The Daring Book for Girls - Andrea J. Buchanan [87]
On the two 30-inch runners, holes will be marked on both the top and the side.
Top: Mark holes from left at 6, 16, and 24 inches.
Side: Mark three holes: from left at ½ inch and 2 inches, and from right at 2 inches.
The 32-inch steering upright fits beneath the handlebars and connects to the rest of the scooter via an ingenious steering column also known as the 8-inch carriage bolt. Look for where you wrote “top” when you cut the wood. Mark holes on both the back/front and the side.
Back/front: Mark holes from the bottom at 5 inches and at 10 ¼ inches.
Side: Mark one hole from bottom at 13/16/3/16 inches. At the top, line up the two-inch angle bracket against the wood, and mark the bracket holes. In some brackets, the two holes are a bit off-center, so don’t think yours was mismanufactured if that’s the case.
The 12-inch handlebar is connected to the steering upright.
Side: Draw a vertical line at the center—6 inches—from top to bottom. Line up this 6-inch mark with the ¾-inch center line on the steering upright when you’re ready to mark and drill the holes for the brackets.
Bottom: Hold each angle bracket in place and mark the drill spots. Do this on the left and right side of where the upright and the handlebar meet, four holes in total.
The neck is the chunkier piece of wood.
Front: This is the narrower side. On the side that will face the steering upright, from the bottom, mark at 2 inches, then at 6¾ inches. These eyebolts will line up with two others on the steering upright, and the 8-inch carriage bolt will drop into them to form the steering mechanism, but don’t do that just yet.
Side: This is the longer plane. Draw a horizontal line 1 inch up from the bottom. On that line, mark ½ inch in from either side. What goes here are the large bolts that bind the neck to the runners.
The platform deck is where you’ll stand to race down the sidewalk. Draw two lines, 1¼ inches in from either side, across the length of the deck (the space between these should measure 3¼ inches). In case your wood has been mismeasured, the most important thing to realize at this juncture is that the holes should be 3¼ inches apart. Along each line, measure drill spots from the front/left at 3 inches, 13 inches, and 21 inches.
Step Three: Drill
Before powering up the drill, double-check all measurements, even though it’s a bore and your finger is ready for the trigger. Line up the wood pieces to make sure things fit, and then drill.
Use a ¼″ bit on all holes except the two front holes on the side of both runners, and the matching holes at the bottom of the neck—these will be drilled with a ½″ bit. The ½″ bit can be tough to manage, especially on soft pine and drilling so close to the edge of the wood. To prevent the wood from splintering, start a hole with a ¼″ bit, then widen it to a 5/16/5/16″ bit and then to 3/8/3/8″. Using each of these bits before bringing out the monster of a ½″ drill bit should do it.
The brackets that connect the handlebar and the steering upright can be tough to work with. If so, hold the brackets in place, and drill the holes right through them, not bothering with preliminary marks. Drill and bolt the brackets to the steering upright first, and then place the handlebar on top and do the rest.
Step Four: Assembly
Lay the wood pieces and bolts on the floor and keep these directions and the illustrations nearby.
Use the two ¼″ × 1¾″ hex bolts to attach the two brackets to the steering upright, and then join the handlebar to the top of the brackets with the four ¼″ × 1¾″ carriage/coach bolts. Tip: don’t fully tighten the bolts in the brackets until all are in place. Marvel that you had the foresight to set aside the flattest edge.
Fasten the platform deck atop the two runners with the six ¼″ × 2½″ carriage bolts. If on your scooter these are