All healthy-minded boys are interested in physical development; it is the instinct which leads them to climb high trees and scale precipitous cliffs, generally at the expense of some anxiety to the minds of their parents and guardians. But these amusements are more in the nature of “stunts,” pure and simple; the logical and rational field of athletic culture is the gymnasium. In the large cities, and at schools and colleges and Y.M.C.A. societies, there are opportunities in abundance for gymnastic exercises. The purpose of this chapter is to show the boy who has to stay at home, or who lives in a small country village, what can be done in the way of rigging up a barn floor or a spare room like the one shown in Fig. 1. He can also make most of the apparatus; for, with a few exceptions, all the principal pieces are simple in construction and not beyond the ability of the average boy.
For indoor exercise the outfit must necessarily consist of those pieces of the gymnasium equipment that can be used when in a standing or sitting attitude, for the confined space of the average room will not admit of running, jumping, or leaping with the pole or from a spring-board. In preparing a list of the pieces of equipment suitable for a boy’s “gym,” some of the familiar ones have been omitted, as they are either beyond the ability of the average boy to make or they are too cumbersome for the home. The apparatus that is described and illustrated is simple and practicable and can be made at a much lower cost than the prices charged at the shops.
Fig. 1.
Dumb-bells
Wooden dumb-bells weighing a pound each may be purchased for about fifty cents a pair, but the boy who is interested in making his entire equipment can use croquet-balls with broom-handles, or one-inch curtain-pole sticks, for handles (Fig. 2).
Fig. 2. Fig. 3. Fig. 4.
To make these dumb-bells, obtain some old croquet-balls and clamp them, one by one, in the vise of a carpenter’s bench. Then, with a one-inch bit, bore a hole through each ball, as shown in Fig. 3. Cut a broom-handle or a one-inch curtain-pole in lengths twelve or thirteen inches long, and in the end of each make a saw-cut, as shown in Fig. 3 B. Smear the end of the stick with glue and drive it through the hole in the ball, keying it firmly in place by driving a wedge into the end of the stick, just as hammer-heads are fastened to prevent their coming off. Repeat for the second ball. Some glue should be placed in the saw-cut, so as to hold the wedge when it is driven home. To make the handle easier to grip, it should be bound with linen or cotton fish-line; then the balls may be painted or varnished, and the line given a coat of black varnish, which will set the cord binding and harden it. Several sets of these balls may be made for the “gym” and hung upon the wooden rail that extends around the room.
In the absence of iron bells, a heavy pair of dumb-bells may be made of gas-pipe handles and flanges with screw-holes fastened into wood blocks four inches in diameter (Fig. 4). The gas-pipes, an inch in diameter, may be had at a plumber’s shop or gas-fitters’, and they should be five inches long, threaded at both ends, and screwed into flanges which have been fitted with threads to receive them. These flanges are bored with holes, so that ordinary screws may be passed through them and into the wooden ends. The gas-pipe should be bound with line and painted or varnished, or the entire bell may be painted black to simulate iron.
Indian Clubs
A good pair of Indian clubs, weighing from two to three pounds each, would cost at the shops about one dollar a pair; but the boy who can handle tools may cut out a very serviceable pair of clubs from wood four inches square or round, with the club, or butt, ends fifteen inches high.
Two pieces of spruce, chestnut, or apple wood are to be cut, as shown in Fig. 5. The upper end should be tapered so that it is one and a half inches in diameter, and leaving the base about two and a half inches in diameter.
The tapering is done by holding the wood in a vise and gradually shaving away the wood with a sharp-bladed draw-knife or spokeshave, turning the wood frequently so as to cut the butt evenly and as true as possible. With a brace-and-bit a one-inch hole is bored in the top of each club three inches deep, and into it a broomstick-handle is driven and held in place with glue and a few steel-wire nails. Wooden balls are bored and glued to the top of the handles, and given an additional purchase with small nails. The handles may be bound with fine line and the exposed wood-work painted any desirable color.
Half a dozen sets of these clubs will add materially to the equipment of the household “gym”; and it would be advisable to make them in several sizes—say from one to three pounds each.
Calisthenic Wands and Ball-bars
These wands, three to five feet long, may be cut from any hard-wood, or the same lengths of a one-inch curtain-pole will answer quite as well. Plain square sticks may be planed octagonal in shape, or rounded, as a matter of choice (Fig. 6 A).
The ball-bar (Fig. 6 B) may be made as described for the dumb-bells, by boring croquet-balls and attaching them to the ends of a bar with wedges.
In many schools calisthenic exercises with wands, dumb-bells, and ball-bars are regularly taught; and the boy who has provided his own gymnasium with the simple apparatus required will find pleasure in rehearsing the school instructions at his home.
Swinging-rings
Exercising and swinging rings are usually from six to ten inches in diameter, outside measure, and they may be purchased at the shops for one or two dollars a pair, according to the size and finish.
A blacksmith will make you a pair of rings, eight inches in diameter, out of five-eighth-inch round iron, for about fifty cents; and with a fine file and emery cloth they may be smoothed down so that they will not chafe the hands. Some rings are nickel-plated, but they are used only by professionals in their exhibition work.
Fig. 5.
Fig. 6. WAND A BALL-BAR B
Fig. 7. Fig. 8. Fig. 9.
The rings should give a good grip, and there is nothing better for this than to bind them with tire-tape, or sew leather around them, making the seam at the outside, as shown in Fig. 7. The sewing should be done with doubled and waxed linen thread; if this should prove too difficult, a shoe or harness maker will help you out for a small sum.
In Fig. 8 a triangle is shown having the lower side bound with tape or leather. This triangle is six inches across the bottom, eight inches high, and is made from half-inch round iron. As the lower side is a straight bar, it is somewhat easier to grip than the segment of a circle.
The rings, or triangles, should be suspended by means of ropes, at the lower ends of which straps are provided so that they will hold rings, rods, or trapeze bars. A harness-maker will make these straps for fifteen or twenty cents each, of substantially heavy leather. They should be provided with a stout buckle and a loop under which to slip the strap end, as shown in Fig. 9. The rope ends, through which the straps are caught, may be spliced or formed into a loop-end and bound tightly with twine to make a strong union, as also shown in Fig. 9.
Trapeze Bars
For the house gymnasium a trapeze bar should measure four feet long and one and three-quarter inches in diameter; it should be cut with a path at each end, as shown in Fig. 10, so that the strap may be wrapped around it and drawn tight. The bar should be made of seasoned hickory. The wood may be bought from a wheelwright or wagon-maker, and then dressed down with a plane and spokeshave. The arrangement for the suspension is shown in Fig. 10 B.
The adjustable flying trapeze, as shown in Fig. 11, is made from trunk-straps, provided with two extra loops, and a four-foot bar cut from two-inch hickory and shaped with a spokeshave. At the ends, paths are cut to receive the straps, and, if possible, have the bar turned in a lathe to insure a more accurate job. Small rings at the upper ends of the ropes or straps, and hooks driven securely into the ceiling-beams, will afford the needed suspension.
Fig. 10. Fig. 11. Fig. 12.
Parallel Bars
The regulation parallel bars are usually supported on iron pipe-standards bolted to a heavy base, and steel heads are provided to grip the bars. But this fitting is beyond the ability of a boy to construct without the aid of a plumber, and the wooden frame base and bars shown in Fig. 12 will answer quite as well.
The bars are of hickory, five and a half feet long and two inches in diameter. The uprights that support them are of oak, ash, or other hard-wood, two and a half inches square and forty-two inches long. The lower ends of the uprights are set into bases of heavy hard-wood two inches thick, ten inches wide, and three and a half feet long. Square holes are cut in the middle of these bases, two feet apart, so that eight inches of wood will extend beyond the holes at each end, and so provide a surface on which to screw the bracket-ends that act as braces to the uprights. The holes should be cut with a brace-and-bit all the way through the bases, and then trimmed with a mortise-chisel and mallet, taking care to make them very accurate, and so prevent any play to the uprights when once set up.
The stepping-plank is also of hard-wood, twelve inches wide, one and a half inches in thickness, and long enough to span the cross-planks. The distance between uprights should be about four feet. The stepping-plank should have a two-inch block under the middle to prevent it from springing; it is to be attached securely to the cross-plates with large, flat screws driven into holes that have first been bored out with a bit. Hollows are cut out in the top of each upright with a compass-saw, and the sides slightly tapered to the edges of the U cuts, so as not to interfere with the hands when using the bars. Fasten the bars to the uprights with two slim screws at each side, driven through the uprights and into the under sides of the bars. Do not put a screw or nail down through the bars and into the top of the uprights, for this will weaken the bars, and if the weight is suddenly transferred to the extreme ends they might snap off.
At a hardware store purchase four iron brackets with eight-inch tops and ten or twelve inch sides. Invert them and screw the tops to the base-boards and the sides to the outer edges of the uprights, to insure added rigidity.
A coat or two of paint will improve the appearance of the uprights and base; but do not coat the bars with anything. They should be polished with an oiled rag until smooth enough for use.
A Floor Horizontal Bar
The complete apparatus is shown in Fig. 13. The hickory bar, one and three-quarter inches in diameter and four feet long, is supported on hard-wood uprights two inches thick, three inches wide, and as high as the bar is desired—say from five to six feet, according to the stature of the boys who are to use it. At the lower end the uprights are held in position by two half-inch iron pins driven into the bottom. These fit into holes made in the floor in a corresponding position, as shown at A in Fig. 14. The upper ends of the uprights are cut with a compass-saw to receive the bar, and the edges are tapered to meet the edges of the U cut, as shown at B in Fig. 14. When the bar is in place it is held with straps made of one-eighth by one inch iron. They should be provided with screw-holes, as shown at C in Fig. 14. The ear-plate attached to each upright under the bar (and to which the stanchion wires are fastened) is made of one-inch tire-iron a quarter of an inch thick; it is bolted to the wood as shown at D in Fig. 14. A blacksmith will make the strap and ear-plates for a small sum; and at a hardware store staple or eye plates may be purchased and screwed to the floor, into which the turn-buckles can be caught.
Four turn-buckles and some stout wire form the stanchions; and the floor-plates should be located so that they not only brace the structure forward and backward, but also from side to side, as may be seen at the right side of Fig. 13. If the plates are five feet apart, they should be eighteen inches out from each upright.
Fig. 13. Fig. 14.
The particular advantage of this bar over a swinging one lies in its absolute rigidity. Also, when not in use, it may be cleared away by loosening the turn-buckles and unhooking them, lifting the pins out of the floor and carrying off the frame bodily.
Striking-bags
There are various kinds and shapes of striking-bags to be had at the shops, but a converted Rugby football will answer very well for home use. Remove the bladder and sew two large bone buttons to the leather cover at each end, as shown in Fig. 15. The bladder should then be replaced, inflated, and the cover laced up tightly.
Leather straps, in the ends of which button-holes have been made, are caught over the buttons to form loops to which the ends of the suspension and draw ropes are attached. These straps are reinforced with a patch of leather sewed at the middle, as shown in Fig. 16. The patches will strengthen the straps and prevent them from stretching too much when the ropes are drawn taut.
Between the ball and the floor a spring, or some stout rubber bands, should be placed so as to make the ball rebound quickly when struck.
The portable striking-bag (Fig. 17) is attached to the top of a staff, and is made of leather or canvas and stuffed with paper wads. Or a bladder, inflated the same as a football, may be used. The bag or cover for a bladder should be made of strips of leather or canvas sewed together. The inflated bag is then covered by a stout leather cap. Straps of canvas or leather are sewed to this cap and brought down below the bag, where they are attached to the staff with a thong or cord, as shown in Fig. 17.
STRIKING-BAGS
Fig. 15. Fig. 16. Fig. 17.
The regulation portable bags are mounted on an iron base, but in our home-made apparatus a plate of hard-wood will have to answer. From oak, ash, or other hard-wood, two inches thick, cut a base fifteen inches square, and round off the edges on the upper side. Make a hole in each corner through which to pass a screw, and a large hole at the middle to receive a spiral spring. The staff (about the size of a broomstick) is screwed down into the top of the spring for five or six inches, or enough to hold it securely; and at the bottom the spring is held in the block with screws or nails driven through the wires of the spring and into the wooden base.
When using the bag it should be fastened to the floor with two or three screws, so that it will not topple over. As it is struck it bends over from the bottom, and the spring, if stiff enough, will cause it to immediately rebound or come to an erect position.
A striking-bag and disk, like the one shown in Fig. 18, may be made from wood and leather, a few thumb-nuts, and a pair of braces. To make the adjustable disk, obtain two pieces of white-wood or pine three inches wide, two feet long, and one and a quarter inches in thickness. Also two other pieces, each an inch thick, three inches wide, and thirty inches long. The first pieces are the wall-plates, and laps are to be cut one and a half inches in from each end, as shown in Fig. 19, to receive the upright pieces.
In the middle of each lap a bolt two and a half inches long is to be set. This projects through a slot cut in the upright pieces, and at the outer end of the bolt a thumb-nut and washer will make it possible to clamp the uprights fast to the wall-plates, so that the disk may be raised or lowered to any required position.
Two slots, as wide as the thickness of the bolts, are cut in each upright with a bit and compass-saw; and on the uncut space, at the middle of the frame, a disk twenty-one inches wide and twenty-six inches long is made fast with screws and short angle-brackets attached to the under side of the rear corners. This disk should be made of hard-wood one and a half inches in thickness, and it is braced from above with two irons that extend from the top of the disk to the upper ends of the uprights. A blacksmith will make these for a few cents each, and they, as well as the other hardware, should be painted black to give them a good appearance.
Fig. 18. Fig. 19. Fig. 20. Fig. 21.
The bag is shaped like an inverted balloon, and is made of six pieces of leather, or canvas, five and a half inches wide and fifteen inches long, sewed together at the edges. Each piece should be shaped as in Fig. 17, and when they are sewed together a round cap should be made fast to the large extremity to secure the ends of the side-pieces. A patch is sewed along the edges of two sides to strengthen them and to pass the lacings through, as shown at the lower left-hand side of Fig. 20. This method of construction gives an opening through which to pass a filling of rubber scraps and bits of leather. If a rubber bladder is to be inserted and inflated, this opening will not be required, for the bladder, when collapsed, may be pushed into the opening at the neck.
One inch below the top of the neck some slits are to be made in the leather, through which the throat-laces are interwoven, as shown in Fig. 21. After the knot at the end of the suspension-rope has been inserted in the throat of the bag, the laces are drawn tight and tied. This is the best means of attaching the bag to the rope from which it is suspended; and by means of a hollow stick, which projects down five inches below the under side of the disk, the bag may be centred and held rigidly. As a result it flies up at varying angles from this centre-drop when struck from different sides.
The suspension-stick may be made from a piece of inch-and-a-half curtain-pole, the hole being bored out with a bit. The stick should be inserted through a hole made in the disk eleven inches in from the outer or projecting edge. It should be of such a size that it will be necessary to drive the stick in with a mallet to make it fit snugly. A coat or two of white paint will finish the wood-work nicely, or it may be given a coat of varnish.
A Medicine-ball
A medicine-ball should be ten inches in diameter, and should weigh from three or four to six or eight pounds, according to the size of the boys and girls who use it. The case of a round football may be used, or a leather case may be made of six pieces and two ends, so that it will lace up, as shown in Fig. 22. The case is stuffed with small balls made of pebbles or small stones wrapped in newspaper. The newspaper makes a soft cushion, and does not allow the hard edges of the stones to come in contact with the leather. Larger or smaller stones may be used according to the weight desired, or sand wrapped in paper may be used in place of the stones.
Fig. 22. Fig. 23. Fig. 25. Fig. 26.
If the case is to be made, obtain some russet leather from a shoemaker and cut six pieces, fourteen inches long and six inches wide, as shown in Fig. 23. With doubled linen thread sew the edges together so that the seam is at the inside, as shown at the lower end of Fig. 23. Reinforce two sides of adjoining strips with a patch of leather sewed securely all around the edges and through the middle. Punch holes along the patch half an inch from the edge, through which to lace the draw-strings, as shown at the left-hand side of Fig. 23. At the open ends of the leather case sew on circular patches, four inches in diameter, to securely hold the ends of the six leather sides. The case will then be ready for the filling.
By substituting a bladder for the filling, this medicine-ball may be used as a volley-ball. The volley-ball is played over a net, either in the “gym” or out-of-doors, in a fashion similar to Badminton. It may be played by any number of persons at the same time, the object being to keep the ball in motion over the high net.
Pulley-weights and Exercisers
No apparatus for home exercise covers the field so generally and thoroughly as the chest-weights, or pulley-weights. No instructions are necessary, for the boy who uses the apparatus can follow his own idea for strokes, and every muscle in the body may be easily and pleasantly exercised, there being sufficient variation in the movements to relieve them of monotony.
An exerciser similar to the one in Fig. 24 may be constructed out of a piece of plank, two pulleys, a pair of sash-weights, and some cotton rope or clothes-line.
FIG. 24.—AN EXERCISING WEIGHT
Obtain a piece of pine or spruce plank twelve or fourteen inches wide, five feet long, and one and a quarter inches thick; also another piece to form the foot, so that it will project six inches from the base of the plank. Two blocks of wood, four inches long, two inches wide, and an inch thick, will be necessary for the pulleys to swing on. Attach these to the upper end of the plank by means of hinges, as shown in Fig. 25. They should stand out from the board, and in from the edges, the distance of the width of the hinge-leaf, as also shown in Fig. 25. Plate-pulleys are screwed fast to the front edges of these blocks, through which the ropes pass that raise the weights.
The foot-board should be padded with hair or excelsior and covered with leather or burlap, so that the weights may drop on it without making any noise.
From two old tin pails remove the handles and bend the wires around so that a rope may be passed through the eyes at the ends, as shown in Fig. 26. At a hardware store purchase a pair of five-pound sash-weights, and pass the rope ends through the eyes. They should then be spliced or bound with fine line. When the ropes are reeved through the pulleys, a knot should be made in each one, so that it will chock in the top of the pulley and allow the weights to just reach and lightly rest upon the foot-pad. Therefore, when the handles are released the weights will not fall about on the floor as they would otherwise do. The ropes should be about five feet long from the eyes of the weights to the handles. That is quite sufficient to give a good long stroke while bending the body forward or from side to side.
This exerciser may be screwed fast to the rail that should extend all around the “gym,” and also into the floor at the foot to steady it. Lighter or heavier weights may be employed, as the strength of the boy will warrant, but light weights are preferable to heavy ones for continued use.
An Attic Gymnasium
In Fig. 27 a good idea is given for the arrangement of an attic gymnasium; it shows the locations of the paraphernalia in a room about fourteen by sixteen feet. A smaller room may be arranged in a somewhat similar manner, but each piece of apparatus must be cleared away directly it is out of use.
Fig. 27.
Across the top of the room, from a window-casing to a batten screwed fast to the opposite wall, a ladder may be suspended. Over the window-casing it would be well to attach a batten, so that the ladder will not spring out of place. A rope hanging from one end will make it possible to reach the rings.
A strip or band of wood four or five inches wide should be nailed all around the room four feet above the floor, against which to place parts of the gymnasium equipment, and on which to hang dumb-bells, Indian clubs, wands, and ball-bars, as shown in the illustration.
Under the trapeze or rings it is well to place an old mattress, a useful thing in the event of a fall. If the room is wide enough, double sets of hooks may be driven in the ceiling-beams from which both a flying trapeze and rings may be suspended. When one or the other is in use, the extra apparatus may be drawn up or to one side of the room. A light room is always more cheerful than a dark one, and plenty of ventilation is necessary in the home gymnasium.