“At the upper right hand corner,” said Donald. Then Donald drew below
the lines H H and above the lines G G the platform which, for lack of
space, is given separately here, but which must be traced and made a
part of the pattern by being fitted out at each end of the car.
“This projection,” (M) Donald continued, “is to fasten the front of the
platform to the roof.”
“You haven’t made a place for the wheels,” said Polly.
“You’re right, I haven’t. We will put them here,” and Donald drew the
axle guards, marked F. “This is the place for the doors,” he went on,
indicating the spaces at either end of the two sides of the car. “The
top part of the door is glass, you know,” he said. On the door at the
upper left-hand corner (Figure 2) he made the catch B and on the middle
line of the lower door he cut the slot B. The inner edge of the slot is
on the line, the outer edge is left of the line. The order was reversed
on the right-hand side. (Figure 2.) Here he put the catch (A) on the
lower door and the slot (A) on the upper door.
“If you will tell me how large you want the little top roof I’ll make it
now,” said Polly.
“All right. I’ll draw a place for it, then I’ll know,” and on the top of
the car Donald drew the oblong two and one-quarter inches wide. The top
line of the oblong was three-eighths of an inch below the line I I, and
the bottom line of the oblong was three-eighths of an inch above the
line J J, Figure 2.
[Illustration: Wheel, axle and hub of the car]
“Now I have it,” he said. “You must make the little top roof just eight
inches long and two and one-quarter inches wide. Draw an oblong exactly
that size, you know, for the top. I want it to stand up half an inch
above the car, so you must add half an inch at each side and each end,
with bend-overs and catches at each corner to hold the sides and ends
together, and slits in the sides for the catches. Then make large
catches to hold the top roof to the other roof, one catch at each end of
each side and one in the middle of each end. (Figure 3.) Be sure and
make the side catches half an inch from the end of the oblong.”
“You mean,” said Polly, “that the neck of the catch must be half an inch
from the corner when the sides and ends are bent down.”
[Illustration: A mechanical craft template diagram for cutting and
folding the main body and roof of a toy trolley car or streetcar. The
unrolled flat layout features a long, central rectangular panel labeled
'Roof' with dimensions '8 inches' by '2 ¼ inch'. Flanking the roof are
two side panels showing a long row of windows and panels labeled 'DOOR'.
The template outlines cutting paths with solid lines and folding creases
with dashed lines. It includes various lettered tabs labeled A, B, C, D,
F, G, H, I, J, N, and O, along with measurement annotations such as '3
inches', '2 ¼ inches', '1 ½ inches', and '2 inches'.]
[Illustration: A mechanical craft template diagram for cutting and
folding additional components of a toy trolley car. The diagram features
three distinct flat patterns vertically arranged. The top pattern is a
rectangular piece labeled 'Floor of Platform of Trolley Car' and 'Front
of Platform', including horizontal dashed folding lines, an inner box
marked 'Cut this out' measuring 2 inches by 1 ¼ inches, and a bottom tab
labeled M. The middle pattern is a long, narrow strip labeled 'Trolley
Pole' measuring 7 ¼ inches, terminating in a solid circle on the left
and a hollow ring on the right. The bottom pattern is a small stepped
piece labeled '1 inch Bolt' with a 1 ½ inches base width.]
“That’s it, and make the neck half an inch wide and the catch about one
inch long from end to end. Don’t forget the hole in the middle of the
roof for the trolley pole,” Donald added. “Make it not quite half an
inch in diameter. (Figure 3.) Then Donald drew slots for the catches in
the oblong on top of his car, placing them to correspond with the
catches on the top roof and making them a little more than half an inch
long. He placed each side slot just half an inch from the ends of the
oblong, and all inside the boundary line.
“Now I will draw in the windows, eight on each side,” he announced,
spacing them off carefully with a rule. He made each window
three-quarters of an inch wide and seven-eighths of an inch high,
allowing one-quarter of an inch space between. Then on the front of each
platform he drew an opening two inches wide and one and one-quarter
inches high. On a line with the lower edge of the front of the bottom,
in the middle of the projection, he drew a slot a little over one inch
long (Figure 2), and on the roof extension at each end of the car he
made a slot a little over two inches long, C and D, page 41. These slots
are one and one-quarter inches from the end lines of the middle oblong
on the roof.
“My car is ready to cut out now,” said Donald.
“So is my top roof,” said Polly. “Is the trolley pole all right?”
Polly had made the pole seven and one-half inches long and one-quarter
of an inch wide, with a ring at one end five-eighths of an inch in
diameter, and a ball as the other end one-half an inch in diameter.
(Figure 4.)
Donald pronounced the pole “first rate.” “Put the ball through the hole,
Polly,” he said. So when Polly had cut out the roof according to the
heavy lines and bent down the sides and ends according to the dotted
lines (Figure 3), she turned in one edge of the ball and pushed it
through the round hole in the roof. When she flattened the ball out
again it could not slip through the hole, but the pole could be moved in
any direction.
[Illustration: A mechanical craft template diagram for cutting and
folding additional components of a toy trolley car. The diagram features
three distinct flat patterns vertically arranged. The top pattern is a
rectangular piece labeled 'Floor of Platform of Trolley Car' and 'Front
of Platform', including horizontal dashed folding lines, an inner box
marked 'Cut this out' measuring 2 inches by 1 ¼ inches, and a bottom tab
labeled M. The middle pattern is a long, narrow strip labeled 'Trolley
Pole' measuring 7 ¼ inches, terminating in a solid circle on the left
and a hollow ring on the right. The bottom pattern is a small stepped
piece labeled '1 inch Bolt' with a 1½ inches base width.]
Donald cut out his car according to the heavy lines and bent it
according to the dotted lines. Both he and Polly remembered to score the
dotted lines lightly with the edge of a pocket knife before bending
them. The sides of the car Donald bent down; the doors he bent inward to
meet under the projecting roof; the platform he turned out and the front
of the platform up. Before fastening the catches and projections in
their slots he fitted the top roof on the car, putting the catches
marked X through the slots marked X. First he bent both ends of each
catch inward, which made them narrow enough to slide through the slots,
then he pushed the catches through the slots, settled the top roof
firmly on the main roof and opened the catches on the inside of the car.
When this was done he fastened the doors by putting the catch B through
the slot B in the opposite half of one door, and the catch A through the
slot A on the opposite half of the other door. The projections at the
top of the fronts of the two platforms he pushed through their
corresponding slots in the roof.
“Hello! we’ve forgotten the bolts for these projections,” Donald
suddenly exclaimed.
“I’ll make them while you put on the wheels,” said Polly. Then she cut
two bolts like Figure 5, making them one and one-half inches wide at the
bottom and one inch wide at the top. When the bolts were slipped through
the slots in the projections C and D they held the fronts of the
platforms securely in place. The two spools that Polly had selected for
wheels were like Figure 6, each about two inches high, and the slender,
round sticks, pointed at each end, were four inches long. Donald slipped
a spool on one of the sticks, then pushed one end of the stick through
the middle of one of the axle guards from the inside, and the other end
of the stick through the middle of the opposite axle guard.
“Here are the hubs,” said Polly, producing four small corks. Then Donald
pushed a cork on each end of the stick. The corks kept the axle from
slipping out of place. He adjusted the other spool in the same way, then
threaded a large needle with a piece of linen thread several yards long
and pushed the needle through the front of the platform below the
opening at the place marked with a dot in Figure 2. A large knot on the
inside of the front of the platform held the string in place and the
needle was again threaded with a long thread to fasten on the other end
of the car. (Figure 7.)
“Now for the trolley wire,” exclaimed Polly. “How shall we put that up?”
“This way,” said Donald, and he placed two chairs at opposite ends of
the room, then he cut a piece of thread a little longer than the space
between the chairs and tied one end to the top rung of one chair. The
other end of the thread he passed through the ring in the top of the
trolley pole and then tied it to the top rung of the other chair.
“There we are. Now, Polly, you sit down by the chair and take hold of
one thread, and I will sit by this chair and hold the other thread. When
you pull your thread the car will run all the way to your chair; when I
pull my thread back it will come to me.”
The children kept the little car running back and forth for some time
and were vastly entertained. When they wished, they had it make several
stops to allow imaginary passengers to get off and on, and again it was
an express car and went from one end of the line to the other without
stopping. Finally Donald was called away to go an errand and Polly
discovered that she could work the car entirely alone by running the
loose ends of the threads over the lower rungs of the chairs, tying the
two ends together and pulling the thread first one way, then the other.
Figure 8 shows the trolley in working order with the threads tied
together in the way Polly devised.
Making Toy Furniture Without Glue
By Adelia Belle Beard
“I am going to have a Kraft Shop, a Kraft Shop!” sang Polly, noisily
pulling out the old and much-battered table in the children’s play room
and then skipping excitedly around to hunt up scissors, knife, ruler and
pencils, the tools she thought would be necessary. Donald watched
proceedings over the top of his book. Things were beginning to look
interesting. “What do you know about Kraft Shops?”
“Everything. Mother told me and, besides, I went through a real Kraft
Shop last summer and saw all the people at work.”
“What were they making?”
“Why—er—I am not sure that I quite remember just what they were making,
but I know they do make beau-ti-ful things, and all with their hands,
too. They don’t use machinery at all. That’s what I’m going to do, and
you, too, Donald. I don’t want to be a Krafter all by myself. Mother
said it would be nice if you and I started a home Kraft Shop and made
toys and all sorts of things.”
Donald’s book closed with a snap. “All right, I’m ready. What shall we
try first?”
[Illustration: Polly’s chair. Figure 1]
“Suppose we make toy furniture and call it—oh, I know, we will call it
KraftShop furniture, and pretend that it’s real.”
“First rate; but I’ll have to get some wood.”
“No you won’t; we can make it of this cardboard; it will be easier to
cut, anyway.”
“That is bristolboard, but it is better than cardboard, stronger and
tougher, you know, and we can put the furniture together with pegs, just
as if it were of wood.”
[Illustration: Donald’s table. Figure 2]
“Yes, yes!” said Polly, jumping up and down in her enthusiasm. “That’s
it. I was sure you would know how. What will you make?”
“A table, I think—a library table.”
“Then I’ll make an armchair, and, Donald, it is going to have rockers,
too.”
“How about bookshelves, Polly? They would make the library set
complete.”
“Dear me! Of course we must have the shelves. Now let’s begin this very
minute.”
“Well, get the furniture advertisements you saved—the pictures, you
know. They will give us ideas, but we won’t have to copy them exactly.”
After many experiments and alterations, and with much fitting together
of the various parts, Donald finished his table, Polly her chair, and
together they worked out the bookshelves, using bolts for the shelves,
instead of pegs, to hold them together. Here they are, Figures 1, 2, and
16.
[Illustration: The Kraft Shop table]
“They are good and strong,” Donald said.
“And so pretty,” Polly added.
“And we didn’t use a bit of glue,” continued Donald, proudly.
“And I can put cushions in my chair if I like—real huffy, puffy
cushions.”
“And little books on the shelves,” suggested Donald.
“Oh!” breathed Polly, estatically; “and, Donald, we can take them all
apart and pack them in a flat box. Isn’t that fine?”
“It just is.”
[Illustration: A mechanical craft template diagram for cutting and
folding a toy furniture piece. The layout features four distinct flat
patterns. On the left is a large vertical rectangle labeled 'SHELF' with
small tabs marked C at the top and bottom, indexed with a large number
5. On the right is a wide panel labeled 'END' with an arched cutout at
the bottom, vertical dashed fold lines isolating two side sections
labeled 'LEG', a horizontal slot labeled C, and tabs labeled A and B,
indexed with a large number 4. Two small stepped connector keys are
shown below, indexed with the numbers 6 and 7.]
Donald made the top of his table first. With careful measurements he
drew on the smooth bristolboard an oblong eight and one-quarter inches
long and six inches wide (Fig. 3), which he cut out with the large
shears. Within that oblong he drew another five and three-quarter inches
long and three and one-half inches wide. This left a border one and
one-quarter inches wide all around the center oblong. At the sides and
ends of the inner oblong he drew lines for slits, as shown in Figure 3.
The inside edge of each slit is _on_ the outline of the oblong, and the
outside edge _outside_ of the oblong. The end slits (AA) are two and
one-eighth inches long and the side slits (BB BB) are seven-eighths of
an inch long, and extend a little beyond the end lines of the inner
oblong. He cut these slits with a sharp knife and made them about
one-sixteenth of an inch wide, which is a little more than the thickness
of the bristolboard. The two end supports of the table Donald made like
Figure 4, which is cut from an oblong five inches wide and four inches
high. The real end of the table, from dotted line to dotted line, is
three and one-half inches wide, just the width of the inner oblong on
the top of the table, under which it must fit. The parts to the right
and left of these dotted lines are the table legs. The projection in the
middle, at the top, is two inches long and three-eighths of an inch
high. The projections at the ends just over the table legs are the same
height. Slits are cut in these projections one-half an inch long, with
the _lower_ edge of each slit on a line with the top edge of the end
pieces, as shown in Figure 4.
[Illustration: A mechanical craft template diagram for cutting out toy
furniture components, featuring two distinct flat patterns. On the left
is a profiled piece labeled 'SIDE' and indexed with a large number 8,
shaped like the side panel of a rocking chair with a curved rocker blade
at the bottom, a cut-out handle arch, and slot markings labeled F, I,
and E. On the right is a tall rectangular piece labeled 'BACK' and
indexed with a large number 9, featuring side tabs with slots labeled I
and F, and a horizontal bottom slot labeled D.]
In the middle of each end piece, two inches from the bottom, there is
another slit, two and one-eighth inches long, for holding the shelf, and
the bottom is cut in a half-circle arch. When the end pieces were
completed Donald scored the dotted lines by lightly drawing the blade of
his knife down their entire length. Then he bent the bristolboard along
these lines so that the table legs faced the sides.
Without the projections CC the shelf (Figure 5) is formed of an oblong
exactly the size of the inner oblong on the table top. The projections
are two inches long and a quarter of an inch wide. In these are cut
slits seven-eighths of an inch long, and the slits are outside of the
lines of the oblong, just as the slits are outside of the lines of the
oblong on the table top.
[Illustration: A mechanical craft template diagram for cutting and
folding additional components of a toy furniture piece. The layout
features two distinct flat patterns against a plain white background. On
the left is a wide, blocky panel labeled 'SEAT' and indexed with a large
number 10, featuring a top tab labeled D, side tabs with vertical slots
labeled E, and a horizontal dashed fold line near the bottom edge. On
the right is a small stepped piece labeled 'PEG' and indexed with a bold
number 11.]
Donald put all these parts together, slipping the projections A through
the slits A, the projections B through the slits B, and the projections
C through the slits C, and was delighted to find they fit perfectly.
Then he made pegs like Figures 6 and 7; two like Figure 6, which is
three-quarters of an inch wide at the bottom, one and one-eighth inches
wide at the top and one inch high; and four like Figure 7, which is
three-eighths of an inch wide at the bottom, five-eighths of an inch
wide at the top and three-quarters of an inch high. He slid the two pegs
(Figure 6) through the slits in the shelf, and the four pegs (Figure 7)
through the slits in the projections above the table legs, and the
stanch little table (Figure 1) was complete. He dropped it on the floor;
it did not break. He tossed it into the air; its joints held firmly.
Then Donald was satisfied with his work.
Polly made her chair in three parts, not counting the pegs. First she
drew the two sides (Figure 8), which are six and three-quarter inches
high, and three inches wide from front of arm to back edge. The rockers
are five inches long from end to end and one-half an inch wide.
One-quarter of an inch from the back edge Polly drew a straight line,
extending it from the top edge of the chair to the top of the rocker
(Figure 8), and along this line she cut three slits, each slit just one
inch long. The top of the first slit is half an inch from the top edge
of the chair; the top of the second slit one inch below the first slit;
and the top of the third slit is three-quarters of an inch below the
second slit. Just above the rocker she cut an arch half an inch high,
and half an inch above the arch she made a horizontal slit one inch
long. This finished the two sides of the chair.
[Illustration: A mechanical craft template diagram for cutting out a toy
furniture component. The flat pattern features a large rectangle divided
horizontally into four equal panels. The word 'BACK' is written in
stylized capital letters across the center of the second panel from the
top. Small vertical slots or holes labeled with the letter O are placed
near the left and right outer borders of the top and bottom panels. A
large, bold index number 13 accompanied by a small letter O is
positioned in the lower-right corner.]
For the back Polly drew an oblong six inches long and three inches wide.
To this she added three projections on either side one-quarter of an
inch wide. She spaced the projections exactly as she did the slits in
the sides of the chair, making them each one inch long. Then, to allow
them to pass easily through the slits, she cut a fraction off each end
of each projection, which left the projections seven-eighths of an inch
long. In the two top and two bottom projections there are slits for the
pegs half an inch long, and three-quarters of an inch above the bottom
edge there is a horizontal slit one and one-half inches long (Figure 9.)
[Illustration: A mechanical craft template diagram for cutting out a
small toy connector component, labeled with a large number 12. The flat
pattern outlines a small, stepped shape with a wide, chamfered upper
section and a narrower rectangular bottom section. The word 'PEG' is
handwritten in uppercase letters across the center of the shape, which
features a cross-hatched drop shadow on its right side.]
Figure 10 shows the seat which Polly made, three inches square, then
added three projections one-quarter of an inch wide. The side
projections are seven-eighths of an inch long and the back projection
one and three-eighths inches long. Slits five-eighths of an inch long
are cut in the side projections. The dotted line one-half inch above the
bottom edge (Fig. 10) shows where the seat is scored to be bent down in
front (Figure 2.) Of the six pegs needed for the chair, four are
three-eighths of an inch wide at the bottom, not quite an inch wide at
the top and three-quarters of an inch high (Figure 11.) The other two
pegs are half an inch wide at the bottom, one inch wide at the top and
one and one-quarter inches high (Figure 12.) Polly fitted the two sides
of the chair to the back, sliding the projections on the back (II FF)
through their corresponding slits (I F) in the sides, and fitted the
seat to the back and sides, slipping the projection D through the slit D
and the projections EE through the slits EE. Then she pegged them all
together, using the pegs (Figure 11) for the slits II FF, and the pegs
(Figure 12) for the slits EE. When it was finished she set the chair to
rocking and clapped her hands with delight to see how perfect it was.
[Illustration: A mechanical craft template diagram for cutting out a toy
furniture component. The flat pattern features a wide rectangle labeled
'SHELF' across the center. Small interlocking tabs labeled with the
letter L project from the middle of the left and right side edges. A
large, bold index number 14 is positioned in the lower-right section,
and a cross-hatched drop shadow runs along the bottom and right borders
of the shape.]
[Illustration: A mechanical craft template diagram for cutting out a toy
furniture component. The flat pattern features a wide rectangle labeled
'SHELF' across the center. Small interlocking tabs labeled with the
letter L project from the middle of the left and right side edges. A
large, bold index number 14 is positioned in the lower-right section,
and a cross-hatched drop shadow runs along the bottom and right borders
of the shape.]
When the children made the bookshelves (Figure 16) they cut an oblong
for the back piece six and one-quarter inches high and five inches wide
(Figure 13.) On either side of this oblong, one-quarter of an inch from
the edge, they drew straight lines from top to bottom; then, between
these lines, they marked the position of the shelves with five
horizontal lines one and one-half inches apart, making the first line
one-quarter of an inch from the top edge. On either side of the back
piece they made slits to hold the bolts on the side pieces (OO OO)
(Figure 13.) The inner edge of these slits is _on_ the side lines and
the outer edge _outside_ the side lines, and the slits are each
three-quarters of an inch long. The top slits are five-eighths of an
inch from the top edge and the bottom slits are one inch from the bottom
edge of the back piece.
Of course the side pieces had to be made exactly as high as the back
piece, six and three-quarters inches, and the children decided that one
and three-quarters inches was a good width, but this width does not
include the bolts (OO) (Figure 15.) The bolts are three-eighths of an
inch wide at their widest part and a trifle less than three-quarters of
an inch long, so that they will slip easily through the slits. The necks
of the bolts measure three-eighths of an inch from top to bottom.
“Look out, Polly!” exclaimed Donald, suddenly. “You are not getting
those in the right places. The lower edge of the neck of the top bolt
_has_ to be the same distance from the top edge of the side piece as the
lower end of the top slit is from the top edge of the back piece,
because it rests upon it. Don’t you see?”