DIY Wooden Toys

Use a band saw to cut out the body of your toy.

Wooden toys hold their charm long after today's latest licensed comic creations have gone by the wayside. One of the simplest wooden toys to make is the roll-along, or pull behind, toy. These toys can take on almost any form, from truck or car to dinosaur. One of the keys to a good rolling toy is a perfect wheel. Using a hole-saw set, you can create perfect wheels in any size and get it right every time.

Things You'll Need

• 2-inch-by-10-inch pine lumber
• Toy image
• Band saw
• Sandpaper
• 1-inch-by-6-inch pine lumber
• Hole saw
• Drill
• Dowels
• Wood glue
• Eye hook
• Shoe string

Instructions

1. Select an image on which to model your toy. Coloring books or printable color pages work well. Look for a simple profile of the kind of animal or vehicle you want to create. Cut your image out along its outline and tape the cut out to a block of 2-inch-by-10-inch pine.

2. Cut the 2-inch-by-10-inch board along the outside edge of the paper pattern with a band saw to create the body of your toy. Stay as close to the line as possible and move the work to the blade, rather than trying to force the blade to bend, for best results.

3. Sand the edges of the cut out toy body with 100-grit sandpaper to remove splinters and smooth the wood. Mark two locations for the wheel axles, each 1 inch up from the bottom of the toy and at least 3 inches apart. Drill a 5/16-inch hole through the body of the toy in each location.

4. Clamp a piece of 1-inch-by-6-inch pine to your work table with a C-clamp, so that at least 12 inches of it are hanging off with clear space below the board. Drill through the board with a 2-1/2 inch hole saw to create four wheels. Apply steady pressure when boring and allow the center bit and saw blade to cut through the wood without forcing. Poke a screwdriver through the back of the hole-saw to remove each wheel.

5. Sand the wheels. Cut two pieces of 1/4 inch dowel to 3-1/8 inches long. Apply wood glue to one end of each dowel and fit it into one of the wheels. Thread the other end of the dowels through the toy and apply wood glue to the other end. Fit the remaining wheels onto the open ends of the dowels. Allow the glue to dry thoroughly before playing with the toy.

6. Drill a 1/8-inch pilot hole in the center of the toy body at the front end. Insert a 1/2-inch eye hook and twist it in with pliers until the threads are firm in the body of the toy. Tie a long shoe string to the eye hook to create a pull-along toy.

References

• Reader's Digest: How to Properly Use a Hole Saw
• "Making Wooden Toys": Richard E Blizzard; Sterling Publishing, 1982