Making Tin Can Toys

If a vise is not available, the copper may be held against the edge of the bench with one hand and the point filed clean and bright with the file held in the other, or a coarse sheet of emery cloth may be placed flat on the table and each face of the point rubbed bright on it. A file is by far the best for this purpose, however, and if it is chalked before using, the copper filed away will not clog it.

When the copper is clean and bright at the point each face should be thoroughly covered with a thin film of soldering paste or dipped into the soldering acid.

The copper should then be placed in the fire and heated to the melting point of the solder.

Heating.—While the copper is heating get ready a piece of tin about 2 by 4 inches—any clean flat scrap or part of a can will do. Spread a little soldering paste into the center of the tin and lay it on the bench near the heating apparatus. A few drops of killed acid may be placed on the tin instead of the paste, if the acid is to be used.

After a few minutes heating the copper should be removed from the fire and the end of a strip of solder touched to the point. If the solder melts quickly and easily against the point the copper is ready to tin; if it melts very slowly, “slushy”, the copper should be returned to the fire and heated a bit more. The copper should never be heated red hot under any circumstances; this must be borne in mind. If the copper is heated to a red heat, the soldering paste will be burned off and its action destroyed, for a red hot copper will not pick up solder, nor may it be tinned again until the copper is cool and refiled bright and clean, recoated with flux and reheated. If the copper is heated red hot after the point is tinned, the tinning is burned from the point and solder will not stick to it until it has been cooled, refiled and retinned.

This is the most important point to remember about soldering and is the cause of many failures. Remember that soldering is impossible without a flux to keep the metal clean when it is hot; too much heat will burn soldering paste or killed acid away; the tinning and the solder adhering to the point will be burned or oxidized and rendered brittle and useless.

A heat that will melt the solder almost instantly and cause it to flow with a brilliant glistening color should be maintained at all times when the copper is employed for soldering. This is never a red heat.

When the copper is first heated to be tinned, it should be removed from the fire when it melts the solder easily, and several large drops of solder should then be melted from the bar or strip of solder onto the piece of tin placed by the fire and on which some soldering paste or acid has been spread. Rub each face of the point of the copper into the solder on the tin until each face is thoroughly covered with a bright coating of solder. Hold each face flatly down against the solder on the tin during the rubbing process. The copper may have to be heated once or twice by the beginner, as it may get too cool to melt the solder easily. As soon as the solder begins to work stiffly, “slushy,” and looks gray instead of glistening, it is time to reheat the copper.

An old piece of soft cotton cloth, such as a stocking, on which is sprinkled a little powdered sal-ammoniac is an excellent thing to keep handy when soldering or tinning. The tin coating of the point of the copper should be rubbed on this cloth where the sal-ammoniac is sprinkled, when the copper is hot. This will be found to keep the copper in excellent condition. The sal-ammoniac removes the oxide from the tinning and brightens it up generally about the point.

The tinning will last much longer on the copper if it is dipped occasionally into the soldering paste or acid while hot. This is particularly true if the copper has been a bit overheated.

When the tinning shows signs of wearing off and the copper does not pick up solder readily, it must be retinned, filed, fluxed, heated, and rubbed on the solder which has been put on the tin first used for this purpose. This piece of tin should be kept about the bench, as the copper will have to be retinned frequently. Always remember that the copper will not carry solder to the work unless it is well tinned.

If an electrical soldering copper is used it is usually furnished already tinned at the point, so that it is ready for use as soon as it is connected to a suitable electric socket and the current turned on. The heating coil inside the copper will soon heat it up to the melting point of the solder. After heating, it may be treated as a common copper, wiped occasionally on the cotton cloth and retinned when the tinning is worn away. An electrical copper should never be placed in a vise for filing, but should be held against the bench and filed carefully. A vise is apt to crush the hollow copper and injure the heating coil inside. These coppers should never be placed in a fire or heated in any way except by the electric current.

Electrical coppers do not need as much attention as an ordinary copper for the even heat supplied by the current keeps the copper heated to the flowing point of the solder and is incapable of heating beyond this temperature.

How to Make Soldering Fluid or “Killed Acid”

Soldering fluid may be very simply made as follows: Pure zinc is dissolved in muriatic acid until the acid will not dissolve any more of the zinc. The solution thus obtained is then allowed to stand for a time and is then strained through a cloth and poured into a bottle which is kept tightly corked when not in use.

First purchase about six ounces of muriatic acid from a druggist. Take care not to spill any of this acid on the hands or clothes. Next get some pure sheet zinc. The sheet zinc employed for stove mats as it is sold in the plumbers’ shops is not suitable for making soldering fluid, as this form of zinc is alloyed with other metals. Pure zinc may be very easily obtained from old dry batteries which may be found anywhere.

Remove the paper covering from the battery and crack it open with a hammer—remove the carbon from the center of the battery and dump out all the powdered material. Soak the zinc covering of the battery in warm water to remove any paper or material adhering to the zinc and then cut the zinc into pieces about ¼ inch square.

Find an old tea cup or earthen-ware marmalade jar and pour into it about half a teacupful of the muriatic acid. Set the vessel containing the acid out of doors or near an open window and away from all steel tools, so that the fumes of the acid may escape and not be breathed into the lungs or rust any tools.

Pour a small handful of the zinc cuttings into the acid. The acid will attack them at once and a strong bubbling action will result. When the bubbling action dies down add more zinc cuttings—about every fifteen minutes. When the acid shows no sign of attacking the zinc as it is added, the acid is said to be “killed” and the soldering fluid is made. It may be used at once if necessary, but it will be much better if it is allowed to stand over night with the zinc residue left in it. It is then strained through a piece of muslin cloth into another cup or jar and the fluid is ready for use.

Soldering fluid may be kept in a wide-mouthed glass bottle or a marmalade jar; either vessel must be tightly corked when not in use. This soldering fluid may be used as a flux for any soft soldering operation in place of the soldering paste, but it is not as satisfactory a flux for the tin can work as the paste. The best use for it in connection with the tin can toys is to keep it to dip the point of the hot copper in occasionally to clean the tinning at the point of the copper.

While the prepared soldering paste is best for all soldering operations connected with the tin work, other fluxes may be used if nothing better is at hand. These are resin, olive oil, cottonseed oil, automobile lubricating oil, and paraffin; but these fluxes are not very satisfactory in inexperienced hands. The soldering paste is best for all soldering operations.

CHAPTER V
Soldering (Continued)

Cleaning and Scraping.—If the copper is thoroughly tinned and the heater and materials are ready for use as described in Chapter IV, then several practice pieces should be soldered together before attempting a joining on any real work you may have ready to solder.

If the tin is bright and clean, it need not be scraped at the joint where the solder is to go. Rusty spots should be scraped bright if in the path of the solder. Paper, labels or paint must be cleaned away. If a can has been well rinsed with hot water when the contents are emptied, it will present no difficulties to the soldering, but a can that has been emptied but not rinsed presents a more difficult surface to solder; particularly tomato, fruit, or condensed milk cans. This, of course, applies only to the inside of these cans. Tobacco, coffee, cocoa, tea cans and the like offer no resistance to the solder without washing. The yellow lacquer used to line some cans need not be scraped off. Solder will adhere well to tin so treated, but paper, paint, etc., must be scraped from the path of the solder. The scraped part need only be a quarter of an inch in width on each side of the joint; the rest of the paper labels or paint will be removed in the hot lye bath used before painting the can.

The scraping may be done with an old knife, or a regular scraper furnished by the dealer in tinners’ tools as illustrated on page 202, Chapter XXI.

When scraping the tin bright, do not scrape it so hard that all the tin will be scraped away from the inner sheet of iron, as solder will stick to tin much better than to iron. If the tin is not very dirty, a piece of emery cloth or sand paper may be used to clean the joint.

Paint cans, cans that have contained stove blacking, rubber cement, varnish, shellac, etc., should be thoroughly boiled in a strong lye bath before soldering; paint is usually made of oxides and oxides are a sure preventive of soldering. The lye bath is made by adding two heaping tablespoonfuls of lye or washing soda to the gallon of boiling water. Cans boiled in this solution for five minutes will be thoroughly cleaned and free from paint, paper labels, and practically anything likely to be found inside or outside of a can. The lye or washing soda may be obtained at any grocery store. Care should be taken not to get any of the lye solution on the hands or the clothes as it is very caustic and will burn the hands and ruin the clothes if not immediately washed off. The work should be handled with a wire hook while in the bath and well rinsed with water when removed from it. The same lye bath is used before paint is applied to tin work, when all forming, soldering, riveting, etc., is done. It removes the flux, acid, and finger marks, leaving a clean surface on which to paint.

Soldering a Practice Piece.—For practice in soldering, an angle joint is a good thing to begin with; something that is small and easily held in position while being soldered. As I have already described the forming up of a biscuit cutter to the point of soldering it together, a practice piece resembling it will be an excellent thing with which to begin.

Cut a narrow strip of tin about 1 inch wide and 4 inches long and a flat piece of tin about 2 by 3 inches. Be sure that the ends of the narrow strip are cut squarely across, using the square if necessary. (See chapter on “Laying Out Work,” page 32.) See to it that both pieces are well flattened out and smooth.

Bend the narrow strip into a semi-circular form, like the biscuit cutter you have already to solder and stand this piece in position on the larger flat piece of tin.

Now lay the piece near the soldering copper heater, on the wooden bench; be sure to place it on wood, not on a part of the vise or any other metal that may be convenient. Iron, stone or brick will absorb too much heat from the tin if directly under and in contact with it, and thus prevent soldering.

Apply a small amount of soldering paste to each joint as indicated in Fig. 18. The paste may be applied with a small flat stick of wood such as a match stick shaved down to a long, thin, wedge point.

Killed acid or soldering fluid is usually applied with a small camel’s-hair brush set in a quill; sometimes a chicken feather is used for this purpose.

The flux, whether paste or acid, should be applied sparingly, but be sure that enough is applied to thoroughly cover the joint, as if it were painted on both sides of the metal where it joins.

See to it that the copper is well tinned and heated until it will melt and take up a good sized drop of solder at the point when held against a bar or strip of solder. Wire or strip solder is much easier for the beginner to handle than the heavier bar. It melts far more easily, as it is smaller.

If bar solder is used, place it on an anvil or stone and hammer one end out, until it is about ⅛ inch thick and much wider than the original bar. It will melt off much more quickly when thinned out.

Hold the semi-circular piece in position with the left hand and with the right bring the hot copper charged with molten solder at the tinned point and fit the point of the copper closely into the angle formed by the joint, moving the copper very slowly along the joint, starting at one side and finishing at the other.

When each side of the joint is thoroughly heated up to the melting point of the solder, some of the solder will leave the copper and flow into and over the joint; so that when starting to solder a joint the copper should be allowed to rest a moment where the soldering is to be started. The tin is then heated up and when the solder starts to flow into the joint, the copper is drawn slowly along, heating up the tin, and as it travels flowing the solder into the joint.

The following points should be well remembered when soldering:

That the tin, to be soldered, must be heated up to the melting point of the solder before the solder will leave the copper and adhere to the tin.

That the copper supplies the heat to the tin and that the tin will not be heated unless the copper is kept in contact with it long enough to heat it. Enough of the copper should be in contact with the tin to be soldered for the heat to flow quickly into the tin, see Fig. 18. Do not merely touch the point of the copper to the joint and expect it to heat that joint: it won’t. Two faces of the point of the copper should rest against the parts of the work to be soldered, thus transmitting heat to the pieces as shown in Fig. 19. If too much of the point is allowed to come in contact with the work, the solder will be smeared over the work in a broad unnecessary stream. This is the reason that the points of coppers are filed slightly rounding toward the point.

Remember: That the copper must be hot enough to make the solder glisten.

That a red-hot copper will not pick up solder.

That a red-hot copper burns away the flux, and that it destroys the tinning at the point of the copper; a red head also oxidizes the solder, making it brittle and weak.

That solder will not fill up a gap in a joint unless in very expert hands; joints should fit closely.

That a good joint should appear smooth; look as if painted on. A smooth joint is produced by a hot copper, clean metal, and good flux, but most of all, by leaving the copper long enough in the joint to heat it thoroughly.

That small joints are heated and soldered almost instantly.

That large joints require a longer time to heat up and that very heavy work requires a large copper and sometimes an outside source of heat as well—but we have nothing to do with such work in this book.

That work must be held together until the solder sets or turns gray, as it may spring apart while the solder is molten.

These are all very simple facts and should not be difficult to remember.

To continue with the practice piece: As soon as the solder has run in and around one end of the practice joint, remove the copper and solder the joint at the other end of the piece. As these joints are small, they should heat up and solder very quickly. One heating of the copper should do for both joints, but be sure that the copper is hot enough before you try the second joint.

If difficulty is experienced in making your first joint and it does not stick together, apply more flux and try again.

The handle may be soldered to the biscuit cutter in the same manner after the practice piece is successfully completed.

Another Method of Applying Solder.—Sometimes bits of solder may be cut from the strip of wire solder and placed in the joint to be soldered. The hot soldering copper is then used to melt the solder into the joint. The joint must be well fluxed before the solder is placed in position.

The end of a strip of wire solder is sometimes held against the point of a hot copper as it is moved along a joint to be soldered. The solder is fed against the point of the hot copper as it melts into the joint.

Both of the above methods will be found advantageous when a gaping joint is to be filled with solder and it is desirable to apply a quantity of solder in one place.

CHAPTER VI
Cooky Cutters

Cooky cutters of any simple design may easily be made from strips and pieces of tin cut from cans. They may be made to stamp out any simple design from the cake dough, such as flowers, leaves, trees, animals, boats, various insignia, etc.

When making the design for a cooky cutter, remember that raisins, currants, pieces of citron, nuts, etc., may be added to the cookies after stamping them out and used to accentuate the design, as eyes of animals, fruit on trees, etc.

First draw the design on paper exactly the same size you wish the cooky to be and be sure to use a very simple outline, taking care not to introduce too many intricate bends and to remember that a strip of tin must be bent to follow the outline of the drawing. Also remember that cake dough is not of very tough material and will easily break if cut in too narrow a strip in any place or part of the design.

Do not try to make too realistic a design but rather one that suggests the desired object. The pine or Christmas tree design is a very simple one to make.

The Pine Tree Design.—First draw the pine tree on paper, taking care to have both sides of the tree alike, Fig. 20. A very simple method of obtaining this result is to fold the paper exactly in half, open the paper out flat again and draw one-half of the tree, using the folded line as the center of the tree and using a soft pencil to draw with. Fold the paper together again using the same fold line, place the folded paper on a hard surface and rub the paper over the drawing with the bowl of a spoon so that the design is transferred to the other half of the paper, so that when the paper is unfolded the design will be completed and both sides of the design will be alike.

Cutting Narrow Strips of Tin.—When you have a satisfactory design drawn, cut open a large can so that when the tin from the can is flattened out you may cut from it a strip long enough to bend around and conform to your design and have only one joint. Be sure to trim up one edge of the tin to a straight line before starting to mark off a strip ½ inch in width, using the dividers for the marking operation as shown in Chapter II, page 35. Be sure to cut your strip as straight as possible and of exactly the same width for its entire length.

Bending to Shape Over Design.—When the strip is cut, bring the ends of the strip together and press the bend in to form an angle. This angle will not only form the top of the tree but will mark the center of the strip as well. Bend the strip apart until it conforms to the design on paper from the top of the tree to the first bend on one side as shown in Fig. 21. Mark the strip of tin at A. A.

Take the flat-nosed pliers and bend the tin in on each side to conform to the line B. Let the ends of the strip go past each other as shown in Fig. 21, 2, and in the illustration of bending. Next bend both ends of the strip at C. C. and so on until the complete outline of the tree drawn on paper is followed by the strip of tin. The various steps in the bending are shown in Fig. 21, 1 to 6. The joint at the bottom of the design should overlap about ¼ inch.

This joint may be held together with the flat-nosed pliers and soldered. Take care to have the ends that are to be soldered square with the rest of the design so that when the cutting strip is placed flat down on the cutting board all the cutting edges will touch evenly and cut well.

When you have the ends of the cutting strip soldered together, cut out a rectangular piece of tin somewhat larger than the design, at least ¼ inch larger in every direction. See that this piece of tin is perfectly flat and free from wrinkles.

Look carefully at the cutting strip and see that it conforms closely to the design and then lay it in the center of the rectangular piece of tin.

Secure a thin piece of wood slightly larger than the design. Wood from a packing box will do.

This strip of wood is held in place on top of the cutting strip in order to hold it when soldering the strip to keep it perfectly flat, and to prevent burning the fingers. The cutting strip gets very hot when it is being soldered in place.

Soldering Cooky Cutters Together.—See that your soldering copper is well heated and tinned; apply soldering paste to the entire joint where the cutting strip rests on the flat piece of tin and then apply the solder carefully in the usual manner with the hot soldering copper.

It will be found comparatively easy to apply solder to the longer parts of the strip, such as those forming the sides of the tree, but do not attempt to solder in the narrow crevice or crevices formed between the tree foliage, the trunk, and the top. Solder only where it is easy to introduce the point of the soldering copper, then apply solder inside that part of the design forming the tree trunk as illustrated in Fig. 23 by the dark lines.

The cutting strip need not be soldered to the flat piece of tin forming the back in every small crevice that is not convenient to the soldering copper. But it must be soldered in such a way as to prevent the cutting strip from bending out of shape when used for cutting. So, if you may not solder it outside, solder it inside.

Be sure and hold the cutting strip firmly down to the flat tin with a flat piece of wood when soldering. If the soldering does not go along well, stop and read over Chapters IV and V on soldering. Take plenty of time and make a good job of it.

When the cutting strip is firmly soldered to the tin, trim away the edges until they appear as shown in Plate VIII. Do not try to follow every indentation in the design but cut to the general smooth shape indicated which leaves no sharp corners. The edges of the tin forming the back of the cutter may be smoothed over with a small piece of fine emery cloth or fine sand-paper. Rubbing the edges gently with the emery cloth will dull them so that they are less apt to cut the fingers. This applies only to the flat piece of tin forming the back or top of the cutter, for the edges of the cutting strip should be left sharp.

Punch two or more holes through the back of the cooky cutter to form air vents as you did when making the biscuit cutter.

The Handle.—A handle may be made for the cooky cutter in exactly the same way as the handle made for the biscuit cutter. A strip of tin 1¼ inches wide and 4 inches long, is about the right size for the handle. The edges are folded in and the strip is rounded over an anvil and soldered into place as indicated in the photograph.

The edges of the handle should rest directly over the cutting strip under it.

When finished, the cooky cutter should be boiled up in the lye bath or washed with hot water and strong soap and then it is ready for use.

CHAPTER VII
Trays

Various round trays may be made from tin cans. These are very simple to make and are very attractive and convenient for ash trays, bottle casters and the like. A match box holder may be soldered to the center of the tray and any smoker will appreciate this. These simple trays have proved to be one of the most popular problems for certain wounded soldiers in an American base hospital in France.

Turning Over Edges on Round Trays.—Select a rather large can to cut down for a tray. A can from 4 to 6 inches in diameter is best with which to start tray making. This can should be round, as the square cans are very difficult, if not impossible, to handle when turning over an edge.

Set the dividers to 1¼ inches and scribe a line parallel to the bottom of the can. Cut the can down and be careful to cut it off as straight as possible at the scribed line.

Place a square maple block in the vise; the same maple block you have used for turning the edges of the handle for the biscuit cutter. Be sure that the edges of the block are square and sharp.

Set the dividers to ¼ inch, rest one leg of the dividers on the rim of the tray and scribe a line around the inside, ¼ inch down from the edge, as indicated in Fig. 23.

Rest the edge of the tray on the edge of the wooden block so that the line scribed ¼ inch down from the edge rests directly over the edge of the block as indicated in Fig. 24 a.

Tilt the tray back on the block until the edge is raised about ⅟₁₆ inch up from the surface of the block, the line still resting directly over the edge of the block.

Using the Forming Mallet.—Take up the special forming mallet and use the rounded end to start hammering the tin down to the block, still keeping the tray tilted as indicated in Fig. 24 b. Turn the tray around as you hammer so that the tray is slightly flanged out by the mallet blows as you turn it around on the block.

Be sure to hammer the tin very gently and evenly, taking care not to stretch it down more in one place than another. Tin will stand considerable stretching if handled gently and evenly, but heavy mallet blows will stretch and crack it, and it will tear if unevenly stretched.

Never raise the edge of the tray away from the block more than ⅟₁₆ of an inch, but always tilt the tray back a little more each time you hammer entirely around it. The tin will quickly flange out and after having hammered entirely around the tray three or four times, the rim should flange out to about the angle indicated in Fig. 25, No. III.

Try to hammer in such a way as to flange the tin over evenly from the scribed line. The mallet blows should be directed in toward the line which always rests at the edge of the block, rather than toward the edge of the tin.

When the edge has been turned over as far as indicated in Fig. 25, No. III, change the position of the tray and rest the bottom of it on the top of the block and hammer gently on the edge as indicated in Fig. 25 until the edge or flange stands out at right angles to the side of the tray. Continue hammering until the edge of the tray stands at about the angle indicated in Fig. 25, No. V.

Remove the maple block from the vise and secure a round wooden mallet in it, the mallet being about 2½ or 3 inches in diameter, or a piece of iron pipe, if held in the vise, may be used for an anvil instead of the mallet.

Hang the tray over the end of the mallet or pipe and hold it firmly in position, turning it slowly around the anvil as the edge is hammered down to the side of the tray, Fig. 26.

Do not try to hammer the edge down all at once, but go entirely around the turned flange or edge several times with the mallet, hammering very lightly and bending the edge down more each time the tray is hammered around. The flanges or turned part will wrinkle slightly during the turning, but if the edge has been turned evenly and slowly from the start, this wrinkling will not matter, as the wrinkles will gradually hammer out. Try to hammer in such a way that the edge or top of the tray will remain rounded and not get hammered together (Fig. 27).

When the edge is turned completely in and touches the sides, reverse the forming mallet and use the wedge-shaped end to hammer the wrinkles out, taking care to hammer inside the edge so as not to flatten the edge of the tray, Fig. 28. The edge should look like Fig. 27, and then your tray is finished and ready to be boiled up in the lye solution and painted.

The edges of the tray may be made of any height that suits the maker, but never try to turn over less than ¼ inch at the edge nor any more than ⅜ inch, as either operation is very difficult, if not impossible.

The tin is taken up considerably in the turning and the ¼ inch marked off for the turned edge of the tray described above will be about ³⁄₁₆ of an inch when turned.

This turning operation is used a great deal for finishing the edges of different cylindrical and curved surfaces used in the tin can work, as a sharp thin edge should never be left about the work.

Making an Ash Tray and Match Box Holder.—Make a tray about 6 inches in diameter and ¾ of an inch in height when the edge is turned over, and then find a smaller can about 2½ inches in diameter, such as a soup or baking powder can. Scribe a line around this can 1 inch from the base. Cut the can down to this line and place the can bottom up in the center of the bottom of the first tray, holding it in position with a stick of wood and soldering it to the tray.

Open a box of safety matches and measure the diameter of the end of the box part that holds the matches. The usual measurement of the end of the inside box is ⅝ by 1⅜ inches.

Cut a strip of tin ⅝ of an inch wide and 2⅛ inches long. Make a mark ½ inch from each end of the strip and bend the tin at right angles at each end, using each mark for the bend.

The strip should then appear as shown in Fig. 29, A. Solder this strip in the center of the small can as shown in Fig. 29, B, but make sure that the cover of the match box will slide over it before soldering it fast.

Cut two pieces of tin 1½ inches wide and 2½ inches in length. See that they are cut perfectly square. Mark off a line ¼ inch in from one end of each piece and turn the tin at right angles from this mark to the edge.

The corners at the opposite ends of each piece should be rounded off by cutting with the shears as shown in Fig. 29, C. Round over the edges with some fine emery cloth. Place the cover of the match box in position over the strip of tin soldered to the can in the center of the tray. Place the two pieces of tin against the two opposite sides of the match box as shown in Fig. 29. Then move them slightly away from the box and mark the position of the flanged ends where they rest on the can, remove the box cover and solder these pieces of tin in place. Be sure to solder these pieces in such a way that the match box cover will slip between them easily and fit over the bent strip of tin at the bottom. The ash tray and match box holder will then be completed and ready for the lye bath and painting.

An extra coat of some high-grade spar varnish should be given the ash trays to prevent the hot ashes from burning the paint. This varnish should only be applied after the first coat or coats of paint are thoroughly dry.

The height of the trays at the edge may be altered to suit and also the height and shape of the can soldered to the center of the tray. The measurements are merely given for convenience in working out these first problems. Every effort should be made to think out problems of your own, taking the suggestions from the shapes of the cans themselves. Thus a square can may be soldered in the center of the tray, and small semi-cylindrical troughs of tin may be soldered to the rim of the tray to hold lighted cigars and cigarettes.

CHAPTER VIII
A Tray Candlestick

After the ash tray and match box holder is successfully completed the next problem that should be taken up is the tray candlestick, a photograph of which is shown on the opposite page. This problem presents some interesting and instructive forming and soldering operations and should be made before attempting to make the toy auto truck.

Two trays should first be made up—one to be used for the base of the candlestick and one for the drip cup. The edges of both trays should be turned over carefully.

The Candle Socket.—The next thing to be made is the candle socket which is also used to connect both trays. Cut a piece of tin 2¾ by 3½ inches, set the dividers to ¼ inch and scribe a line ¼ inch inside three edges of the piece as shown in Fig. 31, No. 1. Clip off the corners and fold down the strip marked A, flat against the tin. C and B should be partially folded over but not closed up, Fig. 31, No. 2. These two flaps, C and B are to be locked together to form a locked seam as shown in No. 3.

If this seam or joint were merely lapped and soldered together the candle socket would melt apart if the candle should be allowed to burn down inside it.

Place a small bar of iron in the vise jaws—this bar or pipe should be about ¾ inch in diameter and is used as an anvil over which to round up the candle socket.

Lay the piece of tin that is to be used for the candle socket over the anvil with the fold A uppermost—bend the tin around the anvil with the hand or with light mallet blows, taking care not to close up the flaps B and C as you round the piece over the anvil. You will not be able to get the socket into a perfect cylindrical shape at first and until B and C are fitted together as shown in No. 3. Simply round the piece up as best you can until flap B fits into flap C. Then use a pair of flat-nosed pliers to pinch B and C together as shown in No. 4.

When the two seams are fitted together or locked the socket should be again placed on the bar and the hammering continued until the socket is cylindrical and the seam hammered together.

Examine a tin can—most of them have locked seams at the side.

If carefully made, this socket should fit a common candle which is ⅞ of an inch in diameter.