** How to Make a Water Bicycle [335]

Water bicycles afford fine sport, and, like many another device
boys make, can be made of material often cast off by their people
as rubbish. The principle material necessary for the construction
of a water bicycle is oil barrels. Flour barrels will not do-they
are not strong enough, nor can they be made perfectly airtight.
The grocer can furnish you with oil barrels at a very small cost,
probably let you have them for making a few deliveries for him.
Three barrels are required for the water bicycle, although it can
be made with but two. Figure 1 shows the method of arranging the
barrels; after the manner of bicycle wheels.

Procure an old bicycle frame and make for it a board platform
about 3 ft. wide at the rear end and tapering to about 2 ft. at
the front, using cleats to hold the board frame, as shown at

[Illustration: Water, Bicycle Complete]

the shaded portion K. The construction of the barrel part is shown
in Fig. 2. Bore holes in the center of the heads of the two rear
barrels and also in the heads of the first barrel and put a shaft
of wood, through the rear barrels and one through the front
barrel, adjusting the side pieces to the shafts, as indicated.

Next place the platform of the bicycle frame and connections
thereon. Going back to Fig. 1 we see that the driving chain passes
from the sprocket driver L of the bicycle frame to the place
downward between the slits in the platform to the driven sprocket
on the shaft between the two barrels. Thus a center drive is made.
The rear barrels are, fitted with paddles as at M, consisting of
four pieces of board nailed

[Illustration: Barrel Float for Bicycle]

and deated about the circumference of the barrels, as shown in
Fig. 1.

The new craft is now ready for a first voyage. To propel it, seat
yourself on the bicycle seat, feet on the pedals, just as you
would were you on a bicycle out in the street. The steering is
effected by simply bending the body to the right or left, which
causes the craft to dip to the inclined side and the affair turns
in the dipped direction. The speed is slow at first, but increases
as the force is generated and as one becomes familiar with the
working of the affair. There is no danger, as the airtight barrels
cannot possibly sink.

Another mode of putting together the set of barrels, using one
large one in the rear and a small one in the front is presented in
Fig, 3. These two barrels