There is quite a presence on the Internet now. But their cost is often not affordable for everyone. As you know, the cheapest way to get something is to create it with your own hands, using only raw materials, improvised tools and used parts of other devices.
Here is a small step-by-step instruction on how to assemble your own electric scooter with your own hands with minimal investment.
The scooter is designed for a maximum speed of about 30 km per hour, will have about 3 horsepower and can travel about 18-20 km on a single charge.
Step 1: Parts and Tools
Below is a basic set of the most important components used (parts) and the necessary tools. As much as possible, stock up on used parts from various electrical appliances that often gather dust in your attic or garage.
How to make a good one, and what you need for this:
Details:
Tools:
Step 2: Selecting a scooter base
Making a new homemade electric scooter must start from the base - the frame of a former regular scooter. The base from any classic Razor scooter will do, especially the front and rear wheel suspension, which uses springs and shock absorbers rather than rubber, but has a more elegant feel.
Converting a regular scooter into an electric scooter is the easiest way, but there will be a problem with space for hanging equipment.
It is unlikely that you will be able to use old wheels. As a rule, they are always worn out, and the bearings are loose or broken. So you will have to buy new base wheels (preferably with replacement tires). When selecting a frame and wheels, keep in mind that the future structure should rise 10-15 cm from the surface of the ground with the wheels mounted.
Step 3: Rear Suspension To accommodate good wheels, you will need to build a completely new aluminum rear suspension. A few cheap mountain bike shock absorbers with a spring force of approximately 250-300 kg/cm will come in handy here.
Similar parts are sold in large quantities at specialized markets/shops, and there are also many of them at online auctions. The shock absorber mounts are made from 1/4″, two 2″ and 1″ U-channel aluminum.
Like the rear suspension, the fork and front suspension will also receive significant upgrades due to the new wheels. Here you can also use springs and shock absorbers from a mountain bike fork to create a new pair of shock absorbers with a pivot at each end.
This design is much simpler and more reliable than a telescopic fork. With this design, the front wheel can be easily centered in front of the steering column axis. It is very important to install the wheel slightly forward - this will significantly increase the steering characteristics. Don't be afraid to raise the front of the scooter a couple more inches if necessary.
Step 5: Wheels
To secure the wheels to the rest of the scooter, you need to make your own axles from 1/2" threaded rods (studs) and matching nuts. The inner diameter of the wheel bearings will fit 5/8″, so to get a 1/2″ axle that will fit snugly in the bearings you will need appropriate shims. Manufacturers of electric scooters make their parts unique and unsuitable for other models. Therefore, you will have quite a large choice of wheels.
The nuts are screwed together until their flanges press against the outside of the wheel bearings. To secure the spacers in place, a second nut is additionally screwed on. Four more nuts are used to secure each wheel to the frame.
Step 6: Gearbox
Since the CIM motors we plan to use are relatively high speed, low torque motors, a gearbox is needed to reduce the output speed of the motors to an acceptable level. A homemade electric scooter, made with your own hands, will not be able to work without a gearbox: this is not a toy car, here you need to ensure a smooth start.
In principle, any two-speed gearbox will do. Again, we select used ones for the lowest price. We cut out the gearboxes to eliminate as much wasted space as possible and remove the housing completely to create a 3-motor transmission with a single output shaft.
We install the gearbox on the scooter using the original bolt holes built into the gearbox and some aluminum angle pieces bolted to the scooter frame.
Finally, 21 sprockets are attached to the output shaft for a #35 chain.
The most difficult part of a future electric scooter in terms of installation and subsequent adjustment is the chain tensioner. Due to its location, when the scooter's suspension is compressed, the effective length of the chain between the sprocket on the gearbox and the sprocket on the rear wheel increases. It must maintain (compensate for) additional chain tension. In addition to the chain tensioner, the scooter also needed an idler sprocket.
When driving on uneven surfaces, jumping or minor body impacts, the chain may fly off the rear sprocket. To prevent this from happening, you will have to machine a special limiter. You won’t be able to build an electric scooter with your own hands using a regular screwdriver: the torque is too small.
Step 8: Brake
Motors and drive chains are great, but being able to stop your scooter in time is even more important. Since disc brake rotors are simply large spinning metal discs attached to a wheel, you can simply use the wheel's drive sprocket as a disc brake.
It will be necessary to build a caliper to grip the sprocket from an aluminum block. To do this we use an aluminum U-channel, two brake pads, springs and several bolts. You can use absolutely any pads - this is a racing car.
We attach the right brake pad to a rod that passes through the caliper, springs and aluminum suspension frame.
As the spring expands in the middle, the brake is inactive and, if necessary, the brake cable pulls the two halves of the caliper towards each other so that they both move towards the sprocket and compress it on both sides, providing braking.
Step 9: Steering Wheel For greater and more confident control, we will need a wider steering wheel, because our wheels will be quite wide.
Almost any handlebar from both the Soviet model and modern mountain bikes will easily fit. We fix it on the steering column, having previously adjusted the clamp with an aluminum bracket with bolt tightening.
If the steering wheel is quite thick, then you can easily place a throttle and a hall sensor in it.
How to make an electric scooter from an ordinary scooter? The original frame from a standard Riser scooter will be quite small. It can be used as the main platform for attaching an additional surface made of lightweight materials. This will provide more space for hanging components such as batteries. The new surface can be made of carbon fiber or high-strength plastic - this will significantly increase its wear resistance. We screw the new base on top of the old one using countersunk stainless steel screws.
Step 11: Mounting and Connecting Electronics
We install the electric motor controller on the front side of the gearbox as close as possible to the aluminum corner of the frame to leave as much space as possible for the batteries. The main power switch is bolted directly to the scooter's deck, while the fuse holder and fuse itself are bolted to the bottom of the frame (you can use an aluminum angle or channel).
It is better to use a 200A fuse as this is the peak current of the motor.
All electrical connections must be made using durable, conductive connectors. DIY electric scooter diagrams and connection drawings can be easily found on the Internet for various types of engines, gearboxes and batteries of any power.
Step 12: Battery
To minimize the weight of the entire structure and the energy reserve, the best option would be to use 5 Ah lithium polymer batteries (for example, LiPo from HobbyKing). With this volume, 8 batteries will be enough; we take one more as a spare.
Large batches often contain defective items. Of course, they can be replaced later in the store with a new battery, but it is better to immediately take them with a reserve. As a result, we will get a battery with characteristics of approximately 60V and approximately 600W of output power.
Step 13: Battery Holder A DIY electric scooter build is not complete without a battery attached to it. In this case, it is necessary to consider the possibility of quickly replacing power supplies.
To install the batteries on the scooter frame, we build a small aluminum or plastic box.
It is better, of course, to use polycarbonate and cover it with carbon fiber for greater strength. The box must be fixed with bolts with a countersunk head so that when moving its head does not cling to the legs and does not protrude on the surface of the frame.
The final stage will be assembling and soldering the entire structure together. To do this, we use a screwdriver with bits, open-end wrenches and a screwdriver. Tighten all bolted connections tightly and double check them.
That's about it - assembling the electric scooter with your own hands is complete, you can go for the first field tests, after which you can modify or improve the resulting model.
Video
A powerful battery... And an impressive price. Yes, there are economical options, but is it possible to spend even less? And if so, how to make an electric scooter with your own hands?
Where to begin?
Decide on what you will base your iron horse on. There are three good, repeatedly tested options:
- From a screwdriver. Drills and screwdrivers are convenient because the battery can be easily removed from them for recharging. In addition, most models have several speeds, which is also a lot;
- From a hoverboard. Very good in terms of battery connection and control, but quite expensive;
- From the radiator cooling engine. Perhaps the most difficult option from the point of view of implementation, but the motor is quite powerful and almost free (you can find a suitable motor at any auto repair shop).
If you do not have much experience with such tasks, we recommend making an electric scooter with your own hands using a screwdriver.
Broadcast
Have you chosen an engine? Now it is important to decide how you will transfer torque from it to the wheels. The following transfer options are available:
- Chain;
- Friction nozzle;
- Two gears;
- Hard transmission.
Again: if you don’t have much experience, use a chain. The option is controversial, because the chain can fly off, but this will be the easiest to implement.
Wheels
Which wheel will be the drive: rear or front? If you choose the rear one, it will be easier to install; if you choose the front one, the scooter will be better controlled. We recommend that you still bother with connecting the front wheel, it’s worth it. The wheels themselves can be taken as ordinary ones, with plastic discs. Wheels from garden carts work well.
Frame
The frame is made from ordinary steel pipes. Profiled steel 2.5 millimeters thick will be enough for a self-made electric scooter to withstand a load of up to 100 kilograms.
IMPORTANT: If you are making an electric scooter not entirely from scratch, but on the basis of a regular - non-motorized - scooter, you will not have any issues with the frame and wheels. Just choose from durable and stable models: very elegant ones may not be ready for serious loads.
Battery
Do not use heavy lead batteries! You will most likely not be able to carefully remove them under the deck, and the battery will simply break the entire balance of your scooter. If you are doing it on the basis of a screwdriver, there are no questions - use the original battery - if not, look at those for electric helicopters, the same drills and similar equipment.
You will also need
- Wires;
- Power button or toggle switch;
- Plastic box for battery;
- Fasteners (usually bolts and nuts).
It is not necessary to use welding or similar technically complex fastening methods.
How to make an electric scooter with your own hands?
The best choice would be to watch a video on YouTube before starting work. Look specifically for a scooter assembly based on the engine you choose and with the gear you choose - there are videos for almost all existing options.
And, in any case, you will need some experience working with your hands. Ideal if you have already worked with electrical and metal. If you don’t have any experience, we strongly recommend finding an assembly partner or at least a consultant - a person who can look at your idea and project and give their comments on it.
If you do everything carefully, a DIY electric scooter will cost only 5-7 thousand rubles, which means you can save a lot. Good luck with the build!
“In fact, life is simple, but we persistently complicate it.”
(Confucius)
Many people probably still remember how in the 70s our fathers made us scooters with wheels made of ball bearings. How this thundering miracle aroused extraordinary pride in us, and white envy among the neighboring boys. But time passes, everything changes... The fashion for scooters has returned again, only our children are already riding them. And about four years ago, having assessed my capabilities, I decided to make a scooter from a children’s bicycle that had become small.
I’ll warn you right away that you will need here: a welding inverter with electrodes (preferably 2), an angle grinder and a meter of profiled rectangular pipe. And since the scooter has been made for a long time, I will only explain some of the nuances.
I got it like this:
Quite responsive for acceleration and quite fast. And now, in order. First, we saw off the back and front parts of the bike. And in front we saw off the frame tube parallel to the steering tube.
We measure the profiled pipe and make V-shaped cuts with a grinder at the bends. Bend and cook. We also thoroughly weld the attachment points to the rear and front units. We extend the steering column with an additional pipe, which we also weld to the original bicycle one.
A bolt with a wedge assembly passes inside this pipe. Naturally, the original bolt turned out to be short and I had to cut it in half and weld a piece of wire (6mm) into the middle. Cooked it in a vice to get it smooth. Pay special attention to the distance from the site to the ground surface. It should be minimal, taking into account the unevenness of the road. I had to redo it; I raised the platform too high.
The board is screwed on top and the scooter is generally ready. The only thing missing is the brakes. They can be used from an old bicycle (regular rims). In general, you can leave the pedals, but lengthen the seat tube and you will get a hybrid, a kind of bicycle scooter.
If desired, you can install an electric motor with a gearbox on the site, and a battery on the trunk. But that's a completely different story.
Homemade scooter on skis
I probably won’t discover America by saying that children know how to baffle their parents... My daughter has a scooter with small wheels, which she no longer likes because of the same small wheels, photo from the Internet.
And a small bicycle, again with small wheels, which is not satisfactory for the reason that my knees touch the handlebars, photo of a real bicycle.
So, the task was set to make a scooter out of a bicycle with large wheels. Having scratched the top of my head, I went to the garage... More on that later... Since a scooter with small wheels is no longer available, and at the “technical advice” my daughter and I decided to make a scooter on skis. What you need: free time (there’s plenty of it during the holidays!), scooter, pieces sheet metal and mini skis.
We disassemble the skis and drill through holes with a diameter of 4 mm.
Then we select the required sheet metal, 2mm thick, and mark it.
Before welding the cut parts, I decided to do this.
Trying it on for skis...Normal!
This is the main mechanic and initiator of all this disgrace.
We paint, dry, and put this “sandwich” together
It took two evenings, 3 hours each, to build this scooter—with an assistant. And in one I think faster. There are not many photos without a description (as I said above, more on this later) of our parallel project “Scooter on Big Wheels” with my daughter. The construction of the scooter occurs from the rear.
Post by user MishGun086 from the DIY community on DRIVE2
Make your own scooter from scratch
I go to a pretty fun engineering college (Harvey Mudd) where most people use some form of wheeled transportation, from longboards and unicycles to scooters and free lines.
Step 1: Design
Before I do any actual modeling, I sketch first for most of my projects, including this one. I use them to figure out the basic sizes I need. Once I had an idea of what I was going to do, I went around my campus with my laptop and tape measure and took pictures of all the styles of scooters that I liked. I ended up choosing the Razor A5-Lux for my scooter. I also decided early on that I wanted to make it out of aluminum, with a laser cut acrylic deck and maybe some LEDs for night cruising.
After 20 minutes of taking measurements on someone's A5-Lux, I had all the measurements I needed for the next round of sketches. I then went to Google SketchUp and made a full 3D model. Even though the design details with small parts were not 100% accurate in the SketchUp model, I used the model to figure out what other aluminum stock I needed and the specific cutting length for some parts.
Later in the build (about 5 months later) I learned SolidWorks in an engineering class. By this time I had most of the parts done in the build, so making an accurate model was much easier this time. I used this model to figure out the exact length and location of the "folding bar support" but I'll get into that later.
I used mostly 8-32 cap screws and 8-32 button caps, with a few 5-40 cap screws for the little things.
After much online research, I discovered that large wheelchair casters are cheap, durable, and fairly affordable.
I initially decided that I wanted the deck to be coated with clear acrylic paint, so I also ordered a piece of 1/4 clear green from E-Street Plastics. I use a laser cutter to cut the deck.
Step 2: Deck Support
I started with supporting the deck and worked through it with subsequent pieces. The deck stand is the part that supports the base of the scooter.
I used two lengths of 1" x 1/2" x 20 5/8" 6061 aluminum as "rails" and joined them with two 2" pieces of the same material to create a support for the deck. I used a bandsaw to cut them roughly to length and then cut the ends to length on a router bit with a ~1" end mill (I did this for both the guide and connecting sections). Each connection has two black oxide 1” 8-32 socket head cap screws, with a counter hole to keep the heads flush.
For now I just drilled one 17/64" hole (just over 1/4") in the front of the rails to attach the steering column posts. I'll deal with the rear wheel mount later.
Step 3: Strut and Steering Column Sleeves
I then made the uprights, parts of which extend from the deck support axis to the steering column. I made this piece from a slightly different stock, I used 1 1/4" x 1/2" instead of 1".
Anyway, I cut the two pieces to about 16 inches and faced one side of each. The other side had to be routed at an odd angle, so I left one side rough for now.
I also cut two 1" sections of the connector and looked at both sides for length.
Now comes the tricky part: processing this strange angle. This would have been easy if the shop manager had allowed me to swap out the mill vise for a turntable, but he didn't, so I had to get creative. I ended up using regular T-slot fasteners to attach the parts to the mill bed and then put together a very sketchy system to make sure the parts were aligned at 32.3 degrees to the z-axis of the mill. I had an angle gauge, but due to some physical limitations I had to use it in tandem with two squares to make sure everything lined up. And I had to do it twice, once for each piece.
Luckily both parts came out well!
I then attached the two pieces along with the connector pieces. For these connections I used 1" stainless 8-32 button head screws and drilled the heads using a .33" end mill. To finish the piece, I drilled a matching 17/64" hole at the end to connect it to the deck support.
The next part was even more difficult. I had to mill matching 1/8″ deep cutouts into the steering column bushing (the thing that the steering column rotates through). Again, I had to press the piece directly onto the mill frame, which was heavier than before because it was a pipe. It also made it difficult to line up the corner correctly because I didn't have a clear edge to look down on since it was rounded. After much thought, I made the cuts and the joint turned out to be normal. You can see how the pieces fit together in the pictures above.
Step 4: Steering Column
This was definitely the coolest part of the scooter. The steering column needs to turn smoothly even under high pressure, and aluminum-on-aluminum friction isn't good, so I had to figure out how to isolate all the aluminum in the rotating joint.
I used lubricated brass bearings that sit around the steering column and slide inside the steering column bushing to keep the column separated from the bushing, and a brass washer between the top of the bushing and the shaft bushing ensures that the top of the joint is insulated. The bottom joint needs to support a lot of weight, so I splurged and bought a support bearing to lubricate the steering gear.
I made the steering column itself from two telescopic tubes. The lower, larger diameter is about 1 1/4" outside diameter, and the inside diameter is 1". I installed a threaded plate on the inside of the inner pipe and drilled a matching hole in the outer pipe. These holes are positioned at the correct height and a threaded handle holds them together. In the future I may mill a slot into the outer tube so you can easily adjust the height, but for now I'm leaving it at the set height.
I used a 1" end mill to make a rounded cut in the top of the inner tube so another 1" tube could fit through the top to make the handle bars. I made a plug from 3/4" solid rod and inserted it into the top of the inner tube so that the handlebar would cut into the plug.
Step 5: Front Wheel Bracket
I made the front wheel bracket from 2" x 1/4" aluminum, with two connecting pieces from 2" x 1/2". I spaced the connectors 1" apart and connected them to the sides with the same 8-32 screws. After I drilled and tapped all the holes, I used a CNC router to cut a 1.25" hole in the top of the connector and a 1.25" recess in the bottom. This way the steering column can slide through the top and recess into the bottom. This allows for easy weld alignment and provides additional rigidity. Unfortunately my college doesn't have good welding facilities and we can't weld aluminum at all. So, I had to take some pieces home over spring break so I could boil them. I'll talk more about welding in step 9.
I drilled a .316 hole to fit the 5/16" axle and then I recessed the axle to fit the snap rings that hold the axle in place.
Step 6: Rear Wheel Bracket
This could be the simplest piece of work. I used a 1/4" x 1 1/4" rod connected by a small piece of 1/2" x 1 1/4" and attached them with four 8-32 pan head screws. I left the other ends uneven because I wasn't sure where exactly to install the bracket at this stage of the build.
Step 7: Folding Mechanism
For the folding mechanism, I wanted a strip attached between the posts and the deck support, creating a triangle around the main hinge and preventing it from folding. I also wanted to be able to pull the bottom pin, fold the scooter, and then attach the same bar back to the rear wheel so it was folded. Doing one of them would be easy, but doing both is difficult because I had to satisfy the angle and length of both triangles. This problem was tricky enough that I knew I'd be screwed if I tried to just solve it, so I decided to rebuild the entire scooter in Solid Works so I could get the dimensions right for the part.
Since I had most of the scooter already built, it only took a few hours to build in Solid Works because I already had all the dimensions and parts determined.
Once I assembled the scooter model, it took about an hour to adjust the drop bar length and hole placement before the scooter locked in the unfolded position at a right angle and locked in the folded position so that the steering column was parallel to the deck. I took the measurements from the model and used them to make the real part.
Step 8: Welding
When designing, I tried to limit welding as much as possible, but there were still a few connections that simply couldn't be made with screws. This is the connection between the steering struts and bushing, the steering column and front wheel bracket, and the ends at the drop bar.
I also don't have a TIG welder at home, but I read online that you can actually weld aluminum with a MIG setup if you use special aluminum filler wire instead of regular steel reinforcement and use 100% argon as the shielding gas. We also had to replace the sleeve, gun and tip because I guess you can't use any parts that touched the steel welding wire. Something happens on a chemical level that ruins your aluminum weld if your material or filler wire is contaminated with the steel. Because of this, you should also brush the material with a ton of stainless steel brush to clean it before welding (stainless steel is fine for some reason).
Most of the joints I needed to weld were pretty thick so I didn't have to worry about burning through or making anything bad (I actually had to add heat with a butane torch just to get it hot enough to welding) but the steering column tube is very thin and I needed to weld it to the 1/2" plate, so I decided to just use a set screw instead of welding. If this connection doesn't work out later, I'll go through the welding problem.
Step 9: Progress Photos
Here are just some photos of the progress.
Step 10: Acrylic Deck
I made the deck out of 1/4" clear green acrylic.
I used the Solid Works model to set up the dimensions of the deck, and I ended up exporting the model to a .dxf file so I could cut it directly with a laser cutter.
The not the most fun part of this was drilling and tapping 20 holes for all 8-32 pan head screws that hold the deck to the rails.
I usually use a tap in the router chuck and tap each hole immediately after drilling it so that the mill zeros right above the hole. This provides the best tap possible, but it takes forever because you have to take the drill chuck out and change collets and everything, and then change the Z axis height, which is very tedious if you have to do it 20 times in quick succession, so, in this case, I decided against it and just tapped by hand. My wrist was very sore after the last tap, although I'm glad I only used 8-32 screws instead of something larger, otherwise my hand might have fallen off.
I cleaned out all the coolant and reattached the deck! This looks amazing!
Step 11: Finishing Touches and Future Plans
Surface Finish:
I used 240 and 320 grit sandpaper on the aluminum in some areas where the scratches were noticeable. I then used Scotch-Bright overlay and finished the rest of the aluminum with this, providing a nice smooth matte finish.
Final assembly:
I went around each connection and cleaned any remaining cutting fluid from the screw threads and tapped holes. I then put Thread Lock on all the screws before reassembling.
Results.
As always, there is some work to be done, although I am very happy with the current state of the scooter. Here are some things I'd like to work on so far, and I'll add updates as I complete these parts.
Add a battery pack and super-bright white LEDs under the acrylic deck.
Implement a rear PIN-lock mechanism so that I can lock the scooter in the folded position.
Make some kind of braking mechanism.
Make a slot connecting the two holes on the outer steering column so that the handles can be adjusted.
Buy the best wheel bearings to make your ride easier.
Remove more material from the inside of the steering column bushing to reduce steering friction.
How far can a person cover by pushing off the ground once? If this is one step, then on average it is less than meters. If you run up and push off harder, you can jump four or five meters. Therefore, imagine our surprise when a modest, no longer young man appeared in the editorial office and declared that he could move 50 m with one push of his leg, and even with a load of 30 kg. The visitor had some kind of strange cart in his hands. We, understandably, doubted it.
And when they doubted it, they demanded proof.
“Well, please,” the owner of the strange cart told us. - Let's go outside. Here, on the asphalt, we were convinced that we were not being deceived.
Upon closer inspection, the “cart” turned out to be a converted children's scooter. Our guest, engineer Sergei Stanislavovich Lundovsky, managed to turn it into an unusual vehicle for adults.
How did you manage to “grow up” the scooter? What is the essence of his alteration? First of all, the maximum permissible lowering of the platform on which the “driver” stands. The ground clearance of the converted scooter when loaded is only 30 mm. But this, as practice has shown, is quite enough for driving not only on smooth asphalt, but also on country paths. When the bottom hits uneven roads, the scooter simply slides forward. And if a larger obstacle is encountered, the driver can help his car by pulling the steering wheel up and thus lifting the front wheel.
Lowering the platform lowered the center of gravity of the machine, which had a beneficial effect on its stability and made it easy to reach the ground with a “push” leg, without bending the supporting leg at all. And thanks to this, the driver gets tired much less than when using a scooter with a standard (high) platform.
The car is made on the basis of the children's sports scooter "Orlik" (costs 14 rubles). As shown in the picture, the fork legs leading to the rear wheel and the front part of the roller blade have been cut off. A new platform is made from a steel angle 20X20X5 mm to the size of the boot; in the drawing its length is 320 mm, which is the most advantageous. The front part of the factory sports scooter is connected to the platform with a clamp welded to the pipe and four M8 bolts. A plate about 20 mm thick is placed under the clamp legs, with the help of which the platform inclination that is most convenient for the driver can be found.
The length of the steering tube should be increased so that the driver can comfortably control the car without bending.
The rear wheel fork is made from the same angle as the platform itself.
A stamped luggage frame from a bicycle is used as a trunk, which is best placed above the front wheel. It is attached to the steering column head and to the front axle. You cannot place the trunk at the back, as the load makes it difficult for the pushing leg to move.
You should start learning to ride a roller skate on a flat, non-sloping asphalt area. The main attention is paid to practicing a long and strong, but not sharp kick with the leg, as well as mastering the movement of inertia. In this case, the steering wheel must be completely motionless, otherwise (due to increased resistance) the speed quickly drops.
During training, it is quickly determined which leg is the most efficient as a supporting leg and which as a pushing leg.
S. LUNDOWSKY, engineer
A cool scooter or “skating” project for a child from 2 to 4 years old. The scooter stool was made for a birthday. The homemade product completely replicates the toy produced in England under the trade name Zoomster. The cost of the toy and its delivery made it cost-effective to do it yourself. The design and fasteners were determined from the availability of materials at the time of building the scooter with your own hands. The master reveals all the secrets of building and upgrading a scooter. As always, there are step-by-step instructions for making parts and assembling the cataly with your own hands with a video, a drawing template and a large number of photos.
How to make a scooter stool for a child with your own hands
Materials and tools
While looking for a gift for a child on the Internet, I found what I was looking for - a scooter and a stool. But the price of the toy and non-Chinese delivery from England made me think about and specifically save on the purchase by making a scooter with my own hands. Searching the Internet for drawings did not yield any results. Apparently the toy is available to parents throughout the rest of the world. Having collected all the photos of the scooter on the Internet, I made a sketch and cut out two templates from corrugated cardboard for cutting out the main parts of the product under the project code “Katalo”. See photo.
In order to save money, materials available at hand were used: pieces of 10 - 12 mm plywood, cutting boards, self-tapping screws and furniture screws. Furniture casters were purchased specifically for the project. The following tools were used for manufacturing:
- jigsaw;
- Sander;
- drill/screwdriver with a set of drills and countersinks, brand tool used;
- construction knife.
Preparing parts for the Katalo project scooter
I drew the outlines of future parts on pieces of plywood using a template.
Project CATALOG. Transferring side contours 
Project CATALOG. Transferring base contours You will need to cut out four main parts for the project - the base, the seat (size 240 × 150 mm) and two sidewalls. And also three partitions with a width of 116 mm and a height of 170, 70, 50 mm, respectively. The work is carried out with a jigsaw. After sawing, the scooter parts, especially the edges, are polished.
It is better to carry out all work under a hood or in the open air. I drilled two holes with a diameter of 25 mm in the sidewalls for the steering stick, as well as two holes in the base for towing.
The steering stick was symbolically cut with a knife from the handle of a household mop, which will be held by the fourth generation of family members.
Handle length 350 mm. After preparing the parts, it is useful to combine all of them and check the tightness of the junction of the arcs to each other.
Assembling scooter stool parts
Assembly was carried out using self-tapping screws and furniture screws.
After combining the parts of the scooter, the joints are marked with a pencil and the attachment points are set. First, the upper part of the scooter is assembled. Holes are drilled in the attached parts, and holes are countersunk for recessing the countersunk heads of the self-tapping screws. On a flat horizontal surface, the parts of the sidewalls, seats and partitions are connected together. Don't forget to insert the steering wheel.
Project CATALOG. The upper part of the scooter is assembled Next, following the markings, holes are drilled in the base for attaching the upper part of the scooter. For reliability, the connection is made with furniture screws. You can find details about working with furniture screws here.
Installing wheels on a scooter stool
The issue of fastening wheels - furniture casters must be taken seriously. The difficulty is due to the thickness of the base. The screw with a round head should not turn when fastening. To do this, the attachment points for the rollers are marked at the corners of the base. Thin holes are drilled at the attachment points. When tightening the screws in a screwdriver, select the appropriate trigger position for the ratchet. The length of the screws is 10mm.
Initially, rollers were installed on the scooter as on the original, but operating experience has shown that it is wiser to install freely rotating rollers only in the front, and it is better to install fixed rollers in the seating area. See photo.
Project CATALOG. A modernized version of the scooter chassis Operating experience
In advertising for the scooter, the recommended age for a child was from 1.5 to 5 years, and some resellers suggested an age from 1 year. In fact, the child begins to cope with the toy after two years. A one and a half year old child does not reach the floor, and even if he does, he does not have enough strength to push. I think there should be no questions that this is a SUV scooter and its place is indoors on a flat floor. A short video selection of the scooter is shown below. At the age of 1.5 years the child does not reach the floor. At two years old, the child can already handle the toy. At three years old, the child uses the toy in full. Watch the video.
A child appreciates a scooter as a means of transport, as a stool, and as a place to store his favorite toys. Game moments involving transportation and booking of toys and “cargo” are easily learned and used. From the age of four, interest in the toy faded away. Speed and range of movement on a street scooter or balance bike I placed the scooter and stool in the shade. The master recommends a similar toy. The production time for the toy project was 2-4 pm. In conclusion, watch the video version of the construction of the Katalo scooter
