A Home-made Sled, such as that shown in [Fig. 314], requires but little material, and if carefully made will prove stronger than the variety commonly sold in the shops.
Fig. 314.—A Home-made Sled.
[Figure 315] shows the pattern for the runners, which should be cut out of four-inch boards, seven-eighths of an inch thick. Round the top edges, and cut the front and rear ends as shown in the drawing. Make a slot in the place indicated for a handle, and bore a hole near the front end for the crosspiece to run through. The seat consists of a board cut twenty-two inches long and nine inches wide. This will not be nailed to the runners but to cleats, as shown in [Fig. 316]. Cut three cleats nine and one-quarter inches long, two inches wide, and seven-eighths of an inch thick, and fasten these between the runners, five-eighths of an inch from their tops, placing one near the end of the seat, one at the centre, and one at the front. Four two-inch iron braces should be procured, and two of these screwed to the under side of the front and rear cleats, and to the sides of the runners, as shown in [Fig. 316]. The seat can then be nailed in place, and a broom-handle fastened in the hole bored near the ends of the runners.
Fig. 315.—Pattern for Runners.
The Best Kind of Iron Runners for a home-made sled are those that a boy can put on without the aid of a blacksmith, and such a pair of runners is shown in the drawing of this sled. They consist of what are known as half-oval iron strips, and can be had usually at a hardware store or blacksmith shop. A pair forty inches long and three-quarters of an inch wide, with five holes for countersunk screws drilled in each, can be bought for fifty cents. When they have been procured, screw them to the bottom of the runners, using one inch or one and one-quarter inch screws for the purpose.