For a stencil-plate to make the garland and ribbon border shown in the frieze of the room (Fig. 4), a one-half section only is necessary (see Fig. 11). The full length of a garland is marked on the wall by indicated dots, with chalk or pencil; then the half garlands are stencilled all around the room. When completed, the stencil-plate is carefully wiped off; then it is reversed and the remaining halves are done. The stencil-plate for the wreath ribbon and garland border shown in the room (Fig. 5) is illustrated at Fig. 12. This is a half garland and wreath, and is used as described for Fig. 11. The stencil-plate shown in Fig. 13 can be used as the frieze or border in Fig. 6. This is an empire design, and its dignity and beauty make it a fitting ornament for any room in a house.
Chapter XX
NOOKS FOR BOOKS
There is always a demand in the house for convenient places in which books, pamphlets, magazines, and papers may be kept, thus avoiding the necessity of scattering them over tables and shelves that are properly reserved for other things. Regular bookcases are suitable for a library, arranged especially for the purpose of harboring books, but for the sitting-room, bedroom, or hall the odd rack, shelf, hanging cabinet, or convenient nook is an acceptable addition to the ordinary furniture.
Among the following illustrations may be found a variety of ideas in book receptacles. Any of them can be made at home by the boy craftsman, of inexpensive materials that may be at hand, or cheaply purchased from a carpenter.
All of these designs are entirely practical, and may be constructed with the aid of ordinary tools, the joints, laps, and matched edges being of the simplest forms. The staining, decorating, and finishing of these pieces of odd furniture are easily within the average boy’s ability, and if the instructions are carefully followed the results should be most satisfactory.
A Wall-rack
Of these designs the wall-rack (Fig. 1) is perhaps the easiest to construct, since it is formed of but three shelves and some narrow rails.
A convenient size will be from twenty-seven to thirty-six inches long, twenty inches high (from top to bottom shelf), and eight inches deep. The extreme height from top to bottom, along the middle wall strip, is about thirty-eight inches. The wood should be three-quarters of an inch in thickness, planed on both sides, and free from knots or sappy places. The strips, excepting the centre-piece at the back, measure two and a half inches in width, and where one crosses another a lap is cut in each, as shown in Fig. 2. This may be done with a fine saw and chisel, and the joint held firmly with glue. Where the shelves join the uprights at the ends a groove is cut in the end-rails to receive the ends of the shelves, as shown in Fig. 3. The curved sections of the rails, the back-board, and the tops of the upright strips at the back should be cut with a compass-saw and afterwards sand-papered or dressed down with a wood-file. All the edges of the wood-work should be rounded by means of a small plane or sand-paper, since sharp corners are not desirable on useful furniture.