Chapter XII: Jewel Box and Desk Set

HOW TO MAKE A COPPER JEWEL BOX (RECTANGULAR)

_Materials:_ A narrow piece of No. 20 copper, 20 ins. long × 1-1/4 ins. wide: this is used for the sides. One piece of No. 20 copper, 6-3/8 × 4-1/8 ins. for the lid. One piece of No. 24 copper, 6-3/8 × 4-3/8 ins. for the bottom. Two pieces of copper No. 24, 6 × 1/2 in., for the hinges. Copper nails 1/16 in. in diameter, for rivets.

_Tools:_ Vise, shears, mallet, hard solder, borax, rivet set (steel tool), dividers, and centre punch.

_Directions:_ Make a working drawing of a box, 6 × 4 × 1/4 ins., (inside measurements). The box is to have feet, and a lid with hinges is to be fastened to it. Take the strip of copper, 20 × 1-1/4 ins., measure it off into sections of 4 ins. and 6 ins. alternately. Beginning on one end mark a point 3/8 in. from the end. (Point G.) Draw a line (E G) 1/8 in. long, perpendicular to the base line. With the dividers set 1/8 in. apart, and one leg placed against the base line, draw a line 3-1/4 ins. long paralleled to the base. (Line E F). Draw F H. In the section D C M S, mark the point O 3/8 of an inch from D. Draw K O equal to 1/8 of an inch. With the dividers set at 1/8 in., draw a line 5-1/4 ins. long (K L). Join L and N. Repeat this in the other two sections. With the shears, cut along lines G, G E, E F, F H, H O, O K, K L, L N, etc. The projections left form the four feet for the box to rest upon. To bend the corners, mark with lead-pencil C D, M S, R T. Place these division lines, in turn, between the jaws of the vise, and bend down at right angles. You now have a rectangular box like the picture, with one corner open.

To close the side, solder the open end. Clean thoroughly the parts to be joined. Place the parts in their proper positions and bind the corner with binding wire. Wash the joint with borax. Place some small pieces of silver solder on the inside corner. Hold it over a fire and heat until the solder runs into the joint. Cool off in water and take off the binding wire. If the solder should run through and fasten the wire to the side of the box, the wire can be peeled off and the solder filed down to the copper. But care must be taken not to let the binding wire sink into the copper. File up the corners smooth and square up the box with a steel square. _To make the bottom of the box:_ Take the piece of No. 24 copper, 6-3/8 × 4-3/8 ins. Set the dividers 3/16 in. wide. With one leg on the edge of this plate, draw lines on the four sides.

Cut out the small square made in each corner by the crossing lines. Put the plate into the vise and bend the four sides up along these lines. Try it, to see if it just fits the inside of the box. It is the bottom and must be exactly right or the box will be out of square. Now take it out for drilling and riveting. With the centre-punch prick points one inch apart and midway between the edge and the base. Holes are bored through these punch marks, with the drill press and a 1/16-in. drill. The bottom is now ready to slip into the box and to place for riveting. Put it in, the bent edge turned down and flush with the lower edge of the box. It is necessary first to fix the bottom securely in place before all the rivets can be put in. To do this we put one rivet on each side. Take a sharp-pointed instrument, stick it into the centre hole on each of the four sides, whirl it round, and mark the place where the hole should be drilled through. Take the bottom out and prick punch these holes. Drill the four holes, place the bottom back, and push the copper nails through from the outside in, leaving the head on the outside as decoration. If the head should seem too large, reduce it by filing before riveting. Cut the nail off, leaving about 1/16 in. of it projecting. With the hammer strike on this projecting end, flatten it down until it covers up the holes. This is called riveting. Now the bottom is made firm so that any amount of drilling can be done without throwing it out of place. Drill all the rest of the holes and put a rivet in each one of them. The heads of these nails add to the decoration if they are put in carefully and at regular intervals.

_To make the lid:_ If you look at your design you will see that the lid is raised a little in the centre and that the edges extend 1/8 in. over the four sides of the box. Take the 6-1/4 × 4-1/4 in. piece of copper. With lead pencil mark the 1/8-in. lap over all around the lid. Place the lid on the end of the square block. With the round end of the raising hammer drive down lightly all around the inside of the lead-pencil mark, increasing the blows toward the centre. This will make an oval-topped shape. The hammering is bound to distort the edge of the copper. Turn the lid upside down on the bench; with the mallet strike down on the top of the raised part until the edges flatten down on the bench. If any kinks should come from the hammering flatten them by driving directly over them. The lid should rest on the box without rocking.

_To make the hinges:_ Take the two pieces of copper 6 × 1/2 in. (No. 24). Lay a piece of No. 8 wire lengthwise in the piece of copper, and, using your fingers, bend the copper up on each side of the wire, keeping the two edges the same length.

Place this between the vise jaws, pressing the two open sides together, forming a hinge right on the wire. Fix both pieces of copper this way. Draw the wire out. You have two cylindrical pieces of copper 6 ins. long with wings attached. Divide one of the pieces into six one-inch sections. Put this between the vise jaws down to the rounding part. With your jewellers' saw, saw close to the vise and along the division lines, cutting out sections 2, 4, 6.

File up all open parts so that the joints will be at right angles to the hinge. Do this carefully or else they will not swing true when hinged together. Use the cut hinge to measure off the sections on the other hinge. Cut out sections 1, 3, 5 on the second hinge, allowing a little on each section for filing. Fit the two parts together and fasten by pushing a wire through. Try the hinge to see that it works true and snug. Select one of the sides as the back of the box, put the lid on, with the hinge in place. You will notice that the thickness of the hinge prevents the lid from fitting down on the box. File the side of the box down so the hinge sets flush with the top, and file the wings of the hinge down to a taper. The wings are to be riveted, one flat to the under side of the lid, and the other to the back, after bending it down on the inside of the box. See section view. Hinges are sometimes soldered in place. To do this, wash the joints with a little soft-solder fluid. Heat the box in the bunsen flame hot enough to make the solder run in between the joints. File any rough edges off, smooth down carefully, and polish.

CEDAR CHEST (WITH BRASS TRIMMINGS)

A plain cedar chest is much improved by the addition of copper or brass trimmings. They add strength, too, to the box.

The design shows a cedar chest with hinges, corner plates, handles, and lock plate. The screws can be bought with pyramid-shaped heads, which resemble hand-made rivets. They add very much to the general effect of the whole. One must be guided by the size of the box in selecting the appropriate screw decorations. This box is 12 × 20 × 36 ins. The lid is 2 ins. deep.

_Hinges:_ The hinges should be made of No. 10 copper or brass, 3 ins. wide, and should extend two-thirds of the way across the top and half way down the back. This tends to keep the lid straight and support the back of the box.

_Lock plate:_ The plate is made of a piece of 8 × 3 in. metal, the same thickness as the material used in the hinges. The design should correspond to the design of the hinges. The key way is in the lock plate, toward the top.

_Handles and handle plate:_ The handles are made of 1/2-in. round copper or brass, large in the middle, tapering toward the ends. These ends are turned up, fitted into eye bolts and riveted into the handles. The handles should be 10 × 4 ins., with the design of the hinges and the lock plate carried out.

_Corner plates:_ These plates go on the four corners of the chest. They are made of No. 14 metal. Perhaps the simplest way to make them is to take a piece of No. 14 metal and cut a 6-in. square. Draw the diagonals. Cut out one of the four triangles from this square. Now bend the piece along the diagonal lines and you make a corner to fit on the box. Solder this open corner to the box. In making corners for the lid, make the same pattern and trim it down to suit the depth of the lid.

The trimmings on the box can be left smooth or they can be treated with the peen of the hammer and a facet surface put on, which is done quickly and is very decorative in effect.

The hinge part of the hinge is made as explained in the article on hinge making. The metal used here would be quite strong enough just to turn over in the pin without soldering it first to the body of the hinge piece.

Put the lock on the chest before the lock plate is placed. This fixes the place for the key-hole; otherwise one might get the key way too close to the opening and find no lock that would fit it. The handles are put in by means of screws, but a much stronger one is made by using bolts and screws. The bolts that hold the handle on the plate are carried through the box, and a nut and washer fasten them tight on the inside.

DESK SET IN COPPER

Ink well holder and pen tray. Book rack. Corners for desk pad. Letter file. Bill file. Stamp box. Paper cutter, letter opener, and book mark.

INK WELL HOLDER AND PEN TRAY

_Material:_ No. 16 copper, 10-1/2 × 5-1/2 ins., for the tray. No. 16 copper, 1-1/2 × 8 ins., for the box. No. 16 copper, 3 ins. square, for lid.

_Directions:_ Tray: You will notice, in the design of the tray given, a 3/8-in. ledge all around. The inside of the tray is lowered 1/4 in. except a square place in the centre toward the back large enough for the box to set upon. The depression in the tray is made in the same way as described before in making the small square tray. You put it into the vise and with a round wooden peg drive it in according to the design. The ledge must remain parallel to the bottom of the tray. Round it off by placing the tray on the anvil stake and driving the proper curve in it with the wooden mallet.

_Box or holder--Sides:_ Take the copper piece, 8 × 1-1/2 ins. and divide it into 2-in. spaces. Bend these at right angles to form a square box, the open ends meeting at one side. Solder with hard solder. _Lid:_ Take the 3-in. square piece. Over a square block the exact size of the inside of the box drive the piece for the lid. The corners must be driven down even so that the lid will fit on the top of the box; otherwise the ink will evaporate. The hinge on the lid is made with a drawn tube in the same way as was described in the article on the making of hinges. The box is now ready to be put on the tray. File the surface of the projecting square flat, so that the box will set level. Bind it down with binding wire, and solder in the usual way.

_Ring and ring post fastened to the box:_ The post is made of a piece of 3/8-in. square copper. At a distance of 5/16 in. from the end a shoulder is filed on it, with the stem long enough to go through the thickness of the lid. A hole, too, is drilled through one end of this post large enough for a 1/8-in. copper ring to be pushed through. This copper ring is made by turning a piece of copper wire around a 1/2-in. round rod in a spiral shape. Cut off the ring or rings as you need them. This ring is opened out, pushed into the hole, and squeezed together. It acts as a little handle to lift up the lid. A piece of blotting paper the exact size of the lid is pushed into the inside of it. This helps to keep the ink from evaporating. If the piece of work has been carefully done there will be little finishing and filing to do. You can readily see that the beauty of metal work depends as much upon the finish as upon the design.

BOOK-RACK

Book-racks are most useful for holding choice books on one's desk. They are made of heavy copper. This design is made so that one can place any number of books between them, by pushing the side pieces out. All book-racks are made in the same way. The design on the side pieces can be sawed out (or pierced) or embossed, or the facets left by the hammer will make a beautiful decoration. Any design work, however, must be done while the copper is in a straight piece, otherwise the bending is apt to spoil the work.

_Material:_ Two pieces of copper, No. 14, 12 × 6 ins.

_Directions:_ In the design shown here the edge of the upright ends are rounded. Some have just the corners rounded off. Decide upon the design you wish. Cut it out, and file the copper sheet accordingly. Make the edges of the whole rack perfectly smooth and rounded. Mark off 6 ins. from one end. Bend this at the 6-in. line at right angles to the 8-in. piece. It is well to do the bending over a wooden block in the vise, using a mallet so as not to mar the metal. Polish and finish as before.

METAL CORNERS FOR A DESK PAD

Metal corners made of brass, copper, or silver are found very useful for protecting the corners of blotters upon desks. They keep the corners from curling up and add much to the general appearance of any desk. The designs are many, but for all practical purposes the plain corners seem best, as they are more sanitary.

_Material:_ The pieces of metal 6 × 2-1/2 ins. No. 22.

_Directions:_ Mark your copper sheet off like this pattern. Now get a piece of wood, iron, or copper about 3/16 in. thick and just the shape of one of these corner designs. This 3/16 in. thickness will be about equal to the thickness of your blotter and the thickness of the card-board. Take your copper sheet and bend the ends along the lines marked on the pattern, over the iron or wood form, driving them down to fit the shape well. You now have a triangular piece with an opening on one side. This piece would slide over the corner of a card-board pad usually cut about 24 × 18 ins. Solder the edges together. It is necessary to rivet these corners to the card-board to prevent their slipping off easily. To do this drill a small hole down through the under side close to the edge, slip these corners on the card-board, push the iron form in, and drive the rivet through the hole, through the card-board against the iron plate, thus riveting the corners to the card-board. Take out the iron plate and repeat on the four corners. If designs are to be made on metal, they must be sawed out or pierced while the metal is in the straight piece. Polish free from all roughness. A piece of soft flannel or woollen cloth is glued on the under side of these corners, so that the metal cannot scratch the desk, or any polished surface it rests upon.

BILL FILE

This is a useful article for filing notes or memoranda of things that need immediate attention. There is very little variety in design. The base can be made square, circular, six-sided, etc., and decorated in many ways. It looks well either in copper or brass. Only heavy copper should be used, in order to give weight to the base.

_Material:_ A 3-1/2-in. square of No. 10 copper. Rod of sharpened steel.

_Directions:_ Take a piece of iron 1/2 × 2-1/2 × 2-1/2 ins. Go to any scrap heap for this. Place the copper sheet over this block of iron, letting the surplus metal extend evenly all around. Put it into the vise with the corner vertical. Tighten it up and drive the metal over the corner till it touches the sides of the iron. Do this on all the corners. Make the outside of the metal fit tightly over this iron, acting as a shape or form. If the metal should feel springy before driving it up close, anneal it. Notice that in driving these corners down they are longer than the four sides, and they suggest feet. If filed flat and smoothed up you have a square box with a foot on each corner. Take it off the iron form and make the top rounding by driving it over the hollow block. Now drill a 1/8-in. hole through the middle. Place the copper rod in the hole and solder with hard solder.

PAPER CUTTER, LETTER OPENER, BOOK MARK

_Paper cutter:_ No article on a desk is more useful than a good paper cutter. It may be one with a plain flat blade, no marked handle and without decoration aside from that of the metal itself with its hammer marks left upon it. Again we may have one with blade and handle, the blade either pointed (sharp edged or blunt), the handle plain or with sawed-out design. Those with pointed blades are serviceable as letter openers too. Then some designs have handles made long enough to turn the end over, forming a raised handle.

_Material:_ Piece of No. 20 copper, 7/8 × 9 ins.

_Directions:_ If the blade is to be pointed, take your strip of copper and draw a line right through the centre. Mark a point 1/8 in. on the end, either side of the centre line. Draw lines from these points to the extreme ends of the other side. See dotted lines in the sketch.

File up the edges rounding, and polish the whole. Select a piece of copper free from scratches and marks of any kind for this work. This paper cutter can be left smooth, or it can be decorated by the marks left by the planishing hammer. These marks give a good finish and look well.

PAPER CUTTER WITH TURNED HANDLE

_Material:_ Piece of No. 20 copper, 7/8 × 16 ins.

_Directions:_ Mark off lines on the copper strip as you did to make the plain paper cutter. Carry the tapering lines back 7 ins. Cut off these side pieces with shears. File the edges for the whole length smooth. If any decorating is to be done, do it while the copper is in the straight piece, as it can't be done easily after the handle is turned. All filing, too, must be done before the handle is turned. When filed and smoothed up or decorated as you wish, bend half the remaining 9 inches of the copper over and on to the blade, in this way forming the handle. The size of the handle will depend upon one's feeling of comfort or discomfort about it. If the edges still feel a little rough a piece of emery cloth will smooth them down.

LETTER OPENERS

Letter openers are really small paper cutters and are made in exactly the same way. They are shorter and narrower than the paper cutter, but almost always have a sharp pointed blade. Many scraps of copper left over after the making of large pieces can be used to make letter openers.

BOOK MARK

Book marks are very handy to have on one's desk. They are easily made and if very light copper is used need not be heavy or clumsy. They should be made very smooth, for they must slip easily into place in the book.

_Material:_ No. 30 copper, 3 × 3/4 in. _Directions:_ This drawing can be used as the guide. Make it the required size and work just as you did when making the paper cutter. The little tongue on the inside is sawed out. It should swing easily to and fro, as it must be pushed open to catch the pages of a book and clamp them down. File and finish very smooth. If it is left the least bit rough it would tear the paper as it is pushed in.

BRASS WORK