Home-made Toys for Girls and Boys Part 8

Fasten the clockwork motor for

=The Merry-go-round= shown in Fig. 135 to the cover of a cigar box, as ill.u.s.trated in Figs. 136 and 139, boring holes through the cover with a gimlet for the _pivot_ ends on the back of the works to set into. Remove the lower f.l.a.n.g.e from a spool (_D_, Fig. 139) and fasten the spool on to the central pivot of the clockwork in the position formerly occupied by wheel _A_. The hole in the spool will be too large for the pivot and must be filled up with sealing-wax. To do this, hold a piece of sealing-wax above the spool and melt it with a lighted match, allowing it to drip into the hole until the latter is about half full, then press the wax down with the end of a match until it is compact, smooth it off on the bottom of the spool, and make a dent in it with a pencil to indicate the exact center of the hole. Heat the end of the pivot with a lighted match, and press it into the dent in the wax, being careful in doing so to get the spool straight upon the pivot. Cut a hole through the bottom of the cigar box belonging to the cover to which you have attached the works, for spool _D_ to project through (Fig. 139).

=To Make the Standard= for the merry-go-round, cut four strips of wood 8 inches long, and fasten one to each corner of the cigar box, turning the bottom side of the box up; then cut a piece of 1/2-inch board 10 inches square, locate its center _F_ by drawing diagonal lines from corner to corner as shown in Fig. 140, bore a 1-inch hole through it at this point for spool _D_ (Fig. 136), and then nail the box to the center of the board as shown in Fig. 140.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 135. A MERRY-GO-ROUND.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 136. A CLOCKWORK MOTOR.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 137. A FERRIS WHEEL.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 138. THE "FLYING AIRSHIPS."]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 140.--Plan of Top of Standard for Merry-go-round.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 141.--Pattern for Tent of Merry-go-round.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 142.--The Tent ready to be Fastened upon a Tent-pole.]

=The Tent= should be laid out upon heavy white paper as shown in Fig.

141. After describing a circle with a radius of 9 inches, describe another circle within it with a radius of 7-1/2 inches, this inner circle (shown by dotted lines in the diagram) being drawn for a guide in fastening the tent upon its tent-poles. Cut out the tent along the outer circle, and from it cut a triangular piece about the size of that included between lines _KL_ and _ML_ in the diagram. Cover the under edge of _KL_ and the upper edge of _ML_ with glue, lap _KL_ over to about _NL_, and rub down the edges with a cloth to make as neat a joint between the pieces as possible (Fig. 142). Bore a hole through each corner of the standard top (_G_, _H_, _I_, and _J_, Fig. 140), then cut four sticks 7 inches long, sandpaper them until smooth, and glue them into these holes for

=The Tent-poles.= When the tent has dried, tack it to the ends of the poles, being careful to make it set evenly upon them; cut a scalloped border out of red or blue paper and paste it to the edge all around as shown in Fig. 135, and stick a small flag in the peak.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 143.--Full-size Pattern for the Horses of the Merry-go-round.]

=The Horses.= A full-size pattern for these is shown in Fig. 143. Take a piece of _tracing-paper_ or any thin transparent paper, and place it over the pattern and make an exact copy; then rub a soft lead-pencil over the other side of the paper, turn the paper over with the blackened side down, and transfer the drawing six times upon a piece of light-weight cardboard. Paint the horses with water-colors, using the pattern as a guide for shading and marking them, then cut them out with a sharp knife or a pair of scissors.

Figure 144 shows the pattern for

=The Sleighs.= Draw this out upon a piece of cardboard, cut it out and fold along the dotted lines, then turn in the flaps and glue them to the dashboard and to the back. Cut two seats by the pattern given, bend down the flaps and glue them to the sides of the sleigh, and make the back for the front seat like that on the back seat (Fig. 145). Then make another sleigh similar to the one just completed, for two are required for the merry-go-round. Paint the sleighs green or yellow with tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs of a lighter shade.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 144.--Pattern for the Merry-go-round Sleighs.]

Figure 136 shows

=The Shafts= upon which the horses and sleighs are mounted. Cut them 5-1/2 inches long, whittle them round, and rub them down with sandpaper. The shafts are fastened in a spool hub which has five holes bored in it (_E_, Fig. 136); bore the holes with a gimlet or small drill, marking them off first with a pencil to be sure of getting them s.p.a.ced at equal distances. Point the ends of the shafts and glue them into the holes in the hub, then connect this spool to spool _D_ with a piece of a lead-pencil 2 inches long (Fig. 136).

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 145.--A Completed Sleigh showing Attachment to Shaft.]

To fasten the horses to the shafts, punch a hole through three of them at _X_ (Fig. 143) and slip each one over a shaft, then tack the other three horses to the ends of these shafts at the point _X_. To fasten the sleighs to the remaining shafts, glue one end of a piece of paper to the back of the front seat and the other end around the shaft (Fig. 145).

=The Girl Riders= for the sleighs are shown full size in Fig. 146, and

=The Boy Riders= for the horses are shown full size in Fig. 147. Make tracings from the patterns as you made that of the horse and prepare four girls and six boys. Paint their clothes in bright colors. Cut a second leg for each boy rider, so he can be made to sit astride of his horse, and glue the leg to his hip as shown in Fig. 148. Cut a slit in each seat of the sleigh and stick the flaps on the girl riders in them.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 146.--Full-size Pattern for the Girl Riders.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 147.--Full-size Pattern for the Boy Riders.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 148.--How the Second Leg of the Boy is Attached.]

=For the Platform= shown directly under the horses and sleighs in Fig.

135, cut a piece of cardboard 11 inches in diameter; if you choose to make the Ferris wheel before the merry-go-round, you may use the center pieces removed in cutting out the rims, as noted in Fig. 153. Punch a hole through the center of this disk large enough for the peg connecting spools _D_ and _E_ to slip through. This platform rests upon the top of spool _D_ and revolves with it.

=To Operate the Merry-go-round.= The key by which the mainspring is wound up is shown screwed in place on the under side of the cigar-box cover in Fig. 139. While winding the mainspring, it will be necessary to have some means of checking it so it will not unwind at the same time, and the best scheme for a check is to bore a small gimlet hole through the cover of the cigar box and stick a match through this and run it between the spokes of one of the clock wheels so as to prevent it from turning. Then when you have wound up the spring and are ready to start the merry-go-round, all you have to do is to pull out the match.

The model of this toy which the author has before him runs for five minutes with one winding, and any boy can make one which will run as well if he follows the directions given and uses a reasonable amount of carefulness in the work.

=Other Animals= than horses may be used if you wish to follow the arrangement of some of the latest merry-go-rounds, and pictures of these may be found among the colored cut-outs sold in the stationery stores, or if you can draw well, you may copy them from books and magazines.

Great fun may be had by changing the positions of the boy riders, making them ride backward part of the time and sometimes two and three boys on a horse.

Doubtless you have heard of the famous Ferris wheel, and a good many of you have ridden in the smaller wheels patterned after it, at the amus.e.m.e.nt parks, so you will be interested in making

=A Miniature Ferris Wheel= like the one shown in Fig. 137.

=The Standard= for supporting the wheel (Fig. 149) consists of two triangular supports, one with a spool hub fastened to its top for the axle of the wheel to run through and the other with the cigar box inclosing the clockwork fastened to it. Figures 150, 151, and 152 show the construction of these supports. Cut strips _P_ and _Q_ 12 inches long and _R_ 10 inches long, and trim off the upper ends of _P_ and _Q_ so when they are nailed together the lower ends will be 8 inches apart; nail strip _R_ to the lower ends of _P_ and _Q_ (Fig. 150). To fasten the spool hub to its support, smear one side of a piece of tape with glue and wind it several times around the spool (Fig. 151), then set the spool on top of the support and press the ends of the tape against the sides of strips _P_ and _Q_ (Fig. 152).

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 149.--Standard for the Ferris Wheel.]

=The Clockwork Motor= for the Ferris wheel is fastened to the cover of a cigar box just as that for the merry-go-round was fastened (Fig. 139), but the length of the box is cut down as much as the clockwork will allow to make the box as square and compact as possible.

It is very necessary to have the axle bearings exactly on a line in order to have the wheel run smoothly, so, in fastening the cigar box to its support, be sure that the center of the hole in spool _D_ (Fig.

139) is on a level with the spool hub on the opposite support. Nail the supports to a 10-inch by 12-inch board, 8 inches apart, and fasten a cigar box between them for

=The Station Platform= (Fig. 149).

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 150.--Make Two Supports like this for the Ferris Wheel Standard.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGS. 151 and 152.--How a Spool is Fastened to the Top of the Support for a Hub.]

=To Make the Wheel=, first lay out the rims upon a piece of heavy cardboard, using the radii shown in Fig. 153 for describing the circles, then lay the sheet of cardboard upon a board and

=Cut out the Rims= with a sharp knife, being careful not to run off of the pencil line. The

=Hubs= of the wheel are spools with six holes bored in them for the spokes to fit in (Fig. 156). Cut six

=Spokes= 5-3/4 inches long by 1/8 inch thick for each hub, and cut a slot in one end of each for the cardboard rims to fit in (Figs. 154 and 157). Use a saw rather than a knife in making the slots, for it will make a kerf of just the right width to receive the cardboard and will not be so apt to split the ends of the slender spokes. Whittle the hub ends of the spokes to fit the holes in the spool hubs (Figs. 154 and 157). In

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 153.--How to Lay out the Cardboard Rims of the Ferris Wheel.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 154.--The Spokes Fitted into the Spool Hub.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 155.--The Rim Slipped into the End of the Spokes.]

=Putting together the Spokes, Hubs, and Rims= of the wheel, first stick three spokes in a hub and slip a rim into the slots in their ends, then stick the remaining spokes into the hub, one at a time, and spread the rim enough so it can be slipped into their slots (Fig. 155).

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 156.--A Spool Hub for the Wheel.]