WOOD TOY NEWS - toymakingplans.com€¦ · patterns to the wood blanks prior to cutting the wood...

May 4, 2014 Sunday 1www.toymakingplans.com © 2014

toymakingplans.comMay 4, 2014 Sunday

This fun new toy plan set would’ve never seen the light of day without valuable input from toymaker Ken Martin suggesting the concept to building the prototype. Ken worked closely with skilled guidance Forum Moderator Imants Udris (Udie) to put together this Wood Toy News Special Edition.

It was less than a week from Ken suggesting this great new design to then seeing prototypes and finally documenting a detailed set of plans.

Toymakingplans.com gives a bow to Ken and Udie for this excellent example of artistic and at the same time practical toymaking techniques. In this issue Ken takes us step-by-step through building the Martin Motors Antique Car Carrier play set.

Ken’s happy smile captures his love for the toymaking craft. He is a fine craftsman dedicated to both the play value and safety of his toys in addition to his commitment to quality workmanship.

A Wood Toy News Special Edition

Master Toymaker Ken Martinis Lead Idea Man for theMartin Motors Car Carrier.

WOOD TOY NEWS

Ken built the original prototype shown above from scraps of 2 x 6 framing lumber.

May 4, 2014 Sunday

Wood Toy News - Wood Toy Workshop Special Edition

2 www.toymakingplans.com © 2014

Ken’s love of Country and sensibility for fun presentations are an important part of his success. This first prototype was first coated with spray primer that was sanded between coats with fine sandpaper. This helped to minimize the depth of the wood grain and made a smooth flat finish for the final spray coats of color.

Martin Motors Antique Car Carrier

Final Prototype



Ken’s natural skills as a photographer are useful when shooting his work. This was shot on a glass top table.

This is where a quality toy finish begins. Ken says preparation is the key to a fine finish. You can see here how carefully he has routed the edges and sanded the prototype prior to applying the primer and final coats of color.

Martin Motors Antique Car Carrier

Final Prototype

May 4, 2014 Sunday



BUILDING MY FIRST MARTIN MOTORSCAR CARRIER Created by Ken Martin

In the first steps I will show how I use a paper template. I was not sure at first just how to cut out this pattern from the wood. It wasn’t until later in the process that I found an efficient way to do it.

Step 1: I use adhesive spray in a can to attach the patterns to the wood blanks prior to cutting the wood to shape.

This is my fancy spray station for spraying adhesives to the backs of each pattern. It is a cardboard box and a discarded mail order catalog.

Step 2: I place the paper pattern upside down in the box and it is ready to be sprayed. The reason that I use a catalog/magazine in the base is so I can turn to a clean page when I am ready to spray the next pattern.This provides a clean work area for each time I spray the back of a pattern.

Step 3: Why the blue tape? I cover the pattern side of the boards to be cut with blue tape because it makes removal of the pattern from the sawn wood toy part much easier once the cutting is completed. It’s so easy and leaves no residueNote: Applying a pattern on bare wood that has been sprayed with adhesive is very difficult to remove.

Step 4: This photo shows the sticky pattern applied to the blue tape on the wood blank and then covered with clear packing tape. An important reason to use the clear tape: The wood blank thickness is 1-1/2” and the thicker the wood, the more important it is to use the two tapes together. Applying tape provides a lubricating effect when sawing that helps keep the blade cool. It makes cutting so much easier.

Step 5: The wood blank is ready to cut out. The car carrier is to be sawn from a 1-1/2” x 5-1/2” (2 x 6) board. This thickness requires the use of a #12 scroll saw blade. Using this blade will make sawing with a scroll saw similar to using a band saw. The added advantage is that a scroll saw makes a much finer cut that requires less sanding than a band saw cut.

NOTE: For the prototype Ken used a Side Plan View before the final plan set was completed. The final completed plan set also includes individual patterns for each part.



FIRST CUT- Step 6: I chose to cut out the entire truck profile from the 2 x 6 first. I figured that this would allow me to cut down the wood blank with the pattern to a shorter length after the truck profile was removed. This makes it a lot easier to handle the wood blank with the remaining parts to be sawn. In Step 13 I’ll be sawing the sweep-curve fender line in the tractor.

Step 7: In this view you can see the cutting kerf or ridge of wood where the blade was started and then ended when the cut was finished. A kerf like this does not have to be a problem for me. I have a small belt and disc sander which has a 10” diameter face. I use this to sand out the problems like kerfs. That is why I always start cuts where I can sand them out later.

Step 8: This is another great reason to own a belt and disk sander. Sometimes my mind wanders when I am sawing and then so does the blade. You can see this error I made just to the right of the dotted lines that represent the headlight position. Again, this was no problem. A light touch to the sanding disc and all was well. This sanding method makes perfect curves.

Step 9: This step shows another important use for the sanding disc. Some rounded outside corners are extremely difficult if not impossible to cut on a scroll saw. If the part pattern has a rounded corner that is hard to cut do not try to force the saw blade into it. Just wait until the sawing is completed. Then you can sand the rounded corners to perfection with the sander.

Step 10: That was easy. Now we have a nicely rounded corner. This can also be done by hand by first rounding it to shape with coarse sandpaper and then finishing it with fine sandpaper. Hand sanding can be a little time consuming so I recommend buying a combo belt and disc sander. Sears sells them for under $100.

Step 11: The next step is to drill out the axle holes. The plan uses a 1/4” axle so I’ll use the next drill bit size of 5/16” diameter. This allows the axles to turn freely in the axle holes.

I used a common drill bit here. Consider using a Forstner bit. It will make a super clean hole.

sweep-curvefender line

May 4, 2014 Sunday



SECOND CUT - STEP 13: Now it’s back to the scroll saw for the next important cut. This will be the sweep-curve that indicates the fender line of the design.

Again, this cut will also saw the entire truck body into two halves. I was careful to create a smooth cut.

Step 12: In this step I will drill the hole for the trailer hitch pin into the top of the truck bed before I make the second scroll saw cut and saw the truck body into two separate pieces.

For all you experts out there - yes, it looks like the drill bit is off center but it is the camera held at an angle.

Step 14: Before cutting out the trailer chassis I’ll drill the hole for the trailer hitch pin into the bottom of the trailer chassis. This is an advantage at this point because the opposite side of the wood blank is still flat.

That makes it a lot easier to create a vertical hole when drilling this part of the car carrier.

Step 15: Now it’s time to make a decision. At the beginning I decided I wanted to cut out this project from one piece of wood to cut down on wasted material. And it can be considered free wood!

I was intending to cut out the cars and then the remaining trailer parts. That proved to be not a good idea. I decided to cut out the trailer first and then cut out the cars after sawing and removing the trailer.

Step 16: I was tempted to start sawing out the car carrier trailer where the blade is shown in the photo. After studying the situation, it became obvious that it would be much easier to start sawing near the trailer hitch pin side of the pattern. I started sawing where the arrow points to on the pattern. This proved to be a good decision.

Step 17: This photo shows the blade starting at the hitch pin end of the trailer. I got distracted and almost made the mistake of going around the car pattern outline instead of following the trailer pattern outline.I caught the error just in time and was able to cut out a rather perfect trailer chassis. I was very pleased.

NOTE: For the prototype Ken used a Side Plan View before the final plan set was completed. The final completed plan set also includes individual patterns for each part. NOTE: For the prototype Ken used a Side Plan View

before the final plan set was completed. The final completed plan set also includes individual patterns for each part.



Step 18: In this photo I wanted to show you the trailer part sawn from the wood blank. The trailer part is on the right.

On the left is the remaining wood blank with the pattern outlines for the three cars remaining to be sawn to shape.

Step 19: Let’s take a break and review where we are in the process.

The above photo shows the trailer chassis sawn to shape. In this step I used a router to round off the edges. It all went very well and required very little sanding to prepare it for painting.

Step 20: This view shows one end of the first of three cars that were cut out from the remaining block in Step 18. As you can see here there is a small bump where the saw blade met as I completed the cut where I began sawing. Again, I like to start and finish my scroll saw cuts where I can use my disc sander to smooth out the bumps formed when completing a cut.

Step 21: This is an enjoyable stage of the project. Now I can see the car carrier and cars taking shape and it looks really great! I am especially pleased how the cars nest together accurately. And the truck and trailer have a smooth and even fit. It makes me very pleased with this design.

Step 22: These photos show the three cars before and after the axle holes that have been drilled. I used the same 5/16” diameter bit that drilled the holes in the truck and in the trailer.

As you can see from the photo, the #12 scroll saw blade makes a smooth cut that requires little sanding.

Step 23: The next step is a milestone step for any project. And that is when you are at the point that you can remove the patterns. Fortunately, I used blue masking tape on the wood blanks before applying the patterns coated with spray adhesive. It made pattern removal very easy. And check our my pro table saw work top with rubber work pad protected surface. Let’s move on to the finishing steps.

May 4, 2014 Sunday



Step 24: If you look closely you can see that there is no discoloration or staining after quickly removing the masking tape. And unlike the mineral spirits that many craftsmen use to remove spray mount adhesive patterns, there is no dangerous fumes or unpleasant odors to deal with.

Step 25: And now, with the paper patterns removed, the next step is to use a 1/8” radius round-over router bit to perfectly shape the edges of the prototype.

The edge-rounding can also be done by hand with coarse up to fine grit sandpaper. I find the router to be more accurate and many times faster.

Step 26: The above photo shows that the edges are rounded and the entire project sanded. We now have three options for finishing the completed car carrier.1. Apply Cynthia’s Paste Wax Finish to bare wood.2. Bake some parts to tint a darker color for a 2-tone effect. Finish with poly clear or Cynthia’s Paste Wax.3. Finish it with simple paint station with spray cans.

Step 27: Evaluating my scrap for other projects: Set aside large pieces of scrap for other small projects. Here I am sizing up how many Play Pal Fat Boys I can squeeze out of the 2 x 6 scrap. It looks as if three can easily be made from the leftovers. I like doing this because it’s the same as getting a fine piece of wood for free.

We Must Have Wheels - Step 28: This is my paint station with wheel support dowels sharpened with a pencil sharpener. It’s an idea from Udie. It’s best to spray 4 wheels at a time by turning the table and spraying all four sides quickly, then the tops. That allows me to completely paint all of each wheel with the paint still wet. If parts of the wheel dry before it is completely painted the finish is not as good.

Step 29: As you can see, I finally decided to spray paint my first build of the car carrier with red, white and blue. July Fourth is coming up and I am a proud American. My simple paint station consists of two saw horses with a 4’ x 8’ sheet of plywood on top, ice chests and turn tables. As you can see, it is all out in the open and in the wind which requires careful weather monitoring!

Ken can be contacted at [email protected]



THE FINISHED MARTIN MOTOR CAR CARRIERThis first build of the project took about 10 hours from start to finish. It was really a lot of fun and very easy to do. As you can see from the previous photos, I try to do things in a very simple way. This is mostly because of lack of equipment and my very limited talent. I wanted all of you newer woodworkers to see that if I can do it then so can you.

Ken can be contacted at [email protected]

May 4, 2014 Sunday



Martin Motors Classic Antique Car Carrier



I WANT TO SAY A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO JOHN AND CYNTHIA.“A few days ago I was telling John that it would be fun to have a puzzle car carrier truck from toymakingplans.com that we could call our own. Several days later and after many hours of work, John came up with this plan set, and he even put my name on it. I did nothing but make the suggestion. John and Cynthia have to be the best people in the toymaking world.” Ken Martin

May 4, 2014 Sunday



TOYMAKINGPLANS.COM THANKS KEN FOR THESE GREAT PHOTOS OF HIS CRAFTS SHOW CLASSICS.This is another set of toys that Ken conceived and suggested that we produce the plans. We are thrilled with his concept for this

easy to make and fun line of toys. He created the half-scale versions in the front row by reducing the toy plans by 50%.

Martin Motors Crafts Show Classics with Cynthia’s Paste Wax finish with heat-treated fender flairs.



Martin Motors Crafts Show Classics in plain wood with heat-tinted fender flairs.

May 4, 2014 Sunday



Martin Motors Crafts Show Classics with spray can finishes.



Martin Motors Crafts Show Classics with spray can finishes and also in plain wood with heat-tinted fender flairs.

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