Now that he could make his railroad on his own, he wanted
more steam locomotives. It would cost at more than $10, and end up being a toy only.
So, I decided to DIY myself, as I used to do when I was a kid. I also wished to give an example
that he can make his own toys to play with.
After thinking for a while, I bought the tools and materials:
| Wood To make the train body, first, I used a small peace of wooden I bought in a 100 JPY (app. US$1) shop (16 peaces for US$1). After that, I started using woods from our garden. |
US$ 1 shop Garden wood   |
| Small Saw 100JPY. Used to cut the wheels. |
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| Nife To make the details of the train body. 100JPY. This is a DIY. This tool is perfect for its needs. |
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| Wheel I bought this 18mm diameter in the nearby DIY shop. I cut it in 3~4mm wide. Check the picture below on how we make the holes. |
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| Screw Used to fix the whell in the train body. 3.5mm diameter, 16mm length. |
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| Motor screwdriver To make holes in the train body to fix the wheel screw. 2.5 mm diameter. |
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| Plus driver To fix the screw into the body. Check the picture below. |
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| Coupler First we used 6mm diameter magnet (8 for 100JPY) to couple with Brio/Lillabo trains. Then, we started also using eye bolts. |
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| Wooden Glue Used to fix the magnet into the train body. You need to make it's hole. |
Design your train, cut the wood, make holes, put the screws and couplers and that it.
OK, it's not a perfect toy, but my kid likes them.
If you are using magnet coupler, you need to take care of the direction of the magnets.
Try coupling the magnets with other magnets (Ex: brio train) before mounting them into the train.
Coupler types. Magnet on the left (train top view).
Eye bolt on the right (side view). You need to work on the make bolt to make it coupleable with the female.
Pictures examples with couplers:
The magnet coupler is much easier to deal with, because they couple quickly.
However, my kid also likes the eye bolt ones.
The first time we made it, he coupled/decoupled many times.
Steam locomotive with whistle.
You can play with the train by moving it, and also making
sound with the bamboo whistle!
Helping the DIY.
Making wheel holes (left) and puting the screw (right)
- He helps cuting the wooden, but I do most of the job.
- We make the wheel holes together.
- He can put the screw himself.
1st Train: Brio
More Trains: Brio
DIY Train
Can Lillabo and Brio Connect?
DIY Cable Car
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