Starting the Fireplace Fire
A cupful (not more) of Diesel oil over the laid hearth fire just before lighting is a safe starter with no flare such as kerosene gives. It allows a successful immediate fire with no paper, less kindling, and greater warmth. Diesel oil is efficient and cheap, and the small quantity used for this purpose seems to make no obvious increase of soot. Its safety and cheapness can lead to many adaptations of it as a fire starter in camp or lodge.
If members of your family are not familiar with lighting such fires, warn them against tossing gasoline or kerosene on the flames. It is positively dangerous.
Ordinarily there isn’t space for a bath tub in the average cabin, but a shower is usually acceptable to all but the very small members of the family. If you have young children, you can solve the problem by walling up the shower with cement to a height of two feet from the floor and providing for a stopper in the drain. This makes a small tub that young children will appreciate, and it is easy for adults to step over the wall.
This ox-yoke lighting fixture fits into the cabin atmosphere.
Any wrought iron worker can make this door knocker from an old horseshoe.
This interesting lighting fixture is made by suspending an old kerosene lamp on a hame from a discarded set of harness.
Horseshoe andirons give a ranch effect to the cabin fireplace. Branding irons also make good andirons.
These horseshoe hinges will add interest to the cabin door. The nails shown are ornamental, the necessary support being provided by strong screws countersunk in the iron.
A sheep bell hung from a strap iron spiral makes an interesting door bell. A pull at the bottom sets the bell to jingling gayly.
This portable and collapsible table is easy to make and a great convenience in the kitchen or at the side of the barbecue when you are entertaining outdoors. You can make it of rustic materials or of ordinary lumber. Cover the top with strong canvas or a good grade of oilcloth, or both.