If two of these are snapped on the edge of a bromide print, this can be dropped into a bathtub or laundry tub for washing. The corks will cause the print to float vertically in the running water. By this means a number of prints can be washed at a time without any danger of their sticking together or becoming wrinkled or cracked in the bath.—Contributed by T. B. Lambert, Chicago.
Bench Support for a Miter Box
To make the most effective use of a miter box, it must be fastened solidly to a base, but if fastened to the workbench top it is in the way when not in use, and it is a nuisance to fasten and unfasten the box every time it is used. To avoid the changing, I mounted the miter box on two pieces of 1 by 3-in. stock, about 2 ft. long. These pieces were placed on the bench top, at right angles to the front edge and with their centers as far apart as the two pairs of legs on the box. The box was placed on the front end of the pieces, with the back parallel to the front of the bench, at right angles to the pieces, and was fastened to them with screws. The other end of each piece was fastened to the bench top with a hinge.
This fastened the miter box firmly to the bench top, but in such a way that I could tip it up and back against the wall, or other support, where it was out of the way but ready for use immediately. To stiffen the frame, I placed a cross brace between the two pieces, making it in the form of the letter H.—Contributed by L. C. Burke, Madison, Wisconsin.
A Blowpipe for Gas
Blowpipe Connection to the Ordinary Illuminating-Gas Main for Hard and Soft Soldering
Every experimenter who has a gas connection within convenient distance of the workbench should provide a 4 or 5-ft. length of ¹⁄₄-in. rubber tubing, terminating in a brass tube through which air may be blown in order that a clear blue flame may be available for either hard or soft soldering. The brass tube should be 4 or 5 in. long and fitted at one end with a removable nozzle having a ¹⁄₁₆-in. hole in it. A hole is then drilled in the side and a piece of smaller brass tubing, bent as shown in the sketch, is soldered in place for the air supply. A piece of soft-rubber tubing about 1 ft. long is then provided and one end slipped over the projecting end of the air pipe and the other fitted to a hard-rubber, or amber, mouthpiece. By regulating the gas supply and blowing to the proper degree, a pencil of blue flame may be produced, anywhere from 1 to 4 in. long. For heating large surfaces, the nozzle tip should be removed.
This method of soldering not only makes a better connection than the usual copper, but is instantly available and does not disarrange the several pieces where, as is often the case, it is not practicable to pin or hold them in place.