SCIENCE 
IS 
KNOWLEDGE. 
KNOWLEDGE 
IS 
POWER. 
A PRACTICAL JOURNAL OF 
HOME ARTS. 
Vol. III. 
NEW YORK, DECEMBER, 1880. 
No. 12. 
Ivory Pagoda. 
ERMIT me to an- 
swer through the 
columns of your 
valuable journal, 
a query that ap- 
peared in the last 
number, relative 
to the production 
of an ivory i)a- 
goda. For I have 
made one of 
these somewhat 
elaborate orna- 
ments, which has 
been much admired, I need not say, much 
to my satisfaction. 
First, then, the base to begin with. This 
was made of African blackwood, and to 
procure a piece of sufficient diameter was 
some considerable trouble, but I did, 
after all, and the diameter represents 62 
inches. This I screwed on to the largest 
worm or screw-chuck I have, which has a 
good large flange to it, consequently giv- 
ing a good surface for the wood to bear 
against. Having well chucked it, I may 
say to turn it clean all over was the next 
operation. This done I set the drill- 
spindle with a drill I had especially made 
to make a half-inch hole, these being for 
the base of the pillars, eight in number, 
to fit into. Now to make the pillars, no 
difficult matter some readers may say, as 
far as one is concerned, but I found to 
make the eight all alike a difficult task, 
but by perseverance, and a little advice 
from one I will not mention, I arrived at 
a good plan, viz., I first cut off the eight 
pieces all one length, and made a corres- 
ponding number of small boxwood chucks 
all exactly the same length or distance 
from the nose of the mandrel, then turned 
the pillars to fit the holes already made in 
the base, and then fitted each one into 
one of the said chucks. I then set the 
slide rest to the desired taper, and made 
a note of what angle it was in case of its 
shifting by any means, and with the flut- 
ing-stops adjusted to the length began to 
turn them up. One being done, nothing- 
remained but to take it off, chuck and 
all, and replace it by another, the stop 
screws of the top slide saving all necessity 
for the use of callipers, and when they 
were all done, much to my satisfaction, I 
