Foot Stool or Cricket, Fig. 279. The grain of the supports should run up and down, because pieces with the grain horizontal would be likely to break under pressure. Braces or a rail give additional support. The top should not be larger than the base of the legs; otherwise a person standing carelessly on the stool is in danger of being upset.
Fig. 279. Cricket.
A Drawing-Board is made up of narrow boards, with glued joints, with the boards so laid that the annual rings will alternate in direction, Fig. 280, a. It must be made so that it can shrink and swell and yet remain flat. For the purpose of giving lateral stiffness cleats are added. They may simply be screwed on the underside, the screw holes being large enough to allow for shrinkage, or they may be dadoed in with a dovetail dado, Fig. 280, b, or they may be grooved to admit a tongue on the end of a board, Fig. 280, c. In this case screws passing thru large holes in the cleats hold them in place.
Fig. 280. Drawing-Board Construction:
a. With Cleats Screwed on Beneath;
b. With Cleats Dovetail-Dadoed in;
c. With Cleats Matched on Ends.
Taborets. The term taboret originally meant a little tabor or drum, and was therefore used to designate a small stool, the seat of which consisted of a piece of stretched leather. The term now includes small, tablelike structures for holding flowerpots, vases, etc. It might more properly be called a "table-ette."
When made up with boards having their long edges mitered, it has from four to eight sides. A six-sided one is shown in Fig. 281. In making, it is best to fit the joints exactly first, while the board is stiff, and then to cut out the pattern of the legs. Directions for gluing are given on [p. 169].
