The truck featured here is an example of a sturdy toy designed with child safety in mind. The moving parts have no pinch points and the truck’s surfaces are rounded and smooth. Assembly is fairly straightforward. The quantity and shape of all the parts required are shown below and each can be cut from either solid stock or birch – veneer plywood. All you need to hold the pieces together are a few dowels, although some connections can be reinforced with screws. If you use screws to complete this project, be sure to counterbore the fasteners and cover the heads with wood plugs.
Cutting
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Cutting the chassis and axle housings
Make your chassis blank a little larger than its final dimensions, then use your band saw to cut it to the shape shown in the anatomy illustration (page 31). Outline the profile on the stock, make the cuts on the saw (above), then use a chisel to clean out any corners or edges you could not cut square. To produce the bevel at the back end of the chassis, use the band saw or a stationary power sander, then sand all surfaces smooth. Next, band saw the front and rear axle housings to shape. [1]
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Turning the wheels
То produce the wheels on your lathe, start by preparing a simple turning jig on the band saw. Cut the block from 2-inch – thick stock into a 6-inch-diameter circle, then screw it to a faceplate and mount the plate on the lathe headstock. Next, prepare the wheel blanks, cutting them from %-inch stock with a 2-inch hole saw mounted on your drill press. Outline one of the wheels in the center of the turning jig, turn on the lathe and use a scraper to cut a 14-inch-deep recess within the outline.
Seat the blank in the recess, using double-sided tape to hold it in place. You can now turn the blank: Position the tool rest close to the workpiece and use a scraper to cut the treads and then a spindle gouge to shape the recess around the wheel hub (above). Remove the blank from the jig, affix the tape on the side you just turned, and repeat the process to shape the other side of the wheel. Repeat for the other wheels, keeping in mind that the front and back wheels have slightly different profiles (page 31).
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Drilling the cab window
Cut your cab blank roughly to size and outline its contours, including the window hole. Locate the hole 114 inches from the back end and 2 inches from the bottom of the cab. Install a l’^-inch spade bit in your drill press and clamp a backup panel to the machine table to minimize tearout. Clamp the stock in a handscrew, secure the clamp to the backup panel so the marked hole is directly under the bit, and drill the hole (left).
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5 Shaping the cabin
Cut the contours of the cab on your band saw, feeding the stock with both hands and being careful to keep them clear of the blade (right). Next, cut the fire wall and engine block to shape and sand the pieces.
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Gluing the engine block and cab to the chassis
Start by gluing the cab to the chassis. Once the adhesive has cured, spread glue on the contacting surfaces of the engine block and fire wall, and clamp the pieces together. At the same time, glue the front and rear axle housings to the chassis. Once dry, glue the engine block to the chassis and clamp it in place on a flat work surface, using a wood pad to protect the stock (below).
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Attaching the box to the chassis
Cut the box hinge and the pieces of the box on your band saw, then drill a ^-inch-diameter hole through the side of the hinge for the dowel that will secure it to the chassis. Screw the hinge to the underside of the box bottom, flush with the back end, using a handscrew to hold the pieces snugly as you drive the screws (above, left). Counterbore the fasteners so you can plug their heads. Next, assemble and glue the box togeth
er, cutting a shallow rabbet around three sides of the bottom to accept the sides and front. Once the adhesive has cured, place the box on the chassis so the hinge rests in the slot. Dab a little glue on the trailing end of the connecting dowel, then slip the pin through the holes in the chassis and box hinge to secure the box in place (above, right). Conceal the screw heads with wood plugs.
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Mounting the fenders and wheels
Complete the truck by installing the fenders and wheels. Outline the fenders on blanks and cut the pieces to shape on a band saw or scroll saw, starting with the notch on one face, then the curved cut along the edge (left). Glue the fenders in place, then mount the wheels to the axle housings with dowels. You can now finish the truck; be sure to use a child – safe product (page 12).
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Made by Garnet Hall, of Stoughton, Saskatchewan, the tractor and rock picker shown at left straddle the line between toy and display piece. To show off the beauty of the various wood species used, this model was coated with a clear finish. Although the tractor-rock picker can be entirely shop-made, some of the parts, such as the wheels, pegs, and dowels, are available at craft and hobby shops. You can build the toy to scale by cutting the parts according to the full-scale plans provided below and on page 37.
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Shaping the body
Cut the tractor body roughly to size, referring to the anatomy illustration on page 36 for its shape and dimensions. Outline the profile of the body on the stock, cut it out on your band saw, and sand the surfaces smooth. To curve the edges of the body, install a piloted round – over bit in a router and mount the tool in a table. Fashion an auxiliary fence for the infeed side of the table, cutting a notch to cover the bit and rounding the front corner. Screw the fence to a support board and clamp both pieces to the table. Press the stock against the pilot bearing as you feed it across the table. Turn the body over to shape the other side (right). Cut the hitch, drill a hole through it and glue it to the back of the tractor body.
Support board
Mounting the steering wheel, fuel cap, and muffler
Mark holes on the tractor body for the steering wheel column, fuel cap, and muffler. Bore ^-inch-diameter holes for the column and cap, and a ^-inch-diameter hole for the muffler. Make all the holes Уа inch deep. Fashion the steering wheel by attaching a J/-inch wheel to a ^-inch-diameter dowel. Make the fuel cap from a wood button or peg with a short shaft; a
length of ^-inch dowel can form the muffler. Dab glue into the three holes and set each piece in place (above). (It is easier to sand the pieces before gluing them in position.) To finish the muffler, drill a %2-inch-diameter hole through the middle of a %-inch dowel, spread some glue in the hole, and slip the dowel over the smaller peg already in place.
3 Installing the front axle and wheels
Cut the axle on your band saw from a piece of l-by-2%-inch-thick stock and sand its surfaces smooth. You need to drill three 7yfc-inch-diameter holes into the axle: one in each side for the wheels and a third in the top to attach the axle to the tractor body. Clamp a backup panel to your drill press table and secure the axle in a handscrew as you bore each hole (right). Drill a matching hole into the underside of the tractor. You can make the front wheels on the lathe (page 33), then glue them to the axle and attach the axle to the tractor body using pegs and glue. The peg securing the axle to the body can be left a little long to allow the axle to swivel.
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Gluing the fenders
Cut the two parts of each fender assembly on your band saw, making the bases from И-inch-thick stock and the mudguards from 14-inch-thick stock. The pieces on opposite sides of the tractor should be mirror images of each other. Drill holes into the ends of the mudguards for the buttons and dowels that will serve as the lights, then glue the mudguards to their respective fender bases. Once the adhesive has cured, glue the fender assemblies to the tractor body, making sure the bottom edges of the pieces are flush with each other. Use a handscrew to hold the fenders in position while the adhesive cures (left)- Glue wood buttons to the front of the mudguards for headlights and dowels to the back for taillights.
6 Mounting the rear wheels
Drill the axle hole through the fenders and tractor body, then make the axle by cutting ^-inch dowel stock to a length of 2/ inches. Slip the dowel into the axle hole in the tractor, dab a little glue on both ends, and mount the wheels (right).
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Making the rear wheels
Use a compass to outline the 2?£-inch – diameter wheels on %-inch-thick stock. Then, clamp a backup board to your drill press table and install a Г/4-inch spade bit in the machine. Holding the middle of one wheel outline under the bit, drill a hole to a depth of %> inch. Repeat for the other outline (left). Next, install a lA – inch brad-point bit and bore holes for the axle right through the stock. Cut out the wheels on the band saw and sand their rims round and smooth.
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Making the fork
Referring to the anatomy illustration on page 37, cut the fork to shape from a piece of X-inch-thick stock. Sand all the surfaces, ensuring that the contours are smooth and rounded. Then mark a line across the fork X inch from its thick edge and a series of parallel lines at Me-inch intervals from the thin edge to the marked line. Make a cut along each of the parallel lines on your band saw (right), feeding the fork with both hands and making sure you keep your fingers clear of the blade.
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Shaping the reel ends
Make the reel ends by cutting out two rX-inch-diameter wheels from X-inch – thick stock. Sand the wheels smooth and drill a %6-inch-diameter axle hole through each one. To make the indentations along the edges of the wheels, mark six radius lines spaced 60° apart. You can then cut the indentations by hand with a tapered half-round file or on an oscillating spindle sander with a thin spindle. On a spindle sander, you will need to make a V-block jig to do the job. For the jig, cut a 130° angle wedge out of a board, then drill a hole through the jig centered on the angle’s apex; the hole should be large enough to accommodate the spindle. Clamp the jig to the sanding table, centering the spindle in the hole. Turn on the sander, advance the reel flat on the table with both index fingers so that one of the radius lines is aligned with the spindle, and cut the indentation to a depth of V* inch (left). Repeat for the remaining indentations.
4 Gluing up the body
On your band saw, cut the parts of the rock picker’s body, including the sidewalls, the base, and the bucket. Glue the bucket sidewall to the interior. To prepare the sidewalls for assembly, you need to drill four holes in each one: one each for the bucket, wheels, fork, and reel. The holes for the fork and bucket should be %2 inch in diameter; make the holes for the reel and wheels ‘Аг inch in diameter. Once all the holes are drilled, use a dowel and glue to join the bucket to the sidewalls (right). Attach the reel between the sidewalls with wooden pegs and glue the base in place.
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Assembling the reel
Install a ^-inch bit in your drill press and bore a stopped hole into the middle of each projection on the inside faces of the reel ends. Make each hole – A inch deep. To join the reel ends together, cut a 2%7-inch-long dowel for each pair of holes. Then dab some glue in the holes, insert the dowels into one of the wheels, and fit the second wheel on top (left).
5 Installing the hitch
Cut the hitch to shape on your band saw and sand its surfaces smooth. Drill holes in the hitch for the wheel pegs and the peg that will join the hitch to the tractor. Then spread glue on the contacting surfaces of the hitch and sidewall, and clamp the hitch in place on a work table (right).
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Mounting the fork and the wheels
Use glue and a dowel to attach the fork to the sidewalls. To complete the project, use glue and wooden pegs to join the wheels to the rock picker (left). You are now ready to apply a finish.
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