786 



Popular Science Monthly 



diameter. The cap screw C is fastened 

 with two rivets, one at the top and one 

 at the bottom, to the jaw A. The rivets 

 D are countersunk on the inside of the 

 jaw. The brass washer on the outside of 

 the jaw B is made of an old piece of 3^-in. 

 brass, and allows the nut E to draw up 

 tight and hold it in position. It is not 

 necessarily round. 



Drill J^-in. holes in the faces of the nut 

 E and cut off the end of a nail to fit the 

 holes. This is used as a lever for tighten- 

 ing the nut. The nut may be drawn up 

 very tight, when necessary, with a wrench. 

 The 3/16-in. cap screw F is held in the 

 jaw A with a ^-in. taper pin, as shown 

 at G, and this bolt acts as a slide guide 

 for the jaw B, which holds it in a vertical 

 position. The lower hole in the jaw B 

 is 7/16 in. in diameter — large enough to 

 slide over the threads on the bolt F. — 

 P. P. Avery. 



An Easily Operated Clamp for Con- 

 crete Forms 



MANY uses may be found for the 

 clamp shown in the illustration. 

 There are no screw threads to bother with 



An easily constructed clamp for holding 

 the forms in making concrete structures 



and there is but one moving element- 

 A contractor can have a number of these 

 made by the local blacksmith or machine 

 shop and use them in construction work 

 of any character. 



A cold rolled bar, 1 in, by ^/^ in. in 

 diameter and about 3 ft. long should be 

 heated and forged at one end into the 

 shape shown on yl. A short bar, 1 in. 

 square and 10 in. long, should be fash- 

 ioned similar to B. The hole in the latter 



should be just large enough to allow A to 

 slip through with a close fit. It is the 

 lever action which, pressing the diagonally 

 opposite edges of the hole against the bar 

 A, causes the bar B to wedge and hold. 

 The greater the pressure tending to force 

 the clamp jaws apart, the greater the 

 holding resistance. 



In building a large concrete structure, 

 a contracting company used hundreds of 

 these clamps for holding temporarily in 

 position the wooden forms for beams, 

 window sills, and stairways. A great 

 saving in time as well as money was made, 

 as they did away with the old method of 

 nailing wooden cross-pieces to the forms. 

 They are easily portable and may be 

 moved from one job to another as soon 

 as the concrete sets.— K. M. Coggeshall, 



A Receptacle for Holding Graphite 

 in a Clean Way 



EVERYBODY knows how hard it is 

 to pour graphite from any ordinary 

 container without having it spill or come 

 out too fast and make everything black. 

 If the graphite is put in a discarded tooth- 

 powder can (the kind with the regulating 

 slot in the top) not only can its flow be 

 regulated but it is kept clean and dry. 



A Simple Homemade Sun Drier for 

 Fruits and Vegetables 



SUN drying is undoubtedly the sim- 

 plest and most inexpensive method 

 of preparing fruits and vegetables for 

 winter storing. A simple drier that can 

 be made at small cost consists of a shallow 

 box with a sash or piece of glass fitted 

 over the top. Bore holes in the sides and 

 near the top and bottom, for ventilation; 

 but cover them carefully with netting to 

 keep out flies and mosquitoes. 



Set the box at an angle so that the sun's 

 rays fall directly on the glass. Apples, 

 peaches, apricots, cherries, raspberries, 

 and almost all fruits can be dried in this 

 way satisfactorily. First wash the fruit 

 carefully, discarding any that show signs 

 of being over-ripe or decaying. Slice thin, 

 and lay out in the box without overlap- 

 ping the slices. Turn the slices occasion- 

 ally and take them out as they dry. The 

 only thing to guard against in this type oi 

 drier is dust and insects. 



