Harper's Outdoor Book for Boys. Joseph H. Adams
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.
Chapter IV
WEATHER-VANES AND WINDMILLS
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.
A Pinion-wheel Weather-vane
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.
A Wind-speeder
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.
The Arrow Weather-vane
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,