Harper's indoor book for boys

by Joseph H. Adams

The ledge is twenty-four inches high, and the front board is bound with a strip of zinc along the upper edge. The blacking-brushes may be kept in the tray, but it is a better plan to hang them up against the brick-work on steel nails. If the brushes are to be kept inside the tray, a lid should be made and hinged to the back strip of the tray. When the lid is raised it may be held against the brick wall with a wooden button.

An Easel

Boys who have a talent for drawing and painting would undoubtedly like to have an easel on which to work, and a good strong one may be made, at moderate cost, in the following manner (Fig. 28).

Obtain four pieces of clear white pine six feet long, two and a half inches wide, and seven-eighths of an inch in thickness. These should be planed on all sides. Two of the sticks should be tapered off at one end, and slightly bevelled at the other. Nine inches from the top and twelve inches up from the bottom laps are to be cut in the sticks at the back, as shown in Fig. 29. Into these the ends of cross-pieces will fit. If the concealed lap is too bothersome to make, it can be cut clear across the sticks, as shown in Fig. 30. Glue and screws will make a strong joint.

Fig. 28. Fig. 29. Fig. 30. Fig. 31. Fig. 32. Fig. 33. Fig. 34.

The remaining long stick is the back support, or leg, and is to be hinged to the upper cross-piece. With this leg the easel may be pitched at any angle, and to prevent it from going back too far a guide-chain should be attached to the leg, and the ends secured to the back of each upright with staples. Holes are bored along the uprights at even distances apart, and two wooden pegs are cut to fit snugly in the holes, and so hold a drawing-board or canvas-stretcher.

A Clothes-tree

A clothes-tree is a most serviceable article of furniture, and helps a boy to form habits of neatness and orderliness in the care of his wearing apparel. To make the one shown in Fig. 31 obtain a clear pine or ash stick one and a half inches square and five feet long for the upright, or staff. Also two pieces eighteen inches long, two inches wide, and three-quarters of an inch thick for the feet; and four braces twelve inches long, one and a half inches wide, and three-quarters of an inch in thickness.

Cut a lap in the middle of each foot-piece, as shown in Fig. 32, and with glue and screws fasten them securely together, as shown in Fig. 33. Screw this foot fast to the bottom of the upright stick, and strengthen the four projecting feet with braces bevelled at the ends, so that they will rest against the upright and on the foot, where they can be fastened with screws, as shown in Fig. 34. Under the end of each foot, the half of a small wooden ball, or a castor, may be arranged to raise the tree from the floor. With a chisel and plane taper the top of the upright stick, as shown in Fig. 31.