Kids Love His Shop-Built Toys

Kids Love His Shop-Built Toys Steve Nolan says he’s been building useful tools, equipment and leisure items for the past 25 years. “I got my first arc welder for my 13th birthday, and just like my dad, I’ve been designing and building ever since.” Nolan’s a talented engineer who envisions ideas and builds them, rarely drawing up plans. “When my two young boys were tired of pushing their floor toys around, I decided they needed actual wheeled toys to burn up energy,” Nolan says. “I studied the kids’ toys, then put them on a workbench and started to create. I didn’t use any scales or measurements, just eyed them up real close to get the dimensions correct.” Nolan built a skid-steer body based on a toy CAT machine, using 18-mm and 12-mm marine-grade plywood. To power it, he installed drive motors from a working wheelchair and controlled them with the chair’s joystick through its wiring loom. The wheels are from an old quad bike. “I put one motor on each side between the wheels, then linked the wheels with a small chain. Each wheel has an independent axle, so the vehicle has 4-WD, just like a real skid steer,” Nolan says. The completed vehicle measures 5 ft long, 2 1/2 ft wide and about 3 ft tall. Inside, there’s a padded bench seat so both of his boys could ride together. It took him about 3 mo to complete. “With a 24V electric system, it has some serious power, and the kids really enjoyed driving it,” Nolan says. Nolan’s other powered toy project was a dumper pushcart. He built the body from 18-mm and 12-mm marine plywood. The center pivot is reinforced with 6-mm aluminum plate. He used nylon bushings on the center pin. “I used a fully working shop-rider mobility scooter for the chassis,” Nolan says. “The rear axle and the quad wheels mounted nicely to the scooter’s hubs. The steering mechanism uses a handcrafted wheel and a shaft geared down with sprockets, leading to a push rod. That made the steering lighter, so the kids could manage it easier.” Nolan made the vehicle fully functional in forward and reverse using the scooter’s thumb throttle. He mounted the throttle under a pair of homemade pedals, one for forward and the other for reverse.  “As an extra safety bonus, the drive system uses the scooter’s built-in electric brakes that engage when the feet are off the pedals,” Nolan says. The pushcart measures 6 ft long, 4 ft wide and about 3 ft tall. Without its battery, the cart weighs a hefty 175 lbs, making it very stable. Nolan says the dump cart took him about 5 mo to build because it required more engineering than the skid steer.  “The cart has a 24V electrical system, just like the skid steer, so it can handle just about any terrain. Because of its weight and low profile, it doesn’t tip easily, a big plus for young drivers.” Nolan says the vehicles were great fun for his boys when they were younger, “but now they’re aging up and just want to drive my tractor.” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Muck Spreader Man, Steven Nolan, Leeds, England (nolans12@yahoo.com; YouTube: @stevennolan8052).

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