(1) When you want to rivet something use the ball pein end of the hammer to pound down the end of the rivet as this will spread it out in every direction evenly and you can make is nice and round. (2) Side cutting pliers are useful to hold and bend bits of metal with and to cut off pieces of wire as well. (3) Tinner's snips are simply large powerful shears and you can cut sheet metal up to 3/32 of an inch thick with an ordinary pair. When you cut a sheet of heavy metal with them let the lower blade and handle rest on your bench and you can get a better leverage on it. Metals that are thicker than 3/32 inch must be sawed.

(4) While metals can be sawed by using a special saw blade in a scroll saw frame you should use a jeweler's saw frame with jeweler's saws for metal - I prefer the Fish Brand for fine work. (5) For heavier work use a machinist's hack saw; put the piece of metal in a vise and have the part you want to saw close to the jaws of the vise so that it will not vibrate; use a little pressure on the outward, or cutting stroke, and let up on it as you draw the saw back or you will dull the teeth.

(6) In using twist drills, and these are the only satisfactory kind for metal work, be mighty careful not to press too hard on the drill stock and don't try to crowd the drill into cutting faster than it will cut at the speed with which it is turning. In drilling iron keep plenty of oil on the drill point.

(7) You can measure much more accurately with a steel rule than you can with a wood rule and whereas measurements in cabinet work down to 1/16 inch are close enough, for metal work it should not be more than 1/32nd of an inch, and for machine work make your measurements to 1/64th of an inch. (8) A small steel square is better in every way for metal work than a carpenters' try square but you will find it quite expensive.

(9) The advantage of spring dividers over the ordinary kind is that you can set them very accurately and they will stay where you set them. In scribing a circle with a pair of dividers mark the center with your center punch first as this will prevent your dividers from slipping.

(10) Inside calipers are used for measuring the inside diameters of cylinders and the like, and, conversely (11), outside calipers are used for measuring the outside of anything that is round. In either case you measure the distance between the points of your caliper with your rule to find the diameter of the thing. (12) A center punch is always useful to make a starting point in metal with, for it can't be rubbed off or lost sight of.

(13) A set of taps and dies to cut screw threads with in metal of whatever kind is a joy forever. All metal work becomes easy if you have a set of these screw cutting tools and it is next to impossible to make things if you haven't got them.

When you are cutting threads in a piece of metal with the tap, the hole in the metal must of course be a trifle smaller than the diameter of the tap; the tap is put into a handle called a stock and as you cut the threads in the metal don't turn the stock continuously around but give it one complete turn forward and then half-a-turn backward and you will be less apt to break the tap.

The same method holds good when you are cutting threads on a rod with a die; in this case the rod must be a little larger than the hole in the die. In threading iron use plenty of oil on the tap or die, but for brass and the softer metals a lubricant is not needed.

(14) In filing work press down on the outward or cutting stroke and ease up on the file on the return stroke for the teeth of a file are set like the teeth of a saw, that is, so that the cut is made on the out stroke.

A small file can be held in one hand and the work you are filing in the other which can be rested on the edge of the bench but heavier work must be put in a vise and the file held firmly by the handle with one hand and the end steadied and guided by the fingers of your other hand.

(15) In putting in a screw always use the largest size screw-driver whose blade will fit the slot in the head of the screw; this will prevent the blade of the screw-driver from twisting the edges of the slot out of shape.

(16) Before a soldering copper can be used, if it is a new one, it must be tinned, that is the point of it must be coated with solder. To tin it get a pine board about 1 inch thick, 4 inches wide and 6 inches long, and put some brown resin and bits of solder on it.

File off the copper until the point is sharp and it is bright and smooth; heat the copper and then melt the resin and solder on the board with it and rub the copper in them on all sides until a film of solder is formed on it.

(17) It is cheaper to buy a stick of soldering paste than it is to make it but you can easily and cheaply make a good soldering fluid by dissolving a teaspoon-ful of zinc chloride in an ink bottle full of clean water.

In heating the soldering iron keep it near the tip of the flame; if you use an alcohol lamp don't have the wick too high and if you use a Bunsen burner adjust the openings in it until the flame is as nearly invisible as you can get it.

About Sharpening Tools

The only metal working tools you will need to sharpen are the twist drills and these can be sharpened on a carborundum oil stone.

Hold the beveled edge of the drill point on the stone and move it to and fro, being very careful to keep the drill perfectly straight up and down while you are sharpening it.