05 14 15 - Wood Toy News - PART2
05 14 15 - Wood Toy News - PART2
05 14 15 - Wood Toy News - PART2
com
PART 2: BUILDING THE TRAILERS
Introduction
This article is a continuation of building the many
projects detailed in the Peterbilt Truck Stop plan set.
Quick Snap Shot of the Completed Trailer from the Plan Set
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The top and bottom trailer panels were taped together in order to drill the rear pivot holes for the
doors.
This ensures that the hole will align up with each other during assembly.
The panels were separated and then the pivot pin hole was drilled into the bottom panel only.
You may have noticed that the length of the top and
bottom panels are not to the specified length as per
the plan set. They are shorter by more than the 1/8”
specified by the plan set. There is a reason for that
which will be explained shortly.
These are the left and right side panels of the trailer.
I did remember not to apply paint to the area where
the front end panel of the trailer will be glued to … but
… I forgot to mask the area where the top and bottom
panels will be glued to the side panels.
Again, this will yield repeatable hole locations in the doors for the top and bottom pivot pins.
Notice that I also rounded the inside corner of the door just a little so the doors can swing freely.
This rounded corner is not visible when the doors are closed.
At this stage of the assembly I have completed all the holes required as per the plan set components.
I have modified some with rounded corners.
Better to do it now, rather than attempt to do it when the components has been glued in place.
The above photo shows you that I used a piece of right angle aluminum stock to assist me in gluing the
bottom to the end panel.
I have made a dozen of these aluminum right angle brackets from one long piece of extruded stock.
They are so handy to have in the shop and are an excellent third (3rd) hand for gluing components in this
manner.
Here you can see that I have glued one side panel to the bottom panel which previously had the cab side
end wall glued in place.
You will also notice that I added something extra to the side panel’s upper edge (roof side).
I have added depth stop blocks.
The roof panel as per the printed plans is glued to the inside edge of the two (2) side panels.
I felt I needed something to help prevent me from pushing the roof panel too low when it came time to
glue on the roof panel.
I wanted the surface of the roof panel to be flush with the tops of the side panels, just like the printed
plans specify.
This will also reduce the amount of sanding required to the top part of the trailer prior to painting.
The inside of the box is too small for me to put my hand in and raise the panel if I pushed it down too
far. By incorporating these depth stop blocks to the trailer design the problem is solved.
To position the depth stop blocks at the correct distance from the top edge of the side panels I came up
another little quick jig to assist me with this positioning task.
These depth stops can be eliminated if you wish by making some temporary spacer blocks to the proper
height and placing them inside the box when attaching the roof panel.
Then remove them after the roof panel is attached and the glue has cured.
Now let me explain what the concern was about the location of the pivot pin for the trailer.
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If you drilled the pivot pin hole as per the plan set
drawings, there is a good chance that when the trailer
is attached to the cab, the corners of the trailer will
rub against the back wall of the cab when you make a
tight turn.
So, the pivot pin hole was moved forward just a little
bit to eliminate this condition from happening.
Time to look at the box trailer, with all the sides glued on, top and bottom panels glued on as well.
Using a right angle square, you can see that the box is
relatively square with the side panels 90° to the top
and bottom panels.
You can see a little gap between the top and bottom
of the square of and the side panel.
This gap is because the piece of plywood I used had a
little crowning across its width.
Is that a big deal – not really, it may not be perfect but
is certainly more than acceptable.
It will not affect the size of the rear doors when added
or require any adjustments to these mating
components.
OK – the box is done – let’s get some doors on it, get the axle blocks mounted and get this trailer rolling.
We will also add a little extra functioning feature, which will add to the play value of the trailer.
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Once the glue for the stop block cured it was time to touch up the inside of the trailer by removing some
of the glue squeeze out and then repaint the interior white.
When I did the dry fit with the rear doors the age old problem with dowels resurfaced again.
There is no way I was going to try and force these dowels into the MDF door panel holes for fear of
splitting the MDF.
So, rather than stopping the assembly and running out to purchase another stock of dowels or spend
time sanding them down, I substituted them with the same material used for the stop blocks.
This substitution worked just fine, provided a nice snug fit and allowed the doors to swing freely in and
out.
The front of the trailer needed some way to be kept horizontal when you unhooked it and drove the
truck away – it needed a Landing Gear assembly – a dynamic and not a static Landing Gear assembly.
Where to mount the Landing Gear was the next order of business.
That was done by trial and error.
With the trailer attached to the truck I positioned the Landing Gear under the trailer and moved it
towards the front of the trailer until the hook up pivot pin of the trailer cleared the hole the hook up pin
was in and the surface of the rear of the truck.
This established the clearance that was required.
Made a little pencil mark indicating this position and proceeded with preparation necessary to glue the
Landing Gear onto the trailer.
I traced the Landing Gear pivot block location on to the green painters tape.
Then removed the varnish and paint by scraping it with the X-Acto blade.
While doing so, I created some grooves in the wood for the glue to grab onto when curing and mounted
the Landing Gear as seen in the previous photo with the Landing Gear in the up position.
The clearance seen for the hook up pivot pin and rear top surface of the truck chassis does look a little
close.
But I assure you that it works.
What I could do and maybe what I should do is sand the bottom of the pivot pin, increasing the
clearance distance and then paint/varnish again.
The Canadian flag is a peel-n-stick purchased sticker which I applied to the doors when closed.
Then I used the X-Acto blade and cut the sticker in half down the seam where the doors meet.
The rear door pull handles have been reduced in size from the recommended size specified in the plan
set.
Once again, I did required a simple jig to assist me in mounting the depth stop blocks and added a new
component, the Landing Gear and also added some signage.
Signage will be discussed in the next section.
Signage
Simple signage can really add to the overall look of your handcrafted toys.
It can make your toy stand out above the other toymakers' projects.
Signage is really simple to do at home using your computer, printer and peel-n-stick paper labels.
You can even create a file and bring it to your local office supply store and have them print out your
signage on peel-n-stick labels.
Let me show off my completed Peterbilt Trailer in a group of photos briefly demonstrating signage.
Continue reading to learn more about how I created custom signage for my Peterbilt trailer ...
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Almost all the transport trailers I have seen have some kind of signage on them.
Why should my trailer be anything different?
The varnish protects the surface of the label from being worn off and
seals the edges around the label making it very difficult to accidently
peel back.
At the end of this article I will discuss in more depth, signage, automotive self-adhesive pin stripes,
fingernail self-adhesive pin stripes, stickers and personalizing labels.
I purchased a short length of common stairs handrail, and repurposed it to make the tanker trailer body.
Its profile I felt, was perfect for making this component.
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The next series of photos will show the Landing Gear in Action:
• Attached to the cab.
• Raised from the cab showing clearance
• In the ‘Up’ position.
• In the ‘Down’ position.
In the tanker with truck photographs you can see a few different methods were used to add
embellishments to the project.
Printed labels and automotive self-adhesive pin stripes were used in addition to some craft store Glitter
Stickers.
Red peel-n-stick automotive pin stripes were adhered to the side edges and the rear edge of the flat bed
chassis.
These stripes were then coated with a layer of craft varnish sealing the edges.
By sealing the edges, the varnish reduces the possibility of the pin stripes to accidently peeled off during
play.
Simple signage was made as was done for the box trailer.
I downloaded a group of photos/clip-art of the signage I wished to use and
printed them on peel-n-stick labels.
Cut them out, attached them to the tanker trailer and once again covered
them with a top coat of craft varnish.
Now the labels have a protective coating and the edges have been sealed
preventing them from being easily peeled off.
Now, let's look at the red taillights and review the pro’s and con’s about using these as accent pieces.
All my toy projects are made using 100% wood and secured in place to the best of my ability using glue
and hidden dowels as additional anchors.
Even when metal was used, such as with the Play Pal's Trailer Hitch, I buried the metal in wooden
dowels making them invisible.
I have used these stickers on other projects that will be used by an older child.
But – I have attached them in a more secure manner.
I drill a shallow hole to the same diameter and epoxy the component into the recessed hole and then
apply a small bead of craft varnish sealing the edges.
This makes it more difficult to accidently pop them off.
When I feel like being creative, I have used the Glittering Stickers for my personal enjoyment as seen in
the prototype builds below.
I would not use these Glittering Stickers for any toy which would be offered at craft shows or any
internet sales.
Traditionally, these details would be made from wood – primarily dowels as seen in the next few
prototype builds below.
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As experienced toy makers, you know that these accent details take little time to make and greatly add
to the appearance of the project you are making.
This load (photo on the next page) just happens to be some Canadian Birch, which more than likely will
be milled and used as a veneer on plywood to provide quality stock for furniture/cabinet making.
Once the Birch logs are delivered the truck and log hauling trailer will return to pick-up some fine
Canadian Maple.
This build was made from the extra components from my original build which I bagged and tagged as
extra parts and for additional builds.
In addition, I added a red pin stripe on the truck from the radiator to the rear of the sleeper.
The photo does not do its detail justice, but does look great when you are holding it in your hands.
The pin stripe is peel-n-stick automotive pin stripping and after adhering it in place, the edges and the
pin stripe were top coated with craft varnish.
This seals the pin stripe in place and reduces the possibility of the pin stripe being removed during play.
Once again, this build included the functioning Landing Gear for use when parking the empty or loaded
trailer when not in use.
The Landing Gear pivot blocks were modified to only rectangular blocks.
The next series of photos will show the Landing Gear in Action:
• Attached to the cab.
• Raised from the cab showing clearance
• In the ‘Up’ position.
• In the ‘Down’ position.
Once again, I added the Glittering Stickers as taillights just for show.
The pro’s and con’s of using these Glittering Stickers was explained earlier, so I will not repeat the text
here.
I use Avery Labels and print them using a label making program and use many of their on-line services
on the internet for free.
Avery labels are available in numerous sizes and shapes, shipping labels, address labels, file folder labels
just to name a few.
All the labels are adhered to a standard size paper 8-1/2" x 11" and can be printed using a laser printer
or inkjet printer.
These packages of labels are commonly available at office supply stores and big box stores where
printers are sold, so availability should not be a problem.
Full sheet labels are also available.
But … the concern using full size sheets (one large label) is that it's usually a onetime use.
You really cannot feed or re-feed the full size sheet label back into the printer without fear that it will
jam in the printer after cutting some of the pictures out.
The sheets that have many labels on them can be fed back into the printer with any problems.
The label making program also allows you to identify which label positions have been. You can then start
your printing on the next available label on the sheet.
But ….. Before you even dream of attaching any printed labels to your projects you have to do a test
first.
Stick a label on a piece of wood, and then apply the top coat of your choice.
Some craft varnishes, varathanes, polyurethanes, etc. can have a negative reaction with the label.
It could attack the labels adhesive or make the print/ink on the label bleed, which is most common with
printed inkjet labels.
So, do a test first and see if you label survives.
If it does, then label your top coat container with a little note saying it is OK/Safe for your labels.
As you may have seen on many of my projects, labels really make the project stand out.
See how easy it was to personalize the gas station's signage and spruce up the gas pumps for the
appropriate age of the child at that time and give a little detail to the car.
That's how I did some of the flight deck details on the Top Gun Aircraft Carrier project (photo next page).
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I used them to spruce up my Play Pals VW Bug (photo next page) and more recently used them on the
gas tanks for the Peterbilt Truck.
So, you see, there are many ways to spruce up your projects, and I am sure there are dozens of other
products I have not discovered as of yet which could be repurposed for our toy making land.
Using labels and customizing labels is just the start in making your project stand out above the crowd.
When making the Peterbilt Truck Stop (Gas Station) I used yet another product to make some signage.
I guess you will have to read Part 3 to learn what I did.