brainwagon

Today’s Gem is Things to Make, by Archibald Williams. Yes, it’s dated, but c’mon! Where else are you going to find plans for a silhouettograph? Get the PDF, the illustrations are nice, and the plain text version won’t do it justice.

To tease, here is the table of contents:

I. SAWING TRESTLE
II. A JOINER’S BENCH
III. A HANDY BOOKSTAND
IV. A HOUSE LADDER
V. A DEVELOPING SINK
VI. A POULTRY HOUSE AND RUN
VII. A SHED FOR YOUR BICYCLE
VIII. A TARGET APPARATUS FOR RIFLE SHOOTING
IX. CABINET-MAKING
X. TELEGRAPHIC APPARATUS
XI. A RECIPROCATING ELECTRIC MOTOR
XII. AN ELECTRIC ALARM CLOCK
XIII. A MODEL ELECTRIC RAILWAY
XIV. A SIMPLE RECIPROCATING ENGINE
XV. A HORIZONTAL SLIDE-VALVE ENGINE
XVI. MODEL STEAM TURBINES
XVII. STEAM TOPS
XVIII. MODEL BOILERS
XIX. QUICK-BOILING KETTLES
XX. A HOT-AIR ENGINE
XXI. A WATER MOTOR
XXII. MODEL PUMPS
XXIII. KITES
XXIV. PAPER GLIDERS
XXV. A SELF-LAUNCHING MODEL AEROPLANE
XXVI. APPARATUS FOR SIMPLE SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENTS
XXVII. A RAIN GAUGE
XXVIII. WIND VANES WITH DIALS
XXIX. A STRENGTH-TESTING MACHINE
XXX. LUNG-TESTING APPARATUS
XXXI. HOME-MADE HARMONOGRAPHS
XXXII. A SELF-SUPPLYING MATCHBOX
XXXIII. A WOODEN WORKBOX
XXXIV. WRESTLING PUPPETS
XXXV. DOUBLE BELLOWS
XXXVI. A HOME-MADE PANTOGRAPH
XXXVII. A SILHOUETTE DRAWING MACHINE
XXXVIII. A SIGNALLING LAMP
XXXIX. A MINIATURE GASWORKS