neatly the largest wire to be spliced. At the sides of this two notches are filed, as shown at the left. At the right the splicer is seen in position on the wire. The splicer

should be turned backward, as it appears in the righthand drawing, to make the splice. A pair of large pincers or a vise should be used to hold the two

T

wires between the G

coils while turning the splicer. The

WIRE SPLICING

splice as finished appears above. The length of the handle may vary. If the splicer is to be used for net wire, of course the handle cannot be longer than the width of the mesh. Otherwise, 6 or 7 inches is about right for No. 8 wire. If it is to be used only for small wire, the length of the handle should be reduced for the sake of convenience.

SERVICEABLE HOMEMADE LEVEL

A serviceable level is shown in the illustration. Take two 1-inch boards of rather hard wood, wellseasoned, 2 to 3 feet long, bolt or screw them together at right angles. This union must be so strong as never to be moved by ordinary pressure. At the top of the perpendicular piece cut a slit and insert a piece of strong thread. To the bottom of the thread tie a thin circular

LEVEL

weight. Lay the device across two trestles of nearly the same level. Just above the weight mark the place where the string hangs. Reverse the position of the instrument by turning it end for end, and again mark the position of the string. Half way between the two marks place a third. When the string hangs over this mark the lower board will be level. A shield of tin may be placed over the weight. A nail on each side of the string, just above the weight, will keep it from swinging far out of place. It must be allowed to swing freely.

A simple level may be improvised by filling a small flat bottle with water, so that only a bubble of air remains, and attaching it lengthwise and near the middle of a straight stick or narrow board.

TO MAKE A HANDLE STAY ON

To secure the handle of a hammer or ax is often quite a bothersome problem. A special wedge made

b

with a piece of wood as at a, in the sketch, held in place by a fence staple, b, has been devised to meet the need for a wedge that really holds. The prongs of the staple should be bent slightly outward before it is driven in, so that they will spread in the handle. There is little danger of handles coming loose when they are attached in this manner, and it is little more difficult to set a handle as indicated than in the old-fashioned way.

HOLDS WEDGE

A TOOL BOX REQUISITE

Among the handiest things to have in the tool box are some small bolts about 2 inches long with thumb nuts. A dozen or so of these will prove their value many times over in the course of a year. In making tables for fairs or suppers or in any sort of knock-down arrangement, or temporary convenience where strength is essential, nothing surpasses a bolt of this description. With a brace and a bit the right size, one may be entirely independent of nails and screws.

A farmer friend of ours was once called upon to make a fence about a child's crib without any marring nails. A slot in the fence post with a thumb bolt just above the crib line gave an alligator jaw result which was very satisfactory. On another occasion a knock-down stage was carried from the storeroom in pieces and put together by two men in 20 minutes. An actual computation of its strength showed that a locomotive might safely run over it.

The man referred to above has 100 feet of tables for hall purposes, depending entirely upon the 2inch bolt and thumb nut for their fastenings and braces. There is never any trouble about knocking out nails. To one having a brace and bit these handy things will suggest of themselves many satisfactory uses. A supply of iron washers should be kept in hand, and in time a collection of various sizes of wooden washers will accumulate.

SOLDERING

Soldering may be done by anyone having a very simple outfit. All that is required is a copper sol

dering iron, some solder, a vial of muriatic acid and some resin. A fairly successful job of soldering a tin dish may be done by scraping the surface bright where the hole is, sprinkling on a little finely powdered resin, laying on a bit of solder and holding the dish over a flame, which may be from an alcohol lamp, until the solder melts. It will cover the hole and stick. If the dish is rusty or badly tarnished use muriatic acid in place of resin. Resin works best when tin is bright, but usually solder sticks most successfully when the acid is used.

For soldering large breaks or doing important jobs of soldering the iron must be used. In order to work well the iron has to be kept coated with solder. When it gets blackened it should be filed until bright and then rubbed upon a smooth board while hot in a mixture of melted solder and resin. When the hot iron is taken from the fire wipe it on a damp cloth before trying to use it to lift the melted solder. A soldering iron is best heated in charcoal or the coals of a wood fire. The copper should never get red hot, as that causes the coating of the point to be burned off. The metal to be soldered must always be heated before the solder will unite it.

Solder may be obtained in bars at any tin shop. It can be made by melting together 2 parts of lead and I of bar tin. This is the usual proportion for most purposes. Soft solder that will melt quickly and can be easily used for mending tinware can be made of pure lead and tin in equal parts. A hard solder is made by melting together 2 parts of copper to I of tin. Brazing solder is made by melting together brass and one-sixth its weight of zinc. When cool it should be granulated by pounding

with a hammer. For soldering steel and iron to brass the following combination of metal is melted together, 3 parts tin, 391⁄2 copper, and 71⁄2 zinc. Before it is applied, all the metals to be jointed together must be heated to the same temperature as the soldering alloy. Gold solder is made of 24 parts gold, 2 parts silver and I part copper. A hard silver solder is made of 4 parts silver to I of copper. A soft silver solder is made of 2 parts silver to I of brass.