Toy-Making in School and Home

Women are often limited in their amusements and in their hobbies for lack of power or of knowledge to use the requisite implements. We may wield the needle, the brush, kitchen u...

=A War Engine= (Plate XIII). This piece of artillery was used at the time of the crusade of Richard I. It is a simple and interesting model to make. The sides (A B C D in Fig. 3...

=Kites.= Perhaps one of the easiest kites to make is one which the children of Annam and Tonking delight to play with. To make it, three light bamboo canes are required--about 2...

=A Lift.= There are a variety of ways of making a lift. One of the simplest is shown in this chapter. The first essential is a wooden box, oblong if possible, so that there can...

=Materials.= White paper of any kind that is not too thick and bends easily, _e.g._ cartridge paper, plain white foolscap, pages from exercise books. Pieces of coloured paper ar...

Many simple and effective toys can be made from match-boxes. The great advantage of these toys is that the children can readily supply the materials themselves. In every case th...

=A Bridge= (Fig. 42). Begin with square (8 inches each side), fold in four and cut off one piece. Fold again in four, folds running in opposite directions to first folds, and cu...

=A Farmhouse.= Young children, having cut out of cardboard or fret-wood the animals and trees described in Chapter XX, having constructed a bridge, a well, a dove-cot, and other...

=Materials.= The cardboard used should not be too thick; medium thickness is best (threepence a sheet). Almost any paper that is not too thin can be used for making hinges. All...

Next cut two 4-inch squares of wood and drill through their centres holes of about 1/4 inch in diameter. Glue one to the top of the reel so that the holes coincide. Next cut and...

In toy-making in schools it is very necessary to design toys that can be made from materials which are easily obtained. The Board of Education in a report on handwork in the Lon...

For the toys described hitherto, the chisel has hardly been required, but to carve boats from a solid block of wood it becomes somewhat of a necessity, the pen-knife being but a...

=Jacob's Ladder.= This is a very old and ingenious puzzle and an amusing toy. It is very simply made. A number of blocks of wood must be made, 4" × 2-1/2" × 3/8". Any number may...

One's main object in teaching children how to make toys should be "to teach them how to make toys." Through their efforts to make a beautiful toy they may become more patient, m...

1. A soldering iron (Fig. 513). This can be bought for sixpence at any ironmonger's. It is best to get one not too long in the stem, as otherwise it is difficult to hold it steady.

For these toys a wooden box is required, A B C D (Fig. 448), about a foot or more square and 5 inches deep. L is a wheel made like the overshot water-wheel in Chapter VI. Anothe...

For these toys plenty of corks are necessary, and files or sand-paper; also some pointed instrument, a long nail or bradawl, for making holes in the corks. Four of them are show...

=A Paddle-wheel Steamer= (Fig. 109). The cover of a match-box, A B C D, is covered on top and bottom with two pieces of stiff paper or cardboard pointed at both ends (Fig. 110)....

=Little Gymnast.= First the little gymnast must be drawn and cut out. He can be made of cardboard of medium thickness and paper-fasteners (Size 00) or better of three-ply wood a...

=A Castle= (Plate XV). Fig. 348 is an example of a mediæval castle and is somewhat similar to the Castle of Chaluz, which was besieged by Richard I. It is made of cardboard of m...

I. =Gluing.= Generally when pieces of wood are fastened together, both glue and nails should be used; the glue prevents the wood from revolving on the nails, and the nails hold...

Fig. 458 shows how a clown can be mounted on a cart so that when the cart is drawn along he dances and waves his arms. In toys of this kind, the wheels should be quite half-an-i...

=Cork Boats.= Besides the submarine described in Chapter VI, many other boats can be made from corks, all of which will float well. The corks are joined together by pieces of wi...

Get a large reel (diameter about 1-1/2 inches). Next saw a piece of stripwood, A B, 1/4" × 1/4" × 12-1/4". Glue and nail to the ends of this cross-pieces of the same stripwood,...

=A Railway Signal.= Fig. 370 shows a simple method of making this toy. A is a piece of stripwood about 11" × 1/2" × 1/4", fastened to a wooden stand. Holes are bored in A at F a...

A Monkey-up-a-stick is a very easy toy to make. First cut out a cardboard or wooden monkey as in Fig. 420. See that the legs and arms turn freely on paper-fasteners, A and B. Pa...

=A Train.= (1) _The Engine_ (Fig. 230). The body of the engine, A, is a long mantle-box or a piece of old curtain pole, about 4-1/2 inches long. The wooden bottom, B C, is 6-1/2...

Children as young as seven can begin woodwork, but the little strength they possess for sawing makes it necessary to give them prepared wood, called stripwood. There is no need,...

=Red Cross Motor.= Begin with a piece of wood 6-1/2" × 4" × 1/8". Glue and nail to this two pieces of stripwood, 1/2" × 1/4" × 4-1/4", A B and C D in Fig. 242.

=A Lighthouse= (Plate XVI). This lighthouse is similar to one called the Gull Island Light in Newfoundland. It is a hexagonal column and is therefore somewhat easier to make tha...

=A Drawbridge= (Plate XII). Two pieces of wood for the front, H and I (Fig. 320), must first be sawn 11 inches by 2-1/2 inches. The white wood of chocolate boxes, etc., is the b...

Saw a square piece of wood, side 4-1/3 inches, A B C D (Fig. 280). Cut two others, sides 2-1/2 inches. Saw the corners of these and make them octagons.[1] Drill a hole through t...

An interesting series of ships can be made of cardboard and paper. These ships can be used to illustrate the history lesson or to illustrate a lesson on the evolution of the ship.

=Nails.= The nails used in the making of the toys described in the following chapters are made of very fine wire, with fine points. The wire commonly used for such nails is 17 g...

A toy children delight to make is the =Merry-go-round= (Plate V). It has been made successfully by children from six to twelve. A square piece of stout cardboard (10-inch side)...

The =Fret-saw= is a delightful tool, and very useful to the toy-maker. It can be used for making wheels and the various jointed and mechanical toys described in the following ch...

Besides the tools mentioned in Part I, viz., bench-hook, hammer, saw, file, bradawl, pincers, the following additional tools will be found of service, though some of these are l...

=A Fire-engine= (Fig. 216). For this toy two cardboard boxes are required, one about 6" × 2" × 2", A in Fig. 216, and the other, B, 3" × 2" × 2". The cardboard case that contain...

Two lengths of wood, Q R and S T, are cut 12-1/2" × 1/2" × 1/4", and one long edge of each is rounded. These pieces are sand-papered if they are rough or uneven.

A piece of flat wood 2-1/2 inches by 5-1/2 inches forms the bottom of the car. Two pieces of wood, 5-1/2 inches by 1 inch, are marked out and sawn as in Fig. 287. If it is found...

Saw cuts are made across the strips of wood that cover the platform along lines B M and A L. Into these slits the side scenes fit. These side scenes are cut out of cardboard and...

Fig. 424 shows the principle on which this toy is made; the shaded portion represents the inside of a box. A good size for a box to make this toy is 9" × 4-1/2" × 2-1/4". Slits...

First draw on cartridge paper two arcs of a circle (about 3-inch radius), _a b c_ and _d e f_ in Fig. 362; join them by straight lines _a d_ and _c f_. This is for the floor of...

A piece of wood, E F G H (Fig. 292), 8-1/2 inches by 2-1/4 inches is required for the bottom of the car, and two pieces, A B C D, 5 inches by 1-1/2 inches, for the sides.

=A Crane.= _Foundation_, _Arm_, _Pulley_. Cut a piece of wood about 5-1/2 inches by 4-1/2 inches (H in Fig. 304). Cut a second piece a square, A, side 2-1/2 inches. Cut off the...

The peacock, monkey, and other animals with long tails can be cut from cardboard, and by means of lead buttons attached to their tails be made to swing realistically on a perch.

There are many effective ways of making a toy theatre, and the planning and designing of one is a pleasant piece of work. This chapter gives a few suggestions to future theatre...

The foundation of the =Caravan= is a piece of wood or cardboard, 6-3/4 inches by 4 inches. The sides are made of stiff paper or cardboard. For each of the long sides draw a rect...

1. =A Zoo or Wild-Beast Show.= The animals for this may be jointed models like the elephant and giraffe (Part I, Chapter XX); in this case they will stand quite well; or they ma...

Fig. 416, "The Washing Day," shows a pattern that will please little English toy-makers. It can be cut from wood with the fret-saw, or with scissors from cardboard of medium thi...

Fig. 417 shows two ducks eating out of the same bucket; strips of cardboard, A B and C D, are the same size as those in Fig. 416. The bucket is cut out of cardboard and gummed t...