MAKING A TOY AUTO TRUCK (_Continued_)
FORMING THE CHASSIS—USING THE WOODEN ROOFING
FOLDER—FOLDING—USING THE VISE FOR SHORT FOLDING—USING THE
HATCHET STAKE FOR FOLDING
=Forming the Chassis.=—The chassis or frame of the truck may be made from
a single piece of tin cut from a gallon fruit can. All four edges are
turned down so as to form a shallow tray or box.
Cut a piece of tin 12¾ by 4¼ inches. Use the dividers to mark off a line
⅜ of an inch inside all four sides, but be sure that the tin is cut
perfectly square before you do this inside marking. Cut in to the lines A
A on all four of the darkened lines as shown in Fig. 51, _A_.
Place the tin on a sharp-edged block and fold down the long sides 1 and 2
first. Remember not to try to fold these long sides or folds down all at
once, but rather go over them two or three times lightly with the mallet
as they are being turned down at a right angle. Take care that the tin
folds over exactly at the line.
When the sides 1 and 2 are folded down at right angles, fold down the
ends 3 and 4. This will leave four small ends of the two long sides
projecting beyond the ends as shown in Fig. 51, _B_. Fold these in over
the ends of the chassis with a mallet. Hold them in place with a pair of
flat-nosed pliers and solder them to the ends where they touch, so that
the chassis appears as shown in Fig. 51, _C_.
[Illustration: FIG. 51.]
=Using the Wooden Roofing Folder.=—Folds of all kinds may be very easily
and quickly made by using the wooden roofing folder, Plate XII. The work
turned out by this simple machine is very straight and true, particularly
long folds or angles of tin. The gauge may be set at any desired width up
to ⁷⁄₁₆ of an inch and any number of folds of the desired width can be
quickly and accurately produced by inserting the tin between the holding
bars and closing up the folder.
[Illustration: FIG. 52.]
The holding bars are shown at _A A_, Fig. 52. The adjustable gauge at
_B_, _C C_ are the wooden supports which are hinged together. _D_ is
the iron handle, _E_ the adjusting screw, _F_ is the piece of tin to be
folded.
[Illustration: PLATE X
Dumping truck with body hoisted by winch under seat, made by Miss M. C.
Newman
Unpainted chassis of toy auto truck made by author
Dumping truck made by Miss M. C. Newman]
[Illustration: PLATE XI
Chassis of toy auto truck showing springs
Dumping truck made by a student of Teachers College]
[Illustration: PLATE XII
Wooden roofing folder with a piece of tin inserted ready to fold]
The folder is shown in Fig. 53. Both of these views are sectional to
show the working of the folder. The actual construction may be easily
understood by looking at the actual folder. The gauge _B_, Fig. 52, is
adjusted by first loosening up the five screws _E_ with a screw driver
and then pulling in or pushing out the gauge _B_ to the desired width of
the fold to be made. The screws _E_ are then tightened up with the screw
driver and the tin inserted between the pieces _A A_. The folder is then
closed by grasping the handle _D_ and closing the two sides of the folder
together. When the folder is opened, the tin will be found to be folded
over.
The fold may then be completed with the mallet if it is desired to close
it up against the tin. To form a right angle the folder is not completely
closed. A little experimenting with a piece of scrap tin will show how
far to close the folder in order to obtain a given angle.
[Illustration: FIG. 53.]
Care should be taken to set the gauge _B_ parallel with the holding bar
_A_. The folder is ordinarily set at ¼ inch. This is the width of most of
the folds made in the tin. This simple machine will save much time in tin
working and one should be purchased if possible. It is practically the
only way a long fold in a narrow strip of tin may be made accurately.
The folder may be used to fold down the two long sides of the chassis,
the ends may then be turned down over the edge of a block as the ends of
the long folds will prevent placing the short folds in the folder. Narrow
strips of tin may be folded over and hammered together with the mallet.
These strips of tin may be slipped over the sharp edges at the bottom of
each side of the chassis, thus making the edges very strong and removing
the danger of cutting the fingers. Fig. 51, _D_, shows an enlarged view
of a corner of the chassis with the folded tin strips slipped over the
lower edges.
These narrow folded strips are very easily made on the folding machine.
Cut two strips of tin ½ by 12 inches and set the folder to fold ¼ inch,
place the tin in the folder and fold it over. Remove it from the folder
and hammer it nearly together with the mallet and then place a separate
strip of tin in the folded part and continue hammering with the mallet
until the folded tin is closed in on the inside or inserted strip of tin.
The folded strip is then ready to slip over the edge of the side of the
chassis and to be soldered to it in several places; that is, the folded
strip need not be soldered to the chassis continuously, but may be held
in place by soldering about every four inches.
The two short strips of tin ½ by 4 inches should then be cut, folded
and soldered in place at the short ends of the chassis. (No sharp edge
should be left about a tin can toy when it may be avoided by folding or
covering.)
A long narrow strip of tin is rather difficult to fold without the use of
a folder, but it may be done with the mallet and block as follows:
=Folding.=—If a strip of tin ½ by 12 inches is to be folded over, it is
better to cut a strip of tin 1¼ by 12 inches. Mark off ¼ inch all along
one long edge and fold it down over a block as in making the handle of
the cooky cutter, for you will then have more metal to hold to while
folding. When the piece is completely folded down to a right angle, turn
it over on the block and close the tin down with a mallet, inserting a
piece of tin before closing the tin together. Then the surplus tin may be
cut away and you have a narrow folded strip. As in all folding by hand
using the mallet and the block, the tin should be gradually folded into
place.
=Using the Vise for Short Folding.=—The vise may be used to fold short
pieces of tin very accurately. The folding line is first marked on the
tin; the tin is then placed and held in the vise jaws so that the line is
parallel with and exactly at the top of the jaws. The mallet is then used
to hammer the tin over to the required angle, see Fig. 54. A very sharp
accurate fold should result.
=Using the Hatchet Stake for Folding.=—A special stake has been devised
for folding tin. This is called the hatchet stake and is listed in the
supplementary tool list. It is made in the shape of the letter T. The
horizontal part is made like a long narrow-bladed hatchet, and the
vertical shank attached to it may be held in the vise or set in a hole in
the bench, see Fig. 55.
The top edge of this tool is perfectly straight and fairly sharp. One
side of the blade runs straight down from the edge and the other side
slopes down at an angle considerably less than a right angle. The
top edge of the hatchet stake is used to fold the tin over and it is
specially formed to permit the folding of more than a right angle.
[Illustration: FIG. 54.]
[Illustration: FIG. 55.]
To use the hatchet stake, a folding line is first marked on the tin. This
line is kept directly over and parallel with the top or edge of the stake
and the mallet is used to fold the tin, the mallet blows being directed
at the top of the stake as shown in Fig. 56.
The hatchet stake is a very handy tool about the shop, even if a folder
is included in the equipment, as there are some jobs that will not
permit the use of the folder to complete them.
Strips of tin as long as the blade of the hatchet stake may be accurately
folded over as follows:
A strip of maple 1 inch thick and 2 inches wide and as long as the blade
of the stake may be clamped against the flat side of the blade of the
hatchet stake with the tin to be folded held tightly between the maple
strip and the blade. The mallet is then used to fold the tin over toward
the sloping side of the blade, Fig. 57. Sometimes two strips of maple may
be clamped to a piece of tin to hold it accurately while being folded,
but this method is rather cumbersome.
[Illustration: FIG. 56.]
[Illustration: FIG. 57.]
The different methods of folding have been described at length so that
the reader may become familiar with all of them, but a great deal of
folding may be done over a sharp-edged maple block, if you have nothing
else with which to work.
Professional tinners use a very convenient folding machine made of metal,
but these are very costly and need not be described here.