The Base, or false basement, should be made first. It consists of two four-by-one inch boards thirty inches long and two twenty inches long, with the ends mitred and fastened together in the form of a frame. Upon this

Lay the First Floor, allowing but one-half inch of the boards to bear on the frame on all sides. Then lay off the first-floor plan (Fig. 65) upon this floor with a pencil and square, locating the partitions by means of the dimensions given on the plan.

Make the Partitions A, B, and C, the shape and size shown in Fig. 68, and nail them to the places marked out for them on the floor.

The Stairs from first to second floors (Fig. 71) should now be constructed as described later under the head of "Stairways," as it would be difficult to set them in place after the walls are up.

Make the Front and Rear Walls twenty-nine inches wide and twenty inches high, and nail them to the edges of the floor. The outside surface of the walls should now be in line with the base. Leave the cutting of the windows until the rest of the house has been put together. The walls may be prevented from spreading by means of temporary braces nailed across the tops.

Lay the Second Floor, cutting a three by ten inch stair opening in the place indicated on the plan (Fig. 66), and fasten the boards to the front and rear walls. Draw upon this the second-floor plan, and

Cut Out Partitions D, E, F, and G, as shown in Fig. 69.

After nailing these partitions to the places marked out for them, and building in the stairs,

Lay the Third Floor (Fig. 67), cutting a three by seven inch stair opening, and fastening the boards in place as you did those of the second floor.

Stairways.—While each stairway should be built before the floor above is laid, in order that the work can more easily be done, they have been left for description here, that they might be spoken of in a general way. In Figs. 71, 72, 73, 74, and 75 will be found complete details for these.

The first things to prepare are

The Stair Stringers, or supports for the steps (treads and risers). Cut from a piece of cardboard what is known as

The Pitch-board, the pattern by which to lay out the steps (Fig. 73). Then draw a line lengthwise upon a thin strip of wood (AB in Fig. 72), and lay off the pitch-board on this as shown in Fig. 72—sixteen times for the first to second story stairs and fifteen times for the second to third story stairs. Draw the line DE parallel to AB, and the lines CD and EF as shown. Then cut out the stringer along the lines CDEF, being careful in doing so not to split off the corners. Prepare two stringers for each flight of stairs.

The Treads and Risers should be cut as shown in Fig. 74, and the

Newel-posts and Hand-rails as shown in Fig. 75. Make a small groove in the bottom of the hand-rail as shown in the drawing. Toothpicks are of just the right size for

The Balusters.—As brads are likely to split the thin cigar-box wood, the staircases should be put together with glue. First fasten the stringers in place, cutting a slot in the edge of the floors for the tops to set in, as shown in Fig. 71. Then glue on the treads and risers, and cut the bottom of the newel-post to fit over the second step. The lower end of the toothpick balusters are set into slits cut with a knife in the treads, and the upper ends fit in the groove cut in the hand-rail.

The Balustrades around the stair openings on the second and third floors are made in the same way (see Fig. 71). As finished floors are to be laid in the halls, as described later, it will be well at this point to fasten a strip from a cigar-box around the stair openings, upon which to fasten the newels and in which to stick the ends of the balusters.

The Front Steps are made as shown in Fig. 76. Cut out two balustrades the shape and size shown in the drawing. Then prepare two stringers of five steps, cutting them exactly the same as for the other stairs, and glue them to the inner faces of the balustrades. The treads and risers are the same as for the other stairs, except that they are four inches in length. Cut the top platform two and one-half inches wide.

The Rear Steps may be built similar to the front, or may be made simpler by leaving off the risers and balustrade.

The Ends of the House should measure twenty inches square. Fasten the boards together with battens at top and bottom, and hinge them to the rear wall (see plans and Fig. 64). Small hooks on the ends of the house will make it possible to fasten them shut.

The Gable-ends, which are cut out as shown in Fig. 77. Make the partition between the nursery and ball-room (H) in the same way, with a door cut in it, as shown in Fig. 70.

Fasten the partition and gable-ends in place, after which nail the roof boards B and C (Fig. 70) to the top, allowing them to project over each gable. The lower boards A and D should be hinged to these, so they may be raised to get at the upper story. The edges of the boards must be bevelled in order to make perfect joints.

When the work has proceeded thus far, cut

The Door and Window Openings in the places indicated upon the plans and Fig. 64, first boring holes in the four corners of each window and door space; and then connecting them with a compass-saw. With the exception of the front and rear door, and the windows in the basement and gable-ends, make all openings three by five inches, and two inches above the floor. The casement window openings in the gable-ends are to be four by five inches and extend to the floor. Cut three-by-seven-inch openings for the doors, and make the basement window openings two by three inches.

Figs. 78, 79, 80, 81, and 82 show the construction of

The Dormer Windows. These are made from cigar-boxes. For the three dormers, you will require six pieces the shape of A for the sides, three of B for the gable-ends, and six of C for the roof (see Figs. 80, 81, and 82). With the different parts cut out, it is a simple matter to fasten them together on the roof, by means of glue and small brads. The glass is bound to the ends of the side-pieces at D and E with strips of linen, as shown in Figs. 78 and 79, and the gable-end sets on the top edge. The dormers should be placed directly over the lower windows and in line with the front wall (see Fig. 79).

Old four-by-five camera plates may be used for

The Window Glass, by cutting them down to the required dimensions—three by five inches for the first and second stories, and two by three inches for the dormer and basement windows. Four-by-five plates are the right size for the casement windows.

As the basement is to represent stone, there will be no finish around the openings, and the glass will have to be held in place with cigar-box strips on the inside and putty on the outside, as shown in Figs. 83 and 84.

The glass should be fastened in the first and second story windows by means of putty and strips of cigar-boxes (see Figs. 85, 86, and 87). We will make the inside and outside trim the same to simplify matters; so cut two sets of strips for each window, making them the shape and size shown in Figs. 85 and 87. Fasten the outside strips in place first, then slip the ends of the glass into the centre of the wall and nail on the inside strips. Fill in the spaces between the glass and strips with putty to hold the glass firmly in place.

The Casement Windows (Fig. 88) are made similarly, with the addition of a quarter of an inch strip of a cigar-box glued up the centre of the glass, to give the appearance of double windows hinged to swing in.

Narrow strips of paper glued to the glass, as shown in Figs. 78, 83, 85, and 88, will produce the effect of

Divided Glass and upper and lower sash.

The Door Trim (Figs. 89, 90, and 91) is put in place the same as the window trim, but instead of placing the door in the centre of the wall, it should be set flush with the inside trim (see K, L, and M in plan, Fig. 90), and is hinged by means of a linen strip glued to the edge of the door M and strip L. The door-jambs are cased with strips I and J.

The rear door may be made simpler than this by using a plain strip for a cap.

Make the Door out of a piece of cigar-box.

The drawings give all the necessary measurements for door and window strips, and you will find it a simple matter to cut them out with a sharp knife.

After putting the trim upon all of the windows and the doors, cut a number of strips of wood an eighth of an inch thick and half an inch wide for

Outside Trimmings, and nail them to each corner of the house, around the edges of each gable-end, and around the top of the basement. Purchase some narrow moulding for the cornice and nail it to the edges of the roof boards, being careful to make neat mitres at the corners.

The house can more easily be moved about if mounted upon

Casters. To put these on, cut four pieces of two-by-four about three inches long, fasten a caster to each, and nail one block inside each corner of the foundation frame.

The Chimneys. These should be made up of four pieces, two of which should have bird's-mouth cuts made in the end, as shown in Fig. 92, to make the chimney fit over the top ridge of the roof. The side edges of the pieces should be mitred and fitted together. Nail a strip of wood, half an inch wide, around the tops of the chimneys for caps. You will find it easier to

Paint the Chimneys before fastening them to the roof. Make the brickwork red and the caps white, and with a small brush and ruler stripe off the mortar joints. When the paint has thoroughly dried, nail the chimneys on to the ridge of the roof in line with the front windows (see illustration of completed house).

You will want

A Mantel and Fire-place in the living-room of the house, and it had better be built in at this point. Figure 93 shows about the simplest form of mantel you can make, and one that presents a very neat appearance. It is made out of cigar-box strips painted to represent brick, with stone hearth and mantel-shelf. It measures seven inches wide, four and five-eighths inches from the base to the top of the shelf, and has a fire-place opening four inches wide and two and one-half inches high.

Figure 94 shows the patterns for the cutting of the various pieces required to make up the mantel. A, the front piece, has an opening cut in it for the fire-place, as shown in the drawing. Cut two strips similar to B for the ends of the mantel, one the size of C for the back of the fire-place, two of D for the sides of the fire-place, and one of E for the mantel-shelf. These pieces, with the exception of E, should be painted red, and striped off, when dry, with white paint to represent brick. It will be much easier to do the painting before fastening the pieces in their proper places. First divide the length and breadth of the pieces into about the number of spaces shown in Fig. 93 with a lead pencil. Then with a small brush, and straight-edge for a guide, trace over the pencil lines with white lead. Be careful in striping the brick to get the courses the same upon each piece so they will correspond when the pieces are put together.

The Hearth is made out of a strip seven inches long by two inches wide. Upon this the mantel should be put together with the pieces prepared. Figure 93 shows the location of each piece, and with the aid of glue and some small brads it will be a simple matter to complete the mantel. The edges of the strips had best be mitred to make neat joints. Paint the hearth and mantel-shelf white.

The mantel should be fastened to the centre of partition B in the living-room (see plan, Fig. 65).

Andirons should, of course, accompany the fire-place. These may be made as shown in Fig. 95. They consist of two pieces of cigar-boxes cut the shape of A and B (A an inch and one-half by an inch and one-quarter, and B an inch and one-half long), with the end of B glued in a slot cut in the lower part of A. The feet and the top of A and the foot of B are small brass-headed upholstering-tacks driven into the wood, which give the andirons a trim appearance. Paint the strips black.

Set the andirons upon the hearth with the ends projecting into the fire-place, and pile several nicely shaped twigs upon them for logs.

The Interior Woodwork remains to be put on. Cigar-boxes make excellent imitation hardwood floors, for the halls, the ball-room, and nursery. Select as large pieces as possible, and fit them on the floors with close joints. Nail them down with small brads.

Make the door casings from the same material, cutting the strips the shape and size of those used for the outside doors (Fig. 89). It is not advisable to hang inside doors, as they are easily broken off, and seldom work satisfactorily.

A chair-rail should be made in the dining-room of quarter-inch strips fastened to the walls three inches above the floor.

Make baseboards in each room out of three-quarter inch strips, and picture mouldings out of strips an eighth of an inch wide.

After completing the carpenter work of the house

Set all Nail-heads with your nail-set, putty these holes and all others resulting from cracks and defects, and sand-paper the rough surfaces. If the woodwork is to be finished in its natural color, by varnishing or oiling its surface, color the putty to match the wood.

Paint the House a cream color, with white trimmings and a green roof, using yellow-ochre and white lead (mixed) for the walls; white lead for the trimmings, balustrade of front steps, chimney-caps, and striping of brickwork; dark olive green for the roof, and treads and risers of the front steps; and lamp-black for striping the stonework of the basement. The painting of the chimneys and fire-place has been described.

Paint the front door on both sides with white enamel or white lead, with the exception of a panel in the centre, which should be oiled as shown in Fig. 89. This will give the appearance of a white enamelled door with a mahogany panel set in it.

CHAPTER VI

ANOTHER DOLL-HOUSE AND A STABLE

Photographs of another style of doll-house are shown in Figs. 96 and 97. This house was built by the author for a little relative some ten years ago, and is still in perfect condition, as the photographs show.

Packing-cases were used for its construction, with cut-up cigar-boxes for window-casings, door-jambs, finished floors, etc., and small mouldings for the outside trimmings.

The inside arrangement and the general construction of the house is so nearly like the design in the preceding chapter, that most of the details and the mode of construction may be followed in building it. If boxes are used, the dimensions will have to be figured out to suit, unless the boxes are pulled apart and the boards cut to the sizes shown in the illustrations of this chapter.

The Floor Plans, which will be found in Figs. 98, 99, and 100, give the sizes of the rooms, and the patterns for the making of

The Partitions are shown in Figs. 101 and 102. In cutting out the second-floor partitions (Fig. 102), mitre one edge of E and F to allow for the bedroom door opening, shown upon the plan, and mitre the edges of G to fit between them above the door. The mitring is shown in the drawings (Fig. 102).

Besides cutting a stair opening in the second floor, make an opening three by five inches in the second and third floors for

The Elevator-shaft. Care must be taken to have these openings exactly over one another. Make the opening in the second floor six by eight inches in the place indicated upon the plan. This will allow for the elevator shaft and stairway. No stairway has been built to the third story, as the elevator serves the purpose, and one would take up too much of the ball-room space.

The Side Walls should measure nineteen inches wide by twenty-four inches high, and the other two walls thirty inches wide by twenty-four inches high. That portion of

The Rear Wall enclosing the kitchen and bath-room is hinged to open (see Fig. 98), and

The Front Wall is made in two sections, each hinged to a strip of wood an inch and one-half wide nailed to the two edges of the house, as shown in Fig. 96.

The Windows are four by five inches, so four-by-five camera plates can be used for the glass.

The Roof had best be made in two sections, each measuring twenty-eight inches long by twenty-four inches wide. Fasten the boards together with battens on the under side and, after mitring the upper edge of each, nail them to the house so that the ridge is fifteen inches above the third floor. Then nail a board nineteen inches long by ten inches wide in the peak of the roof (D in Fig. 104), and a narrow strip three inches from each side wall (K and L in Fig. 100). These cut off the triangular shape of the ball-room and give it a better appearance.

The Chimney is made the same as those for the other house, with the exception of the cap, which is built up of strips of cigar-boxes to represent corbelled brick (see Fig. 103). These strips should be three-sixteenths of an inch wide, and fastened in place by means of small brads.

An Elevator is something which is found in but few doll-houses. It was built in this house, thinking it might please the young mistress, and proved such a success that the scheme has been worked out carefully in Figs. 104, 105, 106, 107, and 108, that you may include it in the house you build.

The cutting of the elevator-shaft has already been described. For material, procure two small pulleys, such as are shown in Fig. 106, four feet of brass chain, six feet of No. 12 wire, half a dozen double-pointed tacks or very small screw-eyes, a short piece of lead pipe, and a cigar-box. Make

The Car out of the cigar-box, cutting it down to two and one-quarter inches wide, three and three-quarters inches deep, and seven inches high (see Fig. 107). Place two of the double-pointed tacks or screw-eyes in each side of the car for the guide-wires to run through and another in the centre of the top from which to attach the brass chain.

The Guide-wires are made of very heavy wire that will not easily bend. Cut two of a length to reach from the first floor to the ball-room ceiling, and after running them through the tacks in the sides of the car, stick their ends into small holes bored at E, F, G, and H (Fig. 104). The upper holes should be bored through the ball-room ceiling, while the lower ones need be bored but part way through the first floor. Care must be taken to have these holes in the correct position, so the elevator will run up and down upon the wires without striking the sides of the shaft. The easiest way of fastening the wires in place is to run the upper ends through the holes, until the lower ends can be set into their sockets, and then drive two double-pointed tacks over the top of each wire, as shown at E and F in Fig. 104.

Now run the elevator up to the top of the shaft, and mark upon the ceiling where the screw-eye in the top of the car strikes. At this point bore a hole through the ceiling and two inches back of it bore another hole, through which to run the weight-chain. When this has been done, cut a short block of wood to fit the peak of the roof and

Screw the Pulleys to it two inches apart (Fig. 105). Fit the block in the peak of the roof, centring the front pulley over the top of the car as nearly as possible, and drive a couple of nails through the roof boards into it to hold it in place temporarily. Then

Attach the Chain to the tack in the top of the car, slip a piece of lead pipe about an inch long over the chain, allowing it to set on the top of the car to make the latter heavier (Fig. 107), and run the chain up through the first hole in the ceiling, over the pulleys, and down through the second hole. To the end of the chain attach a piece of lead pipe for

The Elevator-weight (see Fig. 108).—This should be just heavy enough to make a perfect balance between it and the car, which can be obtained by whittling off the end of the pipe until the weight of the two is the same. Make the chain of sufficient length so the weight will rest upon the first floor when the car is at the third floor. You can now tell whether or not the pulleys are in the right positions. When they have been adjusted properly, nail the block firmly in place.

The Gable-ends.—The front gable-end consists of four pieces (A, B, C, and D, in Fig. 109), the dimensions for the cutting of which are given in the illustration. After preparing these, nail A, B, and C in their proper positions in the gable of the roof, and trim the edges of D, if they need be, to fit between. To prevent the movable section from pushing in too far, it will be necessary to nail a narrow strip of wood to the roof and third floor just inside of it. The rear gable is made in one piece, and is fastened in place permanently.

Spring-catches with which to shut up and lock the house (see the illustrations).

The Stairway is shown in Fig. 104, and the details for its construction will be found in Figs. 110, 111, 112, 113. This stairway is made in two parts, with a platform between. Cut a block of wood the shape and size shown in Fig. 110 for the platform, with notches at A and B for the tops of the lower stringers to fit in. Then

Prepare Two Stringers of thirteen risers similar to Fig. 111 and two stringers of five risers similar to Fig. 112, laying them off as described in the preceding chapter by means of a pitch-board similar to Fig. 113. After cutting out these pieces, fasten the tops of the lower stringers in the notches A and B in the platform, and nail the platform in its proper position in the corner of the hall. When this has been done, nail the bottoms of the upper stringers (E in Fig. 112) to the sides of the platform at C and D, and set the tops in notches cut in the edge of the second floor.

The Treads and Risers are made the same as in Fig. 74 (Chap. V), except that the depth of the risers is increased to five-eighths of an inch. Cut another platform from a cigar-box to fit over the rough one.

Build a Balustrade up the side of the stairs and around the elevator enclosures, using the scheme shown in Chapter V (Figs. 71 and 75).

All Other Details not mentioned here will be the same as described in Chapter V, including the painting and finishing of the house.

How to make the Stable

The stable shown in Figs. 114 and 115, and in the background of Fig. 96, will go nicely with the house described in this or the preceding chapter. Its construction is very simple. The dimensions are twenty-four inches wide, twelve inches deep, and twenty-two inches high, and the barn contains five stalls on the ground floor and a hay-loft above.

The Gable-end is made in four pieces, as shown in Fig. 116, A, B, and C, to be nailed in place, and D to be movable as in the case of the doll-house. Make a three-by-five-inch window in the centre of D, and fasten the glass in place with strips cut as described in Chapter V. Strips should be nailed to the roof just inside of the movable section to prevent the latter from setting in too far, and a spring catch fastened to C and D as shown, to hold the movable section in place.

Figure 117 gives the patterns and measurements for

The Stall Partitions, four of which should be cut out and fastened to the floor of the stable four inches apart, or so they will divide the inside width into five equal stalls.

The Feed-troughs are made out of two strips of cigar-boxes fitted between the stalls, as shown in Figs. 115 and 117, and are fastened in place by means of brads and glue. Above the stalls cut

Small Windows an inch and one-half square in the rear wall. These are the ventilating windows for the stalls, and may be left open.

Figure 118 shows the construction of

A Ladder to the hay-loft. This is made out of two sticks twelve inches long, with strips of cigar-boxes two inches long glued to them half an inch apart, as shown in the drawing. Cut away a section of the hay-loft floor two inches square and stick the end of the ladder up through the opening, fastening the uprights to the edge of the floor (see Fig. 118).

A stick about three inches long, with a very small pulley attached near the end, should be fastened in the peak of the roof for a

Feed-hoist (see Fig. 114).

The first story has

A Drop-front, as shown in Figs. 114 and 115. This is made from the box-cover. Fasten the boards together with battens placed upon the inside, and hinge it to the bottom of the stable. Nail two cleats to the under side of the floor (see Fig. 114) to lift it off the ground, just enough to allow the front to drop without springing its hinges.

When the front is down it forms an incline upon which to run the horses into the stable. For this reason it is not advisable to cut an opening in it, but merely

Represent a Stable Door on the outside (see Fig. 114). This is done with paint and a fine brush. First paint a green panel in the centre of the front, and then mark off a couple of panels within this space with black paint, and stripe them diagonally to represent beaded-boards.

With strips of wood half an inch wide make

A Simple Trim around the door, the sides of the stable, and around the gable, as shown in the illustration.

When the carpenter work has been finished,

Paint the Inside of the stable white, and the outside the same colors as used for the doll-houses (see description on page 90, Chap. V).