Hey everybody, welcome to winter.! Now that Christmas is over I thought it was time to get a head start on spring and do a little yard work before it gets too darn cold. We have a giant boxwood bush that was just getting out of control. So time for pruning. This left me with an abundance of limbs of all sorts and sizes.  | ||
Hmm..... what can I do with this?
How bout we make a train?
Supplies and Equipment:
Wood pieces (limbs) of various sizes
wood plank (for mounting train)
wood glue (I used gorilla glue for wood)
3 LED tea lights (optional)
1 1/4" forstner drill bit (optional if using tea lights)
OK, first thing to do is to cut our pieces to size. I did not measure anything, I simply cut the pieces to sizes I liked and that looked pretty good together. I made some flat sides so that they would sit well. I cut a tall piece and a smaller piece for the engine plus a smokestack. Then I cut 3 pieces for the cars.
I cut a whole bunch of wheels using the Proxxon mini table saw. In the end I think it needs 16 wheels. This was fun and so easy. This table saw is amazingly quiet which I feel helps take out the fear factor of a big table saw. And, the cuts are extremely smooth. But, you still have to watch your fingers as it is very sharp.
.
The smoke stack sits atop the curve of the engine part so it needed a little adjusting to make it sit flush. This is easily done with the Proxxon scroll saw. Just make a little concave cut in the bottom. This can be fine tuned using the Proxxon OZI/E detail sander
 
I used a 1 1/4" forstner bit to drill some recessed holes into the top of the "cars" because I wanted to put some tea lights in them so that the train might be used as a night light. This step is purely optional. A person might want to glue some rocks on top, paint them black like coal, or flowers, or ... This could easily be decorated for Christmas.
OK, now glue everything to the wood plank and let dry well. If this is for a child I would advise maybe adding some screws in the bottom for stability, but glue works just fine if it is not going to be handled roughly.
 
All done.. paint or decorate as you choose.
|
4 comments:
Carol this is adorable, affordable and you have
done a great job. Your instructions are clear and
makes a simple project into a great gift for a
young boys room, Night light, toy and anything else
you can think of.
Like your ideas. Congratulations. good blog.
It's really cute. I love it. You want to come clean my yard? LOL
Carol, you are so creative. Who would have thought to make a cute little train out of a pruned bush. Great job !
I like your train Carol! Great directions that anyone can use and then they can customize it to fit in with their own decor. Great job.
Post a Comment