The Boy Craftsman
t. The majority of these are imported houses, designed and planned in foreign styles, the exteriors being covered with clumsy ornament and gaudily painted, while the i
ouse. Try the construction of a house for one of your girl relatives and see how much she will appreciate it. Then having completed one and learned the many little tricks there are in doing this work, you will find it quicker and
d detailed in this chapter
thick for the base and a few other details. Basswood probably will be found the easiest wood to work with, as it is soft, straight-grained, and free from knots. Packing-cases may
, and a number of all sizes should be procured for this purp
rk, and brads and glue for attaching finishing-strips and all
n this chapter is of three floors, containing nine rooms, and is in
Doll-house and Patte
ur-by-one inch boards thirty inches long and two twenty inches long, wit
n all sides. Then lay off the first-floor plan (Fig. 65) upon this floor with a penc
and size shown in Fig. 68, and nail them to
onstructed as described later under the head of "Stairways," as
outside surface of the walls should now be in line with the base. Leave the cutting of the windows until the rest of the
the place indicated on the plan (Fig. 66), and fasten the boards to
D, E, F, and G, a
tails of In
to the places marked out for th
seven inch stair opening, and fastening the boar
work can more easily be done, they have been left for description here, that they might be spok
things to
he steps (treads and risers). Cut from
is as shown in Fig. 72-sixteen times for the first to second story stairs and fifteen times for the second to third story stairs. Draw the line DE parallel to AB, and the lin
should be cut as sho
small groove in the bottom of the hand-rail as shown in
-Details of
slot in the edge of the floors for the tops to set in, as shown in Fig. 71. Then glue on the treads and risers, and cut the bottom of the newel-post to fit over th
inished floors are to be laid in the halls, as described later, it will be well at this point to fasten a strip from
-The Fro
y for the making of these stairs, and everything will w
Colonial
of five steps, cutting them exactly the same as for the other stairs, and glue them to the inner faces of the balustrades. The treads and
the front, or may be made simpler by
r with battens at top and bottom, and hinge them to the rear wall (see plans and Fig
ke Gable-en
is what i
and two nine inch boards thirty-four inches long. Befor
ke the partition between the nursery and ball-room (H) in
allowing them to project over each gable. The lower boards A and D should be hinged to these, so they may b
has proceede
-saw. With the exception of the front and rear door, and the windows in the basement and gable-ends, make all openings three by five inches, and two inches above the floor. The casement wind
81, and 82 show
Details of Do
80, 81, and 82). With the different parts cut out, it is a simple matter to fasten them together on the roof, by means of glue and small brads. The glass is bound to the ends of the side-pieces at D a
e camera plates
ches for the first and second stories, and two by three inches for the dormer and
e openings, and the glass will have to be held in place with cigar-box s
m the same to simplify matters; so cut two sets of strips for each window, making them the shape and size shown in Figs. 85 and 87. Fasten the outside strips in place first, then
of a quarter of an inch strip of a cigar-box glued up the centre of t
1.-Details
glass, as shown in Figs. 78, 83, 8
and upper an
the centre of the wall, it should be set flush with the inside trim (see K, L, and M in plan, Fig. 90), and is hinged
simpler than this by usi
out of a piece
for door and window strips, and you will find it
nd the doors, cut a number of strips of wood an
e-end, and around the top of the basement. Purchase some narrow moulding for the cornice an
easily be moved a
about three inches long, fasten a caster to each, and n
nstruction
ouse is now complete
in Fig. 92, to make the chimney fit over the top ridge of the roof. The side edges of the pieces should be mitred and fit
h a small brush and ruler stripe off the mortar joints. When the paint has thoroughly dried, nail the ch
will
e, and one that presents a very neat appearance. It is made out of cigar-box strips painted to represent brick, with stone hearth and mantel-shelf. It measures sev
he Living-
es of the fire-place, and one of E for the mantel-shelf. These pieces, with the exception of E, should be painted red, and striped off, when dry, with white paint to represent brick. It will be much easier to do the painting before fastening the pieces in their proper places. First divide the length and breadth of
onstructio
es prepared. Figure 93 shows the location of each piece, and with the aid of glue and some small brads it will be a simple matter
the centre of partition B in th
(A an inch and one-half by an inch and one-quarter, and B an inch and one-half long), with the end of B glued in a slot cut in the lower part of A. The feet and
s projecting into the fire-place, and pile se
wood floors, for the halls, the ball-room, and nursery. Select as large pieces as pos
95.-A
size of those used for the outside doors (Fig. 89). It is not advisable to ha
g-room of quarter-inch strips fastened t
-quarter inch strips, and picture mouldin
the carpenter w
acks and defects, and sand-paper the rough surfaces. If the woodwork is to be finished in
r the trimmings, balustrade of front steps, chimney-caps, and striping of brickwork; dark olive green for the roof, and treads and risers of
ption of a panel in the centre, which should be oiled as shown in Fig. 89. This w
ther Style o
erior View o