sheet metal.
_How to Use Practical Stencils._--A short, stubby brush, called a
_stencil brush_ and made especially for the purpose is the best kind
to use to stencil with. Dampen it a little and rub it on a cake of
_stencil ink_;[89] hold the stencil down tight to the surface you are
to mark and then _dab_--not paint--the spaces in it with the brush.
[89] Nearly every stationery store carries stencil ink and brushes
in stock, or you can get them of Hammacher, Schlemmer and Co., Cor.
Fourth Ave. and 13th Street, N. Y. C.
_How to Make Stencil Inks._--Dissolve 4 ounces of shellac and 1 part of
borax in a little boiling water and put in enough logwood to make it
red if this is the color you want it, or blue carmine if you want it to
be blue. Then add enough hot water to make it about as thick as cream.
=How to Use Decorative Stencils.=--Art stencils can be used with good
effect for certain kinds of decorative work, but it is especially
adapted for putting borders on kalsomined walls. You can cut these
stencils, see C in Fig. 82, after your own design or you can buy them
already cut.[90]
[90] Write to the Frost and Adams Co., Cornhill, Boston, Mass., for
a catalogue of their _Art Cut Stencils_. Also to Sears, Roebuck and
Co., Chicago, Ills., for a list of their decorative stencils.
_Mixing Colors for Stenciling Borders._--To make the colors for
decorative stencils stir a very little _moresco stenciling color_[91]
with some hot water; be careful not to use too much color or the effect
on the kalsomined or frescoed wall will be too contrasting. Beautiful
colors in half-a-dozen tints can be had for this work.
[91] Made by Benjamin H. Moore and Son’s Co., 180 William St., N. Y.,
and sold by paint dealers generally.
CHAPTER IX
THE ART OF WORKING GLASS
One of the most fascinating of the mechanical arts is working in glass.
One reason for this is because it is a substance so beautiful, so hard
and so fragile that it seems to the ordinary observer to be beyond the
pale of tools.
_Au contraire_, as the French say it, glass is easily worked if you
mix a little skill with the right kind of tools and it gives me much
pleasure to tell you how to do it. Further, the tools you need are few
and the material is inexpensive.
=What Glass Is.=--Before getting down to the processes by which glass
can be worked it is a good scheme to know about the substance itself.
_Hieroglyphic_[92] inscriptions on the Egyptian monuments show that
the art of working glass was practiced 4,000 years ago or before the
_Hebrew exodus_.[93] Now glass is a chemical compound, the chief
substance of which is sand.
[92] The early Egyptians carved the history of their arts on stone in
a sign language called _hieroglyphics_ from the Greek _hieros_ which
means sacred, and _glypho_ which means to carve.
[93] The departure of the Israelites from Egypt under the guidance of
Moses.
_Common glass_ is made by melting _sand_, _lime_ and _soda_ together.
Sand is formed of a chemical element called _silica_; lime is _calcium
carbonate_ and soda is _sodium carbonate_ and there you have three
chemical elements which when they are melted together make common
window glass.
Glass which contains lime is called _crown glass_ and it is this kind
which is used in making one of a pair of _achromatic_[94] lenses.
_Flint glass_ which is the kind of glass used in making the other one
of a pair of achromatic lenses contains lead instead of lime.
[94] An achromatic lens is one that is free from color.
Flint, or lead, glass melts more easily than crown, or common, glass
and this is a good pointer for you to remember when you are getting
glass for your glass blowing experiments. _Bohemian glass_, which is
largely used for chemical apparatus, is made of sand, lime and potash.
Colored glass is made by putting small quantities of various substances
into the melted glass. Thus _oxide of cobalt_[95] gives a blue color;
_oxide of chromium_, or _cupric oxide_ a green; one of the _copper
oxides_ gives it a red color, _uranium_[96] a yellow, etc.
[95] Cobalt is a metal and is usually found along with nickel.
[96] Uranium is also a metal.
=How to Cut Glass.=--About the simplest and most useful process for you
to know is how to cut glass.
To cut window glass you need (1) a _glass cutter_; (2) a drawing board
and (3) a T square. There are two kinds of glass cutters on the market
and these are (a) _steel cutters_ and (b) _diamond cutters_.
The first kind has a little steel wheel in the end, as shown at A
in Fig. 83. You can buy one for a quarter and it will serve all your
needs very well. If money is no object you can buy a glass cutter with
a diamond point such as glaziers use for about $4.00. This kind of a
glass cutter has a chip of genuine diamond in a _swivel_ end and it is
a pleasure to cut glass with one of them. It is shown at B.
[Illustration: FIG. 83. GLASS CUTTERS
A. A steel wheel glass cutter.
B. A diamond point glass cutter.]
=How to Use a Glass Cutter.=--“There are tricks in all trades but
ours,” said the carpenter as he drove in a screw with a hammer, and so
if you will dip the steel wheel cutter into some kerosene before each
cut is made you will be surprised to find how easily it cuts.
To use a diamond cutter, hold it just as you would hold a pencil and
grip the three sided part with your thumb, index and middle fingers, as
shown at C. Then place the cutter against the straight edge of your T
square, press it down firmly on the glass and draw it along evenly.
To make the right kind of a cut hold the diamond at a sharp angle, that
is, very slanting, and raise it slowly until a smooth, sound and clear
cut is made. Don’t hold it straight up and down or you will surely
spoil it, and never never cut twice over the same line.
[Illustration: FIG. 83C. THE RIGHT WAY TO HOLD A DIAMOND POINT GLASS
CUTTER]
It takes more skill to use a diamond cutter the right way than to use a
steel cutter, but a little practice will make you proficient.
[Illustration: FIG. 84. HOW TO CUT A PANE OF GLASS]
When you want to cut a sheet of glass lay it on your drawing board with
the blade of the T square on it and the head of it against the edge
of the glass as shown in Fig. 84; hold it tight and then make a good,
clean cut. You can then easily break the sheet of glass along the cut
if there is enough glass on each side of the cut to get a firm hold on.
If not put it into one of the notches on the shank of the glass cutter
and you can then easily break it off.
=How to Finish Off Glass Edges.=--When you cut a sheet of glass the
edge left by the cutter will be slightly rough. To smooth it up and
round off the corners rub it on a _whetstone_, that is any kind of a
coarse stone on which you have poured a little water. A better way is
to grind it on a grindstone if you have one.
=How to Drill Holes in Glass.=--To drill a hole through a sheet of
glass make a layer of putty ¹⁄₂ an inch thick and as large as the sheet
you are going to drill and lay the glass on it.
The idea of using the bed of putty is to allow the glass to bend a
little should you press down on the drill too hard. Take a _Morse twist
drill_ and, if you know how, grind it on a grindstone to a sharper
point than it has when you get it; the next best thing to do is to
sharpen it on your oilstone.
The best kind of a drill stock to use is an _archimedian_, or a
_reciprocating_ one, as shown at B in Fig. 11, on page 29, for then
the pressure on the glass is even in every direction. Set the drill on
the glass at the point where the hole is to be made; hold it with the
fingers of your left hand to keep it from slipping and _lubricate_ it
well with turpentine.
Work the drill at a fairly high speed and do not put too much pressure
on the drill stock or you will surely break the glass.
You will find it quite hard to drill a hole less than ¹⁄₁₆ inch in
diameter through ordinary glass because the drills will break and when
you drill a hole over ¹⁄₈ inch in diameter you will find it a slow
job because of its size, but you can drill a hole up to ¹⁄₄ inch in
diameter if you go slow and are careful.
=A Couple of Ways to Cut Glass Tubing.=--_The First Way._--A simple way
to cut, or rather break off a piece of glass tube evenly is to make a
cut all round the tube with a _three-cornered_ file[97] and you can
break it off at the line without trouble.
[97] The right name of a three cornered file is a _three square file_.
[Illustration: FIG. 85. A CUTTER FOR GLASS TUBES]
_The Second Way._--An easy and sure way to cut glass tubing off smooth
is to use a _gauge glass cutter_;[98] this is a V steel rod with a
_seat_ on one end and a steel cutting wheel on the other. The arm of
the rod holding the wheel is marked off in fractions of an inch like a
rule and a _stop_ with a set screw in it slides on this rod as shown in
Fig. 85.
[98] You can buy one of these tools of Hammacher, Schlemmer and Co.,
Fourth Ave. and 13th St., New York.
To use the cutter set the stop on the rod at the length you want to cut
the tube; then put the rod with the cutter on it in the tube and with
the seat outside; press the V rods together tight and turn it and the
tube in opposite directions when it will make a good cut and you can
break the tube in two easily.
=How to Cut Glass Disks.=--By sawing out a round board, laying it flat
on a sheet of glass and running your glass cutter around the edge of
the pattern you can cut out an approximately round disk of glass.
[Illustration: FIG. 86. A CIRCULAR GLASS CUTTER]
But to cut out a perfectly round disk you must have a _circular glass
cutter_[98a] as shown in Fig. 86. It has an adjustable cutter head
mounted on a square rod so that the head can be turned on it. The rod
is mounted on a hardwood base so that it can revolve around the latter.
[98a] You can buy one of these tools of Hammacher, Schlemmer and Co.,
Fourth Ave. and 13th St., New York.
After the cutter head is set on the rod for the size of the circle you
intend to cut hold it down on the glass by the thumb-piece. The cutter
head is then moved round in a circle and a clean cut is made after
which the edge of the disk can be smoothed up.
This circular glass cutter, which is called the _Little Beauty_, will
cut a circle 20 inches in diameter and costs about 50 cents. If you are
making a frictional electric machine this is the tool you need to cut
the glass plates with.
=How to Bend Glass Tubing.=--It is useful to know how to bend a piece
of glass tubing, especially if you are interested in chemistry and want
to set up some apparatus--in fact you should know how before you ever
start to experiment.
There are just two things you need to bend glass tubes with and these
are (1) a _Bunsen burner_[99] and (2) the _glass tubing_, both of which
you can buy of Eimer and Amend, Fourth Avenue, Cor. 18th Street, New
York.
[99] Complete instructions for making a Bunsen burner will be found
in _The Magic of Science_ by the present author and published by
Fleming H. Revell Co., New York.
_What a Bunsen Burner Is._--This is a burner in which a jet of ordinary
illuminating gas is mixed with air, the amount being regulated by a
ring which opens and closes the air holes in the burner.
A Bunsen burner makes a very hot flame because the gas in the tube
moves faster than in an ordinary burner and the oxygen in the air aids
the gas to burn. A plain Bunsen burner is shown at A, in Fig. 87. If
you have no gas in your house you can use an _alcohol lamp_[100] which
you can either buy or make for yourself.
[100] How to make an alcohol lamp out of an ink-bottle is explained
in _The Magic of Science_.
_Bending the Glass Tube._--To bend a piece of glass tube you should
have a _fish tail jet_ set in the end of the Bunsen burner to give a
wide flame like an illuminating burner as shown at B. Hold the tube
over the flame of the burner, or alcohol lamp until it is heated red
hot all along the place you want to bend it.
[Illustration: FIG. 87. KINDS OF BUNSEN BURNERS]
Now turn the tube in the flame with your fingers until it is heated
evenly all around and becomes soft; take it from the flame and quickly
but gently bend it as you will which you can do very easily. With very
little practice you will be able to make a good smooth bend just where
you want it.
=How to Blow Glass=
=To Round the Ends of a Tube.=--When you cut a tube either with a file
or a glass cutter the edge of the end will be sharp but not smooth. All
you have to do to round it is to heat it in the flame until it begins
to melt, when the glass will run and make a smooth edge.
=To Border the Ends of a Tube.=--To _border_ a tube means to spread the
edge out a little all around so that a cork can be put in easier or a
liquid poured out better.
[Illustration: FIG. 88. BORDERING THE END OF A TUBE]
Take a piece of charcoal and shave it down with your knife to form a
cone the size you want the border to be. Heat the end of the tube by
turning it in the flame until it is quite soft and then push in the
charcoal cone, as shown in Fig. 88.
=To Seal Off the End of a Tube.=--To close one end of a tube, or _seal
it off_ as it is called, heat it in a fish-tail burner just as I
explained for bending glass.
When the glass begins to get soft pull the two ends of the tube apart
until the walls of the tube are drawn together as shown at A in Fig.
89. Cut a nick in the thin solid part with a file and break it off. If
you want a closed end as shown at B heat the end of the tube you have
sealed off and press it down on a piece of iron.
[Illustration: FIG. 89. SEALING OFF THE END OF A TUBE]
[Illustration: FIG. 90. HOW TO MAKE A HOLE IN A TUBE]
=To Make a Glass Nozzle.=--In setting up chemical apparatus it very
often happens that a glass nozzle is needed. To make a nozzle seal off
a piece of glass tube as described above and by nicking it with a file
you can have the hole in the end of the tube any size you want it.
=To Make a Hole in a Tube.=--To make a hole of any size in a tube, or
_piercing_ it, as it is called, you ought to have a sharp pointed flame
and a _blow-pipe_, which is described farther on.
Cork up one end of the tube, heat the point, see A in Fig. 90, where
you want the hole and then stick the other end in your mouth and blow
gentle puffs in it until a little bulb is formed. When the bulb is cold
take a file and gently crack the thin glass and trim it away; now heat
the tube around the edge of the hole again until the glass begins to
run when a round smooth hole will be produced as shown at B.
[Illustration: FIG. 91A. WELDING TWO TUBES TOGETHER. B. MAKING A =~T~=
TUBE]
=To Join Two Tubes of the Same Size.=--Put a cork into one end of one
of the tubes and hold the other end in the flame as well as one end of
the other tube as shown at A in Fig. 91.
Let the ends of the tubes get hot enough to melt but not thicken; now
press the melted ends together hard enough to make them stick together
but not hard enough to make them form a thick ring.
[Illustration: FIG. 92A. A REGULAR BLOW-PIPE]
To make a good job you should now use a pointed flame and heat the
juncture all around red hot and blow into the open end of the tube to
spread the glass a trifle. While you are blowing keep turning the glass
in the flame to make the joint nice and smooth.
=To Join One Tube to the Side of Another One.=--First make a hole in
the side of the tube in the manner already described and then cork up
both ends; heat the tube around the hole and one end of the other tube
as shown at B, in Fig. 91. When they are soft press them together hard
enough to make a good joint.
It is a good scheme to wrap cotton around the joint while it is still
hot to _anneal_ the glass, which means to make it less brittle by
letting it get cold slowly.
[Illustration: FIG. 92B. CROSS SECTION OF A HOME MADE BLOW-PIPE]
=To Blow a Bulb on the End of a Tube.=--_How to Make a Blow-Pipe._--For
blowing bulbs on tubes, for flasks and the like, you need a regular
glassblower’s _blow-pipe_ in order to get a hotter flame than a Bunsen
burner gives.
You can buy a blow-pipe as shown at A in Fig. 92 for $1.50,[101] or you
can easily make one as follows: get a brass tube ³⁄₄ inch in diameter
and 10 inches long and drill a ¹⁄₂ inch hole in it 3 inches from one
end; fit another pipe of the same size and length at an angle of about
30 degrees to the first one; put a _stopcock_ in the latter pipe and
solder it to the first pipe over the hole as shown at B in Fig. 92.
[101] Blowpipes and bellows can be bought of Hammacher, Schlemmer and
Co., Fourth Ave. and 13th St., New York.
Next take a glass tube ¹⁄₄ inch in diameter and 14 inches long and make
a bend in it 3 inches from one end. Make a hole through a cork and push
it over the glass tube; slip the tube into the brass pipe and force the
cork into the end of the latter tight enough to hold the glass tube
exactly in the middle of it.
[Illustration: FIG. 92C. THE GLASS BLOWING ARRANGEMENT READY TO USE]
Connect the lower end of the glass tube with a rubber tube about 3
inches long to a brass tube of the same size and 8 inches long and fit
a stopcock into this pipe. This completes the burner but you want to
set the lower ends of the two tubes into and through the top of your
table so that the stopcocks are above it and the lower ends of the
tubes project below the table.
Next connect the large brass tube with a gas jet or other source of
illuminating gas and the small brass tube with a _foot blower_ or other
source of compressed air as shown at C. The blower can be an ordinary
_molders’ bellows_ which you can buy for about $1.50, or you can make
a pair, or you can buy a regular blowpipe bellows as shown at D, which
are very much better, for about $8.00.
[Illustration: FIG. 92D. A REGULAR FOOT BELLOWS]
By adjusting the mouth of the glass tube--which is the air tube--that
is, drawing it in and out of the mouth of the brass tube which is the
gas tube, and by regulating the amount of air and gas, a _pointed_
flame or a _brush_ flame, that is, a flame of large size, can be had at
the mouth of the blowpipe according to the work you are doing.
_How to Blow a Bulb._--Take a good piece of glass tube about ³⁄₄ inch
in diameter and 15 inches long; draw one end out long and thin for
about 3 inches as shown at A in Fig. 93.
[Illustration: FIG. 93. FIRST STEPS IN BLOWING A GLASS BULB
A. Drawing out the tube.
B. Forming glass rings on the tube.]
Then heat a small part of the tube in a large, or brush flame, turn the
glass in the flame all the time until it is soft and then press on both
ends to make the glass thicker at this point. Do the same thing above
the ring thus formed, and so on until you have several rings of glass
as shown at B, which are thick enough to make the sized bulb you want.
[Illustration: FIG. 93C. MAKING A THICK RING OF GLASS]
Next heat the narrower parts marked _a a a a_ and blow gently and press
gradually on the ends to make the thick rings melt and flow together
into one large ring of thick glass as shown at C; and in doing so be
mighty careful that the walls do not cave in.
Now melt and seal off the tail and heat the whole bulb in as large a
flame as you can get and at the same time turn the tube till the rings
run together. At this instant take it from the flame and, still turning
it, blow into it with a few little quick blasts until you get the size
and shape you want as shown at D.
[Illustration: FIG. 93D. LAST STEP IN BLOWING A GLASS BULB]
=How to Etch Glass.=--There are two ways to etch glass and these are
(1) with a _sand blast_ and (2) with _acid_.
_The Sand Blast Process._--The process which follows is a simplified
form of the regular sand-blast way of doing it, and with it you can
easily make a ground glass surface or etch a stencilled name or a
design on a sheet of glass.
All you need is (1) a box with a tight fitting lid 5 inches wide, 5
inches high and 10 inches long as shown at A in Fig. 94. Cut a hole in
one end, say 4¹⁄₂ × 4¹⁄₂ inches, thus leaving a margin of wood ¹⁄₂ an
inch wide all around; (2) a pound of rather coarse emery, and (3) a
pound of shot.
[Illustration: FIG. 94A. PARTS OF THE APPARATUS FOR SAND BLAST ETCHING]
Clean the surface of the glass you are going to etch with warm water
with a little soda in it, wash it off and rub it dry. Next cut a
stencil with your name on it or you can make a geometrical design by
folding a sheet of paper and cutting it out with a pair of shears. Coat
the glass with a thin layer of mucilage, lay the stencil on it and rub
it down flat. Rub the mucilage off clean in the cut out parts with a
slightly moist sponge and be sure to get it all off too.
Now cut out a piece of cloth the size of the end of the box and cut a
hole in it the exact size of the hole in the box. Lay this on the end
of the box with the hole in it, lay the glass over it and fix them all
together tight with rubber bands as shown at B in Fig. 94, or tie it up
with string. The cloth cut-out between the box and glass will prevent
the emery from sifting through.
[Illustration: FIG. 94B. SAND BLAST APPARATUS PUT TOGETHER READY FOR
ETCHING]
Put the shot and emery in the box, fasten the lid on tight and then
shake it hard up and down so that the emery and shot will strike the
surface of the glass with as much force as possible. Keep this up for
15 minutes or half an hour when the glass will be etched deep enough.
When you open the box you will find that the particles of emery have
been embedded in the lead shot and each of the latter has become a
cutting tool. This process of etching can be used for metals as well as
for glass.
_How to Make Ground Glass._--To make _ground glass_ go about it as
above described but in this case no stencil is needed.
_The Acid Process._--_Hydrofluoric acid_ is made by treating
_fluor-spar_[102] with _sulphuric acid_. The acid which is thus formed
acts on glass by eating into it and for this reason it must be kept in
either rubber, lead or platinum bottles upon which it has no effect.
In etching large surfaces the acid is not put on the glass directly;
because it eats so smoothly the effect is not striking enough; instead
the following process is used which leaves a rough surface more nearly
like that of the sand blast.
[102] Fluor-spar is _calcium fluoride_; you can buy it of Eimer
and Amend, 4th Ave. and 18th St., New York, or of the L. E. Knott
Apparatus Co., Boston, Mass.
Make a lead dish the size of the glass you want to etch and with the
sides an inch high. Put about an ounce of powdered fluor-spar into the
dish and pour enough concentrated sulphuric acid on it to make a thick
paste.
Coat the surface of the glass with paraffin, or beeswax and rosin,
and then with a steel _scriber_, or other pointed instrument scratch
on your name or the design you intend to etch, clear through to the
glass. Lay the glass with the waxed side down on the dish containing
the fluor-spar mixture, as shown at A in Fig. 95, and let it stand over
night. The vapor formed by generating hydrofluoric acid in this way
attacks the _silica_, that is the sand, of the glass with which it has
a great tendency to unite, and thus the glass disintegrates or is eaten
away.
[Illustration: FIG. 95. ETCHING GLASS WITH ACID
A. Etching a sheet of glass with fluor-spar.
B. Etching a thermometer tube with hydrofluoric acid.]
The next morning when you take off the glass, scrape off the wax and
you will find the name or design etched on it.
To etch the graduations on thermometers, burettes, etc., coat them
with wax and scratch the lines and figures on them just as described
above--but in this case you can put the hydrofluoric acid on direct as
shown at B, using a splinter of wood for the purpose.
=How to Cement Glass.=--To cement glass clean the edges or surfaces to
be fixed together with hot water in which you have put a little soda;
dry well with a clean cloth and then be careful not to let your fingers
touch the cleaned parts.
Brush over the edges or surfaces of the glass with the cement made
according to the directions which follow and press and bind the parts
together as tightly as possible.
To make the cement dissolve 2 ounces of the best _gum arabic_ in some
hot water and then add 1¹⁄₂ ounces of pulverized starch and ¹⁄₂ ounce
of sugar and stir until they are dissolved. Heat the mixture in a pot
or a tin can which sets in a larger pot or tin of water--or _water
bath_ as it is called.
When the starch gets clear take it from the fire, put in a few drops
of oil of cloves to keep the cement sweet and let it get cold, when it
should be about as thick as cream.
=A Simple Way to Frost Glass.=--Make a _saturated solution_ of _alum
water_, which means to dissolve as much alum in hot water as possible.
Lay the glass on a perfectly level table and pour on as much of the
alum water as you can without its running off and let it cool slowly,
when the alum will cover the glass with fine crystals. This is a good
substitute for ground glass.
A cheap frosting for windows can be made by dissolving Epsom salts in
hot water and then mixing it with a clear solution of gum arabic.
=Substitutes for Glass.=--There are a number of substances that can be
used instead of glass. In some cases a substitute is better than glass
but generally they are used because they are cheaper.
_Mica._--This mineral, which is also but wrongly called _isinglass_,
is found in Farther India; it is a silicate and can be split into thin
sheets; in color it ranges from colorless to a jet black and from the
transparent to the translucent. It is useful in many ways because it is
fireproof.
_Gelatine._--Gelatine is obtained from the skins, hoofs and horns
of animals. _Isinglass_ is a nearly pure gelatine and is a white,
tough, partly transparent substance which is obtained chiefly from the
air-bladders of fish.
To make sheets of either gelatine, or isinglass, dissolve some of the
finest glue, or isinglass--the latter is the best--in enough hot water
so that it will form a flexible solid sheet when it is cold.
While it is still hot strain it through a piece of cheese cloth;
this done, grease a clean sheet of glass and build up the edges with
some putty; warm the glass and pour on the gelatine to a thickness
of ¹⁄₈ inch. Now lay another greased and hot sheet of glass on top
of the gelatine and let it stay there until it is cold. The sheets
of gelatine can be given any color by adding a little aniline to the
gelatine while it is hot.
=How to Silver a Mirror.=--While it is much cheaper to buy a mirror
than it is to make one still there are times when it is useful to know
how to make one.
As you know, a mirror is a sheet of clear glass free from air bubbles
and upon the back of which is a film of silver. The silver bath is made
by mixing a weak solution of _silver nitrate with ammonium hydroxide_
until the solution is clear and then adding a little _caustic potash_
to it. This done, put in a few more drops of ammonia and finally a very
little _glycerine_.
Now float the glass on this mixture when the surface will soon be
coated with silver. When the film is thick enough take the glass from
the bath, wash the film of silver on the back of it with clean, cold
water, dry and varnish it and your mirror is done.
CHAPTER X
TOYS FOR THE KIDDIES
If there is as much pleasure in giving as there is in receiving you can
get twice as much pleasure out of making toys with your own hands and
giving them to your little brothers and sisters--if you have any, and
if you haven’t, then I’m truly sorry for you.
Since you know how to use wood and metal working tools it will be easy
for you to make any and all of these toys I have described in this
chapter and some of them are quite useful too. And when you are making
them let the little folks watch you for this will please them greatly
and make them doubly happy.
Now some grown-ups don’t know it but however small a kiddie is he or
she likes to play with things that look like those the older folks work
with. Of course all toys cannot be of this kind for some of them are
made to be funny and others are made to be lifelike, but these are the
three chief kinds of toys.
=How to Make a Policeman’s Puzzle.=--Get two strips of wood ¹⁄₄ inch
thick, ¹⁄₂ an inch wide and 11 inches long and cut handles on one end
of each strip. Saw with your scroll saw out of ¹⁄₈ inch thick wood, two
policemen 6 inches high and also one Baxter Street clothier of Semitic
persuasion, 3 inches high as shown in Fig. 96.
Pivot the leg near the foot of each policeman to the ends of both of
the strips by driving a couple of _brads_ through and into them and
then nail the Israelite fast to the top strip with a couple of brads.
Now when you pull the strips apart one of the long arms of the law will
crack Ikey on the cranium and when the strips are pushed together again
the other minion of authority will bounce his club on the place where
his brains ought to be. A little red and blue water color will add to
the realism of the toy.
[Illustration: FIG. 96. A POLICEMAN’S PUZZLE, OR NOW WILL YOU BE GOOD]
=How to Make an Automobile Truck.=--This little toy will bring a lot of
unalloyed joy to any tiny, weentie fellow and it’s easy to make, too.
Cut out a board for the bottom ³⁄₄ inch thick, 4¹⁄₂ inches wide and 14
inches long; trim down one end of it so that it is 2 inches wide in
front as shown at A Fig. 97. Bore a ¹⁄₄ inch hole 2³⁄₄ inches from the
front end.
Saw off a block of wood 1 inch square and 2¹⁄₂ inches long--this is to
brace the seat with--and glue this block across the body 6¹⁄₂ inches
from the back as shown by the dotted line in Fig. 97. Make a seat of a
board ¹⁄₄ inch thick, 1¹⁄₂ inches wide and 3¹⁄₂ inches long and glue or
nail it to the block.
[Illustration:
_C--THE HOOD_
_B--SIDE VIEW_
_TOP VIEW_
FIG. 97. PLANS FOR THE AUTOMOBILE TRUCK]
To make the body or box, cut out two strips of wood ¹⁄₄ inch thick and
make one 2 inches wide and the other 2¹⁄₂ inches wide and 4¹⁄₂ inches
long for the front and back, and two strips of wood 2 inches wide and
6³⁄₄ inches long for the sides. Nail one of the short strips on the
bottom close up to the seat and the blocks of wood it rests on and nail
the side strips on the bottom.
Next round off the lower edge of the short board that is left; set it
in between the ends of the sideboards and drive a brad through each of
the sideboards and into the tail-board near the bottom; this brings the
tail-board so that it can be closed up or let down as the side view at
B shows.
Saw off two ³⁄₄ inch square blocks and have both of them just a shade
over 4¹⁄₂ inches long and these are for the axles. Nail one fast near
the rear of the bottom 2 inches from the back end, and nail the other
one fast to the front of the bottom 1 inch from the end.
[Illustration: FIG. 97D. THE AUTOMOBILE TRUCK READY TO RUN]
Make a hood out of a block of wood 1³⁄₄ inches wide and long and 2
inches high and bevel off the top as shown at C; nail this to the
bottom in front as shown in the top and side views. For the steering
wheel saw out a wheel ¹⁄₄ inch thick and 1¹⁄₂ inches in diameter.
The last thing to do is to saw out four wheels ¹⁄₄ inch thick and 2³⁄₄
inches in diameter; drill a ¹⁄₈ inch hole in the exact center of each
wheel and screw it on the end of the axle with a 1 inch long, round
head, wood screw. Paint the automobile a bright red when it will look
like D and run like a fire engine.
=How to Make a Swell Coaster.=--This is a practical toy that every
little tot will like immensely. It is just as simple as the automobile
but it must be made very much stronger.
[Illustration:
_=A=--TOP VIEW_
_=D=--STEERING HANDLE_
_=C=--SIDE VIEW_
_=B=--AXLE SUPPORT_
FIG. 98. PLANS FOR A SWELL COASTER]
Get a board, hardwood is the best, ⁷⁄₈ or 1 inch thick, 5³⁄₄ inches
wide and 14 inches long and saw it out so that one end is 2¹⁄₂ inches
wide as shown at A in Fig. 98; bore a hole 1 inch in diameter in the
front end and ³⁄₁₆ inch holes across the back at the places marked with
circles.
Next make the rear axle support and for this saw out of a 1 inch thick
board a piece 4 inches wide and 7 inches long and saw out of one end
of it a piece 2 inches square. Take your brace and bit and bore a ¹⁄₄
inch hole through the hangers as shown at B.
Screw this support to the seat across it 1¹⁄₂ inches from the rear end.
Brace the support by screwing an angle brace, as shown in the side view
C, to it and the seat. This done make the steering handle, and for it
you want to use a stick of hardwood 1 inch thick, 2 inches wide and
15 inches long; saw a piece out of one end 1¹⁄₈ inches wide and 2¹⁄₂
inches deep for the axle support for the front wheel; saw the other end
down until it is 1 inch wide and 6 inches deep.
[Illustration: FIG. 98E. THE COASTER READY TO RIDE ON]
Round off this smaller end for the handle, as shown at D, and bore a
¹⁄₂ inch hole close to the end for the handle bar. Slip the rounded end
through the hole in the front part of the seat, drive a nail through
it just above the seat and glue in a piece of wood ¹⁄₂ an inch in
diameter and 6 inches long, for the handle bar.
Saw out three wheels each of which is 4 inches in diameter, bore a ¹⁄₄
inch hole in the center of each one. Set one of the wheels between the
hangers of the steering handle, slip a bolt through them and screw on a
nut.
Push a bolt through each of the other wheels and through a hanger of
the axle support and screw on a nut, when the coaster is ready to run,
as shown at E. A coat of bright paint will make it more attractive but
it won’t run any better.
=How to Make a Nifty Wheelbarrow.=--This is a cute wheelbarrow and will
tickle any little _choptie_ ’most half to death and you can make it in
no time.
Get two sticks of wood ³⁄₄ inch square and 24 inches long and round off
one end of each one about 3 inches down for the handle. Next bore ¹⁄₂
inch holes half way through in the other ends of the sticks 4 inches
back for the axle; bore two more ¹⁄₂ inch holes 6¹⁄₄ inches back of the
first two, and finally 5³⁄₄ inches back of the last ones bore two more
¹⁄₂ inch holes, as shown at A in Fig. 99.
This done cut off four sticks ¹⁄₂ an inch in diameter--or ³⁄₄ inch
square ones will do--and make one of them 4¹⁄₂ inches long; the next
one 6³⁄₈ inches long, the third 8 inches long, and the last one 10¹⁄₂
inches long.
Out of a board 1 inch thick saw a wheel 5 inches in diameter and bore
a hole in its center ¹⁄₂ an inch in diameter. Smear some glue on the
middle of the shortest stick and slip the wheel on it so that it is
exactly in the middle.
Make the body, that is the box, of the barrow of wood ¹⁄₄ inch thick
and have it 4¹⁄₄ inches wide at one end, 6¹⁄₄ inches wide at the other
end, 5 inches high and 7 inches long. Through the middle, but a little
toward the back and near the upper edge, bore two holes a shade larger
than ¹⁄₂ an inch in diameter and slip the third longest stick through
the holes in the body; drive a brad through the stick on each side of
the body to keep the latter from slipping from side to side, but it
must swing easily on the stick.
[Illustration:
_=A=--TOP VIEW OF WHEELBARROW_
_=B=--SIDE VIEW_
_=C=--WHEELBARROW COMPLETE_
FIG. 99. A, B. PLANS FOR THE NIFTY WHEELBARROW, C. THE BARROW READY TO
WHEEL]
You are now ready to _assemble_ the wheelbarrow and if you intend to
paint it you must do so before you put it together. To assemble it
smear glue on the ends of all the cross-sticks, except the one with the
wheel on it for this one must revolve, and drive on the handles, being
careful that the axle of the wheel does not bind. A side view of the
wheel barrow is shown at B.
When it is done, see C, you will see that however high or low the
handle-bars are held the body always sets level and if it is a good
idea for a toy why wouldn’t it be a good idea for a full grown
wheelbarrow?
=How to Make a High-Low Swing.=--Here is a peace promoter and a
queller of disturbances wherever there are very little kiddies around.
It is an indoor swing that can be hung from the top of a door-case.
Further, though it may look a little complicated in the drawing, it is
simplicity itself.
First take the seat and for this, as for all of the wood for the swing,
use ¹⁄₂ inch thick stuff. Cut out two side bars 1 inch wide and 13
inches long and drill a ³⁄₈ inch hole in the end of each one. Across
these bars nail four cross bars 2 inches wide and 14 inches long as
shown at A in Fig. 100.
Next make the sides of the swing and from each of these saw off two
strips 1 inch wide and 13 inches long as shown at B. Bore a hole in
each end of both sticks to match the holes in the side bars of the seat
and then bore two ¹⁄₂ inch holes in both sticks and have each hole 2¹⁄₂
inches from the end.
Saw off two strips of wood ¹⁄₂ inch thick and 1 inch wide for each
side, cut down and round the ends, smear glue on them and drive them
into the cross-sticks. The backs of the swing, as you will see at C,
are made exactly like the sides except that they are 14 inches long,
and finally a single bar 1 inch thick and wide and 14 inches long with
a ¹⁄₂ inch hole in each end goes across the front of the swing to keep
the little fellow from falling out.
[Illustration:
_=A=--THE SEAT_
_=B=--THE SIDES_
_=C=--FRONT BAR_
FIG. 100. PLANS FOR THE HIGH-LOW SWING]
Now get two pieces of good ³⁄₈ inch thick manila rope about 10 feet
long; double each piece in the middle and pass one end through the
hole in the front bar, thence through two holes in the side-strips and
finally through the hole in the cross-bar of the seat and then knot it.
This done pass the other end through the holes in the cross-strips of
the back, then through the holes in the cross-strips of the side and
last of all through the cross-bars of the seat. Fix the other piece of
rope the same way and swing is done, as shown at D.
[Illustration: FIG. 100D. THE SWING READY TO SWING LOW, SWING HIGH]
All you have to do now is to loop the top of the ropes over a couple of
hooks screwed into the top of the door-case, put the little tot in and
give him or her a swing.
=How to Make a Stick Horse.=--This is a great improvement over riding
a broomstick because it doesn’t take so much imagination to change it
into a runaway horse.
Saw out of a board 5 inches square the head of a fiery steed as shown
at A in Fig. 101 and paint it a dapple-gray, with a mane on its neck to
look like a real pony. Make a rein of webbing and then nail the head on
a stick ³⁄₄ or 1 inch square and 3 feet long for the rider to straddle.
[Illustration:
THE HEAD OF THE HORSE
THE STICK HORSE COMPLETE
FIG. 101. RIDE A STICK HORSE TO BANBURY CROSS]
Make an axle of a stick 1 inch square and 4 inches long; whittle the
ends down until they are ¹⁄₂ an inch in diameter and nail the axle to
the free end of the long stick. Saw out a pair of wheels of ³⁄₄ inch
thick stuff, 4 inches in diameter and bore a ¹⁄₂ inch hole through
their centers.
Slip a wheel over each end of the axle and drive a thin nail through
each end to prevent the wheels from coming off, and it will be fit and
ready to ride as shown at B.
=How to Make a Pony and Cart.=--If this little pony and cart are to be
played with in the house you can make it the size marked in Fig. 102
but if it is to be used out-of-doors then you should make it twice the
size.
Get a nice smooth board ¹⁄₂ an inch thick, draw on it a horse, at least
as good as the one shown in the picture, and then saw it out. Paint it
any color but red or green, for ponies, even in little picture books,
are never of these colors.
Make a frame 1⁵⁄₈ inches wide and 4 inches long by nailing two strips
of wood ¹⁄₂ an inch square with a block of wood ¹⁄₂ an inch square and
1 inch long between them. This leaves an opening ¹⁄₂ an inch wide and
1³⁄₄ inches long as shown at A. Saw out of a piece of ³⁄₈ inch thick
wood a wheel 1 inch in diameter and drill a ¹⁄₁₆ inch hole through its
center. Set the wheel in the opening and drive a wire nail through the
frame and the center of the wheel for it to run on. This done nail,
glue or screw the horse to it as shown at B.
Make the cart next, see C, which is simply a box made of ¹⁄₄ or ³⁄₈
inch stuff, 3 inches high, 4 inches wide and 6 inches long. Nail a
strip of wood ¹⁄₂ an inch square and 4¹⁄₈ inches long on the bottom and
in the middle of it. Saw out a pair of wheels 2⁵⁄₈ inches in diameter
and screw them to the ends of the strip of wood so that they can turn
freely.
Next make the shafts; these are formed of two strips of wood ¹⁄₄ inch
thick and about 5¹⁄₂ inches long. Nail the ends of these to the front
end of the cart in the middle and at a distance apart so that the horse
will just slip in between them.
[Illustration:
_COMPLETE_
_FRAME FOR THE WHEEL_
_PONY_
_CART_
FIG. 102 A, B. PLANS FOR A PONY AND CART. C, D. THE PONY AND CART WHEN
DONE]
Glue, or otherwise fasten the shafts to the horse, as shown at D, and
you can then show your little brother how to play with it, but don’t
break it before you give him a chance to play with it too. The finished
pony and cart will then look like the picture.
=How to Make a Life-like Goose.=--Nearly all geese, including goslings,
are lifelike unless they are being made ready for the pot but this
gray-goose is lifelike in that her head moves out from and back toward
her body when she is drawn over the floor by a string.
[Illustration: FIG. 103. HOW THE LIFE-LIKE GOOSE IS MADE
A. The size of the board for the body.
B. The size of the board for the head and neck.
C. The crank shaft which makes the goose life-like.]
Get two pieces of thin wood ¹⁄₄ inch thick, 3¹⁄₂ inches wide and 6
inches long; draw the outline of a goose’s body on one of them, as
shown at A in Fig. 103, and then fasten them together with a couple
of brads. Saw them out and drill a ¹⁄₁₆ inch hole through them in the
center of the circle which is the wheel; also drill, or bore, three
¹⁄₄ inch holes at the points near the edge of the body as shown by the
larger circles.
On a board ¹⁄₄ inch thick, 2³⁄₈ inches wide and 5¹⁄₄ inches long draw
out the head and the neck of a goose, as shown at B, saw it out and
drill a ¹⁄₁₆ inch hole near the end of its neck. Now paint the bird’s
body and the _anterior_ part of its _anatomy_--by which I mean its head
and neck. Saw out two wooden wheels 2 inches in diameter and drill a
¹⁄₁₆ hole in the center of each one.
Cut off a piece of iron wire ¹⁄₁₆ inch thick, slip it through the hole
in the goose’s neck and bend the wire on both sides of it to form a
crankshaft as shown at C. The next move is to put each end of the wire
through the small hole in the body, then force a wheel on each end of
the wire tight and bend up what is left of the latter.
[Illustration: FIG. 103C. GOOSIE, GOOSIE GANDER, WHERE SHALL I WANDER]
Make three pins of wood ¹⁄₄ inch in diameter and ⁷⁄₈ inch long; smear
some glue on the ends and drive them gently through the holes; these
pins will keep the boards which form the body the right distance apart
and the pins in front also act as a guide for the goose’s head. When
finished it will look like C. Now when a string is tied to the front
part of the goose’s body and your little sister (or you) pulls it over
the floor, the goose will run its head to and fro and forth and back in
a most real and life-like fashion.
=How to Make a Dancing Sambo.=--Here is a chance for you to get in your
fine work with your scroll saw and to do a bit of wood carving at the
same time if you want to.
[Illustration: FIG. 104A. THE DANCING SAMBO]
Saw out, or carve out, or both, the head and body of a black rascal
named Sambo, and make them of a single piece of wood; saw out a pair of
arms and legs but make each one of the latter in two parts and joint
them at the knees as shown at A in Fig. 104.
Fasten the arms and legs to the body with pins so that they will swing
freely. The figure should be about 6 inches high and painted in 3 or 4
bright colors. When you have it done fix the end of a wire ¹⁄₁₆ inch in
diameter and 5 inches long, firmly into the back of Sambo’s body.
Make a box 3 inches wide, 3 inches high and 6 inches long; bore or cut
a hole ³⁄₄ inch in diameter in one end; turn it upside down and drill
a ¹⁄₁₆ hole through the middle of the top and drill a ¹⁄₁₆ inch hole
through both sides 2 inches back from the large hole in it as shown at
B.
[Illustration: FIG. 104B. THE MECHANISM OF THE DANCING SAMBO]
Cut off a strip of wood ¹⁄₂ an inch square and as long as the box is
wide, drill a ¹⁄₁₆ inch hole through it and glue it inside the box so
that the hole in the strip and the one in the top of the box will be in
a line.
Now cut off a strip of hardwood ¹⁄₄ inch thick and 3¹⁄₂ inches long
for the lever and drill a ¹⁄₁₆ inch hole through it 2 inches from one
end; slip the lever through the hole in the end of the box with its end
under the cross-bar; pivot the lever by running a wire through the hole
in it and the sides of the box as shown at B.
Slip the wire which is fixed to Sambo through the hole in the top of
the box and on down through the hole in the cross-bar so that its free
end rests on the end of the lever. This is all there is to the working
mechanism of Sambo.
By working the end of the lever with your fingers as though you were
sending a telegraph message, as shown at A, the small time Ethiopian
will execute all sorts of fancy dance steps and cut up antics that will
keep the children, and the grown-ups too, in great good humor for a
long time.
By working the lever cleverly you can give the darkey distinctive
characteristics that not even a member of his own race ever possessed.
[Illustration: FIG. 105A. THE WIRELESS PUP. THE SLOT IN THE FLOOR OF
THE DOG HOUSE]
=How to Make a Wireless Pup.=--This is a most remarkable bull-pup for
he will jump out of the kennel when you or any one else calls him, when
you clap your hands or on any other occasion when a loud noise is made.
Always make a dog-house for a pup before you catch him so that when he
gets home he’ll know he’s there. Use smooth ¹⁄₂ inch thick pine boards
for the house and cut out a piece 7 inches wide and 8 inches long for
the floor. Cut a slot clear through the board 1³⁄₄ inches from one end
and parallel with the edge of the back and have it ¹⁄₂ an inch wide and
1¹⁄₄ inches long; then on each end of the slot cut a groove ¹⁄₂ an inch
long and ¹⁄₄ inch deep as shown at A in Fig. 105.
[Illustration: FIG. 105B. THE BACK END OF THE DOG HOUSE]
Cut out two pieces for the sides of the house 4 inches wide and 8
inches long and screw them to the floor. Now bevel off the top edges of
the sides with a plane to allow for the slope of the roof but before
you put it on you must install the wireless apparatus that makes the
pup jump out of the dog-house. Make a back out of a board 7 inches
square as shown at B.
This apparatus consists of five chief parts and these are (1) a
_spanker_; (2) a _solenoid_; (3) a stiff piece of _clock-spring_; (4) a
_telephone transmitter_ and (5) two or three cells of _dry battery_.
[Illustration: FIG. 105C. THE SPANKER WITH ELECTRIC SOLENOID CONTROL]
The spanker, so called because it spanks the pup out of his kennel,
is shown at C; it is simply a strip of wood ¹⁄₈ inch thick, 1 inch
wide and 3¹⁄₂ inches long. Tack, or otherwise fix, a piece of tin to
one side of it to form an electrical contact; cut a ³⁄₈ inch hole in
the middle of it and then drive a brad in each edge near one end. The
spanker sets in the slot in the floor and the brads rest in the grooves
and serve as pivots.
A solenoid is merely an electromagnet with a loose iron core in it.
Make a cardboard spool 1¹⁄₄ inches long and 1¹⁄₂ inches in diameter and
have the hole in it ⁷⁄₁₆ inch in diameter; wind it full of No. 20 or 22
double _cotton covered magnet wire_ and your solenoid is done. An iron
bolt ³⁄₈ inch in diameter and 1¹⁄₄ inches long makes a good plunger, as
the loose iron core is called. Slip it through the hole in the spanker
and screw the solenoid to the inside of the back of the house as shown
in the cross section drawing at D.
[Illustration: FIG. 105D. CROSS SECTION SIDE VIEW OF THE WIRELESS PUP
READY FOR ACTION]
Make a _contact plate_ of a strip of tin or sheet brass and screw this
to the floor back of the spanker so that when the plunger is drawn into
the solenoid and the spanker is back as far as it will go the plate
will come in contact with the tin on the spanker. Put a _stop_ in
front of the spanker to prevent the latter from falling too far forward.
[Illustration: FIG. 105E. THE FRONT END VIEW OF THE WIRELESS PUP HOUSE]
Next get a strong, stiff piece of clock-spring, punch two holes in
one end and screw it to the back of the house near the top, with the
free end of the spring pressing out the spanker. Fasten by means of
hangers, or otherwise, an ordinary telephone transmitter to the roof of
the house as shown at D. Now make the front of the house and cut 4 × 5
opening in it for the pup to get in and out, and a hole 1¹⁄₂ inches in
diameter, as shown at E, so that when you put the front on, the hole
will be directly over the mouthpiece of the transmitter.
Before putting on the front connect up the apparatus as shown at D,
that is, connect one of the wires of the transmitter to the contact
plate; join the other wire of the transmitter to the battery; lead one
of the wires of the solenoid to the tin on the spanker. When these
connections are made the _circuit_ will be complete if a battery is
connected in and the spanker is pushed back. Now put on the front of
the house and then make the pup.
[Illustration: FIG. 105F. WHEN YOU CALL THE WIRELESS PUP OR CLAP YOUR
HANDS HE COMES OUT OF HIS DOG HOUSE IN A HURRY]
Saw the body of the pup and his legs out of separate pieces of wood and
glue them together. He should be 2³⁄₄ inches high and 5 inches long
when done and he must slide easily on the floor. See F, Fig. 105.
The action of the wireless pup is like this: You push the pup into the
house and back against the spanker as far as he will go; this presses
the spring back and at the same time makes connection with the contact
plate which closes the circuit.
The current from the battery then flows through the solenoid and
transmitter and this magnetizes the iron plunger core and holds the
spanker back against the force of the spring.
If now you call loudly, or clap your hands, the _carbon granules_ in
the transmitter will vibrate and this will suddenly weaken the current,
and, hence, the magnetism of the solenoid. The instant the magnetic
pull of the solenoid is weaker than the spring the latter will force
the spanker against the posterior end of the pup’s anatomy and boost
him out of his kennel.
CHAPTER XI
HOME MADE MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
There is music in everything if you only know how to get it out without
cracking it. When a small boy beats a pie-pan with a stick, or drums on
a wooden fence he is making music, only the neighbors won’t believe it.
This is because he sets up the same note in succession and after a
while the constant repetition of this single note gets on a grown-up’s
nerves, especially if he is writing a book; hence he thinks the sounds
are _noise_ but it is really _music_ of a _bombastic[103] order_.
[103] The gong, drum, bell, and cymbals all set up sound by
concussion and these are called _bombastic_ instruments.
By this I mean that what we call _noise_ is sound set up by uneven _air
waves_[104] in time and volume while _music_ is made by a tone, or
tones, of even air waves. Any musical instrument that produces sound by
shock, or _concussion_ as it is called, is said to be bombastic.
[104] For the theory of air waves and sound see _The Magic of
Science_ by the present author, published by Fleming H. Revell and
Co., New York.
When a bombastic instrument is played alone the sounds set up by it
are not very sweet or musical but if you will use a set of eight
of them, or _octave_ as it is called, and _tune_ them so that the
_pitch_--which is the number of air waves that are produced and heard
in a second of time--of each one is a note higher than the one before
it and then make first one and the other _vibrate_ you will produce
pleasing tones, and by combining these tones properly you will have a
resemblance of what we call music.
=The Musical Coins.=--_How to Make Them._--A simple and very pleasing
way to show that there is music even in cold brass is to take a piece
of sheet brass, or, better, sheet steel, about ¹⁄₁₆ inch thick and
_scribe_ on it with a pair of compasses eight circles whose diameters
range from 2 inches to 3 inches.
[Illustration: FIG. 106A. THE MUSICAL COIN]
Saw them out and file them down so that each one will ring out a _whole
number_, as it is called in physics; that is, if the largest and
deepest toned coin, or disk, makes 250 vibrations a second, the next
one must make 500 vibrations a second, the next 750 and so on until the
smallest and highest pitched coin will make 2000 vibrations a second.
When each coin rings out its whole number, or nearly so, you will have
what is known as a _harmonic series_. Now saw notches in the edges of
each one as shown at A in Fig. 106 and then file them until the tone of
each one is just right.
_How to Play Them._--To play a tune with the musical coins spin them on
the top of a table--a marble top table is the best--and as each coin
_dies down_[105] and its edge strikes progressively against the surface
of the table it will ring out in a clear, loud tone.
[105] If you will look closely at the spinning coin you will see that
when it spins fast at first the _axis_ about which it rotates is its
diameter and that the coin stands upright. As the coin commences to
_die down_ the axis about which it spins gradually begins to shift
from the diameter to the center of the coin until finally at the
finish the coin is spinning directly about its center. This motion is
the same as the processional motion of the earth.
[Illustration: FIG. 106B. HOW TO HOLD THE MUSICAL COIN TO SPIN IT]
The coins should be laid in a row on the table and whatever note you
want to ring out pick up the coin which will produce it, hold it as
shown at B, and give it a little spin. You can soon learn to spin them
with either hand and keep two or more of them going at the same time,
when you will have that agreeable combination of tones that is known in
music as _harmony_.
The musical coins are easy to learn to play and at a little distance
off they look like real coins and are a very pleasing novelty.
=The Musical Tomato Cans.=--_How to Make Them._--The musical tomato
cans make a bombastic instrument--very bombastic I should say. Be that
as it may, get eight tomato cans, soak the labels off carefully and
keep them. Next melt off the tops of the cans and paste the labels on
them again. Set each can on a piece of felt as shown in Fig. 107.
[Illustration: FIG. 107. THE CHOPIN TOMATO CAN]
Now by pouring water in the cans you can tune them so that each one
will send forth a whole number note and all of them together will give
the notes in the regular order of an octave. You do not need to put any
water in the first can but use this one for the _fundamental_ note,
that is the note on which the _chord_ is formed.
Make a couple of _mallets_, as the sticks to beat the cans with are
called, of a pair of sticks about as thick as a lead-pencil and twice
as long and glue a wooden ball ⁵⁄₈ inch in diameter on one end of each
one.
_To Play the Tomato Cans._--When you have tuned the cans set them in
a row on a piece of felt, or a couple of thicknesses of thick woolen
cloth will do, and with a mallet in each hand tap them softly.
While some folks who have no ear for _melody_, _harmony_ and
_dissonance_[106] may say that both the instrument and the performer
ought to be _canned_ still the instrument is a great one to play
Chopin’s[107] funeral dirge[108] on. Undertakers are crazy about the
musical tomato cans.
[106] These are the three chief factors that make up the various
combinations of tones which we call music.
[107] Chopin (pronounced Sho′-pan) was a Polish musical composer.
[108] A _dirge_ is a tune expressing grief and mourning.
=The Musical Glasses.=--_How to Make Them._--Different from the tomato
cans, the musical glasses make about the sweetest music ever heard. To
make a set get eight very thin glass goblets and mount them on a board
12 inches wide and 2 feet long. An easy way to do this is to fasten the
foot of each goblet down with a couple of thin strips of tin or brass
placed across it and screwing the ends of these to the board as shown
in Fig. 108.
To tune the glasses pour water in them until each has exactly the right
pitch and together they form an octave. When you have learned to play
simple tunes on an octave of musical glasses you can build up the set
to 22 glasses or three octaves, which will give you enough notes to
play almost any of the popular airs.
[Illustration: FIG. 108. THE MUSICAL GLASSES]
_How to Play the Glasses._--Before starting in to play moisten the rims
of the glasses and rub your fingers with water in which you have put
some vinegar, or better, a little _acetic acid_,[109] until they feel
quite rough.
[109] This is the acid contained in vinegar that gives it its value.
Now when you lay the tips of your fingers flat on the rim of a glass
and rub them around it, the friction between the skin of your roughened
fingers and the edge of the glass will set the latter into vibration
and a wonderfully sweet tone will be sent out. By varying the pressure
of your fingers on the glasses you can produce a very beautiful
_tremolo_ effect.
It is a good scheme to put a few drops of acetic acid into each goblet
so that just as quickly as the volume of sound begins to fall off you
can dip your finger tips into whatever glass they are nearest to and so
increase the friction between them and the glass.
If you can play a set of musical glasses well your services will be in
demand for all kinds of entertainments.
=The Tubular Harp.=--_How to Make It._--This easily made instrument
gives out tones very much like those of the musical glasses but they
are much deeper and louder.
[Illustration: FIG. 109 A, B. THE HARP OF A THOUSAND THRILLS]
To make this harp you will need 12 feet of ¹⁄₂ inch _bell-metal_[110]
tube--brass tube will do but it is not as good--and cut it into eight
pieces; saw off the first tube 2 feet long and cut off each of the
other pieces ¹⁄₂ an inch shorter than the one before it. Cylindrical
sticks of wood can also be used for the tubes.
[110] Brass and bell metal tubing can be bought of the U. T.
Hungerford Brass & Copper Co., 89 Lafayette St., New York.
Get two strips of wood 1 inch square and 3 feet long and screw them
together as shown at A in Fig. 109 with a couple of thumb screws; this
done bore eight ¹⁄₂ inch holes in the sticks every 4 inches apart and
smooth them out with a half-round file.
Glue a strip of cloth on the side of each strip that is bored out, set
each tube with the middle in the groove so that they grow shorter in
steps and screw the strips together tight with the thumb screws to hold
the tubes in securely as shown at B.
[Illustration: FIG. 109C. HOW TO PLAY THE HARP]
To tune the tubes saw off and file off the end of each tube until it
gives forth the proper note. When you have tuned them make a stand to
hold the instrument and this can be of either wood, or metal tubing if
you want the harp to look nice and you don’t care about the expense.
The harp is shown complete at C.
_How to Play the Harp._--When you have made the stand get a pair of old
gloves and cut off the fingers; powder some rosin and rub it well into
the palms of the gloves.
This done, put on the gloves, grip the top of the tube and draw your
hand slowly down toward the sounding board, as shown at C, and a
beautiful tone will be emitted. Not only does the tube vibrate to
make the sound but as it is hollow it acts as a _resonator_, that
is, the sound will set up _sympathetic_ vibrations in the tube which
will reënforce the simple vibrations of the tube both in strength and
quality.
By waving your finger over the top of the tube while you are playing
it with the other hand a tremolo effect can be produced that is very
beautiful and if you are versatile you can make it sound almost like a
human voice.
=The Musical Push Pipe.=--_How to Make It._--This musical instrument
is an organ pipe but it is played like a _slide trombone_, that is by
pushing in and pulling out a slide that fits inside of it.
Spruce is the best wood to make the organ pipe of but you can use any
other kind you have at hand. Saw off four strips of wood ¹⁄₄ inch thick
and 16 inches long and have two of them 3 inches wide and the other two
2¹⁄₂ inches wide, as shown in Fig. 110. Saw off one of the 3 inch wide
boards so that it will be 12¹⁄₄ inches long and plane down one end to
a sharp edge as shown at B.
Take another board ¹⁄₂ an inch thick and make it 2¹⁄₂ inches high and 3
inches wide as shown at D. Cut out a board for the end ¹⁄₄ inch thick,
2¹⁄₂ inches wide and 2¹⁄₂ inches long and bore a ¹⁄₂ inch hole in it as
shown at E.
[Illustration:
_THE PUSH_
_THE PIPE_
_BACK BOARD_
_TOP FRONT BOARD_
_LOWER FRONT BOARD_
_LIP_
_SIDE BOARDS_
_END_
_MOUTH PIECE_
FIG. 110. PARTS OF A MUSICAL PUSH PIPE]
As you supply this pipe with air by blowing in it, take a common thread
spool and trim down one end of it as shown at F so that you can get it
into your mouth; then glue the large end over the hole in the bottom
board. Next glue the sides together to form a square tube and make and
glue into the lower end a three-cornered piece of wood 2 inches wide,
3 inches high and 2¹⁄₈ inches thick as shown at G. This will bring one
of its sharp edges just under and very close to the sharp edge of the
short side of the pipe.
Glue the thick piece of wood shown at D to the lower end of the pipe so
that it leaves a ¹⁄₄ inch space between its top edge and the sharp edge
of the short side of the pipe. Finally glue the mouthpiece in the lower
end of the tube and this part of the push pipe is done.
If now you will place your hand over the open top of the pipe and blow
through the mouthpiece, a soft note like that of a steamboat whistle
will issue from it. To play a tune on the pipe it must have a range of
an octave but if it will sound an octave and a half you can play many
of the popular airs on it.
To do this fit the organ pipe with a _movable stop_, or _push_, which
slides in and out of the pipe. Make this push of two strips of ¹⁄₈ inch
thick wood, 2¹⁄₂ inches wide and 12 inches long; screw one end of each
of these boards to a block of wood the size of the top of the organ
pipe and screw a knob--the head of a clothespin will do--on it in the
center for a handle. The stop, or slide, will of course be open on two
sides and must slip snugly but easily in the pipe.
_To Play the Push Pipe._--If now you will blow through the mouthpiece
and slide the stop in and out various tones and semi-tones will be
produced. It takes very little practice to learn just where to stop
the slide to make a given note--that is if you are at all apt in
playing musical instruments. A push pipe[111] is just the thing for a
black-face musical act.
[111] A push pipe can be bought for $4.00 of the L. E. Knott
Apparatus Co., Boston, Mass.
[Illustration: FIG. 110J. HOW THE PUSH PIPE IS PLAYED]
=The Curious Xylophone.=--_How to Make It._--This instrument, which is
pronounced _zil-o-fon´_, is cheap to make or buy[112] and is easy to
learn to play.
[112] Can be bought of any dealer in musical instruments or of the L.
E. Knott Co., Boston.
To make one cut off fifteen bars of a stick of maple ¹⁄₂ an inch thick,
⁷⁄₈ inch wide and make the longest one 5 inches. To get the right
lengths of all the others you will have to saw them off a little at a
time and try them out for tone, because any variation in thickness will
make a difference in the length of them. Hence the above rule-of-thumb
method for determining the sizes of them.
Drill a ¹⁄₁₆ inch hole through both ends of each bar and string them
on a wire to keep them in place. Make two rolls of straw ³⁄₄ inch in
diameter and 20 inches long; fix the ends of these rolls on a board as
shown in Fig. 111 and lay the maple bars on them when they are ready to
be played on.
_How to Play the Xylophone._--The xylophone is played with a pair of
hammers. To make the latter cut off two sticks ¹⁄₄ inch in diameter and
8 inches long; get or turn two wooden balls 1 inch in diameter; bore a
¹⁄₄ inch hole in each one and glue in one of the sticks.
[Illustration: FIG. 111. A XYLOPHONE. THE BARS ARE MADE OF WOOD]
Take a hammer in each hand and hold it loosely; stand over the
xylophone so that the sticks of the hammers are parallel with and about
6 inches above the bars of the xylophone and with the ball ends in the
middle of the bar it is over. Now pound the bars for dear life and the
faster the tune the more musical it will sound. For this reason pieces
like the _Circus Life Gallop_ are especially adapted for the xylophone.
=The Peculiar Tubaphone.=--_How to Make It._--By using brass tubes, or
better, tubes made of bell metal, you can have a xylophone of another
order. Use tubing ³⁄₄ inch in diameter and have the first one 5 inches
long for the fundamental.
Keep on sawing them off and filing them down until you have them all
done and all in tune. Make a wooden frame of ¹⁄₂ inch stuff and have
the bottom 2 inches wide at one end, 4 inches wide at the other end and
17 inches long.
[Illustration: FIG. 112. A TUBAPHONE. THE BARS ARE MADE OF METAL TUBES]
Saw off two strips of wood ¹⁄₂ an inch thick, 1 inch wide and 17 inches
long. Bore fifteen ³⁄₄ inch holes 1 inch apart measured from their
centers in them; glue a strip of felt or thick cloth to the wood in
each one and slip the tubes in the felt lined holes as shown in Fig.
112.
_How to Play the Tubaphone._--To play this peculiar instrument use a
couple of felt covered mallets; these can be made by winding a little
ball of string around one end of each stick which should be about ¹⁄₄
inch in diameter and 8 inches long, and then covering it with felt.
Beat the tubes with the felt mallets in exactly the same way you do
when you play the xylophone.
=The Cathedral Chimes.=--_How to Make Them._--This is one of the
easiest musical instruments to make and the music produced by it is
impressive in its tone and depth.
To make it saw off a board, ³⁄₄ or ⁷⁄₈ inch thick, about 12 inches wide
and 22 inches long and screw a block 1 inch square to each corner for
it to rest on. Get eight _binding posts_[113] of the size shown at A in
Fig. 113; drill eight ¹⁄₈ inch holes in the board, 4 in a row with the
holes 5 inches apart and have the rows also 5 inches apart, and then
screw a binding post into each hole.
[113] These can be bought of the Manhattan Electrical Supply Co.,
Park Place, New York City.
[Illustration: FIG. 113. THE CATHEDRAL CHIMES
A. A full sized binding post.
B. The chimes on the sounding board.]
Make eight spirals of No. 14 spring brass, steel or, better,
_phosphor-bronze_[114] wire; you can do this by cutting off eight
pieces of the wire each of which is 20 inches long. Draw a spiral on
a sheet of paper as described in Chapter V so that the inside turn of
wire is about ³⁄₄ inch in diameter, the outside turn about 3¹⁄₂ inches
in diameter and each turn of wire will be separated from the other by a
space of ¹⁄₄ inch as shown at B.
[114] Get it of the U. T. Hungerford Brass and Copper Co., Hungerford
Building, New York.
With your round nose pliers bend each length of wire like the pattern
you drew on the paper. When you have made the spirals screw the inside
end of each wire in the binding post and your cathedral chimes are done
all except the tuning of them.
Let the first spiral of the upper left hand side give the fundamental
tone and tune the others to it by cutting off the free ends of the
wires until they are all tuned in unison. Make a couple of wood mallets
and cover the ends with leather or rawhide.
_How to Play the Cathedral Chimes._--Strike the inside turn of wire up
close to the end that is fastened to the binding post, and a tone will
issue from the spiral that is long, deep and loud, for the wire with
its free end forms a very perfect vibrating body.
=The Æolian Harp.=--_How to Make It._--This harp is of very ancient
origin and it gets its name from _Æolus_ who, in classic mythology, was
the father of the winds, and very appropriately is it named, too, for
it is the wind that plays it.
Make a box of ¹⁄₂ inch thick wood, 2 inches deep, 5 inches wide and 3
feet long; use clear pine, or deal will do, for the sides of it but
the ends should be of beech to hold the _tuning pins_ and the _hitch
pins_. Cut a _sound hole_ 3 inches in diameter near both ends of the
board which is to be used for the top; then glue the box together and
screw up the ends with your wood clamps to hold it together tight while
it is drying.
[Illustration: FIG. 114. THE HARP OF AEOLUS]
When it is thoroughly dry, drill a dozen ¹⁄₄ inch peg holes ³⁄₄ inch
deep in one end, six in a row as shown at A in Fig. 114. Make a dozen
pegs to fit the holes and these should have _wings_ on them as shown
at B like violin pegs. Each peg should be about 1¹⁄₂ inches long and
each one should have a ¹⁄₃₂ inch hole drilled near the top of the shank
for the end of the string to pass through. The hitch pins can be brass
brads driven into the other end of the box and in a line with the
holes, all of which is shown at A.
Make two _bridges_ of hard wood ¹⁄₈ inch thick; have each one 1 inch
high and 5 inches wide and with 12 notches cut in one side. Now get
a dozen catgut strings of different thicknesses and put them on the
sounding board; to do this twist a loop on the end of each one; thread
the other end through the hole in the peg and tighten it up a little.
When you have all of the strings in place set a bridge under each end
and then tune the strings in unison, but don’t stretch the strings on
very tight or the wind won’t make them vibrate. This done, cut out
another ¹⁄₂ inch thick pine board and glue a block ¹⁄₂ inch square and
1¹⁄₂ inches long to each corner and set it on top of the harp. The
purpose of this cover is to make the wind blow with as much force as
possible over the strings.
_How the Wind Plays It._--To the end that old Æolus may play the harp
to the best of his ability set it on the sill of an open window so that
the wind strikes the strings at a slant. Pull the window down on the
harp in order to make all of the wind pass between the cover and the
strings.
When the wind blows softly beautiful tones will be emitted and when
the wind blows hard discords will be produced but as the wind subsides
exquisite harmonies will again prevail.
=An Egyptian Fiddle.=--_How to Make It._--The early Egyptians invented
the fiddle, or _rebab_ as they called it, but they did not play it with
a bow. Later in _medieval_ times, that is in about the 9th century,
this fiddle came to be called a _rebec_ and it was then played with a
bow. I’ll bet though that the fiddle I shall tell you how to make and
play sounds better than any Egyptian rebab ever made--though it is not
exactly a _Stradivarius_.[115]
[115] The priceless fiddles made by the famous old violin maker
Antonio Stradivari of Cremona, Italy, in the early part of the 17th
century.
To make a fiddle of this kind--it only has one string and only one is
needed by a master violinist--make a sounding box of ¹⁄₈ or ³⁄₁₆ inch
thick wood except the ends which should be of ³⁄₈ inch thick stuff;
this box should be 4 inches high, 6 inches wide at one end, 8 inches
wide at the other end and 12 inches long. Cut a hole 6 inches in
diameter in the center of the board which you are going to use for the
_sounding board_, and then glue all of the pieces together using wood
clamps to hold them tight.
For the neck take a stick of wood 1¹⁄₂ inches wide, 2¹⁄₂ inches thick
and 15 inches long; cut it down until one end is 1 inch thick and cut
a piece out of this end ³⁄₄ inch wide and 1 inch deep; bore a conical
hole through this end and fit in a peg. Next saw out the other end 2
inches deep for a length of 3 inches back and glue and screw this end
of the neck to the narrow end of the box. The shape of the neck with
the peg in it and the way it is fixed to the sounding box is clearly
shown in the top view A and the side view B in Fig. 115.
Cut out a _bridge_ of a piece of hard wood ¹⁄₈ inch thick, 1 inch high
and 1¹⁄₂ inches long as shown at C; and, finally, make a _tail-piece_
of a bit of hard wood ¹⁄₈ inch thick ¹⁄₂ an inch wide at one end, 1
inch wide at the other end and 2 inches long. Drill a hole in each end
and whittle or plane the large end to a sharp edge.
In the middle of the large end of the sounding box bore a ¹⁄₄ inch hole
and glue in a hard wood peg for a _hitch-pin_. Fasten the tail-piece
to the hitch-pin with a piece of catgut string. Slip the end of an A
violin string through the hole in the sharp end of the tail-piece;
knot it to keep it from pulling through, and bring the other end up
and thread it through the hole in the peg in the neck. Finally put the
bridge under the string and tighten it up. Tune it to the treble, or G
_clef_, if you know enough about music to do it, or if not tune it so
that it gives a pleasing tone.
[Illustration: FIG. 115. PLANS FOR AN EGYPTIAN FIDDLE]
_How to Make the Bow._--The best kind of wood to make a violin bow of
is Brazilian lance-wood or of snake-wood, but for this one stringed
fiddle of yours you can use a piece of beech.
Take a strip of wood ¹⁄₂ an inch thick, 1 inch wide and 24 inches long
and saw it out as shown at D; then round up the stick and sandpaper
it smooth. Cut out two blocks to fit the ends, or _frogs_ as they are
called: drill a hole in each one and screw it to the bow but not very
tight.
[Illustration: FIG. 115D. HOW THE BOW IS MADE]
Now comes the hard part and that is putting on the hairs; get 50 or 60
white horsehairs about 2 feet long; I do not advise pulling them out of
_Dobbin’s_ tail but rather to buy a bunch of them from Sears, Roebuck,
and Co., Chicago, Ill., for 10 or 20 cents.
Having got them somehow put one end of each one under one of the blocks
and when you have them all even and close together screw the block down
tight; this done fasten the other ends of the hairs under the opposite
block, and when you have them all drawn taut screw down the block and
put a little glue on the places where they go under the blocks.
If you will look at a horsehair through a microscope you will see that
it seems very like the scroll saw blade I told you about in the second
chapter, that is, it has a lot of fine teeth on it and all of them run
the same way. By rights then half of the hairs ought to be put on the
bow with the teeth running in one direction and the other half with the
teeth running in the other direction so that the friction of the hairs
is the same on the string on the up and the down strokes.
[Illustration: FIG. 115E. HOW THE FIDDLE IS PLAYED]
Do not use much rosin on the bow but rosin it often. You can buy a
piece of regular violin bow rosin for 5 cents but the kind that gives
the best results is the genuine _Bernardel_ imported from France and
which costs about a quarter. It bites hard on the string and makes a
large volume of sound. The way the fiddle is played is shown at E.
CHAPTER XII
SOME EVENING ENTERTAINMENTS
There is a feature of home life that the heads of too many families
overlook and that is getting together and having an evening of
entertainment which the youngest as well as the oldest member can enjoy.
This is not at all a hard thing to do but as it takes time to get the
_props_ together to give it with--which neither your father or mother
can well spare even if they had the inclination--it is up to you as the
boy of the family to see that it is done.
It is a noble plan to give a _divertisement_, or _soirée_[116]
(pronounced _swa´re_) as the old time magicians used to call it, once
every month and you will find after you have given the first one that
all of your folks will look forward to the coming of the next one with
interest and with pleasure.
[116] This is a French word and it means an evening social gathering.
Moreover, you should let them know what the next divertisement is to
be a couple of weeks before it comes off and then let all hands join
in and talk about it whenever the spirit moves them. Naturally since
you know all about it and they don’t know anything about it, questions
will be in order and you are the one who will have to answer them;
and don’t try to make a secret of anything you have done or are going
to do unless it is magic or some allied subject of mystery. After the
divertisement is over it will furnish food for conversation for a long
time to come.
Now while I have used the words _entertainment_ and _divertisement_,
both of which mean about the same thing and that is amusement, and
while you should always strive to make your talks as light and
recreational as you can you do not need to stick to frothy subjects
altogether but instead you should alternate them with scientific
demonstrations. In this way you will not only please and develop good
fellowship in the family, but you will instruct the members of it at
the same time.
Finally, don’t make your divertisements too long. Better by all means
make each one only 15 or 20 minutes long and have everybody in high
good humor and saying that it was all too short, than to give them an
hour and have everybody gappy and bored half-to-death.
=Cartoons While You Wait.=--This is a good feature to start off your
season’s divertisements with. Make a substantial _easel_ on which to
set a large drawing board as shown in Fig. 116, or you can fasten the
paper to a wall with thumb tacks if you live in a home and not in a
residence.
Get a dozen sheets of good white print paper--you can buy a quire (24
sheets) 24 × 36 inches for 25 cents--and tack ¹⁄₂ a dozen sheets to
your drawing board or the wall. Also buy a stick of black _marking
crayon_,[117] which is better than chalk or charcoal for it makes a
heavy black line that will not smut, blur or rub off.
[117] You can buy a marking crayon at a hardware or stationery store.
[Illustration: FIG. 116. HOW AN EASEL IS MADE]
_Drawing the Cartoons._--Start in with your crayon in hand and explain
that what you propose to do is to show the principles upon which
free-hand drawing is based. Then make a simple line drawing of the
boxer reaching for the _maxillary_ of his invisible opponent as shown
in Fig. 42, over in the chapter called _Drawing Simply Explained_, and
then draw the horse galloping home on the three-quarter stretch.
Next draw around these simple line figures, which are really the
skeletons of the man and beast, the outlines as shown in Fig. 43. If
you are not expert in free hand drawing you can trace these figures
on the paper in faint lines with a lead-pencil before you begin your
performance, and then all you have to do is to mark over the lines with
the crayon.
After you have made these drawings and explained all about them tear
off the sheet and on the clean one draw the outline of a man as shown
in Fig. 44 and mark on the proportions of the human body. Have your
next sheet ruled off into squares with the lines 2 inches apart; draw
in the face and at the same time explain that this makes it easy for
any one to get the features in proportion.
Now comes the grand _finale_[118] (pronounced _fi-na´-le_) and that is
your _cartoons_.[119] You should practice drawing these and also have
some _patter_[120] about each one so that when you do them for the
family audience your tongue will be as clever as your fingers. You can
begin by explaining how the expressions of one’s face--that is the way
the features look when the mind is at rest or is excited--can all be
represented by a few very simple lines.
[118] The last part of an exhibition and it is generally the climax
of it.
[119] A cartoon is usually a caricature of a person or thing done in
sketchy style. The word comes from the French _carton_, which means
pasteboard.
[120] Witty or amusing talk to help along the act.
Draw eight circles 5 or 6 inches in diameter in a double row on the
paper with your marking crayon as shown at A in Fig. 117. Now you say
first that _sleep_ can be represented by four straight horizontal lines
and you draw them as shown in the first circle. Next draw four vertical
lines in the second circle and before you can say _awake_ your little
audience will see it and laugh its approval.
[Illustration:
_FAST ASLEEP_
_WIDE AWAKE_
_SOME JOY_
_MORE SORROW_
_QUITE MODEST_
_MUCH DISDAIN_
_SOMEWHAT SURPRISED_
_A LITTLE ANGRY_
=_A_=
FIG. 117A. FIRST PRINCIPLES OF CARTOONING]
_Joy_ is represented by four little _arcs_, or curved lines with the
ends of each pointing up, which you draw in the third circle, while
_sorrow_ is, of course, shown by four curved lines the ends of which
point down as in the fourth circle, since the emotion of sorrow is the
opposite to that of joy.
Show how _modesty_ is depicted by drawing four little angles in
the fifth circle with the _vertex_, or point of each one at the
bottom, while _disdain_, which is the _reciprocal_ of modesty, can
be illustrated in the sixth circle by reversing the positions of the
angles and having their _vertices_ at the top.
To portray _surprise_ all you have to do is to draw four little
circles inside the seventh large circle and you will have caught the
expression. Finally in the eighth circle draw two slanting lines for
the eyes, a vertical line for the nose and an angle with the ends of
the lines pointed down and you will have a very good representation of
_anger_, (or maybe it’s a Chinaman.)
[Illustration:
_BY DE LIGHT OF DE SILVERY MOON_
_PAT AND HIS POIPE_
_HE HAS JUST HEARD A JOKE_
_=B=_
_=C=_
_=D=_
FIG. 117 B, C, D. THREE SIMPLE CARTOONS THAT YOU CAN DO]
* * * * *
Now without my telling you how to draw the cartoons shown at B C and
D in Fig. 117, draw each one of them half a dozen times on a sheet of
paper with your marking crayon and when you get before your audience
you will be able to do them like a lightning crayon artist.
=Thirty Minutes of Chemistry.=--Here are some very pretty and easily
made experiments in chemistry and as you perform them you can give
the explanation I have written about each one which will serve as the
_patter_.
=The Mystic Glass of Milk.=--_The Effect._--You show a glass of
perfectly clean water and blow through it with a glass tube, clay pipe
or a straw when it becomes to all intents, though not to all purposes,
milk of the cow variety. See Fig. 118.
[Illustration:
_BEFORE BLOWING THROUGH STRAW_
_AFTER BLOWING THROUGH STRAW_
FIG. 118. THE ORACLE OF AMOR, OR ARE YOU IN LOVE?]
_The Cause._--To perform this chemical trick get 50 grams of good
_quicklime_ and powder it in a pint milk bottle. Let it stand for 24
hours and shake it every once in a while. Let it stand another 24
hours and then pour off the clear solution, which is called _lime
water_[121] and this is the common name of _mystic milk_.
[121] You can buy it in a drug store all ready to use.
_The Chemical Action._--In the first place the lime in the water is
_calcium hydroxide_ and when you blow through the lime water the
_carbon dioxide_ in your breath acts on the _calcium hydroxide_ and
forms a white _insoluble_ powder commonly known as _limestone_.
Since the calcium carbonate does not dissolve in the water it remains
suspended in the solution and this gives it an _opalescent_ hue that
doth verily look like the _lactic fluid_ which is white but woe unto
the milkman who sells it as such.
_For the Fun of the Thing._--By pretending you can tell which boys and
which girls are in love hand around several glasses of ordinary water
and as many of clear lime water. You must see to it, of course, that
those whom you want to make believe are in love are given the lime
water; then have everybody blow and it is a sure sign that those who
change the water into milk are in love.
=The Magic Fountain.=--_The Effect._--You show an empty bottle, or
Florence flask, and then push a cork with two holes in it into the
mouth of the bottle. Next push a glass tube having a nozzle on one end
through one of the holes in the cork until the nozzle nearly touches
the bottom of the bottle.
Through the other hole in the cork push a _medicine dropper_, or
fountain pen filler. The end of the long tube projects down into a
bowl containing water which you have colored blue[122] either with
indigo or with _copper sulphate_ or you can make a beautiful violet by
dissolving in it a little _potassium permanganate_. The arrangement of
the apparatus is shown at A in Fig. 119.
[122] Any kind of colored water will do for this experiment.
[Illustration: FIG. 119A. THE MYSTIC FOUNTAIN]
Now when you squeeze the bulb of the medicine dropper the colored water
rushes up the tube and squirts out of the nozzle into a pretty fountain
until the flask is nearly full.
_The Cause._--Instead of the bottle being empty as it looks to be, you
have previously filled it with _hydrogen chloride gas_ of which 500
volumes will dissolve in 1 volume of water.
The medicine dropper is filled with water and when you squeezed it a
few drops of water is forced into the bottle and dissolves a large
part of the gas that is in it. This leaves a _vacuum_ when, of course,
the atmospheric pressure on the colored water in the bowl forces it up
through the nozzle to fill the vacuum.
[Illustration: FIG. 119B. MAKING HYDROGEN CHLORIDE GAS]
This water dissolves the rest of the gas in the flask and more water is
forced up until the bottle is nearly full of it, all of which produces
a very mysterious and at the same time a mighty pretty effect.
_How to Make Hydrogen Chloride Gas._--To make this gas take another
bottle and fit a two hole stopper into it; in one hole put a funnel and
in the other an L tube as shown at B 119.
In the bottom of the bottle put ¹⁄₃ of a cup of common table salt;
put a straight tube down into the Florence flask you want to fill and
connect this tube and the L tube with a piece of rubber tube as is also
shown at B.
The apparatus set up, pour sulphuric acid down the funnel, a very
little at a time until the salt is all gone and then fit the cork with
the long nozzle tube and the medicine dropper in it, into the mouth of
the bottle filled with the hydrogen chloride gas.
=The Vicious Soap Bubbles.=--_The Effect._--Show a dish of soap-suds
and then blow bubbles with the apparatus described below.
When the bubbles take on a size of about 3 inches in diameter shake
them off and they will rise slowly and gracefully in the air. Before
they get out of reach touch them with a long lighted taper and they
will explode viciously with a sharp report like that made by a revolver.
_The Cause._--The bubbles are filled with a mixture of hydrogen gas and
oxygen gas and when these two gases are _simply mixed_ they form a very
explosive compound which is called _detonating gas_.
When the flame is brought close enough to the bubble it fires the gases
in it, and they explode and _combine chemically_ to form _water_. The
apparatus necessary to do this experiment with is shown in Fig. 120.
It consists of (1) a hydrogen gas generator and (2) an oxygen gas
generator.
The hydrogen bottle or flask is fitted with a two hole stopper through
which runs a glass funnel and an L tube just as described in the
fountain experiment and shown at B in Fig. 119. Connected to the L tube
is a length of rubber tubing into the other end of which another L tube
is fitted.
The oxygen bottle or flask is fitted with a single hole stopper which
has an L tube running through it as shown at B in Fig. 119. Connected
to the L tube is fixed another length of rubber tubing and in the free
end of this is fixed another and shorter L tube. Now place the two
short L tubes side by side and cement them together with sealing wax.
A long length of rubber tube is forced on over the ends of the double
tube and, finally, a clay pipe is fitted into the free end of the
rubber tube, all of which is shown in Fig. 120.
[Illustration: FIG. 120. THE VICIOUS SOAP BUBBLES]
Set the bottles or flasks as far apart as possible and in the hydrogen
bottle put a handful of _granulated zinc_. Dilute _hydrochloric
acid_[123] is poured down the funnel on the zinc when _hydrogen_ will
be set free, or _generated_ as it is called.
[123] If you want to buy dilute hydrochloric acid ask for _normal
hydrochloric_ acid.
Put a small handful of a mixture of 2 parts of _potassium chlorate_ and
1 part of _manganese dioxide_, finely powdered, in the oxygen bottle
and then set a Bunsen burner under it when it will give off _oxygen_.
When the two gases leave the short L tubes they mix in the long rubber
tube and by the time they reach the clay pipe you will have detonating
gas all right.
_Caution._--Do not bring a flame anywhere near the apparatus and as a
further precaution wrap a thick towel around the hydrogen flask.
The bubbles that are blown rise in the air because both the hydrogen
and the oxygen are lighter than the air.
=The Uncanny Wheel.=--_The Effect._--A pitcher is shown full of
emptiness and then a cardboard wheel, 4 inches in diameter, with
buckets, or cones 1 inch high and ³⁄₄ inch across glued to the rim and
which is mounted on a wire so that it can be revolved, is passed for
examination.
Placing the wheel on the table you hold the empty pitcher above it and
pour out _nothing_ on it when the wheel will turn round just as though
you were pouring water on it. It is indeed uncanny. The idea is shown
at A in Fig. 121.
_The Cause._--But it is all canny enough when you know how it is done.
While the pitcher is apparently empty you have, forsooth, previously
filled it with a gas called _carbon dioxide_. This gas is 1¹⁄₂ times as
heavy as air.
The cardboard wheel does not move in the air because the latter pushes
on all parts of it equally. When, however, you pour the carbon dioxide
gas on it from the pitcher, since it (the gas) is heavier than the air
it fills the little buckets and makes them heavier just as surely as if
you poured water on them; and hence the wheel revolves.
[Illustration: FIG. 121. THE UNCANNY WHEEL]
_How to Make Carbon Dioxide Gas._--Take a perfectly dry bottle or flask
of the kind shown in the _fountain experiment_; fit it with a single
hole stopper and push a glass tube through it until it nearly touches
the bottom as pictured at B.
Set the bottle at a slant and put a mixture in it of equal amounts of
_powdered copper oxide_ (that is _cupric oxide_) and _wood charcoal_.
Heat this mixture over a Bunsen burner until it glows and for a few
minutes longer; the bottle will then be full of the carbon dioxide gas.
Pour it into a glass pitcher and put a sheet of glass over it to
keep the air away from it until you are ready to perform the uncanny
experiment.
=Giving a Travelogue.=--A travelogue is simply a talk on travel, or on
a country, illustrated with pictures of some kind.
To be able to give a travel talk does not mean necessarily that you
must have traveled or been in the country you are going to tell about
but if you have done neither, it does mean that you must read up on it.
To do this get several good books on whatever country you intend to
talk on, read them carefully, and then outline a route just as though
you had gone over it yourself, but this must of course conform to the
pictures you can get.
Now there are four methods you can follow to show a series of pictures
and you can make your choice according to the amount of money you want
to invest in it.
(1) The first and least expensive way is to cut a dozen or twenty
pictures out of magazines, arrange them according to your route and
build up your talk around them. As you describe each place pass the
pictures, which should be mounted on cardboard, in turn to each person
present.
(2) A better way is to get a set of stereographs of the trip or the
country you are to talk on and a _stereoscope_[124] and pass the
picture showing the view and the instrument to each person present.
[124] A stereoscope and the stereograms can be bought from Underwood
and Underwood, 417 Fifth Ave., New York, or Sears, Roebuck and Co.,
Chicago, Ill.
Each _stereograph_, as the picture is called, is formed of two pictures
of the same scene made from slightly different viewpoints and when the
observer looks through the lenses at them they blend into one image
when the scene stands out wonderfully clear and apparently in three
dimensions. The only drawback of the stereoscope as an aid to a travel
talk is that only one person can look at a picture at a time.
(3) A far better plan than either of the above schemes is to make a
_reflectoscope_[125] as described in the chapter called _Some Kinks in
Photography_. You can show any kind of a picture in a reflectoscope if
it is not larger than 3×5 inches but picture postcards are especially
good to use for a travelogue or a talk of any kind and they show up
nicely when thrown on a screen with a reflectoscope.
[125] You can buy one of the Bausch and Lomb Optical Company,
Rochester, New York, and you can get post-card views for it of the
Post-Card Store, 946 Broadway, New York.
(4) Finally either make, or better, if you can afford it, buy, a magic
lantern[126] that will take the regular full size lantern slides,
namely, 3¹⁄₄ × 4¹⁄₄ inches square. Sets of lantern slides[127] for
travelogues or talks on any subject can be rented cheaply and in these
days of cheap electricity you can throw a picture on the screen so big
and bright and real that your offering is bound to be a success.
[126] For magic lanterns and slides address the Charles Beseler Co.,
131 East 23rd Street, New York.
[127] Sets of lantern slides can be rented of the Charles Beseler
Co., 131 East 23rd Street, New York City.
=An Electrical Soirée.=--Experiments in electricity are always
interesting to all however young or old, for of all the powers that
have been harnessed by man it is the least tangible and yet the effects
produced by it are the most spectacular.
Now there are some very extraordinary effects that you can show with
_static electricity_[128] which do not require apparatus of any kind
as you will presently see, but if you will make or buy a ¹⁄₂ inch
_induction coil_[129] you can perform a series of classic experiments
that will create a profound and lasting impression on all who see them.
[128] Many experiments with static electricity will be found in
_The Book of Electricity_ by the present author and published by D.
Appleton and Co.
[129] Complete instructions for making an induction coil will also be
found in _The Book of Electricity_.
=Demonstrating Electricity Without Apparatus.=--Did you ever rub a cat
in a dark room in the winter and see the sparks fly? Well this is one
way to make electricity without apparatus though you need a cat[130] to
do it with.
[130] A cat is not apparatus but only a kitten _growed_ up.
_The Electrified Papers._--But you can make a lot of electricity
by simply rubbing a newspaper if you know how to rub it and it is
perfectly dry.[131]
[131] Winter is the best time to do experiments in static electricity.
[Illustration:
_=A=--ELECTRIFYING A STRIP OF NEWSPAPER_
_=B=--ELECTRIC ATTRACTION_
FIG. 122. THE ELECTRIFIED PAPER]
Tear off a strip of newspaper, lay it flat on a table and rub it with
your _finger nails_ as shown at A in Fig. 122. When you try to take
the paper from the table you will find that it sticks to it quite
tenaciously. This is because you have _positively_ electrified the
paper when you rubbed it and the surface of the table under it is
_negatively_ electrified by _induction_.[132] Now since positive and
negative electricity attract each other, the paper and the table are
pulled together.
[132] The theory of induction is simply explained in _The Book of
Electricity_ by the present author.
_How to Electrify a Person._[133]--This is an experiment that will make
your gathering giggle just as school girls giggle when they have their
tintypes taken--that is without any real reason except that the idea
strikes their mental funny bones.
[133] Since the paper is _positively_ electrified the person must be
_negatively_ electrified.
To perform this experiment electrify a strip of newspaper as above
and then hold it close to some one’s face; instantly there will be a
_mutual attraction_ between them and the paper will be drawn to and
stick to his or her cheek. Put an electrified paper on the cheek of
each person present as shown at B and tell them they belong to the same
club. This will get a laugh but it will not lessen their interest in
the experiment in the least.
_How Like Repels Like._--Electrify two strips of newspaper this time
and hold them together by the ends. Instantly the free ends of the
papers will fly apart for like _signs_ of electricity repel each other.
That is, since both strips of paper are _positively electrified_ and
hence are of like signs, they repel each other. If they were negatively
electrified they would repel each other just the same. In either case
it shows that there is a force acting across the space between the two
strips of paper.
=Making Experiments With Apparatus.=--With a dry battery of two
or three cells, an electric bell, a common steel magnet and an
electromagnet, all of which you can easily make or buy[134] for a
dollar or so, you can provide entertainment enough for ¹⁄₂ an hour’s
demonstration, and food for thought to last a year.
[134] The L. E. Knott Apparatus Co., Boston, Mass., and The Manhattan
Electric Co., Park Row, New York, sell all these things.
_The Induction, or Spark Coil._--An induction coil is an apparatus for
changing a _direct low pressure_, but _large quantity_ current from
a battery into an _alternating high pressure_ but _small quantity_
current, which is called _high tension_, or _high potential_,
electricity.
With an induction coil you can make any number of wonderful experiments
such as miniature streaks of lightning, lighting up Geissler tubes,
which produce brilliant and beautiful colors showing the electric
discharge in gases, etc., etc. By fixing these tubes to a small
electric motor[135] so that they can be revolved while the high tension
current is passing through them, the effects are further heightened.
[135] A small electric motor can be bought for $1.00 of any dealer in
electrical supplies or of the Manhattan Electrical Supply Co., Park
Row, New York.
_Demonstrating Wireless Telegraphy._--All you have to do to make your
induction coil into a _wireless transmitter_, that is, the sending
apparatus, is to put a couple of brass balls on the points of the
_spark-gap_, fasten a wire to one of them and the other end to a nail
in the wall near the ceiling and then connect the other one with a wire
which ends in a small sheet of brass or copper that rests on the floor
as shown at A in Fig. 123.
To make a receiver that will tap out the signals you send on your
transmitter, you will need (a) a _coherer_, (b) a _relay_, (c) an
_electric bell_ and (d) a _dry cell_. You can make the coherer but the
other three pieces of the apparatus you had better buy.
[Illustration: FIG. 123. A SIMPLE WIRELESS DEMONSTRATION SET]
For the coherer cut off a piece of brass rod ¹⁄₈ inch in diameter and
1¹⁄₄ inches long, file the ends off even and slip them through the
holes in the binding post. Put a pinch of nickel and silver _filings_
into a piece of glass tubing about an inch long and push the ends of
the rod into the tube with the filings between them.
Screw the rods into a couple of binding posts set 2 inches apart on a
block as shown at B and your coherer is done.
Connect up the coherer, relay, tapper and dry cell on a board as shown
in the wiring diagram at C; fasten a wire to one of the rods of the
coherer and to a nail near the ceiling; fix a wire to the other coherer
rod and to a small sheet of brass or copper which rests on the floor.
[Illustration: FIG. 123B. CROSS SECTION OF THE COHERER SHOWING ITS
CONSTRUCTION]
Now when you press the key or button of the sender, which is on one
side of the room, the bell of the receiver, which is on the opposite
side of the room, will ring out a signal. The fact that there are no
wires connecting the sender with the receiver will create much wonder.
The theory of wireless telegraphy is rather deep but you will find it
simply explained in my _Book of Wireless_ published by D. Appleton and
Co., New York City.
=Reading Palms for Fun.=--Many years ago when P. T. Barnum was
exhibiting a sacred white elephant, which was nothing more nor less
than a small Indian elephant covered with whitewash, and the good folks
were breaking their necks to pay their hard-earned coin to see it, the
great showman remarked that “the American people love to be humbugged.”
And they do. Now _palmistry_ is a kind of mild humbuggery on a small
scale and for an evening of fun and _bunkum-squint_ you can’t find
anything to beat it.
[Illustration: FIG. 124A. THE PARTS OF THE HAND NAMED ACCORDING TO
SCIENCE]
First of all there are three words that are constantly used in the art
which you must know how to pronounce correctly or you will surely show
your ignorance. The first is _palm_, pronounced _pom_; the second is
_palmist_, pronounced _pol´-mist_, and the third is _palmistry_, which
is pronounced _pol´-mis-try_; now be sure to say them right.
[Illustration: FIG. 124B. THE PARTS OF THE HAND NAMED ACCORDING TO
PALMISTRY]
While nearly every one believes in palmistry there is nothing in it
in-so-far as it is possible to read a person’s character or to divine
one’s future by means of it; but there are some things you can tell
from the hand you are reading and these are if its owner is or is not
in good health and whether the brain that goes with it is mechanically
inclined or is of an artistic temperament.
Further you can gather--not from the hand but from the face, stature,
carriage, and mannerisms of the boy or girl or the man or woman
whose hand you are supposed to be reading--a good deal about his or
her temper and temperament and also about her or his foibles and
peculiarities. In fact the palmistry of the palmists is simply a study
in deduction, very much _a la_ Sherlock Holmes, of the person as a
whole, and it is by no means limited to an investigation of the hand
alone.
_How to Read Palms._--There are two things which you should learn
before you begin to read palms and these are (1) the names of the
different _parts_ of the hand, and (2) the _lines_ and _mounts_ of the
hand.
The names given and the corresponding parts of the human hand are shown
at A in Fig. 124; these are the scientific names and you will add very
greatly to your stock of knowledge to get them down by heart.
The names, of the _lines_ and the _mounts_ of the hand are given and
shown at B and these are the terms that are used by palmists. You will
observe that the eminences are called _mounts_ and these are named
after the planets of the solar system, for the ancients supposed that
they were inter-related. To _get by_ as a palmist it goes without
saying that you must have these all down _pat_.
To find out what kind of health the subject is in, grip the
_hypothenar eminence_, which is the side of the hand opposite the
_pollux_, or thumb, between your thumb and fingers and squeeze it a
little; if it is perfectly firm and the palm has a good healthy color
you are quite sure that its owner is in good health, but if the flesh
is soft and is not elastic and if the palm is pale and bloodless you
will be quite right in saying that the subject’s health is not good,
nay worse, it is even bad, and you will not offend your subject by so
saying.
The length of the life line is supposed to determine how long the
subject who owns it will live but even if you find one broken off short
never tell the person that he or she will live only a short time.
Indeed to be a successful palmist tell every one whose hand you read
that she or he will live to be anywhere from 80 to 108, and you’ll be
on the safe side.
The line of the heart, according to palmistry, indicates the affections
and passions of a person. Always tell a fellow that he is a great
lover and that he is constant, but you can say to a girl that she is
_capricious_, which means about the same thing as being fickle, and
both the man and the maid will be highly pleased. The line of _Saturn_
is the line of disposition and you must always make the subject just
as sweet and angelic as possible unless you want her to break up the
_séance_[136] then and there and hold a _wake_ to prove you’re right.
[136] A sitting given by a medium or a palmist is called a _séance_
(pronounced _say´ance_).
_Apollo_, as the line of fortune is called, is a good one to talk at
length on; you can tell every subject that he or she has had _bad
luck_, but that fortune will follow; that he or she will marry a pretty
girl, or a handsome man as the case may be, live in New York if already
living in the country and the other way about--for everybody wants
to live anywhere except the place he is in--and don’t forget to say
“you’ll live happily ever after.”
Since folks will foolishly believe in palmistry don’t try to convince
them to the contrary, but while there is nothing in it, when you play
palmist tell them only the nice, pleasant things and you will then be
doing them a real service.
Just two more pointers on the ignoble art of palmistry and these are
(1) read the palms of each one present right out loud before the
whole gathering, and (2) be mighty careful that the single girls and
married ladies do not _switch_ rings and so lead you into the trap of
thinking that the former are enjoying a state of connubial felicity
(whatever state[137] that may be) and that the latter are living in a
territory[138] of single blessedness.
[137] Probably Utah.
[138] Most likely Arizona.
=A Talk on the Steam Engine.=--For your final evening entertainment
give a thumb-nail lecture on steam and the steam-engine.
You will find every one is interested in steam because it is one of the
great _prime movers_ but there are very few people indeed who have any
idea of how a steam engine works.
If you will do exactly as I tell you, you can talk on and demonstrate
the principles of a steam engine so that, whatever the age of your
listeners, they will know, when you are through, exactly how and why a
steam engine runs and develops power.
_Making the Model Engine._--The engine I shall tell you how to build is
not a model that runs by steam,[139] but one made almost entirely of
wood and the purpose of it is not actually to produce power but to show
exactly how it works.
[139] How to build model steam engines and all other kinds is
explained in my new book _Engine Building for Boys_, published by
Small, Maynard and Co., Boston, Mass.
To the end that this may be done the _cylinder_ and _steam chest_ are
split-down the middle lengthwise so that the inside of them can be
clearly seen and the movements and functions of the piston and the
slide valve in these parts will be clear.
Make the cylinder first and the easiest way to do it is to saw out two
disks of wood for the _cylinder heads_ of ³⁄₄ inch thick stuff, 4¹⁄₂
inches in diameter and bore a ⁹⁄₁₆ inch hole through the center of one
of them for the piston to slide through, as shown at A, C and F in Fig.
125. Turn, or whittle out a piece of wood for the _stuffing box_,[140]
1 inch in diameter and ¹⁄₂ inch long, and bore a ⁹⁄₁₆ inch hole through
the center of it and glue it to the center of the cylinder head so that
the holes are exactly in a line as shown at A and F.
[140] A stuffing box on a real steam engine is to keep the steam in
the cylinder and steam chest from leaking past the piston rod and the
slide valve rod.
[Illustration: FIG. 125A. WORKING DRAWINGS FOR THE DEMONSTRATION STEAM
ENGINE. CROSS SECTION SIDE VIEW OF THE ENGINE]
Next saw out two rings of ¹⁄₄ inch thick wood, make the outside 4¹⁄₂
inches in diameter and the inside 3 inches in diameter, see C, and glue
one of the rings to each end of the cylinder heads. Now cut out of a
sheet of thin cardboard, or better of tin, a piece 5³⁄₄ inches wide
and 6 inches long; cut two holes ¹⁄₂ an inch in diameter and have the
center of each hole ¹⁄₂ an inch from one of the long edges and ⁷⁄₈ inch
from each of the short edges as shown at D.
The next thing on the list is the _piston_ and the _piston rod_. For
the piston, saw out a disk of wood 3 inches in diameter and bore a ¹⁄₂
inch hole through it in the center. The piston rod is simply a piece of
wood ¹⁄₂ an inch in diameter and 12 inches long; cut a slot in one end
¹⁄₈ inch wide and ¹⁄₂ an inch deep and bore a ¹⁄₁₆ inch hole through it
as shown at C. Put the piston inside of the cylinder, slip the piston
rod through the hole in the cylinder head, smear some glue on the end
of it and fit it into the hole in the piston.
The steam chest is next in order; for it use ³⁄₁₆ inch thick wood and
saw out four pieces 2 inches square; two of these pieces are for the
heads of the steam chest, as shown at A and B, and in the center of one
of them drill a ³⁄₈ inch hole for the slide valve rod to go through.
Turn, or whittle out, a piece of wood for the stuffing box ¹⁄₂ an inch
in diameter and ¹⁄₂ inch long, bore a ³⁄₈ inch hole through the center
of it and glue it to the center of the steam chest head that has the
hole in it as shown at A, C and F.
Saw two holes 1¹⁄₂ inches square out of the other two 2 inch square
blocks and glue these to the steam chest heads. Now make a trough
of ¹⁄₄ inch thick wood, or of cardboard or tin, 1¹⁄₂ inches square,
outside measurement, and 2³⁄₄ inches long; this is for the sides of the
steam chest; as shown at A and F.
[Illustration: FIG. 125B. END VIEW OF THE ENGINE. D. THE CRANK SHAFT.
E. THE ROCKER ARM]
Bore a ¹⁄₂ inch hole in the center of the top of the trough; this hole
is for the _intake port_, that is the opening through which the steam
flows from the boiler into the steam chest. Bore three ¹⁄₂ inch holes
in a line in the middle of the bottom of the trough as is also shown at
A and F. The two holes nearest the ends are the ports to let the steam
into and out of the opposite ends of the cylinder, and the central
hole, or port, is the exhaust port C.
[Illustration: FIG. 125C. TOP VIEW OF THE ENGINE]
Next make the _slide-valve_; use ¹⁄₈ inch thick wood and make it ³⁄₄
inch high, 1 inch wide, and 1¹⁄₂ inch long on top and 2 inches long on
the bottom; the bottom, as you will observe at A and E, is cut out so
that it will cover one of the cylinder ports and the exhaust port at
the same time and you need put only one side on it.
The slide valve rod is a piece of wood ¹⁄₄ inch in diameter and 11¹⁄₂
inches long. Whittle or plane one end flat and drill a ¹⁄₈ inch hole
through it. This done, set the slide valve in the steam chest; slip the
slide valve rod through the head and glue it to the slide valve.
Now make four tubes or pipes of cardboard or tin ¹⁄₂ an inch in
diameter, and have two of them 1¹⁄₄ inches long and the other two 3
inches long; when you have formed all of them cut a strip ¹⁄₂ inch wide
out of each one lengthwise; the purpose of which is to show that they
are hollow.
When you have the tubes done glue, or otherwise fix, one of the short
ones into the intake port of the steam chest and the other short one
into the middle, or exhaust port in the bottom of the steam chest; then
glue, or fix the two long tubes into the end holes, or ports, of the
steam chest and the holes in the cylinders.
Saw out a _guide block_ for the piston rod to slide through, 2 inches
wide, 3 inches high, 3 inches long on top and 5 inches long on the
bottom as shown at A and C, and bore a ³⁄₈ inch hole through the middle
of the top of it lengthwise so that the center of the hole will be
exactly 2¹⁄₄ inches from the base line.
Likewise saw out a guide block for the slide valve rod and make it 1
inch wide, 2 inches long and 3¹⁄₄ inches high and drill a ³⁄₈ inch hole
through the middle of the top of it lengthwise so that the center of
the hole will be exactly 2¹⁄₄ inches from the back board to which it is
fixed.
Next cut out a _rocker arm_ of a ¹⁄₄ inch thick piece of wood and
have it ³⁄₈ inch wide at one end, ³⁄₄ inch wide at the other end and
7 inches long; drill a ¹⁄₈ inch hole in each end and a 1¹⁄₈ hole 1¹⁄₂
inches from the large end; pivot the small end to the end of the slide
valve rod with a machine screw having a nut on the end of it.
Cut out an _eccentric rod_ ¹⁄₄ inch thick, ³⁄₈ inch wide and 8¹⁄₂
inches long, and drill a ¹⁄₈ inch hole at each end so that their
centers will be exactly 8 inches apart: pivot one end of this rod to
the second hole in the rocker arm with a machine screw as before. Saw
out a pivot block 1 inch square and drill a ¹⁄₈ inch hole through the
center of it and pivot the lower end of the rocker arm to it with a
screw.
Make a connecting rod, to couple the piston rod to the crankshaft with,
³⁄₈ inch thick, ¹⁄₂ an inch wide at one end, ³⁄₄ inch wide at the other
end and 9 inches long; whittle or plane down the small end so that it
will fit easily into the slot in the end of the piston rod and drill
a ¹⁄₈ inch hole in each end so that their centers are precisely 8¹⁄₂
inches apart.
The crankshaft can be made of a piece of ¹⁄₈ inch thick wire 13 inches
long which must be bent to the exact shape shown at D; before it is
thus bent, however, slip the wire through the hole in the end of the
eccentric rod and then bend the crank on it.
Saw out a flywheel of ¹⁄₂ inch thick wood, 8 inches in diameter, drill
a ¹⁄₈ inch hole through its center and force it on over the wire
forming the crankshaft; then slip the end of the connecting rod on the
other end of the crankshaft wire and bend it to form a crank.
The front end of the crankshaft must be supported by a _pillow block_
just as it is in a real engine, but the rear end is held in place by
a board screwed to the back of the base. This block is ¹⁄₂ an inch
thick, 1 inch wide at the top, 2 inches wide at the bottom and 3 inches
high; drill a ¹⁄₈ inch hole in the top of it exactly 2¹⁄₄ inches from
the base line and slip this over the end of the crankshaft next to the
connecting rod.
The last thing to be done is to make a base to mount the parts of the
engine on; this is a sort of a shelf and it is built up of a board ³⁄₄
inch thick, 6 inches wide and 31 inches long for the base. Saw a slot
in it ³⁄₄ inch wide and 9 inches long in one corner, 2 inches from one
end and ¹⁄₂ an inch from the side; this is for the fly-wheel to set in.
[Illustration: FIG. 125F. THE STEAM ENGINE READY TO DEMONSTRATE]
Screw a back to it ¹⁄₂ an inch thick, 10 inches wide and 3 inches long;
this must be perfectly rigid and if necessary you can brace it with
angle blocks. Finally glue four legs 1 inch square and 2¹⁄₂ inches long
on the corners of the base-board.
To put the engine together, or assemble it as it is called, screw the
cylinder to the base-board, then glue or screw the piston rod guide
block to the base; the slide valve rod guide block to the back board,
and the pivot block for the rocker arm to the base-board.
Drill a ¹⁄₈ inch hole in the back board 2¹⁄₄ inches up from the
base-board exactly 16¹⁄₂ inches from the front cylinder head; put one
end of the crankshaft in the hole and slip the other end of it into the
pillow block; see that all is in a line and that the flywheel clears
the sides of the slot in the base-board. Then it is all done and will
look like F.
=How the Engine Works.=--Now if you will turn the flywheel around with
your hand, or better, belt a small electric motor to it, you will see
exactly how the slide valve opens first one port in the cylinder and
then the other and that when the port is open which gives a clear path
for the steam to flow from the steam chest to the cylinder, the other
port is connected to the exhaust pipe, when the used steam passes into
the open air.
When you know all about it you are then ready to give your last evening
divertisement and for the time being to say _Good-by_.
THE END
INDEX
Acid etching on glass, 222
Aeolian harp, 267
Alcohol lamp, 52, 60, 209
How to make an, 52
Alloys:
Brass, 67
Pewter, 66, 68, 93
Solders, 66, 72
Type metal, 66, 68
Useful, 67
Aluminum, 67
Arkansas carving tool slip, 46
Art of working glass, 202
Auger bits, carpenter’s 6, 13
Automobile truck, to make an, 228
Badges, how to make, 192-196
Barnum, P. T., 295
Bellows for blow pipe, 217
Bench, how to make a carpenter’s, 20.
Bent iron work, Venetian. _See_ Venetian bent iron work
Bismuth, 95
Blow pipe for glass blowing, 214
Blue prints, how to make, 131
Bluing steel, 74
Brass, 74
Bohemian glass, 203
Bolts and rivets, 72
Bookbinding, 179-181
“Book of Electricity,” 290
“Book of Wireless,” 295
Brace and bits, carpenter’s, 6, 9
Brass, 67
How to blue, 74
To color, 74
To dull, 74
To frost, 75
Stencils, 198-200
Bromide photo paper, 142
Bunsen burner, 60, 209
Burning brand, how to make a, 196
Cabinet making, 1-23
Calipers, spring, 57, 62
Cameras, 135-140
Camouflage photographs, 154
Candle shade, pierced brass, 91
Candlestick, how to make a repoussé, 87
Carbon dioxide gas, how to make, 287
Carbon impressions, 123
Carborundum oil stone, 63
Cards for printing, 175
Caricature photographs, 155
Carpenter’s tools:
Brace and auger bits, 6, 9
Chisels, 4, 9
Gimlets, 6, 11
Gouges, 4, 9
Hammer, 2, 8
How to sharpen, 12, 13
How to use, 8-12
Liquid glue, 7, 11
Mallet, 2
Miter box, 4
Nail set, 6, 10
Oil can, 7
Planes, 4, 9
Rule, 6, 10
Saws, 2, 8
Screw drivers, 6
Screws, 6, 10, 11
To etch your name on, 14
To remove rust from, 14
Try-square, 6
Washita oil-stone, 7
Carpenter’s work bench, how to make a, 20
Tool chest, 22
Carpentry work, 1-23
Woods for, 15-17
Cartoons, 275-278
Carver’s washita oil stone, 46
Carving tool slip, 46
Carving wood, 24, 44-51
Casting pewter, 93, 97
Cathedral chimes, 268
Cellulose, 176
Cement for glass, 224
Center punch, machinist’s, 57, 61
Chase, putting type in use, 170
Chemistry, 280
Chest, how to make a tool, 22
Chimes, Cathedral, 265
Chip carving, 47
Chisels, 4, 9
Circle, how to draw a, 119
Clamps, carpenter’s, 6;
wood carver’s, 46
Cleaning metals, 89
Coaster, to make a, 231
Coins, musical, 253
Coherer, to make a, 294
Colored glass, 203
Coloring metals, 73, 74, 81;
wood, 54
Colors, printing in, 174;
stencil, 201
Companion wood turning lathe, 37
Compasses for drawing, 112
Composing stand, 167;
stick, 162-169
Contact printing, photo, 132
Copper, 66
Copygraph, how to make and use, 189-191
Cricket scroll saw, 30
Cutting pliers, 57, 60
Dancing Sambo, to make a, 243
Dark room, 136
Dead black for iron, a, 81
Decalcomania, 128
Decorative stencils, 199-201
Design, how to burn in a, 53
Design on wood, how to trace a, 29
Designs for scroll sawing, 30
For Venetian bent iron work, 96
Developer for dry plates, 137
for bromide paper, 143
Diamond glass cutters, 203
Die sinking, 192, 193
Dies, screw cutting taps and, 57, 62
Dividers:
Spring, 57, 61
For drawing, 112
Disston saws, 2
Drawing:
Free-hand, 103
Life models, 104
Still life, 104, 107
Human figure, 105-108
Perspective, 108
How to find vanishing point, 109-111
How to shade, 111
Isometric perspective ellipse, 118
Circle, 119
Spiral, 120
Plain ellipse, 121
With a pantagraph, 121
Cartoons, 275
Drawings:
For carpentry work, 19
For metal work, 68
Working, 111
Isometric perspective, 116
Tracings of, 124
Drawing board, 113
Reflecting, 123
Drawing paper, 113
Drawing tools, 112, 113
Drill attachment for scroll saw, 33
Drill stock, 57, 60
Twist, 28
Drills, Morse twist, 57, 61
Dry plates, 136, 137
For lantern slides, 151
Easel, how to make an, 276
Ebony stain for wood, 55
Egg boiler, Venetian iron, 79
Egyptian rebec, 269
Electrical evening, an, 290
Electrical experiments, 292
Electricity:
Demonstrating without apparatus, 290
Static, 291
Induction or spark coil, 292
Electrified papers, 290
Electrify a person, how to, 292
Ellipse, how to draw an, 118, 121
Engraver’s wax, 101
Engraving on metal, 99
Engraving tools, 99
Engine building for boys, 301
Enlarging apparatus, photo, 140
Entertainments, 274
Cartoons, 276
Chemistry, 280
Travelogue, 287
Electricity, 290
Wireless telegraphy, 293
Palmistry, 295
Steam engine, 300
Etching glass, 219, 222
Etching tool, how to make an, 52
Etching your name on tools, 14
Excelsior printing presses, 158
Experiments in chemistry, 280
In electricity, 290
Fahrenheit thermometer scale, 65
Fiddle, an Egyptian, 269
Files: for scroll sawyers, 28
For machinists, 57, 62
Figure carving, 51
Finger and hand prints, 125
Fixing bath, how to make a, 134
Flint glass, 203
Fluxes, for soldering, 71
Fret sawing, _See_ Scroll sawing
Fumed oak, 55
Gimlets, carpenter’s, 6, 11
Glass:
Art of working, 202-226
How made, 202
How to cut, 203
To drill holes in, 206
Blow pipe for, 214, 215
Bellows for, 217
How to etch, 219, 222
To make ground, 222
To cement, 224
To frost, 224
Substitutes for, 225
To silver, 226
Glass bulb, how to blow a, 215
Glass cutters, 203, 204, 208
Glass disks, how to cut, 208
Glass edges, to finish off, 206
Glass nozzle, how to make, 212
Glass tubing, how to cut, 207
To bend, 209
To round the ends of, 211
To seal, 211
To pierce, 213
To join, 213
Glasses, musical, 253
Glue, how to make and use, 11
Glue pot, how to make a, 11
Gold, printing in, 175
Goodyear Rubber Co., 183
Goose, to make a life-like, 241
Gouges, carpenter’s, 4
Graflex camera, 140
Gravers, 99
Ground glass, to make, 222
Gutenburg, Johanne, 157
Hack saw, 57, 60
Hammers, carpenter’s, 2, 8
Scroll sawyers, 29
Machinist’s, 57, 60
Hand, parts of the human, 298
Hand and finger prints, 125
Hand inlaid printing presses, 157
Hand made paper, 176
Hand saws, carpenter’s, 2
Hand screws, carpenter’s, 6, 10
Hand scroll saw table, 27
Hardware for scroll sawyers, 37
Harp, the tubular, 258
Hectograph, _See_ Copygraph
Hershel, Sir John, 153
Horse, how to make a stick, 237
Hieroglyphics, 202
Hydrogen chloride gas, how to make, 283
Imposing stone, 120
Ink:
India, 113
Printing, 173
For rubber stamp, 189
For copygraph, 191
For stencils, 200
Ink rollers, 173
Ink pads for rubber stamps, 188
“Inventing for Boys,” 119
Iron:
Wrought, 64
Steel, 64
How to color a dead black, 81
Iron work, Venetian bent, _See_ Venetian bent iron work
Isometric perspective drawings, 116
Ellipses, 118
Isometric ruled paper, 116
Jeweler’s saw frame, 57
Saws, 60
Jig sawing, _See_ Scroll sawing
Job printing, 172
Joining, _See_ Carpentry
Joints, edge and corner, wood, 17
Metal, 70
Justifying, 169
Kodaks, 139
Lacquer, how to make and use, 75
Lantern slides, 139, 150, 151
Lathe for wood turners, 37
Lead, 65, 93
Lead glass, 203
Lead pencils for drawing, 113
Lenses, photo, 140
Lignum vitae mallets, 46
Magic fountain, 281
Magic lantern, how to make and operate, 148-150
Magic photographs, 153
Magic of science, 209
Mallet, carpenter’s, 2
Machinist’s tools, _See_ Metal working tools
Markers for wood carvers, 46
Marking gauge, carpenter’s, 6, 10
Metal, engraving, 99
Metals:
Their uses, 64
How to solder, 71
Iron, 64
Tin, 64
Lead, 65
Zinc, 65
Copper, 66
Type-metal, 66, 68
Brass, 67
Aluminum, 67
Pewter, 68, 94
Bismuth, 95
Metal work:
Tools for, 57-63
Drawing plans for, 68
Sheet, 69
Seams and joints, 70
Bolts and rivets for, 72
Solders for, 72
Bending, 73
Coloring, 73-83
Cleaning and polishing, 89
Pierced, 90
Miter box, 4
Molds:
For casting pewter, 97
For paper making, 177
For rubber stamps, 185
“Money Making for Boys,” 157
Moresco stencil color, 201
Morse twist drills, 57, 61
Mounting rubber stamps, 188
Musical instruments, home-made:
Coins, 253, 254
Tomato cans, 254-256
Glasses, 256, 257
Tubular harp, 258-260
Push pipe, 260-262
Xylophone, 263, 264
Tubaphone, 264, 265
Cathedral chimes, 265-267
Aeolian harp, 267-269
Egyptian fiddle, 269-273
Mystic glass of milk, 280
Nail set, carpenter’s, 6, 10
Nails and screws, how to drive, 11
Nitrogen lamps, 141
Oil can, carpenter’s, 7
Oil stone, carpenter’s, 7
Machinist’s, 63
Palmistry for fun, 295-297
Panel carving, 50
Pantagraph, to make and use a, 121
Paper:
Blue print, 132
Photographic, 133, 142
For job printing, 175
Paper making, 176-179
Paper stencils, 198
Patter, 277
Pattern making, 95
Perspective, _see_ Drawing
Pewter, 66
How to make, 94
To work, 95
To cast, 95
Solder for, 95
Patterns for, 95
To make a mold for, 97
Pewter ware, finishing, 98
Photo frame, a repoussé, 88
Photography:
Blue prints, 131
Contact printing, 132
Silver prints, 133
Papers, 133
Fixing bath, 133
Toning solution, 134
Dark room, 136
Developer, 137
Dry plates, 137
Cameras, 138-140
Lenses, 140
Enlargements, 140-144
Radium, 151
Skiagraphs, 151
Trick, 153
Camouflage, 154
Caricature, 155
Pierced metal work, 90-93
Planes, carpenter’s, 4, 9, 12
Plaster of Paris, 184
Plate holder, a Venetian iron, 81
Pliers for scroll sawyers, 28
Policeman’s puzzle, to make a, 227
Polishing metal work, 89
German silver, 195
Pony and cart, to make a, 239
Post card store, 289
Press, _See_ Printing press
Printing:
Kinds of presses, 157
Outfit needed, 161
Composing stick, 162, 169
Composing stand, 167
Imposing stone, 169
Chase for press, 169
Making ready, 172
Ink, 173
Ink rollers, 174
In colors, 174
In gold, 175
Stock supply, 175
_See also_ Type
Printing presses:
Kinds, 157, 158
Sizes and prices, 160
How worked, 160
Prints, photo, 133
Protractors for drawing, 113
Pulp for paper, 176
Push pipe, musical, 260
Pyrography, 51-53
Radioactive substances, 152
Radiographs, 152
Radium photographs, 151
Rag engine, 177
Reflecting drawing board, 123
Reflectoscope, 145-147
Repoussé work, 84-88
Rivets and bolts, 72
Robinson Crusoe, 1
Rosin for fiddle bows, 273
Rubber stamps:
How to make and use, 183-188
Ink pads, 188
Inks, 189
Rule, carpenter’s, 6, 10
Ruling pens for drawing, 112
Russel Jennings’ auger bits, 6
Rust on tools, removing, 14
Sand blast process, 219
Saw:
Carpenter’s, 2, 8, 12
Disston, 2
Hack, 57
Jeweler’s, 57, 60
Sconce, a Venetian iron, 82
Screw cutting taps and dies, 57, 62
Screw drivers:
Carpenter’s, 6
Machinist’s, 60, 63
Screws, how to drive, 11
Scroll sawing, 24-37
Designs for, 29, 30
Woods to use, 36
Scroll saws:
Hand, 25
Foot-power, 30-35
Cricket, 30
Lester, 32
Fleetwood, 33
Scroll sawyer’s tools, 27-29
Designs, 30
Hardware, 37
Seams in metal work, 70
Self-inking printing presses, 158
Sharpening tools, 63
Shellac varnish, 96, 197
Shears, tinner’s, 57, 60
Sheet metal work, _See_ Metal work, 70
Silhouettes, 126
Silvering glass, 226
Silver prints, photo, 133
Sketching, _see_ Drawing
Skiagraphs, 151
Snibs for wood carvers, 46
Soap bubbles, vicious, 284
Soirée, a, 274
Solder, 60, 66, 72
Soldering metals, 71
Spark coil, 292
Spirit photographs, 153
Spinning coins, Virgil’s theory of, 254
Spiral, how to draw a, 120
Staining wood, 54, 55
Stanley planes, 4
Steam engine, 300-310
Steel, 64
How to blue, 74
Letters and figures, 193
Glass cutters, 203
Steel rule, machinist’s, 57, 61
Steel square, machinist’s, 57, 61
Stencils, 198-201
Stencil inks, how to make, 200, 201
Stereoscope, 289
Stereographs, 289
Stereopticon, 151
Stradivari, Antonio, 270
Swing, to make a, 235
Taps and dies, screw cutting, 57, 62
Thermometer scale, Fahrenheit, 65
Theory of spinning coins, 254
Thumb tacks, 113
Tin, 65
Tin-foil, 65
Turner’s snips, 57, 60, 63
Toaster, a Venetian iron, 78
Tomato cans, musical, 255
Toning photo prints, 133, 134
Tool chest, how to make a, 22
Tools:
Carpenter’s, _see_ Carpenter’s tools
Woodworking, 2
Wood turning, 40
Metal working, 57-63
Venetian bent iron work, 76
Repoussé work, 84
Engraving, 99
Drawing, 112
Toys, how to make:
Policeman’s puzzle, 227
Automobile truck, 228
Wheelbarrow, 231
Coaster, 231
Swing, 235
Stick horse, 237
Pony and cart, 239
Goose, 241
Dancing Sambo, 243
Wireless pup, 245
Tracings, how to make, 124
Transfer pictures, 128
Travelogue, giving a, 287
Triangle for drawing, 113
Trick photography, 153
Try square, carpenter’s, 6
T square for drawing, 113
T tube, how to make, 213
Tubaphone, the peculiar, 264
Turning lathe, scroll saw, 33
Turning wood, 24, 37, 41-43
Turning tools for wood, 40
Type:
Styles of, 163-166
Cases, 167
How to set, 169
How to distribute, 173
How to clean, 173
_See also_ Printing
Type form, how to lock up, 171
Type-metal, 66
Uncanny wheel, 286
Venetian bent iron work, 76-84
Toaster, 78
Egg boiler, 79
Plate holder, 81
Vulcanizing rubber, 186, 187
Vise, carpenter’s, 21
Wood carver’s, 46
Machinist’s, 60
Washita oil-stone for carpenters, 7
For carvers, 46
Washita slip stone, 13
Watch holder, how to carve a, 48
Wheelbarrow, to make a nifty, 233
Wireless pup, to make a, 245
Wireless set, to make a, 293
Wireless telegraphy, demonstrating, 293
Wood:
How to turn, 41
Coloring and staining, 54, 55
Wood burning, 24
_See also_ Pyrography
Wood carver’s tools, 44-46
Wood carving, 24, 44-51
Wood filler, how to make, 11
Wood turning, 24, 37
Lathe for, 37-40
Tools, 40, 41
Woods:
For carpentry, 15
For scroll sawing, 36
For carving, 47
Woodworking joints, 17
Woodworking tools, _See_ Carpenter’s tools
Work bench, how to make a, 20
Working drawings:
For carpentry, 18
How to make plan, 115
Isometric perspective, 116
_See also_ Drawings
Xylophone, curious, 263
Zinc, 65
Transcriber’s Notes
Depending on the hard- and software used and their settings not all
elements may display as intended.
Unusual, archaic and inconsistent spelling and hyphenation have been
retained. The inconsistent numbering of illustrations has not been
standardised. The (minor) differences in wording between the Table of
Contents, List of Illustrations and Index compared to the text have
not been standardised, except as mentioned under Changes below
Page 20, ... the last part of Chapter III: Chapter III deals with
other subjects; possibly the reference should be to Chapter V.
Page 26, Footnote [10]: The section Designs for Scroll Sawing
may be found on page 30, the footnote anchor as printed in the
source document should probably have been printed after item (f).
Page 53, Fig. 26C: Benzine and alcohol are as printed in the source
document.
Page 157 and Index, Johanne Gutenburg: as printed in the source
document.
Page 163, item F: A16 is possibly an error for 16A.
Page 164, item H: the number of As was illegible in the source
document; item J: 11a 20a is possibly an error for 11A 20a.
Page 180, Du Pont Febrikoid Co.: probably an error for Du Pont
Fabrikoid Co.
Page 207 and 208, footnotes [98] and [98a]: the source document has
two anchors for this footnote. For this text the second instance has
been renamed 98a, the footnote has been repeated.
Page 260, The harp is shown complete at C: Figure 109c does not show
the complete instrument, and there does not appear to be another
figure that does.
Page 276, Fig. 116: Presumably the dimensions provided are in feet
rather than inches.
Changes made
Illustrations, tables and footnotes have been moved out of text
paragraphs. The footnotes in the source document were not numbered
consistently, they have been renumbered for this text.
Several obvious minor errors in typography and punctuation have been
corrected silently.
Some of the wider elements have been split to fit the available width.
Page 3, illustration: items B and C interchanged.
Page 14: Removing Dust from Tools changed to Removing Rust from Tools.
Page 46: ... as you will see in Fig. 21 ... changed to ... as you
will see in Fig. 22 ....
Page 57: ... a ball pein hammer which weights ... changed to ... a
ball pein hammer which weighs ....
Page 84: repousage changed to repoussage.
Page 164, item L: reference letter L inserted cf. other references.
Page 179, Fig. 71: item B, PPASTEBOARD changed to PASTEBOARD; item C,
NNCH chamged to INCH (probably the number is missing).
Page 193: ... on a sheet of meal; ... changed to ... on a sheet of
metal; ....
Page 211: section heading =How to blow glass= inserted cf. Table
of Contents.
Page 222: fluorspar and flour-spar changed to fluor-spar as elsewhere.
Page 240, illustration: Fig. 109 changed to Fig. 102; caption: c. the
pony and cart when done changed to c, d. the pony and cart when done.
Page 246, Fig. 105C: reference letter D changed to B.
Page 277: ... the grand finalé ... changed to ... the grand finale
....
Page 281: ... already to use ... changed to ... all ready to use ....
Page 289: Busch and Lomb Optical Company changed to Bausch and Lomb
Optical Company.
Index: some words have been corrected to reflect the spelling used in
the main text.
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Handicraft for boys" ***
Copyright 2023 LibraryBlog. All rights reserved.