Fun & Games

The latest DIY ideas, techniques and tools for bikes, rockets, R/C vehicles, toys and other diversions.

Plywood Cargo Bike

Plywood Cargo Bike

Plywood might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you’re designing a cargo bike, but for Michael Downes and Jeff Sayler it led to a uniquely elegant custom ride. Downes, an industrial designer, conceived the wooden Bakfiets-style cargo bike as an entry to the Oregon Manifest Design Challenge and enlisted his neighbor, Sayler, a master shipwright, as the other half of the duo know as Art & Industry. Together they designed and built the 51 pound hauler using CNC-cut plywood glued together with a custom epoxy resin. Additional refinements such as bamboo veneer, storage compartments, hatches, and a cargo bin are to be seen on the final version.

Continue Reading Adam Flaherty2
X-Wing Soap Box Racer

X-Wing Soap Box Racer

From Instructables user The Papier Boy. Complete with freaking-out R2 unit! “The spinning droid was constructed of Styrofoam and painted to look like R2-D2. I used one of my daughter’s old toys to create the motion. The toy had a gear on it that spun when a button was pushed. I cut the toy in half (it was too big) and mounted the toy to the underside of the body and glued the droid head onto the gear. To control the spinning I used an old NES controller. ..”

Continue Reading Sean Michael Ragan2
Cat DJ Scratching Toy Eerily Mimics Esoteric Musical Instrument

Cat DJ Scratching Toy Eerily Mimics Esoteric Musical Instrument

The “Cat Scratch” cardboard scratching toy for cats by SUCK UK is fashioned in the shape of a DJ turntable, with concentric rings of corrugated cardboard (which cats love to scratch) serving as the proverbial record. The turntable part is just for show, but it is a novel idea that (likely unintentionally) harkens back to an experimental instrument called the Savart’s Wheel.

Continue Reading Michael Colombo4