OCR Text |
Show I BOYS' HANDICRAFT I By A. NEELY HALL Author of "Handicraft for Handy Boy" and "The Boy Craft man' r"""" """""" S "' A TOOL-CHEST AND A TOOL-RACK. If you received an outfit of tools for Christmas, or a few as the start of an outfit, one of the first things you should do is provide a receptacle for them unless they came in a chest or cabinet. A chest is very simple to make. A grocery-box or small packing-case about 28 inches long, 14 Inches wide and 10 inches deep may be used, and one may be procured at the grocery or a dry-goods store for 10 or 15 cents. Select a box that is in good condition, and go over it and renall all boards that show-signs of loosening; loosen-ing; also drive in a few extra nails as additional re-enforcement. The chest shown In Figs. 1 and 't has a drop-leaf in front, which makes it a big improvement over the common com-mon form of solid front, because you can reach down under the tray and get a tool in the bottom of the chest without having to remove the tray. One of the side boards of the box should be removed for the drop-leaf, o o q"1j o o 0 0 o " 00 ol FTG.6-PLAN o SME.LF A WOEKBENCH TOOL-BACK- and it should be hinged to the remaining re-maining portion of the side, as shown. Batten the cover boards together upon the under face with two battens, as shown in Fig. 2. Then cut a number num-ber of strips two Inches wide and three-eighths-inch thick and make a rim for the cover, nailing the strips to the edges as shown in the drawings. draw-ings. Set the cover upon the top of the box, locate where the lower edges of the rim come, and at this point nail a band of the two-Inch strips around the box. This will form a ledge for the cover to set upon. Hinge the cover in place as shown in Fig. 4. Fasten a hinge hasp to the cover and a staple to the narrow band strip nailed to the drop-leaf; then, by throwing the hasp over the staple and slipping a padlock through the staple, not only the cover will ba locked, but the drop-leaf will be also. Procure a pair of trunk-handles, window-sash lifts or drawer-pulls for handles, han-dles, and screw one to each end ol the box. The tray should be made a trifle shorter than the inside length of ths box, about one-half of the width of the box, and three or four Inches deep, and a small strip should be tacked to each end of the box, inside, for a cleat to support the tray. Hooks and pockets may be fastened to the ln side of the cover, to hold tools, and the bottom of the chest may be partitioned par-titioned off with strips for the planes, saws, etc. Stain the chest any color you wish to have it, making a stain of oil paint thinned with turpentine, and when this has been allowed to soak in glv the wood a coat or two of shellac. It is very handy to have a tool-rack, back of the work-bench, or on ths wall within easy reach of the bench, to hold tools between operations, and a simple form for such a rack li shown in Fig. 5. The lower shelf la intended to rest upon the befich-top, if you fasten the. rack to the bench, and It supports the ends of bits and other small tools dropped into ths holes in the shelf directly above it Cut the two shelves of equal proportions. propor-tions. Bore holes through the upper one, spacing them about as shown in Fig. 6, and then with a saw and chisel cut slots in the back edge of ths piece and nail a narrow strip suca as is shown in Fig. 6 to the shelf, to form a back to the slots (Fig. 5). Spools of various sizes should be screwed or nailed to the upper horizontal hori-zontal pieces of the rack, to bang tools upon. If you fasten the rack to youi bench, screw the lower shelf to thi bench-top and the lower ends of ths uprights to the back of the bench. Do not leave your tools in the raci when you are through working. II. will be too great a temptation rot somebody to borrow a tool now and then, which they may forget to return re-turn to its place. Put everything away in your chest, and you will always al-ways know where to find It. (Copyright, 1312, by A. Neely Hall.) |