Fire Engine

Watch my video of this project to see all of the basic steps to make this wooden toy fire engine.

Cut seven 19" pieces of 1×6 or 1×8 pine from the home center. It is designed to barely fit on 1×6 boards that are actually 5.5" wide, but I used 1×8′s to give myself a little breathing room to pick the best parts of the boards. Make sure the boards are flat.

The Easel project contains seven tabs. Cut out each part one at a time on the X-Carve. The detailed sides take about 80 minutes each using my cut settings for pine. The middle sections take about 20 minutes each. Number each part as it comes off the X-Carve so you know what order to glue them in.
Sand everything smooth.

Paint the surfaces that will be seen through the windows inside the cab. Be careful not to paint any of the glue surfaces. It’s much easier to do this before assembly.

Start with one side of the fire engine and glue each section on top one at a time until all sections are glued together. Line them up carefully. I used brad nails to keep them from sliding. Add clamps to squeeze it tight and wipe away excess glue.

Drill a 3/16" hole in the rear of the water cannon mount, which is on the top-center of the fire engine. Glue in a 2" piece of 3/16" dowel for the water canon.

The series of holes on the mid-section of the sides are sizes to accept 1/4" and 3/8" furniture buttons from Hobby Lobby. When glued in, these mimic the gauges that are on fire engines.

I sprayed it with Primer Filler to help fill the end grain and fill in any gaps in the wood. I sprayed the main sections with Metallic Silver, Gloss Apple Red, and Gloss Black spray paint. I used a brush to paint additional details with acrylic paints.

Attach the wheels with 11/32" Axle Pegs from Hobby Lobby. You may have to cut them shorter so they don’t bottom out in the holes. It’s a good idea to insert a washer as a spacer between the wheels and the fire engine to help them spin freely. Be careful not to glue the wheel to the axle which would keep it from spinning.

Fill it with candy! I recommend Atomic Fireballs! Then, make your best siren noise while you roll it across the floor!

Thanks for checking out my fire engine project! Visit my website at TheCarmichaelworkshop.com for more fun projects like this one!

- Steve…