Put the elastic thru the rider, snap the rider on the hook, and pull the ends of the elastic as far as seems best,—don't have it too strong! Where the ends of the elastic are pulled, bore two 1/4" holes thru the barrel one above the other. Bind the elastic securely between these holes; to make it doubly secure, wind a string between the elastic and the barrel to pull the first strings closer together.
Now saw off the ends of a spool about 1/2" and screw them to the barrel in such a place that they will hold the elastic, without stretching, against the sides of the barrel. These spools should turn easily. They cannot be placed exactly opposite because the screws will interfere.
Snap the rider to the hook, pull the trigger, and notice that the rider goes up with the trigger post. To hold it down, put a slender 3/4" screw on each side of the groove in such a place that the screw heads will come over the outside of the screw-eye; or, 1" brads may be bent over the screw-eye. When everything is in working order, drive a 1" brad on each side of the spring to keep the hook always in place.
[RATTLE-BANG GUN—][Plate 29].
For boys who want to play soldier, here is a gun which will make a big noise but will not hurt anybody.
First, make the rattle of maple. The slot in it can be made with the rip-saw. The solid end must be nicely squared to fit the forward end of the pocket cut out of the gun-stock. Here it must be held firmly in place by glue and two screws. One screw is put slanting from the top of the gun-stock; the other is put straight from the bottom. That the rattle may sound the loudest, it must not touch anywhere else than this solid end. When putting the knocker and trigger in place, see that they also do not touch the rattle. The gun-stock is made like that of the elastic gun ([Plate 28]) except that it has to be 2-3/8" wide in that portion which holds the rattle. The pocket is 3-1/2" from the forward end and 1-1/2" deep where the solid part of the rattle fits. To put the slanting screw in nicely, a place must be cut out with a small chisel for its head, 3/8" deep and 1/2" away from the pocket. Clamp the rattle in position, bore a hole for the screw, then glue and screw the rattle in place. Before the glue is dry, see that the rattle is straight, then put the lower screw into it.
Make the knocker of maple. The reason for the triangular notch in its bottom edge will be evident when the trigger is turned around. The stiffer the spring is, the harder, of course, it will strike the rattle, and also, the harder the trigger will turn; 1/8" will be thick enough for the thinnest place.