The Truck

A couple old beat up 2x4's

    Every Christmas I try to build some kind of toy that I can put under the tree for the kids. (Kids to me are my sons who are circling the 40's)   This year one of my wood working buddies was showing me this plan that was in an recent issue of the Woodcraft magazine.   There is a plan where you could build a small truck out of some scrap 2x4's.     (I've got old beat up 2x4's in my scrap pile.)

    I ripped those 2x4's into various thicknesses as per the plan's instructions, but you have to work around those areas where a nail was pulled out leaving a big hole in the wood or where there is an ugly knot or the board is cracked or split a little. (Usually from someone using it as a club when chasing stray cats away or something.)   As with a lot of my projects lately, once I get started there is a tendency to drift away from the original pattern and do it "my" way.

      From those strips, you start to make up a lot of the pieces needed to create the truck.    This becomes a little bit like the real factory business.   Once you are in the groove to make a truck cab you just as well make a dozen truck cabs.   Or a couple dozen fenders.     The only thing that I did not make is the wheels.   Some people make their own wheels, but if you buy them in bulk they are fairly cheap.   (I have a drawer full of wheels - Pretty soon I will have a wheel scrap pile the way I am going.)

  I needed three trucks for Christmas presents (My three sons) so I planned to make ten hoping that three will turn out good enough to hand out.   I did drift away from the 2x4 wood slightly and made some parts out of some thin maple that I had on hand from resawing some maple fire wood a couple years ago.

    One thing about using old 2x4's is that you sand, sand, and sand some more.    The plan suggest pin nailing a lot of these small parts together to speed up the process.   I just take my time and glue all the parts.   (Since there is no cat picture in this post I thought I would include a friendly picture of myself...  Maybe this will be the craze for 2017?)

  This first round I made a total of nine trucks and I have given away six of them already.    My only cost in these trucks is a little glue and four wheels.  I guess I did buy some 1/4 inch dowel rods to cut down for the axles.

   These trucks were made up as tanker trucks, but once you have the chassis built you can put anything on the back.   The plan also suggest tow trucks or grain trucks etc.
    I do have some more old 2x4's and even some old 2x6's in the scrap pile so I do think I am thinking that I will make a few more of these later on.





   That is it for this week.