A scroll-saw, bracket-saw, coping-saw, or a very sharp jack-knife should be used where
Cutting is necessary. Do not attempt to split the wood, as the grain is seldom straight, but lay it down upon a board and score it with a knife in the way in which you would score a piece of cardboard; then break it along the scored line, or continue cutting until the piece is cut in two. If you use a saw, cut a little away from the outlines of the work and then trim up with a knife and sandpaper.
The wagons, Jack-in-the-box, and doll furniture shown in this chapter were designed with the idea of saving as much cutting as possible, and you will see by the illustrations that in many cases the boxes are not altered.
Fig. 286.—Cross-section of the Express-wagon.
The Express-wagon shown in [Fig. 284] is made out of a long flat box. Cut down the sides at the front and construct a seat on top of the sides as shown in [Fig. 286]. Cut the front wheels about 2¼ inches in diameter and the rear wheels about 2¾ inches in diameter. If you haven't a compass with which to describe the circles, you can mark out the wheels with cups or glass tumblers. Cut the wooden axles as shown in [Fig. 286], making the front axle—for the smaller wheels—deeper than the rear one, then fasten them to the wagon and nail the wheels to their ends. Drive a tack into the front of the wagon-box and tie a cord to it, or, if you have a small toy horse to hitch to the wagon, fasten a pair of shafts to the under side of the box as is shown upon the two-wheel cart.
The Cart in [Fig. 285] is made out of a square flat box with its wheels fastened to the center of the under side. Make the wheels about 2¾ inches in diameter.