Manual Training Toys for the Boy's Workshop Part 7

Hold the other in place and draw a line around it. Bore holes for the screws, put the screws in the holes, and press the upright on them to mark where to bore in the upright. After boring in the uprights, put the cannon and upright in place, and tighten the screws. The wheels can be made of the ends of large spools, well countersunk for a short, large screw.

[Ill.u.s.tration: CANNON

PLATE 25]

[Ill.u.s.tration: AUTOMOBILE

PLATE 26]

AUTOMOBILE--PLATE 26.

Tho the motor (an elastic band) which makes this automobile go is a short-winded affair, still, if the wheels are easy running, it will go alone for a short distance on a wooden floor. A stronger elastic can be used if the automobile carries a load. If the parts are painted with bright colors before they are entirely put together, the automobile will look very well.

First, make the body, then 4-1/4" from the front end and 3/4" from the right side, bore a 1/4" hole in the body for the steering post. This should fit tightly so as to hold the wheels in any position desired.

Leather washers are nailed to the post close to the body. The steering post must be put in place before any other parts are fastened to the body.

The ends of the rails which are later fastened to the bottom of the body, slant 1/2". The center of the holes for the axles is 3/4" beyond this slanting line and 1/4" above the lower edge of the rails. When boring these 1/4" holes, the rails should be clamped together so that the holes will be exactly opposite each other. The forward holes are made long to allow the axles to swing back and forth. To make this hole, two 1/4" holes are bored side by side and the top and bottom smoothed with a 1/4" chisel. When nailing the body to the rails, put the rear axle thru the holes to aid in keeping them opposite each other.

The forward axle is made in one piece and kept so until after the steering "rope" is in place. The axle must be held carefully in place while the brad holes are bored 1/8" from the outer edge of the rails and straight thru the center of the axle. A tight fitting brad is driven into this hole. The steering rope must not stretch; large, hard thread is suitable. Wind a piece about 18" long tightly around the axle about 1/4" from one rail and tie it. Pa.s.s one end thru the small screw-eyes shown in the lower drawing, and wind it around the axle near the other rail leaving no slack in the screw-eyes; then wind six to eight turns smoothly around the steering post, and fasten the end to the beginning with several half-hitches. (See Plate 15.) A separate thread should be tied around the axle and steering rope at the second place. Should there be any slack, it can be taken up by laying a V-shaped thread over the steering rope near the axle and pa.s.sing the two ends over the upper side of the axle, and tying them across the steering rope on the other side of the axle. This tends to pull the steering rope together on top of the axle.

The wheels can be sawed from short lengths of curtain poles, obtained at a furniture store. The 1/4" holes for the axle, must be bored exactly at the center. The wheels must turn freely on the front axle, but be glued to the rear axle, which must itself turn freely in the rails. After the wheels are in place, the front axle can be sawed in two with a back-saw, using very short strokes, and sawing two cuts nearly thru before either is sawed completely.

Nail the wind-shield to the engine, then glue both to the body. Nail the seat-back to the seat so that the top of the seat will be 3/4" above the body, then nail the two sides to the end and to the seat-back and seat.

Glue the whole to the body. Nails can be driven up thru the body into the engine, the seat back, and the end, if care is used in locating them.

One end of the elastic band (motor) is tied with a bit of string to a brad driven in the forward end of the body of the automobile. On the other end of the elastic band is tied a piece of string about 8" long.

This is put just under the body and above the steering rope and wound two or three times tightly around the rear axle and tied. The string and elastic band should be simply straight, the elastic neither stretched nor loose. To wind up the motor, move the automobile backwards on the floor and hold the rear wheels until ready to let the automobile go.

BOW PISTOL--PLATE 27.

For target shooting in the house, this is a fine toy. With nicely made arrows and a good bow, it will shoot very well.

Make a good bow of rattan, or other tough wood. An old spoke of a carriage wheel could doubtless be obtained of a blacksmith or wheelwright, and such a hickory spoke would make a good bow. Make the bow much like that shown on Plate 8, except that it should be round at the center to fit the 3/8" hole in the pistol. The bowstring should be a hard cord so that it will slip easily from the notches in the barrel when the trigger is pulled.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 6]

Before shaping the pistol, make the groove in the center of one edge of the board. This should be made with a 3/8" round plane. It can be made, however, with the tool shown in Fig. 6, a gouge, and a round file. This tool is much like the one described on page 41 tho a larger nail is used. Make the groove 7/32" deep; gage a line 3/16" from each side of the board; then use the gouge inside these lines and as deep as the groove. When the gouging is well done, smooth the groove with a round file or coa.r.s.e sandpaper wrapped around a pencil.

Draw and shape the pistol. Make the lower edge of the barrel half round.

Sandpaper it well. Make the trigger of hard wood and screw it on the pistol. The shape of the notch next to the trigger is very important but the shape of the other one is not so. Both notches, however, must be so smooth and well rounded as not to injure the bowstring. They should be not deeper than one-half the depth of the groove.

Arrows are quickly made by sawing long strips of straight-grained wood, 3/16" square, planing the corners, and sandpapering; then cutting them 5" long, splitting the ends (see page 16), inserting a paper 1" 1/2"

and tying the end with thread.

[Ill.u.s.tration: BOW PISTOL

PLATE 27]

ELASTIC GUN--PLATE 28.

If cash carrier elastic cord about 5/16" in diameter and 18" long is used on this gun, it will shoot buckshot, peas, small arrows, etc., with considerable force; in fact, if the cord is fastened far enough forward, it will require all a boy's strength to pull the rider back to the hook.

The gun may be made of pine, whitewood or clear spruce.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 7]

To lay out the gun (see Fig. 7) first draw A B, then A C, then measure B D and draw C D; next measure the width of the barrel and draw E F; add 3/8" below this for the gun-stock, and finally draw the curves freehand.

To saw it out, first rip it along E F, then cross cut it at H F, then rip it as far the curve along C D, and then along the lower side of the gun-stock to meet C D, finally along A B. Of course, none of this sawing should quite touch the lines. Plane to these lines wherever possible, then use the spokeshave. The curve and corner at F should be pared with a chisel. The lower edge of the gun-stock and barrel is made half-round, but the upper edge, especially where the spring is screwed, is only slightly round. The curve at the b.u.t.t of the gun-stock should be cut out with the turning-saw, and rounded with a half-round file. The groove can be made as in the bow pistol. (See page 86.)

All parts of the gun should be well sandpapered, especially where the elastic will rub on the barrel.

Make the trigger of tough wood.

[Ill.u.s.tration: ELASTIC GUN

PLATE 28]

Bore a 1/4" hole for the trigger post about 3/4" from the back end of the groove, making it slant forward about 3/4". Make this hole smooth as possible. Where the hole comes thru the gun-stock, start the mortise in which the trigger belongs. This should be 3/8" deep and an easy fit for the trigger. Put the trigger in place, and drill a small hole straight thru the gun-stock and trigger. Consider carefully where to bore this hole so that it will not come too near the edge of the trigger. Insert a good-fitting brad and see if the trigger post will move up and down about 1/4". Do not make the mortise so long that the trigger post will slip by the trigger.

Now make the spring of hard wood. Pare the curve from each end with a chisel, holding the spring endwise in the bench-hook. The holes for the screw and the hook must be large enough so that the spring will not be split, and yet the hook must be screwed in strongly to hold the elastic.

The hook must be filed off enough, and slanting, so that the screw-eye in the rider will slide under it and be caught.

The rider is the hardest part to make because it is small and must be of hard wood; also, the block must be nicely fitted into the long piece.

Make the lower edge of the long piece round so as to slide well in the groove. Bore a 5/16" hole thru the block _endwise_ the grain, countersink the ends, and smooth them so that they cannot injure the elastic. Next lay out, saw, and chisel a notch 5/16" deep in the long piece in which the block will fit snugly. Glue it and nail it from the under side, or put in a 1/2" screw. Holes will have to be bored carefully for either brads or screw. Bore a hole, and put the screw-eye in such a position that it will slide under the hook with a snap. Be careful not to twist the eye off in this hard wood. The back end of the eye might well be filed somewhat slanting so as to slip under the hook better.

Put the elastic thru the rider, snap the rider on the hook, and pull the ends of the elastic as far as seems best,--don't have it too strong!

Where the ends of the elastic are pulled, bore two 1/4" holes thru the barrel one above the other. Bind the elastic securely between these holes; to make it doubly secure, wind a string between the elastic and the barrel to pull the first strings closer together.

Now saw off the ends of a spool about 1/2" and screw them to the barrel in such a place that they will hold the elastic, without stretching, against the sides of the barrel. These spools should turn easily. They cannot be placed exactly opposite because the screws will interfere.

Snap the rider to the hook, pull the trigger, and notice that the rider goes up with the trigger post. To hold it down, put a slender 3/4" screw on each side of the groove in such a place that the screw heads will come over the outside of the screw-eye; or, 1" brads may be bent over the screw-eye. When everything is in working order, drive a 1" brad on each side of the spring to keep the hook always in place.

RATTLE-BANG GUN--PLATE 29.