THE YOUNG SCIENTIST. 
73 
live fastened— or, if glued— until the glue 
has set hard. Let s s s s be the frame or 
box ; place it on a level surface, such as 
the top of a work-bench, table, or floor. 
If the joints, o o o o, are to be glued, the 
stuff must be warmed before the glue is 
Sometimes the work may be from five 
to ten or twelve inches deep, and when 
this is the case, it is better to use two 
cords— one near the top edge and the 
other near the lower edge of the box— and 
1 A 
B 
\ \ 
1 lO- 
Ml 
i 1 
Ti 
Fig. 1. 
applied. Take a strong cord, d d ; wind 
it round the frame, as shown, two or 
tliree times ; prepare eight blocks of wood 
similar to those shown at a a, b b. If the 
work is a picture-frame, the blocks need 
not be longer than the frame is thick, but 
for a box or other work the blocks may 
be left any reasonable length. Of course, 
the cord and blocks must be prei^ared 
and tried before the glue is applied, and 
if any adjustment is required, it must be 
made at this stage; for when tlie tight- 
ening is once done after the corners are 
glued the work must not l)e meddled 
with until the glue is perfectly hard. 
Having got everything in readiness, ai)ply 
the glue, just as hot as possible; slip on 
the cord as shown ; then put in the blocks 
at x X X X X, and slide them along to- 
ward the corners, taking care not to slide 
any one of them too far at first. Wlien 
the cord begins to tighten, go round the 
frame again, forcing the blocks nearer to 
the corners, and re]ieat the operation 
until the cord is stretched tight and the 
joints are closed up. If screws or nails 
are to be used in the corners, the work 
must be left until dry before they are 
driven in ; and tlie driving should be done 
hcfore the cord is loosened. 
Ficf. 2 shows tlie edge of a ])iece of woric, 
with tlie co!'d and blocks, a b, in position. 
Fig. 
have the blocks long enough to pass 
under bolh cords ; this will insure a pres- 
sure at all points on the joint, and will 
tend to prevent warping and twisting. 
The dotted lines shown at f. Fig. 1, 
represent what joiners and cabinet-makers 
call a " feather." It is simply a strip of 
wood the thickness of the saw-kerf, made 
in the frame, where the "feather" is to 
go. Care must be used, when running 
the saw in the wood, to get the kerfs or 
saw-cuts directly opposite each other. 
The "feather ' must be made with the 
fibres of the grain running across it. 
When iHit in properly and glued, the 
feather makes a strong, firm joint. Some- 
times stri))S of metal are used for this 
purjiose, but for fine work wood is pre- 
ferable. This method need only be 
adojited when strength is a necessity in 
the joint. 
Pigr. 3. 
At Fig. 3 we show one corner of a box 
with saw-kerfs in at k k. Strips of^ feath- 
ers are glued in these kerfs, which help 
materiallv to hold the corner joint to- 
gether. It will be noticed that these 
