In the interests of time and lumber saving, some sort of jig similar to the wallangle gage illustrated in Figure 4.1 will accurately speed up the installation Fig. 4.1. Wallangle gage of shelving, or the horizontal members of builtin conveniences. Extended and applied vertically it is also useful for insuring snugfitting side members between ceilings and floors, although a sliding T bevel, if clamped tight, can be used to advantage in transferring existing house angles to the material being used. Provided he learns to view such angles as suspect, the home craftsman will evolve bis own method of measurement, thereby saving himself untold grief. NICHES A common form 01" builtin furniture, and one of the easiest to construct, takes ¦Mape oi the bookcases described in Chapter 2. Modern decorative trends, ¦¦¦ever, as well as the demands for economy in floor space, frown upon protruding bookshelves in favor of cabinets set flush into the wall. When these are to be FURNITURE MAKING AND CABINET WORK constructed in a pastered or otherwise finished wall, the home mechanic must concern himself with certain details of house construction. The vertical 2 in. X 4 in. studs which back up the average wall are usually fastened on 16in. centers, which means that when they are IjHs in. thick, they are spaced 14 in. apart. Therefore, unless the box to be sunk into the wall to form the niche can be built with an overall width of only 14Ц, in., one or mere o! ¦studs ¦ 2Kj P Fig. 4.2. Niche. the studs must be cut out the length of cabinet. This requires a little detective work in the form of tapping the wall with a hammer, to disclose the location of the studs. The dimensions of the proposed cabinet are then marked on the wall, with due allowance for 2 in. X 4 in. headers, which must be nailed horizontally across any severed studs. The procedure of boring holes and cutting out the lath and plaster with a cold chisel and compass saw is explained in detail in Chapter 11, under Constructing a New Inside Doorway. The cabinet or bookshelf is merely an open box made up of 24in. stock with a plywood back. It cannot be deeper than the width of the studding, plus the lath and plaster wall, and should be obstructed to fit snuglv between the headers and the studs, to which it can be fastened by finishing nails. The edges may be finished off by moldings, as shown in Figure 4.2 and Figi 4.3. In new construction, the plaster is often brought flush with the inside edges ; the cabinet, without molding. This requires that bits of metal, lath, screenwire BUILTIN FURNITURE AND CONVENIENCES 24 r a series of tacks be fastened to the edges of the wooden cabinet to provide bonding surface for the plaster. A straightedge is tacked along each edge in turn against which the plaster can be troweled and allowed to dry. The shelving can b nailed permanently in place from the outside of the boxcabinet before it is insertec Courtesy Western Pine Association Fig. 4.3.