The Boy Mechanic Part 9

"Querl" is the German name for a kitchen utensil which may be used as an egg-beater, potato-masher or a lemon-squeezer. For beating up an egg in a gla.s.s, mixing flour and water, or stirring cocoa or chocolate, it is better than anything on the market.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Querl Made of Wood]

This utensil is made of hardwood, preferably maple or ash. A circular piece about 2 in. in diameter is cut from 1/2-in. stock and shaped like a star as shown in Fig. 1, and a 3/8-in. hole bored in the center for a handle. The handle should be at least 12 in. in length and fastened in the star as shown in Fig. 2.

In use, the star is placed in the dish containing the material to be beaten or mixed and the handle is rapidly rolled between the palms of the hands.

--Contributed by W. Karl Hilbrich, Erie, Pennsylvania.

** An Emergency Soldering Tool [28]

Occasionally one finds a piece of soldering to do which is impossible to reach with even the smallest of the ordinary soldering irons or coppers. If a length of copper wire as large as the job will permit and sufficiently long to admit being bent at one end to form a rough handle, and filed or dressed to a point on the other, is heated and tinned exactly as a regular copper should be, the work will cause no trouble on account of inaccessibility.

--Contributed by E. G. Smith, Eureka Springs, Ark.

** Smoothing Paper after Erasing [29]

When an ink line is erased the roughened surface of the paper should be smoothed or polished so as to prevent the succeeding lines of ink from spreading. A convenient desk accessory for this purpose can be made of a short

[Ill.u.s.tration: Collar b.u.t.ton Ends In Wood Stick]

piece of hardwood and two bone collar b.u.t.tons.

File off the head of one b.u.t.ton at A and the base from another at B. Bore a small hole D and E in each end of the wood handle C and fasten the b.u.t.ton parts in the holes with glue or sealing wax. The handle can be left the shape shown or tapered as desired. The small end is used for smoothing small erasures and the other end for larger surfaces.

** A Cherry Seeder [29]

An ordinary hairpin is driven part way into a small round piece of wood, about 3/8 in. in diameter and 2 or 2-1/2 in. long, for a handle, as shown in the sketch. The hairpin should be a very

[Ill.u.s.tration: Hairpin In Stick]

small size. To operate, simply insert the wire loop into the cherry where the stem has been pulled off and lift out the seed.

--Contributed by L. L. Schweiger, Kansas City, Mo.

** A Dovetail Joint [29]

The ill.u.s.tration shows an unusual dovetail joint, which, when put together properly is a puzzle. The tenon or tongue of the joint is sloping on three surfaces and the mortise is cut sloping to match.

The bottom surface of the mortise is the same width at

[Ill.u.s.tration: Shape of Tenon and Mortise]

both ends, the top being tapering toward the base of the tongue.

--Contributed by Wm. D. Mitch.e.l.l, Yonkers, New York.

** Base for Round-End Bottles [29]

The many forms of round-bottomed gla.s.s bottles used in chemical laboratories require some special kind of support on which they can be safely placed from time to time when the chemist

[Ill.u.s.tration: Base Made-of Corks]

does not, for the moment, need them. These supports should not be made of any hard material nor should they be good conductors of heat, as such qualities would result in frequent breakage.

A French magazine suggests making the supports from the large corks of gla.s.s jars in which crystal chemicals are usually supplied from the dealers. The manner of making them is clearly shown in the sketch. Each cork is cut as in Fig. 1 and placed on a wire ring (Fig. 2) whose ends are twisted together and the last section of cork is cut through from the inner side to the center and thus fitted over the wire covering the twisted ends, which binds them together. The corks in use are shown in Fig. 3.

** Rustic Window Boxes [30]

Instead of using an ordinary green-painted window box, why not make an artistic one in which the color does not clash with the plants contained in it but rather harmonizes with them.

Such a window box can be made by anyone having usual mechanical ability, and will furnish more opportunities for artistic and original design than many other articles of more complicated construction.

The box proper should be made a little shorter than the length of the window to allow for the extra s.p.a.ce taken up in tr.i.m.m.i.n.g and should be nearly equal in width to the sill, as shown in Fig. 1.

If the sill is inclined, as is usually the case, the box will require a greater height in front, to make it set level, as shown in Fig. 2.

The box should be well nailed or screwed together and should then be painted all over to make it more durable. A number of 1/2-in.

holes should be drilled in the bottom, to allow the excess water to run out and thus prevent rotting of the plants and box.

Having completed the bare box, it may be trimmed to suit the fancy of the maker. The design shown in Fig. 1 is very simple and easy to construct, but may be replaced with a panel or other design.

One form of panel design is shown in Fig. 3.

Tr.i.m.m.i.n.g having too rough a surface will be found unsuitable for this work as it is difficult to fasten and cannot be split as well as smooth tr.i.m.m.i.n.g. It should be cut the proper length before being split and should be fastened with brads. The half-round hoops of barrels will be found very useful in tr.i.m.m.i.n.g, especially for filling-in purposes, and by using them the operation of splitting is avoided. After the box is trimmed, the rustic work should be varnished, in order to thoroughly preserve it, as well as improve its appearance.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Artistic Flower Boxes]

** Antidote for Squirrel Pest [30]

To the owner of a garden in a town where squirrels are protected by law, life in the summer time is a vexation. First the squirrels dig up the sweet corn and two or three replantings are necessary.

When the corn is within two or three days of being suitable for cooking, the squirrels come in droves from far and near. They eat all they can and carry away the rest. When the corn is gone cuc.u.mbers, cabbages, etc., share the same fate, being partly eaten into. At the risk of being arrested for killing the squirrels I have used a small target rifle morning and night, but during my absence the devastation went on steadily. Last year they destroyed my entire corn crop. Traps do no good; can't use poison, too dangerous. But I have solved the difficulty; it's easy.

Shake cayenne pepper over the various vegetables which are being ruin, and observe results.

** Homemade Electric Stove [31]

By J. F. THOLL

The construction of an electric stove is very simple, and it can be made by any home mechanic having a vise and hand drill. The body is made of sheet or galvanized iron, cut out and drilled as shown in Fig. 1.