Dimensioned dial piece of clock before edges are turned
The length of the pendulum depends upon the number of teeth in the escape wheel. It was necessary in the case of this clock to take out the escape wheel, which had 32 teeth, and substitute one of 22 teeth to accommodate the length of pendulum desired.
OUTDOOR FURNITURE
The greatest charm of home life in the summer season is rarely found within the house. This is especially true in the village or in the country, where nature is at her best; but even in city homes that are fortunate enough to include in their surroundings a small yard, a bit of garden, or any means of connecting the home with "God's great out-of-doors," though it be but a sheltered balcony or a window garden, the touch of nature is not lost. It is possible, however, for art to assist nature; and in many cases her assistance is very much needed. It is certainly true that nature cannot be left wholly to herself in the neighbourhood of the village or city home. If there be a garden, as much forethought must be exercised in planning it and as much pains taken in developing and caring for it as is called for in working out any form of interior decoration. There are problems of design and construction suggested by the need of suitable chairs and settles for the piazza, comfortable hammocks and couches for the balcony, awnings for the windows on the sunny side, and the right furniture, perhaps, for an out-door dining-room. The more decorative features are found in the rose arbours, the trellises, the garden screens, the lawn tent, the pergola, and the garden gate; and all these offer problems that easily come within the reach of enterprising and capable young craftsmen.
General Types.—In the designing of out-door furniture there are two suggestions from nature that may appropriately find expression. On the one hand large masses, as seen in the hills and rocks, suggest solidity, weight, and permanence. This idea is embodied in walls of masonry, stone posts, iron gates, stone or concrete pedestals, or in some other kind of heavy construction. On the other hand, there are the suggestions of lightness, delicacy, and growth, seen in the growing vines, shrubbery, and small trees, which are carried out in the so-called rustic furniture, trellises, arbours, and garden screens.
An Example of Heavy Furniture in Wood.—A settle designed for comparatively permanent use in some cool or retired corner of the garden may be made of native pine, white wood, or spruce, well protected by several coats of paint. A suggestion is here given for such a design, laid out on substantial lines. Ordinary 4 × 4 spruce, planed, may be used for the posts, pine or white wood for the rest of the construction, 2-inch stock being used for the back pieces and arms, and 7⁄8-inch boards for the rails and seat. Mortise and tenon joints should be used in the framing. The illustration shows also a simple design cut in the back pieces and repeated in the two front posts. It is a decorative feature which seems to counteract, somewhat successfully, the general severity of the lines on which the settle is designed to be built.
A garden settle
Concrete Furniture.—Still more substantial out-door furniture may be made of concrete cement. This material has come into use for sidewalks and pavements and as a substitute for brick and stone masonry in retaining walls, bridge abutments, and in a great variety of heavy building construction. Concrete is, in fact, an artificial stone, made by mixing Portland cement with sand or pulverized rock in the right proportions, thoroughly wetting the mixture with water, and allowing it to harden. It is so commonly associated with heavy, crude work that it is not easy to believe that it may be also fashioned into anything of an artistic or decorative character; and yet it is capable of a wide range of out-door decorative uses. Gate posts, pedestals, fountains, window boxes, urns, and other forms of garden pottery in great variety, tables, and garden seats, have been successfully moulded in this material. Its natural stone gray colour and surface are well suited to many of these uses; but it may be given a variety of colour effects in bold design if occasion requires it. In weight and durability it leaves nothing to be desired.
The Wire Form.—Concrete cement cannot be modelled like clay. In its formative state it is too soft for such manipulation. It must be supported in some way while it is being worked into the desired shape and until it has hardened. In general there are two methods of giving the necessary support: viz., by employing an interior framework or skeleton, generally of wire lath, which is permanently encased in the cement; or by using a plaster or wooden mould into which the material in a soft and plastic state is poured and from which it is removed when hardened. The latter method has been elaborated quite extensively for commercial purposes, because it readily yields an indefinite number of marketable results from the same moulds. The simpler wooden moulds may be easily made by a clever boy; and after a little experience he can soon learn how to mix the cement properly and mould a form successfully. For single pieces of concrete work, however, the wire forms are to be preferred. A suggestive illustration of this method is found in the following problem: