Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-24
STUNTS FOR THE WHITTIER.
Clever Devices Which Can Be Made
With a Jackknife.
From the New York Sun.

From the New 1ork Sun.
One of the commonest feats with the
jackknife is to cut a chain out OF single
piece of wood. This is not difficult and
forms therefore an excellent design with
which to begin. In making the chain
piece of wood is first trimmed into :he
form of a cylinder, roller perhaps an
inch in diameter and long as the chain
is to be-six or eight inches in length. A
piece of broom handle will do very well.
In this cylinder four deep. long burrows
are then cut in such a way that the end or
the block, instead of being round, now
looks like a cross with four equal arms,
each arm being the end of a long rib that
extends lengthwise along the block.
The next step. says the Rosary Magazine.
Is to cut notches in the ribs at equal dis
tances from each other and In such way
that in each rib the notches shall CORE
spond exactly to those of the opposite rib,
while In two other ribs the notches alter
nate with these. The position and general
form Of the links in the chain should now
be apparent, and one may begin to hollow
out the inside of each OF them. To do this
a hole should be cut through one of the
still solid links.
When this has been done with two OF
them successfully II will be found thar
they are connected only by a small bridge
of wood, and this may be cut away very
easily. due care being taken neither to cut
AS soon these links are loose they can
be readily rounded and smoothed, as well
trimmed as slender as may be desired.
Another design, which is scarcely more
difficult than the chain. is the ball in a
cage. This is whitfield out of a single block
of wood, perhaps an inch and a half square
and three inches long.
The frame or cage is designed first, and
the lower part of its interior is left solid TO
form the material for the ball When the
general form of the frame has been COM
pleted the ball may be gradually rounded
into shape and finally cut loose from the In
closing frame, care being taken not TO trim
it too small, for if 1t should roll out the
whole point of the performance would be
missed.
A similar design. little harder to make.
is ball within a spherical cage, or, as II
may be called, a ball within ball. The
cage consists of three connected circles
meeting each other at right angles Be
tween these circles there are eight large
triangular openings, through which one can
see the ball inside
To make this design a piece of wood is
first trimmed into sphere about an inch
and half In diameter, and the outlines OF
the eight triangular openings should be
traced upon its surface with a pencil. When
this has been done each of the trfangies
ought to be very neatly dug out In the
form OF a shallow pit about a quarter OF
an inch In depth. This Is the hard part or
the task but with a sharp knife II Is not
particularly difficult, as the rounded form
of the ball enables one to cut from differ
emf directions.
1t will now be found that the circles stand
out upon the surface, and II only remains
to cut away a little Of the wood under them
in order to loosen the ball inside. The
rounding of the ball and smoothing or the
cage can then be accomplished with little
trouble.
A bell with a movable clapper involves
some ingenious whiting. The ciapper and
the rod upon which IL will hang must both
be cut out OF the solid block from which
the bell has been formed, and the great
difficulty of the design Is In making the HI
tie ring at the upper end of the ciapper SO
that il will hang loosely upon the crossrod.