Category: Home Tips

How power is distributed in a house; extending a circuit

Caution: Before working on an electric circuit, shut off power to it at the fuse box or circuit breaker panel.

Electricity flows along a continuous wire circuit from a power plant to a power-drawing device such as a lamp or appliance and back again. The amount of current flowing past a given point in a wire is measured in amperes or amps. The pressure that forces current through a wire is measured in colts. The use of electricity is measured in watts, which are equal to volts multiplied by amperes.

Creating pictures from fragments

Mosaics are usually made from bits of colored glass or ceramic tile, but almost any material can be used. The pieces are glued to a wood or metal backing, and the spaces between them are filled with grout.

Draw your design full-size on a sheet of paper; the design is called a cartoon. Use tile nippers to cut your material into small fragments to fit the cartoon-the smaller the fragments. the greater the detail you can achieve. Using carbon paper, trace the cartoon onto the backing (the surface you want to cover with the mosaic). Then position the fragments on the original cartoon. Transfer the fragments to the backing one by one, securing each with the appropriate adhesive. Use tweezers for very small pieces.

Before storing clothing made of wool or other animal fiber, launder or dry-clean it to destroy moth eggs that will hatch into small fur-and fiber-eating worms. A more time consuming and less effective method is to air garments in the sun, shake them vigorously, and brush them well on both sides, turning out pockets, seams, and linings. However, soft or napped fabrics are still likely to harbor moth eggs after this treatment.