Wooden Vehicle

• 1). Draw an outline of the side of a vehicle without wheels on one end of the 18-inch-by-2-inch-by-4-inch piece of wood. Make the car about 6-inches-long and 4-inches-high, centering it in the middle of the flat side of the 2-inch-by-4-inch-by-18-inch board. This leaves the ends to use as a handle while sawing out the car shape using the saber saw. Draw four circles, about 3 inches in diameter on the 1-inch wood. Again, leave some spaces to use to hold onto the wood.
  
  
• 2). Cut out the shapes you just drew using a saber saw. Be sure to use good safety practices while cutting. The user manual that came with your tool will give specifications. Use goggles to protect your eyes from flying sawdust; use the extra wood mentioned earlier to keep fingers away from the saw blade. Saw away from your body as you create the cuts.
  
  
• 3). Round the corners of your cut out pieces. First, shape the edges and corners with a wood rasp, working until the wheels are rounded like tires and edges and corners on the vehicle are also rounded off. Finish smoothing the surface with sand paper.
  
  
• 4). Cut two, 5-inch long pieces of the 1-inch dowel rod. Note that a dowel rod measurement refers to its diameter, not its length. (See materials list.) These will be used as axels for the wheels. On the vehicle shape, mark two places where wheels should belong. Drill a hole all the way through in both places. The holes need to be slightly larger than the rod to allow it to turn freely.
  
  Drill a hole that will fit snugly over the dowel rod through the center of each wheel . Smooth any rough edges with sand paper.
  
  
• 5). Paint all the pieces with bright, non-toxic paint, except for the ends of the dowel rod and the insides of the holes in the wheels. Acrylic works well. Add details as desired. The vehicle might be painted realistically or have whimsical features such and a face or decorations.
  
  
• 6). Put the dowel rod through the holes in the vehicle. Glue one wheel on each end using white or carpenter's glue. Allow the glue to dry. The vehicle is now ready for play.