_Materials:_ A narrow piece of No. 20 copper, 20 ins. long × 1-1/4 ins.
wide: this is used for the sides. One piece of No. 20 copper, 6-3/8
× 4-1/8 ins. for the lid. One piece of No. 24 copper, 6-3/8 × 4-3/8
ins. for the bottom. Two pieces of copper No. 24, 6 × 1/2 in., for the
hinges. Copper nails 1/16 in. in diameter, for rivets.
_Tools:_ Vise, shears, mallet, hard solder, borax, rivet set (steel
tool), dividers, and centre punch.
[Illustration: Top view]
[Illustration: Front]
[Illustration: Sheet developed for sides and ends. Bend on division
lines]
[Illustration]
_Directions:_ Make a working drawing of a box, 6 × 4 × 1/4 ins.,
(inside measurements). The box is to have feet, and a lid with
hinges is to be fastened to it. Take the strip of copper, 20 × 1-1/4
ins., measure it off into sections of 4 ins. and 6 ins. alternately.
Beginning on one end mark a point 3/8 in. from the end. (Point G.) Draw
a line (E G) 1/8 in. long, perpendicular to the base line. With the
dividers set 1/8 in. apart, and one leg placed against the base line,
draw a line 3-1/4 ins. long paralleled to the base. (Line E F). Draw F
H. In the section D C M S, mark the point O 3/8 of an inch from D. Draw
K O equal to 1/8 of an inch. With the dividers set at 1/8 in., draw a
line 5-1/4 ins. long (K L). Join L and N. Repeat this in the other two
sections. With the shears, cut along lines G, G E, E F, F H, H O, O
K, K L, L N, etc. The projections left form the four feet for the box
to rest upon. To bend the corners, mark with lead-pencil C D, M S, R
T. Place these division lines, in turn, between the jaws of the vise,
and bend down at right angles. You now have a rectangular box like the
picture, with one corner open.
[Illustration]
To close the side, solder the open end. Clean thoroughly the parts
to be joined. Place the parts in their proper positions and bind the
corner with binding wire. Wash the joint with borax. Place some small
pieces of silver solder on the inside corner. Hold it over a fire and
heat until the solder runs into the joint. Cool off in water and take
off the binding wire. If the solder should run through and fasten the
wire to the side of the box, the wire can be peeled off and the solder
filed down to the copper. But care must be taken not to let the binding
wire sink into the copper. File up the corners smooth and square up the
box with a steel square. _To make the bottom of the box:_ Take the
piece of No. 24 copper, 6-3/8 × 4-3/8 ins. Set the dividers 3/16 in.
wide. With one leg on the edge of this plate, draw lines on the four
sides.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
Cut out the small square made in each corner by the crossing lines. Put
the plate into the vise and bend the four sides up along these lines.
Try it, to see if it just fits the inside of the box. It is the bottom
and must be exactly right or the box will be out of square. Now take it
out for drilling and riveting. With the centre-punch prick points one
inch apart and midway between the edge and the base. Holes are bored
through these punch marks, with the drill press and a 1/16-in. drill.
The bottom is now ready to slip into the box and to place for riveting.
Put it in, the bent edge turned down and flush with the lower edge
of the box. It is necessary first to fix the bottom securely in place
before all the rivets can be put in. To do this we put one rivet on
each side. Take a sharp-pointed instrument, stick it into the centre
hole on each of the four sides, whirl it round, and mark the place
where the hole should be drilled through. Take the bottom out and prick
punch these holes. Drill the four holes, place the bottom back, and
push the copper nails through from the outside in, leaving the head on
the outside as decoration. If the head should seem too large, reduce
it by filing before riveting. Cut the nail off, leaving about 1/16
in. of it projecting. With the hammer strike on this projecting end,
flatten it down until it covers up the holes. This is called riveting.
Now the bottom is made firm so that any amount of drilling can be done
without throwing it out of place. Drill all the rest of the holes and
put a rivet in each one of them. The heads of these nails add to the
decoration if they are put in carefully and at regular intervals.
_To make the lid:_ If you look at your design you will see that the
lid is raised a little in the centre and that the edges extend 1/8
in. over the four sides of the box. Take the 6-1/4 × 4-1/4 in. piece
of copper. With lead pencil mark the 1/8-in. lap over all around the
lid. Place the lid on the end of the square block. With the round end
of the raising hammer drive down lightly all around the inside of the
lead-pencil mark, increasing the blows toward the centre. This will
make an oval-topped shape. The hammering is bound to distort the edge
of the copper. Turn the lid upside down on the bench; with the mallet
strike down on the top of the raised part until the edges flatten down
on the bench. If any kinks should come from the hammering flatten them
by driving directly over them. The lid should rest on the box without
rocking.
[Illustration]
_To make the hinges:_ Take the two pieces of copper 6 × 1/2 in. (No.
24). Lay a piece of No. 8 wire lengthwise in the piece of copper,
and, using your fingers, bend the copper up on each side of the wire,
keeping the two edges the same length.
Place this between the vise jaws, pressing the two open sides
together, forming a hinge right on the wire. Fix both pieces of copper
this way. Draw the wire out. You have two cylindrical pieces of copper
6 ins. long with wings attached. Divide one of the pieces into six
one-inch sections. Put this between the vise jaws down to the rounding
part. With your jewellers' saw, saw close to the vise and along the
division lines, cutting out sections 2, 4, 6.
[Illustration: The copper is to be pressed together along dotted line]
[Illustration: The copper cylinder must be sawn out in sections, as
where the arrow points]
[Illustration: Section of hinge]
[Illustration: This sketch shows the method of riveting the hinge to
the jewel box]
File up all open parts so that the joints will be at right angles to
the hinge. Do this carefully or else they will not swing true when
hinged together. Use the cut hinge to measure off the sections on the
other hinge. Cut out sections 1, 3, 5 on the second hinge, allowing
a little on each section for filing. Fit the two parts together and
fasten by pushing a wire through. Try the hinge to see that it works
true and snug. Select one of the sides as the back of the box, put the
lid on, with the hinge in place. You will notice that the thickness
of the hinge prevents the lid from fitting down on the box. File the
side of the box down so the hinge sets flush with the top, and file the
wings of the hinge down to a taper. The wings are to be riveted, one
flat to the under side of the lid, and the other to the back, after
bending it down on the inside of the box. See section view. Hinges are
sometimes soldered in place. To do this, wash the joints with a little
soft-solder fluid. Heat the box in the bunsen flame hot enough to make
the solder run in between the joints. File any rough edges off, smooth
down carefully, and polish.