Easy-to-Make Whirligigs (Dover Woodworking)

Welcome to the wonderful world of whirligigs! Whirligigs are small, wind-driven toylike objects — often called "wind toys" — that whirl and twirl on a pivot. Who made the first whirligig? Nobody knows — their origins are lost in the distant past. Some people think they may have come to Europe with the windmill, which was introduced from the East in the twelfth century. We do known that American crafters were making whirligigs as early as the eighteenth century.
This delightful guide contains complete patterns and easy-to-follow instructions for making 30 whirligigs of your own: the Signaling Trainman, Flying Puffin, Colonial Dame, Indian in Canoe, Halley's Comet, Santa, Flying Witch, and many others. All are designed to work outdoors in the wind.
One of the best parts about whirligigs is that they are inexpensive to make. A few scraps of wood, a couple of tools, and a nail or two are all you need. What's more, there's no limit to the designs you can construct. Once you have mastered the simple technical aspects of whirligig construction, you can use your imagination and ingenuity to make any number of new models. Creating new whirligigs is fun, and seeing them spin and twirl in the wind is very exciting and rewarding.