Wooden Yoyo

Posted on January 13, 2021 by mikel

I used the wooden centers from the baby rattles to make a yoyo. I rounded over the edges with a router, using a 1/4″ roundover partially set for the inside and a 1/2″ roundover for the outsides.

The two sides were chucked in to my drill press using a bolt. This let me sand them smooth quickly and afterwards I hand sanded with 220 grit.

The halves are joined with an oak dowel which was trimmed with a flush cut saw. I used some spare kitchen twine instead of a real yoyo string, but it works well.

The yoyo works but does not sleep long. I think using some silicon lubricant or adding a sleeve over the dowel will help. I will glue the halves on the dowel once I’m happy with the performance.

Mini Trebuchet

Posted on January 8, 2021 by mikel

I built a mini trebuchet out of some scrap wood from around the garage. It works, but I need to tune the string length and the weight to get it to throw better.

I cut the wheels out with a hole saw on my drill press. The pieces are all connected together with dowels.

Wooden Baby Rattles

Posted on January 3, 2021 by mikel

I made two simple wooden baby rattles out of oak.

I found the easiest way to drill the two opposing holes for the dowel was to drill straight through with a spade bit on the drill press and then make the large hole with a hole saw bit afterwards. The first one I made, I drilled each side separately and they were not perfectly aligned but it was close enough the dowel was able to flex and make it.

The beads were made from the cutoffs when sizing the board to 4×4 inches and sanded to their unique shape.

Giant Wooden Xylophone

Posted on September 7, 2020 by mikel

Today I build Simon a new toy, a giant wooden xylophone. I read an instructables and thought I would make something similar with some scrap 2x4s.

I started with a 10 inch piece and got up to 28 inches before running out of wood. There is a 2 inch difference between each board.

I drilled through the boards with a long spade bit to run the rope through and tied a small knot between each one.

Patio Bar

Posted on August 24, 2020 by mikel

Amanda and I build a small bar for our patio. I made a simple design spanning two of the posts around our patio.

Completed patio bar — Completed Patio Bar

The design was mocked up in Fusion360 in order to help figure out some of the cut angles and to help decide on the right size. This helped me think it through, but it was a pain to convert from the 3d model to the cuts I would need and to figure out the right amount of wood to purchase.