Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 92.djvu/147

 Popular Science Monthly

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��A Simple Method of Securely Fastening Umbrella Handles

IT frequently happens that an umbrella having an expensive handle will get broken. The owner may naturally desire to have the handle put on another umbrella. By following these instructions any person can make the change of handles.

Clean out the hole in the handle, then wrap a few layers of cloth on it and clamp it in a vise, using just sufficient force to the jaws to hold it upright. Then put powdered sulphur in the hole — heat the end of the umbrella rod red-hot and push it down in the sulphur. The heat will fuse the sulphur and cause it to grip the rod tightly. This method can also be used to fasten rods into stone, iron or wood. — W. S. Standiford.

��Inserting Manifold Papers Evenly in a Typewriter

THE insertion of manifold papers is a job which taxes the patience of many who have occasion to use the typewriter. It is difficult to keep the papers "squared." The difficulty may be overcome by folding a narrow strip of paper, placing it over the top of the sheets, and then inserting them in the machine. This keeps the sheets in the desired position.

��Laying Out and Finishing a Plain Blanking Die

THERE are numbers of good machinists who, with a little instruction, could qualify as tool and die makers, for whom there is great demand. The following article deals with a very simple die, but it gives some idea of the fundamental rules so that a lathe man who masters the instruc- tions given will not be entirely inexperienced when called on to do this work.

We will assume that a die is required to blank some pieces of No. 20-gage hard sheet brass, ard the dimensions called for are as given in J ig. 1. The tools necessary for this layout are the square, dividers and scriber. The steel for the die is placed in the shaper, and unless the sides are unusually rough, a cut is taken on the piece to be used for the bottom. After this is done the piece is reversed and the top is planed off and smoothed with a tool, as shown at A. Again clamp the piece in the planer and trim off the four sides, taking care to make them as

��square as possible. This will be a great aid in laying out the more complicated die work. It is very necessary to have a bottle of blue stone solution at hand, which when applied to the surface of the steel will pro- duce a copper-colored coating for taking the lines that are drawn thereon for the work.

After the blue stone has been applied, scribe the center lines B-C Fig. 2; then the lines li-m. on each side of the line B; draw the intersecting lines at the end, always measur- ing from the center. The radius of projec- tion is 3^ in. and is measured with the dividers, taking for a center the point on the line C at D. The die is now laid out.

For drilling the core, a line is drawn on the inside as in Fig. 3, on which there are spaced the punch marks so that a drill will not quite touch the outline when drilling the holes. This spacing should be as close as possible so that the core can be easily removed.

Before the holes are drilled, the die is strapped to the face plate of a lathe, and

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���Shape and size of the piece to be punched, details of making the die and tools used

after centering it on D it is drilled and reamed to size. The clearance for the passing of the blank at this point can be made by adjusting the compound rest on the lathe carriage, instead of filing the die after-

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