Wood-working for Beginners: A Manual for Amateurs

by Charles G. Wheeler

Side hand-rails can be fastened at each side on top of the cross-cleats (Fig. 223). A common way is to make every other cross-cleat thicker (say ⁷/₈") and fasten the side bars to these with large and stout screw-eyes, or notches can be cut on the under side of these thicker cleats before they are screwed on, and by passing thongs or cord through these notches the side-bars can be lashed in place. The side bars you can plane round or eight-sided (see Rounding Sticks) out of strips of any strong wood.

Sandpaper the bottom and finish with plenty of raw linseed oil, or with oil, shellac, and varnish, in successive coats (see Finishing). If open-grained wood is used it can be filled to good advantage with a coat of good wood-filler well rubbed in (see Finishing), and the bottom can be waxed or rubbed with tallow, if you wish.

Fig. 226.

If you are willing to put in the labour you can bevel or slope off one side of each of the long strips (except the two outer ones) so as to leave the strip thickest in the middle (Fig. 226). Unless you are willing to take pains enough to do it nicely (which will take some time), it will be best not to attempt it at all, or to have it done at a mill. If you have a good hill you can go well enough with the flat strips and it is not important to round them unless you are scoring fractions of a second against time. Another way is to curve the cross-cleats slightly (Fig. 226), leaving the long strips flat.

Some toboggans are made with low runners about an inch high.

Fig. 227.

You can, as you may know, patch up a sort of toboggan of barrel-staves, with which, though not a very workmanlike arrangement, you can have a lot of fun at no expense. You can get a high speed with this simple contrivance (Fig. 227) on a steep hill. It is not good, however, unless the pitch is steep. You can even get a good deal of sport from this apparatus in the summer on a very steep grassy knoll.

Wooden Guns and Pistols.—A gun on the principle of that shown in Fig. 228, the projectile power being furnished by elastic (rubber) cord, is easily made.