6^28 



Popular Science Monthly 



Tightening Electric Wires Under 

 Wood Cleats 



EVERYONE realizes how difficult it 

 is to tighten a number of wires under 

 wood cleats. Using the method shown in 

 the illustration, it becomes a very simple 



The end or cor- 

 ner cleats (1 and 

 3) are wrapped 

 around in the 

 direction of the 

 pull and the cen- 

 ter cleat (2) has 

 half of the wires 

 on top and half 

 in the groove for 

 twisting t h e'rn 



matter. The wires on the end or corner 

 cleats of a run should be wrapped around 

 and securely fastened to the cleats. The 

 center cleat should have one-half of the 

 wires on top and the other half in the 

 groove. The cleat is then turned round 

 and round until the wires become a 

 tightly twisted cable. Care must be 

 taken, however, not to stretch the wires 

 too much as it is possible to break them. 

 The cleat is then screwed down, holding 

 the wires in this tight cable-like form. 



Mounting a Glass Plate Without 

 Drilling Holes In It 



THE method herein described for 

 mounting a glass plate is much 

 simpler than drilling, and in most cases 

 it is to be preferred. The procedure may 

 be utilized by the amateur for plates not 

 having a greater diameter than 2 ft. 



To mount the piate, it is necessary to 

 place it upon marked paper that has 

 been made for template, to enable one to 

 determine the center. Over the center 

 must be pasted small circles of a fibrous 

 brown paper, one on each side of the glass. 

 The circles must be exactly the same 

 size as two wooden cheeks previously 



made from a cotton reel sawn in half. 

 The paste essential for satisfactory re- 

 sults contains the following ingredients: 

 One teaspoonful of flour; two ounces of 

 water; and three grains of bichromate of 

 potash. The potash should be finely 

 pulverized, and the ingredients must be 

 thoroughly stirred before placing them 

 over a flame. The mixture is brought to 

 the boiling point in a suitable vessel. It 

 is kept in the dark when not in use. The 

 glass disk on which is pasted the paper 

 circles, is placed in the sun for a few 

 hours. This treatment insures the best 

 result as the sun's rays set up a chemical 

 action in the bichromate, rendering it 

 insoluble, so that it cannot readily be 

 detached from the plate. When dry, the 

 wooden cheeks may be glued to the paper 

 circles. First add a few grains of the pot- 

 ash to the glue to prevent its being affected 

 by dampness. A little care will secure 

 excellent results. — Herman Neuhaus. 



Changing the Tone of an Electric 

 Bell by Sawing It 



AVERY good method of changing 

 the tone of a bell is to saw a slot A 

 in the gong B with a hack saw; the bell 

 will then have a tone similar to that of a 

 cow bell. The deeper the slot, the duller 

 the tone. 



Another method of changing the sound 

 of a bell, is by placing two bells close 

 together so that the hammer of bell C. 



#^— ^ y^— ^ W"^-^-^ 



Changing the tone of a bell by sawing a 

 slot in the gong and a double gong ar- 

 rangement, thus distinguishing them 



on its forward stroke, strikes the gong D. 

 On its backward stroke, T strikes the gong 

 E on bell /•', making it sound like a tele- 

 phone bell. When bell F is rung, the 

 hammer only hits its own gong, giving 

 the ordinarv sound. 



