Home-made Toys for Girls and Boys Wooden and Cardboard Toys, Mechanical and Electric Toys

The toys shown opposite page 90 are a few of the many mechanical toys which can be operated by clockwork, and they are easy to make, too, requiring no more mechanical ability th...

An entire volume might be filled with plans for electrical toys and yet not exhaust the innumerable forms that are within the ability of a boy to construct. There is room in thi...

The metal furniture which you can buy is very pretty when it is new, but this new appearance does not last long after it has come into a youngster's possession, for the pieces a...

A HOME-MADE REFLECTOSCOPE 210 The Working Principle of the Reflectoscope--Material for making One--The Lens Opening--Ventilator Holes--The Interior Arrangement--A Hood for the V...

The model aeroplane requires more work than ordinary kite construction. It also requires more patience and greater accuracy, because each part of the little aircraft must be mad...

It is often thought that a toy railway is beyond a boy's ingenuity to construct, whereas, in reality, it is one of the simplest toys he can make. This applies to the tracks, sta...

=A Toy Office Building.= Six stories are shown in Fig. 96, but you can make a modern sky-scraper with as many stories as you like. A packing-case 3 feet 6 inches long, stood on...

There is nothing more interesting to build than a doll-house, and the construction is within the ability of the average girl. If brother is willing to lend a hand with the carpe...

The Malay tailless kite is probably the most practical kind ever invented. It will fly in a wind that the tail variety could not withstand, and it will fly in a breeze too light...

This reflecting lantern, shown completed in Fig. 339, is more magical in its operation than a magic-lantern is, because, instead of projecting through transparent slides, it ref...

Those of you boys who have examined the little mechanical toys sold upon the street corners just before Christmas probably have been surprised to find how simply they are made,...

There are many styles of tops, probably more than you ever dreamed of, and it will surprise you to hear that the owners of some of the most curious forms are bearded men who tak...

The doll apartment building in this chapter is a new idea in doll-houses. By the illustrations you will see that the apartment building is three stories high, and consists of th...

Cigar-boxes are splendid material for a variety of home-made toys. In this chapter are shown some easily constructed wagons, a Jack-in-the-box, a cradle, and several tables and...

=The Case= of this water-motor is made of an empty varnish can--preferably one of gallon capacity. Nothing better could be desired. The tin can makes a light-weight compact case...

No mechanical toy is more interesting to make, nor more interesting to watch in operation, than a miniature windmill. It is a very simple toy to construct, and the material for...

All that is required for making the little toys shown in this chapter are spools, cardboard, paper, a straight-grained stick out of which to cut pegs, some tacks, pins, and glue.

Who wants to play at being Uncle Sam, and have a postal system right in the house, or out on the front porch where it will be convenient for the children next door to enjoy it,...

With the carpenter work of a doll-house completed, the finishing of the inside,--wall papering and painting,--and selecting of furnishings for the various rooms, remain to be do...

The toy motor-boat shown in Figs. 48 and 49 is propelled by a tin propeller run by a rubber-band motor. A handful of rubber-bands will cost only a few cents, and the rest of the...

The stable illustrated in Figs. 238 and 239 is designed in keeping with the doll-house in Chapter XIII. It is shown in the background of the photograph of this doll-house (Fig....

This interesting toy, with its funny animal targets, and a harmless pistol with which to shoot at them, will provide an endless amount of fun for a winter's evening or stormy af...

of the apartment. It is the modern practice to tint walls of apartments, and the best plan is to cover the walls of each room with plain paper, using a paper of a different colo...

HOME-MADE CLOCKWORK TOYS 88 The Necessary Materials--How to prepare the Clockwork--The Merry-go-round--The Standard--The Tent--The Tent-poles--The Horses--The Sleighs--The Shaft...

The elevator shown in Fig. 96 is a unique mechanical toy well worth one's making. Release the little car at the top floor, and it will descend to the ground floor, and then retu...

A HOME-MADE DOLL APARTMENT BUILDING 165 A New Idea in Doll-houses--How the Three Units are arranged to form a Three-story Building or Six-room Apartment--Building Material--The...

A HOME-MADE MODEL AEROPLANE 21 Accuracy in Model Construction--The Most Successful Type of Model--The Fuselage--The Thrust Bearings--The Bow Hooks--The Main Plane--The Elevator-...

HOME-MADE ELECTRICAL TOYS 117 An Electro-magnet Derrick--The Electro-magnet--A Home-made Switch--The Derrick--The Windlass--The Hoisting Cables--How the Derrick Works--A Toy Sho...

HOME-MADE TOY ELEVATORS 59 A Toy Elevator that appears Magical in its Operation--Adapting Elevator to Toy Office Building--Floors--Partitions--The Elevator Car--The Elevator Gui...

A HOME-MADE DOLL-HOUSE 145 The Building Material--The Floor Plans--The Partitions--The Elevator-shaft--The Side Walls--The Rear Wall--The Front Wall--The Windows--The Roof--The...

A HOME-MADE TOY MAIL-BOX 205 Playing Postman--Material for Mail-box--The Sides, Ends, and Bottom of Box--The Top--The Letter-drop--The Collection-drop--Reinforcing the Corners--...

HOME-MADE TOPS 79 Top Spinning on the South Sea Islands--Clock Wheel Tops--A Rug-tack Top--A Spool Top--A Spinning Top Race-track--A Shoe-polish Can Top--A Spiral Top--A Merry-g...

HOME-MADE KITES 9 How to make a Malay--The Sticks--Framing the Sticks--Covering the Framework--Attaching the Bridle--Flying-line--The Box-kite--The Kite Sticks--The Side Frames-...

HOME-MADE WINDMILLS 1 The Paper Pinwheel--The Pinion-wheel Windmill--To mount the Pinion-wheel--The Four-blade Windmill--To mount the Windmill--The Eight-blade Windmill--The Hub...

HOME-MADE TOY WATER-MOTORS 38 A Varnish-can Water-motor--The Case--The Water-motor Wheel--The Eight Paddles--The Wheel Shaft--An Outlet--A Pulley-belt--Pulley-wheels--Connecting...