# St. Nicholas/Volume 32/Number 4/Practical Boy

Illustrated by the author; continued from Jan. 1905
The Practical Boy
By Joseph H. Adams.
Fourth Paper.
Household Conveniences.
A Mirror and Shelves
An ordinary oblong mirror can be converted into a shaving-mirror and shelves with a few additional pieces of woodwork, as shown in Fig. 1. A mirror of almost any size can be converted into this new design, so that it will be unnecessary to lay down any sizes to be followed.
Fig 1. A Mirror and Shelves.
The upper side ledges are cut as shown at A in Fig. 2, and the two brackets that support them are cut as shown at B. The ledge under the glass is three inches wide and extends an inch beyond the length of the mirror-frame at each end.
Fig 2. Details of Brackets.
A smaller shelf, rounded at the ends, is supported below this by a bracket, and the wall-plate against which they are attached is cut with a compass-saw in a sweeping curve.
The top beard is cut out in the same manner, and attached with long, slim screws.
A Triple Shaving-glass
In the illustration an idea for a triple shaving-glass is shown that is made from three mirrors of equal length and width, unless it is preferable to have the middle one wider. They are mounted in plain wooden frames, and united with wrought-iron hinges, over which ornamental straps are laid, cut from thin sheet-lead and blackened to imitate wrought-iron.
Fig 3. A Triple Shaving-glass.
A crown-piece is cut from wood for the cen--
334 ​tral mirror, Under this middle mirror a V-shaped wall-board is arranged with a half-circular ledge and bracket to support a shaving-cup. The two side mirrors are mounted in moldings having a rabbet cut about half an inch deep. The frames should be not less than seven eighths of an inch in thickness, so as to accommodate backing-boards behind the glass. The thin backing-board can be purchased from a picture-frame maker for a few cents a square foot.
Over these backing-boards and the frame a suitable material, such as denim or cretonne, can be stretched and tacked fast all around the edge to give the outside of the glasses a good appearance when the doors are partly or wholly closed.
The woodwork can be stained or painted any desirable shade to match other furniture in the room. As the mirrors are heavy, they must be securely fastened to the wall, particularly at the top, as there is a great deal of strain on the top anchorages when both mirrors are standing out at right angles to the wall.
A Wall-pocket and Hook-bar.
For the side wall im a bedroom, dressing-room, or bath-room, a wall-pocket and hook-bar will often be a welcome convenience.
Fig 4. Wall-pocket and Hook-bar.
The wood need not be more than half an inch thick, and plain joints can be made with glue and screws, and the screw-heads hidden with imitation lead heads. This pocket can be made any size to fit a wall-space, but from 18 to 24 inches in length will be a good size. The space between shelves can be 6 inches, and from the bottom shelf to the hook-bar the distance is 4 inches. Soft wood can be stained and varnished any desirable color, or the wall-pocket can be painted to match the woodwork in the room.
A Cup and a Plate Pyramid.
Fig 5. A Cup and a Plate Pyramid.
This is another attractive dining-room feature, and is very simple to construct. Three of the shelves are cut with a serpentine front, as shown, and measure 26, 22, and 18 inches respectively, as at A in Fig. 6, while the top one is 12 inches long and cut as shown at B in ​Fig. 6. The shelves are 6 inches wide at the middle, and three of them are 2½ inches wide at the ends, while the top one is rounded off as shown.
Short brackets, 1½ inches wide and 2½ inches long, support the shelves at 2 or 3 inches from the ends, and under the middle of the bottom shelf a larger bracket, 5½ inches wide and 8 inches long, is cut.
A notch is cut in the front of each shelf and a corresponding one in the staff that binds the shelves together at the front, so that they are spaced, from the bottom up, 11, 10, and 9 inches apart respectively.
Fig 6. Details of brackets.
Slim steel-wire nails two inches long will secure the brackets to the wall, or long, slim screws may be used in preference, as they will hold better if they strike a lath, without rebounding and breaking the plaster away. The woodwork may be finished in any of the weathered-oak stains and given a coat of thin shellac, or painted; it is purely a matter of choice,
A Book-shelf and Pipe-rack.
For the library or den a convenient piece of wall furniiture is shown in the illustration of the book-shelf and pipe-rack.
If it is possible tv get a piece of wood 24 inches wide and 26 inches long, it will answer for the back; but if not, then two pine or white-wood boards, 12 inches wide and ⅞ of an inch thick, can be glued together. The shelves are 6 inches wide and 24 inches long, and are spaced 8½ inches apart. This space can be made smaller if it will be used only for small books.
With a compass-saw the top and bottom lines of the back board are cut, and under the lower shelf three supporting brackets are screwed fast to both the shelf and the wall-plate.
Fig 7. A Book-shelf and Pipe-rack.
A plan for the brackets and wall-plate may be drawn on brown paper and transferred to the wood, on the lines of which it will be an easy matter to follow with a saw.
Two small quarter-circular shelves are attached to the middle bracket, and a few holes made in them will accommodate pipes.
The upper shelf is supported by two slats at each end, that are attached to the ends of the lower shelf with screws and glue; and over the screw-heads some imitation lead heads are attached with slim wire nails and afterward painted black, or the natural wood can be stained.
A Shoe-box and Window-seat.
Fig 7. A Shoe-box and Window-seat.
​nailed to the corners, as shown in Fig. 9, and a lid is made from three boards and attached to the rear edge of the box with iron hinges, as shown also m the figure below.
Fig 9. Details of the Shoe-box.
On the top of the lid spread a few thicknesses of cotton batting, and over this lay a piece of denim or cretonne, either plain or with a figure, and tack it down around the edge of the lid with large, oval-headed upholsterers’ tacks, as shown in Fig. 8 on the preceding page. The boy’s sister or mother can help him with this.
A Butler’s Tray.
{{sc|For} the house that is not built with a butler’s pantry, or for the mother who does her own housework, a very convenient accessory in the dining-room, and one that a boy can make, will be a drop-ledge and butter’s tray.
Fig 10. Detail of Butler’s Tray.
Dishes can be removed from the table and laid temporarily on the tray, which can be located conveniently in the dining-room and partly hidden by a screen,
Two brackets on hinges will support the shelf when it is up, but when it is dropped the brackets fold in against the wall, as shown in Fig. 10.
The ledge and brackets are of pine or other suitable wood, ¾ of an inch thick, and planed on all sides and edges. The tray is of white-wood, ⅝ of an inch thick, and put together securely with glue and screws.
The ends and handle-grips are cut with a compass-saw and finished with sandpaper; then the tray is stained and varnished to match the shelf and brackets.
Fig 11. A Butler’s Tray.
Back of the drop-shelf a horizontal strip two inches wide is fastened to the wall by means of a wall-plate securely screwed fast to the wall; and down from it, the length of the brackets, two more strips an inch thick are attached to the wall.
The shelf is hung to the two-inch strip with hinges, and to the vertical strips the brackets are attached with hinges also. These strips ate securely fastened to the wall with long screws, for on them depends the support of the shelf and the tray with its load of dishes. In cases of this kind, drive the nails or screws into the studding and not into the lath.
Lock Shelves.
Fig 12. Lock Shelves.
In a cellar store-room it is often convenient to have a portion of the shelves locked, for the better protection of preserves, provisions, and unbroken packages of various grocery supplies. For this purpose slat doors, as shown in Fig. 12, can be used, The slats are from ½ to ⅞ of an inch thick and 2 inches wide, and are fastened to the battens with clinch-nails or screws driven from the inside. If much locked store-room is needed, it will be better to have several slat doors instead of one large one. From 4 to 5 feet is a convenient length. Fasten with a padlock and hasp, as shown.
A Vegetable-bin.
For the corner of the cellar, and where it is convenient to the staircase, a very useful vegetable-bin can be made from a few boards and slats, so that the finished result will appear as shown in Fig. 13. The bin can be made any length and width, but for the home of average size it need not be more than 6 feet long and 18 inches wide, with each compartment from 16 to 20 inches wide.
The front, back, and ends are 1a inches high, and two of the partitions are the same height; but the partitions for the potato and turnip compartments extend up 18 inches above the top of the bin, to enable each one to hold more vegetables than the low compartments will contain.
The bin rests on two battens nailed to the brick or stone foundation walls of the cellar two feet above the floor, and at the exposed corner a foot or leg 24 inches long supports it.
The bottom of the bin is made of long slats nailed an inch apart, so that the dirt from the vegetables will fall through to the floor, from which it can be swept up more easily than it can be removed from the boxes or compartments.
The ventilation, due to the slat bottom, prevents the vegetables from decaying as quickly as they would in a box with a tight bottom. If you will notice potato, onion, or apple barrels in transit, you will always find cuts made in the barrels, so the air can circulate freely around the vegetables, thereby insuring their keeping qualities; and if a farmer or shipper neglects to slit his barrels, you may be sure the commission merchant or consignee will do it directly the barrels reach him.
Across the tops of the high partitions, and propped up at the exposed end of the bin, a shelf or ledge, 10 inches wide, will accommodate cabbage, lettuce, bunches of carrots, parsnips, or various other vegetables that may be purchased as stores for a few days.
Fig 13. A Vegetable-bin.
In the above illustration only five compartments are shown in the main part of the bin, but a bin of almost any length can be constructed, depending upon the space at hand and the requirements of the family.
We take oceasion to repeat what we have said in a previous number—namely, that the various dimensions here given may usually be modified. at will, so long as the general plan, as shown by the illustrations and descriptions, is followed.