A Nodding Elephant

Press, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22073, 22 April 1937, Page 3 (Supplement)

A Nodding Elephant

This toy elephant is a gifted one; it nods its head at regular intervals as it is pulled along the floor. It looks most complicated, but is not really difficult to make once you know how. The difficult

part was done by the man who invented it. The body is made of three ply, two pieces llin by 10 in. Mark these off into lin squares, and then copy in each square the part of the

drawing shown in the corresponding square in the diagram on +his page. Note that each piece of wood has to have a foreleg and a hind leg. The head is separate and is 13in by 6in, and follows the shape of the dotted lines in the diagram. The sides are fixed together with blocks, one for the back, and one for the animal's belly. The top block is 6in x |in x Sin, and the lower one 3in x Sin x Sin; they are shaped to follow the line of the back and the belly, and are nailed and glued to the sides. Thus a space of ?Li is left between the sides, and the head can fit between the shoulders. It is fixed on a pivot through the shoulders; a screw or a nail will do for this. # The running board, shown m Figure 3, is 12in long by 4in by Jin. A slot 4in x 3in is made for the crank to turn in; the feet of the elephant are morticed Jin deep, and are glued in. The wheels are 3Jm in diameter by tin thick; the front ones are screwed to the edges of the

board with small washers, one on each side. The back axle and the crank are made from strong fencing wire bent to the dimensions shown in Figure 4. The ends are flattened, and are driven firmly into holes bored in the wheels, so that the crank wires will not turn. Pins may be used to make the ends more secure. The axle is fixed on the underside of the running board with two gin staples allowing room for the axle and crank to turn. A connecting rod of thin wire bent at the ends is attached to the crank and to the end of the elephant's head oieee. The rod should be s£in long, but may work better with a slight alteration. Its length and the length of the crank will determine the nodding of the elephant's head as it is drawn along. When the carpentry is finished, it will be time for the artist to begin the interesting task of painting the animal in life-like colours. The ears should be marked in with black on grey: a richly coloured saddle should be painted on the back of the elephant, or a piece of brightly coloured velvet should be glued or tacked on.