Making a soap box racer

I can't figure out how to post pictures and write a post under them since things have changed on the blogger.


Grandson Sam stayed the night on Friday night so that we could go to friend Papa Doc's to help us make a soap box racer.  The pics of Sam with the magnetic pieces showing his creative work was done Friday night before bedtime.  Next morning we went to Papa Doc's, picked him up and then went to Home Depot to buy the pieces and parts needed to make our soap box racer.  The origin of this idea was Sam telling his mommy that he needed someone to show him how to be a wood cutter because that is what he wanted to do--make things out of wood.  Then there was some talk of a soap box racer to ride down the hill into the retention pond on their property.  (The retention pond is dry most times of the year except during the rainy season there might be water in it for a few days at a time.)  So the grandmother, who thinks she can do anything she puts her mind to, decided that she would try to help Sam do just that--make a soap box racer!  So I started investigating on line to find simple plans to make one.  You can get very elaborate with these things but I was determined to keep it simple.


Doc already had some wood for the axle trees.  We purchased wood for the seat/floorboard, metal rods for axles, 2 sized wheels from the lawn and garden dept., U bolts, and a big bolt to be the pivot for the front axle tree for the steering, and then a piece of rope to help with the steering.  We will not have a steering wheel.


We discovered after a little while that Doc will need to do some of the preparatory work as in drillng holes, cutting wood, grinding/trimming sharp edges, etc. and then when all is ready for the assembling Sam and I will return to Doc's workshop for assembling and finishing it off.  Sam is talking of painting, but I think I will leave that part for doing at his home if Mama wants that to happen :-)