Project Information
The family just got home from an emergency trip back to West Virginia, which meant the little guy got to play with the random wooden toys that grandma had on hand. He kind of dug them, so I wanted to see if I could replicate some of them. This is my first attempt.
A few years ago, a friend gave me a 20-year-old pine shelf she'd made in high school shop class. So I cut some strips of this yellow pine to use for most of the parts, used some scraps of poplar for the roofs, and some 1/4 inch red oak I had left over for the coal car sides. Even used some thin construction studs for wheels, which I cut out with a hole saw chucked in the drill press (this is great because it finds the middle of the wheel as it cuts…)
Each car is about 6" long, but the engine is 8" with the cow guard. Sanded to 150, finished with a few coats of mineral oil.
Little guy seems to like it, though, I think he thinks I just built him an iPhone stand…
A few years ago, a friend gave me a 20-year-old pine shelf she'd made in high school shop class. So I cut some strips of this yellow pine to use for most of the parts, used some scraps of poplar for the roofs, and some 1/4 inch red oak I had left over for the coal car sides. Even used some thin construction studs for wheels, which I cut out with a hole saw chucked in the drill press (this is great because it finds the middle of the wheel as it cuts…)
Each car is about 6" long, but the engine is 8" with the cow guard. Sanded to 150, finished with a few coats of mineral oil.
Little guy seems to like it, though, I think he thinks I just built him an iPhone stand…