Fig. 112.—Details of Body of the Clog-dancer shown in [Fig. 109].
The more grotesque the dancer's appearance is, the more amusing his dancing will be, so the cruder you make him the better. [Figure 112] shows the working details for his construction. The center part of a thread-spool forms the head, and a spool-end and the rounded end of a broom-handle form the hat. These three pieces are nailed together. The body is a piece of a broom-handle, and a spool-end nailed to it forms the shoulders. Drive a nail into the end of the body, tie a string to this, and run the string up through the hole in the head, and out through a hole in the hat; tie the string to a fancy-work ring.
Fig. 113.—Details of Body of the Jumping-Jack shown in [Fig. 110].
The arms and legs are made of sticks whittled to the lengths marked in [Fig. 112], and about ¼ inch in diameter, and are jointed by driving tacks into their ends and connecting these with heavy linen thread. [Figure 112] shows how the feet and hands are cut, and how tacks are driven into them for the thread connections. Paint the clog-dancer's body, arms, and legs white, his head, hands, and feet black, and mark his eyes, nose, and mouth upon his face in white.
A Toy Jumping-Jack is always amusing, and [Fig. 110] shows a simply constructed home-made model. You will see by [Fig. 113] how the figure is made. The peaked _hat_ is half a spool tapered down from the end to the center; and the head is the center from a darning-cotton spool, shaped down at one end for a neck, and with eyes, nose, and mouth cut in on one side. [Figure 113] shows the diagrams for the front and back of the body, the arms, and the legs. These are cut out of cigar-box wood. Cut the neck stick A long enough to run through the head and hat, with a square block on the end to fit between the body pieces. The blocks B should be of the same thickness as block A. Bore the pivotal holes through the arms and legs in the positions shown, using a small gimlet or red-hot nail with which to do the boring, and tie a piece of heavy linen thread through each as shown. The arms and legs are pivoted on brads driven through the front of the body into the back.
When the body has been fastened together, bring the ends of the threads together, and tie to a small ring; also knot the threads close to the body to keep them together. In painting Jack, you might provide him with a red coat, blue trousers and a blue hat, white stockings, and black shoes.
A Cricket-rattle is about the liveliest form of rattle ever devised ([Fig. 114]). After constructing one for your sister or brother, you probably will decide to make one for yourself. For this rattle, first prepare a notched spool (A, [Fig. 116]). The notches in this need not be cut as perfectly as shown, but the notches in one end of the spool must be exactly opposite those in the other end. Whittle the handle B to the shape and size shown, cut the strips C out of cigar box wood, and prepare the block D as shown. The groove in the edge of D is cut of just the right width to receive the end of the wooden strip E. The length of E is best determined after nailing the ends of strips C to D, and slipping the handle through the holes in strips C and spool A. It should extend from the groove in D into the notches in A. Make it as wide as the spool is high. Paint the rattle red or blue.