Ramp Walking Elephant
Introduction: Ramp Walking Elephant
I have always been drawn to old fashioned toys, ones that do not need batteries or upgrading and that use clockwork, or as in this case, gravity.
There is a timelessness to them - we have a small collection of them and my wife and I often take time to play with them in the kitchen!
If you are intending to make this little elephant, please look at step 10 before you start. There is an alternative template with a slightly more 'bulbous' body that may involve less fiddling than the one posted in step 1.
This Instructable involves the use of cutting tools.
Please make sure that you are properly acquainted with how to use them safely - if in doubt, seek advice and/or guidance, before starting.
Supplies
* Pencils, graphite and charcoal.
* Small Tri-Square.
* Rule.
* Glue stick (for paper) - can use watered down white glue.
* Scissors.
* White glue.
* Vernier slide caliper.
* Bench vise.
* Small clamps.
* Tenon saw.
* Junior hacksaw.
* Wood chisel - 3/4 inch. (Optional)
* Files, woodworking – 6 inch -coarse, half round and round.
* Needle file set.
* Hand drill with 2 mm drill bit (1/16th inch).
* Shooting board (described in text).
* Jack plane.
* Pliers and metalworking vise (Optional).
* Soft metal wire, 2 mm thick (1/16th inch) - short length, about 50 mm (2 inches).
* Centre punch or a nail.
* Small hammer.
* Flat washers 2 mm (2), stainless steel preferably.
* Cocktail sticks.
* Wood - reasonably hard. Small piece - the elephant is 35 mm high (1 3/8 inch) and 15 mm thick, (just short of 5/8th inch). You will also need wood for the legs (2 X 4 mm wide,3 mm thick and 35 mm long) and front and back foot (50 mm long and 15 mm wide). This foot length allows one to grip it in the vice)
Step 1:
I drew out the template (pic 1 above) and cut out the image with scissors. Use charcoal pencil to scribble on the back (pic 2).
Trace onto the piece of wood selected - pic 3 - result - pic 4.
Mark out the cutting lines - pic 5.
Cut off the excess wood - pic 6.
Mark the pivot hole and the hole for the leg stop with a centre punch and drill a 2 mm (1/16th inch) hole through the points - pic 7-9.
Step 2:
A brief digression on the subject of shooting boards.
Nothing at all to do with firearms - a useful tool for 'shooting' the ends of cut pieces of wood. Useful also for planing the edges of small pieces of wood - indeed, I have done all the surfaces in just a few minutes. 286
An advantage is that one can look down at the work and watch the progress.
A brief Google search tells me that these are not available commercially - construction is very easy. See the photos above.
It consists of a flat board, (mine is 12 mm, (1/2 inch) multi-ply), 40 cm (15 3/4 inches) long and 20 cm (7 7/8 inches) wide - pic 1.
There is a piece of wood running the length of the shooting board, attached to it with screws. This can be gripped in the vice to secure it while working. If you are building one of these, attach the flat board to the runner first - pic 2. (Mine is 6 cm (2 23/64 in) by 4.5 cm (1 3/4 inches).
There is a thin 'mezzanine' of 3 mm ply on top, aligned with one long edge of the multiply, leaving enough space from the opposite edge to the edge of the base to accommodate the side of a jack plane. (Mine is 14.7 cm (approx 6 inches) by 30.5 cm(1 foot approx). The 'mezzanine' is skinned with Formica (or any similar composite), as is the 'runway' for the jack plane. (pic 3 ).
The blade of the jack plane does not extend right across the sole - the 'mezzanine' is to lift the working surface to allow all the work to be 'shot' full access to the blade - pic 4. In addition, I use a scrap of wood to further raise the wood to the middle of the blade, when necessary.
There is a stop attached at a right angle to the multiply base with screws from underneath. 668