opper wire 7/8 in. in
diameter, bent as shown. This clasp is capable of standing a
strong pull and will hold the lamp and socket with a glass shade.
--E. K. Marshall, Oak Park, Ill.

[Illustration: Clasp]

** Protect Camel Hair Brushes [267]

Camel hair brushes for painters' use should never be allowed to
come in contact with water.

** Home-Made Electric Clock [268]

The clock illustrated herewith is driven by means of
electromagnets acting directly on the pendulum bob. Unlike most
clocks, the pendulum swings

[Illustration: Magnetic Clock]

forward and backward instead of laterally. The construction is
very simple, and the result is not only novel but well worth
while, because one does not have to bother about winding a clock,
such as this one, says the Scientific American.

The clock is mounted on a wooden base measuring 3-3/4 by6-1/2 in.,
by 1-5/16 in. thick. Secured centrally on this base is a 1/8 by
3/4-in. bar, 6 in. long and at each side of this, 5/16 in. away,
is an electromagnet, 3/4 in. in diameter and 1-7/16 in. high. Two
uprights, 7-1/2 in. high and 1/4 in. in diameter, are secured in
the base bar, and are connected at the top by a brass yoke piece
on which the clock frame is supported. Just below the yoke piece a
hole is drilled in each upright to receive the pivot pins of the
crosspiece secured to the upper end of the pendulum rod. The
pendulum bob at the lower end is adjusted to swing just clear of
the electromagnets. Mounted at the right-hand side of the base are
three tall binding-posts, the center one being 2-3/4 in. high, and
the other two 2-5/8 in. high. Each is fitted with a piece of
copper wire provided with a small brass spring tip. These springs
lie in the plane of the pendulum, which serves to swing the
central tip first against one and then against the other of the
side tips, thereby closing the circuit of first one magnet and
then the other. Each magnet attracts the pendulum until its
circuit is broken by release of the center tip, and on the return
swing of the pendulum the circuit of the other magnet is similarly
closed. Thus the pendulum is kept in motion by the alternate
magnetic impulses. The clock train is taken from a standard clock
and the motion of the pendulum is imparted to the escape wheel by
means of a pawl, bearing on the latter, which is lifted at each
forward stroke of the pendulum by an arm projecting forward from
the pivotal end of the pendulum rod.