A. Neely Hall

“ The tight-rope walkers, bare-back riders, and trapeze performers were not long ago the main attractions of a circus, but these do not seem nearly as remarkable now when compared with such daring feats as looping-the-loop or looping-the-gap on a bicycle, riding down an incline on a single wheel, or diving from the peak of the tent into a small tank not more than six feet square, to be seen at the present day. ”

“ Even though a boy has passed the kindergarten age, he will find this work entertaining for days when the weather is disagreeable without; and though he may not care to play with them himself, his work will not have been wasted, for a younger brother will surely be glad to have some cork animals and birds to add to his menagerie, and a sister no less delighted with a small log-cabin and set of cork furniture. ”

“ In purchasing Tools for your workshop it is not advisable to buy them in chests, for they are almost always made of cheap material, and poor tools are of no use to the boy who intends to do good work. It is a much better plan to buy a few tools at a time, getting a good quality of steel, and to gradually increase your outfit as your money permits. Then if you really want a chest you can make it yourself. A hatchet, hammer, saw, plane, chisel, jack-knife, bit and bit-stock, screw-driver, and square are the principal tools you will require, and need be all you have to start out with. ”

“ Knowing that many boys who would like to build themselves a club-house have not the money in their treasury with which to buy new lumber, this chapter will describe the manner in which a rough-and-ready house may be built. It will not be attempted to show the correct methods of putting up a framework, such as would be built if the right-sized lumber were obtainable, but the simplest way in which boys can make use of the material at hand. ”

“ Nothing daunts the ambitious boy. If he has not a press, and there are no prospects of him earning one for some time, he will not allow this to interfere with his plans. It only means he must devise some other way of printing. Many boys have already proven that a press is not an absolute necessity, by issuing papers printed with rubber type, written by pen and on typewriters, and printed by the mimeograph and such duplicating machines. ”

“ The Hatchet is an indispensable tool, for it can be used for a good deal of your rough work, such as splitting and paring. It requires practice to handle one successfully, however. A misplaced blow will sometimes ruin your work, either by cutting into it or striking grain which runs off into the portion to be finished. With straight grained wood it is not so difficult to pare to a line with the hatchet. The wood should be removed to within less than an eighth of an inch of the line, as the work must be dressed up afterward with the plane. ”

“ When a circus came to town, it seemed but natural for the boys of our neighborhood to club together and arrange a performance on a small scale, but as nearly like that of the professionals as possible. A back-yard was transformed into training quarters, and here we worked hard for several days before the show, imitating as best we could the stunts of the circus performers. Because one fellow could walk on his hands, and turn hand-springs, besides being the owner of a pair of tights, he naturally became the chief attraction ”

“ An amateur should master as much of the work as possible. One of the most interesting parts is missed if you pay a professional to develop your plates, and you never know where your faults have been made in taking the pictures, by not seeing the manner in which the image appears on the negative during the development. Even though you spoil one or two plates in your first attempts at developing, your results on the whole will probably be as good as those obtained by a professional, who is very often careless with amateurs' work. ”

“ Be sure you understand the process of sharpening tools before you undertake to use the oil-and grind-stones.
All tools are not sharpened alike, and you will need to know the different ways in order to get their cutting edges the right shape to serve their different purposes.
Grinding is the most difficult part of the work, and most boys have trouble with it. One fault lies in using the grind-stone too frequently, grinding the edge of a tool when it requires only a little rubbing upon the oil-stone to put it in shape, and thus wearing down the tool unnecessarily. ”

“ Hang the pictures to the picture moulding with thread.
A Cosey-corner may be fitted up in the ball-room by fastening a strip of a cigar-box in one corner an inch and one-half above the floor for the seat, and hanging draperies on each side of it. Pillows may be made for it out of scraps of silk stuffed with cotton.
A doll-house properly proportioned in every detail, including the selection of its furniture, is pleasing to look at, and is to be desired much more than some of the specimens to be found in the stores. ”

“ The corner of a block of wood is very often chamfered, when planing end-wood, to prevent the wood from splintering. It can only be done, of course, before the adjoining side has been planed up, that a square corner can be obtained again when the work is finished.
The Gouge is a chisel with a curved section, its use being for cutting grooves and curvatures in a piece of work where the chisel cannot be employed.
A Draw-knife is very handy for quickly reducing the size of material and in rounding sticks. The blade is drawn toward you instead of being pushed as in the case of a plane or chisel. ”

“ When you have a long board to work upon, it cannot be held steady by the vise alone. One end should be placed in the vise and the other rested upon a peg stuck in a hole bored in the side of the bench. For boards of different lengths, several holes should be bored, as shown in the illustration of the finished bench (see frontispiece) , and a movable peg cut to fit in them.
A Bench-stop of some sort fastened to the top of the bench will be found useful to push work against while planing it, when it is not convenient to use the vise. ”

“ In none of the books published on boy's handicraft has the question entered into consideration as to how he is to obtain the means with which to buy such materials and apparatus as the work requires. A boy should not expect to draw upon his father's purse for everything his fancy desires. It is important that he learn to earn his spending money, for in doing so he becomes independent and more careful as to how he invests it. ”

“ Any handy boy will find it an easy matter to prepare his scenery, as it does not require a knowledge of drawing so much as it does the knack of copying scenes from pictures, and the proper placing of the various wings and drops. ”

“ The Best Kind of Iron Runners for a home-made sled are those that a boy can put on without the aid of a blacksmith, and such a pair of runners is shown in the drawing of this sled. They consist of what are known as half-oval iron strips, and can be had usually at a hardware store or blacksmith shop. A pair forty inches long and three-quarters of an inch wide, with five holes for countersunk screws drilled in each, can be bought for fifty cents. When they have been procured, screw them to the bottom of the runners, using one inch or one and one-quarter inch screws for the purpose. ”

“ The Necessary Equipment for a dark-room is not large, about all you require besides your chemicals being a ruby lantern, printing frame, three trays,—one for developing, another for fixing, and a third for toning,—a two-inch camel's-hair brush for dusting plates, a drying-rack, glass graduate, funnel, set of scales, bottles for solutions, and a cabinet in which to keep your apparatus and supplies.
A Dark-room is not a necessity, although it is a great convenience, especially if you are doing much work. ”

“ Glue the upper end of the brake to the chauffeur's hand and the lower end to the side of the wagon.
Paint the Wagon with water colors, making the sides, end, and roof olive green, the steering-wheel, brake, and spokes of wheels black, and the lamps yellow or the color of brass. In painting the sides show the battery compartments upon them below what would properly be the bottom of the wagon (see illustration) . Leave the cardboard white below this box, as it represents no portion of the machine, but is necessarily brought down so far to conceal the wooden frame. ”

“ A Scraper is about the best appliance that can be had for cleaning snow from the steps, especially when the snow [Pg 171] has turned to slush. For the making of one of these, prepare a seven-eighths inch board sixteen inches long by four inches wide. Bevel the lower edge and nail a two inch strip below the top, as at A in Fig. 180. Bore a hole through both thicknesses of wood at B and fit a broom-handle in it, bracing the handle with a piece of wire run from a small hole bored in the handle at C to the ends of the scraper. ”

“ Probably nothing can be found which will make a more interesting entertainment for a winter evening, than a miniature theatre patterned as nearly as possible after a large playhouse. The construction of the stage, and preparation of miniature scenery, properties, and mechanical effects, furnish good work for disagreeable weather when it becomes necessary to remain indoors, and there is plenty of it, and of great enough variety, to occupy the attention of a number of boys. ”

“ Carpenter work should be encouraged in a boy from the time he first becomes interested in it, for besides being something with which to keep him busy, the experience gained by its practice will be useful to him all his life, no matter what branch of industry he may follow later on. ”

“ When a boy has learned the proper care and use of tools, and is able to turn out neatly executed work, he will find the occupation a profitable one, there being an unlimited number of things he can make in his shop. ”

“ The boy who has had the hobby of collecting Indian arrow-heads has no doubt often wondered how they were made, and also how the bows and arrows were prepared. The ways in which all uncivilized people do things is interesting, and especially when it is remembered that they had but raw materials with which to work and only such tools as they could make out of stone.
Fig. 248.—Correct Position for Shooting.
The Indian's Bow was made of different woods, and, though it varied in shape and size, was generally about forty inches in length, so as to be conveniently carried and handled on horseback. ”

“ A four-foot hickory or ash bar can be bought from a dealer in sporting goods for about a dollar and a half, but it will cost much less to have a bar turned to the right shape and size at a planing mill. The diameter of the pole should be an inch and one-half, and the ends should be two inches square (see Fig. 250) .
For the uprights procure two two-by-sixes nine feet long. Mark off a square equal in size to the end of the bar, six inches from one end of each, and cut out the wood with an auger. With a chisel trim the holes square and large enough for the bar to slip through. ”

“ Work is also tested by means of the try-square. Place the handle of the square against the edge of the work with the blade of the square extending across the planed surface, and move it the length of the board. Any irregularities in the surface will show themselves as the blade passes over them. In planing up a block of wood, plane up one side and, after proving it to be true, use it for the "tried edge," testing the other sides with the handle of the square pressed against its surface. ”

“ Having had the experience of working, the average boy learns to so appreciate the value of hard-earned money that it is pretty certain he will spend it only for something with which he can earn more or which will prove useful to him in his work and play. ”

“ The boy who is owner of a printing-press is almost certain to get the publishing fever and commence the publishing of a small paper. If his press is too small for such an undertaking, it will of course be necessary for him to do such job printing as he can get to do until he has earned sufficient money to buy a larger press and such materials as he will need in publishing a paper. ”

“ A small silk spool should be fastened upon this for a belt-wheel (see B, Fig. 377) . The hole in one of these spools is about three-sixteenths of an inch in diameter, so, in order to make it fit tightly upon the nail, it is necessary to fill in around the nail with sealing-wax. To do this, turn the wooden frame upon its edge and place the spool over the nail, being careful to get the nail in the exact centre of the hole. Then hold a stick of sealing-wax over the spool, and with a lighted match melt the end and allow it to drip into the hole. ”

“ The Bevel is in reality a try-square which can be adjusted to any desired angle. To set it at an angle of forty-five degrees, place it on the steel-square, as shown in Fig. 42, with the handle against the inner edge of one arm of the square and the blade resting on both arms. Move the blade until it strikes equal distances on the arms (this is shown at four inches in the drawing) and tighten the screw while it is in this position. Other angles may be drawn out upon a piece of wood and the bevel adjusted to them so these angles can be laid off upon other pieces. ”