At a hardware store purchase eight hooks and arrange them in alternating pairs, as shown in the drawing. The wood-work should be shellacked or painted to give it a finished appearance.
When hanging clothes upon this tree place the coat, vest, and trousers on the lower hooks, the shirt and underclothing on the hooks next above, and on the top hooks the necktie and collar and cuffs. When dressing, the clothing needed first will then be the nearest to hand.
Hanging Book-shelves
In a room where space cannot be given up to a standing bookcase, it may be possible to arrange a set of shelves to form a book-rack that will hang against the wall. The construction of the hanging shelves shown in Fig. 35 is very simple, and will require but a few boards, two wall-strips, and a few yards of strong rope.
For the shelves, obtain five pine boards eight inches wide, seven-eighths of an inch thick, and from three to four feet long; also two pine strips three inches wide, an inch thick, and four feet long. In the rear edge of each board, at the ends, cut notches three inches long and an inch wide, as shown in Fig. 35 A, into which the wall-strips will fit. Round off the top of each wall-strip and screw them fast to the notched edges of the shelves, first boring gimlet holes in both strips and shelves to prevent splitting of the wood.
Half-inch holes at the top of each wall-strip will admit the suspension rope, which is of manila, and half an inch in diameter. Knot one end of the rope and pass it up through holes made at the outer corners of each shelf, and finally through the hole at the top of the wall-strips, and cut it off three inches back of the hole. With a gouge-chisel a groove should be made at the back of the wall-strip for an inch or two below the hole, so that the rope end may be carried down and ravelled out. It can then be glued and held fast to the wood with staples. Where the rope passes through the hole in each shelf, drive several long steel-wire nails into the edge and end of the board, allowing the nails to pass through the rope and into the wood.
Paint or varnish the wood-work, and securely anchor the wall-plates with stout screws driven into the frame timbers, through the lath and plaster of the wall.
A Corner Cabinet
A corner cabinet of odd design and simple construction is shown in Fig. 36. The total height of the wall-plates should be thirty-four inches, and at the top the shelf measures eighteen inches across. Each shelf is rounded out at the front so as to afford more surface on which to place books and bric-à-brac. The ends of each shelf are securely attached to the side or wall-plates with screws, thus insuring a perfect anchorage and a strong construction.
Fig. 37 is a plan showing the shape of the sides or wall-plates. At the widest part they should measure twelve inches across. Fig. 38 is a plan of the top shelf, which is followed in shape by the others. They decrease, however, in size as they near the bottom. The notch at the middle of each shelf breaks the long curved line in a pleasing manner. Two light metal rods from which curtains hang may be arranged under the top shelf and the one next the bottom. Shellac or paint of some appropriate shade will add to the appearance of this useful piece of furniture.