THE HANDY MAN’S CORNER

Otago Witness, Issue 3877, 3 July 1928, Page 10

THE HANDY MAN’S CORNER

MAKING A PORTABLE BATHING TENT.

(Speciai. for the Otago Witness.)

A bathing tent, -light to carry and rigid even when set up on the sands, is always; a useful article either at holiday or at any other time.

The appearance of the tent can be? judged from Fig. 1, and it can' be made even more effective' if covered with gaily striped material. It consists of a light hard wood frame, hinged at the corners, and provided with demountable members to facilitate easy transportation. The framework is covered with canvas, striped, plain or patterned as desired. There is a fairly -wide choice, ranging from heavy sailcloth to a specially prepared and waterproofed fabric made for holiday campers.

The framework should be made throughout of hard wood. Three sections will be needed, arranged as shown in Fig. 2. The dimensions can be altered if desired, but the specifications now given allow for a tent sufficiently large to accommodate two adults, or several children. The uprights of .each section measure lin wide and Jin thick. The length should be 6ft 9in, the lower 3in pointed somewhat to facilitate driving into the beach. The top bar is made of a like size, but is only 4ft 6in long. The diagonal members or braces are also, of hard wood, and should measure lin in width, lin in thickness and 7ft long. All these components are demountable’ the joints being made with small brass bolts and nuts, of the size known as No. 2 B-A, with “ terminal ” nuts similar to trios- employed on wireless sets. Tlie first step in the construction of the frames is to plane up the wood to a smooth surface and finish it off by sandpapering. Eight uprights are required,

six for the three sections (Fig. 2) and two for the front part which differs somewhat from the other. On the broad face of the wood draw a line at right angles to the edge and from the end, and on each end draw a line down the middle and parallel to the face. Draw other lines at

right angles to the centre line to connect it with the line on the face. At the middle of the rectangle thus drawn of the broad face mark the position for the bolt hole, and drill a hole through each piece Then saw away the wood from the face

part to make step or “ halved ” joint as shown in Fig. 3. Ihe next operation is to hinge the uprights together in pairs as shown in Fig. 3 using brass hinges to avoid rusting. Fix one hinge about 2in from the top, and the other about 10in from the bottom. Prepare the .four top bars by making a halved joint, as described above, at each end, then bevel the ends of the diagonal braces, of which six are necessary. Drill holes in them near the end to register with those in the uprights. Lay all the parts flat on a table, joint the upper corners with a bolt and nut, and adjust the side pieces until they are parallel, and place the braces so that their lower ends fit nicely on to the sides or uprights. Mark the positions and drill holes fop the lower bolts, which pass through the braces and the uprights. Fix them with bolts and nuts and cut off any surplus .from the ends of the braces. Treat all these alike, stand them upright and fix the single cross bar across the top of the front section, which of course does not have the diagonal braces, this completes the framework, which is then covered with the selected material. The cover is preferably made up with a rectangular piece for the top, and one continuous side piece, leaving a flap opening at the front. Add a few tapes to the joint at the top. and others to the comers to enable the cover to be tied to the framework in windy weather. The whole can then be taken apart bv unscrewing the terminal nuts The wooden pieces are laid flat and fastened with two small straps. The cover folded Hat is wrapped round them and secured with tapes, the whole making a neat small package.