The Chalk-Line Marker: The Cord Winds on a Spindle Inside the Chalk

"Heretofore the carpenter, stone-cutter, or other artisan, has made use of a string or cord which was chalked by hand and placed upon the board, stone, or other article upon which the mark was to be impressed, in order that the same might answer as a guide to saw or cut by. The string was then held rather tightly at each end and snapped so as to impress upon the board or stone a mark to serve as a guide to saw or cut by." "A shows a receptacle for the chalk or other marking material employed. This receptacle may be made circular or of any convenient shape, and may be made of two pieces, as clearly shown in fig. 3 of the drawings. B is a spindle or shaft inserted within the receptacle A through suitable openings, and C is the cord which is wound upon the spindle or shaft, one end of the same projecting through the opening a in the receptacle."

**Box.** Take two tin-can lids or shallow tins that fit rim to rim, drill each in the middle for the spindle, and drill a small hole a in the rim of one for the cord. **Spindle and crank.** Bend a steel rod into a crank at one end, pass it through both halves, and glue a wooden spool on it inside. Tie the cord to the spool and wind it on, leading its end out through the hole. **Fill.** Half fill the box with powdered marking chalk and close the two halves with tape or a band. **Test.** Hook the cord's end on a nail at one end of a board, draw it out across the board, hold it tight and snap it. Wind it back with the crank. Weigh the box before and after ten snaps.

**John W. Carter** of New York, New York, received US 65,057, dated 28 May 1867. The spindle might be provided with a spool on which the cord was wound, and could be turned by a crank or in any convenient way. He thought the invention particularly valuable for its cheapness and the rapidity of the work. His claim is the spindle and cord in combination with the chalk-receptacle. **Honest limits.** Two tins and a bent rod stand in for his receptacle and spindle. The notebook's coating is a rough example; your weighing gives the real figure.