must be 1/8 inch from the shank of the alarm hammer--at any rate not so
far away that the hammer, when it vibrates, cannot release C from the nick.

To fix the base on to the top of the clock, the works must be removed
(quite an easy matter to accomplish) and holes bored for a couple of screws
put through from the inside. If the underside of the base is not quite
correctly curved, take care not to force in the screws far enough to
distort the barrel. It is advisable to do the fitting of the parts of the
release after the base has been fixed, and before the works are replaced.
The position of the hammer shaft can be gauged accurately enough from the
slot in the case.

The tails of the terminals T1 T2 must be truncated sufficiently not to
penetrate the base and make contact with the barrel, or a "short circuit"
will be evident as soon as the battery is connected up.

[Illustration: Fig. 40.--Electric alarm releaser, as attached to separate
wooden clock casing.]

If the bell, battery, and clock are in the same room, a single dry cell
will give sufficient current; but if the circuit is a long one, or several
bells have to be operated, two or more cells will be required.

An Alternative Arrangement.--Should the reader prefer to have the clock
quite free from the release--and this is certainly convenient for winding
and setting the alarm--he should make a little wooden case for the clock
to stand in, just wide enough to take the clock, and the back just as high
as the top of the barrel. The release is then attached to a little platform
projecting from the back, care being taken that the lever is arranged in
the correct position relatively to the hammer when the clock is pushed back
as far as it will go (Fig. 40).

If a self-contained outfit is desired, make the case two-storied: the upper
division for the clock, the lower for the cell or cells. The bell may be
attached to the front. A hinged fretwork front to the clock chamber, with
an opening the size of the face; a door at the back of the cell chamber;
and a general neat finish, staining and polishing, are refinements that
some readers may like to undertake.

Setting the Alarm.--A good many alarm clocks are not to be relied upon to
act within a quarter of an hour or so of the time to which they are set.
But absolute accuracy of working may be obtained if the clock hands are
first set to the desired hour, and the alarm dial hand revolved slowly till
the alarm is releas