mechanics for young americans

8/13/2019 Mechanics for Young Americans

1/98

TT 160P7

,y 1


2/98


3/98

miinmiiiittggiftgtmitntgnnngiiiiiiimittniiniifiiiiirmnrai

MECHANICSFOR

YOUNG AMERICAHow to Build

BOATS, WATER MOTORS, WIND MILLS, SEARCHLIGHT,ELECTRIC BURGLAR ALARM, ICE BOAT, WATER

BICYCLE, CABINS, CAMPS, CLOCKS, FISH-ING TACKLE, KITES, IMITATION

STREET CAR LINE, ETC,

The Directions are Plain and CompleteReprinted from Fopular Mechanics

COPYRIGHT 1905POPULAR MECHANICS

CHICAGO

PRICE 25 CENTSaiitfH HiHinmniimiifinniminiinnimiinininiimHH^


4/98

,907jyrlght Entry

coCONTENTS

o

How (o Make a Paper Boat 5Mow to Make a Barrel Boal 7How to Make a Water Wheel 8How to Make Your Own Fishing Tackle. 9Temporary Camps and How to BuildThem 12Permanent Camps and How to BuildThem 14How to Build an Imitation Street Car

Line *9How to Make a Water Bicycle 20How to Make a Miniature Windmill. ... 22How to Build an Ice Boat 23A Novel Burglar Alarm 25A Mechanical Ventriloquist and How toMake It 26How to Make a Boot-Blacking Cabinet . 26Renewing Dry Batteries 26How to Make Water Motors 27How to Make Antique ' Clocks from

Up-to-Date Materials 29Lettering a Clock Dial 31How to Make a Windmill of One or TwoHorsepower 32How to Make a Trap for Rabbits, Ratsand Mice 34How to Make a Small Searchlight 34

Kites of Many Kinds and How to MakeThemJug Fishing 36How to Do Ornamental Iron Work. ... 39

Ornamental Metal Guards for Open Fire-places 41How to Make a Propelling Vehicle 43How to Make a Water Telescope 44How to Make Paper Balloons 44How to Make a Hectograph 45

Useful Articles and Ornaments Made ofOld Bicycle Parts 45

Devices for Winter SportsHow toMake and Use Them 47toasting Sleds, Chair Sleighs, Toboggan

Slides and Skis 50How to Make Rubber Stamps 52How to Make a Baggage Carrier forBicycles 54A Water Candlestick 54

Boy's Hand-Power AutoHow Made. . . 55How to Make a Pair of Dumb-Bells . ... 55

How to Rid Your Yard of Cats 56How to Make an Kasel 56To Light a Gaslight Without Matches. . 57Things a Boy Can Make Out of Old

Bicycle Parts 58How to Make a Wind Propeller ........ 59Photographing from a Captive Balloon. 60How to Make a Simple Burglar Alarm 62To Make a Binder for Popular Mechanics 63How to Make a Hammock 63Electric Rat Exterminator 64How to Make a Miniature Steam Turbine 65How to See Through Your Hand 65How to Make a Wood-Turning Lathe

Out of an Old Sewing Machine 66How to Remove Stains from Marble. ... 67How to Make a Turbine Engine 68How to Make a Lead Cannon 70How to Make a Wireless TelegraphSystem 71How to Make a Toy Battery Motor Lifta 10-lb. Weight 72

To Renew Old Dry Batteries 72Weatherproofing for Tents 72How to Make an Electric Furnace Reg-

ulator 73How to Make a Simple Fire Alarm 74How to Make a Bell Tent 75Enameling a Bicycle Frame 75A Practical Camera for Fifty Cents. ... 76How to Make a Very Simple Turbine. . . 78Power of Small Coils for Sending Wire-

less Messages 79Ringing a Bell by Touching a Gas Jet. 79How to Build an Electric Engine 80Novel Electric Motor 80How to Make a Sailomobile 81How to Make a Novel Burglar Alarm. . 82Simple X-Ray Experiment 82To Build a Merry-Go-Round 82Another Electric Motor 83Use for an Old Clock 83To Make an Electric Piano 84How to Make a Telegraph Instrumentand Buzzer 84Row to Build a Model Yacht 86

I fow a Boy Built a Complete MiniatureRailroad 88


5/98

MECHANICS FOR YOUNG AMERICA

Rowing in a Paper BoatHow to Make a Paper Boat

Zf is L-igHt and Can Easily Be Carried About.A Barrel Sail BoatWithout a boat, successful fishing is

nearly impossible under many conditions.Boats are expensive to buy, and they are

heavy and bunglesome and often insubstan-tial. So why not have a perfectly success-ful boat suited to your own needs and onethat is inexpensive, by making it yourself.It is difficult for an amateur boat-maker to

obtain the right kind of lumber for the hullof a row boat, and after the lumber is ob-tained, it is still more difficult to cut it off

and bend it in the proper shape forthe boat. If you have not the facil-ities for making a wooden boat andif you want, a light, serviceableboat, why not make it out of paper?Now you might think it absurdto advise making a paper boat, butit is not, and you will find it insome respects and for some pur-poses better than the wooden boat.When it is completed you will havea canoe, probably equal tothe Indian's bark canoe. Notonly will it serve as an idealfishing boat, but when youwant to combine hunting and fish-ing you can put your boat on yourshoulders and carry it from placeto place wherever you want to goand at the same time carry yourgun in your hand. The total costof such a boat is $6.17. Here ishow to make a paper boat:Make a frame (Fig. 1) on which

to stretch the paper. A board abouta foot wide, an inch thick and say 11feet 6 inches long is taken as a kind ofkeel, or backbone, and is cut tapering forabout a third of its length, toward each


6/98

POPULAR MECHANICS.end, and beveled on the outer edges(A, Fig. 2). The cross-boards (B, J .Fig. 2) arc next sawed from a pine plankone inch thick. Shape these as shown byA, Fig. 4, 13 inches wide by 26 inches long,and cut away in the center to avoid uselessweight. Fasten them cross-wise to the bot-tom-board as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. withlong Stout screws, so as to divide the keelinto three nearly equal parts. Then add thestem and stern pieces (('. (', Fig. 2). Theseare better, probably, when made of greenelm. Screw the pieces to the bottom-boardand bend them, as shown in Fig. 2, bymeans of a string or wire, fastened to anail driven into the bottom. Any tough.light wood that is not easily broken whenbended will do. Green wood is preferablebecause on drying it will retain, to a con-siderable extent, the shape into which it hasbeen bent. For gunwales (a, a. Fig. 3),procure at a carriage factory, or other place,some light strips of ash, about 12 feet inlength, 1% inches wide, and % inch thick.Nail them to the cross-boards and fasten tothe end-pieces (C, C,) in notches, by severalwrappings of annealed iron wire or copperwire, as shown in Fig. 3. Copper wire isbetter because less apt to rust. For fasten-ing the gunwales to the cross-boards usenails instead of screws, because the nailsare not apt to loosen and come out. Thelibs, which are easily made of long, slenderswitches of osier willow, or similar material,are next put in, but before doing this, twostrips of wood (b, b. Fig. 3) should be bentand placed as in Fig. 3. They are used onlytemporarily as a guide in putting in theribs, and are not fastened, the elasticity ofthe wood being sufficient to cause them toretain their position. The osiers may aver-age a little more than a half-inch in thick-ness and should be cut, stripped of leavesand bark and put in place while green andfresh. They are attached to the bottom bymeans of shingle nails driven through holespreviously made in them with an awl, andare then bent down until they touch thestrips of ash (b, b, Fig. 3), and finally cutoff even with the tops of the gunwales, andnotched at the end to receive them (B, Fig.4). Between the cross-boards the ribs areplaced at intervals of two or three inches,while in other parts they are as much asfive or six inches apart. The ribs having allbeen fastened in place as described, the loosestrips of ash (b, b, Fig. 3) are withdrawnand the framework will appear somewhat asin Fig. 1. In order to make all firm and to

Boy Carrying a Paper Boat on HisShoulders While Huntingprevent the ribs from changing position, asthey are apt to do, buy some split cane orrattan, such as is used for making chair-bottoms, and, after soaking it in water fora short time to render it soft and pliable,wind it tightly around the gunwales and ribswhere they join, and also interweave itamong the ribs in other places, winding itabout them and forming an irregular net-work over the whole frame. Osiers probablymake the best ribs, but twigs of some othertrees, such as hazel or birch, will answernearly as well. For the ribs near the mid-dle of the boat, twigs five or six feet longare required. It is often quite difficult toget these of sufficient thickness throughout,and so, in such cases, two twigs may beused to make one rib, fastening the buttsside by side on the bottom-board, and thesmaller ends to the gunwales, as before de-scribed. In drying, the rattan becomes verytight and the twigs hard and stiff.The frame-work is now complete and

ready to be covered. For this purpose buyabout 18 yards of very strong wrapping-paper. It should be smooth on the sur-face, and very tough, but neither stiff norvery thick. Being made in long rolls, it canbe obtained in almost any length desired.If the paper be one yard wide, it will re-quire about two breadths to reach aroundthe frame in the widest part. Cut enoughoff the roll to cover the frame and then soakit for a few minutes in water. Then turn


7/98

POPULAR MECHANICS.the frame upside down and fasten the edgesof the two strips of paper to it, by lappingthem carefully on the under side of thebottom-board and tacking them to it sothat the paper hangs down loosely on allsides. The paper is tllen trimmed, lappedand doubled over as smoothly as possible atthe ends of the frame, and held in place bymeans of small clamps. It should be drawntight along the edges, trimmed and doubleddown over the gunwale, where it is firmlyheld by slipping the strips of ash (b, b) just

Pig. 6.inside of the gunwales into notches whichshould have been cut at the ends of thecross- boards. The shrinkage caused by thedrying will stretch the paper tightly overthe framework. When thoroughly dry, var-nish inside and out with asphaltum varnishthinned with turpentine, and as soon as thathas soaked in, apply a second coat of thesame varnish, but with less turpentine; andfinally cover the laps or joints of the paperwith piecas of muslin stuck on with un-thinned varnish. Now remove the loosestrips of ash and put on another layer ofpaper, fastening it along the edge of theboab>by replacing the strips as before. Whenthe paper is dry, cover the laps with muslinas was done with the first covering. Thenvarnish the whole outside of the boat sev-eral times until its presents a smooth shin-ing surface. Then take some of the splitrattan and, after wetting it, wind it firmlyaround both gunwales and inside strip, pass-ing it through small holes punched in thepaper just below the gunwale, until the

inside and outside strips are bound togetherinto one strong gunwale. Then put a pieceof oil-cloth in the boat between the cross-boards, tacking it to the bottom-board. Thisis done to protect the bottom of the boat.Now you may already have a canoe thatis perfectly water-tight, and steady in thewater, if it has been properly constructedof good material. If not, however, in afew days you may be disappointed to findthat it is becoming leaky. Then the bestremedy is to cover the whole boat with un-bleached muslin, sewed at the endsand tacked along the gunwales.Then tighten it by shrinking and

finally give it at least three coats ofa mixture of varnish and paint. Thiswill doubtless stop the leaking en-tirely and will add but little to eitherthe weight or cost.Rig the boat with wooden or iron

rowlocks (B, B, Fig. 5), preferablyiron, and light oars. You may put inseveral extra thwarts or cross-sticks,fore and aft, and make a movableseat (A, Fig. 5). With this you willdoubtless find your boat so satis-factory that you will make no morechanges.For carrying the boat it is con-

venient to make a sort of short yoke(C, Fig. 5), which brings all theweight upon the shoulders, and thuslightens the labor and makes itvery handy to carry.The approximate cost of materials used in

the construction of the canoe are as follows:Varnish, 5 qts $1.90Paper, 18 yds 1.20Cloth, 8 yds 72Bottom-board 60Gunwales 50Cross-boards 25Paint 50Split rattan 25Nails, screws, wire, etc *. 25

Total $6.17It may be that you are in position to getmany of these materials for nothing and

thus lessen the cost.BARREL BOAT FOR SAILING.

For sailing the barrel boat is very easilyconstructed and it is one of the best devicesknown to instruct a young person in theart of managing sails. The barrel boatcan be put together in one day, and the onlypart that needs to be bought is the materialfor the sail. Fig. 6 shows the hull of thebarrel boat. It consists of a bow barrel anda stern barrel, joined together by one strongplank and a simple outrigger which extends


8/98

8 POPULAR MECHANICS.from the plank. In order tli.it the barrelsmay m>t present a flat front, which wouldbe difficult to push through the water, theyare, .-is shown in the illustration depictingthe completed boat, fastened to the plank atan angle. The angle is made by placingbetween each barrel and the plank a tri-angular shaped brace, such as shown in Fig.9. Roth barrels must be covered with tarand painted bo that they will be absolutelywater-tight.The outrigger (Fig. 7), is a small seow-

Bigging of Barrel Boatshaped affair, about 2%foot wide. An ordinaryused for steering. A notched stick

feet long and 1oar or paddle is

(Fig. 8)

or an iron rowlock can be fastened over thestern barrel to hold the steering oar.The barrel boat, when completed, willconsist of two large air-tight compartments

Sailing in a Barrel Boatand is, therefore, unsinkable, and becauseof the out-rigger is very difficult to tip over.Hence it is safe to carry quite a largespread of sail. In a stiff breeze the barrelboat is more seaworthy than rapid, becausethe waves slap against the ends of the bar-rels, but in a light breeze when the wateris smooth, the barrel boat compares favor-ably in point of speed with the ordinarysmall sail boat.

HOW TO MAKE A WATER WHEEL.Considerable power can be developed with

an overshot water wheel erected as in Fig.1. This wheel is made with blocks of woodcut out in sections as indicated by the lines,so as to form the circle properly. The wheelBan be about 24 inches in diameter with

-r-53

Fig 1 Fig. 2good results and about 10 inches wide. Getsome tin cans and attach them around thewheel as shown. Bore the wheel center outand put on the grooved wood wheel P anda rope for driving R. This rope runs to awooden frame in the manner illustrated andthe water is carried in a sluice affair N tothe fall O, where the water dippers are struckby the volume and a power equal to two tofour horsepower ordinarily generated. Thispower can be used for running two or three

sewing machines, fans, fret-saws, and thelike. Another form of water wheel isshown in Fig. 2. This is driven by an un-derflow of current. This type of wheel canbe made on lines similar to the other, onlythat the paddles are of wood and extendoutward as shown. The wheel is supportedin a bearing on the piece S. A belt T com-municates the power to the wheel V andfrom here the power is carried to any de-sired point. To find the horsepower which a belt can

safely transmit, multiply the diameter of thedriving pulley in inches by the revolutionsper minute, and by the width of the belt ininches. Divide the resulting product by3,300 for single belting, or 2,100 for doublebelting.

-> * A Hungarian inventor claims to have

solved the smoke difficulty by employingporous plates or bricks made of a composi-tion containing lime and fuel of differentdegrees of combustibility arranged behindor between portions of the fuel in a fur-nace. These serve as desulphurizing orpurifying filters for the furnace gases.


9/98

POPULAR MECHANICS.

MECHANICS FOR YOUNG AMERICAHow To Make Your Own Fishing Tackle

Hurrah it is fishing time. In April thefish bite better and they taste better thanin any other month. So get out your fish-ing tackle, boys, and ho for the lakes andstreams. This year don't spend so much ofyour parents' money for fishing parapher-nalia. Make it yourself and you will feelprouder of it and the old folks will feelprouder of you, and you will be the envyof all the boys around.

If you want to fish and engage in someother sport at the same time, you shouldby all means have a fishing semaphore.This instantly shows from a distance whena fish is on the hook, and any boy canmake it. The line may be baited and set,and the fisher can give his attention toother things, with only an occasionalglance at the signal. To make the sema-phore take a piece of board about 12 inchessquare and 2 inches thick. If a single piece.cannot be obtained, build a block of thissize out of small stuff. Bore a hole in thecenter one inch in diameter and in thisdrive a scantling 2 inches square, 12 or 15inches long and pointed at the lower end.Now take a piece of wood 2 inches wideand 5 inches long for the semaphore andround two of the corners, as shown in thecut. Bore a small hole 2y2 inches from thetapered end and fasten the board to thescantling by driving a small round nail atA (Fig. 1). Drive another nail at B, leavingthe nail head protrude one-half inch fromthe scantling to serve as a rest for thesemaphore. The board should be made toturn easily on the pivot nail. At C fastena strip of thin sheet iron, bent flat at thetop, so as to support the semaphore inplace when it is sprungthat is, when itraises to indicate a fish is caught. Thefree end of this strip or spring rests onthe outside of the semaphore when it isdown, and supports it when It is up. Itshould not press too tightly against thesignal. At D drive a small nail and attachthe fishing line. When the fish takes thehook it will throw the signal up to a hori-zontal position and the spring C will holdit there. The semaphore may lie paintedred, or white, or to bear the word Fish.

In the January issue of Popular Me-

chanics were described methods of winterfishing that may very easily be applied tospring and summer fishing, with slightalterations which any boy with a bit ofmechanical ingenuity can figure out forhimself. For instance, the jumping-jackfisherman can be built on a big floatingboard with a 2-inch hole under the juinp-

^

Fig. 1.The Fishing Semaphorein^-jack for the line to pass through, justas easily, if not easier, than on the ice.The tip-up is also of great amusement inspring and summer, and can be erected byaranging the tip-up between two logs orheavy timbers.Bass and pickerel have an irresistible

hankering for bait on a hook trolled by toyboats. These boats serve the purpose, how-ever rudely made, and one boy can operatea whole fleet of them if he have a largeboat by which he can row to any one ofthe small boats immediately when he notesa fish is hung. The boats can be made ofa piece of plank, say 2% feet long. Theboard should be sharpened at one end andrigged up with a couple of cloth masts(Fig. 2). The most important part of thecraft is the rudder. This should be verylong, to prevent the boat from making leeway' and to keep it from changing itscourse. Drive a

couple of nailsin the stern of theboat, to whichtie the fish lines,hooked withspoon or livebait. The smallboat does not

^JlTi.

Fig. 2. Toy Fishing Boat


10/98

10 POPULAR M E C II A NICS.stare the fish as a large one does,and the bait pulled along by it iswonderfully attractive to members ofHie finny tribe, especially when trolled be-fore the wind.

If proper fishing tackle is not accessible,it is very easy to manufacture it yourself.

-s:r7#s?- s*?ss7Vosr or &yxs^:

BE3HEjararKO*w *7


11/98

POPULAR MECHANICS. 11the loop described by the connected forksof the stick. A better net is made fromtwine. Fasten the pole in a handy place,with the hoop suspended vertically a littlehigher than your neck. Cut a number of

Fig. 6.Frame for a Scoop Netpieces of twine each about eight feet long.Double each piece and slip it on the loopwith the loose ends hanging down. Arrangethe double strings this way all around theloop. Now begin from a convenient point,take a string from each adjoining pair andmake a simple knot of them, as shown inthe diagram (Fig. 7). Continue all the wayaround the loop, knotting the strings to-gether in this manner. Now begin on thenext lower row, and so on until a point isreached where you believe the net ought tocommence to narrow or taper down. Thisis accomplished by knotting the strings alittle closer together and cutting off onestring of a pair at four equidistant pointsin the same row. Knot as before until you

Fig. 7.Showing Method of Weaving the Scoop Netcome to a clipped line; here take a stringfrom each side of the single one and knotthem, being careful to make it come evenwith others in the same row. Before tight-ening the double knot pass the single stringthrough, and after tying a knot close tothe double one, cut the string off close(Fig. A).Continue as before until the row is fin-

ished, only changing from the first plan-

when a single string is reached. Proceedin the same manner with the next and thenext rows, diminishing the number ofstrings remaining until the remaining onesmeet at the bottom. Be careful not to letone drop mesh come directly under anotherof the same kind.A bucket or old tin can with the top and

sides perforated by means of a nail andhammer (Fig. 8), willserve as a minnowbucket. The illustra-tion (Fig. 9) showsthe proper way tobait a hook with a liveminnow. The cartilag-inous mouth of theminnow has little orno feeling in it, andwhen thus baited the

Fig. 8.Minnow Bucket niinilOW is not killedand swims about promiscuously, thusstanding a much better chance of catching

Fig. 9.How to Fasten a Minnow on a Hooka fish than when cruelly mangled by thehook of the ignorant fisherman.

BRITISH SAFETY-LAMP DEVICE.

A recent English invention is believed togive absolute safety to oil lamps. The de-vice consists of a circular metal box in thebottom of which is a deposit of salt overwhich is placed a layer of specially pre-pared cotton waste. Running through theAvaste is an asbestos wick, woven by hand.The box, which is pierced with numeroussmall holes, is then immersed in the oil un-til the cotton waste will absorb no more.The box is then wiped dry and is ready touse. The lamp may be overturned or thrownabout with perfect safety. The device isadaptable to all kinds of oil burning lamps,and is said to yield more light from thesame amount of oil. Navigation on the great lakes will open

late this year. In January Lake Michiganwas frozen from shore to shore and evennow at points on the west shore the packice is piled up 40 feet deep from the bottom.


12/98

12 POPULAR MECHANICS.Temporary Camps and How to Build Them

For a short camping excursion, or for usewhile the permanent camp is being built,nothing is more novel and delightful thanthe temporary camp built of the materialsever ready in the woods.

The Indian CampThe simplest form of all perhaps is the

Indian camp. To build this, cut an ever-green tree nearly through about five feetabove the base of the trunk, so that whenthe top falls the butt will still be attachedto the stump. Hollow out the under sideof the treetop by removing boughs andbranches. Use the trunk of the fallen partas a ridge pole and bank boughs andbranches from it to the ground on eitherside. The shelter thus formed will be verycomfortable, but there are other kinds bet-ter calculated to protect from heavy rain-storms. A wigwam sheds rain well becauseits sides are so steep. Set up three longpoles in the form of a pyramid and tie theirtops together. Fill the open spaces withpoles set at the same slant about one footapart at the ground and fastened at the topas before. Thatch the outside closely withbranches and brush.There are several ways to build a brush

camp, but they all have many similar points.The ridge pole for such a camp (about 8 feet

long) may be placed between two trees ata height of about 6 feet, or between twocrotched poles set firmly in the ground forthe purpose. Long branches may be used toform the sides, but the best method is tolay straight poles on slant from the ridge-pole to the ground, about eight inches apart.Begin at the bottom and thatch the sides tothe top to a depth of about one foot wTithhemlock or cedar boughs, laying them withthe feather side down; by means of polesweight down the thatch. Such a sheltercarefully made will withstand heavy rains.Another camp in high favor among camp-

ers for temporary shelter is the lean-to; thismay be an open lean-tothat is,, withoutendsor closed as desired and may be

The Brush Campthatched with either bark or brush. Selecttwo crotched poles about 7 feet long andset in the ground. Lay another pole acrossthese, with its ends resting in the crotchesof the other poles. From this pole slantthree other poles to the ground. Push theends of them well into the earth and fastensecurely by means of crotched sticks placedover them and driven into the ground.Across these last three poles lay cross sticks,on which pile brush and weight it downwith other poles. Build up the sides inthe same way. Where bark is used to

Table and Chairs Combinedthatch the lean-to the top side of the raftersshould be flattened so the bark can be nailed


13/98

POPULAR MECHANICS.to them. Bark may also be usedto thatch tlie wigwam, laying it inoverlapping courses, beginning atthe bottom, and securing it bymeans of cord.To remove bark from trees, cut

two circles six feet apart com-pletely around the tree and jointhe cuts thus made by a verticalcut and pry away the bark bymeans of an axe. It is most readilyremoved in the early summer. Laythe bark on the ground to dry for a fewdays, weighting it down with stones, afterwhich it is ready for use.Hemlock, spruce or cedar boughs, having

all large boughs removed so that only finebranches are left, piled to a depth of twofeet, and with the blankets or sleeping bagon these, make the best bed for the tempo-rary shelter. Another form of bed can bemade by sewing deep hems in each side ofa piece of heavy duck canvas about 40

^nu^

^alluBiaOinches wide and 6 feet long. Set fourforked poles in the ground, run poles 7 feetlong and 2 inches in diameter through thehems of the canvas and set up on the forkedpoles so it is about a foot above the ground.

In selecting a site for a camp always re-member that above everything else freshwater within easy reach is essential. Shadefor the hottest part of the day should beconsidered also. Other considerations vary

Broom of Hemlock Twigswith the party, the duration of the outing,the country surrounding, etc.To make a crane set two green sticks 2inches thick and 3 feet long into the grounda foot from either end of the fire. Split thetop ends with an axe and provide anotherstick as a support. A pair of tongs maybe made from a piece of tough green wood,which should be 1% inches in diameter, 3feet long and of some wood, such as elm, orhickory, which will bend easily. Cut it halfway, a distance of one foot in the center,heat the center over a bed of coals until itwill bend together without breaking, whittle

A Closed Lean-to, Thatched with Barkinto shape and fasten the two arms in posi*tion by means of a cross-piece. Shape theends so they will catch hold of anything thathas dropped into the fire. A round stickseveral feet long will serve as a poker.To make a broom bind hemlock twigsaround one end of a stick, using wire orstout cord to hold them in place. Stools areeasily made by sawing a 3-inch block froma log a foot thick. Bore three holes in oneside of the block, into which drive pegs. Aback may be added if desired.For a rude table set four posts in the

ground, nail cross-pieces on top, and coverwith slabs cut from soft wood logs. At theright height for seats nail pieces on thelegs to extend out on each side and receiveslabs which will serve as seats.Many other articles of use about the tem-porary camp can be made from such mate-rials as the timber affords. Such things as

Stool Made of a Blocknails', cord, an axe, etc., are indispensableto the camping outfit.[Next month full details with 17 illustrationsHow to Build a Permanent Cabin. ]

UNITED STATES OSTRICH FARM.Ostriches imported from South Africa to

Arizona 11 years ago are thriving. At firstthe birds did not do well, but the lastfive years have shown a marked differencein them. They are some inches taller thantheir African ancestors, standing 8 feethigh, and weigh 200 pounds. There are now1,000 birds in the Salt River valley, eachyielding about a pound of feathers everyeight months.


14/98

14 .POPULAR MECHANICS.Permanent Camps and How to Build Them

No place could bo more picturesque andcozy than the log cabin camp, especiallywhere care in choosing its site has beenexercised.

How the Logs Lock at the CornersAside from the boating, hunting and fish-

ing advantages of the camp's location, thescenery surrounding it should he consid-ered; it should not be near a swamp, but onhigh dry ground and, if possible, near arunning stream, but always near pure,fresh water. Plan the building to harmon-ize with its site.

Clear away all decayed trees which mightfall on the cabin, stake out the structureaccording to the plans and clear off theplace it is to occupy. For foundation postsuse cedar if possible; if not, tamarack, pineor hemlock. Select sound timber about 12indies in diameter and 5 feet long. Digpost holes down to solid ground or rock,or about 3 feet deep; set the posts, tampingthe earth firmly around them. Thereshould be a post under each angle andcorner of the building and where these arequite a distance apart, as many in betweenas necessary. In a distance of 20 feet there

Framing the Joists

should be four posts, including those at thecorners, and in 12 feet, three posts. Afterthe posts are set, mark the one in highestground 10 inches above the ground and cut

off squarely. Cut all the others, save thoseat the ends between the corner posts, ona level with the first one. Those at theends between the corner posts cut 4 incheshigher.

Stone foundation piers, instead of posts,may be made by digging pits 3 feet deepand 2 feet in diameter, filling them up withsmall stones to ground level and laying largecobble-stones on top of these, chinking upwith small stones any places that may re-main open.For building the cabin use straight, sound

timber from 6 to 10 inches in diameter.Tamarack, balsam, pine, spruce and hem-lock are all good for the purpose. Each logshould be cut two feet longer than the sideof the building in which it is to be usedis to be. Where the tops of the trees arestraight and sound they may be used forrafters, joists, etc. If the timber is brought

JFraming and Beveling the Rafters

some distance to the building site, it shouldbe placed on skids (two logs) and thushauled to camp.For the first tier of logs select the strong-

est, best shaped and largest of all. Thesesills, as they are called, should be flattenedon the upper side from end to end and ina straight line, and at the narrowest partof the log the flattened space should be 3inches wide. Place them on the foundationpiers so that the flattened surfaces arelevel with each other. All the other logsfor the walls flatten on both sides. Whenthe sills are laid cut notches in the logsand lay the floor sleepers.To join the logs at the corners, on the

under side a foot from each end cut a hol-low which will fit over the round side ofthe log beneath. Place the logs so the largeand small ends of them come alternately.Lay the logs carefully, being sure that eachlog is properly laid before pi*oceeding with


15/98

POPULAR MECHANICS. 15.mother. Continue laying the tiers until theheight of the tops of the windows and doorsis reached. At this point saw out the toplog the proper width of each window anddoor to he made, lay the next tier of logsand then resume sawing out the openingsfor windows and doors.Have ready door and window framesmade of boards 1 inch thick and planedon one side. Nail them in the openings to

The Door Latch

hold the loose ends of the logs. Make thewindow sills slanting so they will shedwater.

If there are to be two floors to the cabin,at the height of the second floor lay peeledjoists, which should be of straight soundtimber 6 inches in diameter if the span is12 feet; thicker if the span is longer. Al-ways place them so they will have theshortest span possible and about threefeet apart. Flatten their upper sides fromend to end, using a chalk line and a broadaxe for the purpose. To place the joistscut gains, as shown in cut, in the logs thatreceive the joists and make tenons on theends of the logs Use spikes to fastenthem. Where partitions are to run thesame way of the joist, place a strong joistunder each one. At openings for stairs cut

How the Roof Should Lookthe joists at the proper places and put acrosspiece between two joists across thecuts, joining by means of gains and tenonsas before.

In putting up the rafters raise the gablerafters first. The best roof is a steep one.Select and flatten the rafters just as youdid the joists. Frame their lower ends tofit the plate-logs and bevel their tops ac-cording to the slant of the roof. Use aridge-pole to fasten the rafters to at thetop. Lay them about three feet apart,spike them to the ridge-pole at the top.Select small timber about 4 inches in diam-eter, flatten one side and halve them on tothe rafters, letting them extend over thegable ends about 6 inches. Nail them inplace.

If shingles cannot be procured for a cov-ering, bark will do very well. The bark

Partition Made of Halved Logs

Crosspieces Where Joists Are Cut for Openings

should be removed from large trees andlaid on in long strips, overlapping 6 inches.

For floors use matched and planed pineboards 1 inch thick and 6 inches wide.For the second story floor they should beplaned on both sides, unless two thick-nesses are used, in which case the boardsshould be put on with the rough surfacesfacing.To make partitions saw logs in longi-

tudinal halves, and nail them in form withtheir flat sides facing and overlapping justenough to hold firmly when nailed together.This will make each side of the partitionconsist of a round log surface and a flatone alternately. Place a log on top of thepartition and spike into place.Window sash must be procured from

some outside source of supply and theyshould be placed in the frames so they


16/98

16 POPF LA R M 1 : t H A X JOS.Will beout areleatherwood bi

waterproof. Windows tnal swingmosl convenient. Straps of old

will do for binges and a bard-ir on the sash, having holes bored

A Funnel Fireplacein it to fit over iron pins in the frame willbe convenient for holding it open, while aa leather strap to button over the nail willhold it closed. Make doors of matchedboards and use braces and crosspieces onthem, nailing them securely. If hinges arenot to be had, bore a large deep hole atone side of the door in the upper part ofthe frame, and another directly opposite inthe lower part of the frame. In these holesslip the ends of a strong round stick whichwill turn in them easily. Nail the door onone side of the pole. To fasten the doormake a wooden catch and provide a strongbar to work as a latch. Fasten a string to

Two Ways of Building a Wood Box

the latch on the inside and pass it througha hole in the door to the outside. Screensadd much to the comfort of a cabin andmay be provided if desired.The fireplace should be built up withthe cabin, laying stone foundations for itat the time the other foundations are laid,using cement mortar. The fireplace shouldbe of firebrick, but may have a stone face.The opening should not be larger than 3feet high and 5 wide and be arched at thetop. The fireplace should have a deep

throat and (he smoke flue should be aboutit; inches by it; inches. Build the chimneyof brick, and to prevent the roof from leak-ing around it lay pieces of tin in the brickwork, letting one edge extend under theshingles at the top side of the chimney andover them at the lower and at the sides letthe tin turn down against other pieces laidwith the shingles. If the chimney reachesabove the ridgepole it will have a gooddraft without capping it over, but if belowthe ridge-pole it should be capped. Thefireplace may be built up in a ledge to sup-port a mantel, or wooden brackets may liemade. A crane may be made by bracing aniron bar to an upright piece. Sockets for

A Packing Box Cupboardthe crane should be built in with the brickand the vertical piece should have pins tofit into them. The arm should be providedwith hooks, on which to hang vessels, etc.Another kind of fireplace consists of a

huge inverted sheet-iron funnel 3 feet wideat its lower part and tapering up to fitthe smoke pipe about 12 inches' in diameterThe top of the pipe extends above the roof;the funnel is suspended over a foundationof stone, brick or clay 8 inches deep andwhich supports the firebed which is heldtogether by a frame of green logs. Thisis a good arrangement for warmth.

In building a stairway the frame is builtof poles, and as to the work put on it, one

A Bustic Stairway


17/98

POPULAR MECHANICS. 17may suit his fancy. Halved logs may beused for steps and are convenient for manyotber purposes.

:i clipboard by hinging its cover and fur-nishing with a few shelves.For furnishings for the cabin there is a

Made of Green Saplings A Canopied Couch Built of Small PolesBunks may be made by placing small

straight even poles on a frame work ofpoles at least a foot above the floor andlaying even-sized boughs and fine twigs to

wide range for suiting individual tastes.Many articles, such as chairs, beds, woodboxes, tables, etc., may be built of polesand nails. Window seats add to the ap-

The Fireplace with Rustic Mantel

the depth of two feet, laying pieces at sides,head and foot to hold the boughs in placeand on these laying the blankets or sleep-ing bag. A packing box can be used for

pearance of comfort and rustic seats canbe built for the veranda.For the disposal of garbage it is well to

dig a hole a little distance from the camp,

Bunk With a Mattress of Springy Boughs To Hold the Window Open


18/98

18 IM) IT LA It M KV II A \ I C S.nprxiikling a little of the excavated mate-rial over any refuse thai is placed in it.The cabin may be finished more inside

f thoughl best, but this detracts rather

A Cozy Window Seat

than adds to its appropriateness. Calkingshould be done as late as possible, so thelogs can dry out a little. For calking useoakum or moss, pressing it in between thelogs from both sides, using a wooden chiseland a mallet to force it in. Care in thedetails of the camp will afford a place asinviting and comfortable as can be desired.

'PUSH-BALL ON HORSEBACK, AENGLISH GAME.

NEW

Push-ball on horseback is a new gamewhich was in high favor at the Royal Mili-tary Tournament held in England recently.The game was played with an enormousball by troopers of the Royal Horse Guardssplendidly mounted on black horses, three

mounted men on each side of the ball. Thegame consists In the horses pushing theball about with diesis and knees, but theinteresting feature of the game is the ad-mirable horsemanship of the participantswhich has room for fine play. After a timethe horses enter into the sport with greatzest and appear to enjoy it as much asthe men. The game originated with a cir-cus in Germany. The ball, which is fourfeet in diameter, is covered with leatherand inflated like a football.

OILED ROADS IN CALIFORNIA.A single county in California has 145miles of oiled highways. The location is

near oil fields and the country is quite level.In constructing the roads the roadbed isfirst graded and rounded slightly and thenit is sprinkled with the oil. An ordinarywagon tank is used for this purpose andis provided with a piece of 4-inch gas pipe10 feet long and having half-inch holes drilledin it two inches apart to serve as a distributer. The oil is applied to a width ofabout 10 feet. It is then gone over witha harrow and thoroughly mixed. It is ap-plied in hot weather and about 100 barrelsper mile are used in the first application.It is then allowed to stand two weeks andthen a second application of about 50 bar-rels per mile follows.About 50 barrels per mile are used an-

nually to keep these roads in repair at about25 cents per barrel for the oil and from30 to 45 cents per barrel for applying it.These roads are fine for driving, but theodor is disagreeable.

Pushball on Horeebaok


19/98

POPULAR MECHANICS. 19

MECHANICS FOR YOUNG AMERICAHow To Build An Imitation Street Car LineAn imitation street ear line may sound

like a big undertaking, but, in fact, it isone of the easiest things a boy can con-struct, does not take much time and theexpense is not great. A boy who lives ona farm can find many fine places to run

such a line, and one in town can have aline between the house and the barn, if theyare some distance apart.

Often all the boai'ds and blocks requiredcan be had for helping a carpenter clearaway the rubbish around a new building.Wheels and parts of old bicycles, which canbe used in so many ways, can be found ata junk shop at very low prices, wheels ingood repair costing about 25 cents each.For the car for the street car line try tofind a set of wheels having axles, but ifyou cannot find such, make shafts of hardwood, about 3 inches by 2V2 inches and by

TyZmeans of a jackknife turn, or shave downtJi3 ends to receive the hub bearings of

the wheels. Fasten the wheel hubs securelyover the ends of the wood with pins orlittle bolts, or if the wheel bearing is ofsuch a nature that it revolves on its ownjournal, the journal can be fastened tothe end of the wood piece. Each of thewheels should be provided with a

sprocket; any chain sprocket of abicycle may be used. Fasten thesesprockets on the outside of thewheels as at F, F, Fig ; 1. Theycan be set on over the bearing endand secured with a set screw, orthe original key can be employed.It is best in cases like this to usethe original parts. Make the floorof the car of pieces of boardsplaced on the axles and nailed,screwed or bolted, as shown at A.To erect the frame, place uprightsC, C, C, C in position as shown,fastening the ends to the base-

boards, and making the roof line as at Bthen put in the cross pieces G, G. Seats E,E, are simply boxes. The drive of the caris effected byusing the driv-ing sprocketsD, D, fitted tothe crosspiecesG, G, with theoriginal bear-ings. The partsare thereby se-cured to the car and the chain placed on.Key the cranks for turning to the uppersprocket's shaft and all is ready. If thereare sprocket gears and cranks on eitherside, four boys may propel the car at onetime. Considerable fpeed can be made onsmooth roads, but it is the best amusementto run a car line on wooden tracks with abrake consisting of a piece of wooden shaft,passing through a bore in the car floor,and fitted with a leather covered pad as atH. A spiral spring holds up the brake untilpressure is appled by foot power, when thebrake contacts with the wooden track andchecks the car.The track plan is illustrated in Fig. 2.

Get some boards and place them end forend on other pieces set as ties. The main


20/98

20 POPULAR MECHANICS.boards or tracks J, .T can bo about 6 incheswide, to the edges of which nail stripsabout i of an inch wide and about thesame height. The ties I, 1 can be almostany box boards. Wire nails arc the bestto use in putting the tracks together. Thesprocket connection with the chain isshown in Fig. 3. This consists of the

sprocket gear on t lio propelling shaft, andthe crank. The pedals may be removed anda chisel handle, or any tool handle, substi-tuted, so as to afford means for turning thecrank by hand power, (beat fun can behad with the road, and, furthermore, it canbe made remunerative, as boys and girls canbe given rides for a penny each.

How To MaKe a Water BicycleWater bicycles afford fine sport, and, likemany another device boys make, can bemade of material often cast off by other

people as rubbish. The principal materialnecessary for the construction of a water

bicycle is oil barrels. Flour barrels willnot dothey are not strong enough, norcan they be made perfectly airtight. Thegrocer can furnish you with oil barrels ata very small cost, probably let you havethem for making a few deliveries for him.Three barrels are required for the waterbicycle, although it can be made with buttwo. Figure 1 shows the method of arrang-ing the barrels; after the manner of bicy-cle wheels.Procure an old bicycle frame and make

for it a board platform about 3 feet wideat the rear end and tapering to about 2 feetat the front, using cleats to hold the boardframe, as shown at the shaded portion K.The construction of the barrel part isshown in Fig. 2. Bore holes in the centerof the heads of the two rear barrels andalso in the heads of the first barrel andput a shaft of wood through the rear bar-rels and one through the front barrel, ad-justing the side pieces to the shafts, asindicated.Next place the platform of the bicycle

frame and connections thereon. Going backto Fig. 1 we see that the driving chainpasses from the sprocket driver L of thebicycle frame to the place downward be-tween the slits in the platform to the drivensprocket on the shaft between the two

barrels. Thus a center drive is made. Therear barrels are fitted with paddles as at M,consisting of four pieces of board nailedand cleated about the circumference of thebarrels, as shown in Fig. 1.The new craft is now ready for a firstvoyage. To propel it, seat yourself on thebicycle seat, feet on the pedals, just as youwould were you on a bicycle out in thestreet. The steering is effected by simplybending the body to the right or left, whichcauses the craft to dip to the inclined sideand the affair turns in the dipped direction.The speed is slow at first, but increases asthe force is generated and as one becomesfamiliar with the working of the affair.There is no danger, as the airtight bar-rels cannot possibly sink.Another mode of putting together the set

of barrels, using one large one in the rear

Ty.ZU rj

and a small one in the front is presentedin Fig. 3. These two barrels are empty oilbarrels like the others. The head holes arebored and the proper wooden shafts areinserted and the entrance to the boresclosed tight by calking with hemp andputty or clay. The ends of the shafts turnin the wooden frame where the requiredbores are made to receive the same. If the


21/98

POPULAR MECHANICS. 21journals thus made are well oiled, therewill not be much friction. Such a framecan be fitted with a platform and a raftto suit one's individual fancy built upon it,which can be paddled about with ease and

WHY THE AMERICAN BOY DOES NOT GOTO SEA.

safety on any pond. A sail can be riggedup by using a raast and some sheeting; oreven a little houseboat, which will giveany amount of pleasure, can be built.SUBMARINE BOAT WINS IN ENDURANCETEST.The submarine boat Fulton, which has

been undergoing some severe endurancetests, has demonstrated fully the wonderfulability of these crafts to weather the roughseas during a gale.On the night of June 6 this boat remainedsubmerged to a depth of from four to tenfeet throughout the night. Once during thenight the foul air within the ship waspumped out and fresh air pumped in. Thetest was entirely without incident. On June10 the torpedo boat made an endurance runof 60 miles from Newport, R. I., to NewSuffolk, L. I., in eight and one-half hours.This was a half-hour longer than the sched-uled time, biit was caused by the heavysea lashed into a fury by recent gales. Itsballast tanks were pumped out and it hadjust a few feet freeboard for the trip andit showed itself to be remarkably buoyantand able to hold its own on the storm-swept waters, although the men had to belashed to the deck and much of the timethe great rollers hid it from the view ofthose watching from the shore. How im-portant these experiments are is readilycomprehended in the light of the fact thateach of these tiny boats cames a weaponagainst which the strongest warship of theworld's navies is not proof, and in time theNavy Department may expend more moneyin constructing these than in building bat-tleships.A fuel test was also made on the trip, the

boat being driven by a gasoline engine.

Why has the American boy stopped goingto sea? This is a question that has beenanswered in various ways, but Frithiof H.Buryeson, a seaman of the old school, givesa new version of it in the Coast Seaman'sJournal, that is possibly worthy of consid-eration. Because he can't stand social ostra-cism, he gives as the main reasona condi-tion that is brought about by the changeof the times. And then Capt. Buryesonhints strongly that these changes havecaused the American boy to become timor-ous and our marine suffers as a result. TheAmerican ship, he says, in all material re-spects has undergone no changes worthspeaking of during a century past. Theold time captain says:There is Dr. Lingeron, who lives on

health foods and dispepsia tablets, and whothinks American boys don't take kindly toOld Briny because they can't digest thesalt junk and the maggots in hardtack.Prof. Coffin, who wears a chest protector,and is the inventor of a brand new theoryon the nature of colds in the head, is quitesure that a ship is altogether too draughtya structure to be a healthy abode for ayoung growing lad. The president of a'Woman's Congress' declared, when in-formed of the fact, that it was simply out-rageous that sailors should have their pieserved cold to them during the nightwatches.The day has gone by forever when the

sons of 'quality folks' run away from hometo go to sea. The dreams and aspirationsof the young millionaire hopeful of todayusually run more to automobiles and tochorus girls than to ships. Prior to theCivil War the personnel of our merchantmarine was mostly recruited from the ba,ck-wood hamlets of New England. The NewEngland boy of that day was a sturdy shootof a sturdy civilization. His bringing up ifapplied to the pampered molly-coddles ofthis age, would land them in a graveyardinside of a year. His food was simple andwholesome, as were his pastimes. Stimu-lants, cigarettes and poisonous dime novelswere unknown to him. He worked hard,but his work was all done in the open air,summer or winter, and it toughened him in-to a healthy animal, blessed with a gooddigestion and the ability to sleep on aclothes line with his head on a bucket ofwater if he had to.


22/98

22. POPULAR MECHANICS.

MECHANICS FOR YOUNG AMERICAHOW TO MAKE A MINIATURE WINDMILL.

By A. Sheldon Pennoj-er..The following description is how a minia-

ture windmill was mad , which gave con-siderate power for its size, even in a lightbreeze. Its smaller parts, such as bladesand pulleys, were constructed of 1-inchsugar pine on account of its softness.The eight blades were made from pieceslxl%xl2 inches. Two opposite edges werecut away until the blade was about Vs inchin thickness. Two inches were left uncut

keying the 5-inch pulley F, to shaft (G, Fig.1) which extended to the ground. The 2%-inch pulley, I, Fig. 1, was keyed to shaftC, as shown in Fi^. 4. The wire L was putthrough the hole in the axle and the twoends curved so as to pass through the twoholes in the pulley, after which they weregiven a final bend to keep the pulley inplace. The method by which the shaft Cwas kept from working forward is shownin Fig. 5. M, the washes, intervened be-tween the bearing block and the wire N,which was passed through th axle and thenbent to prevent its falling out. Two wash-

fS'wivelJ3ejxrtmcjC5$

at the hub end. They were then nailed tothe circular face plate A, Fig. 1, which was6 inches in diameter and 1 inch thick. Thecenter of the hub was lengthened by thewooden disk B, Fig. 1, which was nailed tothe face plate. The shaft C, Fig. 1, ' was^-inch iron rod, 2 feet long, and turned inthe bearings detailed in Fig. 2. J was anut from a wagon bolt and was placed inthe bearing to insure easy running. Thebearing blocks were 3 inches wide, 1 inchthick and 3 inches high without the upperhalf. Both bearings were made in thismanner.Shaft C was keyed to the hub of the

wheel, by the method shown in Fig. 3. K,a staple, held the shaft from revolving inthe hub. This method was also applied in

ers were placed on shaft C, between theforward bearing and the hub of the wheelto lessen the friction.The bed plate D, Fig. 1, was 2 feet long, 3inches wide and 1 inch thick and wastapered from the rear bearing to the slotin which the fan E was nailed. This fanwas made of ^4-inch pine 18 x 12 inches andwas cut the shape shown.The two small iron pulleys with screwbases, H, Fig. 1, were obtained for a smallsum from a hardware dealer. Their diame-ter was 1^4 inches. The belt which trans-ferred the power from shaft C to shaft Gwas top string, with a section of rubber init to take up slack. To prevent it from slip-ping on the two wooden pulleys a rubberband was placed in the grooves of each.


23/98

POPULAR MECHANICS.The point for the swivel bearing was de-termined by balancing the bed plate, with

all parts in place, across the thin edge ofa board. There a 14-inch hole was boredin which shaft G turned. To lessen the fric-tion here, washers were placed under pulleyF. The swivel bearing was made from twolids of baking powder cans. A section wascut out of one to permit its being enlargedenough to admit the other. The smallerone, 0, Fig. 6, was nailed top down, withthe sharp edge to the underside of the bedplate, so that the 14-inch hole for shaft Gwas in the center. The other lid, G, wastacked, top down also, in the center of theboard P, with brass headed furniture tacks,R. Fig. 6, which acted as a smooth surfacefor the other tin to revolve upon. Holesfor shaft G were cut through both lids.Shaft G was but 14 inch in diameter, butto keep it from rubbing against the boardP, a J/o-inch hole was bored for it, throughthe latter.The tower was made of four lxl inchstrips, 25 feet long. They converged frompoints on the ground forming an 8-footsquare to the board P at the top of thetower. This board was 12 inches squareand the corners were notched to admit thestrips as shown, Fig. 1. Laths were naileddiagonally between the strips to strengthenthe tower laterally. Each strip wasscrewed to a stake in the ground so thatby disconnecting two of them tire other twocould be used as hinges and the tower couldbe tipped over and lowered to the ground,as, for instance, when the windmill neededoiling. Bearings for shaft G were placed 5feet apart in the tower. The power wasput to various uses.* HOW TO BUILD AN ICE BOAT.The season of the ice boat has arrived

and this exciting sport is each year be-coming more popular. Any one with evensmall experience in using tools can con-struct such a craft, and the pleasure manytimes repays the effort. One of the easiestice boats to build is described in Sail andSweep for November, as follows:Take two pieces of wood 2x6, one 6 feet

and the other 8 feet long. At each end ofthe 6-foot piece and at right angles to it,bolt a piece of hardwood 2x4x12 inches.Round off the lower edge of each piece tofit an old skate. Have a blacksmith boreholes through the top of the skates andscrew one of them to each of the pieces ofhardwood. These skates must be exactly

A Four-Runner lee Yachtparallel or there will be trouble the firsttime the craft is used.Over the middle of the 6-foot piece andat right angles to it, bolt the 8-foot plank,leaving one foot projecting as in Fig. 1.The rudder skate is fastened to a pfeceof hardwood 2x2x12 inches as the runnerswere fastened. This piece should be mor-tised 3x3x4 inches in the top before theskate is put on. Figure 2 shows the rud-der post.A piece of hardwood 1x6x6 inches shouldbe screwed to the under side of the 8-footplank at the end with the grain runningcrosswise. Through this bore a hole V/2inches in diameter in order that the rudderpost may fit nicely. The tiller, Fig. 3,should be of hardwood, and about 8 incheslong.To the under side of the 8-foot plank

Flan of Ioe Boat


24/98

24 POPULAR MECHANICS.bolt a piece of timber 2x4x22 inches infront of the rudder block, and to this cross-piece and the 6-foot plank nail 8-inchboards to make the platform.The spar should be 9 feet long and 2*

inches in diameter at the base, tapering to

lin. Pain the scam on a machine, put astout cord in the hem and make loops attlu corners.

Figure 6 shows the way of rigging thegaff to the spar. Figure 7 shows themethod of crotching the main boom andF13


25/98

POPULAR MECHANICS. 25A NOVEL BURGLAR ALARM.

WiU Ring An Electric Bell, Flash An ElectricLight, Shoot a Pistol Five Timesand Call the Police

By W. H, Matthews.A burglar alarm which will do all of thesethings may be made at small cost and withvery little labor. Secure a piece of hardwood, a part of a tobacco box is best, about8 or 10 in. square. Cut a round piecelike Fig. 1 out of it and on one edge cut anotch as at C. Take a strip of hardwoodabout 1 in. thick, shape it like B, Fig. 1, and

FRONT

?


26/98

26 POPULAR MECHANICS.small electric hand lantern. The bell andlight may both be connected on the samecircuit Fig. 2 shows how this is done:A, A, are the springs; B, block of wood;C, C, C, C, wires; D, bell; E, lamp; F. bat-teries: G, G, G, < ', screws to which the wiresare attached.Now in addition, if yon want to call thepolice, gel a small, cheap phonograph and arecord with, Police. Fire, .Murder, oranything else on it yon wish. Make any-thing you please on it. Place it directly infront of your telephone transmitter and con-nect it with Fig. 1, and also connect the re-reiver of the phone with Pig. 1, so thatwhen the weight falls it will start the phon-ograph and at the same time will drop thereceiver off its hook, consequently callingthe police. Any one with a little ingenuitycan connect the phonograph, and the re-ceiver of the telephone so that when theweight falls they will do their part.

It will cost very little to make this andit will prove a sure protection. If you wishyou can leave off calling the police, ringingthe bell and flashirg the light and only haveit fire the pistol.A MECHANICAL VENTRILOQUIST ANDHOW TO MAKE IT.An apparatus rigged up as shown in our

illustration will afford any amount ofamusement to the boy who cares to try it.

Dt=TELEPHONETRANSMITTER

seemingly out of uninhabited space.Con-tributed by W. J. Slattery, Emsworth, Pa.

HOW TO MAKE A BOOT-BLACKING CAB-INET.The boy or man who shines his own shoes

Will find a cabinet like the one shown inthe sketch very handy.

This cabinet folds tothe wall and projectsonly about 2 in. intothe room. Whendropped down a chainpulls the foot rest outinto position and ahinged arm supportsthe box underneath tocatch all dust whichmay drop from the

shoe. A shoe form may be provided, also,for polishing shoes when not on the feet.

RENEWING DRY BATTERIES.Dry batteries, if not too far gone, can berenewed by simply boring a small hole

through the composition on top of each car-bon and pouring some strong salt water orsal ammoniac solution into the holes. Thiskink is sent us by a reader who says thatthe process will make the battery nearly asgood as new if it is not too far gone before-hand.

imr-.TELEPHONE RECEIVERA Simple Amusement Device.

The materials required are a watch case tel-ephone receiver, a transmitter, a large phon-ograph horn, about 200 ft. of No. 18 wireand three or four batteries.Fasten the watch case receiver to the

horn, being careful not to let it touch thediaphragm of the receiver. Run the lineand attach the transmitter at its oppositeend. When one talks into the transmittera person 200 ft. distant from the receivercan plainly hear what is said. If the re-ceiver and horn end is hidden in a clump ofhushes near a road, people passing will begreatly puzzled at hearing a voice,

A GOOD IMITATION OAK SURFACE STAIN.Mix equal parts of burnt umber and brown

ocher with very thin glue size; lay on withsoft woolen cloths and wipe dry after appli-cation. Be careful to have the colors wellpulverized and strain the liquid before using.

+--+In our Mechanics for Young America

next month will appear among other thingsan article on How to Make a Small SearchLight,*' and How to Make a Rabbit Trap.Both stories will give the young mechanicsomething interesting and practical to make.


27/98


MECHANICS FOR YOUNG AMERICA 3HOW TO MAKE WATER MOTORS.

To make the pattern of a water motorshown in Fig. 1, first get a disk constructedlike A, about 20 in. in diameter. This diskcan be cut out of sheet metal, or it may bemade of pine wood, using common boards.The sheet metal will have to be cut at thetinsmith's. You can make the wood diskyourself if you mark out the shape on theboards in pencil and cut the material ac-cordingly. After the disk is ready, the hubshould be designed. This consists of thewooden wheel B. This wheel can be pur-chased ready made at a hardware or a gen-eral tool and machinery store. The wheelis grooved, about 5 in. in diameter, and ofample width to fit the shaft and carry therope C. The wheel is fitted to the woodshaft with a key or screw. Xext comes theapplication of the water wings or paddles.These are made of curved sheet metal of thedesign shown. They should be of sufficientwidth to receive the full blast of the jetof water from the nozzle or discharge pipeD. If the disk is of metal, the edge of thedisk must be turned, so as to provide ashoulder to secure the paddles to either bysoldering or by using little bolts passedthrough holes bored for the purpose. Ifthere is a wooden disk used, the paddlesare set-screwed to the rim direct. Thus wehave the paddles in place, so that the dis-charge of water plays into each as it comesaround the circuit as at E. Considerablespeed can be developed with the commonhose pipe. The power generated in this wayis used for running sewing machines, fanwheels, dust wheels, etc. The entire affairfits in a boxed framework of wood, so thatthe water will be kept in. The water isdrawn off through the base of the frame-work to the drain pipe. These devices maybe seen in use for mechanical service inconnection with running automatic contriv-ances in show windows.The skeleton-like arrangement in Fig. 2 ismade with the hub of small size as shown,

to which the large wings or paddles are se-cured with set-screws. This hub is metal.It can be made by hack-sawing the samefrom a section of metal 3 to 4 in. in diam-eter and boring for the hole. Sometimesa common cart wheel hub can be used forthe purpose. The wings have to be ofwrought or other stiff metal, so that theywill retain their form under the pressure of

the water. These paddles are about 3 in.wide. Common 3-16 or %-in. metal will an-swer the purpose. The wheel is set uponits shaft and the plan is made for the vol-ume of water to fall upon the paddles froman outlet as at F. The water force con-tacts with the paddle at G, as shown. Theshaft which carries the wheel also carries

Fig-

Fig. 3the driving wheel, which is for a flat beltor round belt, as the case may be. It isquite easy to get from % to 3 hp. fromthese various types of home-made wheels.The wheel in Fig. 3 is calculated for use

in direct contact with the water. A run-ning stream of water is selected and thewheel is adjusted on its shaft so as to drop


28/98

28 POPULAR MECHANICS.the lower portion of the wheel into tbemoving currents as shown. The water con-tacts with each box-paddle, as at H, in turn,and keeps the wheel revolving according tothe velocity of the water. First we makethe huh or center of two pieces of hardwoodbolted together and protected with flangeson either side. The two pieces can be sawedfrom boards and fitted together with thehole for the shaft bored through. The hubis applied to the shaft. The spokes for the

Fig. 4

Gf?^3Fig. 6paddle boxes are adjusted into holes boredaround the circuit of the hub, same asspokes are fitted to the common wheel hub.Then the paddle boxes of tin or of woodare secured to the end of each spoke. Theseboxes are about 4 in. square with sidesabout 2 in. deep. Sometimes it is necessaryto run the wheel within a case of sheetmetal, as in Fig. 4. The case has an open-ing to let the water 'discharge in, as at T,and an opening to let the used water out, as

at l. The case is usually set up on the brickmasonry, as indicated. The affair is usuallyin the basement. The wheel is made withfour plain paddles and the power is gen-erated by the water striking the paddle, asat K. The hub is of wood, or as before, adiscarded carriage or wagon wheel hub willdo. The paddles are wooden, about 4 in.wide and 30 in. long. They are mortisedinto the hub.

Fig. 5 is another view of this wheel. Thehub is marked M. The section of paddlesshown is marked N. The shaft extendsthrough the hub, and is secured to the hubwith pins or a key. To one end of theshaft there is fixed the pulley for carry-ing the belt P. The journals for supportingthe shaft are adjusted between the wheelcenter and the shaft ends. Several whohave made this pattern of wheel have beenable to get satisfaction from it. It is sim-ple and is capable of generating quite adegree of power, which may be transmittedto some device through the agency of thebelt P.

In Fig. 6 is shown another design, wrhichcan be constructed with materials usuallyeasily collected. The hub is made first asin the case of the other wheels, and thismay again be a common wheel hub, wTiththe belt wheel fixed on the shaft adjoiningit. Or in case that a wheel hub is not athand, the hub can be made of a hardwoodblock, bored and rounded to suit the con-ditions. Then the spokes are inserted intoholes made in the hub for the purpose.These spokes are of hardwood and a goodway to get them is to secure spokes of anold carriage wheel. In fact, a good wayto do is to get a wheel from a blacksmithor wheelwright and use it as it is, removingthe rim, cutting the spokes to right length,and if necessary sawing off every otherspoke. Or perhaps it will be necessary tosaw off two of every three spokes. Thisgives you a very strong base to work with.The wheels can be bought for a very littlemoney after they are cast to the junk heap.Many times they are given away. Thus ifwe were making the pattern of wheel inFig. 6, all the spokes of the wheel wouldbe sawed off except the four shown. Tothese spokes, at the ends, the bowl-shapedtins are fixed. They are fastened so that thespoke crosses direct over the front of theopening. Screws or rivets are used tomake fast with. The water force is fromthe pipe T, and the discharge contacts withforce against the bowl S, causing the wheelto revolve, bringing the next bowl in posi-tion, and so on. The rope belt is markedR, and is extended to the device to be driven.


29/98


MECHANICS FOR, YOUNG AMERICAHOW TO MAKE ANTIQUE CLOCKS FROM

UP-TO-DATE MATERIALS.Ten years ago the antique clock was the

only kind wanted, and it was of no valueunless there were evidences of cobwebsand ages about it. The genuine old-timer

was the only kind desired. There were menin the junk business and men in the an-tique furniture business who made a spe-cialty of buying the old clocks from theremote farming districts, or wherever auyone had an old clock for sale. The clocksof our great grandfathers were in demandat good and remunerative prices to the orig-inal owners. Many were loth to part withthe heirlooms, but the dazzling pricesoffered caused many of the people to sac-rifice the timepieces. These good old dayspassed away some years since, and todaythe modern wood-worker and cabinet-makersupplies the deficiency by putting on themarket some home-made, up-to-date formsof antique clocks that are far cheaper,more attractive and useful than the oldstyles.The first innovation occurred when the

antique furniture men began employing cab-inet-makers to manufacture fraudulent oldclocks. Men who could produce imitationsclosely, and then apply the proper stains formaking the materials appear aged, were inrequest. These men manufactured numbersof the copy clocks, and for a time thesale was active. Then people suspected thegenuineness of the undersold clocks, and

discovered the fraud. The papers publishedarticles about the fraudulant antiques, andthe people no longer were deceived. Butthe advent of these built-up antiques, ormade-to-order antiques, led to the manu-facture of the rustic wooden clocks we areabout to describe. The makers of clocksand novel effects in furniture began to pro-duce clocks entirely new, and sold as new,but constructed on the lines of the old-fashioned corner piece of the farmhouse ofa century ago. These clocks sold wonder-fully well at good prices to the makers, andthe demand commenced.The cheapest and simplest constructed

clocks are of the pine and rustic woodsorder, in which a framework is erected, abase or foundation for the clock fixed there-on, and the affair finished. Clocks of thisorder can be turned out at ridiculously lowprices. Some sell for little over a dollareach, aside from the cost of the clock. Theclock proper is usually a separate portion,

often not fixed to the framework until theentire combination is sold. Some of the un-finished pine clock frames are unique andrustic and appropriate for use in the sum-mer homes. Figure 1 is a sketch of one ofthe cheaper forms of clocks of this style,


30/98

30 POPULAR MECHANICS.in which the framework is made from sec-tions of bamboo, the joints being made withpins and wiring. The bamboo surfaces aremerely rubbed with polishing compositionsuntil a gloss is obtained. When welltreated, the gloss retains its glaze andtinish for a long time.The manufacturer of the clock of thisdescription usually makes a number of therustic frames at tbe same time, say a dozen.These he. erects and then places bis orderwith a clock-maker for the clock faces,works and hands. The pendulums are like-wise supplied by the clock-maker. Tbemaker of the wooden clock portion knowslittle concerning the mechanism of the me-tallic parts of the clock, and therefore heobtains the clocks in running order and pre-pared for placing in position in the clockframe. Figure 2 is one of the rustic stylesfrequently seen in the clock-maker's worksfor service on porches, or for the house, ifso desired. These clocks are made withframes constructed entirely from woodswith the bark still on, and the effect is verypleasing. Goodly numbers of this patternsell. The values run low, and for two orthree dollars, counting expense of frameonly, a very good outfit can be secured.The cost of the clock, of course, varies withwhat is desired. Dollar clocks may be fixedin the frame without pendulums and a goodeffect obtained.When people purchase the big cornerclocks for the hallway or the studio, theylike to have some-thing special in theline of faces andhands. Figure 3 isa sketch of one se-lection. The facesof the clocks areusually decorated insome way and arespecially designedfor the service theyare intended for.The hands likewiseare often mountedor ornamented.The crown work of the modern antiquedesign in clocks forms another feature ofinterest. The crowns, as a rule, are sep-arate portions, and since the opening ofthe new old clock industry in the coun-try one is able to find men who make aspecialty of the different parts of the clocks.In one city where there were several oldclock manufacturers and designers oneman is devoting bis energies and ingenuity

to the designing of clock crowns. Figure 4is a drawing of one of his crowns. Hemakes only the crown portion, and this isfor fitting over the top of the clock disk,and attached to the clock base. The- crownusually has in it some artistic wood engrav-ing and is otherwise decorated to assist indeveloping the idea of the artist.The modern maker of the antique clock

is capable of grinding out clocks for thechimney corner at rates astonishingly low,providing the customer furnishes the clockproper for insertion in the wood work. Onthe other hand, if one desires elaborateness,he may get it to tbe extent of his purse.If he desires to have his clock renderedold by treating with chemicals that agethe woods and deceive people, he may haveit done at a cost of a few dollars. It ispleasing to relate, however, that nearlyevery old clock-maker states that as a rulethe buyers purchase the clocks simply be-cause of their novel appearance, and intendto ornament their homes as such, withoutany intent at making their guests believethat the clock is an antique with a his-tory. One of the clocks of the more ex-pensive order is shown in Fig. 5.During the past few years the old clock-

makers have had demands from advertinersfor the service of imitation clocks forplacing in railway stations, hotel offiVes,etc., to advertise products of big firms.Tbe advertising wood clock is usually builtup on elaborate lines, as suggested inFig. 6, and the advertising material ismarked thereupon. The advertising isusually made in plain letters. Some ofthese clocks are being made up to use in


31/98

POPULAR MECHANICS. :uconnection with the penny-in-the-slot ma-chines. The clocks can be made to lookwell and attractive for any place, and asthey are usually freely ornamented, theyare really part of the furnishings.One of the best lines of patronage thesemanufacturers have is from the raffling offof goods at the church fairs, in stores andother places. Often there is a systemof guessing of numbers and the rightnumber wins, etc. The clocks are conspicu-ous, and can be liberally advertised in astore or other place where it is desired thatthe raffle take place. In some of the cabi-net-makers' places men are employed atodd times on this line of work. Wheneverregular work runs slow, the extra time isconverted into money by making theclocks and a considerable profit is derivedfrom the work.

LETTERING A CLOCK DIAL.

HOW A BOY BUILT A STEAM ENGINE.WITH FEW TOOLS.

Painting Roman characters on a clockdial is not such a difficult task as mightat first be imagined. In fact, if one has aset of drawing instruments and properlyproportions the letters, it is really verysimple.The letters should be proportioned as fol-

lows: The breadth of an I and a spaceshould equal one-half the breadth of anX, that is, if the X is one-half inchbroad, the I will be three-sixteenths inchbroad and the space between letters one-sixteenth inch, thus making the I plus onespace equal to one-quarter inch or half thebreadth of an X. The V's should bethe same breadth as the X's. After theletters have been laid off in pencil, outlinethem with a ruling pen and fill in with asmall camel's hair brush, using gloss blackpaint thinned to the proper consistency towork well in the ruling pen. Using theruling pen to outline the letters gives sharpstraight edges which would be impossiblewith a brush in the hands of an inexperi-enced person.Contributed by S. L. Hatfield,Wagoner, Ind. Ter.

FOCUSING SCREENS.

To make a focusing screen, superior tothe finest that can be bought, fix a dryplate, then flood it with a 10 per cent solu-tion of chlorid of barium, and follow thiswith a 10 per cent solution of chlorid ofmagnesium. Allow to dry, and a perfectfocusing screen results, says Photo-Beacon.

A boy who possesses natural mechanicaland inventive genius can build himself asteam engine even though he does not haveaccess to a small machine shop and thoughhis materials be crude. Howard Burr ofLeon, 0., built for himself a one-half horse-power engine which will operate a sewingmachine. He cut his own patterns, thenmolded the various parts in sand. The cast-ings were made of babbitt metal, which heheated in a ladle in a cook stove. The en-gine works perfectly. It is shown in the

Howard Burr and Hia Enginephotograph together with its inventor.

In response to our inquiry the young en-gine builder replies as follows: I haveyour letter asking for a description of howI built my steam engine. The castings aremade of babbitt metal; such parts as theconnecting rod, eccentric rod, and slidebars were sawed out of iron and brass. Thecylinder is brass. The piston was made bycasting solid and then turning a deep groovein it and then made steam tight by windingwith packing. The valve seat and valvewas made true and steam tight by grindingwith emery and oil. I built the en-gine with tools that may be found aboutany house, and worked at it mostly at night.One engine the cylinder is 2 x 2 in.; thesmaller one has a cylinder 1*4 x 1% in.Patience and keeping at it is more thananything else. HOWARD 'BURR.


32/98

POPULAR MECHANICS.

MECHANICS FOR YOUNG AMERICAHOW TO MAKE A WINDMILL OF ONE ORTWO HORSEPOWER FOR PRACTICALPURPOSES.A windmill for developing from one-half

to two horsepower may be constructed athome, the expense being very small andthe results highly satisfactory.The hub for the revolving fan wheel isfirst constructed. One good way to get boththe hub, lining, shaft and spokes for theblades, is to go to a wheelwright's and pur-chase the wheel and axle of some old rig.There are always a number of discardedcarriages, wagons or parts thereof in therear of the average blacksmith's shop. Some-times for half a dollar and often for noth-ing, you can get a wheel, an axle, and conuected parts. Remove from the wheel,all but the four spokes needed for the fansas in Fig. 1. The same hub, axle andbearings will do. In case you cannot securea wheel and shaft, the hub may be madefrom a piece of hardwood, about 4 in. indiameter and 6 in. long. A 2-in. hole shouldbe bored through for a wooden shaft, or a1%-in. hole for a metal shaft. The hubmay be secured by putting two or threemetal pins through hub and shaft. Adjustthe spokes by boring holes for them andarrange them so that they extend from thecenter A, like B. The wheel is then readyfor the blades. These blades should be ofsheet metal or thin hardwood. The sizesmay vary according to the capacity of thewheel and amount of room for the bladeson the spokes. Each one is tilted so as toreceive the force of the wind at an angle,which adjustment causes the wheel to re-volve when the wind pressure is strongenough. Secure the blades to the spokesby using little metal cleats, C and D. Bendthese metal strips to suit the form of thespokes and flatten against the blades andthen insert the screws to fasten the cleatsto the wood. If sheet metal blades are used,rivets should be used for fastening them.The stand for the wheel shaft is shownin Fig. 2. Arrange the base piece in plat-form order, (J). This is more fully shownin Fig. 5. On top of this base piece, whichis about 36 in. long, place the seat or ringfor the revolving table. The circular seatis indicated at I, Fig. 1. This ring is likean inverted cheese box cover with the

center cut out. It can be made by a tinner.Size of ring outside, 35 in. The shouldersare 4 in. high and made of the tin also.Form the shoulder by soldering the pieceon. Thus wo get a smooth surfacingwith sides for the mill base to turn in soas to receive the wind at each point to ad-vantage. The X-shaped piece H rests inthe tin rim. The X-form, however, does not

Fig. 1


33/98

POPULAR MECHANICS. 33,'stow in this sketch, but in Fig. 5, where itis marked S. This part is made of twopieces of 2-in. plank, about 3 in. wide,arranged so that the two pieces cross tomake a letter X. When the pieces join,mortise them one into the other so as tosecure a good joint. Adjust the uprightsfor sustaining the wheel shaft to the Xpieces as shown at E, E, Fig. 2. These are4x4-in. pieces of wood, hard pine preferred,planed and securely set up in the X-piecesby mortising into the same. Make thebearings for the wheel shaft in the uprightsand insert the shaft.The gearing for the transmission of the

power from the wheel shaft to the shaftcalculated for the delivery of the powerat an accessible point below must next beadjusted. The windmill is intended for in-stallation on top of a building, and thepower may be transmitted below, or to thetop of a stand specially erected for thepurpose. It is a good plan to visit some ofthe second-hand machinery dealers and getfour gears, a pulley and a shaft. Gearsabout 5 in. in diameter and beveled willbe required. Adjust the first pair of thebeveled gears as at F and G. If the wheelshaft is metal, the gear may be set-screwedto the shaft, or keyed to it. If the shaftis hardwood, it will be necessary to arrangefor a special connection. The shaft may bewrapped with sheet metal and this metalfastened on with screws. Then the gearmay be attached by passing a pin throughthe set-screw hole and through the shaft.The upright shaft like the wheel shaft isbest when of metal. This shaft is shownextending from the gear, G, to a point be-low. The object is to have the shaft reachto the point where the power is received forthe service below. The shaft is shown cutoff at K. Passing to Fig. 3 the shaft is againtaken up at L. It now passes through thearrangement shown, which device is riggedup to hold the shaft and delivery wheel Pin place. This shaft should also be metal.Secure the beveled gears M and N as shown.These transmit the power from the uprightshaft to the lower horizontal shaft. Providethe wheel or pulley, P, with the necessarybelt to carry the power from this shaft tothe point of use.The tail board of the windmill is illus-trated in Fig. 4. A good way to make thisboard is to use a section of thin lumber andattach it to the rear upright, E of Fig. 2.This may be done by boring a hole in theupright and inserting the shaft of the tail-piece. In Fig. 4 is also shown the process

nr^ ^v Fi,4 qpFig. 5

of fastening a gear, R, to the shaft. Theset screws enter the hub from the two sidesand the points are pressed upon the shaft,thus holding the gear firmly in place. Theplatform for the entire wheel device isshown in Fig. 5. The X-piece S is boredthrough in the middle and the upright shaftpasses through. The tin run-way or ring ismarked T, and the X-piece very readily re-volves in this ring, whenever the wind altersand causes the wheel's position to change.The ring and ring base are secured to theplatform, U. The latter is made of boardsnailed to the timbers of the staging for sup-porting the mill. This staging is shown inFig. 6, in a sectional view. The ring withits X-piece is marked V,' the X-piece ismarked W, and the base for the part, andthe top of the stage is marked X. The stageis made of 2x4-in. stock. The height may


34/98

34 POPULAR MECHANICS.vary, according to the requirements. If theaffair is set up on a barn or shed, the stag-ing will be sufficient to support the device.But if the stage is constructed direct fromllie ground, it will be necessary to use somelong timbers to get the wheel up highenough to receive the benefit of the forceof the wind. Proceeding on the plan of thederrick 'stand, as shown in Fig. 6, a stage ofconsiderable height can be obtained.

HOW TO MAKE A TRAP FOR RABBITS.RATS AND MICE.From an old 6-in. pine fence board cut

off four pieces 2i/> ft. long and one 6 in.square for the end of the trap and another4 in. by 8 in. for the door. Use old boards,as new boards scare rabbits.

HOW TO MAKE A SMALL SEARCH-LIGHT.The materials required for a small search-

light are a 4-volt lamp of the loop variety,thin sheet brass for the cylinder, copperpiping and brass tubing for base Whencompleted the searchlight may lie titted toa small boat and will afford a great amountof pleasure for a little work, or it may beput to other uses if desired.Make a cylinder of wood of the requiredsize and bend a sheet of thin brass aroundit. Shape small blocks of boxwood, D, Fig.1, to fit the sides and pass stout pieces ofbrass wire through the middle of the blocksfor trunnions. Exactly through the middleof the sides of the cylinder drill holes justso large that when the blocks containingthe trunnions are cemented to the cylinder

Z IN.A Good Babbit Trap

Fig. 1 shows how the box is made. Itshould be 4 in. wide and 6 in. high on theinside. The top and bottom boards project1 in. beyond side boards at the back andend board is set in. The top board shouldbe 2 in. shorter than the sides at the front.Nail a strip on the top board back of doorand one on the bottom board so game can-not push the door open from inside the trapand .uet out.

In the middle of the top board bore ahole and put a crotched stick in for the leverto rest on. Bore another hole in the top ofthe door for the lever to pass through. Twoinches from the back of the box bore a holefor the trigger, which should be made outof heavy wire in the manner shown in Fig.2. The door of the trap must work easilyand loosely.Contributed by Carl Baum,Valparaiso, Ind.

On June 1st we shall issue in book form

the articles printed in Mechanics for YoungAmerica. It will be a gold mine of Thingsa Boy Can Do.

there is no chance of contact between cylin-der and trunnion, and so creating a falsecircuit.The trunnion should project slightly intothe cylinder, and after the lamp has beenplaced in position by means of the smallwooden blocks shown in Fig. 1, the wiresfrom the lamp should be soldered to thetrunnions. It is best to solder the wireto the trunnions before cementing the sideblocks inside the cylinder.Turn a small circle of wood, A, Fig. 2,inside the cylinder to fit exactly and fastento it a piece of mirror, C, Fig. 2, exactly thesame size to serve as a reflector. Paintingthe wood with white enamel or a piece ofbrightly polished metal will serve thepurpose. On the back of the piece of woodfasten a small brass handle, B, Fig. 2, sothat it may readily be removed for cleaning.

In front of cylinder place a piece of mag-nifying glass for a lens. If a piece to fitcannot be obtained, fit a glass like a linentester to a small disc of wood or brass tofit the cylinder. If magnifying glass can


35/98


Front View- Side View.Fig. l

not be had, use plain glass and fit them asfollows:Make two rings of brass wire to tit tightlyinto the cylinder, trace a circle (inside di-ameter of cylinder) on a piece of cardboard;place cardboard on glass and cut out glasswith a glass cutter; break off odd cornerswith notches on cutters and grind the edgeof the glass on an ordinary red brick visingplenty of water. Place one brass ring incylinder then the glass disc and then theother ring.For the stand fill a piece of copper piping

with rosin or lead and melt lead out. Bendthe pipe with a piece of curved wood oruse some of the many methods of pipebending which have appeared in the ShopNotes d

mechanics for young americans

Documents