Boys' Make-at-Home Things :: THE WONDERFUL DODO BIRD

THE WONDERFUL DODO BIRD

A VERY long, long time ago, in the far off country of Switzerland, which is the land of high mountains and goats and tourists, there was a wonderful bird. Nobody ever saw him near by, for he lived in a forest of alpenstocks, and he had the longest kind of legs, so that no matter how fast the tourists pulled up the alpenstocks, or how hard they tried to catch him, he always got away. The only way any one could see him was to watch the mountain tops, for when the weather was pleasant, he would climb up and stand there outlined clearly against the sky, his long legs making him taller than anything around him, and he would bob up and down—first his head and then his tail, and then his head again—and wave his plume and call, “Do-do, do-do.”

The peasants made little dodo birds whittled out of wood, and sold them to the tourists, and because a real dodo bird was only hatched once in a blue moon, and there are no more blue moons, why, the ones the peasants made are the only dodo birds left. And this is how they made them.

The foundation of the bird’s body (Fig. 1) is a chunky piece of wood an inch and a half square by three inches long. On each end of this is marked a circle—an inch and a half in diameter, which makes it just touch each edge. Then by cutting from circle to circle, as nearly straight as possible, the wood is made into a three-inch-high cylinder. Next one whole end is rounded off like the large end of an egg. The next steps in making the dodo bird are not quite as simple. A straight line is drawn all the way around the body, from end to end, which divides it into two equal parts. At the end of the line which represents the middle of the bird’s back is measured off a space a quarter of an inch on either side. This makes a half-inch space which is the tip of his tail, and from these points lines are drawn on the flat end surface, to complete the four-sided figure shown in the end view of Fig. 1, which is the whole end of his tail. It tapers from a half inch at the top to about a quarter inch at the bottom, and when it is all finished, the bottom is slanted in a trifle. Next the bottom part is whittled up in a curve which meets the lower end of the tail, and the rest of the body is whittled in the shape shown in the side view of Fig. 1. This part can’t be done by lines because it is a gradual curve all over. When this is done two flat slanting surfaces are whittled off for the sides of the tail.

Diagrams of a Dodo Bird.Now you are ready to make the grooves for the head and tail feathers to go in. Part of the lower center line has been whittled off and will have to be replaced. Then, measuring three-sixteenths of an inch on each side of this line, make parallel lines which shall extend around the lower part of the body from the end of the tail to a point on the front end just a quarter of an inch below the top. A space a half inch wide is left in the middle of the bottom for the legs to fasten on, and the rest is to be made into the grooves as shown on the pattern. The easiest way to do this is to cut as far in as possible, on the parallel lines which you have drawn, with a small saw. Then chip the wood out with a small chisel, and, with the chisel held bevel side down, round out the bottoms of the grooves. If you haven’t such a chisel though, you can manage with a knife.

When the body is done, the rest is easier. Fig. 2 shows the head, made from a piece of wood two and a half inches long by one and one-eighth wide and a quarter inch thick. The outline is marked and whittled into shape, and the beak is slanted down to a point. One quarter of an inch from the end of the neck a hole is made for pivoting, the eyes are marked in with a pencil, and three rows of marks are made across the neck with a little pattern marking wheel. These may also be made around the body and will add to the beauty of the dodo bird. His plume is made of a soft, downy chicken feather, stuck into a hole in the top of his head and glued in place.

The tail feather (Fig. 3) is shaped like the feathered end of an arrow. The “feathered” part is one inch wide by two and a half long, and another inch in length forms the pivoting part. This end is a quarter inch wide and five-sixteenths thick, and the “feathers” are cut in from each side with a slanting cut as shown in the drawing. The bottom is left perfectly level, but the top is slanted down, with three flat cuts, to a sharp edge at the end. A hole is made from side to side, a quarter of an inch back from the small end, for pivoting. Two small nails driven through the body, with the head and tail feathers in position, form the pivots. They must be driven carefully so as not to split the wood, and must be placed so that the head and tail feathers will work up and down very freely.The legs (Fig. 4) are pieces of wood three and a half inches long, a half inch wide, and a quarter of an inch thick. They are first whittled in an elliptical shape. Then the lower part, for a space of two and a quarter inches is tapered back from the front to give an appearance of standing very straight. At the upper end, for a quarter of an inch from the top, half of the wood is cut away, and the remaining part is fitted into holes cut in the body, three quarters of an inch apart, and glued.

The standard for the dodo (Fig. 5) is made like a small wooden vise. It is a flat piece of wood three and a half inches long by two inches wide and three quarters of an inch thick. One end is beveled slightly, and one end of the top is curved down slightly.

In the remaining flat surface on the top two holes are whittled out into which the dodo’s feet are to be glued. Then a space two inches long and one inch wide is cut out to form the jaws of the vise. To tighten the vise there must be some sort of a screw through the lower jaw. A wooden thumb screw is not easy to get, so the best plan is to get a bolt about three eighths of an inch in diameter. Then cut a hole almost as large in your wood, and screw the bolt in, forcing it to cut its own “thread” in the soft wood.

THE DODO BIRDFig. 6 is the weight which makes the dodo work. It is a piece of wood two and a quarter inches high by an inch and seven-eighths square. This is made into a cylinder and rounded at one end precisely as you did with the body. Then a circle is marked around it a quarter of an inch back from the flat end, and this end is slightly rounded off. It may be decorated or not, as you choose.

Now you are ready to make the dodo bird work. Take two pieces of string—stout, but not too heavy—about twelve inches long. Fasten an end of one of them—with a tiny wedge and some glue—into the end of the dodo’s neck, and the other into the small end of the tail. Then bring the two pieces together and knot them about an inch from the other end. Fasten these two ends into the top of the weight just as you did the single ends.

Now fasten the vise securely on a shelf somewhere, and swing the weight to and fro like the pendulum of a clock. The dodo will bob first his head and then his tail and then his head again, and you can almost hear him calling “Do-do” way off on the mountain there. He’s a source of never-ending fun, boys, and besides playing with him yourself, you can just watch and see how few grown-ups can go by him and resist swinging the pendulum.

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