One Thousand Ways to Make a Living; or, An Encyclopædia of Plans to Make Money

by Harold Morse Dunphy

The bottom or lower part of the rack is 5 inches wide and 3 inches in depth, and is made of 2¹⁄₂-inch material. It is rabbeted on the side next to the wall. An inch rabbet is cut into for a rest for the ironing board. This part of the rack is fastened with two screws to the wall or door.

PLAN No. 819. ICELESS REFRIGERATOR

A very useful convenience for the farmhouse, where ice is not obtainable, is the iceless refrigerator. It will keep meats, fruits, and vegetables cool, and will extend the period for keeping milk and butter. It can also serve as a cooler for drinking water. In homes where large quantities of milk and butter are to be kept, it would be well to have one refrigerator for milk and butter and another for other foods, as milk and butter readily absorb odors from other foods. It costs very little to build the refrigerator and nothing to operate it.

Construction: A wooden frame is made with dimensions 42 by 14 inches and covered with screen wire, preferably the rustless kind, which costs little more than the ordinary kind. The door is made to fit closely and is mounted on brass hinges, and can be fastened with a wooden latch. The bottom is fitted solid, but the top should be covered with screen wire. Adjustable shelves can be made of solid wood or strips, or sheets of galvanized metal. Shelves made of poultry netting on light wooden frames, are probably the most desirable. These shelves rest on side braces placed at desired intervals. A bread baking pan, 14 by 16 inches, is placed on the top and the frame rests in a 17 by 18 inch pan.

All the woodwork, the shelves, and the pans should receive two coats of white paint and two coats of white enamel. This makes a very attractive surface and one that can be easily kept clean. The screen wire may also receive the coats of enamel, which will prevent it from rusting.

A cover of canton flannel, burlap, or duck is made to fit the frame. Put the smooth side out if canton flannel is used. It will require about three yards of the material. This material is buttoned around the top of the frame and down the side on which the door is not hinged, using buggy hooks and eyes or large-headed tacks and eyelets worked in the material. On the front side arrange the hooks on the top of the door instead of on the frame and also fasten the cover down the latch side of the door, allowing a wide hem of the material to overlap the place where the door closes. The door can then be opened without unbuttoning the cover. The bottom of the cover should extend down into the lower pan. Four double strips, which taper to 8 or 10 inches in width, are sewed to the upper part of the cover. These strips form wicks that dip over into the upper pan.

Fig. 11.—Framework of the iceless refrigerator.

The dimensions given make a refrigerator of very convenient size for household use and one with sufficient evaporating surface, but it is not necessary to follow strictly these dimensions. If a larger capacity is desired, the height of the refrigerator can be increased.

Operation: The lowering of the temperature of the inside of the refrigerator depends upon the evaporation of water. To change water from liquid to a vapor, or to bring about evaporation, requires heat. As evaporation takes place heat is taken from the inside of the refrigerator, thereby lowering the temperature of the inside and the contents.