928 



Popular Science Monthly 



Handling Fine Screws 



IN repairing 

 watches, clocks, 

 spectacle s_ and 

 other small articles, 

 the difficulty of in- 

 serting very fine 

 screws into their 

 respective holes 

 may be easily over- 

 come with the aid 

 of a piece of paper. 

 The screw is first pierced through a 

 strip of stout paper, which is then held, 

 with one hand, over the hole, while the 

 screwdriver, held in the other hand, 

 gently presses the screw into the required 

 position. 



When the screw is partly driven, the 

 paper is torn away and the screw finally 

 driven home. — George H. Holden. 

 A Home-made Thumb- Screw 



. WASHER '' I ^ HE materials 



J- needed for mak- 



^ing a thumb-screw, 

 are a round- 

 headed screw and 

 a washer. Cut the washer as shown 

 and sweat it into the slot of the screw. 

 If the washer is a good fit, very little 

 soldering will be necessary to insure a 

 perfect union. — L. E. Fetter. 



How to Make a Barometer 



A SIMPLE but 

 reliable bar- 

 ometer may be 

 made from an or- 

 dinary tumbler and 

 a test-tube or vial. 

 Thevial, about two- 

 thirds full of water, 

 is inverted in the 

 tumbler, which is 

 nearly full of water. 

 A tin cover A, 

 provided with a 

 hole in the center, 

 will serve to sup- 

 port the vial in an 

 upright position. The greater the pres- 

 sure of air, the higher the water will 

 rise in the bottle, and vice versa. A 

 little paper scale, ruled as shown, may be 

 attached at B to indicate the degrees of 

 fluctuation. — H. J. Gray. 



Making a Long Distance Shot with 

 a Shotgun 



IT is sometimes 

 necessary to 

 take a chance on 

 making a long shot, 

 in shooting into 

 a large flock of 

 ducks, especially in 

 hunting on water. 

 Cut a shell into 

 two pieces, mak- 

 ing the cut between the shots and 

 powder as indicated in the illustration. 

 If you have made the cut in the right 

 place you will have a wad left at each 

 end. Now put the portion of the shell 

 containing the shots into the gun chamber 

 and then put in the portion containing 

 the powder. Of course your gun must 

 be an open-bored gun. When you fire, 

 the portion of the shell containing the 

 shots will travel the same as a bullet, but 

 upon striking the water it will burst and 

 the shots will scatter in every direction, 

 and you are sure to bag some game that 

 would be otherwise impossible to reach. 



Oiling Hammer Handle 



A HAMMER 

 handle which 

 is well oiled will out- 

 last two ordinary 

 handles, as the oil 

 penetrates the wood 

 rendering it springy 

 and also preventing 

 dry rot. In the ac- 

 companying illus- 

 tration is shown the 

 methods by which a 

 hammer handle may 

 be thoroughly oiled. 

 A }4,-'mch hole is 

 drilled in the end of the handle for a 

 depth of about 2 ins. The harn- 

 mer is then put in an upright posi- 

 tion, and the hole filled with lubri- 

 cating oil. When the oil has soaked 

 into the wood, fill again, repeating the 

 operation until the handle is well oiled. 

 If desired, a small wooden plug can be 

 driven into the hole to keep the oil from 

 leaking out before it has completely 

 soaked in. — O. B. Laurent. 



