Assembling

With a sharp steel scraper, or a keen plane set to take a very thin shaving, remove all pencil or tool marks. Be sure to leave the corners perfectly straight and sharp. From the back side drive a nail through each hole (these nails will incline upward). Settle the heads slightly into the wood by one or two careful blows with the hammer. This will prevent the nail from pushing out when the corn is put in.

Finishing

Although a fine finish is not required on a piece of work of this kind, yet it would be well to give it a coat of shellac (Chapter IV., Paragraph 57) or paint (Chapter IV., Paragraph 52).

Optional and Home Projects Employing Similar Principles.

Clothesline Pole

1. The principle of planing out a long, straight strip of material can be applied to a great many projects. The clothesline pole is such a strip cut to a desirable length, usually about 7 to 9 feet long. It should have a "V" shaped notch sawed in one end to receive the clothesline.

Ten-Foot Pole

2. A ten-foot pole will be found quite convenient about the farm where measurements must occasionally be made. It consists of a straight pole, neatly planed, with the dimensions for feet, halves and quarters plainly marked. For convenience and accuracy, the last foot might be marked off in inches. A rod-pole could just as easily be made if desired.

Plumb Bob

3. A plumb bob, or plumb rule as it is sometimes called, is a very handy tool where any kind of building work is going on. The only essential principle in its construction is the matter of getting the edges perfectly straight and parallel, and of gauging the testing line exactly in the middle. It should have a "V" shaped, or circular, fork in the lower end large enough to allow the weight or plummet to swing freely.

If desirable, and one is willing to exercise sufficient care, a very satisfactory spirit level may be made by getting a small level tube from the hardware store, and installing it in one edge of the plumb bob. The protecting plate over the tube may be made of a small piece of sheet brass, or it too may be purchased.