784 Popular Science Monthly 



A Balancing Ladder for Use in the 

 Home Gymnasium 



Mounting Photographs So That They 

 Will Not Curl 



THE balancing ladder was designed 

 for indoor use. In making it care 

 should be taken to have all the parts 

 properly finished so that it will look neat, 

 as well as give good service. The base 

 consists of a frame made of 2 in. plank and 

 when finished 

 it forms a rect- 

 angle 30 by 48 

 in. The joint 

 used at the cor- 

 ners is shown 

 at A. The up- 

 right planks 

 are 6 in. wide 

 and are fitted 

 into notches 

 cut on the in- 

 ner edges of 

 the platform 

 pieces. The 

 braces for the 

 uprights are 

 fitted to their 

 own depth. 



The ladder 

 proper is made 

 of sound, 

 straight- 

 grained hard- 

 wood, with 

 each rung 

 glued and 

 nailed in place. 

 The pivot is 

 made of a bolt 

 as shown at B. 

 When it is de- 

 sired to main- 

 tain the ladder in a horizontal position, 

 the braces C and D are let into the notches 

 in the blocks as shown at E. The lower 

 ends of these braces are bolted to the 

 upright post and may be quickly taken 

 down. When the device is completed, 

 smooth all parts with sandpaper and ap- 

 ply two coats of spar varnish. For 

 permanent locations, it may be bolted 

 to the floor, but it is preferably left 

 portable. The construction permits this 

 and only ordinary care is necessary to 

 prevent accidents. For healthy, growing 

 boys this apparatus will provide endless 

 fun and exercise. -^A. Aldon. 



A portable balancing ladder and details of its prin- 

 cipal parts. The ladder is tilting or made solid 



THERE are very few amateur photog- 

 raphers who have not encountered 

 the unpleasantness of pasting photographs 

 on mounts and have them curl up, mount 

 and all. The dry mounting method over- 

 comes this difficulty, but one must have 



a hot iron. 

 However, the 

 difficulty may 

 be overcome 

 by the use of 

 rubber cement 

 such as is used 

 for patching 

 the inner tubes 

 of bicycle and 

 automobile 

 tires. 



The cement 

 is applied in a 

 thin, even coat 

 on the back of 

 the print and 

 the face of the 

 mount. It is 

 allowed to dry, 

 or become 

 "tacky" be- 

 fore placing the 

 print on the 

 mount. When 

 the print is laid 

 in place it is 

 rolled down 

 just as in ordi- 

 nary mount- 

 ing. 



As the ce- 

 ment will 



slightly discolor the mount, if it is white, 

 it is best to cover the entire surface, then 

 when the print is in place the uncovered 

 border may be easily cleaned of the 

 cement by rubbing with the finger end. 

 Roll it into a ball and use the ball to 

 clean the edge near the print. If any of 

 the cement gets on the face of the print 

 it can be rubbed off in the same manner. 

 If the print does not stick properly it is 

 because the cement was not left long 

 enough before the print was applied to the 

 mount. Dry the print well after mount- 

 ing, so that the surface of the mount will 

 not peel off in removing the cement. 



