Keep On Trucking

   A while back a few members of the wood club that I belong to got together and made several blocks which the club donated to the local care center.  These block were used to create gift packages that were given to young boys that passed through the center.    So far this year the club has donated over 3,000 wooden blocks.     With Christmas not to far away someone came up with an ideal to give  toy trucks to some of those kids.  



   This truck is basically a box on wheels.   There are several blocks that can be loaded into the box and if they are stacked correctly you have a truck.     My task this week was to build four of the boxes that could be used to haul blocks.      The club furnished the wheels.   I furnished the lumber.   (The good ole scrap pile came in handy again.)   I made a total of six truck bodies with the idea that maybe I would keep a couple back for future gifts.   (Just in case some boys pass through here.)

      All the wood that I used came from some soft maple that I had on hand.   I had to plane several pieces down to a thickness of 1/4 of an inch.   It looks like it would be a fairly simple project, but like all wood projects you want to make sure that all pieces came out square.   Of course it was important that all the pieces were sanded down to a nice finish.  (Have I ever mentioned how much I like sanding?)

  Of the six, I picked the four that turned out the best.   So far, so good.    The next feat was to drill a hole through the sides to insert an axle and then mount the wheels to the axles.       Since the depth was about four and one half inches I had to drill in from both sides of the box and meet in the middle.   I was pretty careful to make sure that all matched up.   (I was now at a point where I had only five boxes due to the fact that one of the holes did not meet in the middle.   One box is now a glorified cat food dish.)

      Well, the picture to the right shows my addition of the four truck chassis that I was suppose to do plus one of the chassis complete with blocks.   One has to wonder how well these wooden toys will stand up to the treatment of young boys.   I am guessing that some will not last very long.   Probably some of them will end up in a dumpster.   I'm also guessing that some will be taken well care of and last a long time.   Regardless of how it turns out, it was a fun project to work on along side with some other wood working buddies.  

  Here is a picture of some of the trucks that have been built so far.    To date, there have been 25 of these road monsters built.    And they are all energy efficient meaning they run with out burning up any diesel.