# Motorbike Rocker



## dalboy (Jun 12, 2012)

Made this a while ago from 3/4", 1/2" 3/8"and 1/4" thick MDF. because there was multiple parts which were identical I used a router with a follower to make sure they matched. It took 2 months from start to finish of which 3 weeks was just painting. The handle bars and foot rests are from pine which I turned on one of my lathes.
This was made for one of the great grandsons and has now been passed down to his younger brother, except for a little paint wear it is very much in the same condition as in the photo's.
So any concerns about using MDF has well passed


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## woodknots (Mar 7, 2012)

Nice looking bike - especially like the paint job - where's the helmet


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## furboo (Oct 12, 2015)

I really like it Derek! All it needs is sound effects.

Great idea for a project, but I'm pretty sure my relatives wouldn't like me passing on my motorcycle hobby to their kids.


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Wow...great job, Derek! 


Rob; sure they would!!


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

that's awesome Derek...


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

That is extremely cool . Can hardly imagine the time it would take me to build that


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

TheCableGuy said:


> That is extremely cool . Can hardly imagine the time it would take me to build that


use your insulation job as a time line...


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## dalboy (Jun 12, 2012)

Glad you all liked the bike. I have not long just finished an article on the build of this bike and hopefully it should be in "The Woodworker" magazine here in the uk, along with another of a Mercedes truck I built which I will show soon.

In the mean time here is a slide show of the build process that I did as I tend to do a lot of photo's of many of my builds which I find great as a reference for me in the future should I need them.

A warning I will apologise for the music before you watch it so feel free to turn off the sound:laugh:


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

excellent video Derek..
and what was so terrible about the music??


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## papasombre (Sep 22, 2011)

Hi, Derek.
Very nice motorbike rocker. I like the way you made the wheels. Can you show more details about them? Thanks a lot in advance.


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## honesttjohn (Feb 17, 2015)

To break it down in very very simple terms. It looks like several layers of material glued together, sanded, and rounded and assembled.

A CNC could cut the multiple layers and cut down on the sanding and fit of the parts, I would think.

Never was a MDF fan, but it seems to work here. How did you paint it? Is MDF really strong nuff to hold up to kids?

I think it's pretty darn neat!!

HJ


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## Gaffboat (Mar 11, 2012)

Both the slide show and music are great! Nice project.


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## RÖENTGEEP (Feb 18, 2014)

honesttjohn said:


> How did you paint it? Is MDF really strong nuff to hold up to kids?
> 
> I think it's pretty darn neat!!
> 
> HJ


Same questions. Amazing work. congrats.


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## dalboy (Jun 12, 2012)

Painted by hand with a child safe paint. The MDF has stood up to two children over 7 years except for a little paint scratches(well what do you expect from two boys)


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## sunnybob (Apr 3, 2015)

Del, I was a motorbike rocker once....


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## dalboy (Jun 12, 2012)

papasombre said:


> Hi, Derek.
> Very nice motorbike rocker. I like the way you made the wheels. Can you show more details about them? Thanks a lot in advance.


Each wheel is made up of three parts the inner which is 3/4" thick and the two outer rings 1/2" thick. I cut them out using a circle cutting jig with the router doing the outer on all the wheel parts to start with and then resetting the jig to do the inner on the 1/2" thick pieces for the outers last. 
The centre piece need the to be cut out to form the spokes here I used two different forstner bits for all of the corners and a jig saw to remove the straight sections.
Before glueing the outers I router the edges where needed with a round over bit as well as giving the outer rings a smaller round over on one of the inner edges.
The outers are glued in place and when dry the outer edges are sanded before using the router once more with a large round over bit sunk down a bit to give the effect of a tyre and rim.

I hope that makes sense and the extra pictures help to explain


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## furboo (Oct 12, 2015)

Wow, I'm really impressed, Derek. What process did you go through designing the rocker before actually starting to build it? None? Free hand sketches? Engineering (accurate) drawings?


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## sunnybob (Apr 3, 2015)

Derek, Thats more work than I could do for anyone, even grandkids.
But this is all mdf. All we get is warnings about working with mdf and the dust and poisons it gives off while being worked. I can only assume you have a hell of a dust extraction system?


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## AndyL (Jun 3, 2011)

Very impressive, I like it. I'm curious about your great-looking glossy paint job. How do you prepare the cut edges of the MDF for paint? I've always had trouble with the roughness of the cut edges telegraphing through the paint, whatever I've tried with filler, coats of primer, and sanding.


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## dalboy (Jun 12, 2012)

AndyL said:


> Very impressive, I like it. I'm curious about your great-looking glossy paint job. How do you prepare the cut edges of the MDF for paint? I've always had trouble with the roughness of the cut edges telegraphing through the paint, whatever I've tried with filler, coats of primer, and sanding.


I sealed all cut edges with thinned down PVA glue it soaks in and then hardens occasionally it may need two coats but it works for me, then give is a light sand down before priming and painting


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## Barry747 (Jun 16, 2011)

Incredible build and great documentation. Way beyond my skill level. A family heirloom that will probably see many generations to come.


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## dalboy (Jun 12, 2012)

furboo said:


> Wow, I'm really impressed, Derek. What process did you go through designing the rocker before actually starting to build it? None? Free hand sketches? Engineering (accurate) drawings?


Sorry Rob I missed your question I found this free set of plans and made some alterations to suit myself.


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## dalboy (Jun 12, 2012)

Barry747 said:


> Incredible build and great documentation. Way beyond my skill level. A family heirloom that will probably see many generations to come.


This is quite an easy build. I have no training in woodwork and have taught myself most of what I know.
The thing is have a go and enjoy every moment, I always do plenty of dry fits before glueing up so that I can pick up any problems before it is too late


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

dalboy said:


> This is quite an easy build. I have no training in woodwork and have taught myself most of what I know.
> The thing is have a go and enjoy every moment, I always do plenty of dry fits before glueing up so that I can pick up any problems before it is too late


Well you did one heck of a job Derek . I think that's pretty neat


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## furboo (Oct 12, 2015)

dalboy said:


> Sorry Rob I missed your question I found this free set of plans and made some alterations to suit myself.


No problem, Derek. I don't know German, but at least I can recognize it. So I would think it'd look more like a BMW than a Harley, but the kids probably don't care :smile:


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## dalboy (Jun 12, 2012)

furboo said:


> No problem, Derek. I don't know German, but at least I can recognize it. So I would think it'd look more like a BMW than a Harley, but the kids probably don't care :smile:


I know a very little but I just worked from the drawings I printed each sheet off on a full sheet and divided them into squares then marked the MDF in squares a copied each square on the plan to a square on the wood, a simple method but it worked.

Hope that made some kind of sense


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## honesttjohn (Feb 17, 2015)

furboo said:


> No problem, Derek. I don't know German, but at least I can recognize it. So I would think it'd look more like a BMW than a Harley, but the kids probably don't care :smile:


If you use Chrome and open the file - there is a translation box in the upper right corner. Check it and it comes up in English.

I've got to figure how to get these patterns in Aspire and then use the CNC to cut the parts out. Lets see, grandson is 1 now so I got up to 2 years to figure it out.

If I use wood - what would be the best kind. I can get spruce and aspen panels in 2' x 4' glued up ready to go if that'll work.

HJ


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## dalboy (Jun 12, 2012)

honesttjohn said:


> If you use Chrome and open the file - there is a translation box in the upper right corner. Check it and it comes up in English.
> 
> I've got to figure how to get these patterns in Aspire and then use the CNC to cut the parts out. Lets see, grandson is 1 now so I got up to 2 years to figure it out.
> 
> ...


The 2 larger panels on THIS part of the plans are 120cm X 60cm which is just a fraction under 4' X 2'
The smaller one at the bottom is 32" X 16" approximately so the sheets you have should be plenty big enough. I can't see why you cant use spruce or aspen try to avoid knots


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## honesttjohn (Feb 17, 2015)

What thickness are the panels?'

HJ


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## dalboy (Jun 12, 2012)

honesttjohn said:


> What thickness are the panels?'
> 
> HJ


They state 18mm which is so close to 3/4" which is the ones I used. Remember that I did change a few things in mine to make it different the original was designed to be taken off of the rocker and steered and used like a balance bike


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## honesttjohn (Feb 17, 2015)

Good deal on the 3/4". I would probably just make it stationary too, if I attempted it.

Guys, what would be a better wood for this? Pine, Spruce, or Aspen.

HJ


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## dalboy (Jun 12, 2012)

Hi again John just got back from a long weekend away.

You can make this from any wood that you want but try to make sure that it is knot free especially around where edges are or any points that need a little strength


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## chuckycheese (May 4, 2016)

dalboy said:


> Made this a while ago from 3/4", 1/2" 3/8"and 1/4" thick MDF. because there was multiple parts which were identical I used a router with a follower to make sure they matched. It took 2 months from start to finish of which 3 weeks was just painting. The handle bars and foot rests are from pine which I turned on one of my lathes.
> This was made for one of the great grandsons and has now been passed down to his younger brother, except for a little paint wear it is very much in the same condition as in the photo's.
> So any concerns about using MDF has well passed


Just saw this.. this is really nice! Amazing job.


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## honesttjohn (Feb 17, 2015)

I'm still enthralled by this. I have seen playthings like this that were mounted with springs insteaqd of rockers. Now, if one wanted to go this route, what kind of springs would you need, how would they be mounted, and how many would you need.

HJ

The wheels are turning -- pun intended


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