Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 90.djvu/480

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��Popular Science Monthly

��A Clever Woman Discovers Handy Location for the Kitchen Towel

THE kitchen towel should hang within hand reach of the sink, as the cook requires it many times a day. In some

���The roller is attached to the ends of the sink drain. The towel thus serves two purposes

kitchens this can be arranged upon a wall rack above the sink drainboard. One clever woman attached a roller-towel rod across the front of the sink, fastening it to the edges of the two wood drainboards. This arrangement makes the towel serve two purposes, as it protects the dress when a person is standing before the sink. When sitting on a stool to wash dishes or to pre- pare vegetables the towel is drawn up over the lap. — Avis Gordon Vestal.

��A Method of Keeping a Rabbit's Cage Glean

MAKE half of the flooring of a rabbit's cage of slats with 3^-in. openings between them and you will never be troubled with cleaning it. Ordinary laths are nailed to the supports for the bottom instead of a solid board. The other half is made solid. — R. L. Bird.

��Holding a Nut Steady Without the Aid of a Locknut

THE old method of battering a bolt-end to hold a nut makes it difficult to replace the nut after removal. A simple way to prevent a nut from turning and still not spoil the threads on the end of

��the bolt is to bore a hole in one side of the nut and after the nut is turned home, take a small center-punch and insert it in the hole and strike it a few blows with a hammer. The punch will raise a small circle of metal inside of the hole and prevent the nut from turning. When the nut is removed no trouble will be had in starting it true again.

��Making Wall Plaques in Plaster of Paris

PRETTY pictures are easily obtained nowadays, but framing them is as expensive as ever. Many magazine covers and illustrations are real works of art and are worthy of a place in the decorative scheme of the home. To frame a picture of this sort plaster of Paris may be used to good advantage. The process complete is shown in the illustration with A represent- ing a large pan, in which an elongated dish is placed. The picture to be mounted is first dampened and then pressed flat on the dish with its face down. A mixture of plaster of Paris and water of thick, creamy consistency is then made and poured on the picture. While the plaster is in a soft state a second dish B is placed over the mass. A sectional view of this arrangement is shown at C, with that of the finished plaque at D. A hanger E consisting of a ring and a bent strip of tin, is thrust into the mass while it is soft and left there to fasten itself in during the hardening process. After 24 hours set- ting the plaster

���A plaster of Paris plaque with a picture embedded in it and details of the process

is removed by pressing at the edge with the blade of a table knife. The edges of the plaque may be tinted or gilded.

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