608 



Popular Science Monthly 



A Novel Waste-Basket with a 

 Drop Bottom 



THE pyramidal shape of this waste- 

 basket guarantees it against upsetting, 

 even when bulky newspapers project from 

 its top. The solid construction will hold 

 the pipe-ashes and dust until it becomes 

 necessary to dump them, and then the 

 bottom may be unhinged and emptied 

 completely by pulling the catch, so that it 

 is not necessary to use the hands to take 

 the papers out. If made of quartered oak, 

 cypress or even of yellow pine, stained so 

 as to bring out the grain, such a basket 

 can be made an ornament to any room. 

 It may be finished in any style. 



The essential parts of the basket are the 

 four sides and the bottom, the sides being 

 of 3^-in. material and the bottom, either 

 of the same thickness or of i-in. lumber. 



Waste paper basket with drop bottom. 

 Details and dimensions for its construction 



Two of the sides are i8 in. wide at the 

 bottom, tapering to 8 in. at the top; the 

 other two are i in. narrower. These sides 

 should be securely nailed together, as there 

 are no inside supports. The construction 

 is strong enough, however, for the purpose 

 of such a basket. If the work is well done, 

 with the nails countersunk and all holes 

 and cracks puttied before staining, the 

 joints will not be visible. The effect of the 

 legs may be obtained, if desired, by cutting 

 out the bottoms of the sides with a compass- 

 saw. 



After nailing together and sandpapering 

 the whole, the stain may be applied. If it 

 is desired to bring out the grain, apply the 

 stain over only a small portion at a time. 

 Allow it to set for a moment and then wipe 

 off the surface with a dry cloth. The 

 resulting tone depends on the time that 

 the stain is allowed to stand and the amount 

 of wiping done. When the stain has dried, 

 the piece may be finished by rubbing with 

 wax in the usual manner; or an almost 



equally good effect may be obtained by 

 applying a coat of flat or mat varnish. 



When the piece is thus prepared, the 

 bottom may be fitted. It consists of a 

 board a trifle less than 17 in. square, 

 preferably with all four edges beveled to the 

 same angle as the sides of the basket. 

 Push this piece in from the bottom until it 

 fits snugly, and mark the level on both 

 sides of the basket. Remove it and attach 

 hinges to one side; then replace it in the 

 same position and fasten the hinges tempo- 

 rarily to the side of the basket. Placed in 

 this way the bottom will not turn as 

 desired until the inner edge has been 

 shaved a trifle, and the amount of paring 

 may be easily determined. 



When the bottom is cut and fitted, bend 

 a strip of spring-brass into the shape of 

 the figure 7. Cut a narrow slot in the. side 

 of the basket opposite the hinges, just large 

 enough to allow the end of the catch to pass, ^ 

 Slip the catch through and fasten the lower 

 edge to the side of the basket. It should 

 then be in the position shown at A in the 

 detail drawing. It is evident that a pull 

 on the catch will allow the bottom to drop. 

 When the bottom is shoved back, the 

 spring of the metal will again throw the 

 catch into position. 



While this completes the basket, it may 

 be found that in beveling the bottom board 

 to allow it to turn, there was too much cut 

 away and that a crack large enough to 

 permit some of the finer particles of dirt 

 to escape is the result. If this is the case 

 it may be remedied by gluing or tacking a 

 strip of cloth over the opening, making 

 sure to have sufficient play to allow the 

 drop bottom to work.— A. E. Swoyer. 



Cleaning the Crusted Carbide 

 on Containers 



THE sludge which forms in an acetylene 

 generator has a very detrimental 

 effect upon the apparatus when allowed to 

 adhere to the surface of the metal, as it is 

 very likely to do. A very simple remedy is 

 to dissolve a little brown sugar in the 

 water, which is allowed to act upon the 

 carbide. Sugar, or saccharose, to give the 

 substance its chemical name, has no ill 

 effects upon the carbide, but forms a 

 soluble compound with the lime in the 

 sludge, known as saccharate of lime. This 

 prevents the sludge from sticking to the 

 metal. — H. J. Gray. 



