A Treasury of Wooden Toys, Volume 3

A Treasury of Wooden Toys, Volume 3 offers detailed "how-to" construction information for building a selection of wooden toy projects by home craftsman. The four, full-color, illustrated chapters contain step-by-step instructions for building and operating two different time-tested toy sailboats and two rubber band powered historical toy submarines. One of the sailboats and one of the submarine toys involves turning the hull on a wood lathe. Each chapter includes full-size and dimensioned scale plans drawn by the author. The sailboats are quite sea-worthy, and can be pre-set to sail long straight courses without fear of being capsized by a wind gust, or sinking while out on the water. The submarines are designed for back yard swimming pools approximately thirty feet in length. They can be set to dive deep, run along under water, and surface again as the rubber bands wind down. With a different setting of the diving planes, the subs will run fast on the surface of the pool. Since the submarines are designed with positive buoyancy, they should always end their runs on the surface. The toys in this volume are intended for children old enough to be taught how to operate them and care for them. The sailboats have both a rudder and sail setting to adjust to different wind speed and direction. The submarines require hand-winding of the rubber band motor, and adjustment of the diving planes for desired operation. In both cases, adult help is suggested initially to teach the operation of boats that mimic full-scale water craft.

In this detailed "how-to" book of wooden toy projects, the home wood craftsman will find full-color illustrated chapters with instructions on building two different functional toy sailboats that will delight and impress in operation. The hull of one of these boats is turned on a wood lathe. Also included are plans and construction details and photos of two rubber band powered toy submarines based on historic boats. One of the toy submarines is a profile model of a World War II U.S. fleet submarine. It is built from a single 3/4 inch thick pine board with a long slot sawn out for the twisted strands of rubber bands. The boat has diving planes to permit various underwater and surface runs. It is designed for children old enough to safely and patiently wind the rubber band motor for each run. The propellers are built with a winding handle to make winding faster and less likely to slip out of one's grasp and waste the effort. None of these boats is suitable as a tub boat for a child's play or bath. Adult supervision is suggested to provide safety when children are playing near pools and lakes, and initially to explain operational details to the interested child. The Akula submarine is a functional toy replica of a Soviet Cold War nuclear attack boat. It is a 3-D project in which the hull is glued-up from five pine boards and turned to shape on a wood lathe. The boat is ballasted and balanced to float level with the deck at water level, requiring positive buoyancy. The hull is ventilated with drilled vent holes to preclude trapped air from restricting operation. This model represents the happy domain between intricate scale models and operational near-scale toys. Each of these functional toys will also appeal to adults who will be fascinated to see them in realistic operation. Every toy will make handsome display in a child's room.

Jim Humphries is a retired U.S. Air Force command pilot with 10,000 hours of flying time. In 1956, he earned his bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Clemson College, and continued his graduate engineering education at the University of Michigan while on active duty with the U.S. Air Force, eventually earning master's degrees in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering. Using his extensive engineering and aviation background, he designs and builds quality wooden toys, many of which have survived through generations. He has been married to his wife, Marsha, for over sixty years. they have two grown sons, nine grandchildren, and have begun having great grandchildren. As a military pilot, Jim served for 23 years on active duty, including a combat tour in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam war. He retired as a full colonel in 1979, and flew as an engineering test pilot with Fairchild Aircraft Corporation in San Antonio, Texas for fifteen years. As a writer, he has published articles in military and civilian magazines and newsletters. Writing for him is a special joy, and when he's not designing and building wooden toys, he can be found at the computer crafting a new volume or story. Jim is a long-time Bible teacher in United Methodist Church Sunday schools. He has been a featured speaker at military, professional and Christian events. Now, in his mid-eighties, he is about the business of getting years of toy projects out to the public through colorful "how-to" construction books, this being his third volume of wooden toys.