The
Boy Mechanic
200 Classic Things
To Build
by Editors of Popular Mechanics
Softcover
130 x 180mm
270pp
Published by Hearst Books, division of Sterling Publishing, NY USA
R.R.P.$12.90
ISBN 1-58816-509-4
As reviewed in The Australian Woodworker Issue 132
It's unlikely that we will ever see another era like the early 1900’s when DIY was a reality that didn't need a smart marketing name to describe it. It was a time of self-sufficiency when people did the best they could with whatever they had on hand.
Australians shared the enthusiasm of Americans for making things for their homes that they probably had little hope of acquiring by any other means.
Of all the publications that served the do-it-yourself interests of men and women on both sides of the Pacific, Popular Mechanics was arguably the most widely read. Now Sterling Books has reached back into the past to give modern readers the opportunity to see what was so attractive to their grandfathers and great grandfathers. The Boy Mechanic is a collection of 200 construction articles drawn from Popular Mechanics magazines.
While modern readers will no doubt enjoy the many hints and tips and, in particular, the section devoted to The Great Outdoors, it’s unlikely they will be tempted to make more than a few of the items that appear in the book. The steamer trunk, for example, would have little application now outside of decoration, but the kites, the puzzles, the bird feeders...? Perhaps these might attract a contemporary woodworker to experiment with them, though they would probably be used more as the basis for further development than constructed exactly as shown.
This is an interesting, sometimes amusing book that will inform the young about a long gone past and bring back memories to those who remember digging through old copies of Popular Mechanics in their childhood.
Photos: Black & White
Units of Measurement: Imperial
Contents
Foreword
Chapter
1: Workshop Tools and Projects
Useful Tools for Home Mechanics
- Making
T-squares
- A combination tool
- Home-made carpenter's vise
- Groove
cutter for wood
- A carpenter's gauge
- Block plane converted for use on
circular work
- Homemade calipers
- A handy drill gauge
The Versatile
Querl and Other Utensils
- A table knife sharpener
- Clean pencil sharpener
-
Nail carrier made of cans
- Knife, fork and spoon holder
- The versatile
querl
- Eggshells as flowerpots
In the Workshop
- Guide for cutting mortises
-
How to lock a tenoned joint
- Sawhorse with collapsible casters
- Sliding
box cover fastener
- Holding wood in a sawbuck
- Removable drawer stop
-
Cutting thin wooden disks
- Homemade workbench
- Safety chopping block
-
Homemade picture-frame miter box
- Box cover with hinges
Under Lock and
Key
- Simple lock for drawer or chest
- Simple concealed locking device
for cases of drawers
- Wooden lock with combination key
- A quickly made
door latch
Household helpers
- A kitchen utensil hanger
- A trouser hanger
-
An ironing-board stand
- Handle for a drinking glass
- A handy laundry cabinet
-
Device frightens flies at screen door
- Felt tires for the rocking chair
-
Shoe guard prevents soiling and damage
- A hinged window box
- Hand-operated
whirling fan
Labor Saving Devices
- A bell-ringing mailbox
- Motor-driven
entertainer for the baby
- Device for suspending parcels from overhead hooks
-
Scraper for dishes
- A non-rolling thread spool
- Emergency lifting device
of rope and lever
Secret Hiding Places
- Concealing the house key
- A
secret box lid
- A secret trinket case for the bookshelf
Alternative Living
Arrangements
- Bird house made of an old straw hat
- Houses made of poles
Have
Trunk, Will Travel
- Making one's own steamer and wardrobe trunks
- Trunk
bookcase for convenient shipment
- Three-caster truck for moving crates and
furniture
Chapter
2: Handcrafted Furniture
Book It
- A book holder
- Combination bookcase
and writing desk
- Bookrack
- A folding bookrack
- A homemade book holder
-
Easily constructed wall shelves
Seating and Storage
- Hall seat with storage
compartment
- A simple bench
- Footstool
- Easily made footrest
-
Woven-top stool
- How to make a high stool
- An enameled armchair made of
wooden strips
- A detachable chair arm
Desks
and tables
- A parlor table
- A folding wall desk
- Adjustable and pivoted
bed table attached to a bedpost
Mission Possible
- Mission candlestick
-
How to make a mission library table
- A mission bracket shelf
Embellishments
-
A colonial mirror frame
- A jardiniere pedestal
- A turntable stand for
potted flowers
- Stand for a test-tube flower vase
- Turn-down shelf for
a small space
Chapter
3: In the Garden
Small Garden Projects
- Device for packing earth in
transplanting
- A folding ground seat with backrest
- Practical bracket
for garden hose
- Portable head and back rest
- Quickly made lawn tent
- A simple rain gauge
- An effective cherry picker
The Birds and the Bees
-
A catproof bird table
- Hollow-log birdhouses
- Clay flowerpots used for
birdhouses
- Bee feeder for winter use
Locks, Gates and Fences
- Double-swing
gate with common hinges
- Self-closing gate
- Porch gate folds into hollow
pillar
- Locking device for latch hook on gate or door
- Portable sectional
poultry fencing
- An animal-proof gate latch
Chapter
4: The Great Outdoors
The Tricks of Camping Out - Part 1
- The camping
outfit
The Tricks of Camping Out - Part 2
- Cooking in the woods
- Woodcraft
-
The emergency "snack" and kit
- The compass
- Maps
- Natural
signs
- Marking the trail
Tents and Shelters
- Camps and how to build
them
- Homemade shoulder-pack tent
- Care and storage of camp equipment
-
Camp shelter affords protection from mosquitoes
- A hammock sleeping tent
-
A set of folding tent poles
- Portable tent made from an umbrella and paper
muslin
- Combination tent and pack cover
- A cave house of boughs and thatch
-
Tent for permanent camp
- Erecting tents without poles
- Screen door for
tent
- How to make a bell tent
Provisions
and Tools
- Camp water bag
- A table box for campers
- A camper's salt-and-pepper
holder
- Kitchen for hikers
- Canoe stove
- Utensil rack for campfire
-
Handling camp kettles
- Holding axe heads in place
- Camp stove made from
three hinges
- Quickly made dipper for camp use
- A camp provision box
Camp
Furnishings
- A springy hammock support made of boughs
- Camp lantern made
of tin can
- Makeshift camper's lantern
- How to make a camp stool
-
A hanger for the camp
- A variety of camp furnishings
- A shaving lamp and
mirror for the camp
Two for the Price of One
- Combination camp-kitchen
cabinet and table
- A chair swing
- How to attach a sail to a bicycle
-
Sail for a boy's wagon
- Motorist's folding lunchbox and table
Outdoor
Helpers
- A woodman's log raft
- Birch-made leggings made in the woods
-
Attachment for glasses aids marksman
- A mirror an aid in rowing a boat
-
Webfoot attachments for swimmers
- Duck decoys mounted on a folded frame
Chapter
5: Toys, Games and other Amusements
The
One Toy That Guarantees A Happy Childhood
- Homemade electric-locomotive model
and track system: the motor
- The locomotive truck and cab
- The track system
Tops,
Puzzles and Games
- An austrian top
- Wild top
- A ring-and-peg puzzle
-
Bewitched-cube puzzle
- Mothball puzzle as window-advertising novelty
-
Wooden key-and-ring puzzle
- A perpetual-motion puzzle
- How to make an
inlaid checkerboard
- A wire-walking toy
- Auto horn for child's play vehicle
-
Moving-picture toy for children
- A miniature fighting tank that hurdles trenches
-
Toy paper warships
- A come-back rolling can
- Mechanical toy pigeon made
of wood
Sleight of Hand
- Tossing a card at a mark accurately
- A simple
card deception
- A diminishing card trick
- Disappearing-coin trick
-
Tricks with knives and glasses
- A simple geometrical trick
- The magic
pillbox
So That's How They Do It
- The magic cabinet
Go Fly a Kite
-
How to make combined kites: a dragon kite
- How to make combined kites: a festooned
kite
- An eight-pointed star kite
- How to make and fly a chinese kite
-
How to make a war kite
- An aeroplane kite
- Camera for taking pictures
from a kite
Flyboys
- A model paper monoplane that can be steered
- Toy
paper glider carefully designed
- Making a toy catapult
- Paper glider that
loops the loop
- Boomerangs and how to make them
Water (and Frozen Water)
Toys
- How to make a water telescope
- A simple diving raft
- A homemade
punt
- How to build a "pushboat"
- A portable folding boat
-
A snowball maker
- An inexpensive bobsled
- A homemade yankee bobsled
-
Making a coasting toboggan
In the Playground
- A ferris wheel
- A twisty
thriller merry-go-round
- Child's swing built of pipes in a narrow space
-
Adjustable stilts
- Beginner's helper for roller skating
- A merry-go-round
pole
- Seesaw built for one