Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 92.djvu/303

 Homemade Pair of Skis

A simple method of making skis without having to bend the wood

����BY following the design here illustrated, it is comparatively easy to construct a pair of skis with which one can travel on the surface of the softest snowdrift without sinking.

Procure two hardwood boards about 6 ft. long, 4 in. in width, and 3^2 in. thick. Although soft wood will do, hardwood will answer the purpose better, as it polishes easier, and the smoother the ski is on the bottom the better it will run.

A leather strap is tacked to the upper side of the ski, so as to form a loop. This should be placed exactly in the center of the ski and should be just large enough to admit the toe of the shoe. A small block of wood is fastened just back of

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��at the other, it is fastened to the under side of the front of the snow-shoe, with the pointed end turned up. The nail heads and all sharp points of tin should be filed off so as to make the under surface of the ski as smooth as possi- ble. — Peter J. M. Clute.

��Joe strap

���-Stop block

��"■^Sheet metal

��The straight wood runner is pointed with a piece of sheet metal cvirved at the end

the toe-strap in such a position as to fit into the hollow part of the shoe, just in front of the heel.

A piece of heavy tin or sheet metal is used for the front part of the ski. This should be about 1 ft. long, 4 in. wide at one end and tapering to a blunt point

��How to Make Knitting Needles in a Speed Lathe

KNITTING for our soldiers seems popular with the ladies as a method of doing their bit. It may be of con- siderable interest to know that knitting needles can be made easily and cheaply by students, in shops where speed lathes are available.

Red cedar is the best wood to use. Secure straight grained sticks and joint them straight and true. Rip out pieces about 1 in. longer than the length desired, and with a side of the cross sec- tion only slightly greater than the re- quired diameter of the needle.

Needle sizes are about as follows:

For sweaters, dia. 200 in., length 14 in.. Twist drill No. 7.

For helmets, dia. 175 in., length 13 in.. Twist drill No. 16.

For wTistlets, dia. 135 in., length 12 in.. Twist drill No. 29.

Secure a piece of cold rolled steel J^ by 2 by 5 in. and drill a hole in the center of each end, in such a manner as to allow it to be bolted to the face plate of a speed lathe through the screw holes on the face plate. It should approximately center up on the lathe. With a twist drill of the size of the needle required, drill a hole

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