The making for oneself of toys and other objects of a more or less
useful character has certain advantages over buying them. In the case
of the more elaborate and costly articles, it may enable one to possess
things which otherwise would be unobtainable. Secondly, a home-made
article may give a satisfaction more lasting than is conferred by a
bought one, though it may be less beautiful to look upon. Thirdly, the
mere making should be a pleasure, and must be an education in itself.
To encourage readers to “use their hands” the following chapters have
been written. The subjects chosen provide ample scope for the exercise
of ingenuity and patience; but in making my selection I have kept
before me the fact that a well-equipped workshop falls to the lot of
but a few of the boys who are anxious to develop into amateur
craftsmen. Therefore, while the easiest tasks set herein are very easy,
the most difficult will not be found to demand a very high degree of
skill, or more than a very moderate outlay on tools. I may say here
that I have been over the ground myself to find out its difficulties
for my readers, and that I made an engine similar to that described in
Chapter XV (the most elaborate mechanism included in the book) with
very simple tools. Some of the items which I had on my original list
were abandoned, because they presupposed the possession of
comparatively expensive machines.
My selection has also been guided by the desire to cater for different
tastes. In some cases the actual manufacture of the thing described may
be regarded as the most instructive and valuable element, and may
appeal most forcibly to the “handy” boy; in others—the Harmonograph
provides a good instance—the interest centres round the experiments
made possible by the construction of a simple piece of apparatus; in
some the utility of the article manufactured is its chief
recommendation.
I feel certain that anyone who follows out the pages of this volume
with hand as well as with eye, will have little reason to regret the
time so spent. The things made may in course of time be put aside and
forgotten, but the manual skill acquired will remain. Nowadays one can
buy almost anything ready-made, or get it made without difficulty; yet
he who is able to make things for himself will always have an advantage
over the person to whom the use of tools is an unprobed mystery.