At the middle of each cross-piece forming the ends of the base a one-inch hole, for the glass standard rods, is bored through the wood, as shown at [Fig. 4] B B. After attaching the uprights to the base with glue and screws, and giving all the wood-work several successive coats of shellac, the frame will be ready for its mountings.
The driving-wheels are of wood seven-eighths of an inch thick and seven inches in diameter; they should be turned on a lathe and a groove cut in the edge so that a round leather belt will fit in it. These wheels are mounted on a wooden axle that can be made from a round curtain-pole, with a half-inch hole bored through its entire length. The axle is as long as the distance between uprights B B in [Fig. 9]. The wheels are to be arranged and glued fast to the axle, so that the grooves will line directly under those in the bosses, as shown in [Fig. 9]. A half-inch axle is driven through the hub, and at one end it is threaded and provided with two washers and nuts; or a square shoulder and one washer and nut may be used, so that a crank and handle may be held fast. Shellac should be put on the shaft to make it hold fast in the hub.
The complete apparatus of wheels, axle, hub, and handle is shown at [Fig. 5], and in the frame this is so hung that the iron axle rests in the grooves cut in the uprights. To hold this in place two metal straps, as shown in [Fig. 6], are made and screwed fast to the wood. When finally adjusted the driving-wheels should rotate freely whenever the crank is turned. The wooden bosses, [Fig. 3], are given two or three coats of shellac; then they are made fast to the glass disks on the same side to which the tin-foil sectors are attached. The disks should be placed over the paper plan, [Fig. 1], and so adjusted that the outer line tallies with the large circle. Acetic glue[4] is then applied to the flat surface of the boss, and the latter is placed at the middle of the disk to line with the small circle. Place a weight on the end of the boss to hold it down, and leave it for ten or twelve hours or until thoroughly dry.
[4] See [Formulæ, Chapter xiv.], for the recipe of [acetic glue].
Both bosses should be set at the same time so that they may dry together.
If the bosses are turned on a lathe a hole should be made in each one about half-way through from the small end. This, in turn, should be bushed or lined with a piece of brass tube, which should fit snugly in the hole. A little shellac painted on each piece of tube will make it stick. Pieces of steel rod that will just fit within the tubing are to be cut long enough to enter the full length of the hole, pass through the holes made in the top of the uprights, and extend half an inch beyond, as shown in [Fig. 9]. The bosses and axles will then appear as shown in [Fig. 7].
Flat places should be filed on each rod where it passes through the wood upright; a set-screw will then hold it fast and keep it from revolving. When the hole, or tubing, is oiled so that the boss and disk will revolve freely on the axle, the disks, bosses, and axles are ready to be mounted in the frame.
A red fibre washer, such as is used in faucets, should be made fast to one glass disk at the centre, so as to separate the disks and prevent them from touching when they are revolving in opposite directions. These fibre washers can be had from a plumber or purchased at a hardware store. Shellac or acetic glue will hold the washers in place.
