Hobbies And Interests
Things You'll Need
Instructions
Mark up and cut the plywood into several pieces. You'll make a play surface which is 4 feet, 4 inches by 3 feet, 2 inches; two 5-inch by 3-foot-2-inch sides, two rectangular leg pieces at 3 feet, 3-inches by 1 foot, 4-inches tall, and a brace which measures 3 feet, 2 inches by 4 inches.
Measure and mark the leg pieces. Orient the piece with the long edge facing you, and mark out 5-inch legs on the left and right sides. In the center of the board, make a mark 5 inches from the top. Draw a rectangle or semi-circle on the piece using those marks, and cut the piece out.
Cut 15-inch leg struts out of the 2-by-4 board.
Sand all of your pieces. Focus first on the cut edges, but smooth the entire piece.
Lay out the play surface, and plan the final track layout. If you want to add water or other terrain features, draw those on first. Next, place track on the play surface in its intended layout. Trace the track on the wood in pencil. At this point, if you decide to change it, you can simply erase the lines and redraw it.
Paint all of the pieces of wood. Paint the outside faces of the side and leg pieces with your choice of color. Paint the play surface, making the grassy areas green and watery areas blue. Paint the roads gray and the track areas a sandy color.
Glue and screw the leg struts onto the leg pieces along the inside edges. Leave a 1/2-inch gap between the left and right sides of the leg piece and the strut, and the strut stops an inch below the top of the piece. Place another leg strut in the same position, then attach the pieces to the side pieces. Repeat with the other leg piece and remaining leg struts.
Stand the leg pieces. Glue, then screw the side pieces on either side, creating a frame. Line the top edges of the sides with the top edges of the leg pieces.
Attach the brace across the middle, spanning the gap between the two sides of the piece. Line the bottom edge of the brace up with the bottom edge of the sides. Glue and screw it in place.
Dab glue on the tops of the leg struts and the brace.
Lower the play surface on top of the table, pushing it down onto the glue. Screw the four corners of the play surface down.
Glue the track in place on the play surface. Paint, draw, glue or attach other finishing touches. You can add trees, houses, more roads, toy cars and the trains themselves. Leave the table to dry overnight before playing with it.