To make a small stove that will keep liquids warm, melt paraffin, dissolve glue, etc., procure an ordinary 16-cp. carbon lamp, a porcelain receptacle, and a bright, clean tin can, about 4 in. in diameter and 7 in. long. Thoroughly blacken the bottom on the inside, and then solder on four small brackets, cut from sheet brass or copper, so that the can may be held down firmly, when inverted on the base. The latter should preferably be made of hard wood, with the upper edges beveled, as shown. Next bore the hole for the wire or flexible cord. Fasten down the porcelain receptacle, connect the wiring, screw in the globe, and screw down the tin can; the stove is then ready for operation.—John D. Adams, Phoenix, Ariz.
Woven Reed Furniture
By CHARLES M. MILLER
A Variety of Small Stools and
Foot Rests
[The various materials referred to in this article by number or size were described in detail in an article on “A Reed Basket,” in the Boy Mechanic, Book 2, page 257.]
Footstools of reed are preferable, in the home, to those made of other materials, because of their light weight, rounded edges, and comfortable, yielding tops. Reed, rattan, and similar material, used in their construction, withstand hard wear, and will not easily mar floors or furniture, a feature not to be overlooked, especially since the footstool is a favorite seat or play table of children. Several types of stools and foot rests are shown in the illustration. A stool having a framework of dowels, covered with reed, and utilizing the frame to produce a paneled effect, is shown in [Fig. 3]. The upper dowel of the framework is covered and woven over with the top, in the somewhat lighter stool shown in [Fig. 8]; the legs are braced at the ends with reed, arched and covered with winding reed. The stool shown in [Fig. 11] is designed with rounded lines, the bracing dowels being set low, and a panel of openwork woven into the sides. [Figure 15] shows a foot rest, the framework of which is steamed and bent, and the top slanted to provide a more comfortable rest for the feet. It is strongly braced, paneled on the sides with winding reed, and ornamented with openwork scrolls. The details of the construction of the frames and the method of weaving the reed are shown in the other sketches.
Dowels, ³⁄₄ in. in diameter, are used for the main framework of all of the stools shown. The dimensions of the various stools may be made to suit individual taste, those suggested in each instance having been found satisfactory. A good size for the stool shown in [Fig. 3] is: height, 9 in.; width, 11 in.; length, 15 in. The lower of the horizontal dowels should be set at least one-third the height of the leg from the top. The braces are notched at their ends to fit the curve of the legs, and finishing nails are driven into them through the legs. The corner joints are further reinforced by a binding of reed, placed over them. The holes for the spokes are bored through the braces before the construction is nailed together. They should be bored about 1¹⁄₄ in. apart, spaced uniformly, according to the length and width of the stool. The tops of the legs should project about ¹⁄₁₆ in. above the upper braces, so as to produce a level surface when the winding reed is applied.
The upper end of the legs must first be covered with winding reed, as shown in [Fig. 2]. Tack a strip of the reed on; then add successive pieces, as shown, until the end is covered. The joint of the leg and the lower brace must be reinforced, as shown in Fig. 2, by tacking winding reed over it horizontally. The braces must then be wound with winding reed, the spokes being inserted later. In winding the reed on the braces, tack one end of it to the brace at the left of a leg; then begin the winding on the brace to the right of the leg, and as each hole is encountered mark with pencil on the reed, so that if any of the holes are covered they may be found easily, when inserting the spokes. The marks should be made on the lower side.
The spokes extend from the lower edge of the bottom rail on one side to the lower edge of the corresponding rail or brace on the opposite side. Short spokes are fitted between the upper and lower rails at the ends of the stool. The top is woven complete before the sides are woven, the pairing weave being used. In this method two strands of reed are handled together, the first passing behind one spoke, and being below the second strand, and then passing in front of the next spoke, and being above the second strand, etc. This weave is shown in detail in [Fig. 9], illustrating an [article] on “Taborets and Small Tables for the Summer Veranda,” page 155, July, 1916. The weaving of the top includes the covering of the upper rails at the ends of the stool, which are wound in as spokes, the reed passing around them and being directed back in the opposite direction.
The weaving for the sides is carried around the stool continuously, passing around the legs. One of the strands in the pairing weave passes behind the leg, and the other must be wound around it an extra turn, to cover up the space otherwise exposed. The reed is wound around the legs to the lower end, the strand being tacked at the inner side of the leg.
The framework for the second type of stool is shown in [Fig. 6]. The two side rails are fixed into place by the same method used in making the first stool, and the frame is braced on the ends by sections of No. 12 or No. 14 reed. These are fitted into place and covered in the winding. The braces should be fitted to the curve of the leg, and nailed into place with small finishing nails. The ends where the braces join the legs and rails should be whittled down to a long, thin wedge, so that they may be bound in securely by the reed that is wound around the legs, as shown in [Fig. 4].