roned to remove all
creases.

** Removing Old Paint [396]

A chair more than a hundred years old came to me by inheritance.
It was originally painted green and had been given two coats of
dark paint or varnish within the last 30 years. Desiring to
improve the appearance of the relic, I decided to remove the paint
and give it a mahogany stain. The usual paint removers would
readily take off the two latter coats but had no effect upon the
first. I tried to remove the troublesome green in various ways,
but with little success until I applied a hot, saturated solution
of concentrated lye. By coating the paint with this repeatedly,
applying one coat upon another for two days, and then using a
stiff brush, the layer was easily and completely removed.
--Contributed by Thos. R. Baker, Chicago, Ill.

** A Window Lock [397]

Bore a hole through the sash of the lower window and halfway
through the sash of the upper window, where they meet in the
center, and insert a heavy nail or spike. This will fasten the
sash together so well that nothing short of a crowbar can pry them
apart. The nail can be easily removed when the windows are to be
opened.

** Homemade Magnifying Glass [397]

A very good magnifying glass can be made from an ordinary
incandescent lamp of about 16-cp. size which has been rendered
useless by being burned out or having the filament broken. Grind
or break off the tip end of the globe and fill with water. Put in
clear water and plug or cork up the hole.

** Trailer for a Bicycle [397]

[Illustration: Fig. 1; Trailer Attached to a Bicycle]

Instead of using a seat on the handlebars or frame of a bicycle
for my little girl, I made a trailer, as shown in Fig. 1, to
attach to the rear axle. I made it from old bicycle parts. The
handlebars, which form the back of the seat, fasten into the seat
post of an old bicycle attached to the trailer axle. The trailer
is attached to the rear axle of the bicycle with two arms or
forks, on the ends of which are two forgings, formerly used on the
rear ends of a bicycle frame, brazed in, and one of the tube
projections cut off from each to make a hook, as shown in Fig. 2.
The piece marked E shows one of these forgings or hooks in
section. The original axle of the bicycle was removed and one
1-5/16 in. longer supplied, which was turned below the threads for
clearance, as shown at A. A washer, D, with a hexagon hole was
fitted over the regular nut C, on th