Project Information
So, made a couple of these for my Grandkids.
Bunny body is 1" poplar, the axle is a 5/16ø piece of dowel, and the wheels are 1.5"ø wood balls from a local craft store.
Cut the body out on the scroll saw and rounded the edges with a 3/16 roundover bit. Drilled the holes for the axles so that about 3/8" of the wheels were below the body.
The wheels came with one edge flattened and a small dent right in the middle of that, which made it very easy to drill the 5/16ø hole for the axles right on center. Just held them in a vise and drilled about halfway thru with a handdrill.
Sprayed a couple coats of shellac on both the body and the wheels, since shellac is the most kid friendly finish I know of. (hey, if it's good enough to coat M&M's it should be fine for an 8 month old who is going to stick it in the mouth constantly)
Glued the wheels to the axles and we're good to go. I made the axles long enough to go all the way in the hole in the wheel and still allow about 1/4" per side clearance with the body. It's pretty stable when you push it along.
These are very easy to make and I figured maybe there are a few people here who may like to make one or two for their own kids. I suppose you could paint some detail on the bunny body and seal that, but I liked the plain look better.
Have fun,
Don
Bunny body is 1" poplar, the axle is a 5/16ø piece of dowel, and the wheels are 1.5"ø wood balls from a local craft store.
Cut the body out on the scroll saw and rounded the edges with a 3/16 roundover bit. Drilled the holes for the axles so that about 3/8" of the wheels were below the body.
The wheels came with one edge flattened and a small dent right in the middle of that, which made it very easy to drill the 5/16ø hole for the axles right on center. Just held them in a vise and drilled about halfway thru with a handdrill.
Sprayed a couple coats of shellac on both the body and the wheels, since shellac is the most kid friendly finish I know of. (hey, if it's good enough to coat M&M's it should be fine for an 8 month old who is going to stick it in the mouth constantly)
Glued the wheels to the axles and we're good to go. I made the axles long enough to go all the way in the hole in the wheel and still allow about 1/4" per side clearance with the body. It's pretty stable when you push it along.
These are very easy to make and I figured maybe there are a few people here who may like to make one or two for their own kids. I suppose you could paint some detail on the bunny body and seal that, but I liked the plain look better.
Have fun,
Don