Two or three good coats of paint will finish the wood-work, and with the addition of a chain fastened to a staple-plate this dog-kennel will be ready for occupancy.
This dog-hut in Fig 15 is built against the side of a house or barn, and is forty inches long, twenty-four wide, and twenty-eight inches high at the outer side, and thirty-six inches high next the house or barn. The floor frame is thirty-eight inches long, twenty-two inches wide, and made like Fig. 13. Stakes are driven in the ground, one under each corner, and to these the floor frame is spiked fast.
When constructed against a building a strip is fastened to the siding of the building on which to nail the roof boards and to the upper edges of the front, back, and side boards battens are made fast to strengthen the hut.
The wall or side of the building may, in such a “lean-to,” be used as a fourth side of the dog-hut. A ventilator is cut in the upper corner of the back and at the front a swinging door can be hung in the doorway or opening. This is a weather-door and is made an inch narrower on each side than the width of the doorway. It is hung on screw-eyes and staples so that it will act as a flap and can be pushed in or out by the dog when entering or leaving the hut. In the winter-time, and when it is raining, this door will keep out snow and water and also protect a dog from strong winds.
When making houses or huts for guinea-pigs it will be necessary to make at least one-third of the coop dark, or nearly so, as the little pigs like darkened places in which to spend a portion of their time.
The illustration of the guinea-pig house in Fig. 16 shows how this can be done by partitioning off a portion of the house and making ventilating holes or small windows near the top.
A substantial double-decked house, similar to the one shown in the illustration, should be thirty-six inches long, twenty-four inches wide, twenty-four inches high to the roof eaves and thirty-two inches to the peak. A small dry-goods case can be adapted to this use, and the floor nailed in midway between the top and bottom.
The darkened compartment is fourteen inches wide and extends up on both floors. Holes three by four inches made in the sidings will permit the pigs to have access to the open and closed compartments. A door at one side is made high enough to open into both upper and lower compartments; this is swung on hinges, and for safety it may be provided with a hasp and padlock.
The open compartments are to be screened with square-mesh galvanized wire cloth substantially heavy to prevent the pigs escaping or dogs from entering and molesting them. This wire cloth can be purchased at a hardware store and attached to the wood with galvanized wire staples.
A guinea-pig house should not be placed on the ground, but attached to the tops of posts from twenty-four to thirty-six inches above the ground. Locust posts about four inches in diameter are the best for this purpose as they are tough and will not decay in the ground as quickly as other wood.
The guinea-pig hut shown in Fig. 17 has but one floor and it is much longer than the house, the floor plan being forty-two inches long and eighteen inches wide. The ends are fifteen inches high at the front, twelve at the back, and eighteen at the peak. The dark compartment is fifteen inches wide and the door at the front is six by eight inches, hung on hinges and fastened with a hasp and padlock.
At the front the roof extends over for six inches to shade the open compartment, and at both ends and the back it overhangs about two inches.
This hut is held up on sticks implanted in the ground, and braced so that the wind will not blow it over.
In the spring-time when little chickens are hatched, and it is not possible to let the hen wander about at random to scratch up the garden or the flower beds, some small coops and shelters should be constructed and placed in a corner of the back yard, or in some other vacant space, where the little chicks can run without being molested by the larger fowls, as they would be if put in the big chicken-coop or runway.
The easiest coop to make is shown in the illustration of the young chicken shelter (Fig. 18). It consists of a pitched roof mounted on three boards six inches high. This shelter may be three feet wide and two feet deep, and from the ground to the peak the distance is twenty-four inches. Slats are nailed across the front to prevent the hen from getting out, although not so close as to prevent the chicks from squeezing through. A coat or two of paint will improve the appearance of this shelter, and each mother-hen should be provided with a separate coop for her family.
In the illustration of the young chicken coop (Fig. 19) a little more care is taken with the construction, and a canopy fly is arranged at the front to keep off rain and to shade the interior of the coop. This coop is three feet long, two feet wide, and thirty inches high at the front, but at the back it need not be more than twenty-four inches high.
It may be constructed from boards with matched edges, or perhaps from a dry-goods case, and if it is raised from the ground an inch or two, and a few holes bored in the bottom, it will insure a dry floor. The cross rail at the bottom to which the upright slats are nailed is three inches above the floor; and if made two inches wide and the slats one inch and a half in width, they will be heavy enough to resist dogs and cats, if they should try to disturb mother-hen and her brood.
Outriggers may be nailed at each end so that about fifteen inches of the wood projects beyond the sides. A strip of lath should be fastened between the ends, and light canvas or muslin may then be tacked fast to the roof and to the strip to serve as an awning.
Among animal pets rabbits seem to be general favorites all over the country, perhaps because they are such beautiful and harmless little creatures and so prettily marked. They are worthy of a comfortable home, and the boy who is fortunate enough to have some good rabbits should take pleasure in building a substantial hutch in which they can live and thrive.
In Fig. 20 a double-floored rabbit-hutch is shown, and if it is made large enough quite a family of rabbits can live in it, the larger ones down-stairs and the smaller ones upstairs. An inclined plane will make it possible for the friends and relatives to visit each other.
This hutch should be from four to five feet long, twenty-four inches wide, and twenty-four inches high. The second floor is arranged so that it will be midway between the top and bottom, and at the rear an opening five inches wide and ten inches long will receive an inclined board, across which short sticks have been nailed to prevent the rabbits slipping when going up or coming down the stairs.
At one end a compartment is made eighteen inches wide, and provided with a door six inches wide hung on hinges and fastened with a hasp and lock. Openings five inches wide and six inches high are cut in the side of this compartment, so that the rabbits may enter it from either floor. A drop front, on hinges, will permit the hutch to be partially closed in very severe weather, but when it is pleasant the front should be raised and propped up with a stick, in the ends of which hooks are arranged that will fit into screw-eyes driven into the lid and along the side of the compartment, as shown in the illustration.
In the end of the hutch, opposite the bottom of the stairway, a feeding-doorway six inches square should be cut with a compass saw, and a door hung on hinges. This hutch should be supported on stout sticks or posts embedded in the ground for at least two feet, and it should be thirty to forty inches above the ground. Across the open runs, galvanized wire cloth, with half to three-quarter inch meshes, is to be nailed fast with staples. With a few coats of paint on the outside, this hutch will present a very good appearance.
The rabbit-house (Fig. 21) is a large, one-story structure, in which a family of rabbits can live very comfortably. It is thirty-six inches long, twenty-four inches wide, eighteen inches high at the back and twenty-two at the front. At one side a compartment is made twelve inches wide, and at the outer side a door seven by nine inches is hung and fastened with a lock. This house is supported on four posts, two or three feet above the ground, and when painted it should look very homelike to a rabbit’s eyes.
A house of this same description, but larger, may be made for a monkey, a fox, an opossum, a raccoon, or even for bear cubs. For the latter, bars will have to be used instead of the wire cloth, for the bears would soon tear away the lighter material.
For squirrels, chipmunks, and white rats very good cages can be made from wire cloth, tin boxes, and wood, and in the illustration of a squirrel cage (Fig. 22) a simple house is shown.
To make it, a base-board is cut twenty-eight inches long, fifteen inches wide, and one inch and a quarter thick. Ten inches from one end the edges of the board are sawed off so that the end will be six inches wide. Eleven inches from the small end a square piece of wood is mounted on the base-board to form the back to the square compartment. This is covered with tin on the inside, so that the rodents cannot gnaw the wood away at the edges or about the hole that leads into the cylinder.
A wedge-shaped piece of wood, six inches broad at the bottom and two inches at the top, is attached to the small end of the base-board, and from the top of this piece to the top of the back-board a connection strip is nailed fast. From thick wire or quarter-inch iron rod a wicket is made and driven into holes at the wide end of the board. It should be the same size as the back-board, and is placed there to support the wire cloth of which the cage is made.
Small holes are made in the base-board with an awl, so that the ends of the wire cloth will slip into them. When the edges of the cloth are tacked to the back-board and wired to the wicket, the ends in the holes will remain in place.
A wire door made from the cloth can be hung on hinges, which should be soldered to the galvanized cloth. With straight wires or wire cloth an exercising cylinder can be made with wooden or tin ends. It is supported between the back of the cage and the wedge-shaped upright. Tacks driven around the hole that leads into the cylinder will prevent the occupants from gnawing away the edges of the wood-work.
The squirrel house (Fig. 23) is constructed in the same manner as the cage, but it has the advantage of a covered shelter at one end of the base-board. This is made from a tin cracker-box with the lid removed, and inverted so the bottom acts as the roof. In one side an oval opening is cut and a wire screen is fastened to it at the inside.
The wire cylinder is seven inches in diameter and twelve inches long, quite large enough for two squirrels to run a great race at the same time. A piece of hair felt, an old woollen cloth, or some curled hair will be comfortable for the squirrels to lie on in the enclosed cage.
In some parts of the country pets are made of reptiles, and very interesting and tame ones are found among the lizard family.
When making a reptile pen, care should be taken to get the joints tight and not have any small openings or cracks between boards, for snakes can get through a very small space, often much smaller than you would think it possible, judging from the size of their bodies.
In Fig. 24, the design for a very substantial reptile pen is shown, and instead of fine wire screening, two heavy plates of glass may be used at the front of each compartment. This is a double pen, and one side can be used for snakes, while the other may harbor some lizards or small land-turtles.
This pen is forty-eight inches long, twenty-four deep, and twenty-six high. The bottom rail at the front is four inches wide, and the top and upright ones are two inches wide.
The wood from which the pen is made should be tongue-and-grooved, and planed on both sides. It may be from three-quarters to one inch and a quarter thick, and narrow boards are preferable to wide ones.
In the lizard compartment an upper floor is fastened in, having an opening at one side where an inclined board, with cross sticks attached, is arranged so that the animals may climb up and down.
The snake pen should have a portion of a small tree fastened at top and bottom, on which the reptiles may climb and coil. The more short branches it has, the better, for it will then give the snakes a more satisfactory perch to move about on. At the bottom of each end a small trap doorway four inches high and six inches long is cut, and protected by a stout wire-cloth door, hinged and locked. These trap-doors are for the purpose of removing refuse or for feeding the reptiles; or a smaller opening at the back, near the top, and about two inches in diameter, can be used as a food door.
A ventilator is cut in the roof twelve inches long and six inches wide, so that each compartment gets the advantage of an opening about six inches square. Over this a roof is made three inches above the main roof, and with stout wire cloth the opening is covered first at the under side. Then the strip of wire cloth, four inches wide, is tacked around the inside of the opening and to a board the same size as the hole, or six by twelve inches, attached to the under side of the cap.
This arrangement is more clearly shown in Fig. 25, which is a sectional view, A being the cap, B the board to which the upper edge of the wire cloth is attached, C the wire cloth, and D the main roof to the pen. The line E represents the wire cloth tacked to the under side of the opening, to prevent the reptiles crawling up and over the partition.
At the lower end of the partition an opening four inches square may be made and fitted with a wire-netting door that can be raised and lowered by a rod that extends through the cap of the ventilator. One or two staples driven over the rod at the inside of the reptile pen will prevent the rod from bending, and the wire door should slide on runners provided with a rabbet at the inside, so that it cannot be dislodged.
With this construction, the reptiles may be allowed to mingle if they are peaceable, but if the snakes molest the small lizards they must be driven into their own side and the trap-door closed. With the outer doors at the bottom and the ventilator at the top, a free circulation of air can be had; and if the floor is kept well sanded and clean, this reptile pen will make a comfortable home for a collection of such pets.
The lizard run shown in Fig. 26 is made from a wooden shoe-case open at the front, and on top of which a smaller box is mounted and connected with the lower one by means of an inclined board and an opening, through which the lizards can crawl. A ventilator is cut in the upper box and covered with wire netting; and in the lower box, at one end, a doorway is made, four by six inches, and protected by a heavy wire screen door on hinges.
A raised platform and ladder is made at one end of the large box, and in the open space one or two branches should be made fast on which the lizards can climb.
The top of the box should be enclosed with wire netting, as shown in the illustration. A doorway three inches square cut in the side of the upper box will allow access to this roof-garden.
A few coats of dark-green paint will finish these reptile pens on the outside, and they should be enamelled cream color, buff, or light green on the inside, so that the reptiles may be seen against the light background.
For the back yard, or in the fields and woods near the house, a summer-house or pergola will be found a comfortable nook in which to spend many pleasant hours.
A simple summer-house is shown in the illustration, Fig. 1. This is made of four posts, has a shingled roof, and is provided with seats on three sides. Obtain four spruce posts four inches square, or four tree-trunks from four to six inches in diameter. Plant them in the ground, forming a square of six feet. The posts should be embedded for at least two feet, and, to insure them from decaying too quickly, tar or pitch the bottoms, or give them two or three good coats of asphaltum varnish. The posts should stand seven feet above ground. Across the tops of the posts nail two-by-four-inch joist, with lap joints as shown at A in Fig. 2. With four more pieces of joist form the roof rafters, cutting a notch in each joist where it fits over the corners at the head of the posts. At the peak, the joist are bevelled where they meet.
Join two of the pieces at first; then lap the remaining two on both sides of them, nailing all the ends securely with steel wire nails. Put one middle rafter in on each side between eaves to the roof. It would not look well to have to roof the corner ones; then nail shingle lath or scantling on the four sides to receive the shingles. The rafters should overhang the top frame about twelve inches, so as to form the stop on a line with the posts. Begin at the bottom and at the middle of each side to shingle the roof, working out to the corners and up through the middle to the peak. To prevent the roof leaking at the corners, bevel the shingles at one side, then lap those on the other side over them and bevel the edges. Some builders lay a strip of tin flashing over the edges as well as in the valleys of a roof to insure a perfectly water-tight joint. Use galvanized nails. To hide the rough rafters and shingle lath, the inside of the roof may be lined with narrow, matched boards; then the wood-work may be given a coat or two of paint in some desirable color.
A back-yard pergola is constructed from two upright posts four inches square, a cross beam two by six inches, and eight joists laid across from the post bar to the top of the back fence. This style of pergola is particularly adapted to city yards and those surrounded by a board fence. In the event of there being no fence, the ends of the joist or roofing beams may bear on a two-by-six-inch cross bar that rests on two more posts corresponding with the front ones.
The posts are four inches square, of spruce or any other available wood, and are planed on all four sides. They are embedded in the ground for about two feet, and, to prevent them from sinking or shifting, place a large, flat stone in the hole on which the post will rest, and around it pack earth and stones instead of earth only. A lap cut in the front top end of the post will admit the two-by-six-inch cross beam. The posts are seven feet apart, and the cross beam ten feet long, with the ends cut as shown in Fig. 3 on page 56. The front end of each joist is rounded under as shown, and to make a more secure anchorage a notch two inches long and an inch deep may be cut at the under side of each joist, so that they will fit down over the upper edge of the cross beam. Make all the joints and laps fast with steel wire nails; then give the wood-work a few coats of paint.
Seats may be built in on two sides and supported with under braces or brackets to prop up the front edge, and a back-board may be nailed fast to the posts and fence.
Where there is a large tree on the place or near the house, a toadstool canopy (Fig. 4) may be constructed above a comfortable seat. The framing of the canopy is shown in Fig. 5, where the arrangement of corner rafters and braces can be clearly seen. The tree end of each rafter is bevelled (or cut on a slant) and nailed fast with steel wire nails. The under braces are keyed to the tree by cutting out a wedge of the bark, so that the lower end or point of the bracket will fit into it. These ends are to be well nailed to the tree-trunk, as they are the main props to hold up the roof. Between the corner rafters let one rafter in on each side; then nail shingle lath on the top of the rafters, and to these the shingles are fastened.
A seat eighteen inches wide may be built about the foot of the trunk and supported by two-by-three-inch joist let into the ground a foot or eighteen inches. Instead of shingling this roof, it may be thatched with salt hay arranged in flat tufts and nailed onto the lath. Begin at the lower edge to do this and thatch one line first; then begin on the end of the line above it and arrange the tufts closely side by side, and nail them fast. The last line at the top should have tar paper under it, closely fitted, and nailed to the tree trunk with copper tacks and painted. This will deflect the water and prevent it from running down the trunk and wetting the seat.
A simple but effective and useful rustic pergola is shown in Fig. 6. All the posts, cross-pieces, braces, and stringers at the top are of undressed wood, having the bark on. The corner posts are from four to six inches in diameter, and are embedded two feet in the ground. They are seven feet above the ground, and on top of two sets cross-stringers are made fast and braced with angle brackets. A sharp hatchet, a saw, and a hammer will be the only tools required for this work; and where an angle piece is attached to a post, the bark and wood should be cut away on the post, so that the bevelled edge of the bracket will lie snugly against it. It should then be nailed fast with long steel wire nails. This pergola can be made of almost any size, but for one of moderate proportions it should measure eight feet square and seven feet high. Seats of smooth boards may be arranged on three sides between posts, and wires may be run up and down and crosswise, on which climbing vines may be supported.
A circular pergola will present a pleasing appearance in any yard. It is made from six rustic posts, six supporting beams, and eleven top rafters, as shown in Fig. 7.
Tree-trunks of the proper size and length may be cut in the woods, or some locust posts can be purchased at a lumber-yard. The bark is to be left on, and the posts are to be planted two feet in the ground in a circle eight feet in diameter. The tops of the posts should be sawed off so that they are all an equal distance from the ground. On top of them nail six pieces of joist, two by four inches, with the narrower side resting on the posts.
The joist must be bevelled or mitred so that they will fit snugly at the posts. Spike them fast to each other and to the posts with large steel wire nails. The top rafters should be of two-by-three or two-by-four inch spruce, planed or left rough, and arranged equal distances apart, so that they will form a large circle on the supporting beams. These are to be nailed fast and painted if desired. Vines may be planted close to the posts, so that as they grow the thick mass of foliage will make a shady top to the pergola.
If desired, a few seats may be arranged between the posts or columns, but portable seats would be more in keeping with this style of pergola.
A design for a comfortable summer-house is shown in Fig. 8. The posts are set on an oblong, seven feet wide and twelve feet long. Seven or eight inch posts are planted in the ground, and the top rails are arranged as shown in Fig. 2. The rails can be of two-by-four-inch joist, and should be cut and neatly lapped at the ends, as shown at A in Fig. 2. A ridge-pole forms the centre support to this roof, and from it the rafters are run down to the top rails. Over these the shingle lath are nailed, and then the thatching of salt hay or shingles may be laid on. A wind-speeder and a weather-vane may be arranged at either end of the roof, as shown in the drawing, and seats may be built in between the end posts, with a supporting rib at the middle and braces under the seats. There is room enough under this roof to swing a hammock.
From the time of the earliest habitation of the earth, nature’s great forces, wind and water, have been employed to furnish power for man’s uses. Wind engines and mills for motive power have become almost obsolete in and about the great cities, as they are so cumbersome and uncertain, but in the country they are still used to a great extent for pumping water, milling, and operating light machinery.
Windmills have been made in a number of shapes by the people of different nations, and some of them are very picturesque, especially the Dutch wheels and those made in the eastern part of the United States a century or more ago, many of which are still working.
Windmills will never go out of use entirely, no matter what cheap motive power will eventually run the world; for when they are once set up properly they cost nothing to operate, and if a wheel is well made it will last for years with but trifling cost for repairs.
Windmills, weather-vanes, pinion-wheels, and wind toys of all descriptions have been made by boys in every age, and each generation goes on to invent or think of something new for the same old wind to play with that has toyed with the world’s wheels for centuries. The illustrations and descriptions on this and the following pages will be found helpful in the construction of wind machinery that shall be both novel and practicable.
The easiest sort of a pinion-wheel and weather-vane to construct is shown in Fig. 1. It consists of a piece of stout tin or sheet-iron, a wooden shaft twenty inches long, and a fan-tail twelve inches long and seven inches wide at the rear end.
Punch a small hole in the centre of a sheet of tin or iron not less than ten inches square, and with a lead-pencil compass draw a circle ten inches in diameter. Half an inch inside of this draw another one nine inches in diameter, as indicated by the light lines in Fig. 2. One inch from the centre draw a third circle making it two inches in diameter; then divide the disk into eight equal parts.
With a cold chisel cut on the lines, as indicated in Fig. 2, and bend the metal ears as shown in drawing No. 1, so that the corners will set back an inch from the rim. With a stout pair of shears cut around the outside line and free the wheel from the sheet of metal.
At the front of the wheel fasten a spool with steel wire nails driven through the tin to act as a hub. Then give them both a coat or two of paint.
Make a shaft from hard wood an inch square, and cut it in from one end about ten inches, as shown in Fig. 3. At the other end bind the wood for an inch or two with linen line or fine wire to prevent its splitting, and bore a hole in the end with an awl. Through the spool and disk, and into the hole in the shaft, drive a flat-headed steel wire nail or a screw, three-sixteenths of an inch in diameter, to act as the pinion on which the wheel may revolve.
From light wood, three-eighths of an inch in thickness, cut a fan-tail seven inches wide at one end and two at the other, and, having passed it through the cut in the shaft, make it fast with small nails or screws.
Balance the shaft and wheel on your finger to determine where to pierce the hole through which the upright shaft on the pole should pass; then bore it out with bit and brace so that the shaft will fit snug but not tight.
To the top of the shaft, over the hole, attach another spool, so as to form a longer bearing; or a strap of metal may be tacked so that it will bridge up over the hole about two inches. In this bridge a corresponding hole may be cut, through which the vertical shaft or pin will pass. This is to hold the vane steady on the long pin of quarter-inch round iron driven into the top of the pole, and prevent it from dipping forward or backward.
Place this vane on a shed, the end of a barn roof, or on a high pole where the wind has free access to it.
Wind-speeders may be constructed of metal or partly of wood, but one that can easily be made by a boy consists of two sticks, four ordinary tin funnels having their ends stopped up with a plug of wood, and a pole, into the end of which a long iron pin is driven and on which the hub revolves. Fig. 4.
Two hard-wood sticks thirty inches long and three-quarters of an inch square are cut at the middle so that they will lap, and with steel nails they are attached to a hub three-quarters of an inch thick and three inches in diameter, in the centre of which a quarter-inch hole is bored. The end of each stick or arm is cut in to receive the funnels, and they are held in place by straps of tin passed around each neck and tacked fast to the top and bottom of the cross sticks.
With a sharp-pointed awl or punch a small hole is made through the strap and neck, and a long, slim steel nail is driven through both into the end of the sticks to give the funnels an additional purchase.
To reduce the friction and to prevent the wood from wearing away at the under side of the hub, a large flat washer should be attached to the wood with copper tacks driven closely all around the outer edge. Before the speeder is slipped over the upright pin, a short piece of small gas-pipe or tubing should be placed over it so it will rest between the hub and the top of the pole. Two coats of white or light-colored paint will improve the appearance of this speeder.
Of all the weather-vanes that have ever been made, the balanced arrow is undoubtedly the oldest and most popular; it is the universal type of its class, and, from the simple arrow that a boy can whittle from a shingle to the beautifully gilded vane that crowns the pinnacle of some great building, it is everywhere in evidence. Fig. 5.
The arrow-vane can be made any length to suit the height at which it may be placed, but for the house, barn, flag-pole, or tower not more than fifty or sixty feet high, it should be from twenty-four to thirty-six inches long, with the blade from five to six inches in width.
The most substantial vane is made in three pieces, the point, shaft, and blade. The shaft is made from hard wood, three-quarters of an inch square, in the ends of which cuts are made to receive a tin or sheet-metal point and blade. These are held in place with steel nails driven through the wood and clinched on the opposite side. The arrow is balanced and a hole is then made in the shaft through which the upright pin or rod will pass.
A ferule or ring is driven on the upright rod to hold the arrow in the proper place, and below it two rods should be arranged at right angles, at the ends of which the letters N, E, S, W are soldered. These rods may be of brass or wood, and if the wood is used it should be of hickory or locust, half an inch square or round, and slit at the ends to receive the letters of tin or sheet metal. These latter are held in place with slim steel wire nails driven through the wood and metal.
At the top of a flag-pole these arms should be mounted above a gilded ball, and they should be, if of brass or copper, held securely in place with wire or solder. If they are of iron, it would be well to have a blacksmith weld them, so that they will be rigid and stay in place.
In Fig. 6 some suggestions for wooden vanes are shown that can be followed with the scroll saw and jackknife or a compass saw and carving chisels. These vanes can be made in almost any size that will not be out of proportion to the building or pole they are to be mounted on.
The fish is cut from wood five-eighths of an inch thick, and all around the edges the wood is bevelled so as to give the fish a rounded effect. The fish is balanced on the edge of a piece of wood to determine where the rod will pass through it; then with a quarter-inch bit the hole is carefully bored through from top to bottom. The compass-point letters can be made from sheet tin and supported on two cross sticks and a stout wire hoop from twelve to fifteen inches in diameter.
The lady with the parasol is cut from wood half an inch in thickness. She is fifteen inches high and twelve inches wide across the bottom of the skirt. From the shoes to the hat, a quarter-inch hole is bored entirely through the body, but if this be found too difficult, a staple at the top and bottom will answer instead. Through these staples the rod will pass.
The squirrel is made in the same manner as the lady, and either balanced on the rod which passes through the body or by means of staples driven at one side. A ring and washer should be provided on the rod for the bottom of the vane to rest on, as there would be too much friction if the vane rested on the top end of the pole into which the rod is driven.
The bird vane is cut out and balanced the same as the fish, and the modelling may be carved in the wood or painted, to give shape and character to the vane. Otherwise it would be but a blank piece of thin board cut in the shape of the outline.
In all of these vanes it is necessary, of course, to have the greatest overhang on the side opposite to that facing the wind, otherwise they would not indicate properly.
An excellent and reliable wind indicator is shown in Fig. 7, the illustration of the wind-pennant. It consists of a metal hoop on which a funnel-shaped silk or cotton fabric pennant is sewed fast, and when this latter is filled by a breeze it stands out, as the illustration shows.
A pennant fifteen inches long should have a hoop five inches in diameter, and it can be made either from wire rings bent as shown in Fig. 8 A, or from sheet metal, as shown at Fig. 8 B.
The sheet metal should be perforated with small holes all around one edge to pass the thread through, when sewing the fabric fast, and the edges should be smoothed so as not to cut the threads. If the hoop is made of wire, a ring should be formed at top and bottom for the upright rod to pass through; but if it is of sheet metal a hole at the top and bottom will admit the rod.
This pennant is very useful at the mast-head of a boat, and is much more satisfactory to watch than the perpetually bobbing flat pennant, as it does not break or fall down unless it is calm, and only shifts from side to side as the wind blows it.
On a flag-pole or staff above the pennant the compass points are arranged, and if these are made from copper or brass, the letters may be soldered fast to the ends of the arms. Where the arms cross, they are to be flattened as shown in Fig. 9 A, and lapped together, as shown in Fig. 9 B. After the hole is bored they should be bound to the upright rod with copper wire and soldered so they will remain in a fixed position that the wind cannot alter. Fig. 9 C.
Sticks of hard wood may be substituted for the metal arms, and the sheet-metal letters let into saw cuts made at the outer ends.
An odd wind indicator is shown in Fig. 10, illustrating a ball vane in a basket. It consists of a flat basket, with a rim six inches high, made of wire cloth with square meshes; inside of this a silk or cotton covered ball of wire is placed and blown by the wind from one side to the other of the basket. Of course, the direction the wind is coming from is opposite to that taken by the ball.
The basket should be twenty-four inches in diameter, six inches high, and supported at the top of a pole by wires attached from the upper and lower edge of the outer rim, and leading up and down to the pole, the ends being made fast to staples or screw-eyes.
The ball, which is made of wire hoops and fastened together with fine wires, should be from four to six inches in diameter. It is covered with silk or thin muslin sewed on in the same manner in which a baseball is covered with leather. The framework must be of light spring brass or copper wire, and where the hoops cross it would be well to touch the unions with solder to insure a firm joint and make the ball rigid.
If the ball should blow out of the basket at any time, it may be necessary to lace wires across the outer rim at the top, so as to form a confining net-work.
Above the basket the compass points can be arranged on wood or metal arms, and when complete and mounted this weather-vane will present a most unique appearance.
A merry-go-round like the one shown in Fig. 11 is an interesting wind toy and pleasing to watch, as the boats keep sailing round and round. It is made from a child’s hoople properly braced with cross sticks and mounted on a hub. Four flat-boats are made and attached to the outer edge of the frame. When rigged with sails and placed at the top of a post, on a rod, the boats will keep up a continual sailing so long as there is any breeze. A hoople three feet in diameter is best for this purpose, as it gives more space between the boats.
Double sets of braces or cross strips are arranged inside the hoople, and, where they meet at the middle, laps are cut in the sticks so that they will fit flush, as shown in Fig. 12.
The sticks are placed seven inches apart, and are five-eighths of an inch square; under the lap joints a plate of wood nine inches square is attached by means of screws or steel wire nails, to strengthen the unions of the cross sticks as well as to make a platform, at the under side of which the hub is arranged. A plan of the hoople, the cross sticks, and the location of one boat is shown in Fig. 13.
The boats are placed so that the outer edges of the bottoms rest on the top of the hoople. The inner edges rest on two of the cross sticks, where they are securely attached with long, slim screws passed up through the sticks and hoople and into the bottoms of the boats.
A block of wood four or five inches square and six inches long is to be shaved down at one end so that it is round and about one inch and a half in diameter. This is attached to the under side of the plate, at the middle of the hoople frame, so that the small end projects down; and through it a half-inch hole is bored.
An iron pin half an inch in thickness and eighteen inches long is to be driven into the upper end of a post over which the hub and hoople frame will fit. The upper end of the iron pin is threaded and provided with two nuts. One of these should be screwed down tight on the other with a washer between to act as a lock-nut, so that the revolution of the merry-go-round will not tighten or loosen them when once adjusted.
The boats are ten inches long and three inches wide at the middle, but they taper fore and aft, as shown in Fig. 13 A. They are cut from pine or white-wood two inches thick, and painted in gay colors. The masts are fifteen inches high, and the sails are provided with booms, gaffs, and jib-booms, also with rings which hold the sails close to the masts. The rigging is of copper wire, as the constant motion would soon wear out string or line and the sails would fly loose.
Each boat must be in good trim to keep the motion uniform, and if the sails wear out too soon, tin ones should be made or the muslin ones may be given a coat or two of white paint. Pennants at the tops of the masts will add to the effect.
The wind turbine shown in Fig. 14, on the following page, is made of two hooples about thirty inches in diameter, four cross sticks, two wire hoops, and eight V-shaped tin blades.
The cross sticks, thirty inches long, are cut and lapped at the middle and attached to the edge of each hoop with screws or nails. The wire hoops are twenty-two inches in diameter, and are fastened to the cross sticks with staples. The plan of one hoople and the cross sticks, the wire hoop and the location of the blades, is shown in Fig. 15.
The outer corners of each blade are tacked fast to both the upper and lower hoople, while the inner corners are wired fast to the stout wire hoop. The blades are made from tin or sheet iron twelve inches long and six inches wide, and, when bent in the shape of a V, the width across the open end should be four inches.
The blades are depended upon to hold the upper and lower frames in place, and when the turbine is on the top of a post with a rod running through the middle of the cross sticks, around which it revolves, the wind will keep it spinning at a high speed.
Power can be developed with this turbine, but only a very small percentage as compared with a windmill the entire surface of which is continually exposed to the breeze. In the turbine only two or three of the blades are effective at any one time.
From a flat hoop, a few pieces of tin or sheet iron, and some thin wood, a barrel-hoop pinion-wheel may be made similar to the one shown in Fig. 16.