AN OUTDOOR GYMNASIUM
With a little work, and a small outlay of money chiefly for two-by-fours, and such boards as are specified in this chapter, a boy, or club of boys, can construct and set up all the necessary apparatus for an outdoor gymnasium. It is true a great many city back-yards are much too small to accommodate all of the apparatus; but there is generally a vacant lot in the neighborhood which you can obtain permission to use. Those of you boys who are fortunate enough to spend the summer months in the country have splendid opportunities for making a complete gym and should not miss the chance to fit one up.
A Horizontal Bar.—A well-made horizontal bar requires a firm standard which will not sway when swung upon. This is best attained by fastening at least one upright to the side of the barn, the fence, or some other stationary object. It is also very important to secure a strong bar free from knots and cracks. Curtain-poles are frequently used by boys, but at great risk, as there may be a dangerous knot lurking beneath the highly polished surface that will break at a critical moment and cause them serious injuries.
A four-foot hickory or ash bar can be bought from a dealer in sporting goods for about a dollar and a half, but it will cost much less to have a bar turned to the right shape and size at a planing mill. The diameter of the pole should be an inch and one-half, and the ends should be two inches square (see [Fig. 250]).
For the uprights procure two two-by-sixes nine feet long. Mark off a square equal in size to the end of the bar, six inches from one end of each, and cut out the wood with an auger. With a chisel trim the holes square and large enough for the bar to slip through.
Figs. 250-251.—The Horizontal Bar.
Sink the lower ends of the uprights twelve inches into the ground, A against the stationary object, whatever it may be, and B directly in front, at a distance equal to the length of the bar. Spike A to the abutting surface, and brace the base of B with two two-by-fours to make it solid (see [Fig. 251]). The tops of the braces should be mitred against B, and the bottoms spiked to stakes driven into the ground, as shown at C. To make it possible to adjust the bar to different heights, holes may be cut in the uprights every foot or so, in which case be careful to locate the holes exactly opposite one another.