Online Catalogue last updated 15th of September 2008
RETURN TO AN ERA OF CURIOSITY & INGENUITY
In the first two decades of the twentieth-century, men and boys alike took pride in crafting clever projects using a few simple tools and a great deal of ingenuity. As devoted readers of Popular Mechanics, they turned to the magazine to find out how to make an amazing range of practical items. The Boy Mechanic is a nostalgic collection of classic, engaging designs that embody the spirit of fine work-manship, including:
From a quick-working Carpenter's Vise to a fanciful Playground Ferris Wheel, from a versatile Folding Bookrack to an imaginative Bewitched-Cube Puzzle, The Boy Mechanic offers many projects that are still do-able today as well as several that are purely entertaining to read.
With the rawest of materials, a minimum of technology, and a maximum of ingenuity, men and boys in the early 1900s dedicated themselves to crafting wonderful items, both practical and fanciful. It was a highly valued skill that revealed the measure of a man, and Popular Mechanics honored it and led the way in instructing these handy creators. Take a look back at those simpler, good old days and at what we may have lost in our high-tech era through these engaging projects, all published in the magazine during the first two decades of the 20th century. The range is simply amazing, and bound to appeal to woodworkers who love classic ideas. They include tools, like T-squares and sawhorses; an animal-proof gate latch and a birdhouse made from an old straw hat; household gadgets and handcrafted furniture; camping gear (including a screen door for a tent); and toys and games. And many of these appealing trellises, decoys, puzzles, and tents are quite doable today. Inveterate do-it-yourselfers will be astonished at the resourcefulness required to build a stove for a canoe and even a houseboat.
Code No. 011986, 272 pages, ISBN 1588165094, $15.00