The Notched Board Fastened to the Chopping Block Turns It into a Sawbuck
Cleaning Gold and Platinum
A good way to clean gold or platinum jewelry is to first brush with soapsuds, then dust magnesia powder over the article and allow it to dry. A few rubs with a cloth makes the article shine with great luster. As magnesia powder is highly inflammable, it must be kept away from fire.
A Twine Spool
The pieces of twine used in tying parcels delivered to a residence are either thrown away or tied together and wound into a ball for future use. The method I use for keeping the pieces of twine is to wind them over a discarded photographic-film spool. The spool was slipped on a finishing nail driven into the wall. The crank for turning the spool was made of a piece of wire, bent as shown and slipped into the slot end of the spool. One end of the first piece of string was tied to the core and then wound around it, the next piece tied to the first and wound up, and so on, as the strings were taken from the packages from time to time. When a string is needed for any purpose I always know where to find it, and it is easier to take it from the spool than from a ball.—Contributed by W. Resseguie, Susquehanna, Pa.
The Film Spool as It is Attached to a Wall, and the Crank for Turning It
Reinforcing Chair Bottoms
Embossed-leather-board chair bottoms can be made as serviceable as leather in the following manner: Turn the chair upside down and fill the hollow beneath the seat with excelsior, soft rags or fine shavings, then nail a 1/4-in. wood bottom over the filling with brads. Make the wood bottom 1/2 or 3/4 in. larger than the opening. It will thus not be seen, and the seat will last as long as the chair.—Contributed by J. H. Sanford, Pasadena, California.