We got a call yesterday that some friends were coming up and bringing their 5 year old grandson with them. He calls me “THE MAKER” I realized it was near him birthday and I hadn’t made him anything in some time,so I decided to build the garage for him, an easy build. My wife said he may not have a truck to fit the garage, sooo, I made a real quick truck. Everything is drying on the wood stove. Wheew, a marathon truck build.
Pine and cedar, store bought wheels.
As we near St. Patrick’s day some thoughts turn to Green Beer, and the traditional parade. Well after all the beer you might need a “lift” back home. Might as well call a GREEN tow truck to stay in style. This was 100% scrap wood from the U.S. Embassy in Kabul Afghanistan. Fenders are cabinet grade 7 ply plywood. Rest is some softer wood, maybe a pine, top is a small piece of oak. Wheels are store bought. The GREEN is from a set of water paints. All clear gloss polyurethane covered. Work with what you have I say.
Oh, yea… That barrel in the back, well even a tow truck driver needs beer on St. Patrick’s day.
It may not be an Afghan Backhoe,[no such thing] but it is copied after the one our son Matt is operating in Kabul right now. Loosely copied after a Case, or maybe a JCB, I used reference from both from the internet and actual measurements and pictures taken on site. I had made the wheels for another project when I was home at Christmas, but they worked good here also. The majority of the backhoe was built in my hooch in Kabul, Afghanistan. Every part moves as it should, even the back hoe slides in it’s track. Cherry and Walnut make up the materials used and a few dowel rods. All the wood was pre-planned and shipped from my shop earlier. Oh, yea, the grill is a piece of grill scrubber I found in the trash. #6 picture is from my reference file. My little construction fleet is growing.
Every trip back to Afghanistan I make some “SHOT GLASSES” for my friends. These might be special with all the talk of moving out. Thought is would be good to have some extras for a Toast To leaving Afghanistan, someday. The bark cups are a favorite and are Hickory. The others are hardwood laminated from the scrap bin. Very simple builds . If you ever visit the U.S. Embassy in Kabul I am sure you might see one at the Duck and Cover Bar.
Before I left Afghanistan I found this wood in the fire pit, waiting to be burned. I recognized that what ever was inside was going to be pretty. I sliced off several pieces, wondering what I could do with my limited tools, and the small size. Then I found this site. www.knifekits.com
Although not a total wood project I felt it represented the “found wood” well enough to post it. BTW I was told by a local that the wood is the root of a persimmon tree. It is very hard and highly figured.
Yes, I know that the 50th anniversary is customarily GOLD, but I am a simple woodworker so they get a simple truck.
We have friends that are celebrating their 50th anniversary soon. They have been in the construction business all these years so I thought it proper to build them a truck for the occasion. Totally from my own design, a one of a kind for some hard working friends. Mostly cherry wood, store bought wheels.
I did put GOLD lettering on it though!
Not much comes out of my shop with paint on it, but how can you beat the old, RED, WHITE, and BLUE.
My son has made several of these and has to drag his over when we have get together’s. So I figured I had better make one for the July 4th holiday get together. I used plans he found on the internet, only I kicked them up a notch. I rabbited the 2×4’s and set the 3/4 plywood flush. This allowed the white stripe to outline the board.
These plans not only show you how to make the game, but how to play it. My wife has made the bags but we found Amazon.com has them cheaper than we can make them. Tougher too.
http://woodworking.about.com/od/woodworkingplansdesigns/ss/Cornhole
With summer here it has taken me since February to complete this truck. It is a T&J plus my own ideas. The woods are a bit different to use together. Red Cedar and White Oak make up most of the build. Ash, Poplar & Walnut round out the accent pieces. I laminated woods to make the designs in the hood. That was a bit tricky to get it to line up just right. The interior is detailed down to the switches on the dash, cup holder and jump seat there is even a CB radio hanging from the roof. All the things that are suppose to move work as they should. Thanks for looking at my growing construction site. Doug
Growing up in Homer, NY I was born a Brockway truck kid. It was a sad day indeed when they closed their doors June 6th 1977. Brockway’s were hand built custom to the buyers specifications. They were not the cheapest truck, just the best. The fact that the state, local, and federal governments ordered them in great numbers spoke of the reliability. Many are still driven today. A strong group of men and women share this ideal too. http://www.brockwaytrucks.org/
My re-creation of the last Brockway made is a personal representation. I built it entirely from memory, pictures and internet specifications. This is the most detailed truck I have ever built. Detailed cab, detailed engine with Caterpillar motor, walking beam rears, air brakes, winch for heavy hauling. The wheels are my best representation of the Dayton style wheels of the era. steerable front wheels. They took forever when you add the add the 12 more for the drop deck trailer [another post]
For the purest, True, not everything is as it would have rolled off the line. This is meant to represent a strong truck, built for heavy hauling.
Local cut Walnut and Cheery wood make up most of the build. Sprayed poly for a finish. The only thing NOT hand made by me was a couple of poplar dowels and the fan belt.
I wear suspenders every day. Consiquently, I have a lot of suspenders. Any one who wears then knows they don’t fit well in a drawer. They are always tangled up. Since almost of my suspenders are the over the belt type from http://www.perrysuspenders.com/ I built my classic suspender holder. Built from Red Cedar with dowels for the cross bars. This is my 2nd one as the need for more room became necessary. I can just look, unhook and re-hook without any untangling.
No, I don’t hang them outside on the fence, I was taking the holder in to the closet and decided to share it with L/J’s
I am NOT known as a turner of fine woods, but I like the results the masters have and like to give it a try sometimes. I love the rustic effects of PINE KNOTS but have almost all of them blow up before they finish. The structure of a pine knot is such as it has vertical faults that are just waiting for failure, and I always seem to meet that place where they form. This is a lot thicker than I wanted but it is whole at least. An accomplishment for this toy maker.
Comments welcome, Doug
As a TOY MAKER the one thing I need is for all the wheels to be on the table [flat] at the same time. I made this table a few years back and have changed it little since. It works great for me. I just gave it a good cleaning and realized that scraping off the granite made it look like new again.
The main table is Red Oak, drilled and bolted together so I can keep it tight. The top is 1”granite. A bit of storage under. I did add the platform to an end so I can work on anything at eye level. The hardwood platform is adjustable [tilts] and up and down. It also has a locking mechanism so I can hold anything from coming off. The whole table is on locking casters and can be put out of the way when needed. You can also get a sneak peek of my 1st use of Myrtle wood, accent is local walnut.
Thanks for looking, Doug
I learned they are used like a golf ball marker. I made these for my son’s friend Brock who is an avid Frisbee golf player. The B-ROCK label is for the 5th tournament he will host in Daytona Beach, FL soon. These will be some of the prizes. I made them from Mahogany, Ash, Brazilian Cherry, Ambrosia Maple with a cherry plug.
After 2 months construction I can now haul my backhoe. This may be the prettiest truck I have built to date. Made from Myrtle wood ordered from Oregon and Black Walnut from our property. Finish is Min wax satin Poly, hand brushed.
I spent about 2 months working on and off [mostly off] I detailed it down to the last thing I could think of. The interior has air seat and a jump seat. Button on the shifter for the 2 speed. cup holder, CB radio hanging from the roof. Walking beam construction for the axles. Air brakes, drive line connects to the Cat engine, bogey gears on both axles. Steerable front wheels. The pindle hitch will pull the tri axle trailer I made for the 4×4 backhoe,
http://lumberjocks.com/projects/62463. The trailer was never posted but it was shown on my assembly project table http://lumberjocks.com/projects/71257 Comments welcome.
I first have to thank fellow LJ Mike Fritz for his inspiration in making this design. I was after the “cute” look for this house. Another thing I wanted was a staircase where dolls could actually seem to move up them. The Cedar limb just looked right there too. Wall paper, wains-coating and the kitchen just seemed to add to the build. The friends that picked it up will take it to NC for Christmas for their 5 year old granddaughter. Now they asked for furniture. All I said is …...........I’ll see.
This project was done in my shop by our son Matt. Matt makes rustic “cabin craft” furniture as a sideline. He found this piece and has had it stuck away until this week. The boot top is Red Cedar and the sole and heel are pine. Black stain makes the sole black. brushed on Satin poly cover it all.
Our granddaughter goes to a very small school. Even though it is public they do not have the money to hardly operate. Never the less it gets very high marks on what the kids learn. The small class size I am sure helps. They have all kinds of fund raisers during the year. I made these for the upcoming Harvest Festival they are having next week. This is not the first and I am sure it won’t be the last school build.
Thanks for looking, Doug
Latest addition to my construction series with some help from T&J plans. Details I like to work on can be seen easier in this open cab. No model features were followed exactly. Wheels are one of my fussy points and these came out nice, Walnut tires and Cherry centers, even an air valve. All the blade functions work as they should. The ripper is not attached and may not be a part of this model, it makes it too long. Might add a front ripper instead. Local Walnut, Cheery, Ash, White Oak, and a Myrtle cab. Brushed, then sprayed semi gloss Poly.
Thanks for looking, Doug
After I finished my Road Grader L/J project 75029 my granddaughter wanted Pa pa to make one for her sand box. With some inspiration from fellow L/J RUSTICJOHN I made this little guy. Built from scrap plywood and store bought wheels. It should be able to stand up to any 5 year old. Blade turns, top makes a good handle for little hands.
What a fun build. no plans to follow, just my measurements from a local wrecker, past experience, and the internet. I went after a 30-50 ton design for my truck. The cab has similarities form a K/W but I did not copy any particular brand. The front wheels steer, of course the booms all work. I used many different cherry woods, local Walnut. Some I am not even sure of as they came from pallets from S America with hardwood flooring. The cab is very detailed, but when I added the roof I decided on a low, mean look and now the walnut burl dash is hard to see. Purple heart and Yellow heart show off the lights and accessories well. Full undercarriage down to the air brakes and drive line. Hooked it up to one of my dump trucks, well… it took a good picture.
Thanks for looking, Doug
