Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 90.djvu/628

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��Popular Science Monthly

��An Inexpensive Method of Coloring Electric Globes

THIN a small portion of white shellac with alcohol— a sufficient quantity to cover the globe when it is dipped into the liquid. Dipping the bulb into the solution applies a coating that is a good substitute for frosted glass. To apply an even coat it is necessary to have the shellac very thin. If it is desired to have colored globes, procure some egg dye of the desired tint, dissolve it in alcohol and mix into the shellac. — George Yaste.

��Truck for Handling Filled Sacks on Stairways

ORDINARY trucks are not suitable for use on stairways. The truck shown was originally devised to remove a number of sacks filled with fancy potatoes from rooms in a basement, but it has enough merit to recommend it for general purposes- It is made up of two handles, two runners

���Instead of wheels two runners with both ends CTirved are used in the manner of a truck

and three braces as shown. It can be pushed over a floor and pulled up a stair- way, preventing the wearing of the sacks or the bruising of their contents. The floor and stairway in this case were of concrete. — Edward R. Smith.

��How to Construct a Door-Mat , of Wood Slats

A GOOD substantial door-mat and shoe- scraper that can be very easily and ^j quickly made is shown in the illustration. ' The crossbars are made from a number of '

��I* — 6" — H

���The wood bars are spaced for catching the mud and dirt as it is scraped from the shoes

}/2 by 2-in. iron rods of any desired length and number. Each bar is drilled 6 in. from the end with a 3^-in. drill. Two iron bolts of sufficient length must be obtained and also a supply of i-in. sections of 3^-in. pipe to be used as separators for spacing the bars. The bolts are inserted in one bar; then a i-in. section of the pipe, then another bar, and so on, until it is complete. If the nuts are not drawn up tight so that the bars are allowed to move 3^ or 3^ in., they will take off the mud much better, because they will tilt whenever the shoe is drawn across the mat. — Francis W. Nuenmacher.

��Oxidizing Iron with Fumes from Acids

VERY pleasing and durable color effects can be obtained upon the surface of iron articles by oxidizing with the vapor of acids. Having thoroughly cleaned the metal, removing all traces of grease and polishing it highly, heat it and expose it to the vapors given off by a mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acids in equal proportions. When a good bronze color is obtained allow the article to cool, then coat it with vaseline and heat it again.

A wide range of colors can be produced after a few trials, ranging from pale prim- rose to deep brown or red. This is done by varying the proportions of the acids and by adding other ingredients — acetic and sulphuric acids. If the disengagement of vapor is too slow the acid mixture may be warmed. — H. J. Gray.

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