# Home-Made Toys for Girls and Boys/Chapter 18

Layout 2
CHAPTER XVIII HOME-MADE CIGAR-BOX TOYS
Get an assortment of shapes and sizes of boxes at a cigar store, and prepare them for use as directed on page 175. Use ⅜ inch and ½ inch brads, and glue, for fastening the pieces together.
A scroll-saw, bracket-saw, coping-saw, or a very sharp jack-knife should be used where
Cutting is necessary. Do not attempt to split the wood, as the grain is seldom straight, but lay it down upon a board and score it with a knife in the way in which you would score a piece of cardboard; then break it along the scored line, or continue cutting until the piece is cut in two. If you use a saw, cut a little away from the outlines of the work and then trim up with a knife and sandpaper.
The wagons, Jack-in-the-box, and doll furniture shown in this chapter were designed with the idea of saving as ​much cutting as possible, and you will see by the illustrations that in many cases the boxes are not altered.
Fig. 286.—Cross-Section of the Express-Wagon.
The Express-Wagon shown in Fig. 284 is made out of a long flat box. Cut down the sides at the front and construct a seat on top of the sides as shown in Fig. 286. Cut the front wheels about 2¼ inches in diameter and the rear wheels about 2¾ inches in diameter. If you haven't a compass with which to describe the circles, you can mark out the wheels with cups or glass tumblers. Cut the wooden axles as shown in Fig. 286, making the front axle—for the smaller wheels—deeper than the rear one, then fasten them to the wagon and nail the wheels to their ends. Drive a tack into the front of the wagon-box and tie a cord to it, or, if you have a small toy horse to hitch to the wagon, fasten a pair of shafts to the under side of the box as is shown upon the two-wheel cart.
The Cart in Fig. 285 is made out of a square flat box with its wheels fastened to the center of the under side. Make the wheels about 2¾ inches in diameter.
Fig. 284. An Express-Wagon. Fig. 285. A Cart.
A Jack-in-the-box (Fig. 289) is a simpler toy to make than you might imagine. The box should measure about 5¾ inches by 5¾ inches by 5 inches. Hinge the cover to the top with two pieces of heavy cloth; glue one piece to the inside of the cover and box, and the other to the outside. Drive a small tack into the front edge of the cover, and below it fasten a small hook on to the box; the hook may be bent from a short piece of wire.
A spiral spring from an old bed-spring will do for Jack's body, but if you cannot get one of these it is a simple ​matter to make a spring. Take a piece of No. 12 gauge wire about 10 feet in length and wind it around a rolling-pin or anything that is cylindrical and about 2½ inches in diameter. Fasten this spring with doubled-pointed tacks upon a piece of wood cut to fit the inside of the box (Fig. 290), then procure a small doll's head, baste a circular piece of cardboard to the top of the spring and to this sew the head. Make a cloth fool's cap to glue on Jack's head, covering his hair entirely, and also a loose jacket to fit over his spiral body; for these use any bright-colored cotton cloth that will fall into folds easily. Tack the base of the spring to the bottom of the box.
Make the seat for
Fig. 296. Pedestal of Center-Table.
Fig. 297. Leg of Dining-Table.
The Round-Seated Chair shown in Fig. 291 2 inches in diameter, the back 5 inches high, 2 inches wide at the top, and 1¼ inches wide at the seat; cut the front leg 2 inches high by 1¼ inches wide.
The Round Center-Table (Fig. 292) should have a base built up of four strips as shown in Fig. 296. Cut the circular top 5 inches in diameter. A saucer may be used with which to mark this out.
Select a long flat box for
Fig. 291. A Round-Seated Chair.
Fig. 295. A Doll's Cradle.
Fig. 289. A Jack-in-the-Box.
Fig. 292. A Round Center-Table.
Fig. 293.—A Dining Table.
Fig. 290.—The Skeleton of the Jack-in-the-Box.
Fig. 294.—A Square-Seated Chair.
In making the little
Square-Seated Chair (Fig. 294), cut the seat about 2 inches wide by 2¼ inches deep, the front legs 2⅛ inches high by ⅜ inch wide, and the back legs 4½ inches high by ⅜ inch wide. Brace the legs and back with crosspieces, and you will have a very firm and artistic dining-room chair.
Select a box about 9 inches by 5 inches by 2¼ inches in size for making
The Doll’s Cradle shown in Fig. 295. Cut the two rockers by the pattern in Fig. 298 and fasten them to the bottom of the box 1 inch from the ends. Use the rim of a breakfast plate in drawing the arc of the rockers; then draw the rounded ends, being careful to get them alike. Saw out the rockers very particularly so as not to split off the ends. Fasten the pieces to the cradle box with brads driven through the box bottom into their top edge.
Fig. 298.—Pattern for Cradle Rockers.
After the cigar-box toys have been made, rub down the wood with fine sandpaper. Then drive all nail-heads below the surface, fill up the holes with putty stained to match the wood as nearly as possible, and finish with two coats of boiled linseed-oil. Apply the oil with a rag, then wipe off all surplus oil with a dry cloth.