Owners of sail or power boats will find the take-down oars shown in the sketch easily made and of value in an emergency far out of proportion to the space occupied in a boat. A pair of ordinary oars was cut as shown, and pipe fittings were attached to the ends to form a detachable joint. When knocked down the oars may be stored in a seat cupboard, or other convenient place.—Contributed by H. E. Ward, Kent, Wash.
How to Make Propeller Blades Quickly
Requiring a number of propeller blades for use in making models of windmills, and other constructions, I found that I could save much time and obtain a satisfactory set of propeller blades by using ordinary shoehorns of the same size. The small ends of the horns were flattened out so that they could be fastened to pieces of wood for bearings, and then hammered to the proper shape for cutting the air, or receiving the force of the wind.
Bench Stop
Serviceable bench stops may be made by grooving pieces of maple, or other close-grained, hard wood and fitting strips of clock spring into them, as shown in the sketch. The pieces must fit the holes in the bench top snugly, and the spring will then prevent them from slipping out. The end of the spring fastened to the stop should be annealed so that a hole for the screw may be drilled into it readily.—Contributed by Stanley Mythaler, Spring Valley, Minn.
How to Make a Good Putty
To make a good putty the following formula should be used: Mix equal parts of firmly ground whiting and white lead with enough linseed oil to make a thick liquid; add enough commercial putty to this to make the consistency of regular putty. This putty will not crack or crumble, and it costs very little to make. If desired, the commercial putty may be left out and enough whiting added to take up the liquid. The life of this putty is four times greater than a commercial putty.—Contributed by L. E. Fetter, Portsmouth, N. H.
Cupboard for Kitchen Utensils
