I'm Dominico, a sixteen-year-old student going to high school in California, and the president of the woodworking club here. At the beginning of the year, I was looking for a fun, short, and inexpensive project to help new students learn safety skills for the band saw, and other tools that they would be using later in the year and came up with these miniature cars. They are made of completely scrap materials and allow the students to design their own cars making them more interested in the project as a whole.

Supplies

Materials

2 by 4
1" dowel
4, 3/4" screws
paper clips (optional)
wood stain / finish (optional)

Tools

Band Saw
Drill Press or Hand Drill
Sand Paper / Rasp
Dremel / Rotary Die Grinder (Optional)

Step 1: Design the Car

Give each student a piece of 2 by 4 and instruct them to draw the side view of their car onto the largest side of the 2 by 4.

Step 2: Cut the Basic Shape

Have each student use the band saw to follow the line they drew. On the drill press set a drill bit slightly smaller than the screw you plan to use. Have the students drill all the way through the body staying on the marks they drew for the wheels.

Step 3: Cut & Drill the Wheels

Take the 1" dowel and mark 4, 1/3" sections. Have the students cut out the sections by spinning the dowel slowly agents the blade. Mark the center of the wheels and set the drill press with a bit slightly larger than the screw you plan on using. Then drill out a hole for the screw into all 4 wheels. With a countersink bit or a large drill bit chamfer the edges of the hole to allow the screw head to lay flush with the wheels without affecting the wheels ability to spin.

You may want to draw attention to the difference between the two sizes of holes that your students drilled. Showing that the larger one is a clearance fit allowing the screw to freely pass through but the hole in the body is an interference fit letting the screw bite into the wood. This part isn't necessarily related to this project but if you plan on teaching other terms like this throughout their time with you, you may want to introduce concepts like this during hands on projects that they are already working on.

Step 4: Sanding & Smoothing

With a rasp have the students curve the edges. Then with a sanding sponge have them smooth the corners and the sides.

Step 5: Attach the Wheels

Have the students use a screw driver to drive the 4 screws through the wheel and into the body for all 4 wheels. Make sure to leave the screws loose as to allow the wheels to spin.

Step 6: Add Extra Details

Have the students mark on the exterior of their cars extra details that they with to add by cutting into their car with a burr bit in a Dremel, or have straight lines all the way across the body by making shallow cuts with the band saw. For adding to the car I found that drilling small holes into it and bending paperclips into it is a great way to add even smaller details like a roof rack. Don't let these ideas limit them feel free to collect other scrap materials you have and give them access and see what they come up with. This would also be the time to add a stain or finish to the wheels and car body

Step 7: Final Product

Here are some ideas for what kind of car that you students may make.

Overall this project was free for our club as we already had an excess of material from other departments at our school like the drama & engineering departments who were willing to donate but if that is not a possibility it seems that it would cost less than a dollar in materials per student.