THE CHILDREN'S LIBRARY OF WORK AND PLAY. Carpentry and Woodwork

Front Endpaper

THE CHILDREN'S LIBRARY
OF WORK AND PLAY

Carpentry and Woodwork
By Edwin W. Foster

Electricity and Its Everyday Uses
By John F. Woodhull, Ph.D.

Gardening and Farming
By Ellen Eddy Shaw

Home Decoration
By Charles Franklin Warner, Sc.D.

Housekeeping
By Elizabeth Hale Gilman

Mechanics, Indoors and Out
By Fred T. Hodgson

Needlecraft
By Effie Archer Archer

Outdoor Sports, and Games
By Claude H. Miller, Ph.B.

Outdoor Work
By Mary Rogers Miller

Working in Metals
By Charles Conrad Sleffel

Photograph by Helen W. Cooke

The Shop - the Most Interesting Place in the World on a Stormy Day

The Library of Work and Play

CARPENTRY AND WOODWORK

BY EDWIN W. FOSTER

The Library of Work and Play. CARPENTRY AND WOODWORK

Garden City New York

DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY

1911

[PREFACE]

There is a period in a boy's life, roughly speaking between the ages of ten and sixteen, when his interests and energy turn in the direction of making things. It may be called the creative period, and with many of us it ends nearer sixty than sixteen. At one time it will take the form of a mania for building boats; again it may be automobiles or aeroplanes.

The boy is very susceptible to suggestion. A great automobile race occurs, and for weeks the building and racing of toy automobiles goes on apace. The papers are filled with accounts of an aero meet. Immediately the boy's energy turns to the study and manufacture of aeroplanes. This abounding interest in the real things of life is perfectly normal and should be encouraged rather than discouraged; but the boy needs guidance, if this energy is to be properly directed. He needs strengthening in his weak points, otherwise he may become superficial and "scattering" in his work, and fail to stick to a thing until, overcoming all obstacles, he succeeds in doing the one thing he set out to do. He may acquire the bad habit of never finishing anything, though continually starting new schemes.

The ability of the average boy is far beyond the general estimate, but intelligent supervision is needed. The pocket knife is his natural tool, yet not one boy out of a thousand realizes its possibilities. An attempt has been made in this volume to suggest some of these, especially for boys living in the city, where a little work shop for himself, unfortunately, is too often a luxury.

The two boys here depicted form a composite picture of several thousand American boys whom it has been the pleasure of the author to guide.

The ability to design new things, and to adapt general rules to personal requirements, is to be encouraged at all times, and this idea has been exemplified in the following pages.

[CONTENTS]

CHAPTER		PAGE
[I].	Introductory	3
[II].	The Knife and Its Possibilities—First Experiments	6
[III].	Mechanical Drawing	23
[IV].	Mechanical Drawing (Continued)	31
[V].	Toys	40
[VI].	Moving Toys	50
[VII].	Designing Moving Toys	58
[VIII].	The Model Aeroplane	68
[IX].	The Monoplane	75
[X].	Kites	84
[XI].	Chip Carving and Knife Work	97
[XII].	Chip Carving (Continued)	109
[XIII].	Chip Carving (Continued)	120
[XIV].	The Shop	133
[XV].	The Equipment for a Shop	143
[XVI].	Building a Lumber Rack	150
[XVII].	Mills and Weather Vanes	157
[XVIII].	Tools—Saws	169
[XIX].	Tools—Planes	176
[XX].	Squaring up Stock	185
[XXI].	Boring Tools	193
[XXII].	Miscellaneous Tools	199
[XXIII].	Making Nail Boxes	206
[XXIV].	Bird Houses	213
[XXV].	Simple Articles for Household Use	221
[XXVI].	The Mitre Box and Picture Frame	228
[XXVII].	Making Toilet Boxes	235
[XXVIII].	Brackets and Book Racks	242
[XXIX].	Construction	250
[XXX].	The Use of the Gouge	258
[XXXI].	Coat Hanger and Towel Rollers	266
[XXXII].	Clock Cases	276
[XXXIII].	Foot Stools	291
[XXXIV].	The Tabourette	301
[XXXV].	The Dovetail Joint	313
[XXXVI].	Inlaying	319
[XXXVII].	The Checkerboard	332
[XXXVIII].	Tool Cases and Chests	339
[XXXIX].	Book Cases and Magazine Racks	347
[XL].	The Medicine Cabinet	354
[XLI].	Mission Furniture	361
[XLII].	The Chest	377
[XLIII].	The Drawing Outfit	381
[XLIV].	Woodwork for Outdoor Sports—The Tennis Court, Tennis Court Accessories	399
[XLV].	The Pergola	426
[XLVI].	Poultry Houses	441
[XLVII].	Housing of Outdoor Pets	451
[XLVIII].	Outdoor Carpentry	457
[XLIX].	Staining, Polishing, and Finishing	481
[L].	Durability: Decay and Preservation of Wood	492
[LI].	Mathematics of Woodwork	498
[LII].	Lumber No. 1	510
[LIII].	Lumber No. 2	517
[LIV].	Lumber No. 3	524
[LV].	Lumber No. 4	532
[LVI].	Broad-leaved Trees	543
[LVII].	Trees with Simple Leaves	556

[ILLUSTRATIONS]

The Shop—The Most Interesting Place in the World on a Stormy Day	[Frontispiece]
	FACING PAGE
The Boy and his Jack Knife	[8]
Using the Veining Tool	[118]
Using the Jack Plane	[146]
Learning to Use the Crosscut Saw	[170]
Tools of the Seventeenth Century	[178]
The Correct Way to Hold the Chisel	[208]
Assembling and Finishing	[374]
Staining and Polishing	[484]

[CARPENTRY AND WOODWORK ]

[I]
INTRODUCTORY

Two boys sat on a log whittling. Conversation had ceased and they both seemed absorbed in their work. Presently the younger one became aware of the silence and glanced at the older boy. He gave an exclamation and jumped to his feet. "Why," he cried, "you are making a knife out of wood. Isn't it a beauty! Is it a dagger?"

"No" replied the other, "it is a paper-knife for opening letters and cutting the pages of magazines. It is for father's desk, for his birthday."

"It's a dandy!" continued the youngster. "How can you make such fine things? Why can't I do that kind of work?"

"You can do it," replied Ralph, "but just now there are several reasons why you don't."

"What are they?"

"Well, in the first place you start to whittle without having any clear idea of what you are at work on. It's for all the world like setting out to walk without knowing where you are going. If you start that way, the probabilities are that you will get nowhere, and when you get back and father asks where you have been, you say, 'Oh, nowhere; just took a walk.' That's the way with your knife work. You just whittle and make a lot of chips, and when you get through you have nothing to show for your time and labour. If you want to know a secret—I never start to cut without first making a careful sketch of just what I want to make, with all the important dimensions on it.

"Another reason you don't get any results is that you don't know how to hold your knife, and still another is that you work with a dull tool. Why, that knife of yours is hardly sharp enough to cut butter."

"Will you show me how to do that kind of work?" asked the youngster humbly.

"Yes; on certain conditions."

"What are they?"

"That you will do just as I tell you."

"Will you show me how to make a paper-cutter now?"

"There you go, right off the handle! You are like a young man learning carpentry; you want to start right in to build a house instead of first learning how to use your tools. Why, it has taken me two years in the manual training school to learn how to do this work. No, indeed, if you want to learn how to do woodwork like this you must begin on something simple, learn how to handle wood, and how to keep your tools sharp."

"All right," sighed the younger boy; "I am willing to take lessons and begin at the beginning. What shall we do first?"

"The first thing to do is to throw away your folding penknife. That kind is of very little use. The steel is so poor it won't hold a cutting edge for any time at all, and the knife has a treacherous habit of closing up on your fingers. I will give you a good Swedish whittling knife like mine, and we will start by putting a good cutting edge on it."

So the boys began the first lesson. The fun they had and the things they made, their many experiences, the patience required, and the great skill developed with tools are described in the following pages. What they accomplished, any other boy may do if he will but apply himself with all his energy.

[II]
FIRST EXPERIMENTS—THE KNIFE AND ITS POSSIBILITIES

The older boy, after a search through his treasure chest, selected a knife with a blade about two and a half inches long.

Incidentally, the smaller boy caught a glimpse of the inside of that chest and it made his eyes bulge—but that is another story.

Fig. 1. The whittling knife

"This knife," explained Ralph, "is one I used for over a year in school and it's the most perfectly shaped tool for whittling that I have ever seen. Of course knives come in hundreds of shapes for different purposes, and later on, when you have become skilled in using this one, we will try some others, but our first motto must be 'one thing at a time.' A knife with either blade or handle too long or too short is awkward, but this one seems to fit my hand, and undoubtedly will fit yours. Try it."

Harry took it and went through the motions of whittling an imaginary stick.

"Now," said Ralph, "we will go out to the wood pile and see what we can find. White pine makes the best wood to start on, because it is usually straight grained, soft, and free from sap; but it is getting scarce and expensive, so we must be economical, as it is a very easy matter to waste lots of lumber."

After some searching, they found part of a pine board, about a foot long and an inch thick. Ralph chopped out a piece with a hatchet and deftly split it to about an inch and a half wide. His skill was a revelation to Harry, who saw that even a hatchet could be used with precision.

"Now," said Ralph, "I want you to cut this piece of rough pine to a smooth, straight piece, just an inch square."

"Oh, that's easy," replied Harry eagerly. "Just watch me."

"Take care," said Ralph. "I said an inch square; anything less than an inch will be wrong. Just imagine that this is a problem in arithmetic and you are trying to find the answer. If you succeed in making it just an inch square the answer will be correct; anything larger or smaller than the exact size will be wrong. In the first place, hold your knife so that it makes a slant or oblique angle with the wood, like this ([Fig. 2])," he said, taking the wood in his left hand and the knife in his right. "That gives what we call a paring action, and is much easier ([Fig. 3]) than the stiff way you were holding it, at right angles with the stick."

Fig. 2. Correct way to hold the knife

Fig. 3. Incorrect method of holding knife

Photograph by Helen W. Cooke

The Boy and His Jack Knife

"Now remember that the trouble with beginners is that they usually take off too much material. Make light, easy cuts and try to get one side of the wood perfectly straight first."

Fig. 4. Testing with the try square

This was a harder job than Harry had expected, but after much testing and sighting ([Fig. 4]) Ralph said it would do for the first attempt. "Now," he said, "you may consider this first side the foundation of your house. Make a pencil mark on it near one of the edges, what the woodworker would call his witness mark. It means that this side or face is finished and the edge nearest the pencil mark is to be trued up next."

This proved even a harder job than the first, because after whittling and testing until he had the second side straight and true, Ralph tested it with a square and found that the second edge was not at right angles with the first, or working face. It was finally straightened, however, to stand the try square test fairly well.

An inch was next marked off at each end on face number one, and a sharp pencil line drawn from end to end. Harry then whittled this third side down to the line, and tested again with the try square. It seemed easier to do now, and the thickness was obtained in the same way. It looked as if they never would get that piece of pine exactly square, and even when Ralph said it would do, they measured it with a rule and found it an eighth of an inch too small each way.

Harry was disgusted. "The answer is wrong after all," he exclaimed, "but I'll learn to do that if it takes me a month."

"That's the right sporting spirit," said Ralph. "Keep at it till you get it. It's the hardest thing you will ever have to do with a knife, and it's unfortunate that you have to tackle it the first thing; but it's like learning to play the piano, you must learn the notes and scales and how to use your fingers before you can play a real piece. Every time you try this, you are gaining skill and the control of your hands. After a while you will be able to do it easily and think nothing of it."

Several days later Harry brought in a piece that he had been working on and Ralph tested it carefully with rule and try square. He gave Harry a pat on the back. "Good for you, boy; you are coming along splendidly," he said. "How many of these have you tried?"

"Twenty," said Harry meekly.

Fig. 5. The notched trophy stick

"Well, now, I'll show you how the Indians used to record their exploits. We'll put a notch on this stick for every one you've tried to make, and you can keep it as a souvenir of your first attempts at whittling." So with great care they measured off six two-inch spaces on each edge, carefully drew notches with a pencil and rule, and as carefully cut each notch to the line. ([Fig. 5.])

Harry was delighted with the result.

They then hunted up a small screw eye, found the exact centre of the end of the stick by drawing two diagonals, fastened the screw eye in the centre and tied to it a piece of red, white and blue ribbon. A quarter-inch bevel was made around each end as a finishing touch.

This piece of white pine, with its twenty notches, hangs to-day in Harry's room, and every once in awhile he counts the notches to make sure they are all there, and recalls the trial that each one represents.

Harry was so much pleased with his notched trophy stick that he wanted to begin something else at once, and he was immediately started on a key rack.

"Too many homes," said Ralph, sagely, "have no definite place to keep keys. Those that have no tags are always a nuisance. Every key or bunch of keys should have a tag attached and should be hung on a certain hook where it can be found without searching. Now we'll make a sketch of a key rack before doing anything else, to find out just how large a piece of stick we shall need."

The drawing they produced is shown in [Fig. 6] and called for a piece of wood seven inches long, an inch wide, and half an inch thick. As the key rack was to be a permanent household article, they decided on gum wood as more suitable than pine, it being easy to work and having a satisfactory appearance.

Fig. 6. The various steps in making a key rack

The different stages in the process of cutting out are shown in [Fig. 6]. At a is shown the stock squared up with the knife to the extreme outside dimensions. The ends were then whittled down to the form shown at b and the blank piece was ready for notching. The notches were carefully drawn with a sharp hard pencil and cut as shown at c. The ends were bevelled by whittling to the lines, and the inner edges of the notches in the centre were whittled back to the middle of each edge. Then the knife work was finished.

Three brass screw hooks were placed in the centre of the large blank spaces, and two small screw eyes fastened into the upper edge for hanging the key rack on the wall.

Each stage of the work had been worked out so carefully that the boys hardly realized what a satisfactory result they were getting. When it was finally hung in the boys' room, of course some keys must be put on it, and as they had no tags, the making of some followed as a matter of course. A search through their small stock of woods disclosed a few little pieces of holly, the remains of fret saw work, about an eighth of an inch thick. This proved to be ideal material, and half a dozen key tags were made of the size and shape shown in [Fig. 7]. The holes were made with a brad awl, the tags fastened to the rings by small pieces of wire, and the names of the keys printed on the different tags with black drawing ink.

Fig. 7. The key tag

The boys, from this time on, seemed possessed with a mania for making articles to be used about the house. One thing to be manufactured without delay was a winder for their fishing lines.

Fig. 8. Fish line winder

The form they finally decided on is shown in [Fig. 8]. Ralph insisted on the design being carefully drawn on a piece of thin wood, a quarter of an inch thick. Harry found whittling to curved lines somewhat harder than notching, but he produced a fairly satisfactory result. Ralph was a very exacting teacher, always having in mind his own training in school. He showed Harry how to cut out the curves at the ends without cutting his thumb ([Fig. 9.]) and gave him much advice about whittling away from himself, whenever possible.

When the knife work was finished, Ralph explained that where curved edges were cut it was allowable to smooth with a piece of fine sand-paper, although as a rule it was to be avoided.

Fig. 9. Cutting concave curves

Harry wanted to know why, and Ralph explained that, generally speaking, sand-paper was the hallmark of a poor workman, one who could not do good work with his tools. Sand-paper leaves a scratched surface, for the grit becomes embedded in the wood to a certain extent, and it will immediately ruin the cutting edge of a sharp tool in case one has to be used after the sand-papering. "So," he summed up, "keep your sand-paper and knife as far apart as possible."

About this time the ladies of the household thought that a winder for worsted would come in very handy, and the boys evolved a new form, shown in [Fig. 10]. This was made only an eighth of an inch thick, and proved so easy of construction that each of the boys made two and "allowed" that "they ought to satisfy the sewing department for some time to come."

Fig. 10. The worsted winder

"Do you know," exclaimed Harry one day, "we could make lots of things for Christmas and birthday presents!"

"Why, certainly," said Ralph, "and people appreciate things that you have made yourself much more than things you buy. Anybody can go to the store and buy ready-made presents, but those you make yourself mean more."

"In what way?" said Harry.

"Why, they represent much more of your time and labour, and thought; and, by the way, if we are going to make many Christmas presents, we must start right away, because we only have a few weeks and you know how little time we have outside of school hours after getting our lessons."

The result of this talk was that the little building in the yard which they called their "shop" became a perfect beehive of industry for several weeks. With what money they had saved they purchased a supply of lumber and a few tools the use of which Ralph said he would explain later. He suggested that Harry begin by making some calendar backs, as suitable New Year's presents, because they were easy; and the more complicated articles could be made after Harry had developed a little more skill with the knife.

Fig. 11. First calendar back

The drawing he made is shown in [Fig. 11]. This called for a small calendar about two inches long, an inch and three quarters high, and a space this size was drawn on the centre of the calendar back, while the calendar was glued to the wood.

Fig. 12. Second calendar back

After two or three of these had been made, Harry decided that they were too small to suit him, and a new design somewhat larger was worked out on paper. It was a little more difficult to follow, because the outline had two reversed curves, but the boys were too busy and interested to be daunted by a trifle like that. ([Fig. 12].)

Ralph suggested simple picture frames, and this brought the new problem of cutting out an opening for the picture.

Fig. 13. Picture frame with elliptical opening

The first design they tried is shown in [Fig. 13]. Ralph had to show Harry how to make the ellipse with compasses by first constructing two squares or rectangles touching, and with both diagonal lines in each square. By taking for a centre the point where the squares touch, as a and b, and using the length of a diagonal line as a radius, two arcs were drawn at x and y. The ellipse was finished by taking c as a centre, and the distance c d as a radius, to draw arc z, and the other end was finished in the same way.

Ralph explained that this was not a perfect ellipse, but would answer for a small picture frame. The drawing was easy compared to the question of how to cut out the wood to this curved line.

Fig. 14. Using the coping saw

One of the new tools was brought out, and Harry was introduced to the mysteries of the coping saw. ([Fig. 14]). A thin saw blade was produced and fastened in one end of the frame, the other end being left free. A hole was made inside of the ellipse with a brad awl, the free end of the blade passed through the opening and fastened in the frame of the saw. Resting the picture frame on the edge of a bench, the ellipse was sawed out roughly about ¹⁄₁₆ of an inch inside of the drawing. This remaining sixteenth of an inch was then whittled to the line with a knife and finished with sand-paper. Harry found some difficulty in getting this elliptical opening smooth enough to suit him, so they tried designing for half an hour, and produced a new form ([Fig. 15]).

Fig. 15. Picture frame in straight lines

This was easier, as there were no curved lines, and it could be sawed close to the outside as well as the inside lines, to save time in whittling. While Harry was finishing this frame, Ralph was busy on a new design and finally passed over the drawing shown in [Fig. 16].

Fig. 16. Third picture frame

"Do you know there is as much fun in getting up new designs as there is in making them in wood?" said Ralph.

"Yes, but you have to know how to draw," replied the younger boy. "Can't you teach me?"

"Yes. I first make a rough sketch of my idea, and then a careful drawing of its actual size, with the drawing instruments."

"That's the part that I want to learn: how to use the instruments."

A lesson in mechanical drawing followed, and as it is a very important subject to young woodworkers, it will be given in full in the next chapter.

[III]
MECHANICAL DRAWING

"In taking up mechanical drawing," said Ralph, "always remember that accurate and neat work, containing all necessary dimensions, is half the battle. You will probably feel, as I did at first, that it is a waste of time, but you can always consider that when your drawing is finished the work is half done. You can judge from it the number of pieces of stock required, and their over-all dimensions This saves much time at the wood pile, and tells at a glance to just what size you must square up each piece of stock.

Fig. 17. The outfit for mechanical drawing

"The drawing board is an absolute necessity. It need not be perfectly square, but the surface must be flat and true, and at least one of the edges absolutely straight. ([Fig. 17].) The T square must have a thin blade—about ¹⁄₁₆ of an inch, and be made of hard wood. It should form a right angle with the head, which slides along the left-hand edge of the drawing board, and that must be the straight edge.

"The T square is used as a guide for the pencil in drawing horizontal lines, and it should always be kept on the same side of the drawing board. When drawing a vertical line, one of the wooden triangles should be placed on the T square and the line drawn along the left-hand edge of the triangle. Circles or arcs of circles are drawn with the compasses held at the extreme top."

With this introduction, the boys proceeded to fasten with four thumb-tacks a piece of drawing paper to the upper part of the drawing board.

"Why don't you put the paper in the centre?" asked Harry.

"Because, if one worked on the lower part of the drawing board, the T square head would extend below the edge of the board, and touch the table. You would have to watch it constantly. The head of the T square should always be tight against the board, for when you slide it too far down, it sometimes strikes the table without your knowing it, and you find your horizontal lines are not horizontal; so I always like to have the drawing paper as high up on the board as possible."

Fig. 18. Blocking out the crosses of St. Andrew and St. George

The boys agreed that while the younger was learning to make drawings, each one should represent something to be made later in wood. Drawing number one was a square, 3 inches on a side. Ralph showed how this was made with only two measurements. Drawing one horizontal and one vertical line, 3 inches were marked off on each, the other two lines drawn through these new points, and the square was finished. Ralph insisted that all lines be very light, as they could be darkened up later, if necessary, and were easy to erase in case of a mistake. ([Fig. 18].)

Harry was then told to divide the upper and left-hand sides into even inches, and to draw across the square vertical and horizontal lines from the four points obtained.

Thus the large square was subdivided into nine 1-inch squares, and by darkening the lines shown in the figure at a the cross of St. George was produced.

Another 3-inch square was drawn, and marked off, as shown at b. The points were connected by oblique lines by means of the 45-degree triangle, and by darkening the lines shown at c the cross of St. Andrew was formed. After explaining that the British flag was a combination of these two figures Ralph said, "While we are drawing crosses, we may as well make a Maltese one."

Fig. 19. The Maltese cross

Starting with a 3-inch square again, it was measured off as shown in [Fig. 19]. The lines were connected and darkened, as shown at b. "Now," said Ralph, "you can cut that out of wood, tie a ribbon on it and wear it as a medal."

"Huh," grunted Harry. "Pretty big medal—three inches across!"

"Well, make it any size, an inch or even less."

"That's not a bad idea. I'll make it out of white holly, and put a red, white, and blue bow on it."

"And print on it 'American Order of Junior Woodworkers'."

"Not a bad idea either; we can find lots of boys who would be glad to join and come here Saturdays to work in the shop."

"There would be no trouble to get candidates; the trouble would be to take care of them. They would fill the yard and overflow into the street," said Ralph.

"But why couldn't we——"

"Come now, let's do one thing at a time; you are supposed to be learning mechanical drawing. We'll leave the organization of the A. O. J. W. till another time. I'm going to show you how to use the compasses."

While they were drawing the circle, quarterfoil, heart, and oval, shown in [Fig. 20], Ralph reviewed his pupil on the meaning of diameter, radius, circumference, etc. "If you want to cut hearts out of paper or wood, I would advise you to wait until St. Valentine's Day, and reserve the oval or egg until Easter.

Fig. 20

"The circle is a wonderful figure. By marking the radius off on the circumference, with the compasses, we find that the former divides the latter into exactly six equal parts, and by connecting the points, we have a perfect hexagon. By connecting the alternate points we obtain a perfect equilateral triangle, and by connecting the remaining points we get another triangle of the same size. The two triangles form a six-pointed star. ([Fig. 21].)

"Now," said Ralph, "I am going to give you a problem by dictation; all you have to do is to obey orders. First draw a circle 3¹⁄₂ inches in diameter."

"What's the radius?" asked Harry.

"That's for you to find out."

Harry thought a moment, divided three and a half by two, and setting his compasses at 1³⁄₄ , drew the circle.

"Now divide the circumference into three equal parts."

Fig. 21. Triangle, hexagon and star

The boy puzzled over this for a moment, then marked off the radius, cutting the circumference into six parts, as if for a hexagon, and erased every other point, leaving three.

"Draw radial lines from these points to the centre."

"Easy," remarked Harry, and drew a line from each point to the centre with the edge of one of his triangles.

"Find the centre of each of those lines."

"Easy again," said the boy, as he set his compasses at ⁷⁄₈ of an inch, and from the centre of the circle cut each of the straight lines with an arc. ([Fig. 22].)

"Draw a semicircle from each of these points with a radius of ⁵⁄₈ of an inch."

"Easier still," quoth Harry, as he drew the semicircles. The drawing then looked like a ([Fig. 22]).

Fig. 22. Pulley design

"Now," said the teacher, "let me show you something." He made a few strokes with the compasses, and the drawing as shown at b was finished. "That is enough for to-day. The compasses are about the easiest of all instruments to use, provided you keep in mind that the pencil point needs to be sharpened to a chisel, or flat shape, the same as any other drawing pencil. The number of designs which may be made with it are simply endless, as you will learn later on."

[IV]
MECHANICAL DRAWING: Continued

The next day, as they were about to resume their study, Ralph said: "There is so much to drawing that I hardly know where to begin, or what to leave out; but in shop drawing, a picture will not do; imagine an architect trying to build a skyscraper from a picture. The shop drawing must tell the mechanic everything he needs to know about the object he is making. He cannot keep running to the office asking questions; the drawing must answer them all. That is the reason why the draughting-room is such an important part of every manufacturing plant. Drawing is the language the designer uses to tell the workmen what he wants made. It is doubly important when the designer is hundreds or thousands of miles away from the workman.

"A battle-ship can be designed in Australia and built in England, so this language of the shop has grown to be a very interesting and important art. Every one who works with tools must learn it sooner or later, the sooner the better.

Fig. 23. Front and top views

"Usually it is necessary to represent even the simplest object by at least two views. For example, suppose I hand you this sketch a (Fig. 23), and tell you to make two out of wood. You wouldn't know what to do because no thickness is shown, but if I give you this sketch b, you would see immediately that it has practically no thickness and might be a sheet of paper. You learn that from the top view looking down on it.

Fig. 24. Showing necessity for top view

"The first view is called the front view. Now, suppose I change the top view to this c; thickness is shown here, and if I say, make two of these out of white pine, you would know all that would be necessary to go ahead.

"Again, suppose I give you this sketch a ([Fig. 24]), and ask you to make two out of gum wood. You would be completely at sea, because that front view might have any one of these top views shown at b, c, d, e ([Fig. 24]). In other words, it might be a triangle without thickness, a wedge, cone, or pyramid.

Fig. 25. Three views of a book

"So you see, two views are absolutely necessary, and very often a third, taken from the right or left side. The three views of a book would look like [Fig. 25]. The side view is not necessary in this case, but that is the way it would be drawn if a third were needed. You will have plenty of opportunities for practising this as we get along with our tool work, because in order to understand drawings you must be able to make them. Suppose you try your hand now, by drawing the two views of a cylinder, two inches in diameter and three inches high."

Ralph rolled a sheet of paper up until the ends met, to illustrate a cylinder, and the drawing produced by Harry looked like a. ([Fig. 26].)

Fig. 26. Mechanical drawings of cylinder and cone

"Now," said Ralph, "no shop drawing is complete unless it shows all the necessary dimensions; so I will put them on to show you how it is done, but after this you must dimension every drawing you make."

The finished drawing of the cylinder is shown at b.

Harry was told to make the mechanical drawing of a cone, 2 inches in diameter, and 3 inches high. While he was working at this problem, Ralph disappeared, and when he returned Harry asked where he had been.

Fig. 27. Making a tip cat

"Never mind. Let me see your drawing," c ([Fig. 26]). "All right." Then he laid a little wooden object on the table.

"Why, it's a cat," said Harry.

"Yes, a tip cat, and as soon as you make a working drawing of it, you are going to manufacture one with your knife. Please notice that the tip cat is a cylinder with a cone at each end, and two views will show everything about it."

The drawing took longer to make than Harry imagined it would; or it seemed longer because he was so impatient to get to work with his knife. His finished drawing is shown at a ([Fig. 28]).

The different stages in the making of the tip cat are shown in [Fig. 27].

Fig. 28. Second tip cat

First came the squaring up, shown at a. Then the two ends were whittled down to wedges as shown at b, and these two ends reduced to square pyramids, as at c.

Lines a quarter of an inch from each edge were drawn on the four sides of the square part and continued out to the points of the pyramids, as at d. Cutting to this line changed the square to an octagon, and the square pyramids to octagonal ones.

The edges were again whittled off until there were no more to be seen; the cat was smoothed with sand-paper, and called finished.

Harry was delighted, but Ralph said: "That is not the best form for a tip cat, because it will roll. We will make a bat for it now, and after we have played with it awhile, we'll make a better one; just the same except that the centre part will be left square and only the ends rounded." ([Fig. 28], b.)

The bat they made is shown in [Fig. 29]. Its handle was cut out with the coping saw and whittled to the lines. Ralph explained that anything to be held should be rounded, or it would be hard on the hand, so all the edges were curved with the knife and finished with sand-paper.

Fig. 29. Bat for tip cat

They had so much fun with the cat and bat that woodwork was forgotten for two afternoons. The third day it rained, so the boys were glad to get at work again in the shop.

Ralph suggested that, as they were doing so much drawing, it might be well to make a pencil sharpener.

The drawing they produced is shown in [Fig. 30]. This was easily worked out in ¹⁄₈-inch wood with a piece of sand-paper glued in the oblong space.

Fig. 30. Pencil sharpener

The sand-paper suggested match scratchers, and as they are useful articles, several designs were worked up for Christmas gifts. Three of these are shown in [Fig. 31], but after a good deal of discussion it was decided that for scratching matches a longer space for sand-paper was necessary, and three other designs ([Fig. 32]) were the result of several hours' work.

Fig. 31. First match scratchers

"I'm getting tired of match scratchers," exclaimed Harry; "let's make some toys!"

Fig. 32. Later designs in match scratchers

"Very well, we'll get ready for Santa Claus, and provide a stock of things for our numerous young cousins," replied Ralph. "This will give us a chance to use our coping saw, and I have been wanting to do that for a long time."

[V]
TOYS

"In making presents for little children," said Ralph, "we must always remember that the toys will be played with and receive a great deal of rough handling. So to begin with, they must be strong and of simple construction. The youngsters don't care so much for finely finished articles as older people do, and they tire very quickly of things that are so complicated that they get out of order easily. Suppose we first make some neat boxes. They can be filled with candy, and after that is gone they will be used for a long time to keep treasures in."

[Fig. 33] shows the drawing of the first box the boys made. The two oblong pieces form the top and bottom. The latter was nailed on with ³⁄₈-inch brads. The two cleats were nailed to the under side of the top to hold it in place, while the sides and ends were fastened with a little glue, and one brad in the centre. This made a very serviceable box, the material being basswood ³⁄₁₆ of an inch thick.

Fig. 33. Toy box

The sled shown in [Fig. 34] came next, made of the same material as the box. Ralph was delighted with its strength and graceful lines. Two cleats were glued into the grooves in the sides, and the top nailed on with ³⁄₈-inch brads.

Fig. 34. The toy sled

In each case the drawing was made directly on the wood, which was sawed close to the lines with the coping saw, and finished to the lines with the knife.

The dog house ([Fig. 35]) brought out some new features of construction. The opening in front was cut out with the saw and finished as usual. Sides and ends were then put together with glue. The two pieces forming the roof were nailed together with ³⁄₈-inch brads, to make a right angle and were then placed in position and nailed to the front and back pieces.

Ralph explained that it was a saving of time and trouble to draw a light pencil line to mark the location of the brads. If this is not done, the brads are apt to come out in the wrong place and will then have to be withdrawn and placed again. This is a waste of time and it very often spoils the looks of the work, so that the drawing of the pencil lines really saves time in the end, and the lines can be erased.

Fig. 35. The dog house

Fig. 36. Indian chief

"We can make any amount of this dolls' furniture," said Ralph. "In fact we could build a doll's house and equip it with chairs, tables, and beds, but what the youngsters really like best is something that works, something that moves, so I move—no pun intended—that we design a toy that has some life to it. We can cut it out with the coping saw and there need not be a great deal of knife work to it. Suppose we make an Indian paddling a canoe!" This was more of a problem than they had bargained for, as it was necessary to look through an encyclopædia to find pictures of canoes, Indians, tomahawks, etc. Harry traced the figure of an Indian chief, transferred it to the surface of a piece of ¹⁄₈-inch basswood, and on sawing it out found that he had a very good silhouette of an Indian, but it did not move ([Fig. 36]). The problem was still unsolved, and experiments along that line used up several afternoons.

Fig. 37. Indian paddlers

Fig. 38. Indian paddlers. Separate parts cut out and assembled

What was finally worked out is shown in [Fig. 37]. The arms were made separate from the body, and were fastened to both the paddles and the bodies by brads, which acted as pivots. The bodies were then fastened to the canoe in the same way, but a little glue was used as well as brads, as they were to be immovable. How to make the paddlers move in unison was a hard problem, finally solved by fastening a narrow strip of wood to the lower part of each paddle. It was found that by moving this strip back and forth the two figures moved with the precision of a machine. In each case where a pivot was required it seemed only necessary to drive in a ³⁄₈-inch brad. ([Fig. 38].)

The success of this moving toy was so great that the boys went rushing into the house to show it to the family.

Soon they came rushing back again, determined to try their skill on something else. Ralph had to remind Harry that the Indian paddlers were not yet finished, as the toy would not stand up, so the standards shown at b were sawed out, smoothed with the knife, and one fastened at each end, as a support, by means of brads and glue.

Fig. 39. The fencers

After much boyish arguing, it was decided next to try two swordsmen fencing. This called for some posing, and looking in books to get the correct position of a man fencing. The drawing shown in [Fig. 39] was finally copied from a book on athletic sports.

The different parts of the figures are shown clearly in the illustration. It was found, by experimenting with paper figures, that by making one leg of each figure in two parts, the body, arms, and other leg could be sawed out of one piece.

The work of cutting out and assembling this combination, seemed much easier now that the boys had gotten into the swing of it, and they were so anxious to see it work that they almost spoiled it in their haste. The swords, or foils, were made of two pieces of soft iron wire.

Ralph insisted on filing these out flat near the ends to make them look realistic, and they were fastened by drilling a hole in each hand, passing the wire through and clinching it with a pair of pliers. It was much safer to drill these holes, as a brad awl sometimes splits wood that is very thin. This combination worked to perfection, and while they were trying it Harry caught a glimpse of its shadow on the table. The silhouette in black looked even more realistic than the toy itself, and it gave the boys an idea. ([Fig. 40].)

These toys could be used for moving shadow pictures, and immediately their imagination began to conjure up the programme of a show.

"Our first selection, ladies and gentlemen, will be a shadow picture, entitled 'Before the Coming of the White Men'," exclaimed Harry, moving the Indian paddlers.

Fig. 40. The fencers. Pieces assembled

"And our next will be entitled 'The Duel'," said Ralph.

"Not a very good historical show," said Harry. "We ought to have the 'Landing of the Mayflower'."

"Not a bad idea, either," said Ralph. "I think we could rig up a ship in a storm. Let's try that next."

[VI]
MOVING TOYS

The problem of making a ship roll proved somewhat of a strain on the engineering corner of Ralph's brain, and after awhile Harry grew restless.

"Can't you give me something to do while you are designing that ocean?" he said.

Ralph, pausing a moment, replied, "Yes, try two men sawing a log."

Harry began to draw, but found that he knew very little about saws, so had to go out and look at one, measured it, and after awhile produced the sketch shown in [Fig. 41]. Ralph criticised it rather severely, suggesting the addition of a log and saw buck, and advised that the arms of the men and saw be cut out of one piece. The drawing shows the separated pieces, two bodies, four legs, a saw and arms in one piece, two straight pieces for the saw buck, the log, and a little triangular piece to go between log and saw buck. The object of this triangle is to leave a space between the log and saw buck for the passage of the saw back and forth, as shown in the sectional view.

The two pieces forming the buck were halved together, and the log, triangle, and buck are fastened with glue and two brads.

Fig. 41. The sawyers

After all the pieces had been cut out, the men were first put together by fastening both legs to the body with one ³⁄₈-inch brad.

The feet were next fastened to the straight piece, 10 inches long, representing the ground, by one brad through each foot, the bodies standing upright, and the feet two inches apart. The arms came next, with one brad through each man's shoulder, and lastly, the saw buck, with the log already fastened rigidly to it, was nailed on the back of the ground piece with the log in front of the saw. To make this toy stand up, two standards were fastened to the ends of the ground piece, the same size as those attached to the fencers in [Fig. 40].

It took Harry two hours to make this figure in wood, after he had the drawing finished. In the meantime Ralph had worked out a scheme for giving a boat a rolling motion.

"We'll be mechanical engineers by the time we finish this," he told Harry. "This piece of mechanism calls for a crank, a shaft, two bearings, and a cam, not to mention a ship, an ocean, and a few miscellaneous articles too trivial to mention."

Fig. 42. Boat in storm

The various parts of "the ship in a heavy sea" are shown in [Fig. 42]. At a is the cam, at b the crank and handle, and at c the shaft. The boat was sketched free hand and cut out with the coping saw in one piece by sawing exactly on the lines. The ocean was represented by two pieces corresponding to the ground piece in the sawyers, and the wavy outline was not made until everything had been cut out and the combination was ready for assembling.

The most difficult part—the shaft—was made first, and entirely with the knife: A piece of basswood was cut exactly a quarter of an inch square, a section was marked in the centre of this ³⁄₁₆ inch wide, and notches were made on each corner. The two ends were then whittled to an octagonal shape and rounded. The square section in the centre was reduced to ¹⁄₈ inch wide and the rounded ends sand-papered smooth.

Next, the cam was cut out, and the square hole made. This was accomplished, after spoiling one, by drilling a quarter of an inch hole in the square and cutting the opening square with the point of the knife.

The object of the square opening was to prevent the cam from slipping when in operation. The cam was then placed over the round part of the shaft and glued to the square section, over which it fitted snugly. Next came the crank. This was made the same shape as the cam, but the ¹⁄₄ inch hole drilled in one end was left round, while the other was cut square as in the cam. The shaft fitted into the round hole and was glued in after the assembling. For the handle on the crank, a piece ¹⁄₄ inch square was fitted into the square hole, and the rest of it whittled round and sand-papered.

Two cleats, 2 inch × ¹⁄₄ × ³⁄₁₆ inch, were cut out with the saw and everything was ready for assembling. The two sides of the ocean were held together and the ¹⁄₄-inch hole at d drilled through both pieces at once.

The two notches at e were cut after the assembling was finished. After the holes were drilled, the wavy line was sawed, and the two ends of the shaft inserted in the holes with the cam inside.

The two cleats were inserted in the ends of the ocean and fastened with brads and glue.

Next, the boat was slipped in between the two sides, with the sloping stern just touching the cam, and a ³⁄₈-inch brad was driven through the three thicknesses, sides and boat.

The crank was next slipped over the shaft and glued in position. The crank handle was inserted into the square hole and fastened with glue, and lastly a light rubber band was slipped over the notch on the stern of the boat and the two corresponding notches on the bottom of the ocean. This was to hold the boat against the cam, which gives the motion.

To make this toy more realistic, the boys got out a box of water colors, painted the body of the boat black, the ocean green, and left the basswood sails their natural color—white.

Fig. 43. Turkey and executioner

"There," said Ralph when it was finished, "the youngsters can raise a storm at any time they like by simply turning the crank. This toy ought to be very serviceable, as it can't very well get out of order and is almost unbreakable."

The subject of moving toys is almost endless, being limited only by the imagination of the designer. Thanksgiving suggested the turkey and the axe, and in the toy these boys worked out the turkey evades the axe every time.

The parts are shown in [Fig. 43]. The legs of the turkey are stuck rigidly to the body by brads and a little glue, and they are fastened to the ground piece by one brad, which acts as a pivot.

The axeman's body and right leg are in one piece, the left leg being in two pieces. The arms adhere rigidly to the body, and the axe to the hands, by means of brads. The operating strip is ¹⁄₄ inch wide and 9 inches long.

It is fastened between the legs of the turkey, and to the rigid leg of the man, by one brad for pivot in each case.

The stump is nailed to the ground strip from the front.

[VII]
DESIGNING MOVING TOYS

The boys found this making of toys so fascinating that one was barely finished before another was suggested. So absorbed did they become that even meals were forgotten, and they regarded it as a hardship to be called in to supper, while to be told that it was bedtime was absolute cruelty. They found that it saved time to be systematic, and the usual method of procedure was about as follows:

Fig. 44. The boxers

First, to decide on the practicability of the idea. Second, to sketch out a skeleton figure, as in a ([Fig. 44]), the boxers. When the proper action was secured in these skeleton figures, the bodies were sketched roughly around them as shown at b. Third, the movement of the figures was thought out, and separate drawings traced from the assembled drawing on tracing paper. Fourth, these separate pieces were traced on ¹⁄₈-inch basswood with the grain of the wood running the long way of the piece, wherever it was possible. Fifth, the pieces were sawed out, and the edges smoothed with knife and sand-paper. Very often, through anxiety to see how it worked, the smoothing of the edges was neglected. Sixth, the parts were put together with brads, and where the points came through they were bent over or "clinched" on the further side. Seventh, after experiments to discover the best position for it, the moving strip was fastened to the legs by ³⁄₈-inch brads, and last of all the feet were pivoted to the ground piece in the same way.

Fig. 45. The boxers assembled

The boys learned many things not to do: for example, all the finer details of the face and hands must be omitted, as they are very apt to be broken off in sawing. It was found best to make the feet nearly round or the brads would split the wood. For that reason wherever a brad has to be driven through, the arm or leg should be made larger than the proportionate size.

Fig. 46. The racing automobile

The most surprising feature about the figures was the fact that the shadow they cast on a white wall or sheet was more realistic than the figures themselves, and our boys never tired of exercising these toys in order to watch the shadow pictures.

Of all combinations, perhaps the design and construction of a racing automobile, that would actually go, gave them the greatest amount of amusement as well as the largest number of problems to solve. The history of trials and failures need not be given, but the machine, as finished, is shown in [Fig. 46]. The body and hood are comparatively simple. The principal trouble, as with larger machines, was with the motive power, and the boys finally compromised by using a rubber band. The four wheels were sawed out of ³⁄₁₆-inch basswood, and smoothed with sand-paper, the two driving wheels for the rear having a ¹⁄₄-inch hole drilled to receive the ends of the axle. The rear axle was ¹⁄₄ inch square at the centre for half an inch, and the rest of it ¹⁄₄ inch in diameter, rounded with the knife and sand-paper. The total length of the axle was four inches, and the wheel base seven and one-half inches.

For the driving gear, three disks shown at a ([Fig. 47]) were sawed out, the two large ones, 1¹⁄₄ inches in diameter, from ¹⁄₈-inch basswood. The edges of these two were rounded with knife and sand-paper. The small disk, ³⁄₄ inch in diameter, was cut from ¹⁄₄-inch wood or two ¹⁄₈-inch pieces placed together and glued.

Fig. 47. Pieces of racing automobile

A square hole was cut through the centre of each of these disks with a knife, and they were then put together with glue and brads, making a very serviceable grooved pulley, which was slipped over the shaft and fitted over the square part in the centre. As it was a snug fit no glue was necessary, and the square part prevented the pulley from slipping on the shaft. The forward axle was made 3³⁄₄ inches long, ¹⁄₄ of an inch square, except at the ends, where for a distance of ⁵⁄₁₆ inch it was rounded, ¹⁄₄ inch in diameter. This completed the wheels, axles, and transmission pulley.

The chassis, or frame, which supports the body, consists of two pieces of ³⁄₁₆-inch basswood 8 inches long and ¹⁄₂ inch wide, with a ¹⁄₄-inch hole drilled ¹⁄₄ inch from each end. The floor of the auto, on which the body rests, is ¹⁄₈-inch basswood 6 × 3¹⁄₂ inches, and it binds the whole machine together, giving it strength and rigidity, but it must not be fastened in place until the structure is ready for assembling.

The hood is simply a box 3¹⁄₄ inches long, 2¹⁄₂ inches wide, and 1¹⁄₄ inches high without a bottom. The top piece may be left unfastened, if desired, with two cleats on the under side to hold it in position. The hood then becomes an available place to keep small articles, tools, etc.

The body of the automobile is composed of five pieces: the two sides of the shape shown at b, the dash-board, to which they are fastened with brads, the seat, and the back. This body can be taken off and replaced by other bodies, made to represent roadsters, touring cars, limousines, etc.

A block of ¹⁄₄-inch basswood ³⁄₄ inch square is fastened to the dash-board. This block has a ³⁄₁₆-inch hole drilled through it at an angle of forty-five degrees, and into this hole is glued the steering-gear, consisting of a basswood stick, whittled to ³⁄₁₆ inch diameter, with a ¹⁄₈-inch wheel 1¹⁄₄ inches in diameter fastened at the top, d.

The method of assembling is important. First, insert the front and rear axles through the holes or bearings in the chassis, or frame; then nail the floor to the frame with ³⁄₈-inch brads. This gives a rigid structure to work on, the front edge of the floor being even with the forward ends of the frame. Now screw into the under side of the floor, 1¹⁄₄ inches from the front end, a ¹⁄₂-inch screw eye or screw hook, or even a flat-head nail. This is to hold one end of the rubber band which is to supply the motive power.

The hood may now be put together and fastened even with the front of the machine by nailing it from the bottom with brads. The body is put on by nailing the two sides to the dash-board, and the dash-board to the hood. The seat and seat-back are afterward put in place with brads and the steering-gear glued in position against the dash-board.

The wheels should be put on last of all. Before placing them in position, slip two or three new rubber bands over the screw hook under the car, and tie the free end to the driving pulley so tightly that the cord will not slip on the pulley.

The front wheels are fastened to the axles by ¹⁄₂-inch flat-head wire nails, and worked until they revolve freely on these pivots; the flat head holds the wheel on.

The rear wheels are the drivers, and must be fastened rigidly to the axle by glue. When the glue has hardened—this takes several hours—the machine may be sent across the room on the floor by winding the rear axle backward as much as the rubber bands will permit without breaking, and setting the machine on the floor.

The first time the boys tried it, the rubber band uncoiled so quickly that the auto shot across the room and nearly wrecked itself against the wall. This was too realistic, especially as it broke one of the forward wheels, and a new one had to be made.

When such an automobile is to be presented to little children who want to draw it around with a string, it is necessary to remove the rubber band; otherwise the rear wheels will drag.

When our boys had finished their machine, the question came up to whom it should be given for Christmas, and Harry blurted out, "I want it myself." This was the greatest of all their difficulties. When they had finished a piece of work they hated to part with it, but Ralph was older, and he knew that as Harry became interested in new things he would gradually lose interest in the old ones. So they played with this machine, made another with a roadster body, and auto races became the rage for awhile. After several afternoons of racing, they decided, just as their elders had done before them, that what their machines needed was improved motive power. The accomplishment of this would take them out of the realm of woodwork, so Ralph suggested that they stick to their motto of "one thing at a time." "And our business just now is woodwork."

[VIII]
THE MODEL AEROPLANE

The automobile experiment naturally suggested the aeroplane, and after much reading of magazines and animated discussions as to the relative advantages of biplanes, monoplanes, gliders, etc., the boys decided to try their skill on a biplane of their own design, a combination of the features and proportions of the Curtiss and Wright machines.

The automobile was child's play compared with the problems confronting the young aviators in designing and working out a flying machine, and, as in the former case, the question of motive power was the most difficult. We might add it has not yet been satisfactorily solved.

[Fig. 48] shows the general appearance of the boys' model, which was eighteen inches long from front to back, and the planes, made of light card-board, were 14 inches long and 3¹⁄₂ inches wide. The frame, braces, rudder, and tilting plane were made of ¹⁄₈-inch basswood, put together with ¹⁄₂-inch brads clinched wherever the points came through.

The parts composing the frame were made first, and all small details, such as rudder, propeller, tilting plane, etc., cut out later.

The separate parts are shown in the drawing. Four straight pieces like a were required to support the tilting plane in front, and two pieces each b and c for the rudder in the rear. Two pieces a, one of b and c were fastened together by means of two uprights d, forming one complete side of the machine. This was completed, and the second side made identical with it.

These two sides were then fastened parallel with each other, rigidly, by means of the two rudder posts e e and the cross pieces f f, by brads. The rudder posts bound the two sides rigidly at the rear, the cross pieces at the centre, and at the forward end the tilting plane was held in position by the brads, which also acted as pivots.

This made a remarkably light and yet strong framework. The card-board planes were not placed in position until everything else was finished, as they could be attached easily and quickly, but were very much in the way when experiments were being made on the propelling apparatus.

Of course there had to be a propeller, and the problem of making it required some practice.

Ralph introduced the subject by showing Harry how to make an old-fashioned toy, shown in the detail drawing, of two pieces, one the propeller, the other a balancing stick.

The propeller was made of a piece of ³⁄₈-inch basswood, 4 inches long and ¹⁄₂ inch wide. A ³⁄₁₆-inch hole was first drilled at the exact centre. The two ends were then whittled down to the shape shown at k. The balancing stick was next whittled down until one end fitted tightly into the hole drilled in the propeller, and the rest of the stick then rounded until it was of uniform diameter. This stick was glued into the hole, and allowed to dry.

There was plenty of work to do while the glue was hardening, as the cross pieces g g had to be fastened to the frame to prepare for the installation of the power plant.

When the glue was dry, Ralph took the balancing stick between the palms of his hands, drew his right hand toward him with a quick motion, at the same time releasing the stick. To Harry's amazement, the whole thing flew up and struck the ceiling, and for a few minutes aeroplanes were forgotten while the two played with this interesting but ancient toy.

Fig. 48. The toy biplane

Ralph explained that the propeller was simply part of a screw thread, and had actually worked its way through the air just as a screw works its way into a piece of wood. Its lifting power had been shown by the way it carried the balancing stick with it up to the ceiling.

"Now," he continued, "when we place a propeller horizontal it will worm its way forward through the air in the same way and carry the aeroplane with it, for the simple reason that it is so placed in the frame it can't get out. As the free space it has to revolve in is only 3 inches, we shall have to cut the blades down to about 2³⁄₄ inches to give it clearance."

They whittled out a shaft 1¹⁄₂ inches long and fastened the two notched pieces h h to it after placing the propeller in position between the two cross pieces g g which had been previously drilled with ¹⁄₄-inch holes to act as bearings.

New rubber bands were then passed over the notches, stretched out to the front and rear of the frame, and tied to cross pieces.

By winding up the propeller, these bands were twisted tightly, and when the propeller was released, the bands unwound, causing it to revolve rapidly.

The rudder was now pivoted in position by brads, and the two planes fastened by the same method.

The power derived from the bands was not sufficient to propel the aeroplane fast enough to support it in the air, so it was necessary to experiment with strong thread until the centre of gravity was found. It proved to be near the centre of the planes. Small holes were made with an awl at this point, the thread passed through them and tied. By suspending the aeroplane from a chandelier it took up a horizontal position.

Then the forward tilting plane was elevated slightly and the propeller wound up. On being released the aeroplane slowly and majestically sailed through the air in a great circle, limited by the length of the suspending thread.

The boys never tired of this toy and all it lacked was the ability to fly in the open air, which would require a more powerful motor. This would more than double the weight of the machine, and therefore call for larger planes to support it. There you have the great problem of the aviator.

Ralph wisely suggested that as they had not yet reached the stage of designing gasolene motors they had better leave the aeroplane as it was, or it would be necessary to abandon their woodwork, which neither of them had any intention of doing.

[IX]
THE MONOPLANE

A very satisfactory monoplane can be made from the plans shown in [Fig. 49].

The material for the frame should be quarter-inch white pine or spruce. The six long strips are 30 inches in length, and for fastening, holes should be drilled and the connection made by passing fine soft wire through them and binding fast.

The top frame, formed of four of these long strips, should be made first, with particular attention to the measurements, so that both sides shall be exactly the same size and weight.

At the rear end the two long strips may be wired together temporarily. The propeller shown in the drawing can be made at any time from a piece of white pine ⁷⁄₈ inch thick and 12 inches long by 1³⁄₄ inches wide. It is a good piece of whittling work.

Fig. 49

Fig. 49 (a). The toy monoplane.

The ³⁄₈-inch hole for the shaft should be bored first, and the propeller blades reduced to a thickness of ¹⁄₈ inch at the centre of the blade, and ¹⁄₁₆ inch or less at the edges.

The shaft needs to be strong, and should be made of a piece of ³⁄₈-inch dowel rod. Make a saw cut with back saw in the end, which is to be fastened in the propeller.

When ready to assemble, push this end into the ³⁄₈-inch hole in the propeller, drive in a soft pine wedge with a little glue, and a rigid fastening will result.

The groove in the rear end of the shaft is to take the thrust of the propeller, and hold it in the machine. This groove may be readily cut out with the knife, and smoothed with sand-paper. Two bearings are necessary to hold the shaft in alignment. The forward one is a strip of pine ¹⁄₄ by ³⁄₄ , with a ³⁄₈-inch hole bored at the centre. This hole should be sand-papered until the shaft turns in it freely. The rear bearing is a strip ⁵⁄₈ by ³⁄₈ inch, laid out as shown at a. The quarter-inch hole must be bored first. Next, drill two small holes with a fine drill on either side of the hole for the wires which are to hold the two pieces together. Next saw on the pencil line shown, removing the small piece x. Test the bearing by placing the small grooved section of the shaft in the quarter-inch hole to see if it turns freely. When this has been accomplished, the propeller and its bearings are ready for the monoplane.

Looking at the front view, the two uprights are 9 × ³⁄₄ × ¹⁄₄ inches. At the top ends they are rabbeted as shown, and wired to the top frame. At the bottom they are wired to the long strips which form the long sides of the bottom frame.

Before putting these uprights on, a ¹⁄₄-inch hole should be drilled 1¹⁄₂ inches from the bottom of each. These are to receive the ¹⁄₄-inch dowel rod which acts as the axle for the spool s. This rod should be 10 inches or more in length, so that brads or wire may be passed through the ends outside the uprights to keep the axle in place.

The small spool which acts as a pulley must be perfectly free to turn on this rod, and be kept in place by two brads driven through drilled holes on either side of it.

The front and lower parts of the frame are now ready to be assembled.

The four long strips constituting the body of the frame are all wired together at the back, temporarily. To finish the forward part, saw out a strip ³⁄₈ × ¹⁄₄ inch, and form on each end a rounded bearing, as in the automobile, for two wheels 1³⁄₄ inches in diameter. Saw the wheels out of ³⁄₁₆-inch basswood, drill a hole at each centre, place on the bearing, and fasten in place with a flat-head wire nail and a small washer next to the wheel. Sand-paper the wheels smooth, and see that they turn freely. Tack the strip, or wire it to the uprights, as low down as possible.

The rear end of the monoplane is a nice little problem. Cut out a block of pine from 1 inch to 1¹⁄₈ inches square. In the side facing the front place a screw eye for fastening the spring or rubber bands.

The rudder is shown in the drawing. Drill two holes, as shown, and drive in brads or flat-head wire nails, as large as the hole, so that the rudder may be turned by hand, but not free enough to turn with the wind.

Next drill a hole clear through the block for the axle of the tilting planes.

It is not necessary that the axle be at the exact centre of the cube. It should extend quite through both planes as well as the cube, and be bent around the edges, so as to make them rigid. They should be snug enough to turn by hand, but not loose enough for the wind to shift.

The four sides of the frame are now whittled down to fit the block, and wired to it.

Last comes the question of motive power.

This is the great problem. The writer is opposed to encouraging boys to believe that these toy aeroplanes can be made to fly great distances. The propeller would have to be made to revolve at high speed for several minutes in order to accomplish this, and the tension of rubber bands is not equal to it. The machines can be made to fly short distances only. The problem of aviation is now a question of motors, and the smallest gasolene motor, with its tank, etc., requires a fairly large aeroplane to lift it. No doubt, the problem will be solved within a short time, but it has not been done at the time of writing.

For this size of toy monoplane several large rubber bands may be tied together, fastened at the screw eye on one end and to a piece of strong linen kite cord at the other.

Pass this cord forward under the spool and up to the propeller shaft.

Drill a small hole in the shaft, draw the cord taut, and fasten it through this hole.

While the model has no planes as yet, it is wise to get the propeller working before putting them on, as the space for working is freer. Wind up the propeller until the bands have been stretched to their limit, then let go. It may be necessary to place wheels at the rear, the same as in front. On a smooth floor, the machine should be drawn forward several feet by the action of the propeller.

It is entirely practicable, on a plane of this size, to use the works of an ordinary alarm clock in place of rubber bands.

Remove the outer casing of an old clock; loosen the four brass nuts that hold the frame together, and take out all the wheels, except the axle on which the mainspring is fastened. Put the frame together again with the four nuts.

The axle for the mainspring extends outside of the frame, and is threaded to receive the handle for winding. Take this handle off. Drill a hole in the end of the propeller shaft, slightly smaller than the mainspring axle, and screw the latter into the propeller shaft.

You now have the clock-works on the end of your shaft, and it is necessary to fasten a strip of pine ¹⁄₂ in. by ¹⁄₄ in. to the upper sticks of the frame in order to wire the works fast, as they must not be allowed to turn. By turning the propeller you wind up the clock, and as soon as you release it, as there is no escapement now to regulate the spring, it tries to unwind at once, and the propeller starts at terrific speed. Look out for your hands, as the propeller blades have no conscience.

This action, although strenuous, is short lived, but much more powerful than rubber bands. The spring of an ordinary alarm clock is powerful enough to drive a wooden two-bladed propeller 12 inches in diameter with blades two inches wide at the outside. It will draw a monoplane of this size along the floor several feet.

Having finally decided the question of power, it remains to attach the planes.

The remaining long strip is wired to the top pieces, 12 inches from the front, and the plane, made of silk, oiled paper, or very thin card-board, attached.

In many toy aeroplanes the bands of rubber are not stretched, but twisted. The shaft in this case is a wire which, after being fastened to the propeller, passes through a glass bead and then the frame, ending in a hook to which the rubber bands are attached. There must be a perfectly clear space from front to back of the frame. The glass bead between the propeller and frame is to relieve the friction.

[X]
KITES

Making and experimenting with aeroplanes calls for much patience and often ends in disappointment—the lot of inventors generally. This is no reason why work should stop, as all progress is made by attempting the supposedly impossible, but it will be restful after a while to turn to the ancient and gentle art of kite making.

Incidentally, something may be learned about the effect of wind on plane surfaces that will prove helpful in aeroplane work.

The aeroplane kite shown in [Fig. 50] is simple and effective. It may be given the appearance of a Blériot monoplane by modifying some of its features, as shown at b, the planes having a slight upward slant. The arrangement of the frames is clearly shown in the drawing. Spruce or white pine may be used, as lightness is an essential.

The method of fastening the sticks is important. It is not wise to halve them, as their strength will be reduced below the safety point, and nails are likely to split them. Bind them securely with strong linen kite cord or fine soft wire.

Kite a is open to criticism on account of the single stick connecting front and back. The second form is better, and the two long sticks may be correspondingly lighter without reducing the ultimate strength of the frame. The method of joining three sticks, as at the forward end, is shown in detail in [Fig. 50]. Wherever a butt joint occurs, join the two pieces by means of small strips of tin cut to size with a pair of tinsmith snips. Drill holes through tin and sticks, pass fine soft wire through the hole, and twist tightly with a pair of pliers.

The planes or sails may be of light, strong paper, or some light fabric, such as lawn or cheap silk. The fabric should be cut to size, allowing two inches each way for the hem. Pieces of cord are fastened to the hem, and tied to the ends of the sticks through small holes drilled for the purpose, or tied to notches cut with the knife.

The advantage of this method is that the sails, or planes, may be drawn tightly or removed without loss of time. In this way a number of fabrics can be used for experimental purposes. Paper, on the other hand, must be lapped over sticks and wires, and glued.

Propellers may be fastened to front, rear, or both, to create the appearance of a real aeroplane.

The restraining action of the cord holding one of these kites up against the wind brings into action the same force that supports the glider or aeroplane, and the sails, especially fabrics, assume the curve of a boat sail, when close-hauled and sailing into the wind.

The forms that are possible are infinite, and limited only by the imagination of the designer.

It is well to begin with one of the standard types, and leave experimental forms until some experience has been gained.

The Americanized Malay, Eddy, or parakite is shown in [Fig. 50]. The two sticks are of equal length, bound together with twine or soft wire. Distance c e should be from 14 to 18 per cent. of the total length c d. The vertical stick remains straight, but cross stick a b is bent back like a bow, the distance e f being 10 per cent. of the total length of either stick, and maintained by a string from a to b. The four points a c b d are joined by a cord drawn taut, to make sure that the sticks are at right angles.

Fig. 50.

The material should be cut as shown, the amount lapped being uniform all around. This is important, as a slight difference in weight between the two sides would result in erratic flying. For Eddy kites up to three feet in height a light-weight wrapping paper will answer very well. Larger sizes require nainsook, lawn, or China silk. Like all the kites described here, this is a tailless one, and the method of fastening the bridle is shown. Make a small hole in the covering, pass a cord through, and tie it to cross the stick at its centre. Fasten the other end about half an inch from lower end of upright, and make a loop at o for attaching the line.

The kite line should be the light and strong linen twine made especially for this purpose, and sold by toy and sporting goods dealers. A ball containing 600 yards of cord, strong enough to hold any three-foot kite, will cost about fifty cents.

For larger sizes, it pays to make a reel, to save time drawing in and to avoid bad tangles. A simple form of reel is shown in [Fig. 51].

The frame has a generous-sized hole bored as shown at h. Cut a small branch in the form shown, i, and use this as a stake. Drive it into the ground through h, and use it as a pivot to shift the reel as the wind changes. With this arrangement the kite cannot drag the reel, and it is possible to leave the apparatus with the kite in the air. The writer was driven to using this device after seeing his reel go tearing across the fields until stopped by a four-foot fence. The pull exerted at the reel by a train of three or four kites is sometimes sufficient to give a boy all he can do to hold it. The height to which a kite will go is illustrated by the diagram. S is the starting point, and s t the direction of the string at the start, when but little cord has been played out. The position of the kite at various times is indicated by letters a b c d e, the actual path being shown by dotted line. The solid, curved lines from s to these points show the position of the cord as it is played out. This is a mathematical curve resulting from the weight of cord and kite, wind pressure on cord, and lifting power of the plane.

It will be seen that the kite finally moves along horizontally, no matter how much cord is played out. This occurs when the lifting power equals the force of gravity and wind pressure. In other words, the kite can do no more without an increase of wind.

To make it go higher, we must raise point s by tandem flying, attaching another kite and cord to the first one, as shown at x.

Three or four Eddy kites may be flown in this way, the lines of equal or unequal length joined at a common point to the main line; and, strange as it may seem, if they are well balanced kites they will not interfere with each other. In fact, there seems to be an electrical repulsion among the lines, so that they spread out like a broom.

This is one of the most interesting discoveries in kite flying, though badly upset in actual practice, when one member of the team becomes erratic and proceeds to make a braid of the four cords by diving under and over the others to bring about a general demoralization. For this reason, it is wise to test each kite separately, first, to discover any possible tendency to freakishness.

A weird experience may be enjoyed by leaving the tandem out after dark. Run the main line down by slipping it under your arm, and walk out until you reach the junction of the four lines, where a light-weight lantern can be attached. Let go, and see the lantern apparently drawn up into the air by noiseless, invisible hands.

Flags and other devices may be attached as indicated in the drawing; a light stick at a b will keep the flag from blowing up into a heap, and loops at a and c are tied in the main line to avoid sliding.

THE CHILDREN'S LIBRARY OF WORK AND PLAY. Carpentry and Woodwork