Popular Science Monthly 



851 



ings during a storm at sea. 

 It is not an unheard-of oc- 

 currence for mountain-high 

 waves to strike a ship with 

 a force of several hundred 

 tons and make her tremble 

 and shiver down to her keel. 

 In such a case there seems 

 little to hinder the raft from 

 jerking free and sliding of its 

 own accord down into the 

 sea, leaving the passengers 

 and crew without hope of 

 escape. Even at best the 

 chances of launching it suc- 

 cessfully in such a sea would 

 be small, in spite of its speci- 

 ally devised launching ways. 



. -n 'J -. ^ 





^^fii 



In place of a second man to guide the large saw, a carriage 

 is substituted on which the saw slides back and forth 



A Fountain Shoe-Shining Outfit. 

 It Won't Soil Your Hands 



THE trouble and the discomfort that 

 accompanies shoe-shining at home 

 can be eliminated by a fountain-brush that 

 Theodore F. Gensmer, of Minneapolis. 

 Minnesota, has invented. A long tube 

 of paste fits safely inside the polish-brush 

 handle. The simple turning of a finger 

 grip at the end of the handle pushes in 

 a piston and forces as much paste down 

 into the bristles of the brush as is wanted. 

 When the tube has been used up, another 

 is inserted. In this way the hands do not 

 come into contact with the polish or the 

 shoe. Furthermore, the device prevents 

 any waste of the polish, since the finger 

 grip must be operated before the polish is 

 forced down into the bristles. The felt brush 

 polisher gives a bet- 

 ter finish than the r--.- r^__ 

 usual cloth. The 

 paste container fits 

 into a metal - lined 

 (avitv in the brush. 1 ■--.j^^^'^ 



A One-Man Saw for Felling 

 Large Trees 



ALL large cross-cut saws for felling big 

 . trees require two men to guide them. 

 By the use of an ingenious guiding mechan- 

 ism, however, Frank C. Ridson, a Can- 

 adian, has been able to do the work with 

 one man. The end of the saw' is simply 

 bolted on a carriage which moves hori- 

 zontally back and forth on guide rods 

 mounted on the tree w^hen the sawing is 

 in progress. 



The guide rods swing on a spindle which 

 is driven into the tree. They are held 

 steady by a lower sleeve to which the rod 

 sleeve can be locked. A strong spring 

 fastened in back of the tree holds the rod 

 sleeve and prevents its turning. 



The rods guide the carriage in a direction 

 parallel with the cut- 

 - ting movements of the 



saw. This reduces the 

 sliding friction to a 

 minimum. 



Paste 



Piston Screw Handle 



By a simple twist of the grip 

 on the handle a piston is 

 forced up in the cylinder and 

 the paste is pressed down 

 to the bristles. It is spread 

 with the dauber as shown on 

 the left. A felt brush is used 

 for the polishing and shining 



