Thursday, August 14, 2008

Wooden take-along train box finished

The wooden carry-along train box I've been making for my son is finally finished:

It measures 10.25" wide, 11.25" long, and 3" tall. The back of the box folds down completely, so there is plenty of room to drive trains. The outer track circle has a diameter of 9.25" and the inner circle has a diameter of 7.7". The tracks are 3/8" wide. It also has a train shed and 2 "tunnels". This box fits the medium sized take-a-long Thomas the Train die cast trains.

I still need to fill in a few nail holes and spray shellac over the whole thing, but it is done. I gave it to my son since his birthday was yesterday. I figure I'll get it back from him in a few days and finish it up.

Making the box was a lot of work for me, but I think someone who knew what they were doing could do it a lot faster :)

If anyone else wants to try this:
  • Keep weight in mind. I was trying to make this light so my 4-year-old son could carry it. He can, but probably not on long journeys.
  • I used 3/8" pine to make it lighter. My life would have been much easier if I had used 1/2" pine.
  • Make sure your hinges will fold up to 90 degrees. The ones I bought wouldn't, so I had to install them backwards.
  • The outer circle has a diameter of 9.25" and the inner circle has a diameter of 7.7". The tracks are 3/8" wide. This will fit Thomas / Percy, but not Arthur.
  • Test your circle jig before you cut with it. My tracks ended up almost too deep because I forgot to test my jig.
  • Having the box slightly wider would have been nice and left more room for error. However, I wasn't going to join another piece of wood just to get an extra 1".
  • This idea could also be used for hot wheels cars, but be careful about track depth. They won't work on the one I built because I had to make the tracks too deep.

1 comment:

Alicia said...

Awesome job Rachel! It looks great! I can't believe how talented you are!