Drill a 1/2-in. hole through a block of pine or other soft wood 2 in. thick. Tack over one end of the hole a piece of pasteboard in which seven coarse sewing-machine needles have been inserted. The needles should be close together and pushed through the pasteboard until the points show. The hole is then filled with melted babbitt metal. When this is cold, the block is split and the pasteboard removed. This tool makes neat pierced work and in making brass shades, it does the work rapidly. --Contributed by H. Carl Cramer, East Hartford, Conn.