Harper's indoor book for boys

by Joseph H. Adams

A Box-desk

In the illustration of a box-desk (Fig. 9) an idea is shown that the young craftsman can easily work out.

Obtain a box twenty-four inches long, eighteen inches wide, and twelve inches deep. It should be made of planed boards. At the joints drive in a few screws to make them more secure. Cut two pieces of wood thirty-six inches long, four inches wide, and seven-eighths of an inch thick, and attach them to the rear edges of the box when it is stood on end, allowing the lower ends to extend down four inches below the bottom of the box. These will form the back feet. For the front ones, cut two pieces of wood fourteen inches long and six inches wide, rounding off one end, and cutting the bottom out three inches, thus allowing the remaining wood to be three inches wide, as shown at Fig. 10. These are fastened to the lower edges of the box at the sides with screws and glue.

Fig. 9. Fig. 10. Fig. 11. Fig. 12.

Two shelves, ten inches wide, and as long as the inside width of the box, are to be cut and fastened six inches apart, leaving a ten or twelve inch space at the bottom for high books, or a place to put the feet when sitting at the desk. A top twenty-two inches wide and eighteen inches deep is made fast to the top of the box, and if a slant is desired the back of the top board may be propped up for an inch or two with a strip of wood. On the ends of the side-rails that project above the desk-top a ledge six inches wide may be made fast for ink-bottles, pencils, and other accessories. Attached to the upper edges of the box brackets of wood may be arranged to support the projecting edge of the desk-top.

Stain and varnish, or paint, will add the finishing touch to this box-desk.

A Writing-table

Two boxes, a drawer, and a broad top can be easily transformed into the writing-table shown in Fig. 11. If well put together and decorated with artistic hinge-straps and escutcheons, the boxes are entirely hidden from sight.

Two boxes, each twenty-two inches long, fifteen inches deep, and ten inches wide (outside measure), are placed on end and made fast under a broad top forty-five inches long and eighteen inches wide. Three inches of the top will project beyond the boxes at the ends and front. This will leave a space nineteen inches wide between the boxes. At the bottom a ledge eight or ten inches wide must be made fast to the bottom of the boxes, on which to rest the feet when writing at the table. This ledge will also serve as a brace, and help to hold together the bottoms of the boxes.