Part 109 (1/2)

An old letter press if it be inclosed in a tin oven makes a good press, or all the necessary materials and apparatus can be purchased from a dealer. Any type such as all printers use will answer.

** To Light a Gaslight Without Matches [394]

It is probably well known that if you rub your feet briskly over a carpet on a dry, cold day and then touch any metallic object with your finger it will emit a small spark. The following amusing experiment may be done on the same principle:

[Ill.u.s.tration: Lamp Igniter]

Take any small piece of wire about 2 in. long and twist it around a gas burner as shown at A in the sketch. Have the tip of the burner about 1/8 in. below the end of the wire. The wire must be just far enough away from the center of the burner to keep it out of the flame, or else it will melt.

Now get a friend to turn on the gas when you are ready for it. Go around the room once or twice rubbing your feet along the carpet.

When you come around to the gaslight touch the point of the wire and if the gas is turned on, the light will flare right up as if it had been lit with a match.

This experiment cannot be done on a damp day or without shoes, and works best in cold weather.

--Contributed by E. H. Klipstein.

** How To Make a Trap For Rabbits, Rats and Mice [395]

From an old 6-in. pine fence board cut off four pieces 2-1/2 ft.

long and one 6 in. square for the end of the trap and another 4 in. by 8 in. for the door. Use old boards, as new boards scare rabbits.

Figure 1 shows how the box is made. It should be 4 in. wide and 6 in. high

[Ill.u.s.tration: A Good Trap for Small Animals]

on the inside. The top and bottom boards project 1 in. beyond the side boards at the back and the end board is set in. The top board should be 2 in. shorter than the sides at the front. Nail a strip on the top board back of the door and one on the bottom board so the game cannot push the door open from inside the trap and get out.

In the middle of the top board bore a hole and put a crotched stick in for the lever to rest on. Bore another hole in the top of the door for the lever to pa.s.s through. Two inches from the back of the box bore a hole for the trigger, which should be made out of heavy wire in the manner shown in Fig. 2. The door of the trap must work easily and loosely.

** Novel Electric Motor [395]

The materials necessary to make this motor are an old electric bell of the ”buzzer” type and a cogwheel from an old clock.

Remove the hammer-head and gong from the bell, then bend the end of the hammer into a loop, as in Fig. 1. Now make a little wire catch like Fig. 2, and fasten its loop into the loop of the hammer. Mount the bell on a small board as in Fig. 3 and fasten the cogwheel almost on a line with it. Now press down the hammer and place a nail in the position shown in the diagram so that the catch touches one of the teeth.

Fasten the board in an upright position and attach two dry batteries to the binding-posts. If properly connected, the fly-wheel will turn quite rapidly and with amazing force for so small a machine. The machine, however, has a fixed direction as shown by the arrow, but the belting can be arranged so as to send the models in a reversed direction if required. The materials for the motor should not cost more than

[Ill.u.s.tration: Novel Electric Motor]

25c for the bell and if you have an old bell it will cost next to nothing.

--Contributed by Fred C. Curry, Brockville, Ontario.

** How to Print Photographs on Silk [396]