We now proceed to a more ambitious undertaking -- the manufacture of a cabinet for the storage of note-paper, envelopes, labels, etc. The only materials needed are some cardboard and glue; the tools, a ruler and a very sharp knife. For the marking out a drawing board and T-square are invaluable. The cardboard should be fairly stout, not less than 1/16 inch thick.

Begin with the drawers; it is easier to make the case fit the drawers than vice versa.

Mark out the drawers as shown in Fig. 28. The areas AA are the front and back; BB the sides. The dotted lines indicate the lines along which the cardboard is bent up. The sides are of exactly the same length as the bottom, but the front and back are longer than the bottom by twice the thickness of the cardboard, so as to overlap the sides. (The extra length is indicated by the heavy black lines.)

Measure and cut out very carefully to ensure all the drawers being of the same size. Lay a piece of card under the thing cut to avoid blunting the knife or damaging the table. When the blanks are ready, cut them almost through along the dotted lines. Use several strokes, and after each stroke test the stubbornness of the bend. When the card is almost severed it will bend up quite easily. Note.-- Bend as shown in the inset C; not the other way, or you will snap the card. If you should be so unlucky as to cut the card through in places, paste a strip of thin paper along the line before turning up.

The four flaps are now bent up, glued together, and covered outside with paper. This part of the business is easy enough if a small square-cornered wooden box be used as a support inside at each angle in turn. It is advisable to glue strips along all the bends both inside and outside. The external strips should be flattened down well, so as to offer no loose edges.

Compare the drawers, and if one is slightly wider than the rest, use it to guide you in making the measurements for the case.

The sides and back of the case are cut out of a single piece. The sides should be a quarter of an inch deeper than the drawers to allow some overlap; the back slightly wider than the drawer.

As each drawer will be separated from that above it by a shelf, allowance must be made for the shelves, and also for a twentieth of an inch or so of "play" to each drawer. To keep on the safe side leave a little extra stuff to be removed later on.

Cut out the bottom to fit inside the back and sides exactly, and a sufficient number of shelves of precisely the same size as the bottom. Attach the bottom to the sides and back with internal and external strips. When the glue has set, place the guide drawer in position, and lay on it a piece of thin card to cover it over. This card is merely a removable "spacer." Along the side and back edges of the shelf stick projecting strips of stout paper. When the adhesive is dry, turn the strips round the end at right angles to the division, glue them outside, and lay the division in position on top of the "spacer."

Place the second drawer and shelf in like manner, and continue till the top of the cabinet is reached. Then mark off and cut away any superfluous card. Glue the top edges, and stand the cabinet head downwards on a piece of cardboard. Trim off the edges of this, and the top is completed, except for binding the corners.

Then attend to the outside back corners of the case, and paste strips in the angles under the shelves. The strips should be forced well into the angles.

For handles use brass rings let sufficiently far through the fronts of the drawers for a wedge of card to be slipped through them and stuck in position. The appearance of the cabinet will be enhanced by a neatly applied covering of paper.

Fig. 28. Drawer of cardboard cabinet marked ready for cutting.