Edward Thatcher

TOOL LISTS AND COSTS—LAYING OUT AND MARKING OFF THE WORK—SHOP APPLIANCES

In this chapter the names and approximate costs of the tools and appliances are given and also suggestions as to fitting up the shop for working with the cans. Various methods are suggested for laying out the work with the ruler, square and dividers.

It must be remembered that tool prices are not fixed and that the prices quoted in the following lists are the market prices of to-day, July 29, 1918. At present, tools are much higher in price than usual owing to conditions brought about by the war. Tool prices vary with market conditions.

The tools listed may be bought at any good hardware store or ordered from the catalogues of any of the large mail order houses (except the Wooden Roofing Folder and the Forming Mallet). While the folder is not absolutely necessary for folding up angles in the tin, it is much better to have one to make the numerous angles employed in tin work than to attempt folding by hand, and particularly when long angles are to be made for lanterns, towers, automobile chassis and the like. In fact, it is in almost constant use.

The wooden roofing folder is not carried in stock by hardware and mail order houses, but it may be ordered from a dealer in tin-smiths’ or sheet metal workers’ tools. Any good tinner or plumber will tell you where to order one.

The forming mallet is easily made from a block of maple or a piece of broom handle as described under Shop Appliances.

It is taken for granted that such simple tools as rulers and pencils are at hand.

List of Tools for Making the Simpler Tin Can Toys and Decorative Objects

1 soldering copper, weight 1 lb. (1 lb. actual weight of copper end)	$.75
1 wooden handle for copper	.10
1 pair tinners’ shears, 8 or 10 inch	.85
1 pair flat-nose pliers, 4 inch	.45
1 pair round-nose pliers, 4 inch	.45
1 pair dividers, 6 inch	1.25
1 small riveting or tack hammer	.40
1 half round file, smooth milled cut, 8 to 10 inch	.20
1 wooden mallet, 3 inch face	.25
1 box of soldering paste	.25
1 bar of soft solder	1.25
2 lbs. soft solder wire	1.20
1 wooden forming mallet (home made)
1 wooden roofing folder (optional)	4.50
(Roofing folder may be obtained only from dealer in tinners’ tools.)
1 vise (3 inch jaws)	$3.50 to 5.00
1 try square, 6 inch	.65

Materials Needed Aside from the Cans.—Galvanized wire, 10 or 15 feet each of the following diameters: ?16, ?, ³/16, ¼ (if impossible to obtain all these diameters, get ? inch or larger). Wire nails, about ½ lb. each of the following sizes: 2d, 3d, 4d, 6d, 8d, 10d, 20d (d is the abbreviation for penny). Tinned rivets, several dozen of the smallest size (a box containing one gross is about as cheap as six dozen). Can of lye or 2 pounds of washing soda. For heating the soldering copper, a heater of some kind, such as a blue flame kerosene stove, gas furnace or common one-burner gas stove, charcoal furnace, or gasoline plumbers’ torch with attachments for holding copper. A large can or pail, or an old wash boiler for holding the hot lye solution.

Supplementary Tool List.—The tools named in this list will be found very convenient for making the more advanced models, particularly the hand drill and the twist drills which are used with the hand drill. The supplementary tools are by no means necessary for making the tin can toys, but if one can afford to get them, they will be found extremely convenient. However, almost any of the models may be made with the tools listed on page 29, if one is sufficiently skillful in the use of them. The more work one does with tools the fewer tools one needs if the tools are intelligently used.

The tools in both lists should be purchased, if possible, as they are all tools commonly used in metal working shops. Purchase the tools listed on page 29 first and go as far as possible with them, and then purchase as many of the supplementary tools as possible when you need them.

Except when noted otherwise, these tools may be purchased at any good hardware store.

Supplementary Tool List

1 hand drill, capacity ?32 to ³/16 inch drills	$1.75
4 twist drills, ?16, ?, ³/16, ¼ inch diameters	$.10 to .20
1 pair large tinners’ shears, 12 or 16 inch	1.50
1 pair curved tinners’ shears, 8 inch	1.25
1 pair double cutting shears, 8 inch (optional)	1.85
1 pair side cutting pliers, 5 inch	.75
1 pair spring dividers, 6 inch	.75
1 pair outside calipers, 6 inch	.75
(Spring dividers and outside calipers may sometimes be obtained at the 5-and-10 Cent Stores.)
1 small soldering copper, weight about 4 ounces	.35
1 half-round file, 8 inches (fine cut)	.25
1 round file, 8 inches long, ¼ inch diameter	.20
1 small cold chisel, ¼ inch in width at cutting edge	.15
1 large cold chisel, ¾ inch at cutting edge	.25
(An old wood cutting chisel is just as good for cutting tin.)
3 nail sets, ?16, ?, ³/16 inch in diameter at point, each	.10
(These nail sets may also be used as punches or ground to chisel points. Small chisels and nail sets may be obtained at the 5-and-10 Cent Stores.)
1 carpenters’ scratch awl	.25
(An ice pick of the same type will do as well.)
6 small clamps of different sizes	.10 to .25
(These clamps may usually be found at the 5-and-10 Cent Stores.)
1 hatchet stake, 9-inch blade	1.75
(Obtained only from tinners’ and sheet metal workers’ supply houses. A small substitute may be made from a 10-cent hatchet. Purchase the hatchet stake if you can afford it.)
1 bench drill	$7.50
(The bench drill is by no means necessary for any of the models described in this book, but it is a very convenient tool to have in the shop. With this tool, a hole may always be bored at right angles to the work. The hand drill will answer every purpose if one cannot afford this tool.)

Laying Out and Marking Off the Work.—Before attempting to begin actual work with the cans, it may be well to consider various ways of measuring to certain dimensions and transferring these measurements to the surface of the tin, and laying out and marking off the work for cutting, folding, etc.

The tools needed for this work are few and simple. A ruler, a marking awl, a small try square, and a pair of spring dividers are all one needs for this part of the work. The ruler may be of wood or metal and should be at least 12 inches in length with the inch divisions marked on it. A plain straight rule of hard wood such as is used in the grade schools will do very well.

PLATE VI

The tools needed for tin can toy making

The marking awl may be purchased at any good tool house or hardware store or an ice pick will do very well if sharpened to a good point so that a line may be easily scratched in the surface of the tin with the point. A large stiff needle may be forced in a pen handle to make an excellent marking awl or a common steel knitting needle may be used if the point is sufficiently sharp. Metal workers always scratch their dimension lines in the surface of the metal as pencil lines are easily rubbed away by the hands when working with the metal.

The try square should be about six inches long at the blade or measuring side, and should be entirely constructed of metal and the measuring blade should be marked off in inches and fractions thereof. Good try squares may frequently be purchased in the 5 and 10 cent stores and these are quite accurate enough for the purpose. The spring dividers should be about 6 inches in length. These dividers are held open by the strong spring in the top and are opened and closed by a nut acting on the screw thread. Do not purchase the heavy dividers or compass commonly used by carpenters as these are not as capable of the small adjustments as are the spring dividers. The spring dividers may sometimes be found at the 5 and 10 cent stores and may always be found at good hardware stores and tool houses.

All the tools used for laying out and marking off the work are plainly shown (Plate VI).

Laying Out Work.—It should be borne in mind that a little time spent in carefully measuring, laying out and marking off the work will make a great difference in the finished appearance of that work, so that these simple operations should not be slighted.

The steel square should always be used in laying out rectangular work: lines that are supposed to be at right angles or “square.” Work that is not carefully laid out or square will not fit together neatly if it fits at all.

One of the first things that one has to do in the tin can work is to trim up a piece of tin that is taken from the side of a can and flattened out.

Suppose that such a piece of tin has been cut from a can and flattened out, the edges of such a piece of tin are rather jagged and the whole piece should be trimmed off square before trying to use the tin for various purposes.

First place the ruler as near to the upper edge of the tin as possible and so as not to include any of the jagged cuts. Hold the ruler down firmly and draw the point of the marking awl along the edge of the ruler until a straight line is scratched along the edge of the tin. The surplus tin above this line should be cut away with the metal shears by cutting along from right to left so that the narrow and jagged strip of tin is curled up out of the way by the shears as it is cut. When the surplus tin is cut away you should have a straight clean edge at which to begin the marking operations.

Using the Try Square.—Next, the two ends of the piece of tin should be squared off using the try square for squaring up the ends as follows: Place the heavy solid part of the square firmly against the freshly cut straight edge of the tin, near one end in such a manner that the blade of the square with the inch divisions marked on it lays squarely across the tin, and as near as possible to the end of the piece but not including any of the jagged cuts. The position of the square is shown in Fig. 1.

When the square is in position, mark a line across the tin with the scratch awl held closely to the blade. Cut away the extra tin and you have two sides of your piece of tin squared. Proceed in the same manner to trim off the other end. The remaining or long side of the piece may be squared up either by using the ruler or the spring dividers. The strip of tin that you have squared up on three sides will probably be narrower at one end than at the other. Measure the width of the narrow end with the ruler and then measure off this same distance at the opposite end and mark it with the scratch awl. Use the ruler to connect the two measuring points and scratch a line in the tin by drawing the scratch awl along the edge of the ruler. Cut away the surplus tin and your piece of tin should be squared.

The spring dividers may be opened so that the points rest exactly on each corner of the narrowest end of the strips of tin. Then the dividers are moved to the opposite end of the strip and the lower end or point of the dividers moved back and forth slightly until a slight scratch is made in the surface of the tin to indicate the measuring point. The position of the dividers is shown in Fig. 2. The ruler is used to connect the two measuring points and a line scratched between them.

Small strips of tin may be marked off entirely by the dividers by setting the dividers to the required dimension, placing the dividers so that one point rests against one edge of the strip to be marked off and then drawing the dividers along in such a manner that the point of the dividers that rests on the tin will scratch a line parallel to the edge. The edge of the tin that the point of the dividers rests against must, of course, be cut straight before beginning the marking operations. The strip thus marked off may be cut away and another one marked off in the same manner until the required number of strips is cut.

Suppose that four strips are to be cut, each strip to measure one by ten inches. Square up a piece of tin to measure four by ten inches. Open the dividers so that the points are exactly one inch apart. Rest one point of the dividers against one edge of the tin as shown in Fig. 2 and draw it along the entire length of the tin so as to scratch a line parallel to the edge. Cut off this strip, taking care to make a straight cut and then mark off another strip and cut it off, and so on until all four strips are cut. This method of using the dividers for marking is more accurate and much easier than that of using a ruler to measure off each strip, and certainly more rapid.

Finding Wheel Centers with the Dividers.—When making wheels of tin cans, some easy method must be used to find the center of the wheel in order to punch or bore a hole for the axle so that the axle may be placed as near the center of the wheel as possible, and so that the wheel will run true once it is placed on the axle.

The dividers may be used for this operation which is very simple. The can is first made up into wheel form as described in Chapter X, page 108. When the wheel is soldered together lay it flat on the bench. Open the dividers so that one point rests against the rim of the wheel or against the rolled edge of the can forming the rim of the wheel. If the wheel is made of a can that has a cap soldered on each end and this cap forms the end of the can (such as the small cans that are used for evaporated milk), then the one leg of the dividers may be rested in the slight line or depression just inside the rim that is invariably found in this can. Open the dividers so that the other point rests as near the center as you can guess it. When the dividers are set to dimension and are in position on the wheel as shown in Fig. 3, then move the point of the dividers that is near the center of the wheel slightly back and forth so that it describes a slight arc and scratches it in the surface of the can and the other point of the divider is held at the point near the rim of the wheel during this operation. Then move the dividers directly across the wheel still set at the same dimension, placing one point against the rim or in the depressed line and describing a slight arc in the tin as before. Set the dividers at right angles to the first two marking points having the dividers still opened to the same dimension as at first and describe another arc. Set the dividers directly across from this point and describe another arc. The wheel should then resemble Fig. 4, the four arcs forming sort of a pillow shape as shown. Draw lines diametrically across connecting each corner of the pillow as shown and where these lines cross is the center of the wheel.

If one is so fortunate as to possess a tool called a surface gauge, it will be found very handy for marking or scribing lines parallel to the base of cans. This tool consists of a base of metal in which is fixed an upright post also of metal. An adjustable scriber or needle is fixed to this post so that it may be lowered or raised and set in position as desired. The point is adjusted to the required height and placed against the side of the can or surface to be marked, the operation being conducted on a flat level surface. The can is simply turned against the fixed scriber point until it is entirely marked around. The advantage of the surface gauge over the dividers for this operation is that the scriber point is held rigidly at a fixed dimension above the base of the can while the dividers must be held firmly in place by the hand. However, the dividers will do very well for this operation after a little practice.

SHOP APPLIANCES

Homemade Substitutes for Expensive Tools.—The tool of first importance in any metal working shop is a good vise. There is no substitute for this tool and a good one that measures three or three and a half inches across the jaws should be purchased from a reliable tool dealer. The next tool of importance is some form of anvil or anvils for flattening or rounding the tin. A small bench anvil may be purchased from the tool dealer. These are much like a blacksmith’s anvil with a flat face and a conical horn and are made of iron and steel. The large mail order houses offer various small anvils of cast iron for farm use and these are excellent for the tin shop.

Excellent substitutes for these anvils are easily made from old flat irons and pieces of gas or water pipe. Short lengths of iron and steel bars may be picked up about any junk pile, and these are very useful to form the tin over.

The Flat Iron Anvil.—An old flat iron, the kind with the handle attached, may be found about almost any household. The handle should be broken off as close to the top of the iron as possible. Use a hammer and cold chisel for this and cut the handle ends deeply all around where they join the iron. When they are deeply nicked, several sharp blows from a large hammer should break the handle away.

File away all roughness until the iron will set level with the smooth or ironing face uppermost. Then you have an excellent flat hard surface for straightening out tin or wire.

Pipe and Bar Anvils.—Short lengths of iron pipe, round and square iron and steel bars of various diameters may be held in the vise jaws and used to form the work over. Large wire nails may also be used for this purpose.

The smaller sizes, such as ¼, ?, or ½ inch in diameter, should be solid iron or steel bars 8 or 10 inches in length, as small pipe crushes and bends rather easily in the vise. Larger sizes, such as ¾, ½, 1 or 2 inches in diameter, are better made of pipe as they are lighter and easier to handle and also easier to obtain.

Get all the sizes suggested if possible and as many short pieces of square or flat bars as you find convenient to store away about the shop. They will come in very usefully for bending or forming operations. The method of holding them in the vise is plainly shown on page 89, Fig. 26.

If you have plenty of bench room and are handy with tools, several of the most used sizes of pipe and bars may be clamped or bolted directly to the bench with wooden or metal holding strips. The larger sizes, such as ¾, 1, 1½, 2 and 3 inches in diameter, will be found very convenient if fastened to the bench in this manner.

The Bench.—The shop bench should be about 31 inches in height. The top of the bench should be about 2½ by 6 feet or larger if possible, and may easily be built by any one familiar with tools. The top should be made of maple about 1½ inches thick. If one cannot afford this bench a common kitchen table makes an excellent substitute. A good strong table of this sort may be purchased at any house-furnishing store. These tables are furnished with a large drawer in which small tools may be kept.

If much of the tin work is done, it will prove advantageous to have some light wooden shelves or racks built about the walls of the shop to store the various sized cans where they may be easily seen and reached.

The Forming Mallet.—The special forming mallet designed by the author will have to be made. It was designed especially for work with the tin cans. It is very simple and easily made of maple by any carpenter. One end is a slightly rounded dome shape and the other is in the form of a blunt wedge. The dimensions and general shape of the mallet are shown in Fig. 5. The handle may be made of a piece of ½-inch dowel rod. A substitute for this mallet may be made of a piece of broom handle the end of which is already rounded to about the proper curve. Measure off 4½ inches from the rounded end of the broom handle and saw it off. Bore a ½-inch hole through the center of the piece to fit the piece of dowel rod used for the handle. Whittle down the end to a blunt wedge shape leaving it about ? inch thick at the end. The rounded end may be left as it is.

A piece of ½-inch maple dowel may be picked up in any carpenter shop. This should be 8½ inches long. It should be driven into the hole drilled for it in the mallet, taking care not to split the mallet in so doing. If the broom handle is rather small in diameter it would probably be better to use a piece of 7/16-or ?-inch dowel for the handle. A small nail or brad may be driven through the mallet and handle to secure it in place.