he woodwork--with fine glass
paper.

Shelves and sides should be wax-polished or given a coat or two of varnish.

[Illustration: Fig. 9. Plan or bookstand shelf.]

Don't drive the wedges in too tight, or yon may have to lament a split lug.

If the stand is to be used for very heavy books, or the shelves are much
longer than specified here, it is advisable to bring the angle of the
shelves down to the bottom of the standards, to relieve the shelves of
bending strain at the centre; or to use stouter material; or to unite the
shelves at two or three points by thin brass screws inserted through holes
drilled in the overlapping part.

IV. A HOUSE LADDER.

The preparation and putting together of the parts of a ladder having round,
tapered rungs let into holes in the two sides is beyond the capacity of the
average young amateur; but little skill is needed to manufacture a very
fairly efficient substitute for the professionally-built article--to wit,
a ladder of the kind to which builders apply the somewhat disparaging
adjective "duck."

The rungs of such a "duck" ladder are merely nailed to the outside if the
ladder is required for temporary purposes only; but as we are of course
aiming at the construction of a thing made to last, we shall go to the
trouble of "notching-in" each rung (see Fig. 10), so that the sides shall
take the weight directly, and the nails only have to keep the rungs firmly
in position. The objection to notching-in is that it reduces the strength
of the ladder, which is of course only that of the wood between the bottom
of the notches and the plain side. Therefore it is necessary to have sides
somewhat deeper than would be required for a centrally-runged ladder;
which is pierced where the wood is subjected to little tension or
compression.

[Illustration: Fig. 10--House ladder and details of letting in a rung]

Materials.--The length of the ladder will decide what the stoutness of
the sides should be. For a ladder about 12 feet long, such as we propose to
describe, larch battens 3 by 1-1/8 inches (actual) in section and free from
knots, especially at the edges, will be sufficiently strong to carry all
reasonable weights without danger of collapse. But be sure to get the best
wood obtainable. The rungs may be of 2 by 1 inch stuff, though 2 by 3/4
inch will suffice for the upper half-dozen, which have less wear, and are
shorter than those below.

The rungs are 10 inches apart (Fig. 10), cen