IX.—BOOK-REST.
PERHAPS you would like now to make something useful and pretty for your father or your big brother, so I will try to tell you how to make a book-rest like one I made myself for Christmas. It has no fancy carving about it, but is made (as you can see by the illustration) of straight pieces.
The directions for finding the angles might be given mathematically, so that you could get them for yourself with a little figuring, but it will be easier practically to find the angles in the way I describe, and they will be accurate enough for this piece of work.
For the book-rest you must buy some planed whitewood which is preferable to any other on account of staining. A piece eighteen inches long, twelve inches wide and one half inch thick, will be enough; it will cost about ten cents.
Lengthwise with chalk-line mark off eleven strips five eighths inch wide; cut them with splitting-saw and plane, the sides cut with fore-plane, making each strip JUST one half inch in breadth as well as thickness.
We will begin with the uprights for the front.
Take one of these strips, square one end: then measure a little over one half inch down the stick, and with try-square make a continuous line around the stick.
Find the centre of the end just squared by drawing diagonals, and then either with block-plane or knife, point the stick by putting the edge of knife on the continuous line on one of the faces of the square, and directing the blade toward the centre of end; a steady, firm pressure will give a good bevel. Finish the other three sides in the same way, and you will have a pyramid with square base for one end of your stick: cut the stick off square thirteen inches from the point. Finish two more sticks in the same way, and you will have your three front uprights.
