Tremendous Toy Trucks

I made 3 dump trucks and 3 flat bed trucks for my 6 nephews (3 pairs of brothers) this past Christmas. I'm rather new to woodworking, but these trucks turned out fantastic. One thing I liked about these plans is that three of the trucks shared quite a few common parts. The flat bed truck, the dump truck, and the tow truck all have the same cab, fenders, bumpers, exhaust pipes, and stairs. Their chassis are all very similar but slightly different dimensions. This was very helpful for making multiple trucks at the same time. I felt that the directions, pictures, and tips were superb.The book calls for buying wheels for the trucks. Since my 6 trucks required a total of 60 wheels, I went ahead and bought a wheel/hole cutter for the drill press. I found mine at Lee Valley, but I'm sure they sell them in Amazon. The radius is adjustable and leaves a pilot hole which worked fine for an axle hole. I made my wheels out of pine. I rounded the edges and inset a wheel well with a forstner bit. In the hole where the dowel axle was inserted, I plugged the ends with furniture buttons. It took a little extra time and didn't save too much money, but I thought it looked really nice.Oh yeah, the boys loved the trucks. Everyone was surprised that I could make something so nice. I have to give credit to a very well put together book.

The book very easy to follow, take your time and you will have a great time making your toys

I purchased this book so that I could spend more time working in my woodshop. I'm not a talented wood-worker, but I do enjoy learning to do new things, and with a nephew and Christmas right around the corner, I figured I'd give it shot.The book contains several really need and more modern designs for wooden toys, which was a big plus. In addition, I found the templates and directions to be better than average for a book of this type. The only complaint I have is that the templates in some cases have to be scaled up when copied. This required scanning them to a computer, re-sizing, and printing, which is a bit of a pain, and if you don't have the proper equipment, I'm not sure how you'd do it.That said, I am having fun working on the monster truck on the cover, and am all ready looking at what the next toy will be.

This is an absolute OUTSTANDING book! I'm a home woodworker with a very small shop. I don't have a great number of tools but the great thing about this book is that you don't need many. (Although I did go out and buy a table top bandsaw to simplify a few of the operations)The plans in this book are very easy to follow and the results are incredible. I've only made one of the trucks, but it turned out great. I spent a few hours for two or three weekends and I just can't say enough about this book.The author suggests using hardwoods, but I've had some difficulties finding a place to get them. My truck was made mostly with scraps that I had laying about my shop and you would never know. If you like small projects, these make perfect gifts as toys, or as models. I'm also certain that there is a market for the trucks as I've been asked to make several already.

very nostalgic, fun

First time ever trying to build wooden toys, or for that matter any wooden small scale stuff. I found the directions and plans easy enough to follow even at my skill level. I have a very very small wood work shop and had no problem working on the monster truck! I am having issue with the monster truck wheels but only because I don't have a table saw... yet. I am having a lot of fun making this stuff and I think anyone one else would too with this book.

The book was for my husband. He was looking for a cement truck but it was not in here. He will still use the book for other patterns though. Thank you, Jamie Hitchcock

This is a great book - well thought out and thorough. I have made one of the monster trucks and it was a hit with the boys at my church and a hit as a gift for a friend's five year old boy. I am currently making three more for Christmas gifts for my grandsons. Lots of fun - not too difficult and easy to immerse oneself in. Excellent!

This book gives exhaustive details on how to construct a series of toy trucks.I am part way through the Monster Truck and it's going well. But I think, despite the detailed instructions, it is something of a book for the more experienced woodworker, because in spite of (perhaps because of) the wealth of instructions there are still plenty of places to go wrong, or places where the more experienced can choose to go a different way or take a shortcut. Basically you need the confidence to know when departures from the plan are fatal or will simply add your individual stamp. To be fair to the author he makes it pretty clear that you don't need to stick slavishly to his script, but provides a full script when you need it.One word of warning - note that the cutting lists give finished sizes not cut sizes, which is a little odd.Clearly, too, the book is written for a North American audience so unless you are familar with feet, inches and fractional dimensions you will scratch your head a lot (suggestion - put the circulaw saw down before doing so)But with those reservations, it's a great book with oodles of details and colour photos, plus templates you can photocopy. Just make sure you read and understand each step before proceeding and you really can't go wrong.Why choose this one over all the others that are out there (there are dozens on Amazon)? In truth, the clincher was not only the presence of a photo of the cover (Other publishers please note) but also the fact that the publisher had gone to the trouble to use the 'look inside' feature. Absent that, with a book like this you could easily buy a pup. This one, manifestly, is not.

I started my woodworking in 2010. That's when I bought this book.I think this book is great. The toys are outstanding. Instructions are very good (although there are some mistakes that you'll probably spot and correct - always look at how the parts fit).I will do at least one of each toy, although I already did few dump trucks.I love the way the toys are presented. The plans are clear. The techniques used are good (although you need to read some other articles on how to work wood and do some jigs / fixtures if you want to be very accurate).I hand made the toys (using just a bandsaw to roughly cut wood then hand planes to bring it to desired size and an electric drill with a stand). A sanding machine would be very useful but not mandatory.I would recommend this book to anybody willing to build some high quality toys for their children or friends.Bogdan, Romania

absolutly brilliant book well illustrated have made the monster truck on cover cant wait to make more

Very useful and practical book, however , some of the measurements were wrong for the Monster Truck and the Low Bed Truck which I have made. Most likely typo errors. Else would have been five stars.

Exactly what you'd expect