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    Boomerangs: How to Make and Throw Them
    Boomerangs: How to Make and Throw Them
    Boomerangs: How to Make and Throw Them
    Ebook157 pages2 hours

    Boomerangs: How to Make and Throw Them

    By Bernard S. Mason

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    "Easy to follow instructions help the reader successfully make and throw their own boomerang out of materials found fairly easily in most areas of the country. A truly fascinating read." — Texas Kitchen and Garden and More
    It only takes minutes to make a good, guaranteed-to-return boomerang. By following a few more simple steps you will learn how to throw it so it will always return to you. Soon you will be in possession of a new hobby, experimenting with many types of boomerangs, flying them in new tricks and stunts, achieving a degree of accuracy and excitement that will give you pleasure whether you are young or old, whether it is your first boomerang or your fiftieth.
    This is the outstanding book on boomerangs. While a certain amount of the information is drawn from native methods, most is composed of new designs by Bernard Mason that are easy to make, easy to throw, safe, and full of possibilities. There are the standards — cross-stick boomerangs ranging in size from fourteen inches to three feet. There are pin-wheel boomerangs, undoubtedly the best flyers. There are boomabirds, boomerangs in bird shapes, airplane shapes, and other ornamentals with a wealth of strange flight patterns. There are tumblesticks, boomerangs that look like nothing but simple straight sticks — until you throw them. There are boomerangs you can make from cardboard. And there are the curved stick boomerangs from Australia. In each section there are examples of the best flyers, plus others — largest, smallest, jumpers, fast flyers, smooth flyers, and many more.
    Since, as the author says, each boomerang possesses its own unique character, there is always the feeling of magic each time a new one is made and thrown. With this book you can learn to make nearly every type of known boomerang, learn to fly them, and add a new area of skill and recreation to your life.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDover Publications
    Release dateJun 11, 2012
    ISBN9780486156118
    Boomerangs: How to Make and Throw Them

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      Book preview

      Boomerangs - Bernard S. Mason

      BOOKS

      CHAPTER I

      Boomerangs the World Around

      There is mystery in the boomerang. Nothing more than a piece of wood, yet with uncanny accuracy it circles through the air and comes back to the thrower. Obviously enough the thrower holds no magnet that plays upon the sailing missile, has no magical·power that pulls it back to him—the secret rests entirely in the mechanical construction of the stick and the physical laws of ballistics. Yet, however completely these laws may be expounded and comprehended, there will always be something of magic in the uncanny ability of these flying sticks to find their way into the waiting hands of the thrower.

      Doubtless this element of mystery has much to do with the universal appeal of the sailing boomerang. Certain it is that it holds a peculiar fascination to young and old of every clime. There is intrigue in the very appearance of the boomerang in the air, in the ease and grace with which it soars and sails, circles and double circles, and finally floats effortlessly back to its starting point. No bird ever soared the sky with more harmony of movement and easy elegance than does a good boomerang.

      And then, too, coming as it does from the primitive, boomerang throwing carries with it that glamour that all things primitive have to the civilized mind.

      Little wonder that the thrower takes so much pride in sailing these graceful sticks. The sheer beauty of the flight and the perfection and precision of the return are a never-ending joy—he throws until weary and obtains thereby excellent physical exercise and the self-expression that comes from good recreation. Almost equally as great is the appeal to the spectator: one glimpse of the floating missile and the onlooker is arrested—he remains to thrill and to enjoy aesthetic satisfaction.

      Boomerang throwing has few equals as an individual sport. It offers as much of physical benefit as any throwing and catching activity. It grips and compels. It is one of those colorful activities that not only challenges the performer but has unique show value. It carries a romantic appeal—it does things to the imaginations of people. Being an unusual type of activity, it serves admirably as a hobby. I have never known a person to become familiar with the art of the boomerang and not be caught in the irresistible, sweeping tide of its appeal. The sport becomes a major interest and a constant source of pride.

      But there is another aspect of this sport that plays a most conspicuous role in its appeal—the making of the boomerang is as interesting as the throwing. In fact the making and the throwing are inseparably related in the full enjoyment of the pastime. There is pleasure in throwing a boomerang that is purchased or obtained from some one else, but it is in no respect comparable to the joy and thrill that results in handling one which you yourself have made. All the time the boomerang is being whittled you are looking forward to throwing it—constantly in your mind is the question, Will it come back? And when the last chip has been removed, you hasten to hurl it—and it works! There is thrill and glowing satisfaction as can come from few other pastimes! Even the old-timer at the boomerang game never fails to experience it; he may have made a thousand boomerangs, yet each time he throws a new one and it works perfectly just as he planned that it should, he feels a surge of pride and satisfaction that is worth many times over the effort required for the making. It is a feeling of craftsmanship, of having been the cause! So great, in fact, is this joy that comes from seeing a newly-made boomerang work perfectly, that one is always tempted to put the stick away after throwing it enough to test it thoroughly, and then to make another designed to act in a different way.

      And happily, the making is easy—nothing more forbidding than jackknife whittling, and not very difficult whittling at that. Most boomerangs are made from soft wood that is very easy to work. And when a boomerang is roughly whittled out, so anxious is the maker to see if it will function that he throws it before finishing it carefully. If it works, he is usually reluctant to touch it again with the knife and so it is left in a crude and rough state. But this crudeness enhances rather than detracts from its appearance. Since these are primitive instruments, a machine-like perfection in appearance unmakes the picture. All of this adds to the simplicity of the making.

      PLACE IN THE EDUCATIONAL AND RECREATIONAL PROGRAM

      The recreational value of boomerang making and throwing is clearly indicated in the foregoing paragraphs.

      An ideal play activity serves two purposes: It is gripping and compelling at the moment—it appeals as play, and makes the typical contributions of play to growth—and secondly, it is an activity of the type that will carry on throughout life, that is, the learning of the skills necessary to play it is an education for leisure.

      The use of boomerangs meets these requirements outstandingly. It is an individual rather than a team or group activity; experience indicates that the activities that can be enjoyed alone or with two or three others are the life-time type. Once one is familiar with the art of the boomerang, he will doubtless come back to it again and again throughout life—he is equipped with an enduring and lasting hobby. This being the case, the use of boomerangs has a place in any school or club that attempts to educate in leisure-time activities.

      In any group or class of children, there will be some who for temperamental or physical reasons do not participate regularly in the usual team games. Boomerangs will hold a peculiar appeal to such types. In individual corrective work in physical education, this activity has much to recommend it. But its glamour is not confined to these special types of people—practically all boys, girls, and men will be challenged by the boomerang in any play and recreational program.

      Viewed from the handicraft standpoint, boomerang making has a purpose, an objective unknown in the usual crafts—it has a reward beyond the satisfaction of good craftsmanship—that of throwing the boomerang when completed. This activity is therefore ideal for use in clubs, playgrounds, camps, and schools, both as a craft and as a sport. In schools the making of boomerangs is usable in manual-training and industrial-arts departments, and the throwing of boomerangs is delightful in the physical education department. Most boomerangs of the types we shall recommend work more effectually indoors where there are no air currents to interfere and consequently, the school gymnasium is an ideal place for their use.

      The element of danger immediately comes to mind when boomerangs are mentioned, and this fear has often militated against the consideration of the activity in school manual-training departments. The element of danger has been greatly exaggerated, due in part to the fact that few are familiar with types of boomerangs other than the curved Australian type. This boomerang is heavy and does carry a considerable element of danger. Not so, however, with the come-back sticks which will be described in the chapters that follow. The use of the curved Australian boomerangs is not recommended for boys. There are other types which are light and much more efficient, operate in a small space, and are relatively safe. Given instruction equal to that afforded for other sports, the element of danger can be reduced to the point where it is no more important than in any of the usual activities of children.

      TYPES OF BOOMERANGS

      The art of the boomerang, both in respect to the methods of construction and the manner of throwing, is practically unknow n as far as the general

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