Popular Science Monthly 



647 



EXTENDED. 

 THREAD 



A High-Speed Bit That Bores 

 Without Choking 



A\ auger-bil has been invented with 

 . several no\-el constructional fea- 

 tures. The twist is just the reverse of 

 all other so-called double-twist auger- 

 bits in that the bit is made very thick at 

 the edges and thin in 

 the center. The tech- 

 nical reason for this 

 change is the generally 

 acknowledged weak- 

 ness of an auger-bit 

 that is caused by its 

 tendency to clog or 

 choke when boring 

 holes more than two or 

 three inches in depth. 

 The twist of an auger- 

 bit is essentially a con- 

 veyer. The rubbing of 

 the chip against the 

 wall of the hole being 

 bored causes it to be 

 retarded and it finally 

 packs so tight that the 

 bit refuses to bore. 



In the new t>pe of 

 bit the thickened edge 

 which keeps the chip 

 closer to the center of 

 the bit pro\'ides ample 

 room for chip passage. 



THICK EDGE 

 THIN CENTER 



The thread of the bit extends 

 beyond the center of the point 



Turning the Stationary Tub Into an 

 Electric Washing-Machine 



THE stationary tubs in the kitchens of 

 our apartment houses have not 

 simplified the task of housekeeping. 



Generally the tubs are so low that they 

 make washing a back-breaking opera- 

 tion. For this reason, probably, sta- 

 tionary tubs in the more modern of our 

 apartment houses are seldom used for 

 washing. 



With the advent of an electric washing- 

 machine for stationar\- 

 tul)s, however, it looks 

 as if the family wash- 

 ing might be done at 

 home after all. A new 

 electric washer will 

 help in attaining that 

 end. It is enclosed in 

 a stationary tub and is 

 provided with two mo- 

 tors, one of which is 

 attached to the bot- 

 tom of the tub. The 

 other, which operates 

 the wringer, is on a 

 special platform which, 

 holds a basket, into 

 which the clean 

 clothes fall from the 

 wringer. 



As will be seen from 

 the accompanying il-' 

 lustration, a switch- 

 board is built into the 

 tub between the two 

 sets of faucets, so that 

 it is entirely out of 

 the reach of mischievous children. 



Some Weather Bureau Duties We 



Overlook in Criticising the 



Weather Prophet 



w 



The washer is enclosed in the stationary tub and 

 is provided with two motors and a switchboard 



HY do we ha\e a Weather 

 Bureau? This question is 

 likely to be asked, in more or less 

 querulous tones, whene\'er the 

 local weather prediction fails, as it 

 often does. The inquirer overlooks 

 the fact that the Weather Bureau 

 has much more important things to 

 foretell than ordinary changes of 

 weather. It predicts with cer- 

 tainty great windstorms, de- 

 structive floods, severe freezes 

 and other atmospheric \isita- 

 tions that endanger life and 

 property on a large scale and 

 collects climatic statistics for 

 scientific agriculture. 



