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View Full Version : Let's Talk some SERIOUS sandcastles



shoeshine
03-17-2012, 12:52 AM
Backyard Excavator Mk1:

This was a project made as a fundraiser for my son's school. It went to a charity auction where people bid on things to donate to the school. Pulled in several hundred bucks and and a cool new toy for the sandlot.

Made entirely on the Bot and the drill press. (except for the hardware of course)

1/2 sheet of 3/4 baltic and a scrap of 16" x 8" .1" aluminum. Built it easily in a weekend. The footprint of the chassis is 24" x 30" with the arm at full extension reaching about 4'.

Inspired by plans in a 50's popular mechanics article.

There is a lazy susan bearing under the center mechanism and a fixed castor under the seat that carries the child's weight on the seat. the kid can sit on the seat and spin the center assembly with his feet. The action of the arm is controled by the two levers on top. The mechanism is kind of like the old school steam shovels.

My son and I took it over to the park where there is a good pile of sand at the playground and together we dug a pretty good hole. Surprisingly, It had no problem holding my weight (~160lbs, but my knees were up around my chin) So hopefully it will last them for years.

I also made a couple of extra atachments. The wingnuts on the bucket come off and you can attach either a hook or a magnet head to turn it into a crane.

anyway, a fun little project.
Chris

PS sorry for the crappy pics, but I just had a chance to snap a couple with my phone as the sun was going down before I had to take it over to the auction hall.

knight_toolworks
03-17-2012, 01:09 AM
very nice I love it.

steve_g
03-17-2012, 01:42 AM
Chris

Was that from a commercially available plan?

Steve

oops... just saw you said it came from 50's popular mechanics article.

http://www.vintageprojects.com/kids/backhoe-2.pdf

shoeshine
03-17-2012, 01:52 AM
Yup that's the one. I kind of combined the two plans on that site to create a hybrid (I didn't have nearly the time to make the links for the catapillar drive)

damn, should have included a link. Thanks.

myxpykalix
03-17-2012, 03:02 AM
Chris,
Based on some of the cool stuff i've seen you make, i'm not sure what to make of your childhood:confused:

Either you didn't have some of these fun toys as a kid and you are making up for it now or if you are like me you are regressing back to your childhood!:eek:

I can remember having Tonka trucks with backhoes and front end loaders and dump trucks. We lived abut 2 blocks from the lake and we would take our little red wagon over to the beach load it up with sand and bring it and dump it in the back yard in big piles and play with our tonka trucks....

I might have to get those plans and scale them UP to my size:rolleyes:

Thanks for the memories and Good job!:)

Ajcoholic
03-17-2012, 10:38 AM
Wow that is very cool!

My son is one in a few weeks. I am looking forward to making him toys like that in the future... very neat idea!

AJC

chiloquinruss
03-17-2012, 12:56 PM
Any chance of posting your files? Russ

shoeshine
03-18-2012, 03:28 AM
Sure Russ, I was planning on doing so. As always I was kind of designing this on the fly and my files are a mess... They make sense to me, to anyone else... not so much. give me a little to clean em up and I'll post.

gundog
03-18-2012, 12:20 PM
Sure Russ, I was planning on doing so. As always I was kind of designing this on the fly and my files are a mess... They make sense to me, to anyone else... not so much. give me a little to clean em up and I'll post.

I am looking forward to the files I have 2 grandsons that would be thrilled to have one of these.

Thanks Mike

Klaas
03-18-2012, 11:37 PM
Hello Chris.
I like your digger .It looks a lot like the one I make, you can see it a few postings back called A FEW TOYS.
I wanted to mention the way I make my bucket .It swivels at the top and a string is attached at the front of the bucket .When the string is pulled it dumps the sand out. You may want to use that idea.It is a wonderfull toy the kids spend many hours on them.
Thanks for showing the toy.
Klaas

CNYDWW
03-19-2012, 08:58 AM
Any chance of posting your files? Russ

Who wants to bet Russ is thinking about mounting one on on of his rail cars :D. Converting that to a Steam Shovel design wouldn't be too hard. :D

chiloquinruss
03-19-2012, 03:17 PM
Heck no! I need to make the butt part bigger so I can play! :)

Actually we have custody of our great-grandson and he is my shop buddy, he is absolutely six! :D Russ

myxpykalix
03-19-2012, 06:18 PM
Sounds like now is the time to start getting him interested inwoodworking and using tools. I have a granddaughter who can run the shopbot and she's 10:eek:

chiloquinruss
03-19-2012, 07:05 PM
Actually I'd like him to learn to SAND and PAINT first! :)

So far WE have built a tow truck, a tower crane, a garage (he painted), built sister a doll house with furniture (he painted), a helicopter, and now we need a backyard backhoe! :) Russ

myxpykalix
03-19-2012, 07:13 PM
now we need a backyard back-hoe

Don't we all....:rolleyes:

shoeshine
03-22-2012, 01:11 AM
As promised, here are the drawings I've got. they might need a little tweaking depending on the materials and hardware you use. Think I have all the parts together.

reference the vintageplans link for assembly.

Chris

myxpykalix
03-22-2012, 02:52 AM
Hey Chris...is Kidco Construction a division of schaie.com? :rolleyes:

gc3
03-22-2012, 10:37 AM
as promised, here are the drawings i've got. They might need a little tweaking depending on the materials and hardware you use. Think i have all the parts together.

Reference the vintageplans link for assembly.

Chris



gracias!!!

zeykr
03-22-2012, 11:17 AM
Thanks so much Chris!

shoeshine
03-28-2012, 03:03 AM
@ Jack

Kidco Construction is a subsidiary of "damn, I get to make the toys I wish I had when I was a kid", LTD, LLC, PDQ, ASAP, LOL.

Seriously, building these things for my son has opened up a whole world of whimsical creations. The best part is that we get to talk about what HE thinks would be cool... And I get a new perspective. Sometimes reallly simple, sometimes really complex, regardless... fun.

myxpykalix
03-28-2012, 03:20 AM
building these things for my son has opened up a whole world of whimsical creations....at the risk of sparking the creative juices in that mind of yours, here is an idea for your next project....maybe:)

kevin
03-28-2012, 06:14 AM
Jack you made those wow !! They look amazing
On your way to being a craftman

VanIslanddan
03-29-2012, 09:30 AM
Chris, thank you for your generosity. I am sure am sure this will result in some very happy grandchildren, including mine.
Jack those are great! I love any furniture with curves and this puts a different slant on that. Think Toon Town at Disney land. I was wondering how thick the sides are and how they are supported? Perhaps you could post some construction pictures.
Thank you,
Dan

myxpykalix
03-29-2012, 09:59 AM
I would love to take credit for those but i did not make them. I had that picture in a folder along with some drawings i've made to try to copy them. This is one of those projects i "intended" to get to but since my surgery i can no longer use my good arm for much of anything above waist level so picking up and carrying plywood or mdf won't work. Someone sent me a PM regarding them the other day and i responded but don't recall who it was so if it was (you)(?) go read your PM.

myxpykalix
04-01-2012, 06:33 PM
Hey Monty (MogulTx) I sent you a reply to your PM regarding those designs 3 or 4 days ago, did you get it?