The Daring Book for Girls - Andrea J. Buchanan [86]
♦ 2 × 2 wood, 104″ long (if sold by the foot, a ten-foot length is ideal). Cut into two pieces 30″ long, one piece 32″ long, and one piece 12″ long. Pine is good, but if you use untreated pine, be sure and store your scooter indoors. High-quality, non-knotty, “clear” pine makes the scooter stronger, and is highly recommended.
♦ 2 × 3, 10″ piece of pine or other wood.
♦ ¾″ plywood, cut to 5¾″ × 22½″.
Ask the lumberyard to cut the wood to size; many will do it for free or a small charge. These are American standard lumber sizes, which measure ½ inch smaller than their size (thus the 2 by 2 actually measures 1½″ by 1½″ and the 2 by 3 is 1½″ by 2½″).
HARDWARE
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Two ¼″ eyebolts, 3″ long, with a 5/8/5/8 hole.
Two ¼″ eyebolts, 4″ long, with a 5/8/5/8 hole. Note: the 5/8/5/8 hole size is important, because these bolts fit around a ½″ carriage bolt.
Four ¼″ × 1¾″ long carriage/coach bolts, with four washers and four nuts. Use stop nuts if available.
Six ¼″ × 2½″ carriage/coach bolts with six washers and six nuts. Use stop nuts if available. Note: The preferred size bolt is ¼ × 2¾″, but this is a specialty size and not widely available.
Two ½″ × 6″ carriage/coach bolts with two washers and two nuts
One ½″ × 8″ carriage/coach bolt with two nuts
Two ¼″ × 1¾″ hex bolts with two nuts. Use stop nuts if available.
Two ¼″ × 5″ hex bolts, with six nuts and ten washers.
Three 2″ × 2″ angle brackets, and four wood screws.
One 4″ hinge
Last, purchase an assortment of extra ½″ nuts and ½″ washers and nylon spacers, and a few extra ¼″ nuts, for lock nuts and because they invariably drop and disappear. Plastic screw protectors are nice to protect bare ankles from any bolts that stick out past the nut, but you won’t know what you need until you’re done.
GENERAL OBSERVATION ABOUT BOLTS
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Riding the scooter causes vibrations, and vibrations will loosen the bolts over time. Two nuts tightened together, called lock nuts, will prevent this. Or try stop nuts, which have a coating inside that prevents them from vibrating off. You can only use stop nuts once, so one option is to put the scooter together with regular nuts, and when you know everything fits together, replace them with stop nuts. As you ride it, tighten the nuts from time to time.
Additionally, due to the discrepancies of wood sizing, depending where you live, you may need slightly shorter or longer or wider or thinner bolts, or you may decide to move the holes over a half inch here or there.
TOOLS
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Handsaw or jigsaw; drill, with ¼″ and ½″ bits; pencil; measuring tape; straightedge or carpenter’s square (3-foot is best); adjustable wrench; hammer; work area, and saw horse (or any setup to cut and drill wood).
Step One: Cut the Wood
If the lumberyard wasn’t able to cut the wood, then pull out the saw and cut the six pieces. Tip: when cutting the 2 by 2 length, measure and cut the 32-inch steering upright first, from the store-cut end of the wood, and mark this end “top.” This may seem picky now, but it will save you immense time later by ensuring that the cleanest, flattest end is where it is most needed. You may cut an angle into the neck, as in the illustration. Mark points at either end of the cut and run the saw between them. Don’t overdo it, and leave lots of room for the drill holes. Have an adult help, if needed.
Step Two: Mark the Drill Holes
Measure precisely. Pencil directions on the wood to remind you which panel is front or side, top or back.
Centering is important, so draw the center line first and mark the drill spots on that line. On the four pieces cut from the 2 by 2, the centerline is ¾ inch in from either side. Draw that line on all sides, yes all sides, even if it feels like overkill. This line will guide the drill holes, help line up parts precisely, and show whether you’ve drilled a straight hole through the wood.
These directions assume that you have a