Evening Star Newspaper, June 20, 1926, Page 79

ILLUSTRATED FEATURES’ — Part 5—8 Pages he MAGAZINE SECTION NGTON, D. C, UNDAY Sundiy Stae MORNING, JUNE 20, 1926. Washingtonian's Hobby Is a Remarkable Home Workshop BY GEORGE H. DACY. IXTY thousand vernment workers in Washington, 24 hours in the day, eight hours for sleep, seven and one-half hours at the office and the bal- ance of the time idle hours for lels- ure. rec ation, study, amusement, en- tertainment—or what do you do? Es- timating conservatively that each sal- aried representative of the great Sam organization has at least four to five hours of spare time dally, the total sums up to approximately 270,000 man-hours of personal time, which the army of national employes has to do with what it will In the majority of time is devoted to p! ure and amuse- ments. The theater, motion picture show, sports and amusements, read- ing and domestic tasks or such sub- urban home chores as gardening, lawn mowing, poultry and bee tending and other routine J add spare hour speed to the normal flight of time. The educational facllities in Washing- ton are uneq 1 by any other city of similar size wintry. Prob. ably 10 per scient school Others ases this spare g0 to of workers devote of Gov ernment their_lelsure to spare tin k. Large families at home to support and small salarles require that these men and women utilize every moment of the which can be capitalized for bread-winn'ng to that essential pursult. Some sell insurance and automobiles during their spare time, others work in stores, offices and shops, tutor private pupils, do public stenographic work, make cakes, candies and confections which they sell, repair automobiles and per- form the thousand and one tasks avail- e, On of the most curious side- line caliings which we have come cross that of a Govern- sells cemetery lots | Bours, force ment cler during his e who ening PP opportunities for the practical nd profitable utilization of leigure here in Washington are legion. Tt is | individual responsibility with each us what use we make of our idle hours. you cannot burn | the and in the middle All work and no p! he Lospital for repa nd no work makes & wast Il of Jack. If outdoor viintain }-ral day Tou may be | o other s to say | Wash- | nt lamp smokir stand. 1 tel decc fut which ¢ whole f “Work way of d complisi lives ou ho has hop umde rear por t made to its fixtures the prod This h neath the pool table, \ for the equ | terse | under he had for a dimen forms, mixed and e with od h above uan dows for light a large dogr for kshop, which one two and one-half month: time hours one 1s fitted with so it is as s outdoo: ring the § lowert windows it can be made cool ive of the exteric con the weit proviged ind vent ntran tion 4 to the f made dur- of spare- The shop onsiderable | e workshop fun and ex- R. PARKS money by b himself, while he ercige from the hacky task. Then he enjoyed th pride in achievement imateur workman feels job s completed to his After finish owner went h_several electrical tools ition these the v to bu which {s the Park friend of Mr. power. hand of two iature feature of Tt =0 happened tha Parks owns and operat profes sional machine shop. He gave the amateur permission to use the shop and its factlities for building his lathe. Mr. Parks devoted 60 days of annual Government service leaveVto his novel shop assignment. Many people would consider vacation-time spent in a ma- chine shop as drudgery. To Mr Parks Kkeenly interested in such work. it af- forded exactly the and relaxation which he neede FFurthermore, he made and molded, patterned and per- fected a ble small-<ize lathe during that period. Such a lathe pur- chased commercially. would have cost in the neighborhood of $300. This amateur builder first made n sort of makeshift wooden lathe in his home shop. which he used in turning out all the patterns of the parts which would be required on the matal lathe. Subsequently, in the machine shop, he made his cast- ings and moldings from these forms. | Finally the back-geared engine lathe | was completed. Tt has a four-foot hed and an eightinch swing and is | equipped with speclal gearings so that it can bhe operated at any de- | sired speed from 200 to 1,800 revo- | lutions per minute. The ordinary al- ternating current of the city lighting system 1s harnessed to function a one-quarter-horsepower motor which runs the lathe. The lathe is a bench lathe which in this amateur shop is mounted for convenience on a spe- clal stand. Tt can be used for all kinds of metal and wood work up to a length of 20 inches over all and a dtameter of eight inches. Mr. Parks has used his lathe effectively in shaping and turning the various wooden parts and pieces of the many articles of furniture which he has made. He also has assisted a num- ber of his neighbors in varlous auto- mobile repair jobs where a lathe was necessary. A combination electrical scroll saw and circular saw mounted in one day rost servies of all Go\'emxflent Specialist Has Capitalized His Spare Time to Cor.lstruct an Efficient Shop and Much of Its Mechanical Equip- ment—Makes Useful and Ornamental Articles for His Home—His “Work Is Fun™ and He Shows an Unusual "Homespun Collection."—Unusual Electrical Appliances Made During “Leisure™ Hours. . ENGINE LATHE Built during vacation times Bulding Ornamentad Model of Batbary Corsair. frame is another equipment of the Parks’ workshop of home design and construction. This dual-purpose device s of particular importance as a labor-saving equipment. It forms all kinds of complic: ing tasks. It is operated by a one- sixth-horsepower motor, run by the city light current, which cost $12. The material and hardware appli- ances used in building the oaken frame of the saw cost $10. The com- bination saw with its speclal dado attachment for grooving and beading work was bullt for less than one- half the cost of a commercial outfit of similar size and equipment. The circular saw is four inches in diam- eter and saws material up to one- inch thickness. The frame is large enough to accommodate a six-inch saw, which would handle material as large as two inches thick. The jigg or scroll saw attachment is mounted above the circular saw. Bv loosening a few bolts it can be removed at any time at the owner's desire. The range in the size of saw blades used in this jigg saw run from very fine jeweler's saws to those which are onequarter of an inch wide and used commonly in scroll saw work. A large set of_ garage doors were sawed out, morticed and tenoned by the use of these small size shop saws. They also have been used in the manufacture of the home- made furniture which Mr. Parks has bullt. Mr. Parks designs most everything which he makes instead of using the | plans and models of other profes- sional and amateur mechanics. When not in use, his drafting board is held securely In position where it is not in the way by a couple of thumb screws (fastened to one of the side walls of the shop. For service, the board is removed from this mooring and set up on one of the shop benches. We noticed a handy drlll press which costs $10 and a great miscel- lany of wood and metal working tools as other features of the shop's equip- ment. Wall cabinets were provided for the storage of all these tools when not in use. The amateur shop, in general, was a model of ship- shapeness, Each article had a place and every plece of equipment is kept in its proper place when not in serv- vt and Floor Lamp. Radio Set and Priscilla SewingTable Made at homen ice. For Wintertime comfort, the shop is provided with a small gas heater. _An attractive tea cart made of black walnut, which was once a part of the cabin of a gasoline launch that Mr. Parks maintained as*a pleasure craft for trips on the Potomac River is one of the products of the home workshop. Even the wheels of this cart are made of walnut and were sawed to proper dimension and de- sign on the jigg and circular saws while the lathe was used in shaping and turning certain ornamental parts of the article. The top and bottom stands of the tea cart are faced with glass ornamented with decorative tapestry supported by bases anade of wallboard. During the idle hours of one month Mr. Parks made the tea cart, which would cost upward of $25 if you attempted to duplicate it by purchase at a furniture store. e A HANDSOME six-foot floor lamp made of birch and finished to look exactly like mahogany is an- other shop offspring of spare time. The lamp is of original design and represents skilled use of the lathe in i its artistic production. If purchased through Sommercial channels, it would have cost at least $25, but it was Mr. Parks made it at an out- lay of $6 for material and about 30 hours of evening and holiday work. The lamp was made in 20-inch sec- tions which have been adeptly joined together so that it looks as though it was made out of a solid 6-foot plece of material. The lathe, of course, was used for polishing the lamp parts after the turning work was com- pleted. In addition to making the lamp, Mr. Parks also wired it and equipped it with the essential elec- trical attachments. This amateur has also completed a fancy table lamp which is a beau- tiful and useful ornament in the liv- ing room of his Washington resi- dence. A Priscilla sewing table of cherry, which he made as a gift for his wife, is another example of the spare time of four weeks devoted to practical 'service. The commercial cost of a similar furnishing of the sewing room would be about $15. A one-tube radlo receiving set and stand made of poplar is yet another home designed and. built equipment which provides entertainment for the Parks family. The stand is provided with a special compartment’ for the batteries. This eliminates the many wires which you see hanging here and there and eyerywhere on other radio equipment of home manufacture. This radio set and stand would have cost about $25 if purchased. It was made for a small fraction of this amount. Although prgsumably a re- celving set of limifed range, Mr. Parks has picked up musical enter- tainments from Miami, Fla.; Pitts- burgh and Boston regularly with the radio which he has made. Mr. Parks has already made sev- eral hundred dollars’ worth of home furniture and fittings in his base- ment . shop. There {8 no way of expressing in monetary value the pleasure, diversion and recreation which this Government expert who is employed by the Department of Agriculture has gained from the tool-spun tasks which he has con- summated during idle hours. Fur thermore, whenever a job of home repair or maintenance arises, this prope; wner has the mechanical abliity, emd - the. facilities, nowa- 3 days, to do the work himself. In the course of time the dollar and cents significance of such tasks adds up to a considerable figure. Unques- tionably the workshop will repay the original expenditures and return large \dividends during the course of time. . A portable pool table, which Is three by six feet in size, 18 an un- usual article for amusement which Mr. Parks has built. It took about two and one-half months of his spare time to make this tabie. In- stead of being provided with a slate base as are the regulation pool tables which you find in recreation par- lors, the homemade outfit has a bottom made of asbestos lumber. This materfal was used because it is as permanent as slate in main- taining » smooth, level surface which will not be marred after use by shrinkage, warping or other flagrant ults of ordinary lumber. The rails 1d sides of the table are made of cherry. The cushions of the pool table are made of rubber covered with the customary green cloth. Mr. Parks obtained these cushions from the owner of a public pool room whe had dismantled an old table. The homemade pool table is mot of regulation size, but otherwise lete in the excellences whick. art and parcel of ‘he equipment the professional players use in their championship contests. The cues, made of maple, were turned out to accurate taper on the Parks’ 1ath The set of balls and rack were purchased from a supply house The table was completed for use at a total cost of $15, exclusive of the labor of its maker. A portable pool table of this size if purch: from | one of the factories which manufac- would have cost The pool table is in the busement of A discarded din nas been leveled a curately and is used as the base for the portable pool table. When we recently arks in his workst ing a_remarkable ture such cles upward of $50. set up for play the Parks' home. - ing room table - visited Mr found him of an ship. If latest fad you surel - ornaments ard and fiber, and sails of linen k of fe and equi more of mi in propellin ind was sti finest woo specimens of these miniature ship |are valued at as n ch as $100 apiece, Mr. Parks is building th models of a pirate ship which is 2 inches long and 17 inches high. It is being built of white pine and black | walnut. The latter n 1 was re- | claimed from the former motor launch | of this shingtonian. Thus the material which was once a part of a river-plying launch is now being used {in the construc n of Lilipu | felucca, equipped 1 sq and | teen_sails of silk line: 1ch the Barbary pirat d to u The | nautical history of this style of craft | places it in the between anclent rowed by oars and the | notorious s rigged galleass of the | seventeenth century | The Barbary pirates liked gay col- {ors and used them with ing e | on their be For example, the | ders of the were often sci | while the 1 | Usually a py of | hues was over | deck, wk and his li The average w | have seen de of woc against the wooden canno h ten palrs o oars to he use n the v Am e e of - the sail was stretched - leader the at or felucca, o c. as the carrled on, and pairs of with 10 was equi oars, whici chains. The ips these anciern wordinary their mode exhibition and now is work { complete the & is painstaki equipment small that without er m & iere and build up the model conten of the | plates butlding & probably | Spantsh galleon ex | be a little larger felucea gets many things to build fr 16 azines whict new and nove popt & amateur and prepare which he de mines to make ever. he adventures in design and ses and models his picture patterns accordi his personal thoughts and fancies wses everything which he mak: to scale and sym | mewrical pattern | Each’ object which comes in con | pleted form from the Parks shop is |accurate in scale and proportion, for | this self-tutored artesan, who works | with wood and metal as a hobby, de; votes as much care and attention to | his products as though he were a pro | fessional mechanic ing articles | which would have to pass the inspec tion of critical judges who paid their experts on the basis of excellence of workmanship, accuracy of design and completeness of detail Magnet Slows Down Autos at Crossings NOVEL and fascinating idea came to Charles Adler Baltimore, Md., one evening not long ago, as he sat by his ory window and watched the twinkling lights of com muters’ trains flashing by in the rail road yards below. He contrasted their orderly operation with the helter-skel ter rush of home-going automobiles on the road that crossed the railroad t at the end of the y “Why not,” he thou little signal engineering lem of preventing a grade crossings? be some wa to ke th reck driver from committing suicide—force him to drive carefully whether he wants to or not.” Adler set to work to solve the prob lem. As a result, he has invented ystem that automatically slows dow the fast-driven car as it approached the railroad crossing. No matter how hard the driver steps on the throttle, the car will not travel at a speed greater than 15 miles an hour until it has passed the crossing The device, says Popular Sclence Monthly, consists essentially of a pow- erful magnet concealed in a concrete box beneath the surface of the road way at the proper distance from tha raliroad crossing. As the approaching icar passes over a magnet, the latter | operates a system of r 9 and a gov | ernor so designed that it will allow | current to flow through the autom bile ignition system at speeds below 15 miles an hour, but cuts it off when the car is traveling faster than that rate. This action continues until another road magnet at the danger point is reached, when the ighition circult is restored to its normal path. The road magnets are made up of flat styins of magnetized steel, placed side by side in the concrete beneath the road sur- tace. This remarkable invention may help to solve other important traffic prob- lems besides that of the rallroad grade | crossing. Controlling magnets could be placed at any point where slow and careful operation of automobiles is nec- essary for the public safety. of labor: . “apply a to the prob. 0 accidents at sly there must He Bit Once. part of the city for cents!” yelled the taxi driver. “You ‘can't sting me again. re torted Hiram, ““T bought the city hall last year, and they wouldn't give it to me.” fifty