Building a Toy Windmill

Material Required for Making a Windmill:

A box made with curved sides about five inches deep, a half-sheet of cardboard, and a long pencil.

From any deep box with round sides, you may make a windmill. You will not need the cover of the box. Remove it, and turn the lower half of the box over to stand upon its upper rim so that its top becomes its base.

Cut a small door about an inch high in the edge of the lower box rim, just as you see it in the picture of my box windmill. On its rim, farther up, cut a narrow window. A half-inch square cut out in the box rim will make this. The roof of the windmill is round and pointed.

It is to be made from cardboard. To make it, take your compass and draw a circle twice the size of the round base of your box or about that. Cut this circle out of the cardboard, and from it remove a quarter piece like a large slice cut from a pie. (See Diagram Three.) Next, lap one edge of your three-quarter circle over its opposite side. Glue it so. This gives the round, pointed roof. Paint it, if you wish, with your paints. Color it bright red or brown.

Sails for windmill need to be cut from a paper pattern. This pattern must be made from soft paper that may be folded easily. Pad paper will do. Cut a square of pad paper that is half the height of your windmill. Fold this square together to make halves then again to make quarter-sections. Cut in the folded quarter-section the figure shown for shaping windmill sails. (See Diagram Five) Then unfold your paper, and, placing it upon cardboard, outline all around its edge with pencil.

Then, cut the outline out. This is the sail piece for your windmill. (For shape of pattern for windmill sails, see Diagram Five. Make a hole through its center. Press through it the point of a long pencil.

Make two holes in your box, near the top, below the roof one hole exactly opposite the other. Run the pencil point through these holes. There! The sails are in place!

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