Making a toboggan and need help!

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memoman

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Tiverton, Devon
Hi all,

I'm a complete newbie to woodworking but I thought it would be a good idea to make a toboggan. However on the 'how to guide' I am following it mentions these items:

(1) Piece of 3mm door skin, 36 inches by 84 inches long.
(9) Pieces of 1x2 fir lumber 17 inches long.
(1) Piece of 1x4 fir 19 inches long.
(2) Pieces of 1x1 fir 48 inches long.

They're obviously wood things of some kind, but I have tried looking these items up but I can't find them. It's probably because it's an American guide and they different names for things.

If anyone could please tell me what they are and give links to where I could buy them, then I'd be very grateful. :)

Many thanks
Ollie
 
Welcome, has it started already! (snowing)

For Fir lumber just read pine, at a builders merchant / DIY shed.
Fir probably refers to Douglas fir a nice knot free durable softwood but as a first project use planed all round (PAR) pine.
Door skin is just thin plywood / MDF / Hardboard in door size sheets (for making doors)
 
Also, the main toboggan is made out of plywood, which is quite expensive. Are there any other woods which could do the same job, for less money?

Thanks
 
3mm ply should not be that expensive? Cannot think of any other material with it's strength and flexibility ( and water resistance once finished)? Normal MDF, Hardboard would not survive the outdoor life?

Perhaps you could upload the plans, there maybe better designs?

Rod
 
Chrispy":qy6qs35a said:
Welcome, has it started already! (snowing)

For Fir lumber just read pine, at a builders merchant / DIY shed.
Fir probably refers to Douglas fir a nice knot free durable softwood but as a first project use planed all round (PAR) pine.
Door skin is just thin plywood / MDF / Hardboard in door size sheets (for making doors)

I can't find PAR pine on DIY sites. Also, what does 1x2, 1x4 and 1x1 mean in relation to wood?
 
memoman":2nwoufh0 said:
Chrispy":2nwoufh0 said:
Welcome, has it started already! (snowing)

For Fir lumber just read pine, at a builders merchant / DIY shed.
Fir probably refers to Douglas fir a nice knot free durable softwood but as a first project use planed all round (PAR) pine.
Door skin is just thin plywood / MDF / Hardboard in door size sheets (for making doors)

I can't find PAR pine on DIY sites. Also, what does 1x2, 1x4 and 1x1 mean in relation to wood?

I wouldn't recommend buying timber from the diy outlets, but they do sell it. http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.jsp?f ... 9372279%7d

PAR is planed all round. Also Known as PSE Planed Square Edge(d?).

Best option is a good timber merchant, 2nd best is the likes of travis perkins. The DIY sheds gear is usually of very poor quality and often non standard sizes.
 
1x2 1x4, etc. are dimensions (thickness of timber) in inches (OK, I got there third, and they're both right!).

There's a slight catch to this, as timber merchants will treat those as being the sawn dimensions, and planing comes off those numbers (leaving an indeterminate thickness that's "a bit less than" the original measurements). Those sizes won't be very critical, for a toboggan, but you'll probably need to adjust the plans to allow for slight differences. Anyway, you can use the nearest metric equivalent - if you're worried about strength, go slightly larger. Although we officially went metric years ago, standard softwood sizes are still close to their original versions in inches.

I've no idea how the DIY sheds size planed timber. They may just measure the finished stuff and slap a barcode on. Be prepared for their stuff to be rubbish though, as their main customers are builders and DIYers making stud partitions, etc., who don't care about timber quality. They usually let you sort through to find the least worst stuff, but don't get your hopes up!

'DIY shed' timber is rarely straight, nor free from twists and bends. Even if it is, it's usually the case that the stuff will move about once you get it home (bend and twist), as the humidity and temperature of your environment is different to that of the shed. Don't even think about MDF or chipboard for this sort of thing - wetness destroys them very quickly, and if you do use hardboard or plywood, either will need a good waterproof coating before they go anywhere near snow!

You may find the whole exercise unsatisfying, just because the timber lets you down. If you have any mates who do woodwork, the best thing would be to get them to come with you to find the wood. It might save hours of frustration otherwise, and they'll probably know better places than the sheds. There's a list of timber suppliers on this forum too.

It might also be worth browsing the local library to see if there are any decent woodworking/DIY/wooden toymaking books to give you additional ideas. You never know, you might find other sledge plans to spark the imagination!
 
Ok thanks. I'll bear that all in mind!

One final thing, can anyone please translate these measurements for me?
-(9) Pieces of 1x2 fir lumber 17 inches long.
-(1) Piece of 1x4 fir 19 inches long.
-(2) Pieces of 1x1 fir 48 inches long.

Thanks :)
 
-(9) Pieces of 1x2 fir lumber 17 inches long.

Nine pieces of wood measuring 1inch x 2inches x 17inches long or 25mm x 51mm x 432mm long

-(1) Piece of 1x4 fir 19 inches long.

One piece of wood measuring 1inch x 4inches x 19inches long or 25mm x 102mm x 483mm long

-(2) Pieces of 1x1 fir 48 inches long.

Two pieces of wood measuring 1inch x 1inch x 48inches long or 25mm x 25mm x 1220mm long

J
 
Wooden sledges are rubbish, trust me, the £5 plastic ones are much faster. Even just sitting in an extraction bag is faster, this test has been completed over the last few years.
Put your efforts into another project, make a go kart, now they are cool.
 
doctor Bob":18q6zmwd said:
Wooden sledges are rubbish, trust me, the £5 plastic ones are much faster. Even just sitting in an extraction bag is faster, this test has been completed over the last few years.
Put your efforts into another project, make a go kart, now they are cool.
Not so at all.
My grandson has the fastest sledge in the village by far, thanks to me. Copy of one given to me when I worra lad. It needs to be at least 6" high, have gently sloping bows, dead straight parallel runners with half round steel polished up a bit.
It's not only the fastest it's also a killer - at speed it will smash a plastic sledge into pieces!

Carts are good. They don't mix though - one clever dad tried to turn a cart into a steerable sledge by replacing wheels with sledge runners. Smart idea - didn't work. Praps needed a bit more R&D.

Couldn't find a picture - this is nearest geometry (ignoring that it's a siamese twin sledge/coffee table) but simplified with slab sides and a central ply panel top (not full width, leaving spars as footrests). Quite low and stiff for stability at high speed. :shock:

modern-design-of-unique-furniture-design-540x372.jpg
 
I still remember the one my older brother made me when I was a kid, it was the fastest thing down Horsendon hill :lol: frightened the life out of me.

That was wooden but the runners were made from an old chrome car bumper cut in two so you end up with the perfect curved (ski shape) bits at the front and its highly polished so goes like a rocket.
 
Jacob":vy4g5218 said:
Copy of one given to me when I worra lad.

Was that during the last ice age....... things have moved on a bit since you were a lad Jacob, did you make him one of those flash wooden tennis rackets as well, how does he like the clogs bet they are better than his mates Nike AF1's..... :lol: :lol:
 
This is where we used to test them - a secret location up int Derbyshire hills

swiss_toboggan.jpg


Snow? Luxury! You had to be tough in them days. :shock:
 
I remember the wooden slays, certainly were fast but haven't tried the plastic tea tray / bin lid jobs. Could be a good little project for the kids. Beech and a bit of steaming (altho tight angle on the uprights). Similar to Jacob's pre-war model:

prodzoomimg773.jpg


Eric, trunking over the runners a good idea I imagine? Blue alkathene?
 
looks laminated to me? have considered building one as my grandad owns a large hill, and we had fantastic snow fall last year, not so fantastic when you ride a motorbike.

adidat
 

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