COASTERS, SKEES, AND SNOW-SHOES
All real boys welcome the approach of the winter season with its
glorious opportunities for sport on the snow and ice. Toboggans,
double-runners, skees, and snow-shoes—the very words make the blood
tingle in one’s veins, and happy is the boy whose home is in the
Northern climes where there is real winter for at least four months out
of the year.
Nowadays it is possible to purchase almost everything for winter sports,
but the boy who is handy with tools and of an inventive turn of mind
will take more pleasure in constructing his own things than in buying
them out of a shop.
Very few boys would care to make their own skates, as the modern
steel-clamp skates are superior in lightness and durability to anything
he could construct; but the various varieties of sleds, coasters, and
snow-shoes are quite within the measure of his abilities, and their
making will fill most pleasurably the leisure hours after school and on
Saturdays.
All the cold-weather countries have their distinctive and peculiar forms
of winter amusements. Tobogganing and snow-shoeing are particularly
popular in Canada; skeeing is the national sport of Norway. But it is
the American boy who has reduced coasting to an exact science, and the
Yankee bob-sleds and “jumper-coasters” are now pre-eminent wherever the
snow flies. To take the best wherever we find it is the sportsman’s
motto.
Toboggans
There is no more enjoyable winter sport than tobogganing, and in many
parts of America, notably Montreal, large and expensively constructed
artificial slides are in constant use throughout the winter season.
For ordinary hill-coasting most American boys prefer bob-sleds and
coasters, but in the extreme Northern States and throughout Canada the
plain toboggan is the favorite coaster.
A boy who is at all clever with tools can make a good toboggan from
three or four thin hickory boards, a few cross-battens, and some rails.
For the bottom quarter-inch hickory should be employed, as that is
strong and will bend easily when steamed.
To make an eight-foot toboggan with a width of twenty inches, obtain the
hickory boards and batten them with three pieces of hard-wood two inches
wide and three-quarters of an inch thick. Make the fastenings with brass
screws or copper rivets having the heads countersunk in the bottom. At
the front ends rivet on a wood batten long enough to project two inches
beyond the boards at each end.
From a curtain-pole cut six pieces two inches long and bore a
quarter-inch hole through each one from end to end. Cut two hickory
rails three-quarters of an inch square and plane off the sharp corners;
then with copper or iron rods, to act as long rivets, attach the rails
to the toboggan so that they are separated from the battens by means of
the wooden blocks, as shown in the illustration of the plain toboggan.
Fig. 1.
[Illustration:
Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
]
At both ends of the rod-rivets place washers or burrs to rivet on, as
otherwise the rivet would pull through the wood, tearing the hole larger
and at the same time making the anchorage insecure. Cut notches in the
projecting ends of the front stick as shown at the right side of Fig. 2,
so that ropes can be lashed fast to the stick as shown at the left side
of Fig. 2.
Steam the boards between the front end and the first batten, or pour
boiling hot water over both sides of the boards; then bend the wood up
and with the ropes as a help to hold the boards in place continue the
wetting and bending until the proper curve has been gained, as shown in
the illustration. Lash the ropes fast, and when the wood is dry
sand-paper it smooth and give it several good coats of varnish.
A sled-toboggan (Fig. 3) is made from two hickory boards eight feet long
and a quarter of an inch in thickness. If the toboggan is to be
twenty-two inches wide each runner should be several inches wide.
Three hard-wood bridges twenty-two inches long and four inches high are
cut, as shown in Fig. 4, and attached to the runners with screws (Fig.
3). They support a seat eight inches wide which is screwed down to the
top of the bridges.
In front of the first bridge and behind the last one short
bracket-braces are attached to prevent the bridges from rocking, and
these as well as the bridges can be cut from wood about an inch and a
half in thickness.
The front ends of the boards are attached to a batten, and by steaming
the boards may be curved up as shown and held in place with a
stanchion-rope lashed fast to the batten and to the front bridge. A
supporting bridge should be used to give it additional power. Fig. 3.
When the varnish wears off the bottom give it another coat, as the
smooth, hard finish helps the toboggan to slide easily over the snow.
A Rocker-coaster
A very good coasting-sled is shown in the illustration of a
rocker-coaster (Fig. 5), and for short hills a sled of this sort will
prove very fast and easy to steer.
It is from four to five feet long, twenty inches broad, and seven inches
high at the middle. The lower edge of each runner is curved from end to
end with a long, sweeping line, and it is grooved to receive a round
runner of steel, which a blacksmith will make and attach.
The frame of the coaster should be made of hard-wood five-eighths of an
inch in thickness, and the three cross-ribs are one inch and a half in
width and one inch in thickness. Laps are cut in the top edges of the
sides, and the cross-ribs are let into them and made fast with screws.
Wooden brackets or cleats are attached to the sides and to the under
side of each cross-rib to strengthen the construction, and at both ends
a piece of round curtain-pole is made fast as shown in Fig. 5.
The ends of the poles are trimmed off so as to form dowel ends, and
these fit into holes made in the ends of the sides.
Hand-holes are cut with a bit and compass-saw at the ends of the sides;
a deck of half-inch wood is laid over the ribs and held down with
screws. Have the blacksmith flatten the ends of each runner and bend
them over so they will lie on top at the end of each side.
A few good coats of paint will finish the wood-work nicely, and the
rocker-coaster will then be ready for use.
A Single-runner Coaster
A few years ago the boys of New England invented a new kind of sled and
called it a single-runner coaster or jumper-coaster. They sit upon it,
keeping their balance with the feet, and it is remarkable how rapidly
and easily they go downhill on this queer-looking affair, and without
the slightest danger of toppling over. Fig. 6.
The coaster is very simple in construction and any boy can make it from
pine or hard-wood, the latter being preferable as it has more body and
is heavier. The runner is forty-two inches long, one inch and a half
thick, and four inches high, curved at one end and cut at an angle at
the other. The upright is of wood the same thickness and width, and
eleven or twelve inches high, so that with the top board or seat and the
height of the runner the coaster is sixteen or seventeen inches high;
and for taller boys it can be made still higher. The seat is ten inches
long and seven inches wide, and attached to the upright with screws, as
shown at Fig. 7. The upright is cut from wood about ten inches wide, so
that, with a compass-saw, a broad foot may be shaped at the bottom which
will give a better bearing on the runner than would a narrower one.
From wood two inches wide, make two side-plates or braces to run from
under the seat down half-way over the runner as shown in Fig. 7. To
steady the seat at the top of the uprights cut two angle-brackets and
attach them as shown in the figure drawing. A blacksmith will fashion a
runner from quarter-round or thin tire iron and attach it as shown in
the illustration. The runners can be held on with flat-headed screws
countersunk in the iron, and after a few trips the surface of the metal
will be worn bright and smooth, insuring easy and rapid running.
A Bob-sled
Every boy wants a double-runner of his own, for there seems to be
nothing quite like bobbing on a sled carrying from six to ten
boys—enough to give it weight and a good impetus on its downward course.
A bob-sled is not at all difficult to construct, and a very satisfactory
and substantial one may be made from inexpensive materials and with the
tools that nearly every boy possesses. Fig. 8.
For the seat obtain a clear spruce plank ten feet long, ten inches wide,
and one inch and a half thick, planed on both sides and edges. The front
sled is thirty inches long and fourteen inches wide, with the sides five
inches high. The rear sled is forty inches long from prow to end of
runners, and is the same width and height as the front one. The sides
are of hard-wood seven-eighths of an inch in thickness, and braced with
cross-pieces of hard-wood two inches wide and one inch and a half thick.
Laps are cut in the top of the sides, and with screws the ends of the
braces are securely held in place. Under each cross-piece and at the
sides brackets must be securely fastened with screws as shown at Fig. 9,
to strengthen the sides and take some of the strain from the cross-piece
fastenings. Eight inches from the rear end a stout block is set in the
runners through which the king-bolt passes that fastens the seat to the
sled. This is of hard-wood fourteen inches long, two inches and a half
wide, and four inches high at the middle, as shown in Fig. 9. A similar
block two inches high is attached to the under side of the plank and
bears on the lower block. Between the two blocks and on the bolt, two
large, flat iron washers are placed, so that it will be an easy matter
to turn the sled when there is a heavy weight on the plank.
[Illustration:
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
]
The head of the five-eighths-inch king-bolt should be embedded in the
top of the block that is fast to the plank before it is attached, and
the bolt should be provided with two nuts for safety. In the
summer-time, when the bob is stored away, the forward sled can be
removed by unscrewing the nuts from the lower end of the bolt under the
sled.
To steer the bob a hard-wood cross-bar piece is let into the runners as
shown in Fig. 9. It projects six inches at each side, and foot-notches
are cut at the rear edge as shown in the illustration. The rear sled is
attached to the plank by means of a block and bolts.
Two triangular hard-wood blocks one inch in thickness, with the grain
running vertically, are screwed fast to the inside sides of the runners
as shown in Fig. 10, and through holes in the upper end a long half-inch
bolt is passed from side to side. This bolt fits in a groove made at the
under side of the block that is attached to the plank; and across the
groove in several places straps of iron are fastened as shown in the
inverted block at Fig. 11. A hinge-joint is the result, and to prevent
the rear sled from dropping too far when jumping over a bump a rope
should be passed under the forward cross-piece and attached to a staple
driven at the under side of the plank.
The plank can be padded with hair from an old mattress and covered with
a strip of carpet nailed all around the edges of the board. Cross-pieces
screwed fast to the under side of the plank will serve as foot-rests,
and with a coat or two of paint this bob-sled will be ready for use.
Skees
Skee running and jumping is one of the favorite winter sports in Norway
and Sweden and is steadily growing in favor both in the Northern United
States and in Canada. On very steep hills it is a dangerous sport, but
it is perfectly safe to use the skees on either short hills or on long
ones that are not too steep. Once you start you must go to the bottom,
and a good skee-jumper should be as agile as a cat, for he must always
land feet down when jumping.
[Illustration:
Fig. 12
Fig. 13
]
A skee of the right proportions should be seven feet long and four
inches wide. Hickory, oak, or other hard-wood three-quarters of an inch
in thickness will be the best material from which to make the skees. Two
or three grooves cut in a straight line along the entire bottom length
will hold the skee slider on his course, as the keel does a boat.
The skees are tapered and bent up at the front ends as shown in Fig. 12.
This can be done by steaming and bending until the proper pitch is
obtained; but if a high curve is desired it would be well to attach a
thong to the end and draw it back to the body of the skee as shown in
Fig. 12 A.
At the middle of the skee a foot-block is attached and provided with a
toe-strap as shown in Fig. 13. This strap fits under the block and can
be removed if necessary as a lap is cut at the under side of the block.
A shorter and broader skee is shown in Fig. 12 B. This is safer for
smaller boys to use as it is five feet long and six inches wide.
Many of the Norwegian skees are beautifully carved and ornamented, and
the boy who has some decorative ability can embellish the tops of his
skees and varnish them all over to improve their appearance and make
them smooth, so that they will slide easily.
A skee made from a hogshead or crockery-cask stave is shown in Fig.
12 C, and a great deal of fun can be had with this makeshift on short
hills.
Snow-shoes
For travelling over the snow the most widely known and useful appliance
is the snow-shoe in one form or another. The Esquimau and the American
Indian do all their winter travelling on snow-shoes, and through the
Alps and in the snow-bound parts of Europe and Asia they are commonly
employed as a means of locomotion from place to place.
The long snow-shoe shown in Fig. 14 A is the one commonly used by the
Iroquois Indians, and it measures from three to four feet in length and
from twelve to fifteen inches in width. It is usually made from one long
strip of hickory bent while green and dried in the desired shape, then
braced and interlaced with thongs of rawhide or deer-gut.
The rim is usually from three-quarters to seven-eighths of an inch
square and is rounded on the outer edges. The braces or spreaders are
let into the inner edges of the rim as shown in Fig. 15 A, and are held
securely in place with a thong passed through a hole in the end of the
piece and wrapped around the rim as shown in Fig. 15 B. The spreaders
are of seasoned hickory two inches wide and five-eighths of an inch
thick. The edges are bevelled slightly, and near the centre line two
rows of holes are made through which to lace the thongs. Two smaller
sticks are arranged at each side of the broad spreaders, and the lattice
weaving is caught around them as shown in the illustration. Some of the
thongs are caught over the rim while others are passed through holes
made in the edge similar to the manner in which a tennis racket is
laced. Foot-laces are fastened at the front spreader to which the
shoe-toes are lashed, for when travelling the heels should be free to
lift while the ball of the foot and the entire snow-shoe remains flat on
the snow.
[Illustration:
Fig. 14
Fig. 15
SNOW-SHOES
]
The shoe in the form of a tennis racket (Fig. 14 B) is the shape
commonly used by the Esquimaux and is about thirty-four inches long and
fifteen inches wide. It is made somewhat similar to the Iroquois shoe
but the mesh is more open.
The oval shoe (Fig. 14 C) is made from two U-shaped rims lashed together
at the middle and provided with two spreaders. Two stout pieces of
rawhide are laced in the ends, and through the middle a lacing of thongs
is woven across between the spreaders and sides of the rim.
These and many other forms of snow-shoes can be made by the boy who is
interested in snow-shoe travelling. The wood can be procured anywhere
and the rawhide thongs may be purchased at a hardware store. They are
sold as belt-lacings for machinery, but they can be easily split and so
made available for snow-shoe use.