PERHAPS you would like now to make something useful and pretty for your
father or your big brother, so I will try to tell you how to make a
book-rest like one I made myself for Christmas. It has no fancy carving
about it, but is made (as you can see by the illustration) of straight
pieces.
The directions for finding the angles might be given mathematically,
so that you could get them for yourself with a little figuring, but it
will be easier practically to find the angles in the way I describe,
and they will be accurate enough for this piece of work.
For the book-rest you must buy some planed whitewood which is
preferable to any other on account of staining. A piece eighteen inches
long, twelve inches wide and one half inch thick, will be enough; it
will cost about ten cents.
Lengthwise with chalk-line mark off eleven strips five eighths inch
wide; cut them with splitting-saw and plane, the sides cut with
fore-plane, making each strip JUST one half inch in breadth as well as
thickness.
We will begin with the uprights for the front.
Take one of these strips, square one end: then measure a little over
one half inch down the stick, and with try-square make a continuous
line around the stick.
Find the centre of the end just squared by drawing diagonals, and then
either with block-plane or knife, point the stick by putting the edge
of knife on the continuous line on one of the faces of the square, and
directing the blade toward the centre of end; a steady, firm pressure
will give a good bevel. Finish the other three sides in the same way,
and you will have a pyramid with square base for one end of your
stick: cut the stick off square thirteen inches from the point. Finish
two more sticks in the same way, and you will have your three front
uprights.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.]
Now take another piece; square one end as nicely as possible
(everything depends in this job on the neatness and accuracy of your
work), measure seven and five eighths inches from squared end; cut off
and square: you will have a stick seven and one half inches long. Make
another like this from the piece left. These pieces we will mark _A_:
they are the short uprights in diagram. Now cut two pieces twelve and
one half inches long: square both ends; find exact middle, measure one
fourth inch in each direction from middle and draw lines with square
_across_ the stick. Right and left on the side faces (_not_ the one
underneath), draw lines parallel with top face one fourth inch from it.
These last lines show how deep you are to saw on the first two lines
with cross-cut saw. With chisel remove the little piece one half by
one half by one fourth. Take care not to cut the stick deeper than the
lines indicate. The sticks will look like fig. 1. These are the cross
bars, _BB_.
From another stick cut three pieces six inches long: square both ends;
these are marked _CCC_; two belong to the back, and one for the front
connecting _CC_. From short pieces left cut two pieces two and three
fourths inches long, of course squaring the ends: these are _DD_, and
go at side of front.
For uprights of back cut two pieces ten inches long: square ends. On a
board or piece of paper mark on a line two points three and one half
inches apart. From the right-hand point draw a perpendicular, the
line connecting the two points being the base of a triangle. Lay one
ten-inch stick from the left hand point to the perpendicular, making
the hypotenuse of a right-angled triangle. You will readily see how
much of a bevel is required to make the lower end set firmly. It will
probably be about one eighth of an inch; make the same bevel on the
other ten-inch piece: these we will mark _EE_ (the uprights for the
back). Bevel the lower ends of the three-pointed sticks (the uprights
for front) in the same way. (_See base of fig. 2._)
[Illustration: FIG. 2.]
On one front upright, measure two and three fourths inches from point
on face _A_: cut out bit one half by one half by one fourth as in piece
_B_. Repeat at eight inches; again at ten and five eighths inches from
point of stick. This completes middle upright.
Now to return to pieces _EE_. On a board or paper mark in line three
points three and one half inches apart. Hold beveled end of pointed
upright on point one, so that a point _Y_ ten inches from bevel will be
perpendicular to point two. Stand bevel end of _E_ on point three, so
that the other end will rest against point _Y_. You will then see the
bevel needed on upper end of _E_ to make it fit against point _Y_. It
will be about an inch long.
[Illustration: FIG. 3.]
Treat the other _E_ in the same way, taking care that both bevels start
from same face of stick. Square end of new stick: cut off six inches
and square again. At point three inches from end cut out bit one half
by one half by one fourth, as in _B_. This is the stick _F_.
Cut two sticks ten inches long: square ends. These are _GG_.
The pieces are all cut out; now of course you had more whitewood
than these measures, but it is so cheap it seemed best to allow for
mistakes, and the spoiling of two or three sticks in cutting bevels,
etc. The bits left always come handy.
In putting the parts together you must be very careful. You will need
some one-inch brads and some seven-sixteenths or three eighth ones
also, and about two feet of brass spring wire, two French screws one
inch long (slim ones), and two five eighths inch ones.
Take first the pointed piece for the middle of front: the one with the
squares cut out of it: fit one of the _B’s_ into the upper place and
the other into the lower one. Put piece _F_ into the middle slot; put
two brads through each piece (_BBF_) and into the pointed one. Turn the
whole over so the face _A_ is down.
Take two pieces marked _A_; with inch-brads fasten pieces _D_ endwise,
so that upper face of _D_ will be two and one eighth inches from end of
_A_.
Place one _A_ between the two _B’s_ on the right of pointed stick with
_D_ pointing to the right; you will find that the end of _F_ touches
_A_ at a point two and one eighth inches from the bottom, so that _F_
and _D_ divide _A_ plus one half inch (eight inches) into thirds.
Place the other _A_ and _D_ facing just opposite on the other side
of pointed stick. You will find that the ends of the _A’s_ touch the
_B’s_ at a point half-way between the end of _B_ and the pointed piece.
Secure in position with inch-brads.
Place one of the other pointed sticks to the right, the other to the
left of ends of _B_ and _D_, and fasten so that the end of upper _B_ is
two and one half inches from point, and _D_ two and one eighth inches
from upper _B_ and lower _B_ _slightly_ over two inches from bottom of
bevel. In placing these two pointed pieces _be sure_ and have the face
_a_ (_fig. 2_) down.
Now for the back. Take the pieces marked _E_; measure two and five
eighth inches from upper ends; fasten one of the pieces _C_ by the ends
to these points, and the second _C_ at a point a _little_ over two
inches from bottom.
Fasten upper beveled ends of the _E’s_ to backs of points _x_ (_see
picture_) with short brass screws and a couple of brads.
Next take pieces _G_, and measure two and three fourth inches from end:
bore holes large enough to admit long screws; with brads fasten third
_C_ at points one and one half inches from ends of _G_, and one and one
fourth inch from holes. (This is to support the book.) Then screw _G_’s
directly under _B_ and _A_, the long ends directed backward. You will
find the seven-inch ends will touch the lower part of pieces _E_ about
one half inch from bottom. Fasten with brads.
These two pieces (_G_) serve to keep the back from spreading away from
front and make the rest strong enough to support quite a heavy book.
This is really a very simple thing to make, for the lines are all
straight, and if you are careful in cutting, fitting and joining, you
will feel paid for the trouble.