A convenient chest is shown in Fig. 16, and in Fig. 17 is given the plan of construction. For the average household it should be made eighteen inches wide and twenty-four inches high, with two shelves arranged so that the space between the lower one and the bottom of the box will be eight and a half inches. The space between the upper one and the top should be six inches, and between shelves seven and a half inches. The top and bottom wall-plates should measure four inches wide, and they are attached to the top and bottom of the box by means of screws driven into the edge of each through the top and bottom of the box.
Fig. 15. Fig. 16. Fig. 17. Fig. 18. Fig. 19.
A door is made from three pieces of board across the ends of which battens are made fast, as shown in the plan drawing. This is attached to the box by means of hinges, and a catch at the other side will keep it closed. The wall-plates and sides of the chest should be stained and varnished, and the door covered with burlap glued fast or tacked at the inner side. The letters, ornament, and imitation nail-heads are cut from sheet-lead, scraps of which can be purchased at a plumber’s shop, shaped with a shears, or an old knife, and light mallet, and afterwards trimmed with a penknife blade or a file. They may be attached to the door with slim, steel-wire nails, and painted black with a coating made by adding dry lamp-black to thin shellac, and applying it in one or two thin coats with a soft-hair brush.
Be careful to anchor this chest securely to the wall, as bottles are heavy and their weight must be taken into consideration.
A Convenient Plant-tray
In the illustration of a convenient plant-tray (Fig. 18) an idea is suggested for a receptacle that will accommodate several small pots in the lower tray and a large pot, or jardinière, on the middle deck.
The tray is thirty-six inches long and twelve inches wide and at the ends is four inches deep. But at the middle the sides are eight inches high, and support the stage or deck, which is thirteen inches square.
The tray is made of wood three-quarters of an inch thick and planed on both sides.