Joseph Henry Adams

“ Thin sheets of metal of different kinds can be used to great advantage in decoration; and it would seem hardly possible that strips of stovepipe iron, sheet-lead, brass, copper, and zinc could be employed to form such artistic edgings to wood boxes and bits of furniture as may be seen in the following illustrations. ”

“ The wood need not be more than half an inch thick, and plain joints can be made with glue and screws, and the screw-heads hidden with imitation lead heads. This pocket can be made any size to fit a wall-space, but from 18 to 24 inches in length will be a good size. The space between shelves can be 6 inches, and from the bottom shelf to the hook-bar the distance is 4 inches. Soft wood can be stained and varnished any desirable color, or the wall-pocket can be painted to match the woodwork in the room. ”

“ This painting is done on thin linen or cotton fabric that is pasted directly on the wall, and with oil-paints the young artisan may carry out his drawing while standing on a packing-case or on two boards arranged across the heads of barrels. The wainscot all around the room is three feet high and made of tongued-and-grooved boards five inches wide, on top of which a six-inch ledge is made fast and supported with brackets. A band of wall, two feet high, above the shelf, is covered with plain ingrain paper, against which small pictures may be hung. ”

“ Skee running and jumping is one of the faorite winter sports in Norway and Sweden, and it is steadily growing in favor in Canada and the northern United States. On very steep hills it is a dangerous sport, but it is perfectly safe to use the skees on either short or long hills that are not too steep; for once you start, you must go to the bottom, and a good skee-jumper must be as agile as a cat and always land feet down when jumping. A good skee of the right proportions should be 9 feet long and 4 inches wide, and made of hickory, oak, or other hard wood, not more than 1⁄2 inch thick ”

“ Having made the body part of the screen, make the scrolls that form the top, and bind them in place with wire or the little metal clamps. This top should measure about three inches high from the top of the screen.
For the sides and bottom make a frill of any form, somewhat after the pattern shown in the illustration.
When the metal-work is finished, coat it with a good black paint to improve its appearance and prevent its rusting. Small cans of such paint may be purchased at any paint or hardware store. If it should become too thick, it may be thinned by adding alcohol. ”

“ A Rocker-coaster
one and one easy to steer. It is made of hard wood about 5⁄8 of an inch thick, and is 4 to 5 feet long, 20 inches broad, and 7 inches high at the middle. The lower edge of each runner is curved from end to end, with a long sweeping line, and it is grooved to receive a round runner of steel, which a blacksmith will make and attach. The sled can be varnished or covered with two coats of bright paint.
Snow-shoes
The long snow-shoe shown in Fig. 11 is the one commonly used by the Iroquois Indians, and it measures from 3 to 4 feet in length and from 12 to 15 inches in width. ”

“ A Mirror and Shelves
An ordinary oblong mirror can be converted into a shaving-mirror and shelves with a few additional pieces of woodwork, as shown in Fig. 1. A mirror of almost any size can be converted into this new design, so that it will be unnecessary to lay down any sizes to be followed.
Fig 1. A Mirror and Shelves.
The upper side ledges are cut as shown at A in Fig. 2, and the two brackets that support them are cut as shown at B. The ledge under the glass is three inches wide and extends an inch beyond the length of the mirror-frame at each end. ”

“ A hinge-joint is the result, and to prevent the rear sled from dropping too far when jumping over a bump, a rope should be passed under the forward cross-piece and attached to a staple driven in the under side of the plank. The plank can be padded with hair from an old mattress, and covered with a strip of carpet nailed all around the edges of the board. ”

“ Some woods have an open and broad grain that, if carefully filled and varnished over, will give a very pleasing effect. Chestnut, butternut, quartered oak and ash have this quality, and all of them are adapted to furniture construction and room trimmings. ”

“ The color-schemes, designs, and arrangement that may be carried out in fitting up a boy’s room are almost without limit, and hundreds of different ideas could be worked out, depending upon the shape and location of the room, Diagrams and illustrations that the boys can easily follow of a few suggested articles are given in these pages, together with a clear description of sizes, materials, and workmanship that should be a great help to the boy decorator and craftsman. ”

“ Very few boys would care to make their own skates, as the modern steel clamp skates are superior to anything they could make, both in lightness and strength; but the various kind of wind-boats, skate-sails, and so forth, which interest them cannot usually be bought ready made. ”

“ Many boys prefer tobogganing to sledding, for the reason that, the boards being so thin and flexible, slight inequalities in the ground are easily felt and the sensation of speedy flight is emphasized. ”

“ No matter what size this lantern is made, the proportions here given should be carried out, as otherwise the graceful shape may be lost. A long chain made up of links and rings may be used to suspend the lantern.
The interior may be arranged for an oil-lamp, or electric light, or a cluster of candles, and, if preferred, the middle panels may be lined with silk. The lining should be plain, not figured, and of a thickness depending upon the light desired. For variety the string of flowers at the bottom of the lamp may be made with six points instead of four,
Metal-bound Articles. ”

“ Hinge-straps of sheet-lead are cut and fastencd to the doors and casings with large oval-headed nails, and to cover the panels in the doors one large panel is made from thin wood covered with burlap and nailed fast to the side of the door facing the room, with large-headed nails or with mock nail-heads not less than one inch in diameter. ”

“ As the mirrors are heavy, they must be securely fastened to the wall, particularly at the top, as there is a great deal of strain on the top anchorages when both mirrors are standing out at right angles to the wall. ”

“ Slim steel-wire nails two inches long will secure the brackets to the wall, or long, slim screws may be used in preference, as they will hold better if they strike a lath, without rebounding and breaking the plaster away. The woodwork may be finished in any of the weathered-oak stains and given a coat of thin shellac, or painted; it is purely a matter of choice ”

“ Light, thin colorings are preferable to solid masses, and considerable poppy or pale drying-oil can be used in the paints to thin them and give the glazed rather than the heavy pigment effect to the pictures. ”

“ The rudder (B in Fig, 19) is a chisel-edged piece of steel, 12 inches long, turned up at both ends and mounted at the foot of a shank (C) , which is provided with a collar, a square shoulder for the tiller (1D) to fit on, and a threaded top so that a nut will hold the tiller in place. The shoes can be made only of steel or iron, as wooden ones are useless.
The mast is 12 feet high and 31⁄2 or 4 inches in diameter, slightly tapered near the top. The gaff is 6 feet long, and the boom 12 feet. ”

“ If you will notice potato, onion, or apple barrels in transit, you will always find cuts made in the barrels, so the air can circulate freely around the vegetables, thereby insuring their keeping qualities ”

“ These should be the same as carpenters use, but they may be smaller and not so cumbersome to handle. Tools in a chest, and sold at the toy-store, are not to be relied on for carpentry work, as they are usually dull and made of soft, steel that will not hold an edge. ”

“ The corners may then be bound with iron strips, and the design on each of the four sides worked out with tack-heads painted black, Any suitable design may be used, and by pricking through the lines of the original drawing the design may readily be repeated on each side. ”