The American boys' workshop

Contents

BOOK

CHAPTER I PAGE Ths Outdoor Boy in Camp 7

A Camp. — Camp Chairs. — Camp Kitchen. — Camp Bed. — Camping Conveniences. — Camp Suggestions. — Camp Furniture. — A Carryall. — A Canoe Truck. — Fishhook Holder. — Another Camp Lamp.

How TO Build a Log Cabin 19

Building the Roof. — The Interior Finish.

The Boy Fisherman 24

A Fishing Rod. — A Minnow Trap. — A Fish Wheel. — A Minnow Net. — A Frog Trap. — A Crab Trap. — A Fish Stringer. — A Marine Telescope.

PART III The Outdoor Boy at Home Easily Bltilt Means of Locomotion 77

A Sail Cart.^A Single Coaster. — A Scooter. — Steering Gear. — How to Make a Wheelbarrow.

CHAPTER II H ow TO Build a Model Hydro- aeroplane 85

How to Build a Good Model Aeroplane 93

A Machine that Will Fly One Thousand Feet.

CHAPTER IV Two Very Simple Model Aeroplanes 99

CONTENTS iii

CHAPTER V PAGE

KiTBS 104

A Large Plane Kite.— A Man Lifting Kite.— A Box Kite.— A Tubular Kite. — Kite Parachute.

An Outdoor Gymnasium 112

Gymnasium Ladder. — A Swing Trainer. — A Whirling Swing. — Spring Board. — A Hammer-throwing Device.

CHAPTER VII A Hanging Whirligig 120

CHAPTER VIII Two Tree Climbing Devices 122

For Nutting Season. — A Wire Climber.

CHAPTER X Miscellaneous Things Handy for the Boy to Know 137

Animal Cage. — A Bird House. — A Rabbit Trap. — A Clever Trap. — Water Whistle. — A Tree Tent. — A Wave Motor Signal. — Automatic Waterer.— A Wind Mill.— A Tin Wind Mill.— A Model Lift Bridge.— A Bean Blower. — A Hallowe'en Ghost.

CHAPTER I A Boy's Workshop 189 A Work-bench 193

A Smaller Work-bench. — A Work Corner. — A Drawing Table.

A Boy's Room 199

Reading Corner. — A Window Seat. — A Rustic Lounge. — A Simple Table. — A Desk. — A Sectional Bookcase. — A Book Shelf. — A Curio Cabinet. — A Mission Oil Lamp. — A Checker Table.

CONTENTS V

CHAPTER IV jAGE

Mission Furniture 214

Combination Bookcase and Desk. — A Seat. — A Writing Table. — A Table. — A Handkerchief Box. — ^A Cabinet Stand. — A Desk. — A Stand. — Blacking Case. — Telephone Set. — Plant Stand.

CHAPTER V

Novelties for Christmas Presents 235

Book Shelf. — An Umbrella Holder. — Waste Basket. — Hanging Flower Box. — Combination Clock and Shelf. — For My Chum: Matchholder. — For Grandma: Foot Stool. — For Father: A Shaving Cabinet. — A Mission Candle Stick. — An Ash Receptacle.

A Boy's Gymnasium 250

A Rowing Machine. — The Jumping Hurdle. — Chest Weight Machine. — Parallel Bars. — Vaulting Horse. — A Grip Machine. — Methods of Handling the Punching Bag. — Punching Bag Drum. — A Portable Punching Bag Disc. — Other Ways to Do It.

CHAPTER VII

Interesting Toys 267

Pile Driver Model. — Fiddle Drill.— The Wind Wagon.— A Revolving Wind Mill. — A New Parachute Idea. — A Hallowe'en Noise Maker. — A Dirigible. — A Flyer.

CHAPTER VIII

Some Noveiv Ideas and Hints 279

The Shoestring Chain or Fob. — A Sketching Idea. — Framing Pictures. — ^Ash Sifter. — How to Repair a Chair. — Shoe Tree.

Introduction

There isn't a boy in the United States who has not some time started out to make something he needed very much. Possibly it was a fishpole, possibly it was a rowboat, possibly it was a desk for his room. Anyhow, he needed it, and tried to make it. For every boy who succeeded in turning out what he wanted there are a hundred who failed — and they failed because they didn't know just how to go at it. If they had had a hint or a few suggestions as to plan, or a drawing to follow, they would have built their fishpoles or boats or desks. And that is one of the reasons for publishing this book — to give the boy the help he must have to make what he needs.

The book has a dozen other purposes besides the mere giving of something interesting to read. Suppose, for instance, you are in camp, far from any town, and you find there are necessities of camp furniture you have forgotten. This book tells you how to make them right where you are. Suppose a rainy day comes along and you can't think of anything to pass away your time. This book will give you no end of suggestions. Possibly you want to make your father or mother a present : run through this book and you will find dozens of articles you can make at little cost. "The American Boy's Workshop" will help you in summer and in winter. It will help you at home or in the woods. It is the sort of book a boy wants to carry with him wherever he goes, because it contains something that will be useful or amusing to him wherever he is.

Nearly all the matter contained in "The American Boy's Workshop" has appeared in that excellent boy's magazine. The American Boy. It has been carefully re-edited and arranged, and is issued in this form by permission of The Sprague Publishing Company. The bulk of the chapters were prepared by John ly. Dougheny for the "For Boys to Make" department in the magazine. Other chapters were written by specialists — men viii INTRODUCTION

especially fitted to take care of a certain subject. For instance, the chapter on "Signalling" was written by Lieutenant W. S. Anderson, of the United States Navy. The chapter on "Small Fur Bearers and How to Catch Them ' ' was written by George J. Thiesen, a noted trapper and woodsman. The chapter on "The Bow and Arrow " is by A. Hyatt Verrill, and so on. So, you see, you are getting help not from one man alone, but from many men of wide experience, each writing about the thing he knows best.

It is hoped the book will bring pleasure to every boy who reads it, that it will prove valuable to him in his everyday plans, that it will help to strengthen his muscles, heighten his manhood, and contribute toward making him in every way worthy of bearing the name that forms part of the title of this book — an "American Boy."

Clarence Budington Kelland.

BOOK I

CHAPTER I The Outdoor Boy in Camp A CAMP

In the past few years people have awakened to the great value of fresh air, and camping, which was thought to be the folly of youth or the necessity of backwoods folks, has come into favor. Every available camping spot is being searched out and utilized. You need not go far away to camp. Boys have been known to pitch their tents on lawns and neighboring farms, in parks and academy grounds, to say nothing of some of the big city youngsters who are forced to choose the roofs of buildings for their open-air home.

The ideal camping ground is, of course, by the side of a lake or river. Make sure of your water supply and drainage, and have the open side face the south. The drawing shows the simplest outfit arranged in convenient style. The kind of tent used is called a wall tent. The poles used can be cut in the woods; the stakes and lines should be carried. The fire should be at least twenty feet away from the tent, to avoid danger of fire and inconvenience from smoke. The table erected near the tree will be found a luxury when compared with eating while squatted around the fire. The cupboard suspended from the tree near the table contains dishes and salt, pepper, vinegar, etc. Do not keep sugar with the other food supplies or you will have all the ants in the country paying you a visit.

The outfit shown can be easily carried in a rowboat or canoe and can be set up by four boys in an hour. You will need an axe, fishing tackle, waterproof match safes, pliers, sharp knives, some peroxide and vaseline, clean cloths for bandages for scratches, extra pairs of shoes, sun hats, and pillows.

'A boys' camp.

Here are a few sketches that will give the beginner an idea of how to set up a canvas quickly. Fig. i is the lean-to, and has two forked poles about six feet high in front and a cross-bar that rests upon them. A stake is driven at each of the rear corners for guying. The canvas for this style of tent should be of oblong shape, say about i8 x 8 feet.

Another very simple and practical shelter tent is shown in Fig. 2. It is used mostly as protection from the sun and the ends are open to admit the breezes. The same instructions as to canvas and poles that were given in regard to the lean-to hold good here; in fact, the material required for each tent is the same and you can erect your shelter in the form of Fig. i or like Fig. 2, whichever suits your convenience best.

In Fig. 3 we have a simpler shelter than either of the foregoing. No poles are required and the canvas need not be of any particular shape, although a piece nearly square will be the handiest. This is

CAMP T^NTS.

a tent that you can rig up very quickly on the bank of a creek when fishing, to keep your lunch cool and dry if a thunder storm happens to come along.

Figure 4 is a rigging for the home that enables the sleeper to have his head and shoulders out of doors. Doctors all over the country are unceasingly preaching fresh air and it behooves us lO to heed their advice. It is best to begin to sleep outdoors in the summer, so that our system will be accustomed to it before the cold weather comes on. This shelter, supposed to be erected in the rear of the house, consists of a bracket shelf that may be bolted to the house, so as to admit of being readily removed. The canvas is erected in the manner shown or in any way that affords protection from dew, wind, and rain.

CAMP CHAIRS

The seats pictured here are so simple that they require little explanation on my part. They are designed for camping purposes, but there is no reason why you cannot make them for your lawn or playground ; in fact, their rustic appearance makes

ViS'l

TigZ.

CAMP CHAreS.

them as appropriate for a lawn as for any purpose I know of. It is an easy matter to find the pieces needed, but you should be careful not to strip your neighbor's trees of any branches, or your own, without permission from some of the older members of the family. Before attempting to drive long nails or screws in this green wood, bore holes with a small bit. Shave off all knots and bumps with a sharp knife and paint the spots with shellac or varnish to keep them from splitting. The chair and stool may be made in take-down style by tying the joints together with cord, and in this way can be taken apart and carried very easily. If made for the lawn it is just as well to screw them together

THE OUTDOOR BOY IN SUMMER ii

CAMP KITCHEN

Here is a picture of a camp cookery that ought to suggest a quickly arranged and quite convenient way of getting meals started while out roughing it. It is not easy to find a piece of suitable wire out in the woods, but no doubt you would have no trouble in locating a forked stick or enough of them to fill your needs. They are tied to the tripod with rope, but this lashing

CAMP KITCHEN.

must be far enough away from the fire to be safe from burning. The three poles that form the tripod are lashed together as shown in Fig. I.

CAMP BED

One of the simplest camp beds is shown in Fig. i. It consists of a rectangular piece of canvas with a wide hem at each side. Through the opening formed by these hems poles are thrust and their ends are then rested upon two logs as shown. It is a very comfortable bed for camping and the canvas that goes to make it may be used for other purposes in the daytime. This is an advantage not to be scorned, for the chief aim of the seasoned camper is to get along with as few things as possible or, in other words, to use everything for as many different purposes as possible.

The lower cuts. Fig. 3 and Fig. 4, show two fireplaces. The first is a three-sided wall built of stones. One side is left open to receive the draft, the others are closed to retain the heat. A

Fig 1

Fig 2

CAMP BEDS AND FIREPLACES.

camp fire like this will serve your needs for broiling and frying fish and making coffee quite as well as a costly camp stove.

Figure 4 shows the familiar arrangement of pots and kettles over an open bonfire. This is a more satisfactory method of cooking than the tripod just described under the heading "Camp Kitchen," but it is well to know about both. The first can always be made in the woods. The arrangement in Fig. 4 requires wire for hooks, boards, etc., which have to be provided ahead of time. It seems that nothing at home ever tasted as good as the stuff one cooks in the open air. It is not always convenient to find an overhanging Hmb where we want it, but it is possible to find a piece of board and nail it just where it will do the most good, if one would only think of it in time. If you carry a few spikes and a piece of heavy wire to make hooks you will never be at a loss for a place to boil your coffee.

CAMPING CONVENIENCES

An almost endless variety of ideas could be applied to the yearly camping trip. There are pictured here some things that will cost you absolutely nothing to try and which may prove convenient and serviceable.

Figiure i shows a method of baking bread. Get a green branch and peel off the bark, making one end pointed. The sharp end is driven six inches into the ground at a point five or six feet away from the fire. Mix up your dough, flatten it out and cut into strips. Twist the strip in a spiral around the end of the peeled stick and hold it as close to the fire as you wish by bending it down.

Figure 2 is a device used for climbing trees. It is simply a piece of strong wire twisted to the shape shown. The foot rests in the small loop or stirrup and the climber encircles the tree with his arms in the usual wa)^ The wire will be easily drawn up, but it sticks going down and provides a foot rest. It is a pioneer device of inestimable value on account of its simplicity. Anyone can climb a tree with one.

Figure 3 is one of the best. It is a lantern made with a fruit jar and a candle. One piece of wire twisted into the proper shape furnishes a candle holder and bail to carry it with. The zinc top of the jar must be punched full of holes to admit air to the candle. Right under the top kinks or twists are put in the wire so that it will not pull through when being carried. In unscrewing the jar top the whole device turns. The candle may be lifted out at will. This home-made lantern is serviceable and trustworthy. It is also safe and easily carried.

Figures 4 and 5 represent the use that may be made of a pail. With a cover on, as in Fig. 4, it becomes an oven. Fill it with

Fig.l

CAMPING CONVENIENCES.

the food you want to bake and cover with coals. The last is a camp warmer. It consists of a pail full of hot stones.

CAMP SUGGESTIONS ng.2

Here are a few ideas for the benefit of the inexperienced camper : Figure i is a camp fireless cooker. A large water pail is placed

in a soap box, and then filled in with paper which has been soaked

until it spreads like mortar. The cover of the

box must fit tightly and also be covered with

two inches of paper on the inside. The idea is

to heat whatever you want to bake, roast or boil

in a smaller closed pail, and when it is sizzling

hot, place it quickly into the big pail and cover

it and the box. It will take the heat four or

five hours to escape on account of the non-conductivity of the paper, and your food will go

on cooking without any danger of being burned.

Figure 2 is a roaster made of two pie pans.

Illustration 8 introduces a quartet of suggestions for keeping the

food in good condition. Figure i is a piece of meat covered with

gauze and protected from flying insects by means of netting

stretched over small hoops. In high and dry places it will be

found very useful. Study a little and you will understand Fig. 2.

COOKING UTENSILS.

CAMP SUGGESTIONS.

The parts "a" and "b" are just the same, only "b" is covered with cloth. The top ends of the cloth fit into the upper pail of water and thus keep it wet, just as dipping a wick in oil keeps it soaked. The lower pail is full of drinking water and it is kept cool by the evaporation of the moisture in the cloth. Evaporation i6 absorbs heat. Try it and see. Figures 4 and 5 are other apphcations of the same idea. The outer pail and box are perforated and the space between each pair is fihed with loose porous stuff like a sponge. Keep all where the breeze can strike them. Figure 3 is a fish preserver. It is a watertight box, partly submerged to keep it cool. All the ideas have been tested and found valuable.

CAMP FURNITURE

A LAMP

Figure i is a handy pail that may be made by punching holes in a paint can with a sharp nail . It is useful in carrying minnows or small fish. When not being used for this purpose it may serve as a lantern by fastening a candle to a block of wood and placing same in the pail. The idea for this lamp was hit upon one evening while

Fig. 2 rig. a

Fig. 4

CAMP FURNITURE.

fishing. The bullheads began to bite just as darkness was falling, and as the party had no lantern the idea of utilizing the pail to shield the candle came to them, and at once it was tried. It worked excellently and a good string of pan fish were carried home before many hours.

A CARRYALL

Cut out an oblong piece of canvas and sew straps of the same material here and there in the manner shown by cut, to hold the saw, axe, and other tools. Leather straps are then riveted to each end and when all the tools are intact the kit may be rolled up and carried very easily. This carryall is useful in a boy's work room or around the home. When you start to do a piece of work hang it up over the bench and all the tools you have will be in plain sight and you will not have to look for them.

A CANOie TRUCK

The little device pictured in Fig. 3 will be useful in carrying a canoe from place to place over land. It consists of a small platform made of pine boards mounted on a pair of wheels. The wheels may be purchased for a few cents at any junk shop. Notches are chiseled out of the center of the long cleats and a piece shaped like the letter U is fitted into them. This U-shaped piece is the part upon which the canoe rests and should be padded with canvas or felt. In ordinary cases canoes are carried on the shoulders in an inverted position and, of course, it is necessary to empty everything out to do so. By the use of this little truck the canoe becomes the holder of all freight and may be pushed along like a go-cart. When not in use the truck is placed in the boat.

FISHHOOK HOLDER

Fishhooks are a hard thing to carry, especially those with leaders on. The contrivance shown in Fig. 4 will do away with tangles and scratched fingers and safely hold fishhooks enough for the entire party. It is made of a block of wood, a staple and a cork. The block is 6 X 2 X I inches and the cork is nailed close to one end of it. On the opposite end a staple to receive the barbed ends of the hooks is driven. The manner in which the device is used is clearly shown by the cut. It has been found very handy on a good many fishing trips and will repay you a hundredfold for the time spent in making it.

i8

ANOTHER CAMP LAMP

This handy camp Hght or barn lamp is made out of a tin can and a candle. First bend a piece of wire to the shape of "a" and fit it into the can for a handle. As a candle holder, cut, with a chisel, across "b" in the bottom of the can. The points turned up, form the socket. One end of the can is open, and the other is punched rtg.L

A CAMP LAMP.

full of holes. The flame of the candle playing on the top of the can may heat the handle too much. This can be overcome by wrapping with insulated wire or cloth. A wooden hand-hold taken from a pail will also do for the purpose. This light is intended for an emergency, when no other is available. You may find it useful when you least expect to.

CHAPTER II How to Build a Log Cabin

The log cabin marks the beginning of American architecture. It was the log house that sheltered the Pilgrims from the weather and Indian attacks, and it was this same style of structure in which Abraham Lincoln and many other of our statesmen were born. In the first cabins the window openings were covered with oiled paper, as there was no glass in the country until some years later, when it was brought over from England.

Although the cabin went out of use as a dwelling very rapidly when saw-mills came into existence, it is still to be found in the timber regions and mountains. Certainly a better forest home could not be wished for.

Boys who enjoy life in the woods and have an opportunity to spend their time among the trees, should build themselves a cabin.

In choosing a site be careful to select an elevated spot. Do not locate your camp at the base of a hill or near marshy and boggy ground. Be sure that good drinking water can be had near at hand.

After selecting a place for your cabin, you must decide upon the style and size to build it. These must be determined largely by the size and amount of timber you can procure. A plan for a cabin simple in design and construction is shown in Fig. i. This may be altered to suit the builder.

Most of the material for the cabin can be secured in the woods ; but for a good roof, floor, and the finishing of the door and window openings, some boards should be taken along. There is no rule for the diameter of the timber to be used, but logs of small diameter are to be preferred for a small cabin. Cut all the logs about two feet longer than the inside dimensions of the building. If the plan here given is followed, the logs should be twelve and fourteen feet long. Leave the bark on the logs.

To start the cabin, stake out its length and breadth upon the ground; clear the space of all trees and brush, and make the ground as nearly level as possible. It will be unnecessary to have a foundation for a cabin of this size. Select two fourteen-foot logs for sills and lay them upon the ground, parallel to each other and ten feet apart.

There are several ways of joining the logs together. Probably the most simple scheme is what is known as the lock-joint. As shown in Fig. 2 a notch is cut in the logs one foot from each end. After cutting the notches in two twelve-foot logs, fit them over the sills one foot from the ends.

If you intend to have a wooden floor, you must lay the floor joists at this point. Cut straight poles for these and gain and tenon them into the sills, placing them about two feet apart. (See

After fastening the joists in place, continue laying the logs, placing a fourteen-foot log on each side and then a twelve-foot log on each end, until the height of the doors and windows has been reached. This should be about six feet eight inches from the floor. Cut out the openings and finish them with jambs.

BUILDING THE ROOF

When the desired height of the walls has been attained, you are ready to construct the roof. There are several ways of framing this. Figures 4 and 12 show a simple way. Continue laying the end logs as before, but set each pair of side logs a little farther in than the preceding pair, until they finally meet at the peak of the roof.

The roof may be thatched or covered with bark, shingles, or boards. The thatched roof is the most artistic, and when well made will last from ten to fifteen years ; but unless the straw is put on very thickly and woven closely, it is likely to leak. If you intend to use shingles you will require about four quarter-thousand bunches for a roof of this size. Boards will be found the most simple and inexpensive covering. These should be put on as shown in Fig. 12. First nail a layer of boards across the roof, leaving a space of four inches between each board, and then nail boards over the spaces. Fasten a ridgepole at the peak to protect the edges of the boards. This pole may be made out of a small log with a V-shaped piece cut out of it to make it fit over the boards. (See Fig. 5.)

If you cannot obtain glass for the windows, the openings may be covered with paper, or wooden shutters may be made to close the openings at night and during storms.

It is not advisable to build a log chimney and fireplace with the intention of making fires in it. Unless built very carefully and kept in good repair there is always danger of setting the cabin on fire. But whether the fireplace is used or not, it belongs to a log riQ.4.

cabin and should be built. Nothing is more artistic than the stick chimney.

First cut an opening about three feet high and five feet wide in the end of the cabin for the fireplace. Then build up the chimney in the same manner as you did the cabin walls, until it extends two feet above the top of the fireplace. Use large logs for this portion of the chimney and fit the ends against the logs of the main structure.

When this has been done, make a stone hearth, filHng in the stones with clay, and packing them down until they are level with the floor joists. Make the clay linings of the sides of the fireplace from ten to twelve inches thick, beating the clay until it becomes hard. Smaller sticks may be used for the upper part of the chimney. Lay these up in clay mortar and line the inside with clay as the work proceeds. Figures i and 4 show the details of the fireplace. Fasten a shelf above the fireplace on wooden brackets as shown in Fig. 4.

When the carpenter work of the cabin has been completed, caulk all the spaces between the logs with clay and moss. In doing this use a pointed stick.

THE INTERIOR FINISH

The exterior of the cabin being completed, we will turn our attention to the finishing of the interior. The cost of the structure will be considerably reduced if, instead of making a wooden floor, you dry out the ground and pack it down until it is hard. If you are situated where you can procure boards, nail them to the joists which you set in place during the early part of the building's construction.

Make the cabin door of matched boards, fastening them together by means of battens at top, center, and bottom. If you do not happen to have iron hinges, there are several ways of making good wooden ones. Cut three blocks of wood and nail them to the inside edge of the door jamb as shown by A, B, and C in Fig. 6. Make three wooden hinges, similar to Fig. 7, each about eighteen

Fig. 6. CABIN DOOR inches long. Round one end of each, and bore a small hole through it at D. Nail these three hinges to the door in such a position that, when the door is put in place, the ends of the hinges will rest on the blocks A, B, C. Now, when you know where the holes bored in the hinges come on the blocks, bore a hole through each block directly below that in the hinge. When ready to put the door on, set it in place and either bolt the hinges to the blocks or slip large spikes through the holes.