Riding Machines for Kids

The riding toys in this book make me want to make them all. You can buy a metal pedal car for under $200, but these you can customize with fun seats, windows, and colors. Be warned, these are for the experienced woodworker. They assume that you have access to a metal workshop to make the axles. I am crazy for these riding cars, dump trucks, fire engines and especially the one with the jump seat in the back. There are also swinging, rocking, and rolling horses and other animals, a wagon and a wheelbarrow. This book is worth every penny. My only caveat is that this book was written before safety rules, so beware. Some of the toys ride quite high, which could be a tipping issue; save these for off-driveway/sidewalk riding. I would also add safety belts to the seats. Some of the toys have no back at all to hold a child in place. One car tells you to upholster the seats with decorative tapestry nails, which I think would be too shiny and pretty and too easy to pull out; nail or staple the car covers instead.