** How to Make a Trousers Hanger [369]

Secure from your tinsmith a piece of sheet metal 7 in. wide and 12 in. long.  Cut the metal as shown in Fig. 1 and make a close bend at the point.A, but not too close to cause it to break.  The piece will then appear as shown in Fig. 2.  Cut a piece from the waste material 1/2 in. wide and 2-1/4 in. long and bend it around the two pieces B, Fig. 2, so it will slide freely on their length.  Bend the edges C in for 1/8 in. to hold the trousers firmly.  Drill a hole through the top end of B and attach a wire formed into a hook for use in hanging on a nail.  The bottom end of the trousers is inserted between the jaws C and the small ferrule pushed

[Illustration:  Cut from Sheet Metal]

down to clamp them on the cloth.  —­Contributed by A. Levinson, Saginaw, Michigan.

** Easy Designs in Ornamental Iron Work [370]

Many an industrious lad has made money manufacturing the common forms of wood brackets, shelves, boxes, stands, etc., but the day of the scroll

[Illustration:  Fig. 1 to 6]

saw and the cigar-box wood bracket and picture frame has given way to the more advanced and more profitable work of metal construction.  Metal brackets, stands for lamps, gates, parts of artistic fences for gardens, supporting arms for signs, etc., are among the articles of modern times that come under the head of things possible to construct of iron in the back room or attic shop.  The accompanying sketches present some of the articles possible to manufacture.

First, it is essential that a light room be available, or a portion of the cellar where there is light, or a workshop may be built in the yard.  Buy a moderate sized anvil, a vise and a few other tools, including bell hammer, and this is all required for cold bending.  If you go into a forge for hot bending, other devices will be needed.  Figure 1 shows how to make the square bend, getting the shoulder even.  The strip metal is secured at the hardware store or the iron works.  Often the strips can be secured at low cost from junk dealers.  Metal strips about 1/2 in. wide and 1/8 in. thick are preferable.  The letter A indicates a square section of iron, though an anvil would do, or the base of a section of railroad iron.  The bend is worked on the corner as at B, cold.  If a rounded bend is desired, the same process is applied on the circular piece of iron or the horn of an anvil.  This is shown in Fig. 2, at C. This piece of iron can be purchased at any junk store, where various pieces are always strewn about.  A piece about 20 in. long and 4 in. in diameter is about the right size.  The bend in the metal begins at D and is made according to the requirements.  Occasionally where sharp bends or abrupt corners are needed, the metal is heated previous to bending.