If the three-eighths by quarter-inch strip-lead cannot be had, then purchase eight or ten pounds of heavy sheet-lead, and, with a tin-shears, divide it into strips three-eighths of an inch wide and twenty-nine inches long, taking care to cut it of uniform width and with true edges. From hard-wood three-eighths or half an inch thick, cut a block six by seven inches and make four countersunk holes in it, so that it may be screwed fast to a table or bench, as shown in Fig. 11 A. Around this the lead strips should be shaped and beaten at the corners to make the angles sharp. From the three-eighths by quarter-inch, or sheet-lead strips, make seven frames as shown in Fig. 12. This is done by binding a strip of the lead around the block, as shown at Fig. 11 B. Where the ends come together insert a short piece of lead, three-eighths or half-inch, as shown at Fig. 12 A, and solder it fast. A soldering-iron may be heated with a Bunsen-burner gas-flame or in a charcoal fire. However, if gas is available, it would be better to use the blue flame from a Bunsen burner and direct the hot blast directly on the work with a blow-pipe, and so fuse the lead points together. After a little practice with the blow-pipe it will be used for many pieces of work in preference to the soldering-iron. If the sheet-lead is used for the frames in place of the three-eighths by quarter-inch strips, two or three strips will have to be taken, so as to build up the band of the frame to about a quarter of an inch in thickness. When soldered together, or fused at the edges, these built-up frames will be as rigid as the solid metal. [Illustration: FIG. 11] [Illustration: FIG. 12] [Illustration: FIG. 13] Now cut a number of strips of the thin lead-tape six inches and a half long, and others that will necessarily be somewhat longer, for each frame is to be filled with straight and crimped pieces, as shown in Fig. 13. If there is a fluting-iron in the house, the crimping may be done in the brass gears at one end of the machine. Or two wheels may be cut from hard-wood with a fret-saw, and made fast to a block with screws, as shown in Fig. 14. A handle, attached to one wheel, will make it possible to turn the gears; and they should be placed just far enough apart to allow the tape to pass through without tearing or squeezing. Put a washer between the wheel and the block to prevent friction.