114 



Popular Science Monthly 



immmi 



thirty feet. The Illinois 

 records show that work- 

 men have fallen a hundred 

 feet or more into a net 

 without suffering any in- 

 jury whatsoever. Had the 

 men fallen on plank floors 

 they would have been killed. 



Seal Your Letters by 

 Electricity 



B 1 



Safety nets of rope are now taking the place of plank floors to 

 insure the safety of those who work on skyscraper scaffolding 



" Safety First" for Skyscraper Workers 

 Attained with Nets of Rope 



TO protect the men who erect the steel 

 frames of skyscrapers, life nets are 

 now used instead of the usual flcoring. The 

 building laws of practically every state 

 require that the contractor install a plank 

 floor for each story as the structural work 

 progresses. In building auditoriums, arch 

 trusses in theaters, towers, bridges and in 

 special cases, it has sometimes been impossi- 

 ble to comply with the law, for plank floors 

 could not be erected. Hence nets of rope 

 were adopted as the 

 most practicable 

 measure of safety. 



The nets are made 

 of manila rope and 

 are provided with 

 loops on the borders 

 so that they can be 

 readily attached to 

 the iron work. In 

 Chicago they have 

 been used for about a 

 year. At least two 

 lives have been saved 

 with them. Califor- 

 nia has only recently 

 adopted them. Ordi- 

 narily a net costs 

 about sixty dollars, 



provided it is of the Diagram showing the construction of the elec- 

 usual size — ten by trie wax-heater, and the device in operation 



ESIDES its special task 

 of keeping letters and 

 packages intact and safe 

 from prying eyes, sealing 

 wax lends itself to many 

 forms of decoration, especial- 

 ly on china. The chief diffi- 

 culty in the way of its use 

 is in heating it to the proper 

 flowing state without smok- 

 ing it or spoiling its color. 

 A candle or small alcohol 

 lamp is usually used, but the device shown 

 in the accompanying illustration serves 

 the purpose more satisfactorily. 



It is the invention of Fay M. Andrews, 

 of Columbus, Ohio. It consists of a hollow 

 tube handle through which wires lead from 

 an applying disk to conductors from the 

 nearest electric lamp socket. A push- 

 button near the applying disk controls a 

 contact plate mounted in the handle to 

 cut the resistance in or out. The applying 

 disk is provided with a plug, like that of 

 an ordinary small lamp, so that when it is 

 screwed into the shell the proper electrical 

 connection is made. 

 In operating it, 

 the handle is 

 gripped in one hand 

 and the current 

 turned • on. The 

 wax, which is held 

 in the other hand, 

 is then melted by the 

 heat from the disk 

 and dropped into 

 place. The disk is 

 then moved lightly to 

 and fro over the wax 

 until it is smooth, 

 directing the flow 

 wherever it is de- 

 sired. It heats almost 

 instantaneously with 

 the pressure on the 

 push-button. 



