I took a piece of wire-netting about three feet square and bent it so as to form a tube three feet long and about one foot in diameter (Fig. 15). I then took two other strips of wire-netting, three feet long at the top, one foot wide, and two feet at the bottom (Fig. 16); these I bent into funnel shape. I sewed one funnel in about the middle of my cylinder and another in one end, as shown in Fig. 15, strengthening them in their position with strings from the small ends to the sides of the cylinder. The other end of the cylinder I closed with a piece of strong bagging so sewed on that there was a space left at one side which could be untied when I wished to empty the trap.
The manner of setting the trap is as simple as its manufacture. A handful of clams or mussels, crushed so that the minnows can get at the flesh, is thrown in between the first and second funnels. The fish, little crabs, small eels, and the like, go in, and when they try to get out they find it much easier to swim through the second funnel than to find the small hole in the first. I have had several of these traps, or “pots,” as the fishermen call them, in operation at one time, and have caught as many as half a bushel of small fish in one night.
The trap can be made by making a frame of hoops and lath and covering it with mosquito-netting, but it is not so desirable as the fine wire, being more easily torn.
A Water-turtle Trap
Some time ago, while spending the summer in the country, I began the pleasing amusement of making an aquarium. I used various methods to procure the inmates of the great glass box which I had made for the purpose, and was successful, except that I could not get a water-turtle. There they would lie on logs in the pond sunning themselves, but the moment I came within reaching distance, plump they would go into the water. At last I took an old soap-box, and after carefully removing one end I nailed on the cover. I then fastened the end to the cover by hinges, so that it would swing inward, and after throwing in a few bones and scraps of meat, I sunk the box in the pond close beside a big log where the turtles were accustomed to sun themselves. I put a heavy stone on the box, so as to keep it steady, and awaited the next morning for developments. Fig. 17.
Here I may say that this trap takes advantage of a peculiarity in the nature of the water-turtle—namely, if there is a log or stone that he cannot get under, that is just the place that he wants to get; and I calculated that the slight resistance offered by my swinging door would be just enough to make the turtles determined to get into my box. The next morning when I went to my trap I found several turtles of all sizes, from one tiny, yellow-spotted fellow, or mud-turtle, not larger than a half-dollar, to an ugly, great snapper as big as your hat, and so ill-tempered that I let him go again, glad enough at having got rid of so troublesome a visitor. After that I set my trap several times and caught a number of turtles. The smaller ones furnish a charming addition to an aquarium, and the larger ones, if properly dressed, make a capital stew.
An Eel-pot
All along the Atlantic coast eel-pots are made on the same general plan, a bottle-shaped basket having a funnel fitted at the bottom and provided with a hat that is held on by two straps of green oak.
Three forms are used on which to build up the basket-work. The large form is usually ten inches in diameter and shaped down to eight inches at the top or neck. This form is two feet long and has a round stick driven in the small end. This in turn rests in a hole bored in a solid piece of plank, so that it is held in an inverted position and revolves in the hole. Green oak is used for the ribs and bands. This is cut as straight and free from knots as possible, and is soaked in water for weeks before it is split and slivered. Green oak will sliver in an even and uniform manner if it is started right, and from the trunk of an oak-tree six inches in diameter enough material can be had to make several dozen eel-pots. The ribs are three-quarters of an inch wide and about one-eighth of an inch thick, while the bands are a trifle thinner and wider. A number of the ribs are tied around the form as shown in Fig. 18, and beginning at the bottom the bands are woven in and out around the form, turning it as the work progresses so that the immediate parts are always in sight. Where the ends join they are shaved down thin so that one laps over the other; then the weaving continues until the top is reached. The ends of the ribs are then shaved thin and bent back and slipped under some of the straps. A thin ribbon of the oak is sewed over and over around the edge to finish it. The top or small end of the basket is finished in a similar manner.
The cone or funnel form is fifteen inches long, nine inches in diameter at the large end, and tapers down to two inches at the bottom as shown in Fig. 19. Ribs are tied to this form the same as in the case of the large one, and the weaving begins at the bottom and is carried to the top, where the ends of the ribs are shaved and turned in as before described. The bottom or small end of the funnel is the trap, and here the long, thin ends of the ribs are left, so that the eel, when he goes through the funnel and into the pot, cannot get back again.
The hat is woven the same as a basket by crossing the ribs and adding a half-rib from the centre anywhere on the circle, so as to make an uneven number of ribs; thus the weaving will not duplicate after the first turn around the circle. This extra rib is shown at A in Fig. 20. A hat form, shown in Fig. 21, is made of wood and mounted on a block so that it will revolve the same as the other forms. When a part of the hat is woven it is placed on the form and two small nails driven through the ribs into the form to hold the weaving in place. It is then shaped down over the rounded edges of the form and carried one or two inches below the form so the lower edges of the ribs can be shaved and bent easily. A long strap of the green oak is passed under one of the ribs in the hat and caught under bands of the body as shown in the drawing of a complete eel-pot. Fig. 22.
The funnel is sewed to the bottom edge of the body with thin bands. As soon as the pots are finished they should be sunk in shallow water to keep them wet and get them thoroughly water-soaked.
Stakes or poles are to be driven or worked down into the bottom of the bay and the eel-pots made fast to them with ropes. To bait an eel-pot crack some hard-shell crabs or shrimp or put some pieces of fresh, raw meat within the pot and drop it overboard. Run the pots morning and night, and remove the eels by unstrapping the cap and dumping them into a barrel which may be carried on the boat.
A Scap-net
A scap-net for crabbing or landing fish on a hook may be made from a ring of heavy galvanized iron driven into the end of a hard-wood stick. Scap-nets may be purchased in most any general store near a bay or pond, but the ingenious boy can make one himself from a hoop and a ball of cotton twine. Hang long pieces of string over the ring and tie them fast with a square knot. Then tie one string with its next neighbor all around the circle. Begin lower down and tie them again, and continue in this manner until the net resembles Fig. 23. When it is seven or eight inches deep begin to shape it in at the bottom by making the meshes or openings smaller so that it will have a rounded bottom. The ends of the string should be tied together or over a small galvanized-iron sail-ring. All the strings should be tied in square knots so that they will not become undone after the net has been used for a while.
A Hoop Drop-net
A hoop drop-net such as shown at Fig. 24 may easily be made from three galvanized-wire rings and a mesh of tied string as described for the scap-net. The hoops should be eighteen inches in diameter and separated ten inches, thus making a net twenty inches deep. A mesh is to be formed across the bottom, and at the top six small ropes are tied and the ends brought together fifteen or twenty inches above the top ring.
Place some crushed crab or any good bait in the bottom of the net and slowly lower it until the rings rest on the bottom of the bay or pond, but keep the small ropes clear from the net. Watch through the water for visitors, and when the right subject is at the bait and within the rings give a quick jerk and pull the net rapidly to the surface. If fish are to be caught in this manner the hoops should be larger and one more added to the net, making it thirty inches deep. Fish are cunning and swift, and will often dart up and over the top hoop faster than you can haul it up.
Chapter X
LAND-YACHTS AND PUSHMOBILES
A Land-yacht
A few years ago the only kind of yacht known to the boys were those that sailed in the water, but in this advanced time, when many unheard-of things have been made possible, the land-yacht has made its welcome appearance. Down on the Southern coasts, particularly Florida and California, where the sand packs fine and hard, the land-yacht is an important feature both for pleasure and business, and if properly handled in a good breeze it will run from ten to twenty miles an hour. No end of fun can be had with a properly constructed boat, and the ingenious boy may employ old baby-carriage or bicycle wheels for the running-gear.
A yacht of medium size can be made on the lines of Fig. 1 at a comparatively small cost for the timbers and sail-cloth, spars and hardware. The leg-of-mutton sail is used in preference to the square sail, as it has the greatest area close to the ground and is less liable to upset and much easier to handle.
To begin with, obtain some spruce joist clear-grained and free from knots. They should be two-by-four inches and twelve feet long. Cut one of them eight feet long and use it for the main cross-piece to which the front wheels are attached. Form a V of two twelve-foot joist, and fasten them to the cross-piece as shown in Fig. 2. About ten inches of each piece should project beyond the cross-piece. The timbers are bolted fast and at the rear end they are bevelled and brought together, then bolted through from side to side as shown in the plan (Fig. 2). Three feet back of the long cross-piece a shorter timber is set in between the V-shaped frame as shown at A. At the middle of this timber a hole one inch and a half square is cut and into it a tenon on the butt-end of the bowsprit fits as shown in Fig. 3.
The bowsprit is seven feet long and is bolted fast to the long cross-piece. Where the end fits into the timber A two angle-blocks are nailed fast. Seat-planking is cut and screwed or nailed fast to the V-shaped frame as shown in both Fig. 1 and Fig. 2. The boards should be ten inches wide and cut to overhang the timbers an inch or two at both ends.
If the wheels from an old baby-carriage are to be used the axle should be cut in half with a hack-saw and each part clamped under an end of the cross-timber with U-shaped clamps having the ends threaded and provided with nuts and washers as shown at Fig. 4. The rear or steering wheel is set in a fork that a blacksmith will make from strap-iron, and a round piece of the same metal, having a square-headed upper end, will do for the rudder-post as shown at Fig. 5. A short axle threaded at both ends and provided with nuts will hold the wheel in place, and when the post is passed up through a hole made in the timbers a tiller can be slipped over the square shoulder and bolted fast so that it will stay in place.
The tiller is of hard-wood two inches broad at the rear end, one inch in thickness, and tapered so that it will be about an inch square with the corners rounded where it is grasped by the hand. The handle part of it should be bound with linen cord to improve the grip. Give the deck wood-work and timbering a few coats of red, buff, or light-green paint.
The mast-step is rigged over the forward cross-timber. Two upright pieces of board twenty inches long and eight inches wide are attached to the outside edges of the frame-joist with screws. On top of these a cross-piece is made fast so that the step presents the appearance of a bench. Two pieces of board six inches wide are fastened from the corners down to the bowsprit and cross-timber to brace the step as shown at Fig. 6. An iron brace is made fast to the top of the step, behind the mast, and to the bowsprit, as may be seen in the illustration.
A hole three inches in diameter is cut at the middle of the step-board, and through this the mast is slipped. A half-inch round iron is driven into the bottom of the mast after a hole has been bored with a bit. It should be long enough to project out about two inches. This steps into a hole bored in the top of the bowsprit, and with the three wire stays that are caught at the top of the mast and into the eye-bolts, shown by the arrow-heads in Fig. 2, the mast is held securely in place.
A round pole fourteen feet long may be used for the mast, but if it is impossible to find one a very good mast can be dressed from a three-inch-square spruce stick that is free from large knots or cracks. The dressing may be done with a draw-knife and plane, and near the upper end it should be tapered.
The boom is sixteen feet long and two inches in diameter, and if it is possible to get a long curtain-pole it will answer very well; otherwise it will be necessary to cut it from a two-inch-square spruce stick.
The mast end of the boom is provided with a crotch made with two jaws as shown at Fig 7. They are cut from hard-wood with a draw-knife and compass-saw, and held to the boom with carriage bolts or screws and string bound round the three parts.
The sail is made of heavy, unbleached muslin that can be had at a dry-goods store for ten cents a yard. It may be sewed by hand or on a machine, and through the middle it would be well to take a lop so as to make a strengthening rib. The sail measures ten feet on the mast, fifteen feet on the boom, and eighteen feet on the leach. It is caught to the boom with stout cord and to the mast with wood or iron rings, and with a halyard and pulley at mast-head the sail may be raised and lowered at will.
In localities where there are hard roads and where the wind has a good sweep these land-yachts have become very popular. Of course they are much safer than water-boats for there is no danger of drowning, and it is quite impossible to capsize a land-yacht if the cross-timber is long enough to give the wheels a good spread.
Wheels with rubber tires will make the running motion easier and so add to the owner’s comfort.
A Sail-wagon
For level streets or sidewalks where trees do not interfere and where the walks are wide, a sail-wagon will afford much amusement.
In the drawing (Fig. 8) a sail-wagon of medium size and simple construction is shown. Obtain a pine, white-wood, or spruce plank fifteen inches wide and about one inch thick. It should be planed on one or both sides and measure eight feet long. Round the ends with a compass-saw and build a bridge for the mast, as shown in the drawing. This bridge should be twelve inches high, eighteen inches long, and eight inches wide, and should be braced underneath with angle-brackets. In the middle of the top board cut a hole three inches in diameter, and directly under it, in the plank, bore a half-inch hole for the mast-pin to step into.
A SAIL-WAGON
One foot back from the front end arrange an axle-bar three feet long and two by three inches thick. Make another bar the same size for the rear axle but do not bolt it fast. This must be arranged on a king-bolt so that it can be turned by a post and tiller. The king-bolt and post should be in one piece, and this will have to be made by a blacksmith. Two round iron plates of metal one-eighth of an inch thick and five inches in diameter are provided with screw-holes at the outer edge and with round holes at the middle. One of these plates is to be attached to the middle of the axle, as shown at Fig. 9 A, and the other to the under side of the plank in the middle and about ten inches in from the end. A hole is to be bored and cut three-quarters of an inch square in the axle-tree, and the holes in both iron plates are also three-quarters of an inch in diameter. Have a blacksmith make an iron post eight inches long and three-quarters of an inch in diameter. A piece of iron should be welded at the lower end so as to make it three-quarters of an inch square for a distance of three inches. At the top form a square shoulder an inch long, and above it have a short round shank threaded to take a nut as shown in Fig. 9 B. Drive this shaft up through the square hole in the axle-tree, and to prevent it from dropping nail a piece of wood or tin over the end of it and to the under side of the tree. Slip the round post up through the plate and board so that it extends several inches above the top of the board. Make a tiller of hard-wood fifteen inches long and three inches wide at the post-end and taper it to the handle. Cut a square hole in the broad end to fit over the square shoulder on the iron post, then screw the nut on over a washer to hold the tiller in place. To prevent the tiller from splitting near the hole it would be best to bind the wood at both ends of the hole with copper wire as shown in Fig. 9 C. When the wagon is in motion a turn of the handle will operate the axle and steer the moving vehicle easily.
The wheels should be all the same size, but if they cannot be had and only a pair of large and small ones are available place the smaller ones at the rear. The axle need not run the entire length of the axle-tree, but shorter pieces may be bolted fast to the ends of the trees. Give the wagon two or three coats of paint and it will then be ready for use.
From spruce or pine cut a mast five feet long and three inches in diameter, using a draw-knife and plane to shape it. Taper the stick at the top, place an iron band about the bottom, and drive a half-inch iron pin into a hole bored in the bottom so that two or three inches of it will project. The foot of the mast is to be slipped through the hole in the bridge and the pin stepped into the hole made in the long board directly under it. From two-inch spruce cut a sprit seven feet long and a boom seven feet long with a crotch formed at one end, as described in the boat chapter. The sprit acts as a gaff, and at the same time it does away with halyards and makes it possible to use a shorter and stouter stick for the mast.
From unbleached muslin make a sail three feet and six inches on the mast, six feet on the boom, three feet at the head, and seven feet on the leach. A sail of this proportion will set properly, and when the peak is jacked up with the sprit the boom will clear the boy on the deck when it swings over. To stiffen the sail bind the outer edge with thin rope or cotton line a trifle smaller than clothes-line.
A Pushmobile
The pushmobile (Fig. 10) is another interesting road or sidewalk car and one with which two boys can share considerable fun. In general appearance the pushmobile resembles something between an automobile and a buck-board, as there is a long reach between the fore and aft wheels. The body consists of a long board one inch and a quarter in thickness, eighteen or twenty inches wide, and seven feet long. Or two nine-inch planks may be fixed together with the battens that hold the axles and a shorter one under the seat. At the front of the body a keg is mounted and held fast with iron straps which go over the top of the keg and are fastened to the sides of the large board as may be seen in Fig. 10. This keg will represent the engine cover, and at either side of it and mounted on the board two tin cans arranged with glass at the front will serve as lamps. By perforating the tops and sides of these cans a candle may be used or bicycle lamps may be substituted for them. The glass is fitted to the cans by bending a piece of spring-wire in a circle and placing it within the can. Against this wire a circular piece of glass will rest, and to hold it in place another wire may be slipped within the can. If large baking-powder or coffee cans are used the greater portion of the cap may be cut away with a tin-shears, leaving a rim and flange just wide enough to hold the glass in place.
The seat is made from a box eighteen inches wide and high and arranged with back and sides which can be built up six inches above the seat as shown in Fig. 10. This seat is to be securely attached to the board with long screws driven up through the under side of the board and into the lower part of the box. The steering-shaft and wheel are arranged about one foot in front of the seat. This is a shaft of hard-wood (such as a curtain-pole or any good tough stick) about one inch and a half square or in diameter. It mounts on a block of wood which is screwed fast to the large board and provided with a hole through which the shaft will pass so that it will extend down through the large board. A collar of wood or iron is slipped down over the shaft and screwed fast to it so as to prevent it from slipping down too far. Another collar is provided and made fast at the bottom to prevent the steering-cable from slipping off. The arrangement of the collars and wire is shown at Fig. 11 A. At the top of the shaft a small wooden wheel should be slipped on over a shank that may be cut down in size to fit the opening in the wheel; and with a screw the wheel is to be made fast to the shaft so that it is held securely in place.
The rear wheels are attached to an axle that in turn is bolted fast to a bar of wood eighteen inches long and two by three inches in thickness. These wheels are held in a fixed position, and the bar to which they are attached is located about a foot in from the end of the long board. The front axle is bolted to a movable bar which is held to another bar by a king-bolt, so that the lower axle-bar can turn in the same way as on a wagon. The bar to which the axle and movable bar are attached is located about one foot from the front of the long board. This arrangement can be seen at Fig. 12, which is a front view showing axle and fifth wheel, as the turn-plate between the axle-tree and the body of the wagon is called. The fifth wheel is made of two pieces of tire-iron, one fastened to the under side of the fixed bar, the other to the top of the axle-tree, so that when greased the lower part will turn easily.
Flexible wire-cable or very strong twine should be used for the steering-gear. The ends are made fast to the axle-tree as shown at A in Fig. 12. Several wraps of the wire or twine are taken about the lower end of the shaft, and the wire passes through a hole to prevent it from slipping. The wire should be attached first at one end of the tree, carried to the shaft, and given several turns, then passed through the hole. Several more turns are to be made above the hole, then the loose end should be attached to the other end of the axle-tree. If a small turn-buckle can be had, make it fast to the wire and axle at one end so as to draw the wire taut and hold it in place, for the tighter the wire the better the shaft will act when turned by the wheel.
A brake is to be made fast at one side of the car as shown in Fig. 10. Have a blacksmith turn a piece of one-inch thin tire-iron for you as shown at Fig. 11 B, and bore two holes at the short end and two larger ones farther up as indicated in the drawing. With screws attach a brake-block to the short end, and with a square-headed lag-screw make this brake-bar fast to a block fastened at the under side of the long board so that the lever and brake-block will act on the tire of the wheel. The hand-bar is of iron twenty-four inches long and provided with a hole at the lower end and another one six inches above it. The upper end of the bar is drawn out on the anvil so that a wooden handle can be slipped on it, then it is bolted to a block attached to the lower front side of the seat as shown in the illustration. A stout wire connects the lower end of the hand-bar with the top of the brake-bar, so that when the handle is pulled back the wire and top end of the brake-bar is drawn forward and the block pressed against the wheel.
Several coats of paint will give this pushmobile a good appearance and it will then be ready for use.
One boy on the seat steers the machine, while another grasps the overhanging edges of the long board and pushes as he runs behind. On level sidewalks or streets a good run and push will send the car along at a good speed and the pusher can then jump on behind. When going downhill both boys can ride, and if the driver has his hands full with the wheel and shaft the boy behind can reach forward and operate the brake.
If coasting is done on very steep hills or roads it would be well to have a brake to operate on both rear wheels, for the momentum of a rapidly moving car will often drag a “dead” wheel if the other three are running easily; whereas if both back wheels are “dead” the car can be brought to a quick stop.
Chapter XI
FIRE-ENGINES AND TRUCKS
The Engine
Every boy is interested in fire-engines and fires, and in the absence of the real thing there is a great deal of fun to be had in playing fire. The regular steam apparatus is rather beyond a boy’s constructive ability, but the engine shown in the illustration (Fig. 1) can easily be made from an oil or pork barrel, a keg, a pump, and a set of old wagon wheels. A box may be used for the seat and a small force-pump may be had at a hardware store for a nominal sum. The pump should be fitted with a hose-coupling at both inlet and outlet, so that a piece of garden hose can be used for the suction and force.
The construction of the body part of the engine is shown in Fig. 2. Two rails six inches wide, seven-eighths of an inch thick, and six feet long are set wide enough apart for the barrel (representing the boiler) to fit between. These pieces are securely attached with stout screws to the barrel so that a foot of each rail will extend beyond the rear of the barrel. At both ends a rail corresponding in width and thickness is cut and fitted between the ends of the rails as shown at A A. These are to be held in position with long, steel-wire nails or with screws, which always make the best and most secure joints.
To prevent the side-rails from spreading, a cross-rib should be made fast to the under side of the side-rails about at the middle as shown at B B. This is a precaution taken to prevent the rails spreading and letting the heavy barrel full of water drop. In addition to the screws that are driven through the side-rails and into the barrel, it would be well to screw a batten fast at each side over the rail as shown at C. This lug will help the bearing and take the strain from the screws in the rails.
The truss which holds the keg, or imitation dry-steam chest, is made of strips four inches wide, seven-eighths of an inch thick, and built up so that the angle stands fifteen inches above the top of the side-rails as shown at D. These trusses are securely bound at the angle with screws or clinch-nails, then screwed fast to the inside of the rails as shown at E E. Cut a short piece of board and nail it fast between these truss-knees to act as a platform on which to stand the keg. Another small platform can be made between the truss and barrel on one or both sides of the apparatus to accommodate one or two pumps. The smoke-pipe at the top of the barrel is cut from an old stove-pipe and is shaped as shown in Fig. 1. With a tin-shears or snips the ears are cut at top and bottom. Those at the top are pointed and give a crown effect, but if the plain-rim top is preferred do not cut the pipe. At the bottom, slits are cut in the pipe two inches in from the edge, about three-quarters of an inch apart, and with a flat-nosed pliers the ears are bent out so that they will lie flat on the barrel-top when the smoke-pipe is set in place. A piece of tin or zinc is placed on the barrel-head under the smoke-pipe, and with large tacks the pipe is then made fast.
When running to a fire some shavings, chips, or cotton on which some paraffine has been melted is put in this smoke-pipe and lit, and as the engine is drawn along the sparks and smoke will shoot out from the top of the pipe in a very realistic manner. The seat is made of a box on top of which a back and side-arms are arranged as shown in Fig. 1, and when it is complete it is attached to the side-rails and truss. The upper edges of the side-rails are decked over in front of the box so as to make a platform, and at the front end of the frame a dash-board is arranged and held in position with battens.
A small, water-tight keg is fastened to the platform between the knees of the truss by means of screws passed up through the bottom of the platform and into the under side of the keg. One or two openings are made in the keg and a hose-coupling driven into them so that the long hose may be attached when at a fire. Short lengths of hose and couplings extend from the top of the pumps to the keg, so that when the pumps are in action the water is forced into the keg and out through the openings. There will always be a cushion of air above the water which is more or less elastic, and when the water is forced in faster than it can escape through the nozzles the air-cushion will take care of the pressure automatically.
Small carriage wheels and axles support the frame, and at the front a fifth wheel is arranged so that the front wheels can be turned. Back of the barrel the frame is decked at the under side so as to make a fuel-box where more smoke and spark making materials can be stored. It would be well to fasten a lid to this compartment so that sparks dropping from the smoke-pipe will not fall on and ignite the contents. If it is possible to obtain a force-pump it can be mounted on one of the bases arranged at the side of the barrel.
The suction-hose should come from the under side of the barrel and be attached to the base of the pump. The coupling to which the long hose is attached should be arranged at the side of the keg or it can be screwed directly on the outlet of the pump. A short length of the hose—a coupling and nozzle—may be supported on hooks and a standing Y as shown in Fig. 1. The hook on the barrel is made from a piece of iron bent as shown at Fig. 3 A, with holes bored to receive screws. If the iron is too hard to work a wooden bracket can be made, as shown at B, and screwed fast to the barrel.
The Y may be made from strap-iron and a stick, as shown at C and D (Fig. 3), the iron being attached to the top of the stick which in turn is screwed fast to the truss. A pole is made fast to the forward running-gear to drag the engine with, and if several boys are to be members of the fire company a rope should be made fast to the axle at both ends or to the body frame, and the boy nearest the engine can steer it with the pole. All the wood-work should be painted red and the metal parts with asphaltum varnish, which will give them a good appearance, and as it is water-proof it will prevent the metal parts from rusting.
Trip-gongs and signal-lamps should, of course, be provided, for without these appurtenances the engine would be a flat failure.
The Hose-carriage
A hose-carriage (Fig. 4) to accompany the engine is made of wood and constructed on the same lines as the engine.
The frame is made of boards six inches wide, seven-eighths of an inch thick, and is five feet long by two feet wide as shown at Fig. 5. A dash-board is made and fastened to the front of the frame, and between the dash-board and seat the side-rails are decked over to make a platform. The remaining part of the frame may be left open. Across the under side of the frame fasten two cross-bars to which the axles are to be made fast. Baby-carriage or small wagon wheels are to be used for the hose-carriage, and if the axles should not be long enough a blacksmith will weld in a piece at the middle so as to make them the required length.
The reel is made from a round piece of wood and two circular sides and arranged so as to revolve in a supporting frame. One side of the frame is shown in Fig. 5. It is made from wood three inches wide, seven-eighths of an inch thick, and the pieces are securely attached at the inside of the side-rails with screws and clinch-nails. The sides of the reel are made from three pieces of matched boards and are twenty inches in diameter.
Drive three pieces of board together and lay them flat. With a pin, a piece of string, and a pencil describe a circle twenty inches in diameter using the centre of the middle board as a place to drive the pin. After the circle is drawn, separate the boards, and with a compass-saw cut the wood on the lines. Then drive the boards together again and band the outer edge with a piece of box strap-iron, driving the nails in about two inches apart all around the edge.
HOSE-CARRIAGE AND HOOK-AND-LADDER TRUCK
Attach one end to the flat end of the hub. The other piece should have a square hole cut in it so that it will fit over the square shoulder cut on the other end of the axle as shown at Fig. 6 A. Attach both ends to the axle with long, steel-wire nails, then from a piece of hard-wood cut a crank and handle as shown at Fig. 6 B. The crank is ten inches long and at both sides of the square hole the wood should be bound with wire to prevent its splitting. At the opposite end from the crank an iron pin half an inch in diameter is to be driven through the side and into the end of the hub through a half-inch hole bored with auger or bit and brace. This is shown in the drawing of the complete reel. Fig. 6 C.
On the end of the hub and close to the square crank-shaft the hub is turned round for a distance of two inches. This is the part that will fit in the bearing cut in the supporting frame. To hold the reel in position at the top of the truss, straps of iron, as shown at Fig. 6 D, are screwed fast over the angle when the reel is in place. With a coat or two of paint this hose-carriage will be ready for use.
The Hook-and-Ladder Truck
To complete the outfit a hook-and-ladder truck (Fig. 7) will be necessary, on the racks of which four hooks, three ladders, six buckets, and other paraphernalia can be accommodated.
The length of the truck will depend somewhat on the strength of the wheels that can be had, also on the size of the boys in the fire company; but for serviceable use for both small and large boys a truck eight feet long will be a very good size. The frame or body is made of boards six inches wide, seven-eighths of an inch thick, and is eight feet long by thirty inches wide. The frame should be braced across the bottom, at the middle, and near both ends to prevent it from racking. Two cross-timbers for the axles are made fast under the forward and rear ends, and to the forward one the fifth-wheel bar is made fast so that the front wheels can be turned.
The ladder-rack is constructed from pieces of curtain-pole and side uprights, six inches wide at the bottom and tapered to three inches at the top. The uprights are attached to the inside of the body frame, and the bars on which the ladders rest are let into holes in these uprights and keyed as shown at Fig. 8 A. The end of the bar is cut across with a saw, and when this is passed through a hole in the upright a wedge-shaped key is driven in the cut to spread the end of the bar and expand it so that it will hold. Some glue on the wedge will cause it to stay in place after it has been driven in as far as it will go.
The ladders are made of two spruce rails three inches wide and one inch and a quarter thick. The rungs are let into holes made in the middle of the rails and keyed fast with wedges as just described for the ladder-rails. If a flat rung is preferred the rails may be cut in as shown at B in Fig. 8, and flat strips are to be laid in these laps and nailed or screwed fast. The sharp corners may be planed off so as to make the grip easier to the hands. The ladders may vary from seven to twelve feet in length and from eighteen to twenty-four inches wide, preferably the wider ones, as they are safer and will not slide sidewise as a narrower ladder is apt to do.
The dash-board and forward deck are supported on two bracket-plates made fast to the forward part of the body frame, and on the deck planking a box-seat with sides and back is to be made fast. Stout iron hooks are driven in along both sides of the body between forward and rear wheels, and on them ordinary wooden pails or buckets may be hung. Two sets of hooks arranged at the outer side of the ladder supports will hold the long handles of fire-hooks, and a scaling-ladder can be hung under the truck.
The goose-neck of a scaling-ladder should be made of tempered iron by a blacksmith, and all the wood-work should be of hickory. The plan for a scaling-ladder is shown in Fig. 9. The stick is three by one and a half inches and the rungs are three-quarters by two inches, driven through mortises cut in the stick twelve inches apart and held by a steel nail driven through the centre. The goose-neck base is divided like the front-wheel fork of a bicycle and with corresponding holes bored in each side. Bolts should be passed through them and the head of the stick so as to hold the iron straps securely. Good, strong hickory may be had from a wheelwright or wagon-builder, and care should be taken to cut the mortises accurately so that the parts will fit snugly together. Ladder-building is different from ordinary carpentry, and pains should be taken to have all the joints very tight so that they will not rack.
Chapter XII
WATER-WHEELS
All boys like to play about the water, and dams and water machinery afford an endless amount of amusement. Moreover, the pastime has its useful side. Once you get a wheel in operation with a shaft and pulley attached, it is then a simple matter to harness your power and make it do all sorts of things, such as sawing wood, churning milk, operating a fan on hot days, and even turning a grindstone or light wood-working machinery.
There are three kinds of wheels, the overshot, breast, and undershot. The overshot is the most powerful, for it is not only moved by the weight of water that it holds but also by the force of the onrushing water from the sluice arranged to feed it. The breast-wheel is the next in power and is used where the fall of water is not so great. The undershot wheel is employed in a rapidly running brook or stream where there is no dam or body of headwater. This form of wheel is the least powerful and the most unreliable, for the height of the watercourse is liable to change according to seasons and storms. While at one time it may be flushed up to the hub, at another the water may hardly touch the blades of the wheel.
These forms of old-style wheels have become almost obsolete now as the modern turbine has superseded it as a means of employing water as a motive power. Less than one-quarter of the surface of the old-time wheels would be actively engaged at any one time, and the waste of power was appalling as compared with the sluice-box and pen-stock of the modern turbine where every drop of water is lending its influence to the blades. A turbine, however, is rather beyond the ability of the average boy to properly construct, and so we do the best we can with the old-style wheels. For a boy’s purpose they will answer quite well enough.
In the accompanying drawings several ideas for water-wheels are shown, and among them a boy should be able to find one that he can make from boards and sticks, at a slight cost, and which if properly rigged and adjusted will develop a considerable amount of power.
A Simple Paddle-wheel
The simple paddle-wheel, as shown at Fig. 1, is made from an axle three inches square, four spokes, and four boards. For a wheel of medium size that will develop about one-eighth of a horse-power the axle should be four feet long. One end is rounded for a distance of four inches as shown at A, and with bit and chisel two mortises are cut in opposite directions as shown at A. These holes are one inch and a quarter wide and three inches long. Into them the spokes are driven and held with screws or iron pins. Another pair of holes are cut thirty inches from the first and two more spokes driven in them. The spokes are thirty inches long, thus leaving thirteen and a half inches of each one projecting beyond the axle or hub.
The paddle blades are boards thirty inches long, ten inches wide, and seven-eighths of an inch thick. They are attached to the spokes with carriage-bolts and washers.
A rounded bearing two inches wide is cut in the axle beyond the spokes so as to correspond with the other end, and beyond this the axle is left square. Bearings for this wheel are made in the edge of a stout plank notched as shown at B, and held in place by iron straps as also depicted at B. Long screws or screw-bolts, commonly known as lag-screws, will hold the strap in place, and from the square end of the shaft the connection is made for power. In place of the iron strap another piece of wood may be cut and clamped down over the axle end as shown at C.
A Wagon Wheel
Another variety of water-wheel may be made from the hubs and spokes of two old wheels, preferably those from a buggy or light wagon. Fig. 2.
Remove the iron boxes from the hubs by driving them out, then cut a hole in each hub with a chisel and mallet, as shown at A, so they will be at least an inch and a half square. From hickory or other hard-wood make an axle the size of the holes and arrange the hubs on it so they will be thirty inches apart. One side of each spoke should be cut as shown at B in order that the blades may rest against a flat place instead of a rounded surface. The blades should be from thirty to thirty-six inches long and ten or twelve inches wide, and held to the spokes with carriage or tire bolts. This wheel may be swung in bearings as described in Fig. 1, and from the square end of the axle the power can be taken.
Both of these wheels may be used as over or undershot but not as breast-wheels, for a breast-wheel must have pockets to hold the water, and the overshot-wheel should have them too if all the available force and weight of water is to be employed.
A Barrel-wheel
A very simple and efficient device is shown in the drawing of a barrel-wheel (Fig. 3). This consists of an oil or pork barrel having tight ends and staves, a number of blades, and some siding-boards.
The blades are of hard-wood ten inches wide and the length of the barrel. One edge of each blade is cut to conform with the bilge of the barrel as shown at A, and with three or four long screws each blade is made fast to the barrel at the middle. The ends of the barrel are replanked so as to build their surface even with the projecting edges of the staves, then some matched boards are nailed or screwed to the heads to bind together the ends of the blades. Screws are passed through the boards and into the ends of the blades to make them secure, and in this manner a hollow wheel is made with pockets around the outside.
A square hole should be cut in each end of the barrel and into them an axle is driven. It is provided with rounded bearings and square end. When swung in a carriage and connected a powerful wheel will be the result if the force of water is sufficient to drive it.