354 ENGINEERING ON THE FARM 



The width should not be less than 12 feet. This will allow 

 room for the incidental repair work and attentions necessary. 

 The minimum size for a garage may be placed at 12X16 

 feet. This will accommodate very comfortably the smaller 

 machines. 



The style may be very plain or may be embellished to 

 harmonize with the architectural features of surrounding 

 buildings. The doors should be 8X8 feet or very nearly 

 this size. The style of door may be single-swing, double- 

 swing, sliding, or any of the patent doors. The single- 

 swing door is too heavy for most hinges. It will sag unless 

 very strongly braced. The double-swing is probably the 

 most common, while the sliding door is the most convenient, 

 although not the nearest weather-proof. Swinging doors 

 must be provided with anchorage to prevent their being 

 blown shut at a time when a car is being run in or out. While 

 a window is an added expense, the light is a great advantage 

 when one is working with the car and reduces the temptation 

 to strike a match rather than get a flashlight or roll the car 

 out into the open. The garage is probably the most con- 

 venient place to store gasoline and oil. When it is used for 

 this purpose, additional space must be provided. A pit 3X4 

 feet in size and 2 to 2^ feet deep is favored by some, but it 

 invites accidents and is hardly to be recommended. As a 

 substitute for the convenience of the pit into which to get 

 while working on the under side of a gasoline motor, the 

 creeper may be used. This is a board or slatted panel 18 

 X48 inches, with good-sized castors at the corners. With 

 this convenience, repairs may be made even more easily than 

 with a pit. 



REPAIR SHOP 



A repair shop (Fig. 280) in conjunction with or in close 

 proximity to the machine shed is a great convenience. The 

 provision for protection against fire is important. A forge 

 shop and a carpenter shop can hardly be considered as com- 

 patible occupants of the same room. Shavings and wood 



