Miniature Mission Furniture, illustrated and described in this chapter, simple to make and something which is easy to sell, for there is nothing like it at present upon the market.
Cigar-boxes furnish the nicest material for making this furniture, and the various parts can be cut to the right shape and size with
A Scroll-Saw. Procure small brads and glue with which to fasten the pieces together.
To Prepare the Cigar-boxes for use, place them in a tub of boiling water and let them remain there until the paper labels readily pull off. Do not use a knife in removing the paper, as it is likely to roughen the wood. The paper will come off by allowing it to soak long enough. When the boxes are clean, set them in the sun to dry, after binding the covers to the backs to prevent them from warping. Pull the boxes apart when they are thoroughly dry, and throw out such pieces as have printing upon them, for these would spoil the appearance of the furniture if used.
In order to simplify the matter of cutting the parts that make the furniture, the curved pieces have been drawn out carefully on [page 177], so that they can be laid off upon the strips of cigar-boxes without any trouble, by the process of
Enlarging by Squares. These drawings are shown one-quarter of their full size (half their width and half their height). To enlarge them procure a piece of cardboard nine by thirteen inches, or a little larger than twice the size of the drawing each way, and divide it into squares just twice the size of those on [page 177]. That will make sixteen squares in the width of the cardboard and twenty-four in the length, each half an inch square. In order to get the squares spaced equally, it is best to lay off the points first with a ruler along the top, bottom, and two sides of the sheet of cardboard, and then connect the points with the ruler and a sharp lead-pencil. Then number the squares as in the illustration, using the figures along the sides and letters across the top and bottom of the sheet.
With the sheet of cardboard thus prepared it is a simple matter to
Reproduce the Drawings of [Figs. 259] to [266] by locating the points of the curves and corners of the pieces, as shown in the illustrations, in corresponding positions in the squares on your cardboard sheet. The curves may be drawn in by eye, after locating them with reference to their surrounding squares, but the surest way of enlarging them accurately is by laying off the points where the curve strikes each horizontal and vertical line in the illustration, upon the enlarged drawing. These points can then be connected with a curved line.
Make all of the lines heavy so they can be distinguished from your guide lines, and after carefully going over the drawing, comparing it with that on [page 177] to see that no mistake has been made in locating the points in enlarging, cut the various pieces apart. These will give you