Soap Box / Go Kart From Spares

My 6 year came up to me with a length of decking asking to build a Go Kart, without a thought the tools were straight out!

Creating a Go Kart from a single off cut length of decking sounds impossible! but the kids are quite small so measured them while sat on the floor (bum to feet with bent knees) to get the length.

3 pieces 200mm long for the seat and the remainder was cut in half for the axles

There was a little bit of paint left over from this build https://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Pirate-Ship-Playhouse/ so it got a nice coat.

4 off - 100mm castors

2 off - M12 x 1000mm threaded bar (+ nuts and washers)

10 off - 15mm saddle clamps + Tape (I couldn't source 12mm clamps)

and a few other bits, screws etc.

I ordered heavy duty castors as the wheels had bearings in them and also to use one of the castors for the steering joint.

Bolt the castor to the chassis

It was a bit stronger than expecting so I used an angle grinder to cut the castor then folded the arms flat.

Then attached the front axle to the newly shaped flat section. with 2 bolts and a few screws

Attach the axle to the wood using the saddle clamps (tape used round the axle to make up the difference in size)

Attaching the wheels

Rear axle - Nut (Up to the wood) - Washer - Wheel - Washer - Luck nut

Front Axle - Nut (Up to the wood) - Penny washer - 2 nuts - Penny washer - Washer - Wheel - Washer - Lock nut

once assembled cut the ends of the axle off with a hacksaw (using an angle grinder is quicker but melts the lock nut)

The double nuts between the penny washers give you somewhere to tie string to. This is helpful for steering.

Yes you can make a Go Kart out of an off-cut piece of decking!

The hardware needed was sourced from the local hardware store and the wheels are 'Heavy duty castors' from an online auction site.

Total build price £20

If we were to build another one it would have bigger wheels, these are a little bumpy.