The Battery. A dry battery is too heavy for the motor truck to carry; so we must make a special two-cell battery like that shown in Fig. 204. Two glass tumblers to hold the solution, a pair of battery zincs, a pair of carbons, and a bi-chromate of potash solution, are needed. Old battery zinc pencils with several inches of the eaten end cut off (Fig. 206) will do for the zincs, and the carbons from worn-out dry-battery cells cut to a corresponding length will do for the carbons. Fasten together the zincs and carbons with rubber-bands, as shown in Fig. 207, after wrapping a piece of bicycle-tape around the upper end of the carbon and inserting a small wad of it between the lower ends of the carbons and zincs, to keep them from touching one another.

Figure 205 shows a completed cell, and Fig. 204 how the two cells are connected in series, that is, with the carbon of one connected to the zinc of the other. Twisting the connecting wires into coils, as shown, is a good method of taking up the slack.

In making up this solution, first add the acid to the water,—never add the water to the acid—and then, when the solution is nearly cool, add the bi-chromate of potash. Pour the acid into the water slowly, because the combination of the two creates a great deal of heat, and if the heat forms too quickly your glass bottle is likely to split. Label the bottle in which you put this solution POISON.

As the bi-chromate solution attacks the zinc element of a cell even when the current is not being drawn upon, the zinc should be removed when the cell is not in use.

Amalgamating a Zinc Pencil. To reduce the eating away of a zinc pencil used in a bi-chromate solution, the zinc should be amalgamated by rubbing a thin coat of mercury over its surface. Dip the zinc into the solution, first, then with a rag dipped in the solution rub the mercury on to it.

Cut an opening through the cigar-box large enough for the two tumblers to set in. Then cut a strip of tin about 1 inch wide and 8 inches long, and bend it into a U-shaped hanger, to support the tumbler bottoms. Slip the hanger ends under strips A, bend them against the sides of the box, and fasten with tacks (Figs. 208 and 209).

Figure 200 shows how the battery cells are connected. A small switch can be fastened to the side of the truck to shut off and turn on the current, but, instead, you can simply withdraw one pair of elements from its tumbler to shut off the current. When through playing with the truck, however, it is important to remove both pairs of elements and wash them off, because the bi-chromate solution attacks the zinc elements even when the current is not in use. As the bi-chromate solution stains very badly, it is advisable to operate the motor truck only where there is no danger of ruining anything in case some of the solution spills, as in the basement or workshop. If you wish to use a dry-cell instead of the pair of bi-chromate cells, you can place the cell upon the floor and make the wires connecting it to the motor long enough so the truck can run back and forth across a room.

The Seat and Canopy-top details are shown in Fig. 210. Make these in about the proportion to the cigar-box shown in Fig. 199. Fasten the seat to the edge of the seat-back B with glue and brads, and then fasten the side pieces A to the ends of the seat. The dashboard E is nailed to the bottom piece D, and D is nailed to the lower ends of side pieces A. Figure 211 shows the pattern for the canopy-top. Make it of light-weight cardboard, or heavy writing-paper. Slash the ends as shown; then turn down the corners, and lap and glue them to form the turned-down canopy ends. Fasten the ends to the canopy uprights with tacks.

The Steering-wheel is a section of a spool ¹/₈ inch thick, and is glued upon the end of a pencil or a stick. Run the lower end of the pencil through a hole in the bottom of D (Fig. 210). For

The Levers, fasten two small sticks to the end of the bottom piece D with small staples.

CHAPTER XII

A HOME-MADE TOY SHOOTING GALLERY

Figure 212 shows the completed toy, and Fig. 213 the box that forms

The Framework. The targets can be arranged to suit the form of box that you find, and the number may be increased or decreased to suit the space.

The right position for the box is upon its side so its open top forms the front of the target box (Fig. 213). The horizontal piece A (Fig. 213) is fastened between the ends of the box, to support targets. It is held in place by nails driven through the box ends into its ends. If your box is much larger than the one shown in the illustration, you can provide two crosspiece supports for targets, instead of one.

The Circular Target should be drawn upon a piece of cardboard with a compass, or, by marking around a cup or small saucer to make the outer circle, marking around a can cover for the second circle, and a coin for the center circle. Blacken the outside and center rings with ink, or by rubbing with a soft pencil.

Figure 214 shows how the target should be hinged in place to the horizontal strip A. Tack or glue the lower edge of the piece of cardboard to a block of wood B. Then cut a hinge-strip out of a piece of dress lining, and either tack or glue one-half of it to block B and the other half to the target support A.

The Animal Targets are made with pictures cut from magazines and newspapers. The pictures should be colored with crayons or water-colors, to make them as nearly like their right colors as possible.

After cutting out the pictures, paste them upon cardboard, mount the pieces of cardboard upon blocks of wood, as shown at B and C (Figs. 214 and 215), and hinge the blocks to the target supports with cloth strips. B shows the method of hinging the targets to strip A, and to the lower side of the box, and C shows the method of hinging the targets to the ends of the box. The former targets fall backwards when struck; the latter targets swing sideways when struck.

Figure 216 shows

The Card-shooting Pistol, and Figs. 217, 218, and 219 show the details for making it. Cut block A about 8 inches long, and block B about 3 inches long. Nail A to B as shown. Then take two rubber-bands, loop them together end to end, as shown in Fig. 218, and fasten one end of the looped bands to the end of block A by means of a nail driven into the block and bent over as shown in Fig. 217. Cut a piece of cardboard about I inch square, notch the center of two opposite edges (Fig. 219), and fit the loop of the free end of the rubber-bands over the piece of cardboard and into the notches, as shown in Figs. 217 and 218. This completes the pistol.

The toy pistol shoots small squares of cardboard, placed in it as shown in Figs. 216 and 218, with one corner slipped beneath the rubber-band loop.

Number the Targets as shown in Fig. 212, marking the circular target "25," four of the animal targets "10," and the remaining four "5." Each number represents the score of that particular target.

When Shooting, stand 3 or 4 feet away from the target box. Aim at the circular target, because that one counts the most. If you miss it, there is the chance, of course, of hitting one of the other targets below or to one side of it and making a smaller score.

CHAPTER XIII

A HOME-MADE DOLL-HOUSE

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 carpenter work so much the better. Sister can attend to the finishing and furnishing, which are important parts of the work that she can do more handily than a boy can. But there is no reason why either a girl or boy cannot undertake a doll-house like that shown in Figs. 220 and 221, and carry the work to a successful completion, by carefully following the instructions and diagrams in this chapter.

The Building Material. The doll-house in the photographs was built of packing cases. You can buy these at a dry-goods store at 15 or 20 cents apiece.

The Floor Plans are shown in Figs. 222, 223, and 224. Your boxes may make it necessary to alter the dimensions given, but that will be simple to do. Patterns for

The Partitions are shown in Figs. 225 and 226. In cutting the second-floor partitions (Fig. 226), miter one edge of E and F to allow for the bedroom door opening, shown upon the plan, and miter the edges of _G_ to fit between them above the door. The mitering is shown in the drawings (Fig. 226).

Besides cutting a stair opening in the second floor, make an opening three by five inches in the second and third floors for

The Elevator-shaft. Care must be taken to have these openings exactly over one another. Make the opening in the second floor six by eight inches in the place indicated upon the plan. This will allow for the elevator shaft and stairway. No stairway has been built to the third story, as the elevator serves the purpose, and one would take up too much of the ball-room space.

The Side Walls should measure nineteen inches wide by twenty-four inches high, and the other two walls thirty inches wide by twenty-four inches high. That portion of

The Rear Wall enclosing the kitchen and bath-room is hinged to open (see Fig. 222), and

The Front Wall is made in two sections, each hinged to a strip of wood an inch and one-half wide nailed to the two edges of the house, as shown in Fig. 220.

The Windows are four by five inches, so four-by-five camera plates can be used for the glass.

The Roof had best be made in two sections, each measuring twenty-eight inches long by twenty-four inches wide. Fasten the boards together with battens on the under side and, after mitering the upper edge of each, nail them to the house so that the ridge is fifteen inches above the third floor. Then nail a board nineteen inches long by ten inches wide in the peak of the roof (D in Fig. 228), and a narrow strip three inches from each side wall (K and L in Fig. 224). These cut off the triangular shape of the ball-room and give it a better appearance.

The Chimney is a solid block of wood with narrow strips nailed to all sides near the top (Fig. 227). Make it eight or ten inches long, and cut off the bottom to fit the slant of the roof. Paint the block red, and mark off the mortar joints in white.

An Elevator is something which is found in but few doll-houses. It was built in this house, thinking it might please the young mistress, and it proved such a success that the scheme has been worked out carefully in Figs. 228, 229, 230, 231, and 232, that you may include it in the house you build.

The cutting of the elevator-shaft has already been described. For material, procure two small pulleys such as is shown in Fig. 230, four feet of brass chain, six feet of No. 12 wire, half a dozen double-pointed tacks or very small screw-eyes, a short piece of lead pipe, and a cigar-box. Make

The Car out of the cigar-box, cutting it down to two and one-quarter inches wide, three and three-quarters inches deep, and seven inches high (see Fig. 231). Place two of the double-pointed tacks or screw-eyes in each side of the car for the guide-wires to run through and another in the center of the top from which to attach the brass chain.

The Guide-wires are made of very heavy wire that will not bend easily. Cut two of a length to reach from the first floor to the ball-room ceiling, and after running them through the tacks in the sides of the car, stick their ends into small holes bored at E, F, G, and H (Fig. 228). The upper holes should be bored through the ball-room ceiling, while the lower ones need be bored but part way through the first floor. Care must be taken to have these holes in the correct position, so the elevator will run up and down upon the wires without striking the sides of the shaft. The easiest way of fastening the wires in place is to run the upper ends through the holes, until the lower ends can be set into their sockets, and then drive two double-pointed tacks over the top of each wire, as shown at E and F in Fig. 228.

Now run the elevator up to the top of the shaft, and mark upon the ceiling where the screw-eye in the top of the car strikes. At this point bore a hole through the ceiling and two inches back of it bore another hole, through which to run the weight-chain. When this has been done, cut a short block of wood to fit the peak of the roof and

Screw the Pulleys into it two inches apart (Fig. 229). Fit the block in the peak of the roof, centering the front pulley over the top of the car as nearly as possible, and drive a couple of nails through the roof boards into it to hold it in place temporarily. Then

Attach the Chain to the tack in the top of the car, slip a piece of lead pipe about an inch long over the chain, allowing it to set on the top of the car to make the latter heavier (Fig. 231), and run the chain up through the first hole in the ceiling, over the pulleys, and down through the second hole. To the end of the chain attach a piece of lead pipe for

The Counter-balance (C, Fig. 232). This should be just heavy enough to make a perfect balance between it and the car, which can be obtained by whittling off the end of the pipe until the weight of the two is the same. Make the chain of sufficient length so the weight will rest upon the first floor when the car is at the third floor. You can now tell whether or not the pulleys are in the right positions. When they have been adjusted properly, nail the block firmly in place.

The Gable-Ends. The front gable-end consists of four pieces (A, B, C, and D, in Fig. 233), the dimensions for the cutting of which are given in the illustration. After preparing these, nail A, B, and C in their proper positions in the gable of the roof, and trim the edges of D, if they need it, to fit between. To prevent the movable section from pushing in too far, it will be necessary to nail a narrow strip of wood to the roof and third floor, just inside of it. The rear gable is made in one piece, and is fastened in place permanently.

The Stairway is shown in Fig. 228, and the details for its construction will be found in Figs. 234, 235, 236, 237. This stairway is made in two parts, with a platform between. Cut a block of wood the shape and size shown in Fig. 234 for the platform, with notches at A and B for the tops of the lower stringers to fit in. Then

Prepare Two Stringers of thirteen steps similar to Fig. 235, and two stringers of five steps similar to Fig. 236, laying off the steps by means of a cardboard pattern, or pitch-board, of the size shown in Fig. 237. After cutting out these pieces, fasten the tops of the lower stringers in the notches A and B in the platform, and nail the platform in its proper position in the corner of the hall. When this has been done, nail the bottoms of the upper stringers (E in Fig. 236) to the sides of the platform at C and D (Fig. 234), and set the tops in notches cut in the edge of the second floor.

The delicate portions of the stairways should be glued in place. Make slits in the stair treads to stick the bottoms of the balusters in.

The Front Steps are clearly shown in Fig. 220. Make the solid balustrades out of pieces of box board, and the step treads and risers out of cigar-box wood. Prepare the rear steps in the same way.

Cut the Window Openings in the places indicated upon the plans (Figs. 222 to 224) and the photographs. First bore holes in the four corners of each window space; then saw from hole to hole with a compass-saw.

Old camera plates are excellent material for

The Window Glass. Fasten the glass in the openings with small brads in the same way that glass is fastened in picture-frames, and putty it in the same way that window glass is puttied, to hold it firm.

The Front and Rear Doors can be painted upon the front of the house. Openings are not necessary.

The Outside Trimmings. Strips of cigar-box wood should be cut up for the outside door and window casings, and be tacked around the openings as shown in Fig. 220. Nail a molding or a plain strip of wood to the front edge of the third floor, as shown in Fig. 220.

Castors will make it easier to move the doll-house about. Cut four blocks of wood, fasten a castor to each, and nail one block inside each corner of the foundation frame.

The Interior Woodwork. Cigar-boxes make excellent hardwood floors. Fit the pieces close together and fasten with small brads.

Make the door and window casings, picture-moldings, and baseboards out of strips of cigar-box wood.

After completing the carpenter work of the house,

Set the Nail-heads,—that is, drive them below the surface of the wood,—putty these holes and all cracks and other defective places, and sandpaper rough surfaces.

Paint the House a cream color, with white trimmings and a green roof. Stripe the foundation walls to indicate courses of stone work. Paint the front door a mahogany color, with panels indicated upon it, and make the rear door white. The painting of the chimney has already been described.

The inside walls should be finished as suggested in Chapter XIV. The woodwork may be oiled, or painted with white enamel or any other color desired.

A Colonial Doll-house with a number of features not included in this house is described and illustrated in Chapter V of "The Boy Craftsman."

CHAPTER XIV

FURNISHING THE HOME-MADE DOLL-HOUSE

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 done. This requires as much care as the building of the house, and while any boy can do the work, the help of a sister will perhaps simplify matters and give to the rooms a daintier appearance.

The Walls and Ceiling of the kitchen and bath-room should be painted with white lead or white enamel. For the other rooms select paper having a small design, such as is to be found on most ceiling papers. If you have ever watched the paper-hanger at work, you have noticed he puts on the ceiling first, allowing the paper to run down the walls a little way all around instead of trimming it off. Then he hangs the wall paper, and if there is no border to cover the joints of the ceiling and wall papers he carries the wall paper up to the ceiling. Use flour paste to stick on the paper, and a cloth or photograph-print roller to smooth out the wrinkles. The dining-room should have a wainscot of dark paper below the chair-rail, and a paper with little or no figure upon it above.

All Hardwood Floors, the stairs, door and window casings, baseboards, and picture moldings should be varnished thoroughly or given several coats of boiled linseed-oil.

All floors, with the exception of the kitchen, bath-room, and hardwood floors, should be fitted with

Carpets. If you do not happen to have suitable scraps on hand, they can be procured at almost any furnishing store where they make up carpets. Select pieces with as small patterns as possible. The floors of the bath-room and kitchen should be covered with oilcloth.

Rugs for the hardwood floors may be made out of scraps of carpet.

Window-shades may be made for each window out of linen, and tacked to the top casing so that the bottom of the curtain reaches just above the center of the opening. Each window should also have

Lace Curtains made out of scraps of lace. They should either be tacked above the windows or hung upon poles made out of No. 12 wire, cut in lengths to fit the windows. Screw small brass hooks into the top window-casings for the poles to hang upon.

Handsome Portières for the doorways can be made with beads and with the small hollow straws sold for use in kindergartens. For the

Bead Portières, cut threads as long as the height of the door and string the beads upon them, alternating the colors in such a way as to produce patterns. Then tie the strings together to a piece of wire the width of the doorway, and fasten the wire in the opening. The

Straw Portières are made similarly.

From magazine illustrations you can select

Suitable Pictures for each room, but if you are handy with brush and pencil you may prefer to make the pictures yourself. These may be mounted upon cardboard and have their edges bound with passe-partout paper to give the effect of frames, or frames may be cut out of cardboard and pasted to them. Hang the pictures to the picture molding with thread.

A Cosey-corner may be fitted up in the ball-room by fastening a strip of a cigar-box in one corner an inch and one-half above the floor for the seat, and hanging draperies on each side of it. Pillows may be made for it out of scraps of silk stuffed with cotton.

A doll-house properly proportioned in every detail, including the selection of its furniture, is pleasing to look at, and is to be desired much more than some of the specimens to be found in the stores. These very often have parlor chairs larger than the mantel, beds that either fill two-thirds of the bedroom space or are so small they are hidden from view by the chairs, and other furniture accordingly, all having been selected without any thought as to size or fitness.

Care must be taken, in buying the furniture, to have the pieces suitable to the rooms. It will no doubt require more time than to purchase the first sets you come across, but when you have completed the selections, the result will be a much better appearing doll-house.

By carefully searching the toy-shops you are almost certain of finding what you want for the various rooms, as about everything imaginable in furniture has been manufactured. Porcelain bath-tubs, wash-basins with real faucets and running water, gilt furniture, chandeliers, and such articles are tempting to buy. But it is rather expensive to fit up a house in this way, for, though each piece may not amount to very much, they count up very quickly.

The suggestions for the making of cigar-box furniture in Chapter XVII, and spool and cardboard furniture in Chapter XIX, will give you plenty of material for furniture and save you the expense of buying this part of the furnishings for your house.

CHAPTER XV

A HOME-MADE TOY STABLE

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. 220). If you prefer a garage instead of this stable, you may omit the stalls, and make one or two large windows in the rear wall in place of the small high windows shown. The building's construction is very simple. The dimensions are: width, twenty-four inches; depth, twelve inches; and height, twenty-two inches. The barn contains five stalls on the ground floor and a hay-loft above.

The Gable-end is made in four pieces, as shown in Fig. 240, A, B, and C, to be nailed in place, and D to be movable as in the case of the doll-house. Make a three-by-five-inch window in the center of D, and fasten the glass in place with strips cut as described in Chapter XIII. Strips should be nailed to the roof just inside of the movable section to prevent the latter from setting in too far, and a spring catch fastened to C and D as shown, to hold the movable section in place.

Figure 241 gives the patterns and measurements for

The Stall Partitions, four of which should be cut out and fastened to the floor of the stable four inches apart, or so they will divide the inside width into five equal stalls.

The Feed-troughs are made out of two strips of cigar boxes fitted between the stalls, as shown in Figs. 239 and 241, and are fastened in place by means of brads and glue. Above the stalls cut

Small Windows an inch and one-half square in the rear wall. These are the ventilating windows for the stalls, and may be left open.

Figure 242 shows the construction of