Wua Chon (Butting Bulls Pull Toy) — a 30 cm Pai Sang Bamboo Base with Four 1 × 4 cm Slots, Two Soft-Wood Bulls 4 × 9 × 7 cm Pinned at the Forelegs, a String 3× the Tube Length and a Rubber Band; Pull the String and the Bulls Charge

"Hold the tube and pull the string in and out with the other hand, and the animals look as if they are charging each other." (Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre, author not named, CC BY 4.0)

Choose pai sang bamboo (long internodes, wall not too thick), about 30 cm long. Cut 4 slots about 1 cm wide and 4 cm long for the bulls. Drill holes and fit shaved bamboo crosspieces at 2 points, at the head and the middle, to tie the string and rubber band. Shave legs and fit them on top at both sides so it stands without rolling.

Cut soft wood into blocks about 4 cm wide, 9 cm long and 7 cm high and carve them into bulls; woods of different colours can be used to tell them apart. Drill the bulls' forelegs and pin both bulls to the base with wooden pins.

Cut a string 3 times the length of the bamboo tube. Thread it round one pin point and back to tie it to one bull; pass the other end through to tie it to the other bull's wooden pin. Fit a rubber band at the other pin point so the bulls can move.

Photos of a real wua chon (Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre, author not named, CC BY 4.0)

Hold the tube and pull the string in and out with the other hand; the two bulls look as if they are charging each other.

Carving the bulls takes skill and sharp tools. Today only 1 maker of this toy remains at the Play Museum, aged 85. Take care with the knife and saw. Source: Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre, Traditional Objects of Everyday Use database, "วัวชน", author not named (CC BY 4.0 licence). **Limits** The source's mechanism steps refer to pin points 1.1 and 1.2 and bulls A and B in a diagram that is not included, so the stringing is written from the words as far as they go. There is no product line for general soft wood.