Harper's indoor book for boys

by Joseph H. Adams

The screw-heads are covered with false nail-heads of lead. These, when finished, should be painted a dead black in imitation of wrought iron. An old green or a weathered oak color would be appropriate for this rack.

A Corner-nook

For the corner of a room where space is valuable an idea is suggested for a corner-nook (see Fig. 7). This is nothing more than a well-made box arranged with wall-plates that extend down below the bottom of the box, and to which the ornamental wood-work over the box is attached.

Fig. 5. Fig. 6. Fig. 7.

The wings, or angle-shelves, and the brackets at the sides should be made to conform with the general proportions of the design. The working construction is so clearly shown that it is not necessary to minutely describe the smaller details. The shelves should be nine inches apart, and the width of the box must be governed by the space that can be allotted to it. The ornament at the bottom of the wall-plate is painted on, and then outlined with a dark-brown paint or burned. The wood-work is tinted an olive-green, or other desirable color, then shellacked.

A Book-tower

An odd but useful piece of furniture is shown in the illustration of a book-tower (Fig. 8). It is suitable for the corner of a room where the available space is limited.

This tower should be twelve or fourteen inches square and about seven feet high. The corner-posts are two inches square and the shelves three-quarters or seven-eighths of an inch in thickness. The shelves are let into the posts (as shown in Fig. 6) and securely fastened with long screws. The side slats are of thin wood. They are let into the edges of the shelves, where they may be fastened with glue and long, slim, steel-wire nails. Each joint or attachment should be finished with a lead nail-head, which should be painted black.

A very good dead-black paint for metals is made by thinning shellac to the consistency of milk, then adding some dry lamp-black until it is about the thickness of cream. This is applied in thin coats with a soft, flat brush. If one coat does not thoroughly cover the metal, another may be applied after the first one is absolutely dry.