For the last few weeks Nicholas has been asking to build a box car. I knew that I could figure out how to build one but felt like this would be a great opportunity for Adam to have some male bonding time with Nick:). This past Saturday, Adam and Nick set off on an interesting adventure that started at The Home Depot. 2 metal rods, 4 tires, a couple of bolts, a few screws and a piece of wood later, they returned to embark on what would end up being a disaster of a box car!
As most of us know it requires a bit more than a few rods of metal and some screws and bolts to make a box car. But Adam being the craftsman that he is thought that he could build one without a pattern or any previous woodworking experience.
Now most box cars have rails, a seat and definitely a steering wheel or some sort of rigged rope that allow the driver to steer the car. Needless to say, and you can tell by the pictures, Nicholas' box card had none of the above! His feet were his brakes if he need to suddenly stop. He was to drop them in between the first and second piece of wood and hope that he didn't break a ankle in the process.
A steering wheel would have come in handy to assist in guiding this one of a kind box car down the driveway. The car automatically veers to the left due to the fact that the front wheels are a slight bit wider than the back wheels. Measuring would have helped fix that, but that would have taken too much time:) Two of the neighborhood kids were over and advised Adam that their dad could soo make a better car than he did! What could Adam say to their honest comments. They were 100% right. He laughed about it and their Dad offered to help build Nick a actual box car.
What I love most about Nicholas is that even thought this box car didn't turn out like he dreamed it would(his exact words) he is proud of it regardless. He still thinks that it is awesome even though everyone who passes by probably wonders, "What on earth is that suppose to be?" As my brother put it so well, "He would be better off in a red wagon!" LOL. Hats off to Adam and for his attempt at his first, but definitely not his last, box car.
