Professional Documents
Culture Documents
One of the reasons I love being a woodworker is being able to do it myself. This project is a perfect example. Not long
ago, friends of mine showed me a rocking toy they had bought that was made to look like a motorcycle. It was such an
interesting variation on the classic rocking horse idea that I had to discover how it was built. It wasnt long before I had
tweaked the idea into plans for my own rocking motorcycle.
Skill
2
Instructions
Template Factory
This project looks complicated, but its actually easy to put together. Templates are one reason why. Ive created them
for the frame, all the main components, fenders and almost everything else.
As with any real motorcycle, the frame is the foundation. Ive designed this project so most components are glued and
pin-nailed to the frame to create depth and detail. The frame itself is a one-piece design made from two layers of
5/8"-thick Baltic birch plywood, glued face to face.
Begin by making all the templates youll need. Start with paper, then use that to prepare solid versions made with
1/4"-thick hardboard.
With paper in hand, use rubber cement to glue the sheets of paper onto 1/4"-thick hardboard, then cut right through the
paper using a jigsaw or bandsaw. Be careful as you work because each hardboard template needs to be a perfect copy
of the part youre making. The templates determine precise part sizes and shapes, so accuracy is key.
With a complete collection of hardboard templates, youre ready to begin production. Since these templates are
durable, you can reuse them many times. Trust me, once friends and family see this project, youll practically need an
assembly line to keep up with demand.
With your frame complete, now you need to repeat the template-routing process for each part. I used a variety of woods,
including Baltic birch ply, cherry and oak. You can substitute other hardwoods that you have on hand.
With all the components rough-cut and template-routed to final size and shape, go over every edge with sandpaper. The
precision of template routing makes for some surprisingly sharp-edged parts, and you need to keep things safe.
To make the components stand out, I stained the handlebars, foot pegs, tank, seat, rear fenders, primary cover and
engine cylinders. Details are entirely up to you. If you do decide to stain, keep it off areas that will come together as glue
joints later, since stained wood prevents strong joinery. After the stain has dried, glue and pin-nail all the side
components to the frame.
Add Accessories
The small and large exhaust pipes are made with 3/4"-thick cherry, but not by using the template routing technique.
Since these parts are so narrow, you should skip the router and simply trace the template and saw following the lines,
then finish-sand by hand. Its safer that way.
Youll need 1 3/4"-diameter maple dowels for the 16"-long forks. Take a look at the plans to see how the 5/8"-thick front
wheel spacers provide separation between the front wheel parts and the forks. And notice how the rear axles are also
5/8" thick, providing both mechanical functionality plus visual details.
The foot pegs are made of a 9" length of 1"-diameter dowel with grooves on the last 2 1/2" of them for better traction. To
cut these grooves, head to your tablesaw and raise the blade to 1/8". Hold the foot peg dowel against the mitre gauge
while the end is against the fence. Once the dowel is at the top of the blade, rotate it to create the groove. Move the
fence at 1/4" intervals and repeat the process to create multiple grooves.
The headlight is a part that needs a litle more imagination than the others. I found the perfect option at my local Lowes
store. A round bun foot (Waddell #2741), meant to be a furniture foot, happens to make the perfect wooden motorcycle
headlight. All I did was cut the rounded end flat and sand the entire piece. Stain all accessories the same way as you did
for the components, but wait until after final assembly for sealing the surfaces.
Rock n Roll
Before you bring all your motor-cycle parts together, you need the rocker. It is made up of seven parts. Four need to be
template-routed and three are simply cut to size. The rocker base is 11 3/4" x 15 1/4" and the rocker rails are 11 3/4" x 3
3/4". (Refer to the plans to see how the rocker rails are notched.)
The rocker base is made from a solid piece of plywood to prevent little bikers from getting caught as they climb on
board. With the rocker base cut, take it to your tablesaw to saw kerfs on the underside. These allow the base to bend to
the curve of the rocker assemblies. Set your blade 3/8" high, then make kerfs every 1/2" along its entire length.
With all rocker parts on your workbench, start by pin-nailing and gluing two outer and inner rocker assemblies together.
Next, bring together the rocker assemblies with the base and rails, using 1 1/2"-long x #8 wood screws. These screws
reinforce the rockers, which carry all the weight of the bike and rider. Cover the screw heads with plugs for good looks.
Assembly Line
With your workshop now looking a bit like a bike shop, bring all parts together to make the project complete. Start with
your frame laying flat on a work surface. The side facing up will be the primary side. (Look at the plans for direction in
laying out the parts.) As you work through the various components, decide if each goes on the primary or the exhaust
side. Focus only on the primary side for now. The exhaust side will come later.
Attach your components, except the seat, the front fender and the tank, using pin nails and glue. The pin nails simply
hold the parts in place while the glue dries. You can also clamp the parts tight if the pin nails dont create gap-free
connections on their own. The nice thing about pin nails is that theyre virtually invisible, yet they also prevent
glue-covered parts from sliding out of alignment. Flip the frame over and add the components on the other side,
including the exhaust pipes.
Attach the seat to the frame from below with two 5/16"-diameter x 1 1/2"-long dowels, making the seat a solid part of the
bike.
The tank comes next. Attach it with 1 1/2" wood screws from the exhaust side and 5/16"-diameter x 1 1/2"-long fluted
dowels inserted from beneath the tank.
./
Material
Frame
Rocker base
Rocker rails
Outer rockers
Inner rockers
Engine cylinders
Primary cover
Seat
Battery covers
Tanks
Rear fenders
Front fenders
Rear wheels
Front wheels
Handlebars
Triple trees
Small exhaust pipe
Large exhaust pipe
Front forks
Front wheel spacers
Rear wheel axles
Foot pegs
Headlight
Recommended Tools
Jigsaw or bandsaw
table-mounted router
tablesaw
drum sander
drill driver
Size (T x W x L*)
Qty.
2
1
2
2
2
4
1
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
4
2
1
1
2
2
2
2
1
Plan