Wooden Toy Truck Martin Motors Antique Car Carrier Build Part 4

Drilling axle holes in a handmade wooden toy car using a drill press and a high-quality brad point drill bit.

 

To drill smooth strait axle holes, it is essential to use a drill press with high-quality drill bits. I prefer Brad Point bits for this. The HSS Lipped Imperial Brad-Point Drills sold by Lee Valley are excellent. The old Shopsmith bits are also excellent if you can find them in good condition. I set up my drill press so the point of the bit touches the table when the quill is fully extended. Proper speed is also essential. Use the chart that came with your drill press. When the hole is drilled, a tiny hole will be on the backside. Remove any chips,  locate the hole, and use it as a guide to finish the hole from the backside. If all goes well, you will have a clean strait hole with little or no tear out.

Wooden Toy Truck Martin Motors Antique Car Carrier Build Part 3 Rough Cutting On The Band Saw

 

I am roughing out one of the three cars in the set using my Shopsmith bandsaw equipped with a Carter stabilizer and a 1/8-inch blade. 

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I am currently working on one of the cars for the car carrier using my Shopsmith bandsaw with a Carter stabilizer attached to it. You may wonder why I am not cutting it with the bandsaw. Cutting it with the bandsaw would require more sanding, so I prefer using a scroll saw for slower, smoother, and more precise cuts. This way, I can cut slowly and sand less. I have been using my Cater stabilizer for a few years and have completed several projects. I only use it when I cut something with very tight curves that are too thick to cut comfortably with my scroll saw. It would work better if I could get 1/16-inch blades, but unfortunately, they are no longer available.

Wooden Toy Truck Martin Motors Antique Car Carrier Build Partt 2

 

Roughing cutting pieces of a Wooden Toy Truck Martin Motors Antique Car Carrier

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The piece of wood I have the patterns on is too large to cut on my scroll saw. It has the capacity, but the sides need more clearance to make the cuts easily. Rough cutting the pieces to size also makes them easier to handle on the drill press when drilling axle holes. I first attempted to make the rough cut on my scroll saw using a #12 blade. However, my Excalibur EX-21 did not like these coarse blades. The tension arm kept popping loose. I could have cut individual pieces of wood for each part, but this wastes a lot of wood. For some of the toys I make, cutting individual pieces can waste as much as 40% of a board.

Wooden Toy Truck Martin Motors Antique Car Carrier Build Part 15 Cars Off The Trailer

Wooden Toy Truck Martin Motors Antique Car Carrier

 

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My Toy Truck Collection

I create a wooden toy car carrier and three cars in my toymaker's shop using traditional woodworking tools and techniques. Each piece is unique and handmade using natural wood and wood products. I finish them off with clear shellac and non-marring amber shellac on the wheels, and accent them with metallic sapphire blue acrylic paint. The materials used in making these toys are non-toxic.

It's important to note that since each item is handmade, the appearance of each piece may vary slightly from one item to the next. Also, the thickness of the wood used in your item may differ slightly from the size specified in the listing. The natural variations in wood grain, color, and knots make each piece one-of-a-kind, which adds to the item's charm and character. These variations should be expected and are not considered defects.

In case you have any concerns about the variations or would like to request a specific look or size, please contact me before placing your order, and I will do my best to accommodate your request.

Wooden Toy Truck Martin Motors Antique Car Carrier Build Part 1

Wooden Toy Truck Patterns Attached to A 2x6 With 3M Spray Adhesive

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I have attached the toy patterns onto a piece of 2x6 lumber, avoiding the knots as much as possible. I usually avoid using construction lumber for toys because of the poor quality of the wood and the presence of knots. However, I had this lumber on hand and wanted to use it. The patterns are printed on high-quality paper using a laser printer and attached with 3M45 spray adhesive.

 

My Etsy Shop 

 

I started with this saw and used it off and on for many years with no issues.

After years of hands-on experience with various saws, I highly recommend the Pegas Scroll saw. Here is how I reached this conclusion.

I have owned four scroll saws, starting with an AMT cast-iron saw that took pined blades. I quickly learned that pined blades wouldn't do, so I modified the saw to use standard pinless blades. I used it for many years without an issue.

I then bought a used RBI Hawk, which I liked much better—not because it cut better, but because it was much larger and easier to use. The RBI Hawk remained my primary saw for several years.

After stumbling across a video demonstrating how easy and fast blade changes were on the Excalibur EX-21, I set out to find one. It took a while, but I eventually located a used, made-in-Taiwan saw in my local area. The EX-21 quickly became my go-to saw, and I gave the AMT to a friend. When I needed support and parts for my EX-21, I turned to Seyco, which also makes a fine scroll saw. I had a problem with my EX-21 and received all my support and parts from them. Made in Taiwan, EX-21s are completely rebuildable.

Switching from the EX-21 to the Hawk gave me fits; they cut so differently that it was a pain to switch back and forth. Blade changes on the Hawk could have been faster and smoother. After much research, I decided to buy a Pegas scroll saw. My small business relies heavily on my scroll saw, so I need a backup that's similar to my primary saw to make switching between the two easy. Just as I was about to buy a new Pegas, I saw a used one pop up on Facebook Marketplace. It turned out to be newly assembled but never used, and was selling for half the price of a new one. I ended up making a 500-mile road trip to get it.

I sold the RBI Hawk and now have an EX-21 and a Pegas saw in my shop, next to each other. Since there is very little difference between the saws, switching back and forth is fine; however, the Pegas is a bit smoother.

What you want to do with your scroll saw will drive your choice. For me, blade changes are a big deal. Some scroll saw projects require hundreds of initial cuts, so you'll need to disconnect one end of the blade and insert it into the next hole. EX-21/Pegas saws make this simple with a knob twist and lever flip. When properly aligned, these saws need no tension adjustment, and there are no loose clamps to fiddle with or chase around the floor when a blade breaks.

Drilling Smooth Eye Holes With No Tearout

 

My Etsy Shop

Here is how I do it using a drill press. I drill a lot of eye holes.

A sharp quality is essential, no matter what type of bit you use.

I insert the bit and adjust the table height so the tip of the bit barely touches the backer board. The idea here is to get a tiny hole (forstner or brad point) or a small bump (twist drill) so you can easily locate the hole from the back of the board.

Drill the hole with the proper speed. Faster speeds are better for small holes. Turn the board over. Find the small hole or bump and carefully drill from the other side. This is easy with Brad point or forstner bits. It takes some practice to work well with twist drills. With twist drills, I hold the piece lightly while lowering the bit slowly into the wood.

To get a smooth hole, let the bit do the cutting. I have watched many woodworking videos where they force the bit through the wood.

Softer woods require sharper, better-quality tools to get smooth cuts.

If possible, drill your holes before cutting on the scroll saw. I have broken many pieces by not doing this.

When buying forstner or Brad Point bits, buy the best you can afford.

Aliexpress that work amazingly well. They only come in metric sizes.

I always buy high-speed steel bits.

For twist drills, I use Harbor Freight bits. They may not work for steel, but I am not using them for steel. They are cheap and run true.

Harbor Freight Brad Point bits are junk. I bought a set to try them out. Only three of the bits were usable. The rest were ground off-center or were not straight.