114 
THE YOUNG SCIENTIST. 
and cut them to the shape as shown by 
Fig. 4. The ends of these blocks are 
mortised and tenoned together somewhat 
after tiie same style as a common 2-foot 
rule is hinged. When this joint has been 
made, fix one of the blocks on the face of 
the board which forms the "bed" or 
foundation of the tool. This block is 
marked a on Fig. 2. Before putting on 
the other block, a piece of wood must be 
cut out, shaped something like a quadrant 
of a circle. This should be about § in. 
thick, and must be let into and screwed 
on the under side of the movable arm 
(Fig. 5). The 
latter may now 
be fixed on to 
the end of the 
fast block in the 
manner shown 
on Fig. 2. This 
is done by bor- 
ing a 4 in. hole 
through the tenons of each block, and 
then fitting in a plug, so as to allow the 
block to be moved from side to side. Now 
put a screw through the slot in the quad- 
rant-shaped piece of wood into the bed of 
the shooting board, in such a manner as 
will just allow the arm to be pulled round 
to an angle of 45 degrees to the long edge 
of the tool, and will there stop it from 
going any further by catching the end of 
the slot in the curved piece. This same 
screw will also catch the arm when it is 
put back at a right angle to the board, 
and prevent it going any further in that 
direction. Fig. 2, which shows the block 
placed to allow a square joint being made, 
and Fig. 6, which shows the arm pulled 
Almost any sort of wood will do for the- 
making of this tool, provided it be sound. 
We have even seen ordinary pine used,, 
but in our opinion this is rather too soft 
for constant usage, and very soon gets 
knocked to pieces. However, any sort of 
hard wood will do, and if made out of 
mahogany throughout, a really hand- 
some tool is the result. 
The total cost of manufacturing such a 
tool as the one described need not bo 
more than the price of the wood. This 
will cost about seventy-five cents if made 
in Spanish mahogany, and about fifteen 
cents less if made in Honduras. 
"back in order that a mitre may be shot, 
will help to make clear any indistinct 
portions of the preceding description of 
this tool. 
The Manufacture of Baseball Bats. 
UT few people outside of baseball 
players have any idea of the 
great number of bats used in a 
year. It is estimated that be- 
tween 4,000,000 and 5,000,000 of these im- 
plements were sold during the year 1882. 
To manufacture these bats nearly 30,000 
cords of wood must have been consumed. 
These are, seemingly, startling figures, 
but the facts appear to support them. 
Michigan manufactures more baseball 
bats than any other State, for in that 
State the best wood is found. Bats used' 
by professional clubs are now almost in- 
variably made from ash, and even this 
wood, strong and elastic as it is, must be 
of the best quality and perfectly seasoned 
in order to stand the strain put upon it 
by the baseball players of to-day. 
The majority of bats made, however, 
are intended for amateur players, and are 
manufactured from i^merican willow. 
The willow bats are much lighter than 
those made from ash, and consequently 
are much more popular with young play- 
ers. There are bat manufactories in al- 
'most every State of the Union, but the 
largest and most noted, besides those in 
Michigan, are in Massachusetts, New 
York, Khode Island, Illinois and West 
Virginia. The bats are turned out by 
machinery, and, as they are of uniform 
size and pattern, a lathe and the right 
kind of timber are the only requirements 
for a manufactory. Eecently orders for 
bats have been received from European 
