The Fuel is Placed in the Box by Passing It Up through the Trapdoors in the Floor
A fuel box for the fireplace may be easily arranged so that it is unnecessary to carry the fuel through the living rooms, thus avoiding soiling floors and rugs. It may be installed, as shown, for a summer cottage, or even in the living room of a home. The fuel box is built under the seat of a comfortable settle, and the wood, coal, etc., are placed in the fuel compartment by passing it up through trapdoors in the floor at the center of the box. The fuel is piled at each side of the trapdoor behind a low partition, and the trapdoors are closed when not in use. The seat of the fuel box is divided at the middle and hinged to swing back. Suitable cushions should be provided for the seat.—M. P. Norton, Chicago.
Homemade Relay of Inexpensive Materials
A practical relay was made of odds and ends gathered in the workshop. The base is of wood, ³⁄₄ by 3 by 6 in. The magnets A are made of two wire nails driven into the base, the heads projecting 1¹⁄₂ in. They are wound with six layers of fine insulated No. 25 gauge wire, as shown in the small sketch. The ends of these magnet wires are carried to the two binding posts B and C, taken from dry-cell carbons.
Nails, a Screw Hook, and Similar Common Materials, were Used in Making This Relay
The armature D is a piece of soft iron, ¹⁄₂ by 2¹⁄₂ in., screwed to the armature lever E, which is a ¹⁄₂ by 4¹⁄₂-in. piece of wood. A piece of tin is tacked to the opposite end F, and a ¹⁄₈-in. hole is bored through the lever, 2¹⁄₂ in. from the front end. Nail a wooden block, G, to the base, slotted to accommodate the lever, so that when the latter is pivoted in the slot, the armature will lie directly over the magnet heads. Fit a wooden stop, H, under the end of the lever, so that the armature is held ¹⁄₈ in. above the magnets, by a brass spring, J, connected to the tin, F, and the binding post, K, with copper wire. Arrange the brass hook, L, so it comes in contact with F when the armature bears down upon the magnets. Connect this hook to the binding post, M. When current flows through the magnets, the armature is pulled down and the contact of the hook, L, with the tin, F, completes a secondary circuit.—L. R. Hardins, Harwich, Mass.
¶A nutcracker may be used as a substitute for a pipe wrench or pliers, and its toothed handles grip round objects quite firmly.
A Photographic Printing Machine
By L. B. ROBBINS
A printing machine for “gaslight” papers, to be used in localities not equipped with gas or electricity and where printing is to be done after daylight, is shown in the sketch. The measurements given are only approximate, as conditions will determine its size. That shown is made as follows: First procure a 6¹⁄₂ by 8¹⁄₂-in. or 8 by 10-in. printing frame. Remove the brass clips from the pad and fasten one end of the pad to the frame, by a pair of small hinges, with the glass in the frame. Procure a box, about 12 by 15 in., by 8 in. deep, with one side open. Cut a rectangular opening through the 12 by 15-in. side a bit smaller than the printing frame, and secure the frame in place over the opening with screws. Saw a slot ³⁄₄ in. wide through the top of the box—the end nearest the hinged end of the printing frame pad—running it the full width and about 3 in. from the front.