Toys from 2x4s. How I transform cheap lumber.

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FYI: Here are the wheels I used: amzn.to/3QZpwGg
In this video I show you how to build a versatile, modular toy truck from a single 2x4 stud. I take you through the process of creating a toy truck with a detachable trailer, a block carrier, and even a camper for those imaginary outdoor adventures. I share tips on laminating and preparing the wood for the build.
I guide you through cutting and shaping the truck and camper, using templates for precision. You'll see how tools like spindle and disc sanders are invaluable for achieving smooth curves and edges. I also demonstrate the drilling and assembly techniques needed to bring the toy to life, focusing on ensuring everything fits together perfectly.
In a real talk segment, I discuss options for wheels, advising on buying versus making them, and provide insights into choosing the right dowels for a snug fit. Safety and aesthetics are not overlooked as I cover painting and finishing touches, ensuring the toy is not only visually appealing but also child-safe.
By the end of the video, you'll see how from a humble 2x4, you can create a beautiful, functional toy truck with a set of building blocks for added play value. Whether you're an experienced woodworker or a beginner, this project offers a rewarding experience and a chance to craft a lasting toy that sparks imagination. Download the full set of plans, including templates, at shopwwmm.com/ and start building your own modular toy truck today!
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#woodworking

[@SteveRamsey]

Thank you for joining me and watching this video! If you'd like to build this project, you can download plans and cutting templates here: shopwwmm.com/products/modular-toy-truck

[@toeknee5565]

No no, thank you!

[@alanrees89]

Steve how do I email you what's your email address please

[@JimLambier]

I started woodworking around the same time that I started being a parent. When I started woodworking, I was really self conscious of every mistake that I made and was reluctant to show people what I had made. The thing about making toys like this for kids is that they don't care if it's perfect or not. Simple toys like this provide endless hours of fun for little people and also provide an opportunity to improve your own skills.

[@SteveRamsey]

These kind of toys are great. Toddlers aren't critical, have great imaginations, and prefer simplicity!

[@Jarrell2020]

The brilliance of this channel has always been its simplicity. And for over a decade, you have stayed true to your roots and the purpose of this channel. So grateful to have you as one of the most valued members of the online woodworking community. Please don’t ever change! Great project, by the way. Going to make this for my little nephew for Christmas.

[@TroyCroatto]

“Just save what’s left and you can make an epoxy river table with it” That gave me a good laugh! Love the video, we are starting to have some young ones in our social circles, I think this is an awesome idea for them all, I’ll be sure to keep 1 or 2 trucks for myself to play with in the shed though 😂

[@creatinghanley]

Suggestion, for the colored blocks, perhaps cut them to varying heights so fingers can easily pick them out of the semi/dump truck container unit. Love this video, thanks Steve!

[@creatinghanley]

Also, I’ll add that chalk, milk, and clay based paints are safest for children and pets who might chew on toys.

[@Sebastopolmark]

HI Steve, when you originally posted this, I made it for my Grandson. It was a GREAT success. I encourage ALL the viewers to give this one a go, it's a wonderful XMAX present! !! !!!

[@Wordsnwood]

Mark, I've been following Steve for ages and don't remember this one at all... maybe I'm not as old as I think I am. 😆

[@Sebastopolmark]

I go back so long - I used to have hair@@Wordsnwood

[@DougAlcoe]

@@Wordsnwood About 7 years ago.

[@ianrickey208]

My grandfather was a woodworker and loved his _very_ basic single car garage shop. One project he made for his grandchildren that we all still talk about was he made train cars for us to sit in and be pulled around the yard in his lawn tractor. There were large bells for us to ding by pulling a rope, and we all just loved playing “train” with him. 50 years later this remains an epic gift he gave to all of us, parent and grandchild alike. God bless you granddaddy, rest is peace.

[@gnothisauton2116]

I love your pragmatism about buying wheels off the shelf. Another great build. Glad to see you again.

[@jimschaffer9831]

Enjoy your videos. Currently making semis and tractors for farmers market. Made a super size Semi for guy with special needs. He loves John Deere green. And likes the items I have made for him. Keep making videos their Great. Jim's wood shop.

[@mrdodde]

I had a need to do Woodworking and Steve pulled me through the gate, several years ago..Thank you Steve

[@christenhildebrandt4546]

Awesome video and project! I watched it with my toddler and he watched the whole video. He was very interested in what the wood was turning into.

[@robertsnowball]

With the right tools and your imagination you can build anything you like 🤩

[@araphelt]

Your videos are just great Steve. Usable projects, plans for download, including your mistakes and how to fix them, and always thinking about your viewers by not blinding us with light reflections off the table saw.

[@gregobermueller1463]

Great video, won’t lie when you talked about the push block I was waiting for the “Gripper”!

[@mohammedalkhaled8673]

Same here 😂😂😂

[@oliverdelica2289]

I love this remake of an old project. I remembered the days when Steve's channel was sponsored by Micro Jig ❤🔥

[@SteveRamsey]

Thank you!

[@garymiller5937]

Cool project Steve. I made several cars, trucks and a trailer along with a bulldozer to haul around. He really liked them when he was young. I didn't think about the detachable box for the truck, though. Yours look much easier to make. I wish I'd seen your video sooner! Thank you. 😊😊😊❤❤

[@TrooperLITE]

This is such a great project. I would love to see more things like this!

[@RhysMogg]

Great project Steve. I've made a few kids' toys like this recently, and I make the wheels with a 44mm hole saw on the pillar drill, giving approx 40mm wheel diameter. The 1/4" arbor drill is a perfect fit for 6mm dowel with wood glue. 1/4" dowel would be a squeeze but would probably work. I round the edges with a 1/8" roundover bit, but the sander works just as well.

[@JonnyDIY]

Too cool Steve! Hope you have grandkids you'd be an awesome Grandfather. PS- the epoxy river joke 🤣💕👏👍 and thanks for the Cobra Alert 😸🚨

[@nathanpegram2312]

I absolutely love this build! I am going to make some of these for my little kids to enjoy, 6,4, and 2 year old will all love these toys

[@jasonothot1474]

This project is really cool. It even has wheels!

[@hectorpizzani9796]

Great project!! I have made a huge amount of wooden toys for our son and even today at 4 years is still enjoying them today!! I love the interchangeable trailers!!

[@odin0438]

As a new father, I love this video and hope to see more!

[@Maxid1]

When my son was about 5 or 6 we'd had it with him leaving very expensive toys outside. $100 dollar skateboards to be stolen etc. So I started to confiscate his toys when I saw them out and put them away. Eventually his toy box would be empty and instead of Christmas toys, I just put the ones he left out, back in the box. He thought this was great! It saved me a lot of money and frustration but eventually, he would do it again and lose all of the toys. Highly imaginative boy that he was, instead of buying him more useless toys I got him a machete, a fire starter a flashlight and a compass. I'd been with him during his scouting time from Lion, tiger, Bear and then Webelos so he knew how to build shelters, fires, kill and clean fish and game. So one fall we went out into the woods and I tested him on his survival skills and I was very impressed with what he could do as a 10 year old. To further test him I left him out there and drove back home. After a day or two his mother got pretty angry at me so I went back to our last campsite and found it completely swept with one exception. The flashlight that I gave him was hanging from what we used as the campfire tripod with a note written on birch bark that said. "Thank you very much for this Dad but I won't be needing it anymore, Love" and he signed his name. That was over 30 years ago. We get a post card every few years but we really miss him.

[@guyh.4553]

Great build Steve! I'm 56 and I'm thinking about making a set for me! LOL. One suggestion I have for your painting is this. Make a 50:50 mix of wood glue or white glue & water. You paint it on 1st as a sealer so you get great results from your painting. Less chipping. Not sure but a primer might do the same but the mixture is soaked up by the wood thus sealing better. Just a thought. This looks fun!

[@neilbrown3902]

great project. I’ll be building it this summer once my grandson is old enough. I truly enjoy your channel when you actually make stuff!

[@SteveRamsey]

I mean, that's what I've been doing for this whole year.

[@jim0648]

Making simple sturdy wood toys is such a pleasure. The kids love them but I think the parents are just as delighted. I counted 13 different colours. If I bought spray paint locally in all those colours it would cost over $150. I find dollar store acrylic craft paint is great....it's a toy.

[@jerther_]

Man I wish we had such beautiful stud 2x4s here... Even our premiums are full of knots!

[@azpcox]

A little wax on the axles before sealing them in would help cut down on the squeaking. But the noise is part of the fun, though. ;) Fantastic project. The camper piece also needs a fold down back so blocks can go into it as a proper toy hauler. Literally. 😂

[@SteveRamsey]

Great idea!

[@andrewj5998]

My dad loved making things like this for his grandkids and great grandkids. He had several catalogs from which he would order all kinds of wooden parts for wooden vehicles and trains.

[@ronanmc2112]

Great project as always Steve. When you said ‘You know what?’ and grabbed the table saw, I thought that you were going to flip it over in frustration! I thought you’d finally had it with that one leg that needed propping up 😂😂

[@germanoferrari]

Spot-on video considering that we are approaching Christmas. Also for the paint safety tip. Thanks a lot Steve!

[@mikebarta4887]

I love that way of doing the axles, much easier than when I tried to hand-drill a straight hole through the wooden duck family (drill press on the Christmas wishlist!) A thought would be to tape off the bottom before painting so the panel can glue up wood on wood instead of wood to paint?

[@albertm8576]

Love this video thanks Steve I ll be making a couple of these to give as gifts this Christmas Thanks again!

[@johnnyb95678]

Awesome gift idea! Thank you Steve!

[@s.spiegel3032]

Excellent project. might copy that.

[@calvinnash5527]

Excellent project Steve. Keep the content coming, thanks for the inspiration

[@paulschacht9777]

5:22 Classic! !! !!! Great delivery! Guessing you had just pushed the saw outside for better light …

[@David.M.]

Thanks again for the video Steve!

[@williammrdeza9445]

Great project, Steve! Perfect timing for the holidays.

[@darth342]

Dude I was just thinking about making something like this for my niece! Thanks for posting this!

[@shannon.j]

Such a fun project! Love all your kids toy designs 😄

[@rod1148]

I like these. Looks like I'm going to have to get a band saw now.

[@gosonegr]

I have so much scraps I could reopen toys r us with this video

[@starhawke380]

I've noticed at the big box home stores that the cheaper white wood dowels ruin slightly thinner than the oak dowels. The oak ones are of course,more expensive, but much more structurally sound for the weight of a cargo truck or camper.

[@andyc972]

Great Christmas project thanks Steve !

[@user-mi4fj9rq7v]

Steve, Thank you! what a great project.

[@KryssCom1]

A serious contender for the most adorable toy you've made thus far!

[@SteveRamsey]

Well thank you! 🤗

[@mortalman01]

Well done Steve, that was a good one.

[@lcdc59]

Another great one, Thanks.

[@topcheese2889]

Only Steve goes the extra mile

[@markduggan3451]

Great idea for Christmas.

[@puddinggeek4623]

A superb project and excellent video as always.

[@Chrispy9393]

about 5:20 "Oh you just name another youtuber that will go that extra mile for ya" i giggled hard

[@timd5343]

thnx

[@rodgerq]

I love these!

[@zreed248]

I made this for my nephew years ago when you made the original video. Great beginner project.

[@gregmize01]

the real talk segment hits home steve. Cobra gave me a jump scare btw!

[@Grant_S_M]

This project arrived in the St. Nick of time!

[@routtookc8064]

you know that truck looks good on an epoxy river table...

[@jameshopkins1919]

Fantastic idea- uncle James now has Christmas sorted for nephews…

[@dan.w.hoover2556]

Very nice!

[@inspectorsteve2287]

Would it have been easier to just use a 4x4? You might have gotten more trucks out of it I would think since you don't need to double it up.

[@richardbrobeck2384]

What great project !

[@MFunkibut]

Great thing about this project is you can go NUTS customizing your trucks with logos or dremeling in details or whatever floats your boat [bucks yo trucks???]

[@mrmanu20121]

Those are cool I'd play with those cool toys 😅

[@virtualfather]

Great video

[@iVolkswagen]

The river table comment had me 😂

[@dpmeyer4867]

cool Thank you

[@nore8141]

That’s really cool ❤❤

[@cabman86]

Those are so cool!

[@46Moriarty]

What brand of band saw do you have there? It's a saw I don't have, but want

[@Pete.Ty1]

👍👍👍.Thank you

[@ianpearse4480]

Fun!

[@The0990mike]

A jigsaw should work just as well for cutting out the truck right?

[@pteddie6965]

Hi, Steve. I love this little truck and accessories. I'm gonna use some scrap wood that I recently inherited to copy your design. I'm going to make three sets for my great grandkids. I'm sorry that I can't buy the plans. Thanksgiving and Christmas have taken a bite out of my bank account. I have used many of your plans in the past. In fact, my granddaughter sleeps on a bedframe set that I built following your plans. Have a great Thanksgiving and a Merry Christmas. Thanks again for a project video. Your projects are what got me into wood working. You completely changed my life.

[@ObsessiveAboutCats]

This was cute!

[@PaganWizard]

I noticed that you applied your templates to the wood with aerosol adhesive. A much less expensive way to do this, is to go to your favorite local office supply store, and get some old fashioned carbon copy paper. place some on top of your wood, run a thin piece of dowel into a pencil sharpener, and sand the point just until it's not sharp. Use your dowel to trace your pattern onto the wood. For those concerned, you're saving paper, by not having to print new templates every time you want to make these toys, and you're not spraying fluorocarbons into the environment.

[@stevenlarson6125]

For those who ask "can I use (x) tool instead?" Like anything woodworking, use what you have, that can be done safely. If you find you make a certain kind of cut a lot that could be done easier/safer with a different tool, then buy it if possible. But the best thing about Steve's (No relation 🤣) videos is that he shows that you can build many wonderful things without spending thousands on the latest fad tool. IIRC he only just recently got a band saw again.

[@seanroth3104]

Can a jigsaw be used instead of the band saw?

[@MCsCreations]

Really beautiful work, Steve! 😃 It really turned out great!!! Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

[@SteveRamsey]

Thank you!

[@klintharder2155]

This made me think... hey I haven't seen Wyatt lately... maybe this project is for Steve's Grandkids....

[@ailivac]

You don't even need a pad of paper and toothpick to mix the epoxy. It's all in the 2x4!

[@tomsardo6984]

Thank you Mr. Ramsey. Great video as always! I’m going to make one for my future grandson.

[@LAZER1981A]

Dude. ❤

[@martinjohnson7061]

Hi Steve have you got any new christmas ideas this year❤

[@larrystone5749]

What kind of bandsaw you use

[@drodver]

Many 2x4s are not ready for gluing like this as being perfectly flat is not a requirement. You may need to use a hand plane or another technique to get them flat enough.

[@mgena717]

Can I recommend waxing that axle/slot before gluing the bottom plate on? For smooth riding!

[@cnrart.claudiorodriguez9978]

buen trabajo Steve , saludos

[@bobpatten5710]

Love the video. Made a couple of these from your original as Christmas gifts for kids.

[@HoneyHollowHomestead]

You could've made a goose neck stock trailer with that left over wood. 😄

[@robertbamford8266]

Very nice! And timely. Jig for positioning the holes for the dowels?

[@christopherport1415]

I propose a new series: Steve Plays With Homemade Toys

[@SteveRamsey]

I would crash them all into blocks and stuff lol

[@wardsdotnet]

When you glued the 3 pieces together at the start, does it matter that the grain directions alternate? You didn't mention it

[@SteveRamsey]

It doesn't make any difference. I prefer to go with the best looking faces.

[@donnalongo1848]

Could you make this without a table saw?

[@marsolca]

They come out rough but I’ve used my hole saws to make wheels. Not totally opposed to buying them but the wheels I wanted weren’t easy or cheap to find online

[@SteveRamsey]

Amazon has them for $12. amzn.to/46OuUkv

[@marppp28]

Great project 👍 I’m planning do it as Christmas present last year I’ve done few Wooden Deer that was fun

[@SteveRamsey]

Excellent! Thank you.

[@jonsagara]

Nicely done, Steve. 👏

[@SteveRamsey]

Thanks, Jon!

[@kimhavey7850]

😂😂 epoxy river table!! 😂😂