Harper's indoor book for boys

by Joseph H. Adams

Brass, lead, or black iron binding will look well on this box, and with large-headed nails the effect will be bold and pleasing.

Four balls about two inches in diameter are to be turned and screwed fast under the corners to serve as feet. To give a good purchase on the bottom of the box, it would be well to flatten part of the surface on each ball. One long screw will be sufficient to anchor each foot firmly if driven through from the inside of the box into the ball. A little glue between the joint will add greatly in making the union strong.

A Table-lamp

The design for a table-lamp is shown in Fig. 8.

Any boy who is handy with tools can put this lamp together from wood, burlap, sheet-lead, wire, some oval-headed upholsterers’ tacks, four claw-feet, and a lamp-fount.

Fig. 8.

From boards about half an inch in thickness make a box seven inches square at the top, ten at the bottom, and twelve inches high. In the top of the box a round hole is cut to receive the lamp-fount. Five inches in diameter will be about right for the hole, since that is the measurement of the standard oil-pot. A flange, or rim, all around the upper edge of the fount will prevent it from falling through the hole. If the burner has a central draught it will be necessary to bore some large holes through the bottom of the box to admit air for the under draught.

With burlap, bagging, or canvas cover the entire outside of the box, the material being fastened to the wood with glue and small, flat-headed tacks at the edges. The glue must be spread evenly over the wood by means of a rag pad, or, still better, a small photographic squeegee roller may be employed. The covering material can be painted any good shade, and when the paint is dry the box will be ready for the decorations and trimmings.

From sheet-lead, or iron, cut some strips one inch and a quarter wide, and bind the corners and edges of the box, allowing about five-eighths of an inch to show on each side. Fasten these strips on the edges of the box with large, oval-headed upholsterers’ tacks, driven along each side at even distances apart, as shown in the illustration.