CHAPTER XIII

SOME DIFFICULTIES IN TOY-MAKING

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 when sometimes a sudden jar will cause pieces of wood that are glued to separate. However, if glueing be well done, it will serve well without nailing, and it is often convenient to use glue only when making small toys or when adding a piece of wood to a delicate toy that will not stand the shock of the hammer. To apply glue so that the pieces of wood that it fastens shall hold together permanently, the following points should be borne in mind:

(1) The layer of glue should be so thin that the seam will scarcely be seen.

(2) The glue must be perfectly free from sawdust, shavings, etc., and so must the wood.

(3) Glue must be evenly and thinly applied to _both_ the surfaces that are to be joined.

(4) The surfaces to be joined must be perfectly smooth.

(5) Time must be given for the glue to dry. Children often want to touch too soon.

II. =Nailing.= Generally in nailing holes should first be made for the nail with a fine bradawl or drill. The holes for the nails should be made just large enough to allow them to stand upright in them without being held. The points or heads of nails that project should always be filed away.

III. =Sand-papering.= A holder for sand-paper should be used, as by simply holding the sheet in the fingers it is impossible to retain the perfect flatness of the surface. A holder can be bought for twopence. Sand-paper should always be applied with a very light pressure, lest it wear away the surface unequally.

IV. =Filing.= Filing should be resorted to as little as possible. _Avoid filing the sawn edges._ Children often saw carelessly, relying on the file to remedy defects. The file, however, is useful when cutting discs, to make the circle perfect. Round files are very useful in finishing off round holes and in enlarging them when required. The sharp edges of triangular files can be used for making notches, such as those in the deck-chair (Part II, Chapter III).

V. =The Making of Wheels.= The child toy-maker often finds wheels somewhat of a problem. There are, however, several ways of making or getting them.

(1) Small reels make good wheels for trams, motor-cars or trains. They require no sawing. Fig. 197 shows how they are fastened on. A is a block of wood glued and nailed on to the axle, B C, which is made of stripwood, 1/4 × 1/4 inch, or 1/2 × 1/4 inch; the ends, F B and G C, are rounded so that the reels can revolve easily on them. The bottom of the car is glued to the block. The reels can be placed quite under the bottom of the car, as in diagram, or they can project. For a train the wheels should be placed underneath.

(2) Large reels may be sawn into several thicknesses. These make excellent wheels, but are very difficult to saw even with a mitre block. It is hard to hold them steady and there is some danger of the children sawing their fingers.

(3) Broom handles, round rods, etc., are easily sawn up and make excellent wheels. Holes have to be drilled through them and enlarged with round file for the axle, or a hole the right size can be made at once with the brace and bit. (For use of which see Part II.)

(4) Wheels can be made with the brace and centre-bit. The way for the centre-bit must be prepared by using a small-sized pin-bit. The wood must be laid perfectly flat, the brace and bit held perfectly perpendicular, only a little pressure applied upon the knob and the crank turned slowly. The boring must be done half way through from each side of the wood, and this will liberate a disc of wood 1 inch in diameter, or 1-1/4 inch, according to the size of the centre-bit.

(5) There is a little instrument sold called a circle-cutter (price, 2s.), designed for cutting small circular pieces of wood from satin walnut board. It is so constructed that it will cut circles of any size up to 5 inches in diameter. This, however, is difficult for children to use.

(6) For large wheels or table-tops a circle can be drawn in a square, the corners sawn off, the obtuse corners sawn off again and then filed perfectly round. This is rather a laborious method, but quite successful. Holes can be made in the centre with a bradawl and enlarged with a round file.

(7) _Cardboard Wheels._ Wheels can be cut out of cardboard with scissors and pen-knife (the latter is necessary only if the spokes are to be cut out). If several cardboard wheels of the same size are gummed together, a wheel strong enough for any toy in this book can be made. The edges can be filed to make them perfectly even. Cardboard washers prevent the wheels from wobbling.

(8) The fret-saw (see Part II) is very useful for making wheels.

(9) The wooden tops of gloy bottles make very good wheels indeed (especially for motor-cars). They are ready for use at once, as they have a hole in the centre. Also the tin tops of Le Page's liquid glue make excellent small wheels; a hole can easily be made in the centre by means of a hammer and a long nail or the pin stopper of a tube of seccotine.

(10) Wheels can be bought. A sheet of four wheels costs a penny. This is the least satisfactory course.

Of the various ways of making wheels described above, the methods best suited to little ones are (1), (3), (6), (7), and (9). The axles should be narrow strips of wood, with the ends rounded. Round rods do not make good axles, because they cannot be fastened securely to the bottom of the vehicle, the nailing being a difficult matter for the children. In fastening the axles to vans, carts, etc., there is no need for block A (Fig. 197); the latter is only introduced when the wheels have to be under the vehicle; in other cases the axle can be glued and nailed directly to the bottom.

=Colouring the Finished Toy.= A well-made toy is beautiful without paint, which is often used merely to hide bad work and give a false appearance of finish. Children generally like the wooden toys, which they have made, uncoloured, until the grown-up person suggests paint.

However, some toys should be coloured; for example, the swinging animals described in Chapter XX. If the wood has been well sand-papered water-colour paints can be used. Older children can use oil paints or penny tins of enamel. But let the children realise the beauty of plain wood; the drawbridge in Part II is far more effective in white wood, with the stones marked out in pencil or crayon, than if painted.