Reinforcing a Strained Auto-Truck Frame
The side member of an automobile-truck frame was overstrained, and started to sag. To replace it with a new channel piece was out of the question, so it was decided to repair the trouble. A piece of ³⁄₁₆-in. plate steel was cut to the proper length, in a truss-shape, wider at the middle than at the ends, to carry the load properly. It was riveted to the strained member by means of ⁵⁄₁₆-in. round-head rivets, and prevented further sagging.
Drying Rack for Shoes and Rubbers
Footgear is injured when not properly dried out after use in water or in rough weather, and to care for the shoes, rubbers, etc., I made a rack fitted behind a stove on which they are dried out quickly and thoroughly. The rack consists of a row of brackets made of strap iron, bent as shown in the sketch, and the shoes are slipped on them. The brackets are mounted on a strip of wood, which is fastened to the wall with screws. A thin piece of board or sheet metal protects the wall.—Edgar Morgan, Robbinsdale, Minn.
Keeping Scissors Blades Apart Lengthens Their Service
Scissors will wear better and keep their cutting edges longer, if they are kept hanging up with the blades apart when not in use. The better-grade scissors, especially the longer pairs, are made with each blade slightly bowed, so that in cutting, the edges cross at an angle near the cutting point. Keeping them closed tends to weaken the springiness of the blades, and the points are worn by contact under tension.—John M. Bonbright, Philadelphia, Pa.
Making Lead Soldiers and Similar Small Castings
By E. R. GARFIELD
The boy who likes to play games in which the lead soldier and other features of imitation warfare have a part, can make his own lead soldiers, and other castings, by the use of a plaster-of-Paris mold. If he cannot undertake this work alone, the process is interesting for his older brother, or even for “daddy.” A mold of plaster of Paris, as shown in the illustration, is used for the casting box. The hollow impression of the soldier is filled with the molten lead, which is poured in through the sprue hole at the top. When the lead cools, the mold is opened, the casting removed, and the process repeated. An entire army can thus be made with a single mold.
First obtain a small lead soldier, and coat it with shellac. Make a box somewhat larger than the pattern for the soldier, as shown in the sketch. Make it about 1¹⁄₂ in. deep, and set bolts near the corners, as shown, pouring the plaster around them. Fill the box half full of plaster of Paris. While still soft, press the pattern into the center of the plaster so that half its thickness is imbedded. Permit the under mold to dry, and remove the pattern. Shellac the surface of the plaster and the impression. Wrap a layer of oiled paper around the bolts. Replace the pattern in the impression and fill the remaining half of the box with plaster, and permit it to dry.