CONTENTS
PART I
| CHAPTER | PAGE | |
| I. | A Pathway of Cement Purchasing property, River Passaic—Removing rocksand other obstacles—Preparing for cement sidewalk—Diggingtrench and purchasing materials—Making, laying,and properly placing concrete—The lever and roller andapplication—Moving heavy bodies with lever and roller—Finishingthe cement sidewalk—How to make good concretewalks. | [3] |
| II. | Building of a Boat House Qualities of the inclined plane—Dismantling an oldbarn and out-houses—Blocks and tackle, ropes and pulleys—Strengthand care of ropes—Building a boat-house, usingold materials—Strength of timber floors—Method ofconstruction—Holding power of nails—Doors and windowsfor boat-house—The use of rollers in moving heavy weights—Slidingways for boat—How heavy stones were raised totops of Egyptian Pyramids. | [36] |
| III. | Bridge and Boat Work Dimensions of the launch—Arrival of The Mocking-Bird—Aninteresting boat talk—A sail on the river—Buildinga small foot-bridge—The same completed—Somerules for sailing a launch—Fitting up boat-house and dock—Preparingblock for keel—The winch and its construction—Thewheel and axle as a mechanical power—The fusee,and what it means—Some problems solved. | [65] |
| IV. | Making a Gasolene Launch Arrival of boat material—Laying keel and keelson—Settingup the boat and giving her shape—Laying enginebed—Installing engine and propeller—Nailing on planking—Tableof offsets—Gasolene engine and carburetor—Dimensionsof engine and propeller—Gas engines, generally—Dangerof using gasolene—The proper use of yacht flagsfor signalling. | [84] |
| V. | A Talk About Engines Water around the cylinder—The carburetor and sparkcoil—Running the engine in boat-house—Varnishing theboat—A steamboat on the river—A story of the firststeam engine—How the steam acted in the case—The slidevalve, piston and steam chest—Internal and externalengine heaters—Horse-power and how calculated—Footpounds, dry steam and condensation—Expansion of gases,turbines—Gilding the name—Constructing picnic tablesand seats—Height of tables, chairs and benches. | [110] |
| VI. | Propeller and Other Screws The launch of the Caroline—Trial of the new boat—Descriptionof the screw as a power—The wheel and wormand endless screw—Formula for counting power of wheeland worm screws of various kinds—Archimedian screw andwater lifter—Some data of power of "wheel and worm"—Thescrew propeller, with data—How to calculate forceof propeller screws—Finding pitch and other lines for propeller—Thescrew auger or boring tool—Adhesion ofordinary wood screws—How to loosen and withdraw rustyscrews. | [136] |
| VII. | Aeroplanes Seats for riverside—Model aeroplane for the "Fourth"—Dimensionon construction of planes—Why a monoplanerises from the earth—The gyroscope as a balancer—Thebiplane and its construction—Aeroplanes generally—TheFrench aeroplane "Demoiselle"—How to make amodel aeroplane—Illustrations and details of modelaeroplane—Some general remarks. | [158] |
| VIII. | Kites, Sundials, Patents The theory of kite-flying—The highest kite ascent—Theflat plane kite—The kite a small aeroplane—A boxkite of common type—Cellular kites of various kinds—Pairsand bevies of kites—Bird flight and motion—Warkites of various kinds—Wind gauges and wind force—Patentsand how to secure them—A simple sundial—Howto make an oval flower bed. | [185] |
| IX. | Tides The "why" of the tides explained—Globular form ofthe earth proved—Day and night—Phases of the moon—Attractionof the sun and moon—Newton's theory of thetides—Height of tides—A simple hygrometer—TheAustralian boomerang—Theory of the pump. | [212] |
| X. | Wall Making and Plumbing Protecting the river bank—Concrete retaining walls—Bigdams in the West—Galveston sea wall—The greatdam across the Nile—Proposed irrigation works in Babylon—Someproperties of light and sound—Hints on amateurplumbing—The peppermint test—Barometers of variouskinds—Thermometers, and their uses—Something aboutsteel springs—How to make a cross-bow—The gyroscopeand its uses. | [237] |
PART II | ||
| I. | Some Practical Advice The inventor, ancient and modern—Barriers to mechanicalprogress in the past—Laws of gravitation—How to adjustsewing machines. | [271] |
| II. | Mechanical Movements Coffee mills—Pulleys—Pumps—Pistons—Levers—Steamengine and water wheel governors, etc. | [306] |
| III. | The Weather and Indoor Work How to make a rain gauge—Hail—Snow—Designing,making and inflating paper balloons—Magnetizedwatches—A boy's wheelbarrow—Vacuum cleaners. | [349] |
| IV. | Motors and Typewriters Motors, gasolene and steam—Automobile frames—Themodern typewriter—Directions for securing copyrights. | [387] |
ILLUSTRATIONS
| A Motor-Boat Model | [Frontispiece] |
| FACING PAGE | |
| Boat-House and Workshop | [42] |
| The Creek | [70] |
| Making a Motor Launch | [88] |
| Finishing the Motor Launch | [112] |
| The Monoplane Model Complete | [160] |
| Making an Aeroplane Model | [180] |
| Making Kites | [190] |
| A Sundial Made of Concrete | [208] |