Figs. 38-39.
A pencil may be used in connecting points upon rough work, but for greater accuracy a knife should be used, as it makes a thinner and cleaner-cut line. In making knife lines, the square must be held very firmly, to prevent it from slipping and allowing the knife to run out of its course.
To draw lines across a board at right angles to one edge (which should be the straight or "tried edge" of the board) with the steel-square, place one arm of the square parallel with the tried edge and mark along the other arm. To perform the same operation with the try-square, place the handle against the tried edge, as shown in Fig. 38.
Oftentimes it becomes necessary to draw a line parallel to the tried edge. This may be done roughly with the rule and pencil, as shown in Fig. 40. Grasp the rule in the left hand, with the first finger touching the tried edge of the board, and hold the pencil point against the end of the rule with the right hand. Keeping this position, with a steady hold on the rule and pencil, move your hands along the board. The result will be a line parallel to the tried edge.
At first you may have trouble in making a straight line, but with practice you will be able to hold the rule and pencil steadily.
Fig. 40.—Gauging with Rule and Pencil.
For particular work, where it is necessary to get a perfectly straight and parallel line,
A Marking-gauge should be used. This is nothing more than the above principles combined in a tool. It consists of a graduated shaft, or rule, with a small needle or spur in one end, which slides through a mortise made in a block of wood known as the head.
Fig. 41.—Using the Marking-gauge.
To operate the gauge, set the adjustable head at the required division on the shaft, and then grasp the head and shaft with the fingers of the right hand, as shown in Fig. 41. Place the outer face of the head against the tried edge of your work, and then, pressing the spur into the wood, move the gauge along the board, at the same time keeping the face of the head firmly against the edge of the board. The gauge is much more convenient than the other method of drawing parallel lines, for you can repeat the measurement as often as you wish, having once adjusted the head, without having to lay it off again.
A Try-square with a mitred handle costs but little more than the ordinary make, and is much handier, inasmuch as it can be employed in making mitres, by placing the bevelled end against the side of the work instead of the straight side (see Figs. 38 and 39).
Fig. 42.
The Bevel is in reality a try-square which can be adjusted to any desired angle. To set it at an angle of forty-five degrees, place it on the steel-square, as shown in Fig. 42, with the handle against the inner edge of one arm of the square and the blade resting on both arms. Move the blade until it strikes equal distances on the arms (this is shown at four inches in the drawing) and tighten the screw while it is in this position. Other angles may be drawn out upon a piece of wood and the bevel adjusted to them so these angles can be laid off upon other pieces. You will find the bevel handy for reproducing angles. However, if you are supplied with a mitred try-square you can easily dispense with it for ordinary work.
There will be times when you wish
To Divide a Board into a number of equal parts, which may be found to be fractions of an inch that cannot be easily laid off with the rule in the ordinary way. It can be accomplished with a pair of compasses, but until you become practised in their use, it will take some little time in setting them, dividing, resetting, and redividing, until the exact divisor is obtained. A much quicker method is that performed with the rule, as shown in Fig. 43.
Suppose you wish to divide a board four and three-quarters inches long into five equal parts. Place your rule across the board, as shown in the illustration, one end at one edge and the "five-inch" division at the opposite edge. Mark off the five divisions and then square the lines across the board at these points with the try-square. This will give you the required five equal parts.
Fig. 43.—Dividing a Board Equally.
In the same way longer boards may be divided up by using two-and three-inch divisions on the rule instead of one-inch, and smaller pieces by using half-and quarter-inch divisions.
CHAPTER III
THE BOY ABOUT THE HOUSE
There are generally repairs of some kind to be made about the house—such as mending screens, renewing window-ropes, repairing wooden walks, patching fences, etc.—which a boy can do, besides many ingenious articles for the house which he can make in his workshop. Ideas for labor-saving devices which cannot be bought upon the market present themselves now and then, and if there is a boy in the neighborhood to carry them out, the housekeeper will be only too glad to pay him for doing the work.
For general jobbing you will require a carpenter's carrying-box (Fig. 17, Chap. I) in which to carry your tools, and a nail-box (Fig. 18) for nails, screws, hinges, and such hardware as you will need upon the job. With these you will have a complete outfit.
Fig. 44.—The Hinge Window Lock.
A few suggestions as to what you can do and what you can make are described and illustrated in this chapter, and should give you plenty of material to work upon when you open up your carpenter-shop. Besides these ideas, you will find most of the articles in the following chapter suitable for the house and pieces of furniture for which it will be easy to secure orders.
The Hinge-lock, in Fig. 44, is one of the most serviceable window-locks that can be had, for it can be so placed as to allow the window to be opened a few inches for ventilation, and at the same time prevent further opening.
The hinge is screwed to the upper sash-frame several inches above the centre sash-bar, according to the distance the window is to be opened (see illustration).
It will be seen that when the hinge is opened, as in the drawing, neither sash can be opened past the hinge; but when the hinge is folded flat it will not interfere with the opening of either sash.
This lock would probably be more extensively used if people knew how simple and satisfactory it is. As the hinges cost but a few cents a pair, and are put on very quickly, a boy should realize a fair sum of money in a short time supplying these locks.
A Clothes-line Reel, such as shown in Fig. 45, is an article no housekeeper should be without. Its use does away with twisted, tangled, and knotted clothes-lines.
As they require but little material, and the cost of that amounts to almost nothing, the manufacture of these time-saving devices, for the neighbors, should prove profitable.
Fig. 45.—A Clothes-line Reel.
The reel consists of two strips of wood sixteen inches long by three inches wide for the sides, and two pieces of broom-handles sixteen inches long for the horizontal rods (see Fig. 45). Five inches from each end of the side-pieces, bore a hole the size of the broom-handle.
With the pieces thus prepared it is a simple matter to fit them together, as in the illustration, placing the broom-handles in the holes bored for them, and fastening them so the side-pieces are nine inches apart and a handle five inches long projects on either side. It is probably needless to say that the ends of the broom-sticks are held in the hands when operating the reel.
Fig. 46.—Broom and Dust-pan Rack.
A Broom and Dust-pan Rack is a handy article for the kitchen or broom-closet, and can be made as shown in Fig. 46.
A rack to hold a large and small broom, dust-pan, and brush, should measure three feet long, three inches wide, and be made out of a seven-eighths-inch board. Bevel the edges and place four brass hooks in the front, as shown in the drawing, from which to hang the broom, dust-pan, etc.
Brooms should always be dampened and put away, handle down, according to the advice of an old broom-maker, who claims that by so doing the straws are kept from becoming brittle and the broom lasts much longer. The brooms should therefore have screw-eyes placed in the handle, just above the tin binding, to hang upon the hooks, as shown in the illustration.
The rack should be screwed to the wall.
Fig. 47.—A Fly-killer.
Fly-papers and poisons are deadly enemies to the house-fly, but none are as effectual or as quick acting as
The Fly-killer, shown in Fig. 47. This simple device consists of a piece of screen-wire, about four by five inches, stuck into a slot made in the end of a stick, and fastened in place with tacks driven through the end of the handle and clinched upon the under side.
If possible, cut the wire with a selvage along the front edge, and trim the roughness from the other edges to prevent scratching.
The fly-killer is hung up by a screw-eye placed in the end of the handle.
Fig. 48.—An Ash-sifter.
With the fly-killer a person can strike at a fly with almost a certainty of killing it. As the screen-wire is not easily seen by the fly, and the mesh allows the air to pass through, there is nothing to alarm him.
These little things are quickly made, and when you show your customer how effective they are, you will find no trouble in disposing of them.
An Ash-sifter that is dust-proof and very satisfactory is shown in Fig. 48. It is made out of a packing-case about three feet long, eighteen inches wide, and twenty-four inches deep.
Set the box upon two-by-four stilts in the shed or yard (braced as shown in the illustration), in such a position that the bottom of the box will be on a level with the top of the alley ash-box. Then cut an opening through the shed wall and end of the box, as shown at AB, for the removal of ashes. Two strips are nailed to the sides of the box (seven inches below the top) for tracks for the sifter to run upon, and below this, at C, a board slide is placed to dump the ashes, which shake through the sifter, out of the opening in the end of the box into the ash-box. Nail one half of the cover to the top of the box and hinge the other half to it.
Fig. 49.—The Sifter.
Make the sifter eighteen inches square by six inches deep, using six-inch boards for the frame and one-third or one-half inch wire-mesh for the bottom (see Fig. 49) Fasten four trunk-casters, such as are shown in Fig. 50, to the bottom of the frame, and fit a broom-stick in one side for a handle. A slot must be cut in the end of the box for the handle to fit in.
Fig. 50.
Trunk-caster.
A Bread-board may be made out of a seven-eighths inch maple board about ten by eighteen inches, with the surface planed perfectly smooth and the edges bevelled or rounded. A hole should be bored near one edge, so it may be hung up in the pantry.
The dining-room is not complete without
A Plate-rack for the display of pretty pieces of china. Figures 51 and 52 show the details for the construction of a rack of three shelves, and in size three feet long and two feet ten inches high. Although the design is very simple in outline, it is such as will make a pleasing piece of furniture when neatly carried out.
Fig. 51.—A Plate-rack.
Prepare the two side-pieces the shape and size shown in Fig. 52, and cut the shelves two feet ten inches long by the widths given in the drawing (Fig. 52). One groove should be made in shelf A and two in shelves B and C, for the edges of plates to stand in. These grooves are cut with a chisel, and should be made V-shaped as shown. Narrow strips of wood may be nailed along the shelves as substitutes for the grooves if you wish, but the work required to plane up the strips will amount to about as much, and they do not present as neat an appearance.
Fig. 52.
Having cut out the shelves and side-pieces, you are ready to put the rack together. For this purpose you should use finishing-nails so their heads will not make very large holes in the surface of the wood. Fasten the bottom shelf (C) between the side-pieces seven inches above the bottom, the middle shelf (B) ten inches above that, and the top shelf (A) nine inches above the middle shelf. The inner edges of the shelves should be fastened flush with the edges of the sides. In the bottom shelf place a row of brass hooks for cups to hang upon.
It is necessary to fasten three strips two inches wide between the sides in the back of the rack (as shown in the drawing) for the tops of the plates to rest against. Two holes should be bored in the top strip, by which to hang the rack on nails or hooks fastened in the wall.
After completing the carpenter-work, finish the rack with a stain which will harmonize with the color scheme of the room in which it is to hang.
CHAPTER IV
SUGGESTIONS FOR A BOY'S ROOM
It is far better for a boy to spend his evenings in the house than out upon the street. He need not be without his friends there, for if he has an attractive room, with books to read, games to play, and puzzles to solve, the boys of the neighborhood will soon find it out and be only too glad to have a chance to visit him, knowing they will be sure of finding plenty of things to interest them.
The simpler the furnishings of a boy's room are the better. Plain and substantial furniture which will stand perhaps a little rougher usage than that in other rooms of the house, and handy places for storing away his traps, are what are needed.
The room should be his den where he can keep what he pleases, and arrange the fittings to suit his individual tastes. Shelves for his books and magazines, a cabinet for various collections, boxes for miscellaneous articles, and a desk at which he can study and keep his accounts, are a few of the things the room should contain. These pieces can easily be constructed in the workshop, by following the directions given in this chapter.
On the opposite page is shown a scheme for a boy's room suggestive of his sports, games, and handicraft, and while everything is simple and inexpensive in the furnishings, it makes a room that will strike the fancy of the average boy.
Nothing appears more attractive than
A Cosey-corner, such as shown in the illustration, and it is a simple matter to fit one up. A home-made couch, box, or seat of some sort should be constructed to set in the corner, a shelf fastened to one wall a foot or more above it, and several shelves hung on the adjoining wall, as shown in the drawing.
Purchase several yards of a dark shade of green denim, and enclose the corner with three strips (see illustration). The upper strip is stretched across the corner at the ceiling, and the other two attached to its ends and allowed to hang to the floor. It is a good idea to make also a dado of the same material within the corner from the baseboard to the under side of the shelves.
Pennants representative of the various colleges can be made out of cheese-cloth, and a string of these hung across the corner at the ceiling will produce a pretty effect.
The walls of the room may be brightened with
Small Posters, which it is an easy matter to obtain nowadays, and small pictures mounted upon colored mats and fastened behind glass by means of passe-partout paper are always attractive.
Treatment of a Boy's Room.
Picture-frames can be made out of narrow moulding, the corners of which have been mitred in the mitre-box to make them join neatly.
A frame which has proven satisfactory for small posters and pictures not requiring glass is one made out of common laths. The ends of the laths are not mitred as is usually the case in making frames, but are fastened together with what is known as a "butt-joint"; that is, the ends of each piece are set against the ends of the adjoining pieces. The simplest way of fastening them together is by means of small strips of wood nailed across the corners on the back of the frame.
Although this frame might be expected to have a clumsy appearance, it has not, and when thoroughly sand-papered and finished with a dull green stain is very pretty.
Fig. 53.—A Writing-desk.
The Writing-desk shown in Fig. 53 is constructed out of a box, and makes a pretty piece of furniture when completed.
Procure a box as free from defects as possible, and with fairly wide boards, so there will be but few cracks. The cover should be in not more than two pieces, as it forms the drop-front of the desk, and it would be difficult to fasten more together. The boards must be fastened with "dowels" and cleats on the edges, as shown in Fig. 54, as cleats upon the inside of the drop would be in the way.
Fig. 54.
Dowelling consists in boring holes along the edge of each board and fitting pegs in them. Of course the holes must be bored in exactly the same relative positions in each piece so that the end and sides of the boards will be flush with each other when the pegs have been put in place. To get the holes correctly bored, place the boards together in the vise with two edges flush and uppermost, and square lines six inches apart across the edges, after which locate the centres of the holes on these lines. Be careful to bore the holes straight, and make them a little longer than the pegs. Cut the pegs out of hard wood and make them large enough to fit tightly in the holes.
The pegs as well as the two edges of the boards should be smeared with glue before being put together. Then, after driving in the dowels, clamp the pieces together and lay them aside until the glue has thoroughly dried. In order to make a neat joint between the two boards, it is very necessary to have the two edges planed perfectly true and square.
While the boards of the drop-front are drying, you can prepare the inside of the box. A boy's desk should be supplied with plenty of pigeon-holes and drawers. They are as necessary as pockets are in his clothes. Split-up cigar-boxes may be used for these divisions, and, by making the upper ones of the right size, cigar-boxes may be fitted in them for drawers. The paper should be removed from the boxes as described in Chapter VIII. Fasten small silk-spools to the front of the drawers for knobs.
When the dowelled pieces have dried, nail a small moulding around the two end edges and one side edge, mitring the ends so as to fit together as shown at A (Fig. 54).
The drop-front should be hinged to the box with two hinges placed on the inside, as shown in Fig. 53, and brass chains attached to screw-eyes screwed into it and the inside of the box.
For the top of the box, purchase a moulding a little larger than that used around the edges of the drop-front and mitre it at the corners, as shown in the illustration.
Before putting any finish upon the desk, sand-paper the wood, set the nails with a nail-set, and fill all holes and cracks with putty. A couple of coats of white enamel applied to the outside will produce a very pretty effect, and the inside may be finished with linseed oil, which makes a beautiful finish for the cigar-boxes.
The desk should be supported on two iron brackets (enamelled to match the desk), screwed to the wall and under side of the desk.
In Fig. 55 will be found
Another Style of Desk, which, though not as simple to make, may be preferred to the first design.
Fig. 55.—Another Style of Desk.
Cut two boards fifteen inches long by twelve inches wide for the sides, and taper each from twelve inches at one end to eight inches at the other end. Cut a board twelve by thirty inches for the bottom and another eight by thirty for the top, and nail them to the end pieces, after which saw the boards for the back and drop-front. Dowel and glue the drop-front boards together, nail a moulding around three edges, and hinge the piece to the desk, as in the case of the other design.
Partition off the inside of the desk as shown in the illustration, and nail a moulding around the top. Finish the wood in the manner described for the other desk.
Fig. 56.—Ink-stand and Pen-tray.
An Ink-stand and Pen-tray, suitable for your desk, can be made out of a cigar-box, as shown in Fig. 56. Slope the edges with your jack-knife and cut several notches in them for pens and pencils to fit in. The wood should then be sand-papered and oiled.
A Couch for the cosey-corner of your room can be made out of two boxes about three feet long, two feet wide, and eighteen inches deep.
Fig. 57.—A Couch.
Remove one side of each box and nail the covers on, after which place the two boxes end to end and fasten them together with strips nailed across them at A, B, and C (Fig. 57). An incline about eighteen inches long should be fastened to one end, as shown in the (drawing. The inside of the boxes may be partitioned off and used for storing away magazines and pamphlets.
Fig. 58.—A Window-seat.
For the covering of the couch procure several yards of cretonne, some cotton batting or an old quilt to pad the top, a box of upholstering-tacks, and several dozen brass-headed tacks. After spreading the padding over the couch, cut a piece of cretonne large enough to cover it and tack it to the edge of the boxes, using the upholstering-tacks for the purpose. Make a valance of the same material, gathering the cretonne so as to form a heading at the top, and tack it around the box. Then place the brass tacks along the top of the valance about two inches apart.
If a couch is too large for your room you can make
A Window-seat, such as is shown in Fig. 58. Cut the arms the shape shown in the illustration and fasten them to the ends of the box. Batten the boards forming the box-cover on the under side. Then tack cretonne on to the cover, arms, and outside of the box, placing padding underneath the cretonne to make it soft, and line the inside of the box with some dainty colored goods. When this has been done, hinge the cover to the box with large fancy brass hinges.
The appearance of the seat will be greatly improved by placing brass tacks along the edges of the arms and seat, about two inches apart. The inside of the box will make a handy receptacle for clothes and linen.
Fig. 59.—A Curio-cabinet.
For those interested in making collections of stamps, coins, stones, insects, etc.,
A Curio-cabinet, similar to Fig. 59, will make it possible to keep all specimens arranged in order, each set of curios occupying a shelf by itself.
Such a cabinet should be made of bass or whitewood, as these can generally be obtained in greater widths, are cheaper, and less defective than other material. If you make your cabinet five feet high, two feet wide (inside measurement), and twelve inches deep, purchase twelve-inch boards, as these make it possible to have the sides in one piece and the back in two, a great advantage, as there will then be but one crack, and that up through the centre of the back.
After cutting the side-pieces the correct length, finish their edges as in the drawing. Then cut nine boards two feet long for the shelves, which are to be placed six inches apart.
Commencing at the top of each side-piece, lay off the thickness of a shelf, which will be about seven-eighths of an inch, and square the lines across the boards; then lay off the next shelf six inches below, and so on down to the bottom. Cut along these lines to a depth of three-eighths of an inch with a saw, and remove the wood between with a chisel. When all the grooves have been cut, slip the shelves into them one by one, and nail them to the side-pieces. After fastening the shelves, cut the two twelve-inch boards for the back and nail them in place.
While it is customary to put sash-doors on cabinets, this will be too difficult a job for you to attempt. A very pretty and inexpensive door may be made as in the illustration. Make a frame out of two-inch strips to fit the opening, and stretch some green denim over it, tacking it to the inside of the frame. The ends of the strips forming the frame should be mitred and either nailed together or fastened with dowels and glue, as described in the construction of the desk (see Fig. 54). Hinge the frame to the cabinet.
To finish the cabinet, rub it down with sand-paper, set the nails with a nail-set, and putty up all holes, after which stain the wood green, a shade darker than the denim panel in the front.
Although the shelves may be simply stained, they will be much nicer for holding curios if covered with felt.
It might be well to suggest that you number each curio, and make a catalogue of these, together with the names and any data you have concerning them. The catalogue may be hung on a hook upon the inside of the door, where it can always be found.
Fig. 60.—Spool Book-shelves.
A pretty set of
Book-shelves to hang upon the wall can be made with three boards twenty-four inches long by eight inches wide, four dozen spools all of the same size, and two pieces of rope about four feet long and small enough to fit in the holes of the spools. By saving the empty spools from your mother's work-basket, and having your friends save their spools for you, it will not be very long until you have the required number. Spools upon which number thirty-six cotton thread comes are of the best length.
Bore holes in the four corners of each board. Then, beginning with the board which is to form the bottom shelf, pass the ropes down through the holes on one side, across under the shelf, and up through the holes on the opposite side. String six spools on each rope and put the ropes through the holes in the next shelf; then string six more spools on each rope and run the ropes through the next or top shelf. Tie the ropes together about a foot above the top shelf, fringing the ends to form tassels. Figure 60 shows the shelves completed.
A Blacking-case made similar to Fig. 61 is a handy article for a boy to have in his room. As the friction from a rag rubbed over the shoe produces a finer polish than a brush when polishing paste is used, the box is provided with an arrangement by which a rag can be rubbed over the shoe without much effort (see illustration).
Fig. 61.—A Blacking-case.
Procure a box about the size of a soap or cracker-box, and fasten a board in it for a foot-rest, as shown at A in the drawing. On each side of this place a piece of a broom-handle a little shorter than the inside width of the box, and pivot them at the ends with wire nails driven through the sides of the box, as shown in the illustration. Gimlet holes should be made in the sides of the box so the nails will fit loosely in them. Procure a strip of canton-flannel twenty-four inches long by six inches wide, and, after sewing two brass rings to each end, pass the cloth under the rollers and over the foot-rest, as shown in the illustration.
The lower part of the box will hold your boxes of blacking and the brushes. To have access to this, a board should be removed from the side of the box and hinged as at B and C in the illustration. Place a button-catch just above it to keep it shut. Fasten together the boards forming the box-cover with battens, and hinge them to the end of the box. The outside of the case will be improved greatly if covered with denim.
After applying the paste to the shoe, the foot should be slipped under the cloth which passes over the foot-rest. Two fingers of each hand should then be placed in the rings and the cloth pulled back and forth over the rollers until the shoe is polished.
Fig. 62.—A Towel-rack.
A Towel-rack, such as is shown in Fig. 62, is made in four pieces,—a board about eighteen inches long for the back, two arms six inches long, and a piece of broom-handle eighteen inches long. After cutting out the arms the shape shown in Fig. 63, bore a hole large enough for a broom-handle to fit in each. Bevel the edges of the eighteen-inch board, and then nail it to the arms, driving the nails through this piece into the arms. Fit the piece of broom-handle into the holes bored for them, and trim off the ends so that about one inch projects beyond the face of each arm.
Fig. 63.
Sand-paper the wood, and either paint or varnish it. Attach screw-eyes to the top of the back board and hang the rack by these to hooks placed in the wall.
CHAPTER V
HOW TO MAKE A DOLL-HOUSE
The average store doll-house is made of thin wood, which is full of defects and likely to warp, besides being put together in such a flimsy manner as to soon fall apart. The majority of these are imported houses, designed and planned in foreign styles, the exteriors being covered with clumsy ornament and gaudily painted, while the interiors are very poorly planned and proportioned. Americanized doll-houses are seldom seen in the market, and the few there are will generally be found very expensive.
There is probably nothing more interesting for a boy to make than a doll-house. It is like building your own house on a small scale, the details and proportions having to be just as carefully worked out to make a good-appearing house. Try the construction of a house for one of your girl relatives and see how much she will appreciate it. Then having completed one and learned the many little tricks there are in doing this work, you will find it quicker and easier to turn out others to sell. Neatly made houses are always salable, and it should be an easy matter for you to make arrangements with a toy dealer in your town, to place some of your work in his store to sell on commission.
The doll-house designed and detailed in this chapter is easily constructed and
The Materials Required do not amount to very much. Boards ten inches wide and one-half inch thick are preferable for the general construction, with a few four-inch boards one inch thick for the base and a few other details. Basswood probably will be found the easiest wood to work with, as it is soft, straight-grained, and free from knots. Packing-cases may be used to advantage when they are of the right size, but they are generally made of a cheap grade of pine, full of knots and other defects that make it difficult to do a good job.
Cigar-boxes make the nicest material for the interior finish, and a number of all sizes should be procured for this purpose. Prepare the boxes for use as described in Chapter VIII.
Fourpenny nails should be purchased for the rough carpenter work, and brads and glue for attaching finishing-strips and all light wood. Paints and other material are specified as required.
As shown on the plans (Figs. 65, 66, and 67), the house described in this chapter is of three floors, containing nine rooms, and is in size, thirty inches wide, twenty inches deep, and three feet high.