Construction Work for Rural and Elementary Schools Part 5

[Ill.u.s.tration: Sc.r.a.p OR CLIPPING BOOK Cover of gra.s.s cloth.]

18 Sc.r.a.p-Book

_Material_--Construction paper, colored: 6-1/48-1/4 inches, for cover. Manila paper: three leaves 68 inches; three strips 1-1/86 inches. Two paper clamps.

Double the 68-inch leaves into six leaves 46 inches in size. Between leaves 1 and 2, 3 and 4, 5 and 6, place the 1-1/86-inch guards at the back. Have leaves and guards even and compact; then set them between the cover. Measure from the back edge of the cover a s.p.a.ce three-quarters of an inch wide, and draw a pencil line. Placing the sharp edge of a ruler on this line, bend the back edge toward the front until it is well creased. In the center of this 3/4-inch s.p.a.ce, one inch from the upper edge and one inch from the lower edge of the book, pierce a hole and insert the bra.s.s clamps.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Sc.r.a.p OR CLIPPING BOOK Cover of linen, stenciled.]

A PASTE

Mix until perfectly smooth one cup of flour with one cup of cold water.

Put two cups of water in a vessel and set it over the fire until it heats. (Do not let it boil.) Add one teaspoonful of powdered alum, then stir in the mixture of flour and cold water. Continue stirring until it thickens to a good consistency. Remove it from the fire and add one teaspoonful of oil of cloves or peppermint. Pour it into an air-tight jar and when it is cool screw on the top.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Sc.r.a.p OR CLIPPING BOOK Cover of fancy paper--(For description see pages 51 and 52.)]

Use the same cup all through. The oil of cloves or peppermint is simply a flavoring, and does not add to the quality. This quant.i.ty will nearly fill a quart jar.

PART III

WOOD CONSTRUCTION

WOOD CONSTRUCTION

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS

As the child develops, paper construction loses its charm, and a desire for something utilitarian arises. We suggest that at this stage the much-treasured pocket knife be brought into service, for from small pieces of wood many articles may be made. The construction of these will afford the child, especially the boy, much pleasure, and will at once arouse a new interest.

Only the simplest articles will be given here--articles which may be fashioned from bits of wood commonly found around a house, such as old cigar boxes, small starch boxes, etc. But, should the teacher be able to obtain the proper materials, ba.s.swood a quarter or three-eighths of an inch thick, and whittling knives are the requisites.

The reader will notice that the wood mentioned for each model is ba.s.s.

Why? Because ba.s.s is the wood generally used for carving. The tree is the same as the linden and the lime. It is found in northern Asia, Europe, and North America, and grows to an immense height. The wood is soft, light, close-veined, pliable, tough, durable, and free from knots, and does not split easily; all of which qualities favor its suitability for carving.

In whittling, it is always best to lay off the pattern on both sides of the wood. Then one can work from either side without fear of spoiling the material.

In cutting, work with the grain, or the wood will be apt to split. Cut toward you, not from you.

In grooving, use the point of the knife, and work slowly and carefully.

If the knife slips the wood is ruined.

Insist that nothing the child does is well done unless well sandpapered, and nothing is properly sandpapered until all roughness is done away with, and the grain appears.

In the making of designs, let the child first have a piece of paper the size of the wood he is to use, and have him work out a design to be applied to his wood. This design may be most crude, but with a suggestion here, and a correction there, from the teacher, it can be brought into shape. The child will be pleased, and will attack with more a.s.surance of success each succeeding problem that he meets.

For coloring, use water color paints. Red, green, and yellow are most satisfactory, as their ident.i.ty is retained when staining is applied.

Apply the stain with a brush, and with a soft cloth rub it in until it is dry. This develops or brings out the grain.

When sure that the stain is well rubbed in and dry, apply butcher's wax, and polish with a soft cloth. Some articles need two coats of stain, and an equal amount of polish.

In all work impress upon the child the fact that what is worth doing is worth doing well, or it should not be done at all.

Each model given works out a problem in handling the knife and cutting the wood, and each problem leads up to the one that follows.

We will begin with the simplest thing one can make--a puzzle.

1 Puzzle

_Problem_--To cut with the grain of the wood, and how to cut corners. (See page 57.)

_Material_--Ba.s.swood: one piece 71-1/23/16 inches; one piece 31-1/23/16 inches. One yard of macrame cord.

Shave the 71-1/2-inch strip of wood down with a knife until it is an inch wide, being careful to keep the edges parallel. Measure off three-eighths of an inch in opposite directions on each corner and on both sides of the wood. Connect these points by a pencil line. Cut off each corner the s.p.a.ce indicated by the line. Be careful always to cut with the grain of the wood; cutting against it will split the board.

Next, three-fourths of an inch from each end, and equally distant from the sides, and in the center, bore holes. From the 31-1/2-inch piece of wood, cut two blocks one and one-half inches square, and bore a hole in the center of each. Double the string to a loop and draw this loop through the center hole of the rectangular strip. Pull the loop to the edge, and draw through it the two ends of the cord. String the 1-1/2-inch blocks, one on each cord, then tie the ends of cord in the two end holes of the rectangular strip.

The puzzle is finished. What is the aim, and how can it be solved?

[Ill.u.s.tration: PUZZLE]

_Solution._ Mark one block. Hold one in the hand and move the other along until it pa.s.ses through the loop at the center.

Pull the cord through the middle hole until it draws with it four thicknesses of cord. Now slide the block along until it pa.s.ses through a double loop. Next, draw this double loop back through the hole; the string will be in position, and the block is now pa.s.sed along through a single loop and onto the string containing the other one. To replace the block, turn the puzzle around and repeat the process.

2 Plant Label

_Problem_--To cut across the grain, and, by removing two equal triangles, to form a well-tapered point.

_Material_--One piece of ba.s.swood, 611/4 inches.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLANT LABEL]

Take the end A B and find the center, C. From A measure off two and a half inches, and place point D. From B measure off two and a half inches, and place point E. Connect points CD and CE. Place the same measurements on the reverse side. With the knife cut off triangles A-C-D and B-C-E. Sandpaper the wood until it is smooth and the label is finished.

3 Pencil Sharpener