Now, then, for the mechanical part of it: Saw out two wooden disks, twelve inches in diameter, with a ⅞-in hole in the center. Next you procure a piece of slate, fourteen inches square. Take a compass and strike a 12-inch circle. By drawing your compass around several times, you will find it will cut a fairly deep line. You can then take a hammer and by a few light taps break the square edges of your slate, leaving a perfectly round disk of slate. Next, you want a ⅞-inch hole in the center of the slate. Now mount this on the wooden disk; next, cut the copper contacts and shape them the same as a keystone. It will require fifteen of them for that number of circuits. To each one of them solder a piece of No. 14 wire, as shown in cut G. Then bore the holes in the slate so that the wires will go through the back of the disks, as each wire must run from the disk to the flag; that is the negative side, and the positive side runs right straight from your feeder to the flag. For your second wooden disk cut out a copper ring, two inches wide, and fasten it securely to the wood, and solder your wire on the back of this, say a No. 8 wire. This will need contacts, as shown in cut E.
You next make a brush holder. This is a very simple arrangement. The holder is made of wood. Fasten brushes on securely, as shown in F of cut. When automatic switch is set up, it will appear as shown in cut E. Now fasten belt to pulley J, and then to motor, as shown in cut. This switch should make 300 revolutions per minute. As the brushes strike each section on the contact plate, it causes a wave of light to pass through that section of stripes or stars, as the case may be.
This may seem complicated and difficult, but I will venture to say, if you will study this ten or fifteen minutes you can without much difficulty or expense proceed to duplicate it.
Remember, each wire running from the disk must run into cut-out and from cut-out to the flag (see cut B). Also note how wire is soldered on in G. You can bunch and group all wires from A, and form them into a cable, as shown in cut I, as they are all of one polarity.
This description is for flag 4½ × 6 feet, to contain about 450 lamps. There are a number of different ways of producing this effect, but I have tried this one as described, and found it very satisfactory, likewise inexpensive to construct.
ELECTRIC ILLUMINATED FOUNTAIN.
A really beautiful center feature, with the addition of a few potted plants, a little moss and some pebbles.
How to construct it: First, have a tinsmith make the center bowl A out of tin, any size you wish, according to your window. This resembles a large cake tin, hollow in the center. Have it enameled white (it will not cost very much). Then cut a hole in the center of your window; place this tin over the hole; secure a circular glass shelf, B, from any ordinary notion or perfumery counter stand; put a large rubber band around the center tin cone and rest the glass shelf B upon it. Have a fancy stem, C, made of tin and enameled white and soldered to water pipe, which passes through the hole in center of glass shelf B, and is attached to main pipe in the basement. A rubber washer on the glass shelf makes it water tight. Fine holes are punched into the stem, C, at top and bottom. The water flow is regulated by water stop. The surplus is carried off through waste pipe. The skeleton pulley D is arranged so that half of it is in center of the fountain. In the four openings of pulley are four pieces of colored glass, red, green, yellow and blue, held in position by tacks.
A strong electric light with reflector, F, sends its rays through the colored glass upward and through the center cone on to the water, giving a very beautiful effect. The changing of the colors can be reduced in speed by means of the reducer E. Three electric bulbs, colored green, with wires made waterproof, are well insulated and enameled white and laid in the lower bowl. A few pond lilies and gold fish, together with other accessories suggested, makes a magnificent center feature.