With the carpenter work of a doll-house completed, the finishing of the inside,—wall papering and painting,—and the selection of furniture for the various rooms, remain to be done. This requires as much care as the building of the house, and while any boy can do the work, the help of a sister will perhaps simplify matters and give to the rooms a daintier appearance.
The Walls and Ceiling of the kitchen and bath-room should be painted with white lead or white enamel. For the other rooms select paper having a small design, such as is to be found on most ceiling papers. If you have ever watched the paper-hanger at work, you have noticed he puts on the ceiling first, allowing the paper to run down the walls a little way all around instead of trimming it off. Then he hangs the wall paper, and if there is no border to cover the joints of the ceiling and wall papers he carries the wall paper up to the ceiling. Use flour paste to stick on the paper, and a cloth or photograph-print roller to smooth out the wrinkles. The dining-room should have a wainscot of dark paper below the chair-rail, and a paper with little or no figure upon it above.
All Hardwood Floors, the stairs, door and window casings, baseboards, and picture mouldings should be varnished thoroughly or given several coats of boiled linseed-oil.
All floors, with the exception of the kitchen, bath-room, and hardwood floors, should be fitted with
Carpets.—If you do not happen to have suitable scraps on hand, they can be procured at almost any furnishing store where they make up carpets. Select pieces with as small patterns as possible. The floors of the bath=room and kitchen should be covered with oilcloth.
Rugs for the hardwood floors may be made out of scraps of carpet.
Window-shades may be made for each window out of linen, and tacked to the top casing so that the bottom of the curtain reaches just above the centre of the opening. Each window should also have
Lace Curtains made out of scraps of lace. They should either be tacked above the windows or hung upon poles made out of No. 12 wire, cut in lengths to fit the windows. Screw small brass hooks into the top window-casings for the poles to hang upon.
Handsome Portieres for the doorways can be made with beads and with the small hollow straws sold for use in kindergartens. For the
Bead Portieres, cut threads as long as the height of the door and string the beads upon them, alternating the colors in such a way as to produce patterns. Then tie the strings together to a piece of wire the width of the doorway, and fasten the wire in the opening. The
Straw Portieres are made similarly.
From magazine illustrations you can select
Suitable Pictures for each room, but if you are handy with brush and pencil you may prefer to make the pictures yourself. These may be mounted upon cardboard and have their edges bound with passe-partout paper to give the effect of frames, or frames may be cut out of cardboard and pasted to them. Hang the pictures to the picture moulding with thread.
A Cosey-corner may be fitted up in the ball-room by fastening a strip of a cigar-box in one corner an inch and one-half above the floor for the seat, and hanging draperies on each side of it. Pillows may be made for it out of scraps of silk stuffed with cotton.
A doll-house properly proportioned in every detail, including the selection of its furniture, is pleasing to look at, and is to be desired much more than some of the specimens to be found in the stores. These very often have parlor chairs larger than the mantel, beds that either fill two-thirds of the bedroom space or are so small they are hidden from view by the chairs, and other furniture accordingly, all having been selected without any thought as to size or fitness.
Care must be taken, in buying the furniture, to have the pieces suitable to the rooms. It will no doubt require more time than to purchase the first sets you come across, but when you have completed the selections, the result will be a much better appearing doll-house.
By carefully searching the toy-shops you are almost certain of finding what you want for the various rooms, as about everything imaginable in furniture has been manufactured. Porcelain bath-tubs, wash-basins with real faucets and running water, gilt furniture, chandeliers, and such articles are tempting to buy. But it is rather expensive to fit up a house in this way, for, though each piece may not amount to very much, they count up very quickly.
The suggestions for the making of cigar-box furniture in the following chapter, and the cork furniture in Chapter XXVIII, should give you plenty of material for furniture and save you the expense of buying this part of the furnishings for your house.
The metal furniture which you can buy is very pretty when it is new, but this new appearance does not last long after it has come into a youngster's possession, for the pieces are very slender and delicate, and thus easily broken.
Wooden furniture is the most durable kind, and plain and simple pieces will generally outlast the fancy ones. The designs illustrated in this chapter make very substantial pieces, as there are no spindle legs or fancy arms to break off. They follow the lines of the mission furniture, that simple style used in the early American mission schools, and which is to-day being extensively made in handsome pieces for the furnishings of modern homes. You will find the
Miniature Mission Furniture, illustrated and described in this chapter, simple to make and something which is easy to sell, for there is nothing like it at present upon the market.
Cigar-boxes furnish the nicest material for making this furniture, and the various parts can be cut to the right shape and size with
A Gig-or Scroll-saw. Procure small brads and glue with which to fasten the pieces together.
To prepare the Cigar-boxes for use, place them in a tub of boiling water and let them remain there until the paper labels readily pull off. Do not use a knife in removing the paper, as it is liable to roughen the wood. The paper will come off by allowing it to soak long enough. When the boxes are clean, set them in the sun to dry, after binding the covers to the backs to prevent them from warping. Pull the boxes apart when they are thoroughly dry, and throw out such pieces as have printing upon them, for these would spoil the appearance of the furniture if used.
Figs. 119-126.—Patterns for Furniture.
In order to simplify the matter of cutting the parts that make the furniture, the curved pieces have been drawn out carefully on page 111, so they can be laid off upon the strips of cigar-boxes without any trouble, by the process of
Enlarging by Squares.—These drawings are shown one-quarter of their full size (half their width and half their height). To enlarge them procure a piece of cardboard nine by thirteen inches, or a little larger than twice the size of the drawing each way, and divide it into squares just twice the size of those on page 111. That will make sixteen squares in the width of the cardboard and twenty-four in the length, each half an inch square. In order to get the squares spaced equally, it is best to lay off the points first with a ruler along the top, bottom, and two sides of the sheet of cardboard, and then connect the points with the ruler and a sharp lead-pencil. Then number the squares as in the illustration, using the figures along the sides and letters across the top and bottom of the sheet.
With the sheet of cardboard thus prepared it is a simple matter to
Reproduce the Drawings of Figs. 119 to 126 by locating the points of the curves and corners of the pieces, as shown in the illustrations, in corresponding positions in the squares on your cardboard sheet. The curves may be drawn in by eye, after locating them with reference to their surrounding squares, but the surest way of enlarging them accurately is by laying off the points where the curve strikes each horizontal and vertical line in the illustration, upon the enlarged drawing. These points can then be connected with a curved line.
Figs 127-128.—Chairs.
Make all of the lines heavy so they can be distinguished from your guide lines, and after carefully going over the drawing, comparing it with that on page 111 to see that no mistake has been made in locating the points in enlarging, cut the various pieces apart. These give you
The Patterns with which to mark out the pieces on the wood.
We will first note the construction of
Fig. 129.—A Settee.
The Chairs shown in Figs. 127 and 128. These are four and one-half inches high, two inches wide, and an inch and one-half deep. Cut the back for the chair in Fig. 127 four and three-eighths inches high and an inch and three-quarters wide, the sides by the pattern in Fig. 119, and the seat an inch and one-quarter by an inch and three-quarters. With the pieces cut out, fasten them together with brads and glue, placing the seat between the arms and back so that it is an inch and one-half above the base.
Cut the back for the other chair (Fig. 128) four and one-half inches high by two inches wide, the seat an inch and a quarter by an inch and three-quarters, and the sides an inch and three-eighths wide by two and one-half high. To get the curve in the bottom edge of the side-pieces, use the pattern in Fig. 119.
The Settee (Fig. 129) should have its sides cut by the pattern of Fig. 120. Make the back-piece three and three-quarters inches wide and three and one-quarter inches high, and the seat three and three-quarters inches by an inch and one-half. Fasten the seat against the back an inch and one-half above the base.
Fig. 130.—A Table.
Tables for the living-room, dining-room, bedroom, ball-room, and nursery of a doll-house may be patterned after the designs of Figs. 130 and 131. These should be two and one-half inches high to be of proper proportion for the chairs.
The pieces necessary to make Fig. 130 are a top two inches square, two sides an inch and one-half wide by two and one-half inches high, and a shelf an inch and one-quarter square. Fasten the pieces together as in the illustration, placing the shelf between the side-pieces an inch from the bottom.
Fig. 131.—Another Design.
The other design (Fig. 131) will do nicely for
A Dining-room Table, or table for the centre of the living-room. The top of this should be five inches long and three inches wide. Cut the side-pieces by the pattern in Fig. 121 and, after fastening them to the under side of the table-top four inches apart, brace them with a strip three and three-quarters inches long by half an inch wide, as shown in Fig. 131.
A Side-board similar to Fig. 132 should be made for the dining-room. The pattern for the side pieces is shown in Fig. 122. After sawing these out, cut a piece seven inches long by three inches wide for the back and fasten the side-pieces to the edges of it. The location of the shelves can be obtained best by referring to Fig. 132 and the pattern in Fig. 122. Cut the bottom shelf (A in Fig. 132) three inches long by an inch and one-quarter wide and fasten it to the side-pieces half an inch above the base (line 24 on pattern, Fig. 122). Make shelf B three by one inches and place it at line 22. C should be three and three-quarters inches long by an inch and one-half wide, with a small notch cut near each end with your knife, to make it fit over the side-pieces (see illustration). Cut shelf D three inches long by half an inch wide, fastening it in place at line No. 17, E three inches long by seven-sixteenths of an inch wide, fastening it at line No. 15, and F three inches long by three-eighths of an inch wide, fastening it at line No. 13. The top shelf (G) is three and three-quarters inches long and half an inch wide and is fastened to the tops of the side-pieces as shown in the drawing.
Fig. 132.—A Side-board.
The lower portion of the side-board is enclosed with two doors two inches high by an inch and one-half wide. Small pieces of cloth may be used for hinges, but it is better to use pins, running them through the shelf above and below (A and C, Fig. 132) into the doors. Stick the pins near the edge of the doors and see that they are straight, so the doors will open easily. A small mirror attached to the back between shelves C and D will complete this piece of furniture.
Fig. 133.—A Mirror.
A Mirror in a frame should be made for the living-room of the doll-house. A neat and suitable design for one of these will be seen in Fig. 133. For its construction cut two sides by means of the pattern in Fig. 123, a piece five inches long by three inches wide for the back, and a strip three inches long by three-eighths of an inch wide for a shelf. Fasten the sides to the edges of the back-piece, and the shelf between the sides about three-quarters of an inch above the base. Now procure a mirror such as you can buy in a toy-shop for five or ten cents (or a piece of a broken mirror cut down to the right size will do very nicely), and attach it to the centre of the back.
The Grandfather's Clock (Fig. 134) makes an effective piece of furniture for the hall or living-room, and is easily made. Figure 124 shows the pattern for the front of this clock. The back is made the same, with the omission of the square opening cut in the front frame for the clock-face. Cut a block of wood two by two by three-quarters inches to fit between the frames at the top. After nailing the pieces together, procure a face from a toy watch, and fasten it in the opening made for it in the front frame. A button suspended by means of a piece of thread from a tack placed in the bottom of the block forms the pendulum.
Fig. 134.
A Grandfather's Clock.
It will be unnecessary to give any suggestions for
Kitchen Furniture, such as chairs and tables, for these can also be made out of cigar-box wood along the same schemes illustrated in this chapter, with perhaps a few modifications which will make them simpler.
Now for the making of some pieces of bedroom furniture. You will find in Figs. 135 and 136 two designs that are easily carried out, one or both of which may be used for
The Beds of a doll-house. To make Fig. 135, cut the head and foot by means of the pattern in Fig. 125, and cut the two sides by means of the pattern in Fig. 126. After preparing these pieces and fastening them together as shown in the illustration (Fig. 135), cut a few strips a quarter of an inch wide for slats and fasten them between the sides of the bed. It is advisable to fasten these in place to prevent them from being lost.
Fig. 135.—A Bed.
Fig. 136.—Another Design.
The side-pieces for the other bed (Fig. 136) are cut out with the same pattern (Fig. 126). Make the head-and foot-pieces three by four and one-half inches, cutting a piece two by an inch and one-quarter out of the top of each as shown in the drawing (Fig. 136), and using the pattern of the other bed for cutting the curve in the bottom edge. Nail the pieces together in their proper places, after which cut some slats and fasten them in the bottom.
Fig. 137.—A Dresser.
The Dresser (Fig. 137) is made somewhat similar to the side-board. Cut the sides by the same pattern (Fig. 122) and fasten them to the edges of the back-piece, which should be six and one-half inches high by three inches wide. Cut shelf A three by one and one-quarter inches, B and C three by one and one-eighth, D three by one and three-sixteenths, and E and F one-half by one and one-quarter inches. Fasten shelf A between the sides at line No. 24 (see Fig. 122), B at line No. 23, C at line No. 22, D at line No. 21, and notch the ends of E and F to fit over the side-pieces at line No. 20.
Drawers to fit the lower shelves of the dresser may be made out of small strips of cigar-boxes or pieces of cardboard, glued together. A small mirror fastened in the position shown in the drawing will complete the work upon this piece of furniture.
Fig. 138.—A Wash-stand.
A Wash-stand can be made for the bath-room and each of the bedrooms similar to Fig. 138. The sides for this should be five inches high by an inch and one-quarter wide, and the shelves one by three inches. Fasten the lower shelf three-quarters of an inch above the base, and the top shelf at a height of two and one-half inches. When the stand has been put together, fit a round stick, about an eighth of an inch in diameter, in holes made in the sides with a (see illustration). This forms the towel-rack. Hang a small drapery over the lower portion of the stand.
Finishing.—When the pieces of furniture have been completed, they should be rubbed down with emery-paper to remove the rough edges, and also any rough places that may have been caused by soaking the boxes in water. Then give the wood several coats of linseed oil. This makes a beautiful finish for this kind of wood.
If desired, the bedroom furniture may be painted with white enamel. The little hearts may be painted upon the pieces as shown in the illustration, with a small brush and red paint, or may be cut out of red paper and glued to the wood.
Fig. 139.—A Doll's Folding-bed.
In Figs. 139 and 142 will be found some pieces of furniture that are simpler to make than that just described, and although they may not be so pretty, they present a very good appearance when neatly made.
The author constructed many pieces of this furniture when a boy, and found them suitable as presents, besides being something that was always easy to sell.
The cost of making a set amounts to but a few cents, cigar-boxes being the principal material.
They are also very quickly made, as the boxes require but little cutting.
Fig. 140-141.
For the construction of
A Folding-bed, such as is shown in Figs. 139 and 140, select two cigar-boxes, one of which will fit inside the other. The smaller box should be a little shorter than the inside opening of the larger box. After removing the paper from each, place the smaller box inside the larger one, as shown in Fig. 139, so that the bottom of the inner box is flush with the edge of the outer box. Then drive a brad through both boxes on each side, about three-quarters of an inch from the end as shown at A (Fig. 139). These brads should run through the outer box into the bottom of the inner box, and should be driven in carefully so as not to split the wood. The inner box should now fold down as shown in Fig. 140, moving upon the brad pivots. Purchase a five or ten cent mirror and fasten it to the front of the bed, after which cut two wooden feet similar to Fig. 141 and glue the pegs on the ends of these in gimlet holes made above the mirror. Finish the wood the same as described for the other cigar-box furniture.
Fig. 142.—Dresser completed.
The Dresser shown in Fig. 142 is made out of a box the same size as the larger one used for the folding-bed. Saw the sides of the box in half, crosswise, and remove the upper half and the end-piece. Then nail the end across the tops of the remaining halves of the sides. When this has been done, divide up the lower portion of the box into compartments as shown in the drawing (Fig. 143). This should have a small drapery hung over it. The upper portion of the dresser should have a mirror attached to it, and some lace draped over the top and sides will add greatly to its appearance.
Fig. 143.—A Doll's Dresser.
All you will have to do in making
A Wardrobe will be to fasten some small hooks inside of a cigar-box, attach the cover with a strip of linen—the same way it was attached before you soaked it off—and hang a mirror on the front.
These pieces of furniture were designed for separate sets, and would not do for doll-houses the size of those in the preceding chapters, unless the boxes were cut down to smaller proportions.
Since the manufacture of printing-presses in small sizes, printing has become so popular among boys that it is now hard to find a neighborhood in which there is not a press.
Printing is one of the best methods of mastering spelling and punctuation, and is thus a great help to a boy in his studies, besides being a pleasant occupation at which he can earn money.
If you cannot afford a large press, be satisfied with a small one for the time being at least. Get to work, learn to print neatly and accurately, and when your friends find your work is of good quality, they will gladly patronize you. Your profits should soon net you enough with which to buy a larger press and increase your equipment.
After securing a press, it will be necessary to find a place in which to keep and use it, where there will be a good light to work by and where things are not likely to be disturbed. If you have a workshop, you may be able to make room in it for your outfit.
Fig. 144.—A Boy's Printing-shop.
When the author became the proud owner of a machine, he found it convenient to keep it in his room with his type-cases and material beneath the press-stand. But in the course of several years the printing-shop required more space than the room afforded, and a new office had to be secured. This was found in the woodshed, where a corner was partitioned off, a double sashed window placed in the wall, and the interior fitted up with a case-rack, imposing-table, stock-stand, and all the necessities for an enlargement of business. Figure 144 shows the arrangement of our shop a few years later, when it again became necessary to increase our floor space by adding a "mezzanine" story above, extending to the roof of the shed. This half-story was reached by means of a ladder, as shown in the drawing.
The principal equipment of a boy's shop should consist of a number of cases in which to keep the fonts of type; a rack in which these cases can be kept and at which the typesetting can be done; a work-bench, one end of which may be used for an imposing-table and the other for the press to stand upon; and two cabinets, one for stock and the other for ink, tools, and general supplies. The other materials required are: a composing-stick, composing-rule, pair of tweezers, galley, leads, rules, furniture, mitre-box, imposing-stone, quoins, shooting-stick, mallet, planer, hand-roller, and gauge-pins, besides a can of ink, an oil-can, a bottle of machine-oil for washing rollers, benzine for cleaning type, and a good supply of rags.
An Amateur's Outfit.
Small presses are usually accompanied by a few fonts of type, which are sufficient for printing small business-cards, etc., but are of so few letters as to make an ordinary job of printing impossible. With an increase of capital,
Type should be the first addition to your outfit. In making selections bear in mind the amount of money you have to spend, and buy only styles which will go together nicely and which can be used for the greatest variety of work. If possible, secure the advice of a printer in purchasing, as by his experience he can tell what you will most require better than you. You can probably obtain a specimen type-book from the type foundry in your city from which to make your selections.
Type-cases divided into small compartments for the various letters and characters, which can be bought for seventy-five cents or a dollar, provide the only satisfactory means of keeping fonts. It is advisable to spend the money for these neatly made boxes rather than attempt to make them, for the work will amount to more than what you can buy them for.
Figures 145 and 146 show the upper and lower news-cases with the systems of "laying" generally employed in printing establishments. It will be seen that by this method the principal letters are grouped in the central portions of the case where they are easily reached, while the less important letters are scattered around the sides. The central boxes of the lower case are also made larger than the others, "e" being allotted the largest box as it is used more than any other letter in the alphabet.
Figs. 145-146.—Scheme for Laying Cases.
As the lettering of the spaces and quads in Fig. 145 may be confusing to the beginner, it is perhaps well to explain that these are based upon the "m" quads which present a square end, the "2m" and "3m" quads being two and three "m" quads in width, and an "n" quad one-half an "m." Likewise spaces are known by the fraction they represent of an "m" quad, viz. "3m," "4m," "5m," and "8m" (more commonly known as hair-space).
Fig. 147.—The Yankee Job-case.
The upper and lower cases provide for about every character included in a complete font of type. For smaller fonts you will find the Yankee job-case very convenient, the letters being arranged the same in the lower portion, and the capitals being placed in the upper boxes (see Fig. 147).
Fig. 148.—A Type-case Rack.
It will be unnecessary to have
A Rack for the Type-cases until you have added several styles of type to your outfit. Then you will find a rack such as is shown in Fig. 148 one of the best methods of keeping the type away from the dust and at the same time in an accessible place.
This rack should be four feet in height, the width of a type-case, and twenty-eight inches deep, which is large enough for twelve cases. It is best made out of four-inch boards.
Cut the uprights A and E three feet six inches long, and B and F four feet long. The top-pieces C and G should be cut similar to Fig. 149. First lay out these pieces on four-inch boards, using the dimensions given on the drawing and being careful to get both pieces the same. Having properly marked the pieces, they remain to be cut out with the rip and cross-cut saws. Cut the bottom-pieces D and H twenty-eight inches long, and prepare twenty-two inch-strips of the same length for cleats.
Fig. 149.
One of the most particular points to be looked after in making a rack of this kind is the attaching of the cleats, for unless they are perfectly horizontal and those on one side are on a level with those on the other side, the cases will not slide in satisfactorily and will be continually causing trouble. Plenty of space should also be left between the cleats to prevent the cases from sticking by the cleats swelling or warping.
Fig. 150.
In order to get the cleats in the right position, the heights should be laid off on the uprights as shown in Fig. 150 and lines squared across them. You will then have the same heights on each upright.
Having prepared the pieces above described, we are ready to put them together. Lay uprights A and B upon the ground, twenty inches apart, and with the lower ends on a line with one another. Then fasten board D to them as shown in Fig. 151, the upper edge being even with the first divisions on the upright. Drive but one nail in each end of D until the other end of the frame is fastened together. Strip C should be placed as shown in Fig. 151, so that the upper edge of one end is even with the top of upright A, and the upper edge of the other end three inches above the top of upright B. This gives the proper pitch to the top of the rack. Then, after measuring the distance between uprights A and B to see that it is no more or less than twenty inches, nail C firmly to them, after which drive several more nails into the ends of D.
Fig. 151.
When this has been done, fasten the cleats in place, so that the top of each is even with the line squared across the uprights. This completes the frame. The opposite frame is made similarly.
When both frames have been made, they should be fastened together by means of the crosspieces shown in Fig. 148. Measure the width of your cases, which varies somewhat with different makes, and set the frames about half an inch farther apart than this width. Then cut the boards I, J, K, and L the correct length and nail them to the places shown upon the drawing. Strips M and N should be fitted between C and G to help support the top.
The top of the rack is made to hold two cases at a time, the lower case on the front part and the upper case back of it.
Cases should be kept out of the dust as much as possible, as dirt accumulates in the boxes very quickly, and is hard to clean out. It is therefore a good plan to tack cloth or heavy wrapping-paper to the back, sides, and below the top of the rack, and provide a curtain to hang over the front when the cases are not in use. When the boxes do become dirty, the dust should be removed by means of a pair of bellows.