Being in need of a cheese grater and finding it inconvenient to go many miles to town, I constructed a satisfactory makeshift. I took a heavily tinned can and cut it in two, as shown in the sketch. By punching holes through it from the inside a practical grater resulted. From the remaining half of the can I made an ash tray, as shown at the right of the sketch. The semicircular ends were bent over to form a rest, and by cutting portions at the sides and bending them in, a convenient rest for a pipe or cigar was afforded.—Gus Hansen, Peachland, B. C., Canada.
An Improvised Typewriter Desk
Remove the Drawer and Replace It Inverted, to Provide a Convenient Rest for the Typewriter
Travelers and others who carry typewriters on their journeys frequently find it inconvenient to use the tables provided because they are usually too high for typewriters. A method of overcoming this difficulty is to withdraw the drawer from the table and invert it in the slide as shown. The typewriter may then be placed upon the bottom of the drawer and will be considerably lower than if placed upon the table top.
An Inexpensive Imitation Fire
Window decorations may frequently be made attractive by the use of an imitation fire in a stove or a fireplace, when an indoor setting is on display. To produce such an effect, put an electric fan below the place at which the imitation fire is to be arranged and run an electric-light cord, with a red globe attached to it, to the center of the “flame.” Cut a number of strips of Indian red tissue paper and fix the lower ends of these to form a circular mass above the globe. When the light is turned on permit the fan to direct a stream of air against the tissue-paper ribbons, forcing them upward to appear like tongues of flame. The sketch shows this method applied to a heater. The fan is placed in the ash box and the electric light is conducted through the grate.
Jardinière Made of Metal-Lamp Body
