Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 88.djvu/503

 Popular Science Monthly

��and the hole of the spool forms a right angle with the edge of the board next it. Having each spool touching the next, drive in the finishing nails. The spools will be arranged as in Fig. 4A and the board complete will appear as in 4B. In 4A the dotted lines represent the holes in the spools. The lower board has pre- viously been covered with a light coat of glue, from the center to the Hne of the end of the spools.

Cut more spools like those used in Fig. 3, only do not drive in nails or pare. Then find the radius of the end of the spool (the smaller end). Suppose it to be X inches. Then mark off four points which are x inches from the four sides. That is, each point is somewhere on the diagonals, and perpendiculars from those points to the 2 nearest sides are X inches. Join these points together and then mark off, on the lines thus formed, points 2x inches apart. Count the points, and whittle that number of sticks which will fit snugly into the holes of the spools and are %'' longer than the holes. With a gimlet drill holes at the points marked on the board, a little over %'' deep. The gimlet should be exactly the same size as the pegs. Drive in each peg and before doing so, put some glue in each hole. Pour in enough to fll the hole. When the peg is driven in the glue will partly run out. Smear the upper part of the pegs with glue and put on the spools, with the saw-cut next the board. The glue on the peg and on the board will hold it. Push a thumb tack, which is also smeared (the point and underside only) with glue, into the top of the peg. These thumb tacks should be of brass, and are only for ornament. The corner spools, of course, are not put on, neither was there a peg driven in, the hole there being drilled with the auger. Varnish the four shelves, or stain to match furniture.

For the remainder, more spools are necessary. These spools must h& in sets of 4, the spools in one set being all equal. The sets range from those con- taining spools of cotton basting variety to the small cotton thread, the sets get- ting smaller as they reach the top. though there should be a far greater number of small spools than large ones. One end of each rod is threaded and has

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a nut. Run these spools to the rods and varnish. When all is dry, assemble. Commence by putting the unthreaded ends of the rods through the upper shelf, extending above to half the depth of the spool. Glue the four spools, sim- ilar to those in Fig. 3, on the ends of the rods and board.

Then slip on the spools, in sets, small- est first, gluing the ends of the spools to make them stick. When 12^2^' have been covered, put on the next shelf and 121^'" more spools and so on till the last shelf is on; then fill up with the largest spools and put on the nuts, cutting off any rod left over, though it depends on the size of the spools whether any will be over or not. Then set up the stand, and, filling in the holes of the four cor- ner spools with putty, push in a thumb tack in each, and varnish the stand again. The author using this as z model, though varying a little in design, constructed a flower stand, though much smaller.

A Cheap Substitute for Linoleum

THREE sheets of strong, brown paper, past- ed together, with a top covering of ordinary wall-pa- per, make an excel- lent, inexpensive, sanitary substitute for linoleum. After cleaning the floor, a sheet of good, strong, brown paper is pasted down and allowed to dry. Then a second sheet is laid and allow-ed to dry thoroughly before laying a third sheet. If a pattern floor covering is desired, ordinary wall-paper serves the purpose admirably. It is pasted to the top sheet of brown paper already laid. The whole, being thoroughly dry, a coat of sizing is applied and left to set, after which a coat of good varnish completes the pro- cess. This floor covering has all the ad- vantages of real linoleum and may be washed and polished in the usual way.

Lengthening the Life of a Worn-out Clock

AN old clock can be rejuvinated and used for many years by increasing the distance of the escapement, or in other words, by prying apart the jaws just a mite.

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