How to Build a Riding Cardboard Car
- 1). Cut the top lip off of a five-gallon bucket and use a pencil to trace the inside of the bucket rim that you cut off into a sheet cardboard. Only trace the part that is unbent. Do this with 20 layers. Cut the circles out so that they are exactly the same size using a steak knife (the serrations make the work easier).
- 2). Glue the 20 layers onto each other so that the layers crisscross at 45-degree angles in succession all the way around. As the layers dry, put pressure on the cardboard to keep the sheets in good contact but do not crush the cardboard. Repeat this process to make all four wheels. Let the glue dry completely according to the instructions for the type of glue you have (typically 12-24 hours).
- 3). Get a 10-inch-diameter cardboard construction tube and saw through it so that it is 3 feet long. At one end, mark the tube on the edge and then turn the tube until the mark is 5 inches off of the ground. Mark the other side on the same end of the tube, 5 inches off the ground. Keeping the tube in the same position, mark the other end of the tube 5 inches above the ground.
- 4). Tape a string along the tube 5 inches above the ground on both sides at the marks. The two strings will remain 5 inches above the ground down the entire length of the tube. Use colored chalk on the string so that you can snap the string to get a chalk line on the sides of the construction tube.
- 5). Mark on the chalk line 6 inches from either end with a pencil. Do this on both sides of the tube. Drill a 2-inch hole that is centered at each of these four marks using a 2-inch-diameter hole saw. To center the drill at the mark, place the tip of the drill bit on each mark and slowly increase the pressure as the bit drills deeper into the tube. Remove the cardboard from the end of the drill by unplugging the drill and prying out the cardboard each time.
- 6). Make sure that your drill is not going to go into the floor by doing this outside on the lawn. Clean off the drill bit if dirt gets into it and make sure that the lawn is completely dry when drilling. If you use a piece of plywood while drilling as the backing, you are less likely to damage the cardboard or fold it.
- 7). Draw two lines that cross the circle at the widest point. Where these two lines meet is the center. Drill holes in all four wheels that are centered where the lines cross in the sides of each wheel. Make the holes 2 inches in diameter.
- 8). Lay out a tarp under where you will be working. Place pillows on the ground that you wouldn't mind ruining with wood glue. Stack the pillows so that they will suspend the tube 10 inches above the ground.
- 9). Place the tube on the pillows. Get a 2-inch diameter dowel rod and cut it into two lengths that are 17 inches long. Insert the rod through the holes you drilled in the construction tube. Add wood glue to either end of the rod and slide the wheels on over the glue. Let the glue dry.