A new batch of "chubbies"

Very cool, Dale! All these cars are just wonderful! I always enjoy seeing them and think they are great for your kids too!

Sheila

Fantastic! I love the cars and I bet the chillin's do too. Great work Dad/Uncle!

Those are really nice. I've been kicking around with some toy car ideas for my Grandson and Nephews. Do you make the wheels and axles, or are they purchased - what size are they on the larger cars?

these are great dale

i bet you have as much fun
as the kids do

way to go dad

i love them too! i need to study up on your stuff; there is a student here who needs manipulatives, but he can't use the ones with paper or paint because he puts everything in his mouth and chews things up. i want to make some for him -cherry? there seems to be a need for manipulatives in the older severe/profound LD students who need functional skills practice.

Like them, very nice!! I need to build a bunch of them.

Very cute Idea. I use to make cars yaers ago for kids and it is one of my fondest memories in woodworking, pine and a bandsaw, a little sanding and finish and a happy kid for a reward. Good times.

Very nice. My two year old granddaughter loves a couple of similar plastics cars and would go nuts over these. Like cajunpen, did you buy the axels and wheels? What kind of paint and finish did you use?

Thanks so much for all of your kind words everyone. These are easy to make, fast to cut, and the kids LOVE them. Kids in our house ages 2-9 play with them pretty consistently.

I buy the wheels, and the axles are 1/4" dowels. I drill the holes at 5/16" on the drill press, and then when I assemble them, I use a piece of broken tupperware bin as a shim to make sure the wheels don't go too close to the car when pounded on. I drilled a 1/4" hole in the plastic and then cut the top of the plastic to create a sort of open end wrench shape. It holds the piece in place. Anyway, long winded, but thought I'd share because they roll really well with this method. Lots of trial and error on it. And this way you can cut dowels in mass before hand and not worry about gap.

I bought the wheels originally from Cherrytree and the ones that I use are 1 1/4" for a 2×4 sized car, and 3/4" for a 1×2 sized car. But the last batch I bought off of ebay. Cherrytree had a more consistent and quality wheel, but the ebay ones were cheaper in larger QTY.

Christine,
I'd love to hear what you come up with. Let me know if I can help in any way, even ideas and such.

oh, I use delta ceramcoat paints most of the time. I also use regular latex house paints. I let all of them cure for about a week or sometimes longer. I also use spray laquer for a topcoat, but I would say use that at your own discretion. I have researched it and don't find anything bad with it. But this is a very sensitive subject, and it's best to do as much research as possible. I have also used bare wood, mineral oil, beeswax, mixol waterbased dyes, and all of these give very nice finishes.