Harper's indoor book for boys

by Joseph H. Adams

Several good designs for simple and artistic cases are shown on the following pages, and none of them are too intricate to be made at home by the boy who has gained some knowledge in the handling of tools. There is nothing in their construction that requires the services of a cabinet-maker, and the movements may be had from a clock-manufacturer, or perhaps taken out of an old or unsightly case. For instruction in the use of the pyrographic-point, see Chapter XII.

Thin white-wood or pine boards, sheet-lead, stain, and shellac are some of the simple materials needed; and the tools required will be those that may be found in every household, such as a saw, hammer, plane, awl, square, mallet, compass-saw, and brace and bit. Some steel-wire nails, glue, sand-paper, and black paint will complete the list of necessaries, and the various small accessories may be had at a hardware store at a nominal outlay.

A Bracket-clock

A design for a simple bracket-clock is shown in Fig. 1, and the case is so plain in construction that any smart boy can easily make it from thin pieces of board half an inch in thickness, half a yard of burlap, and some sheet-lead.

The box part of the clock is eight inches square and three and a half inches deep. The brackets are extensions of the sides, cut as shown in Fig. 2 A; they drop eight inches below the bottom-board of the case. The dial and glass frame measure six inches in diameter, and to fit them to the box it will be necessary to cut a hole in the front of the case five and a half inches in diameter, as shown in Fig. 2 B. The shelf-top to the box is bevelled at the under side, and is attached by means of glue and nails; it overhangs one and a half inches at the front and ends. The sides and front of the box are then covered with tinted burlap in a soft, old-green, red, or tan shade, and the exposed wood-work is stained a color to match. When dry it is given a coat or two of thin shellac to lend a lustre to the grain and stain.

To hide the joint between the cap and the body of the clock, a round piece of wood, such as a dowel, should be inserted and nailed fast; or a narrow strip of picture-moulding can be used.

Fig. 1. Fig. 2. Fig. 3.

If it is impossible to find the large nails that bind the corners at a hardware store, they may be made from sheet-lead. Disks half an inch in diameter are cut from the lead by means of a small cold-chisel and mallet. The edges of the disks are beaten with a tack-hammer to give them the appearance of a rough, hammer-headed nail. These disks are painted with a dead-black paint, made by adding a small portion of dry lamp-black to thin shellac, and applying it to the metal-work with a soft brush. These heads are attached to the clock, as shown in the illustration, at regular distances apart, with thin, small-headed, steel-wire nails, which when driven in and painted with the black preparation become invisible.

The movement, which may be of either the spring or weight kind, is attached to the back of the case before the dial is made fast, and the pendulum-rod is dropped through a slot cut in the bottom-board.