The mechanic who attempts to fasten a mitered frame in the home workshop usually comes to grief. This is due to lack of proper facilities for holding the frame straight and out of wind, and for clamping or drawing the miter joint together after the glue has been applied. The little device shown in the sketch, if properly made and used, does away with the usual difficulties and annoyances. It consists of a triangular block of wood with raised strips on the two edges that make the right angle, and the clamping piece with the wood screw through the center on the long side. The raised strips are made somewhat thinner than the frame to be fastened, as the clamping piece should bear on the frame and not on the strips; the function of the strips being to hold the frame square. The triangular block should be large enough to take the corner of the frame and leave room enough for the wood screw that holds it in place on the block. Four of these blocks will be necessary and they should be used in conjunction with pinch dogs. These dogs come in different sizes and may be purchased at supply stores or made as shown. The outside of the legs should be straight and parallel and the inside tapered so as to draw the joint together.
Clamp for Holding the Corner of a Frame While Gluing and Fastening the Mitered Joint
When a joint is ready to be glued, a piece of paper is placed on the block under the joint to keep it from sticking. Apply the glue and push the two sides into the corner formed by the raised strips, the dog is then driven in lightly and the clamping piece screwed down tightly, and if the miter has been properly cut, a nice close-jointed and square corner will be the result.—Contributed by J. Shelly, Brooklyn, New York.
Handle Attachment for a Sickle
For cutting around flower beds or bushes and in close places I find that an extension handle for a sickle is quite an assistance. The auxiliary handle is bound to the sickle handle with wire at the ends and is further fastened with a screw in the center. The arrows show the directions in which the hands should be moved in working the sickle.—Contributed by A. S. Thomas, Gordon, Can.
The Extension Handle Makes It Much Easier to Control the Sickle in Cutting around Obstacles
A Clothesline for Small Goods
Handkerchiefs and small pieces included in the week's laundry are usually quite troublesome to hang with the larger pieces, and for this reason I constructed a special line for the small goods. A line was cut to fit between two porch posts and a hook made of galvanized wire tied to each end, staples being driven into the posts to receive them. Three or four wire grips were formed and attached to the line. It was only necessary to draw the corner of a handkerchief into the grip as it was wrung out, placing several in each grip. The line with its load was then carried out and attached between the porch posts. This made it unnecessary to look through the clothes for the small articles. It also prevented chilling the fingers and no pins were needed.—Contributed by R. D. Livingston, Hopkinton, Iowa.