Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 92.djvu/297

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�FOR PRACTICAL WORKERS

��Fish Bowl with Folding Stand for the Magician

THIS very serviceable fish bowl is really of a collapsible variety. Con- trary to appearance, it can be folded up- water, fish and all — and carried beneath

���The curved metal legs fold up snugly against the sides of the glass bowl

your coat. To substantiate this state- ment it can be said that this bowl is the invention of one of the world's great- est "eye foolers" — an old-time magician named Hartz. From an empty cloth he magically produced six of these bowls. This, however, was an unusual achieve- ment which perhaps only Hartz could do. But anyone can hide one of these bowls beneath his coat.

To begin with, the legs fold up flat against the sides of the bowl. A rubber cover, slipped over the mouth of the bowl, keeps the water in. The bowl is hidden under the coat and held in posi- tion by the pressure of one arm. As the conjurer waves his cloth, one hand steals beneath the coat and brings out the bowl. The metal legs snap into an upright posi- tion by means of a series of rubber bands fastened to each leg.

In taking off the cloth, the rubber cover is removed, thus displaying a bowl about 7 in. high and 8 in. wide, brimful of water

��and swimming gold-fish. The fish are generally known as "three-carat gold- fish" because they are composed of three red carrots whittled into shape.

��Unequally Adjusted Rear Wheel Brakes Cause Skidding

BRAKES that are not properly ad- justed will cause a skid on slippery pavements. A way to find this fault is to drive the car on a dry road, to ac- celerate quickly, then suddenly to apply the brakes. If one wheel skids and the other keeps turning, this shows that the brake on the sliding wheel is set tighter than its mate.

��A Bench Holder for a Large Pair of Tinner's Snips

USUALLY, snips that are used for cutting sheet metal, if they are of medium or large size, are heavy and clumsy to handle, and it is difficult to cut on a straight line. To overcome this, I mounted a heavy pair on a hardwood base about 6 in. wide and as long as the snips.. This dimension may be as desired,

���A wood base and blocks to hold tinner's snips so that they are easy to handle

as shown in the illustration. In this way, bench shears are made and they are portable and easy to handle. With this arrangement, it is surprising how straight the snips will cut. — W. E. Day.

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