Boys Build Oil Barrel Locomotive

A HOME-MADE locomotive, built by two 14-year-old boys from an old oil barrel, parts of a coaster wagon, bicycle sprocket and washing machine gear, startled residents as it whistled and chugged its way through the streets of Minneapolis.

The builders of the one-half horsepower steam engine are Marlon Nelson and Robert Wass. In the oil barrel they installed a small boiler coil and cut a door for a fire box. An old coal hod and a piece of stove pipe finished the boiler. The frame was made from an old iron bed.

Is this a safety device or an instrument of torture? It seems pretty cruel to strap the kid into a chair so that when his toy falls on the ground, which it undoubtedly will, it rests just out of reach. Also, I’m sure that if he tries hard enough the boy could find a way to strangle himself.

Safety Belt Makes Chair Safe Seat for Child

IF it weren’t for the safety belt holding him to the chair, Jimmie, here, would probably take a spill in his efforts to reach that toy horse. Then some one would have to pick him up and put him back. It could go on for hours. But all this can be eliminated by use of a recently patented safety strap which fits over his shoulders and around his waist like a double Sam Browne belt. The ends are securely attached to the chair legs. The strap allows him plenty of movement, yet prevents him from toppling.

Moving Reflectors Protect Riders

MOVING reflectors mounted on bicycle pedals provide a conspicuous warning to motorists of the rider ahead. They are easier to see than the stationary type, the flashing disks attracting immediate attention. They are the invention of an English bus driver.

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Give Santa a Hand

Route those toy orders to Santa through your workshop. Here are 10 wooden ones to bring shrieks of delight from your youngsters on Christmas morn

By Marvin Hartley

SANTA’S job will be easier when you turn toymaker and lend a helping hand to relieve the burden on his North Pole workshop. Among this group of 10 exciting toys, there’s at least one that will surely make Christmas extra merry for some youngster. Except for the lighthouse stool, bucking bronco and the burp gun, which require some sheet metal, all of the toys are made mostly of wood.

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Pirate’s Peg Leg Holds Cribbage Cards

FIFTEEN men on the dead mans chest,

Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum! Drink and the devil had done for the rest,

Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!

Pirates! That’s exactly what the above chanty spells. This cribbage set is directly connected with a famous old pirate, the one that every one has heard about—Captain John Silver. What was the most conspicuous thing about old John Silver? You’ve guessed it! His peg leg! You just can’t picture John Silver without a peg leg. This cribbage set utilizes that famous peg leg, or rather a miniature of it. The crotch of the leg holds the cards and the hollowed out peg holds the four cribbage pegs.

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Orange-Crate Scooter Has Ball-Bearing Wheels

OLD ball bearings from the rear axle of an automobile serve as the wheels of this speedy scooter. It is made from an orange crate and a piece of board 4″ by 24″. A slot is sawed in one end of the orange crate and another near the end of the board to receive the ball-bearing wheels. The axles are cut from hardwood and forced into the inner ball race; and one side is flattened to fit against the boards, to which they are fastened with 1/4″ bolts. The board should be pivoted to the orange crate with a 3/8″ bolt. The wood is faced at this point with two pieces of sheet iron to form a bearing.

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Rubber Bands Run This Flivver

by DICK COLE

Using strips cut from old inner tubes as motive power, the Flivver-car described in this article by Mr. Cole can easily be built by any boy and will be an endless source of fun.

HERE is something which will gladden the heart of any boy—a car which goes by itself. The motive power is a rubber band motor. Just as twisted strands of rubber are used to whirl the propeller of a model aeroplane, so heavier strands can be used in a similar, manner to provide mechanical locomotion.

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THRILLS and CHILLS for Your HALLOWE’EN Party

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Whizzing on Fizz
Douglas Aircraft engineers enliven noon hour by racing tiny cars jet-driven by CO2

These tricks are really dorky but anyone who uses the phrase “nocturnal orgy of nonsensical abandon” is OK in my book.

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Make Hallowe’en Whoopee with Mechanical Tricks

by DALE R. VAN HORN

A Hallowe’en party might be defined as a nocturnal orgy of nonsensical abandon. In other words, an affair when any goofy trick is in order. If you want to show your guests some real fun perform the stunts described here and then won’t be a single moment of boredom

ON HALLOWE’EN Eve you can stage all the goofy stunts you have been wanting to exploit for a long time. Nothing is too low-brow for the occasion. It is the one time of the whole year, not even excepting New Year’s, when you can forget worldly cares and the weight of adult responsibilities, and have a thoroughly good time.

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Electrically Operated Robot Card Dealer Speeds up Bridge 30 Per Cent

SAID to be capable of speeding up bridge playing almost 30 per cent, an automatic card dealer invented by C. B. Ripley of Portland, Ore., is being put on the market. The device holds two packs of cards-to be dealt as desired, and deals them into a revolving receptacle of four sides for the four respective hands, as shown in the accompanying photo. Cards are placed in it and left to be dealt by the robot, while the players proceed with the game. The novel device is electrically operated, and can be plugged into a wall or light socket.

Plastic Toys Learn to Crawl Wiggle and Pop
ALTHOUGH metals for toys are more plentiful now, the war-born use of plastic substitutes is still enjoying a well-earned popularity with the toy makers— and the youngsters. Here are three new recruits to the growing ranks of plastic toys.