BILLY BOYS’ WORKSHOP

Taranaki Daily News, 3 August 1935, Page 6 (Supplement)

BILLY BOYS’ WORKSHOP

A NOVEL WIND-DRIVEN TOY. This toy, in the form of a flying duck, turns and flutters its wings when perched in the garden on a windy day. For the. body use a piece of planed ■half-inch wood, Hi inches long and four inches wide. Mark out one side into three-quarter-inch squares and with a pencil carefully ' outline the shape of the bird, as shown in diagram A. Cut round the outline with a pad-saw, smooth the rough edges with a rasp, and finish with glasspaper. Two pieces of flve-eighths-inch wood, six inches by three inches, will be required for the wings. Mark out one piece in three-quarter-inch squares, then pencil in the outline, as shown in diagram B. Cut out the wing and use it as a pattern for marking and cutting out the other.

Both sides of -each, wing have to be chiselled at an angle, propeller fashion, as shown in the end view, so that they

will revolve in the wind. Leave the circular boss, C, of each wing the full thickness of the 'wood and through the centre of each bore a quarter-inch hole. Bore another hole, slightly larger, through the body, in the position marked, and connect up the wings with a short piece of quarter-inch dowel rod, which should be a tight fit in the bosses, C. Place a thick washer between the body and each’ wing before finally pushing them on to the dowel rod.

Balance the body on the edge of a board to determine where the upright rod should come, and then bore a quar-ter-inch hole about one-and-a-half inches long. Part of a stair rod, driven into the top of a post, makes a good pivot. It should be provided with a fixed ring and a washer for the body to rest upon. Give the finished toy two coats of enamel. Use white for the body and parts of the wings, red for the head, yellow for the bill, and black for the wing tips. The Hut Carpenter.