BILLY BOYS’ WORKSHOP

Taranaki Daily News, 4 August 1934, Page 9 (Supplement)

BILLY BOYS’ WORKSHOP

A TOY BIPLANE—BY REQUEST. ■ You can make this toy aeroplane from odd pieces of wood and some matchsticks. For the two main planes you will need a piece of one-sixteenth-inch plywood eight inches long and three inches wide. With a fretsaw, cut this in halves lengthwise, then cut the ends of each piece at an angle, and mark the positions of the eight holes for the stays, 8,8, for which match sticks can be used. The holes must be a quarter of an inch from the front and rear edges of the planes, and just large enough for the match sticks to fit tightly. Cut 'the body of the aeroplane to the sizes given in diagram C, from a piece of wood three-quarters of an inch thick. Fix the body to the lower plane with

four small nails, then press the matchsticks in place after dipping the ends in hot glue. Apply more glue to the top ends of the sticks and press the top plane on to them. For the tail plane, cut a piece of thin wood to the sizes given at D, and fix this to the rudder with two small nailsi Cut the rudder from a piece of fretwood to the shape shown at E. Fix the tail plane in place with two small nails on each side of the rudder. To make the undercarriage F, cut a piece of quarter-inch-square' wood, and through this boreJtwo small.’holes about three-quarters-ofi-an-inch apart. Cut two pieces of stout wire three and a half inches long, pass a piece through each hole, and bend the ends up, as shown at F. Press these ends into small holes made’ with a fine bradawl through the lower plane and into the body. . Use a strip of very thin wood for the propeller, and cut to the sizes given at G. To thicken the centre,. glue a thin wood disc on each side, as at H. A glassheaded pin can be used for the propeller shaft.

Any light toy wheels will do, or you can cut two, , about three quarters of an inch in diameter, from a piece of one-eighth-inch fret-wood. Fix them to the ends of the axle bar with half inch round-headed nails. The tail skid is simply a piece of wire bent as shown at K, pressed into a hole made with a bradawl. The Hut Carpenter.