Handicraft for boys

by A. Frederick Collins

Venetian Bent Iron Work

A very pretty and most useful kind of ornamental iron work came into vogue in Venice, Italy, a long time ago, and as it is easy to do and you need only a few tools and inexpensive materials to do it with, you ought to try your hand at it.

Venetian iron work consists of bending thin, narrow strips of wrought iron into scrolls and other shapes and then fixing them together with little iron clamps called binders.

In this way objects such as egg boilers, candlestick sconces, lanterns and brackets to hang them on, photograph frames and helpful and artistic creations without end can be made.

The Tools You Must Have.

—You will need very few tools for making Venetian iron work and these are (1) a pair of flat nose 5 inch pliers;[26] (2) a pair of round nose 5 inch pliers; (3) a box-wood four-fold, 2-foot rule; (4) a vise; (5) a pair of tinner’s snips and (6) a small riveting hammer, all of which are shown in [Fig. 27].

[26] This means that the pliers are 5 inches long.

The Materials You Need.

—The work is made of ¹⁄₃₂ inch thick soft iron strips and this can be bought[27] in four different widths, namely ¹⁄₈, ³⁄₁₆, ¹⁄₄, and ³⁄₈ inch.

[27] Complete manual training outfits for Venetian bent iron work can be bought of Hammacher, Schlemmer and Co., Fourth Avenue and 13th St., New York.

In general it is the best practice to use the ³⁄₁₆ and ¹⁄₄ inch wide strips for all designs except the smallest and largest. The strip iron comes in coils of 50 feet and the prices range from 16 cents to 25 cents a coil.

	BINDERS
COIL OF WROUGHT IRON STRIP		LEAD WIRE FOR MEASURING

Fig. 30. materials you need for venetian iron work

Then you will need a package of binders—these are merely bits of strip iron cut off and bent as shown in [Fig. 30], they come in four widths and cost about 10 cents a hundred. Also get a couple of 3 foot pieces of lead wire for with these you can quickly form the scrolls and circles you intend to make of iron, then straighten them out and accurately measure off the length of iron you need. They cost 5 cents a strip.

What to Do First.

—Making a Simple Design.—The first thing to do after you get your tools and materials together is to draw on a sheet of paper the object you are to make of bent iron.

How to Make a Toaster.

—This is a good piece of work to start with because it is formed chiefly of straight lines. Draw a plan of it as shown in [Fig. 31], full size and then measure the frame and the inside strips—you will observe that there are two of the latter—and find out exactly how long each strip should be.

Now measure and cut off three strips of iron and allow an extra inch for lapping the long strip that forms the frame. This done mark off the points where the strips are to be bent and use your flat nose pliers to bend the sharp corners and your round nose pliers to bend the curved parts of the frame.

Lap the ends of the strip forming the frame on the side ¹⁄₂ an inch, fasten the joint by putting a binder on it with your pliers and a light tap with your hammer will tighten it up.

Now if you will look again at [Fig. 31], you will see that one end of the right inside strip projects up and beyond the rest of it and this end sets in the handle of the frame and strengthens it; put a binder on each place where it is shown in the drawing including the handle. Fix in the left inside bent strip with binders and put the binders on so that the rough ends will be inside, file down the rough places, rub the toaster all over with a piece of fine emery cloth until it is nice and smooth, rub it with some sweet oil, polish it off with a soft cloth and then present it to Pietro or Hilda or Wo Nang Fong or whoever it is that presides over the kitchen.

Fig. 31. a useful bent iron toaster

How to Make an Egg Boiler.

—Having made the toaster you are ready to try your hand at something a little harder and a good design for your next piece of work is an egg boiler.

The [picture] may look a little complicated but as a matter of fact there is very little to it. There are only three parts to the egg boiler and these are (a) the egg holders; (b) the legs, and (c) the handle. Each of the four egg holders is formed of a ring or strip of iron just large enough so that an egg will slip through it; lap the ends and put on a binder to hold the joint tight.

Fig. 32. how make an egg boiler

Mark, cut off and bend the ends of two strips over ¹⁄₂ an inch, for the half ovals on which the egg rests and then bend the strips to fit the shape of the egg. This done, loop the ends of each half oval over the ring and press them down hard with your pliers to hold them in place. The way an egg holder is made is shown at [A in Fig. 32].

Each leg is a short strip bent over and pressed on to the top of the ring. It is made rigid by putting a binder on it and to one of the half ovals as shown at [B]. To make the handle take a piece of lead wire and bend it to fit the outline shown at [C]; then straighten it out and cut off a strip of iron of the same length. Bend the ends of it over ¹⁄₂ an inch and shape it up with your round nose pliers.

Now join the four rings together with binders and loop and press the ends of the handle on to the rings that are furthest apart as shown at [B]. File, rub up and polish the egg boiler and give it to the chef with your compliments.

How to Make a Venetian Plate Holder.

—To make this plate holder you will have to add a hand drill, a ¹⁄₈ inch twist drill, and a center punch—which are described in [Chapter III]—to your list of tools.

Fig. 33. an artistic venetian plate holder

The plate holder is of more simple construction than the egg boiler but as you have emerged from the kitchen into the dining room you will have to do a very fine job. It consists of four legs as shown in [Fig. 33], riveted to a ring.

Draw the design on paper full size and this will depend on the diameter of the plate it is to hold. Find the length of the legs with your lead wire and measure and cut off the strips of iron accordingly. Likewise find the length of iron strips it will take for the ring and allow 1 inch or over for the lap joint.

Fig. 34. a sconce for a candle

Now drill ¹⁄₈ inch holes in each strip you intend to use for the legs, half way between the top and bottom of it and drill four holes in the ring at equi-distant points. Bend the strips into the artistic curves shown, using, of course, your round nose pliers to do it with, and bend the ring over a round form—a broomstick will do, but a larger form will work better.

Finally rivet the legs to the ring and see to it that you make a good job of it; slip the top of the legs into place over the plate and you will have a piece of Venetian iron work you can be proud of.

You can design and make pretty bent iron stands for vases in a manner very like that used for the plate holder; card racks, photograph frames, lamp shades, etc., can be made in the same manner; and as you become more adept at the work you can point and shape up the iron by heating it in an alcohol lamp, or a Bunsen burner and hammering it. When you can do this you will be able to make a sconce, that is, an ornamental mural[28] bracket for holding a candle as shown in [Fig. 34].

[28] Mural means anything that is supported by or has to do with a wall.

Further you can twist and weave the iron strips for the sides and doors of boxes and book-cases and either line them with silk or put stained glass back of them. In fact the most beautiful things imaginable can be wrought from bent iron strips especially when rivets are used to put the work together.

A Dead Black Finish for Iron Work.

—Get 25 cents’ worth of japan gold size and 10 cents’ worth of pure drop black ground in turpentine and mix them together.

If it is too thick thin it with turpentine and put it on with a soft brush. When dry it will be dead black and neither air nor moisture will spoil it.