This is a useful article for filing notes or memoranda of things that need immediate attention. There is very little variety in design. The base can be made square, circular, six-sided, etc., and decorated in many ways. It looks well either in copper or brass. Only heavy copper should be used, in order to give weight to the base.
Material: A 31⁄2-in. square of No. 10 copper. Rod of sharpened steel.
Directions: Take a piece of iron 1⁄2 × 21⁄2 × 21⁄2 ins. Go to any scrap heap for this. Place the copper sheet over this block of iron, letting the surplus metal extend evenly all around. Put it into the vise with the corner vertical. Tighten it up and drive the metal over the corner till it touches the sides of the iron. Do this on all the corners. Make the outside of the metal fit tightly over this iron, acting as a shape or form. If the metal should feel springy before driving it up close, anneal it. Notice that in driving these corners down they are longer than the four sides, and they suggest feet. If filed flat and smoothed up you have a square box with a foot on each corner. Take it off the iron form and make the top rounding by driving it over the hollow block. Now drill a 1⁄8-in. hole through the middle. Place the copper rod in the hole and solder with hard solder.
PAPER CUTTER, LETTER OPENER, BOOK MARK
Paper cutter: No article on a desk is more useful than a good paper cutter. It may be one with a plain flat blade, no marked handle and without decoration aside from that of the metal itself with its hammer marks left upon it. Again we may have one with blade and handle, the blade either pointed (sharp edged or blunt), the handle plain or with sawed-out design. Those with pointed blades are serviceable as letter openers too. Then some designs have handles made long enough to turn the end over, forming a raised handle.
Material: Piece of No. 20 copper, 7⁄8 × 9 ins.
