EXPERIMENT 6: Build a Simple Book Support

THINGS YOU NEED: A 20-inch length of “one-by-six” pine board (the kind lumber yards sell as shelving). A few long wood screws. Sandpaper. Paint or stain or varnish.

In 1905, Lewis Latimer patented an ingenious book support for a shelf or bookcase. Nope . . . it doesn’t work electrically: It is a simple mechanical design that demonstrates Latimer’s inventive grasp of basic mechanical principles. A nice feature is the two-way mounting: