Читать книгу The Boy Craftsman - A. Neely Hall - Страница 13

It is far better for a boy to spend his evenings in the house than out upon the street. He need not be without his friends there, for if he has an attractive room, with books to read, games to play, and puzzles to solve, the boys of the neighborhood will soon find it out and be only too glad to have a chance to visit him, knowing they will be sure of finding plenty of things to interest them.

The simpler the furnishings of a boy's room are the better. Plain and substantial furniture which will stand perhaps a little rougher usage than that in other rooms of the house, and handy places for storing away his traps, are what are needed.

The room should be his den where he can keep what he pleases, and arrange the fittings to suit his individual tastes. Shelves for his books and magazines, a cabinet for various collections, boxes for miscellaneous articles, and a desk at which he can study and keep his accounts, are a few of the things the room should contain. These pieces can easily be constructed in the workshop, by following the directions given in this chapter.

On the opposite page is shown a scheme for a boy's room suggestive of his sports, games, and handicraft, and while everything is simple and inexpensive in the furnishings, it makes a room that will strike the fancy of the average boy.

Nothing appears more attractive than

A Cosey-corner, such as shown in the illustration, and it is a simple matter to fit one up. A home-made couch, box, or seat of some sort should be constructed to set in the corner, a shelf fastened to one wall a foot or more above it, and several shelves hung on the adjoining wall, as shown in the drawing.

Purchase several yards of a dark shade of green denim, and enclose the corner with three strips (see illustration). The upper strip is stretched across the corner at the ceiling, and the other two attached to its ends and allowed to hang to the floor. It is a good idea to make also a dado of the same material within the corner from the baseboard to the under side of the shelves.

Pennants representative of the various colleges can be made out of cheese-cloth, and a string of these hung across the corner at the ceiling will produce a pretty effect.

The walls of the room may be brightened with

Small Posters, which it is an easy matter to obtain nowadays, and small pictures mounted upon colored mats and fastened behind glass by means of passe-partout paper are always attractive.

Treatment of a Boy's Room.

Picture-frames can be made out of narrow moulding, the corners of which have been mitred in the mitre-box to make them join neatly.

A frame which has proven satisfactory for small posters and pictures not requiring glass is one made out of common laths. The ends of the laths are not mitred as is usually the case in making frames, but are fastened together with what is known as a "butt-joint"; that is, the ends of each piece are set against the ends of the adjoining pieces. The simplest way of fastening them together is by means of small strips of wood nailed across the corners on the back of the frame.

Although this frame might be expected to have a clumsy appearance, it has not, and when thoroughly sand-papered and finished with a dull green stain is very pretty.

Fig. 53.—A Writing-desk.

The Writing-desk shown in Fig. 53 is constructed out of a box, and makes a pretty piece of furniture when completed.

Procure a box as free from defects as possible, and with fairly wide boards, so there will be but few cracks. The cover should be in not more than two pieces, as it forms the drop-front of the desk, and it would be difficult to fasten more together. The boards must be fastened with "dowels" and cleats on the edges, as shown in Fig. 54, as cleats upon the inside of the drop would be in the way.

Fig. 54.

Dowelling consists in boring holes along the edge of each board and fitting pegs in them. Of course the holes must be bored in exactly the same relative positions in each piece so that the end and sides of the boards will be flush with each other when the pegs have been put in place. To get the holes correctly bored, place the boards together in the vise with two edges flush and uppermost, and square lines six inches apart across the edges, after which locate the centres of the holes on these lines. Be careful to bore the holes straight, and make them a little longer than the pegs. Cut the pegs out of hard wood and make them large enough to fit tightly in the holes.

The pegs as well as the two edges of the boards should be smeared with glue before being put together. Then, after driving in the dowels, clamp the pieces together and lay them aside until the glue has thoroughly dried. In order to make a neat joint between the two boards, it is very necessary to have the two edges planed perfectly true and square.

While the boards of the drop-front are drying, you can prepare the inside of the box. A boy's desk should be supplied with plenty of pigeon-holes and drawers. They are as necessary as pockets are in his clothes. Split-up cigar-boxes may be used for these divisions, and, by making the upper ones of the right size, cigar-boxes may be fitted in them for drawers. The paper should be removed from the boxes as described in Chapter VIII. Fasten small silk-spools to the front of the drawers for knobs.

When the dowelled pieces have dried, nail a small moulding around the two end edges and one side edge, mitring the ends so as to fit together as shown at A (Fig. 54).

The drop-front should be hinged to the box with two hinges placed on the inside, as shown in Fig. 53, and brass chains attached to screw-eyes screwed into it and the inside of the box.

For the top of the box, purchase a moulding a little larger than that used around the edges of the drop-front and mitre it at the corners, as shown in the illustration.

Before putting any finish upon the desk, sand-paper the wood, set the nails with a nail-set, and fill all holes and cracks with putty. A couple of coats of white enamel applied to the outside will produce a very pretty effect, and the inside may be finished with linseed oil, which makes a beautiful finish for the cigar-boxes.

The desk should be supported on two iron brackets (enamelled to match the desk), screwed to the wall and under side of the desk.

In Fig. 55 will be found

Another Style of Desk, which, though not as simple to make, may be preferred to the first design.

Fig. 55.—Another Style of Desk.

Cut two boards fifteen inches long by twelve inches wide for the sides, and taper each from twelve inches at one end to eight inches at the other end. Cut a board twelve by thirty inches for the bottom and another eight by thirty for the top, and nail them to the end pieces, after which saw the boards for the back and drop-front. Dowel and glue the drop-front boards together, nail a moulding around three edges, and hinge the piece to the desk, as in the case of the other design.

Partition off the inside of the desk as shown in the illustration, and nail a moulding around the top. Finish the wood in the manner described for the other desk.

Fig. 56.—Ink-stand and Pen-tray.

An Ink-stand and Pen-tray, suitable for your desk, can be made out of a cigar-box, as shown in Fig. 56. Slope the edges with your jack-knife and cut several notches in them for pens and pencils to fit in. The wood should then be sand-papered and oiled.

A Couch for the cosey-corner of your room can be made out of two boxes about three feet long, two feet wide, and eighteen inches deep.

Fig. 57.—A Couch.

Remove one side of each box and nail the covers on, after which place the two boxes end to end and fasten them together with strips nailed across them at A, B, and C (Fig. 57). An incline about eighteen inches long should be fastened to one end, as shown in the (drawing. The inside of the boxes may be partitioned off and used for storing away magazines and pamphlets.

Fig. 58.—A Window-seat.

For the covering of the couch procure several yards of cretonne, some cotton batting or an old quilt to pad the top, a box of upholstering-tacks, and several dozen brass-headed tacks. After spreading the padding over the couch, cut a piece of cretonne large enough to cover it and tack it to the edge of the boxes, using the upholstering-tacks for the purpose. Make a valance of the same material, gathering the cretonne so as to form a heading at the top, and tack it around the box. Then place the brass tacks along the top of the valance about two inches apart.

If a couch is too large for your room you can make

A Window-seat, such as is shown in Fig. 58. Cut the arms the shape shown in the illustration and fasten them to the ends of the box. Batten the boards forming the box-cover on the under side. Then tack cretonne on to the cover, arms, and outside of the box, placing padding underneath the cretonne to make it soft, and line the inside of the box with some dainty colored goods. When this has been done, hinge the cover to the box with large fancy brass hinges.

The appearance of the seat will be greatly improved by placing brass tacks along the edges of the arms and seat, about two inches apart. The inside of the box will make a handy receptacle for clothes and linen.

Fig. 59.—A Curio-cabinet.

For those interested in making collections of stamps, coins, stones, insects, etc.,

A Curio-cabinet, similar to Fig. 59, will make it possible to keep all specimens arranged in order, each set of curios occupying a shelf by itself.

Such a cabinet should be made of bass or whitewood, as these can generally be obtained in greater widths, are cheaper, and less defective than other material. If you make your cabinet five feet high, two feet wide (inside measurement), and twelve inches deep, purchase twelve-inch boards, as these make it possible to have the sides in one piece and the back in two, a great advantage, as there will then be but one crack, and that up through the centre of the back.

After cutting the side-pieces the correct length, finish their edges as in the drawing. Then cut nine boards two feet long for the shelves, which are to be placed six inches apart.

Commencing at the top of each side-piece, lay off the thickness of a shelf, which will be about seven-eighths of an inch, and square the lines across the boards; then lay off the next shelf six inches below, and so on down to the bottom. Cut along these lines to a depth of three-eighths of an inch with a saw, and remove the wood between with a chisel. When all the grooves have been cut, slip the shelves into them one by one, and nail them to the side-pieces. After fastening the shelves, cut the two twelve-inch boards for the back and nail them in place.

While it is customary to put sash-doors on cabinets, this will be too difficult a job for you to attempt. A very pretty and inexpensive door may be made as in the illustration. Make a frame out of two-inch strips to fit the opening, and stretch some green denim over it, tacking it to the inside of the frame. The ends of the strips forming the frame should be mitred and either nailed together or fastened with dowels and glue, as described in the construction of the desk (see Fig. 54). Hinge the frame to the cabinet.

To finish the cabinet, rub it down with sand-paper, set the nails with a nail-set, and putty up all holes, after which stain the wood green, a shade darker than the denim panel in the front.

Although the shelves may be simply stained, they will be much nicer for holding curios if covered with felt.

It might be well to suggest that you number each curio, and make a catalogue of these, together with the names and any data you have concerning them. The catalogue may be hung on a hook upon the inside of the door, where it can always be found.

Fig. 60.—Spool Book-shelves.

A pretty set of

Book-shelves to hang upon the wall can be made with three boards twenty-four inches long by eight inches wide, four dozen spools all of the same size, and two pieces of rope about four feet long and small enough to fit in the holes of the spools. By saving the empty spools from your mother's work-basket, and having your friends save their spools for you, it will not be very long until you have the required number. Spools upon which number thirty-six cotton thread comes are of the best length.

Bore holes in the four corners of each board. Then, beginning with the board which is to form the bottom shelf, pass the ropes down through the holes on one side, across under the shelf, and up through the holes on the opposite side. String six spools on each rope and put the ropes through the holes in the next shelf; then string six more spools on each rope and run the ropes through the next or top shelf. Tie the ropes together about a foot above the top shelf, fringing the ends to form tassels. Figure 60 shows the shelves completed.

A Blacking-case made similar to Fig. 61 is a handy article for a boy to have in his room. As the friction from a rag rubbed over the shoe produces a finer polish than a brush when polishing paste is used, the box is provided with an arrangement by which a rag can be rubbed over the shoe without much effort (see illustration).