Chapter IV.

FINGER PLATES.

The finger plate used on the edge of a door to receive the wear of the hand serves as an excellent exercise in sawing and filing. The design is transferred to the metal by use of carbon paper. The sawing is done as in the escutcheon. The surface may be left smooth or it may be gone over with a hammer having a face somewhat rounded. If the design calls for any repousse work, it is done as described on page 64.

PAD CORNERS.

Desk pad corners while not difficult to make, are very useful as well as ornamental. The design may be carried out in any one of three ways: pierced, embossed or enameled.

In making the pattern for the pad corner, an allowance must be made for the thickness of the pad, as at A, and also for laps as at B, that are to go under the pad to hold the corners in place. The corner may be riveted to the pad at the back or the laps may be bent in such a way as to clamp them to the pad, and permit of their removal at any time.

When the design has been pierced or embossed, the laps can be bent over a piece of metal equal in thickness to that of the pad. If the design is to be carried out in enamel, all bending must be done before enameling as any expansion or contraction of the metal will crack the enamel.

BOX CORNERS.

Box corners serve primarily to protect the corners of the box and to increase its strength, but they can be so made that they give character to the box. The corner should be designed to suit the particular box or chest to which it is to be applied. The method of making a box corner is slightly different from those previously described. After the design has been drawn, a pattern made from it in heavy paper will be found helpful, for this pattern may be used to mark out the design on the metal. In this way irregularities in the design are less likely to occur than when the design is transferred with the carbon paper directly to the metal. The decoration may be pierced or embossed, according to one's choice. After the sawing or embossing has been done, it should be filed carefully and smoothed up with fine emery cloth to do away with crude and sharp edges.

The holes for the rivets are then drilled and the burr that is made by drilling is removed with a larger drill. The two edges, A A. Plate 21, that are to come together when in place on the box should be beveled a little so that they will form a better corner. After this is done, the sides are bent down over a block of wood or metal placed in the vise. A rawhide hammer should be used to avoid marks on the face of the corner. In this as in other work, if it is desired that the metal have a hammered surface, the effect must be given before the design is cut out.

Suitable rivets are next made as described on page 98 and illustrated on page 99. After being colored or polished the corner is ready to be applied to the box.

STAMP BOXES.

Stamp boxes may be made in various ways, three of which are described below:

Box No. 1 and 2, Plate 23.

On a piece of 20 gauge metal, lay out or draw the pattern as shown on the plate; first with pencil, then with a scratch awl to insure permanency, going over the lines lightly on the metal. By the use of a saw frame and a No. 3 saw the corners of the square are cut out.

The edges that form the corners are next filed up, keeping all edges straight and at right angles; after this, the edges are beveled a little, forming a mitre which, when soldered, makes a better joint than otherwise.

The sides are next bent up over an iron block placed in the vise as at Figure 18. The corners should be brought well together, using a rawhide hammer, No. 1, Plate 2.

A piece of iron wire about No. 24 is then placed around the box and twisted tight enough to hold the corners in place while being soldered, Figure 19. Borax and solder are next applied and the soldering done as described on page 63. In this case, however, all of the corners should be prepared at the same time for soldering. If but one corner is prepared and soldered, the heat necessary for soldering causes the copper oxides to come to the surface at the other corners which must be removed before they can be soldered. This is remedied by coating with borax and placing the solder at all corners before applying any heat.

After the soldering is done the box is pickled. Surplus solder is next removed by filing. The box is again placed over the iron block which is held in the vise; the corners and bottom edges are squared up, using the round end of hammer shown at No. 2, Plate 2, and the top is filed off level. This completes the body part of the box.

The cover is made in the same way as the box. Much care must be taken to have the pattern carefully and accurately drawn so that when the cover is finished it will fit closely to the body. The design, if there is any, whether it is embossed or enamelled, must be carried out before cutting it to size.

Box No. 2, although of different proportion, is made in the same way as No. 1.

Box No. 3, Plate 24.

Take a strip of metal as wide as the required depth of the box and as long as the sum of the four sides. The length of each side is measured off on this strip and a line scratched at right angles to the edge. The strip is then placed over a block of metal and, with a rawhide hammer bent at right angles at scratched lines, making three corners, leaving the ends to meet at the fourth corner where they are to be soldered. These ends should be mitered as in Box 1, before soldering. After the corner has been soldered and the box pickled, it is again placed over a block and trued up square. Having decided which is to be the top and which the bottom of the box, file the bottom edges level and at right angles to the sides. A piece of metal is then cut for the bottom large enough to allow about 1/16" to project on all four sides.

It is then prepared for soldering and bound together with iron wire, Figure 20. The solder should be cut in small pieces and placed about the inside edges. In soldering the bottom, care must be taken not to unsolder the corner. This may be avoided by keeping the flame away from the soldered corner until the rest of the solder has run, applying it to the corner at the last and only for a fraction of a minute.

After the soldering, the box is pickled and the edges of the bottom filed square. The 1/16" that was allowed to project may be filed flush with the sides of the box or left to project a little.

The cover is made by taking a strip of metal about 3/16" wide and long enough to fit around the inside of the box. The length of the sides (inside measurement) is laid out and then bent over a block as previously described. The corner is soldered and the upper edges are filed off level and soldered to a piece of metal, forming the top. This strip on the inside keeps the cover in place. If the design on the cover is to be carried out in enamel it should be done after the cover is completed. If the design is to be embossed, it should be done before the strip which holds the cover in place is soldered on.

Box No. 4, Plate 24.

The body of this box may be made like either No. 1 or No. 3. An addition is shown on this one which allows the stamp to be taken from the box more easily. A strip of 20 gauge metal 1/16" wide is soldered on the inside next to the top edge extending from one end to the other as shown in the section at D. Another piece of the same gauge metal is cut, in length equal to the inside length of the box and about 1/4" wider than the box. This is placed inside the box and sprung into place as shown at C in the section. This device may be applied to either of the other boxes.

The cover of this box is made of but one piece and hinged with a strap hinge, which also forms the cover decoration.

To give the surface of the metal of this box a bold hammered surface adds much to its attractiveness.

MATCH BOX.

The Match Box may be made in the same way as the Stamp Box with the exception of the cover. It seems better to have the cover of the match box hinged. The hinge may be made so as to form a part of the decoration of the cover by making it a strap hinge as shown at Plates 15, 16, 17. The hinge may also be made of tubing and extend across the back of the box. This method leaves the cover to be decorated in some other way, either by embossing or by enameling or by both.