The Boy Mechanic: Volume 1 eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 823 pages of information about The Boy Mechanic.

The Boy Mechanic: Volume 1 eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 823 pages of information about The Boy Mechanic.

** Removing Mold [320]

Mold on wallpaper can be removed at once by applying a solution of 1 part salicylic acid in 4 parts of 95% alcohol.

** How to make A paper boat [321] A Light Boat That Can Be Easily Carried

[Illustration:  The Paper Boat Is Light and Easy to Propel]

Now you might think it absurd to advise making a paper boat, but it is not, and you will find it in some respects and for some purposes better than the wooden boat.  When it is completed you will have a canoe, probably equal to the Indian’s bark canoe.  Not only will it serve as an ideal fishing boat, but when you want to combine hunting and fishing you can put your boat on your shoulders and carry it from place to place wherever you want to go and at the same time carry your gun in your hand.  The material used in its construction is inexpensive and can be purchased for a few dollars.

Make a frame (Fig. 1) on which to stretch the paper.  A board 1 in. thick and about 1 ft. wide and 11-1/2 ft. long is used for a keel, or backbone, and is cut tapering for about a third of its length, toward each end, and beveled

[Illustration:  Detail of Framework Construction]

on the outer edges (A, Fig. 2).  The cross-boards (B, B, Fig. 2) are next sawed from a pine board 1 in. thick.  Shape these as shown by A, Fig. 4, 13 in. wide by 26 in. long, and cut away in the center to avoid useless weight.  Fasten them cross-wise to the bottom board as shown in Fig. 1 and 2, with long stout screws, so as to divide the keel into three nearly equal parts.  Then add the stem and stern pieces (C, C, Fig. 2).  These are better, probably, when made of green elm.  Screw the pieces to the bottom-board and bend them, as shown in Fig. 2, by means of a string or wire, fastened to a nail driven into the bottom.  Any tough, light wood that is not easily broken when bending will do.  Green wood is preferable, because it will retain the shape in which it has been bent better after drying.  For the gunwales (a, a, Fig. 3), procure at a carriage factory, or other place, some tight strips of ash, 3/8 in. thick.  Nail them to the crossboards and fasten to the end pieces

[Illustration:  Important Features of Construction]

(C, C,) in notches, by several wrappings of annealed iron wire or copper wire, as shown in Fig. 3.  Copper wire is better because it is less apt to rust.  For fastening the gunwales to the crossboards use nails instead of screws, because the nails are not apt to loosen and come out.  The ribs, which are easily made of long, slender switches of osier willow, or similar material, are next put in, but before doing this, two strips of wood (b, b, Fig. 3) should be bent and placed as in Fig. 3.  They are used only temporarily as a guide in putting in the ribs, and are not fastened, the elasticity of the wood being sufficient to cause them to retain their position. 

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The Boy Mechanic: Volume 1 from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.