BILLY BOY’S WORKSHOP

Taranaki Daily News, 31 January 1931, Page 6 (Supplement)

BILLY BOY’S WORKSHOP

HOW TO MAKE A BATH "RACK.

Here isan easily made ; bath' rack whicß will be found useful in the home. IT’rdsts across the 'bath,' and’forms 'a convenient holder for sponges,.’ .... ' Round wooden rofle, known -as dowel ■ rods, are’ held-in place by two pieces A.A.,,- thus; forming a kind of basket. Use ordinary white woo<l,-half ,an inch thickj for these end pieces, which are nine inches long and three and’a half inches wide. Carefully mark out the curved 'corners on ope piece,' as- shown at B, and also a line half an inch from the sides and bottom, edge.. .Mark the centres' of the holes, exactly ' one-and-,one-eighth, inches apart,.along, this line, ’starting from’ the centre bnri near bottom .edge. Make the holes with a brace' and half-inch centre bit, and then rut round. the curved, partp with a; padspw , Remove any roughness, with a chisel and finish with-glasspaper. . Place, this side- on the other- piece-of wood, and,' With a pencil, mark out on it the curved corners and the positions of .the, holes; Drill the holes and finish this side in the same way as the other one. To, get the holes 'with clean-cut (edges, drill each from one side. of. tjie wood till the point of the bit la just showing through on the other side.' Then turn the wood over, use the small hole for the point of the bit, and .finish from that side. ’. . :.. (■•■.'' ‘' X ..* . ;■

You will require some half-inch dowel rods, sufficient to 'give you nine tejiinch lengths; you will need also two pieces each thirty inches long. To fix the parts together, glue the ends of the short rods into the holes in the side pieces, any. projecting, ends afterwards being chiselled flush and glasspapered over. Push the long rods in place, so that equal lengths project at either end, and fix each rod with two fine wire,nails, one driven through each end piece. To complete the rack, give it two coats of vriiite enamel. c . The Hut Carpenter. THAT WAS NOTHING. The'class was having its weekly talk on painting, and the teacher said:— “Sir Joshua Reynolds was able, with a single stroke of his brush, to change a smiling face into a frowning one.” _ “That’s nothing,” called *out little Jimmy; “my mother can do that!”

THE FISHERMAN & THE MERMAID. ' A TALE FOR THE TINIES. Once upon a time, a beautiful little mermaid- saw a net. hanging in the sea, and she wondered what it was. Her home was in the very’ deep waters, and 'she had -never seen a net before, eo She crept into this strange thing. Suddenly she was drawn to the top of the, water, and then, to her horror, she found hereelf in a boat 1 with a young fisherman. The fisherman looked ‘at her in amazement, and co delighted was h'e at having caught a mermaid that he began to row swiftly home. “Please put me back into the water,’’ begged'the little mermaid in her low, sweet voice. ' , ’

“You got into my net of your own accord,” replied the fisherman, “therefore you belong to me.” “Be kind. Throw me back, as you do the little fishes which are of no use to you,” ehe'pleaded. “Blit you will be very useful,”, laughed'the’fisherman. “I am poor, and you can clean my house-for me, and. I will teach you to cook.” So distressed was the mermaid that she could not utter another word, and when she saw ( the fisherman’s house she shuddered. As she sat near the hearth looking fearfully round, the young.man brought her a bowl of milk, but the mermaid shook her head. She was very lovely,/.with her soft gold hair and great green eyes like sad jewels, and .at 1 last the fisherman felt sorry for what he had. done.

“I cannot keep you a prisoner,” he said; “Coriie, I will take you back to sea.” . . . > i

In gratitude, ■ the mermaid burst into tears. And so the fisherman learnt the secret of tbe deep —that mermaids’ tears are pearls. “I knew you didn’t know,” sobbed the little mermaid. “And I, blinked them back in case you kept me here to cry riches for you. Now you are ia rich man because you have been kind.” All round the hearth were exquisite pearls, and the bottom of the boat was filled with them as the fisherman rowed the mermaid out to sea. ■

“Little mermaid,” he whispered, “do not weep any more, or I can never enjoy these riches.” “Oh,” she laughed, “I'm only poking my finger in my eye now —to thank you.”

The bath-rack as it will look when you have finished it—if you follow Carpenter’s instructions, which the diagrams will help you to understand. ;