Popular Science Monthly 



The Whistling Bicycle Wheel 



A MOST interesting toy to teach 

 young people the value of harmonic 

 souncls is a device which any boy can 

 make. Fig. i of the illustration shows a 

 side view and Fig. 2 is a top or plan view. 

 Small rubber-tired wheels 10 ins. 



297 



speed up the wheel so that it rotates 

 rapidh". The harmonic devices are sim- 



of 



-2 in. across. This cut 

 i in. from the closed end. 



I/; 



2^13 



The various parts employed in the con- 

 struction of the musical wheel are here 

 shown in side and plan views 



or more in diameter are purchased at any 

 supply house, and are mounted on ball- 

 bearing spindles ready to be attached 

 to a frame. In this description a wheel 

 12 ins. in diameter is used. 



The frame comprises a base prefera- 

 bly 2 ins. thick, 5 ins. wide, and 33 ins. 

 long. Near one end is a pair of vertical 

 posts secured at their lower ends to this 

 base, and they extend upwardly 33 ins., 

 each being made of % in. material. The 

 upper ends are held in alincment by a 

 cross-piece. A grooved pulley, about 2 

 ins. in diameter, is fastened to the hub 

 of the wheel at one end, which can be 

 done easily by a pair of bolts. The 

 other grooved pulley, 8 or 10 ins. in 

 diameter (such as is used on sewing- 

 machines) is mounted directly above 

 the small pulley on a round rod, one 

 end of this rod being bent to form a 

 crank. A common sewing-machine belt 

 is placed on these two pulleys. 



This arrangement enables the user to 



I)ly tin tubes, eacn '4 01 an m. in 

 diameter, and 4 ins. long. By means 

 of a file a cross-cut is made so that the 

 opening is }, 

 should be ^ 



A tightly-fitting cork }/^ in. long is 

 placed in the end of the tube, and the 

 other end of the tube is provided with a 

 cork designed to move in and out, but 

 tight enough to prevent leakage of air. 

 To this cork a wire loop is attached so 

 that the cork may be drawn out at will 

 and adjusted at the proper place. 



The pitch of each whistle thus made 

 depends on the location of the cork 

 within the tube; the nearer it is to the 

 opening the higher will be the pitch. 

 1 he smaller the tube the more piercing 

 will be the note, so that any number of 

 these whistles may be attached to the 

 rim, some small and others large, thus 

 giving shrill or somber sounds. Instead 

 of tin, papier-mache, brass, or copper 

 tubes may be used. The different ma- 

 terials give what is called the timber 

 tone-color, or quality to the sounds. 



These whistles may be tied to the rim 

 of the wheel at various angles with 

 reference to the rim. This will have the 

 effect of imparting peculiar effects to the 

 tones. — J. S. Zerbe. 



A wide range of musical tones can be 

 produced with this home-made outfit 



