Construct superb, well-detailed wooden vans and building automobiles out of wooden by following the detailed plans on this e-book.
Do you will have any woodworking venture books that you just’ve learn by way of many occasions however by no means took motion?
That’s the case with my copy of “Making Wooden Vehicles and Development Autos”. I obtained this as a gift in all probability 30 years in the past or longer because it was printed in 1987.
However I by no means as soon as made any of the automobiles on this e-book. I thought of it, even had drawn out a number of the components on items of scrap wooden years in the past, however by no means took motion.
That modified initially of this yr. I merely picked a venture and went to my stash of cedar cut-offs and began constructing.
29 Wooden Vehicles And Development Autos!
As for the e-book, it incorporates 29 initiatives. Some actually must be mixed into one venture as one venture consists of the cab unit and one other venture is the trailer. However with some initiatives you may combine and match cab models and trailers.
The initiatives themselves consists of a black and white intro photograph and a really quick description of the foremost steps in building. And that is the place the e-book considerably falls flat. It’s really not designed for newbie woodworkers. You do have to interpret the directions and give you your personal detailed directions (both written out or in your head) with the intention to truly construct these wooden vans and building automobiles.
An excellent instance is that there aren’t any directions on the way to make your personal wheels. Sure, you may after all purchase wheels, however I’ve made mine efficiently utilizing a forstner bit for the center and a gap noticed for the surface. Right here’s a brief video on how I did that:
When you do need to purchase wheels, I discovered some 2″ diameter wheels on Amazon that might work nicely for these initiatives.
Nevertheless a number of the wheels within the e-book are fairly giant in order that they could be higher minimize on a bandsaw or jigsaw after which smoothed out. Or when you have a lathe, flip a cylinder and half it into wheels.
Right here’s instance of the sparse directions for the venture I’m presently engaged on (Logging Truck – Cab and Logging Truck – Trailer):
However the place the e-book actually shines is the detailed drawings. Drawings present every a part of the car, often from each facet, with dimensions in imperial measurements (sorry, no metric, so that you’d need to convert with a web-based converter comparable to https://www.unitconverters.web)
Nevertheless, you do must be cautious as some reviewers on Amazon have indicated that there are some errors within the measurements. Particularly the place components want to suit subsequent to one another or inside one another, double-check in opposition to the precise items to make sure every little thing suits collectively nicely.
On my present venture I did make a mistake early on of not absolutely processing each bit earlier than beginning to glue them collectively. I managed one way or the other however drilling a number of the holes was difficult. My recommendation is to drill all holes earlier than gluing items collectively, particularly in the principle physique of the wooden vans and building automobiles as they often include a number of components.
Talking of drilling, it might be good to have a drill press or drill information to make the holes completely. Additionally safer in case you plan to make use of a gap noticed to make the wheels.
This can be a good drill information you should utilize with an current drill you may have already got.
There may be additionally a full-colour part in the course of the e-book consisting of 15 photographs of the finished initiatives. As talked about above, some initiatives must be mixed to make one full car and a number of the photographs mirror that. As an example the Semi-cab – Model 1 and Field Trailer are one photograph however include separate initiatives within the e-book.
And a few initiatives such because the Bulldozer are displayed on the Low-bed trailer however may be after all constructed by themselves.
BTW, the Field Trailer is neat, as there’s a conveyor belt contained in the field with a crank on the surface with the intention to load and unload the trailer simply. Future venture of mine!
I’m excited to strive all of the wooden vans and building automobiles within the e-book. Nevertheless these automobiles are large and I lack the storage and show area. So possible I’ll promote them as an revenue supply for Pacific Coast Wooden Crafts.
Or I’d scale them down by fairly a bit in order that they simply slot in a show cupboard – though a number of the components will grow to be very small, so possible I might do these initiatives as a part of my Pacific Coast Miniatures web site and YouTube channel.
Whereas they’re fairly sturdy, they do comprise a number of small items and so will not be appropriate for very younger youngsters. They might even be seen as collector gadgets for adults and would make a pleasant current for somebody retiring from a job the place they drove one of many automobiles within the e-book.
Plus they’re an effective way to burn up your stash of scrap wooden as lots of the items are fairly small.
So in case you’re a considerably skilled woodworker, wanting to make use of up some wooden scraps and searching for the right current, seize a duplicate of this e-book.
For the reason that e-book was printed over 30 years in the past, unique copies of the e-book are fairly costly. In case you do need the unique, right here is the hyperlink on Amazon otherwise you may need luck discovering it in a used bookstore regionally.
Nevertheless the excellent news is that the e-book was reprinted in 2007 on the twentieth anniversary of “Making Wooden Vehicles And Development Autos”. Particulars are sparse as to what truly was up to date, but it surely sounds prefer it has higher step-by-step directions, extra photographs and extra particulars on the automobiles comparable to mud flaps. This may then be extra suited to newbie woodworkers.
For a full sequence of movies the place I present how I constructed the logging trailer that’s a part of the complete logging truck try:
So hope that has given you insights into what is a superb e-book full of wonderful initiatives that may delight younger and previous.
However promise me that in case you decide up the e-book, that you just decide to doing at the least one venture this yr!