450 



Popular Science Monthly 



Utilizing Empty Cartridges 



VERY good binding posts can be made 

 from empty .32, .38 and .44 caliber 

 cartridges and stove bolts in the follow- 

 ing manner : Grease the stove bolts with 



Many useful devices, from bind- 

 ing posts to alcohol torches, may 

 be made from empty cartridges 



tallow or vaseline, place the 

 threaded end in the empty 

 cartridge, and hold it in place 

 with the U-shaped strip of 

 tin, as shown in the diagram. 

 Now fill the space between the bolt and 

 the cartridge with melted lead or babbitt 

 metal. When the lead has hardened, re- 

 move the strip of tin, and unscrew the 

 bolt from the lead. By drilling a small 

 hole through the cartridge, and solder- 

 ing a small strip of brass to the bottom 

 to permit its being fastened to the de- 

 sired base, an inexpensive and hand- 

 some binding post is ready for use. 



A good alcohol torch can be made 

 from a vaseline bottle and a rim-fire 

 cartridge as follows : Make a hole 

 through the screw cap of the bottle large 

 enough to admit the cartridge. File ofif 

 the closed end of the cartridge, so as to 

 produce a short tube with a flange at one 

 end. Insert this through the cap, to 

 which it should be soldered. The wick 

 is led through the tube from the bottle, 

 and the entire outfit forms a serviceable 

 torch. 



The Thermos Bottle as a Stove 



IT is perhaps not generally known that 

 the smallest fireless cook-stove is any 

 one of the numerous vacuum bottles 



which have been on the market so long. 

 In most families these are regarded as 

 a convenience or luxury for picnic pur- 

 poses. They really make a very useful 

 fireless stove. 



Heat soup, beans, peas, 

 or any other vegetable that 

 will go through the rather 

 small opening of the bottle, 

 leave them there for several 

 hours, and they will come 

 out completely cooked. The 

 many uses of vacuum bot- 

 tles are by no means ex- 

 hausted by the one just men- 

 tioned. 



To Adjust a Light-Cord 



IT is often difiicult to ad- 

 just the electric drop- 

 wire quickly and at the right 

 height by tying knots in the 

 cord, and worse still to un- 

 tie these knots and put new 

 ones in, when the light is to 

 be moved. The wires also 

 become dirty after they have 

 been up some time, and if 

 one undertakes to change 

 the light 



the result is a pair of 



soiled hands. 



A piece of good 



stiff cardboard, about 



the size of a calling 



card, and a sharp pen 



knife complete the 



list of necessaries to 



make a cure for this 



evil. Cut a diamond- 

 shaped hole in the 



cardboard and draw 



the wire through the 



middle of the hole. 



AVhen you have the 



light at the proper 



place, push the twist- 

 ed wire towards the 



bottom and top of the 



slit, and the weight 



of the fixture and 



globe will prevent 



further slipping. 



There is no knot here 



and if it is desirable to move the light 



again you can do so, without any trouble, 



and in a minimum time. 



A piece of card- 

 board and a 

 knife make ty- 

 ing knots un- 

 necessary 



