1/2 ton truck

This truck is modelled after a generic 1/2 ton pickup. It was the very first wood truck I had made back in Dec of 2007. I built it for my nephew who was only a few weeks old at the time.

I had some problems with locating axles holes in the chassis. From this project on I use a hand held dowel jig(Wolfcraft) and a cordless drill to accurately locate all the axles at exactly equal distance from the bottom of the chassis. This prevents the toy from rocking on a flat surface.

My nephew has put this toy to the ultimate test and has shown the axles to be less tough than I had estimated. The outboard end of the axles were breaking off - paralell with the grain.
I cut the axles off flush with the chassis and drilled new holes for the new axles. One washer goes under the axle 'hub' ( between the axle and the wheel) and one between the wheel and the chassis. I die cut plastic washers from an ice cream pail lid. (5/16" I.D. and 5/8" O.D.)
Time will tell if this will fix the broken axle problem. June 2009

Wooden Jeep and Kei truck

The Jeep(left) and kei truck(right)
were made this past summer.
You can't see it in this picture but the jeep has a spare wheel mounted at the back. The jeep was given to a friend of ours for her son , Gavin.
The kei truck was inspired by our trip to the Cayman Islands back in May.
The truck was given to our godson, who lives in Grand Cayman with his Dad and Mom

No metal fasteners are used in any of my toys. I try to use joints whenever possible (eg: rabbet, dowel, butt).

Rabbet joints are used to increase the surface area that the glue can adhere to.

Wood Dump Truck

The dump truck, pictured to the left, is the newest wood toy to join my fleet of toy trucks.

I used pine, hemlock, fir and other hard woods for materials.

The winch, seen, on the right side of the cab can be used to raise and lower the box.

The chassis and box are re used wood from the church pews that my Opa Mulder built in my hometown of Salmon Arm, B.C.