Читать книгу Harper's Outdoor Book for Boys - Joseph H. Adams - Страница 33

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.