FamilyFun GO-Cart User manual

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STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTION MANUAL
GO-CART
Designed and Built y Kevin Ayer

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1
Go-Cart: You Will Need
MATERIALS:
• 1½-inch diameter wood closet rod (at least 4 feet long)
• 2 (8-foot-long) 2 by 4 spruce studs
•½-inch AC/sanded plywood, half sheet (24 by 48 inches)
• Lawn mower replacement wheels with ½-inch hubs (with ball bearings),
two (10-inch) for the back and two (8-inch) for the front (we used
Power Care brand)
• 4 hex-style wheel bolts that fit a ½-inch bore wheel hub (generally sold to
go with the replacement wheels)*
• 4 (2- by 4-inch) angle brackets (we used Simpson brand, model #A24)
• 20 (2½-inch) coarse thread drywall screws
• 40 (1X-inch) coarse thread drywall screws
• 24 (1N-inch) pan head screws
•W-inch hex bolt (6 inches long)
•W-inch hex bolt (3½inches long)
• 10 (W-inch) flat washers
• 4 (½-inch) flat washers
• 6 (W-inch) lock nuts
• 6 (#4, or N- by 2½-inch) eye bolts with wood threads
•½-inch galvanized pipe fittings: 2 flanges and a 3-inch nipple with
threaded ends
• Lubricating oil
• 2 (7-foot-long) W-inch braided ropes
• Paint and paintbrushes
• Boat floatation cushion with straps
• 18-inch bungee cord
T LS:
•Tape measure
• Carpenter’s square
•Pencil
• Eye and hearing protection
• Dust mask
• Work gloves
• Jigsaw
• Circular saw (if you don’t have one, a jigsaw will suffice)
•W-inch power drill
• Drill bits
Spade style: 1½-inch and Y-inch
Twist syle: E/cb-inch, C/af-inch, W-inch, and ½-inch
Phillips power driver
• 2 (I/af-inch) wrenches (or 2 adjustables)
•O-inch wrench (or adjustable)
• Screwdriver
• 100 grit sandpaper
• File
• Utility knife
• Coffee can or paint can (for tracing)
* If you can’t find packaged bolts that go with
the wheels, you’ll need 4 (W-inch) hex bolts
with a collar, 2½inches long.
Photograph by Kevin Ayer
Photograph by Peter N. Fox

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2
Go-Cart: Cutting Directions
FIGURE 1
Cut the closet rod and the 2 by 4 spruce studs, as shown.
BRAKE LEVER STEERING BAR WASTE
20” 20”
CENTER SUPPORT FRONT AXLE REAR AXLE
BRAKE
BLOCK
36” 25” 25”6”
FOOT HOLD
14”
STEERING
COLUMN
SUPPORT
6O”
STEERING COLUMN
21”
BRAKE
BLOCK
6”
REAR AXLE BLOCKS
11” 11” 10”
FRONT AXLE BLOCKS
10”
WASTE
WASTE

3
Go-Cart: Cutting Directions
FIGURE 2
Cut the plywood as shown. To round the
corners on the seat pieces, use a pipe
flange and a large coffee or paint can to
trace circles as shown, then use the jig-
saw to cut around the outer curves (see
Figures A a d B). To make the brake lever
opening in the seat, drill 1½-inch-wide
holes through the wood, as shown, and
then use the jigsaw to cut out the wood
between the holes.
A
B
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Photographs by Kevin Ayer
12”
SEAT BACK SEAT
SIDE PANEL
SIDE PANEL
48”
16”
3K”
24”
10O”
24”
11K”
8”
1K”
3O”
WASTE
BRAKE LEVER OPENING

4
Go-Cart: Drilling Directions
FIGURE 3A
Use the W-inch twist bit to drill one hole through
each of the brake blocks (3 inches from one end
and 1Oinches from the side edge) and through
the brake lever (7Ninches from the bottom).
FIGURE 3B
Using the same W-inch bit, drill
a hole centered on the steering
column 1Oinches from the top.
Then slowly drill a W-inch hole
through the center of the steer-
ing bar (as shown in Figure 4).
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Drilling Tip:
Place a wood block underneath the piece you
are drilling to prevent blow-out splinters and
to protect your work surface.
FIGURE 4
Using the K-inch twist bit, slowly drill holes 1K-
inches in from each end of the steering bar, posi-
tioning them at a 90 degree angle to the center
hole. To help index the angle, insert a bolt or drill
bit in the center hole of the steering bar, and make
sure it is parallel with your work surface.
Photographs by Kevin Ayer
FIGURE 3A
FIGURE 4
7N”
3” 1O”
1K”
FIGURE 3B
K”H LES
BRAKE BL CKS
BRAKE LEVER
STEERING BAR
W”H LE

5
Go-Cart: Drilling Directions
FIGURE 5
Create countersunk pivot holes for fitting the pipe
flanges onto the front axle. First, mark a point on the
top of the center support 1Oinches from the front end
and 1Oinches from the edge. Use the 1K-inch spade
bit to drill a W-inch-deep hole at the mark. Drill a
matching countersunk hole on the underside of the
axle 12Kinches from the end and 1Oinches from the
edge. Then, use the Y-inch spade bit to drill through
the center of each of the 1K-inch-wide holes, this time
going all the way through the wood.
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Go-Cart: Piece Assembly
FIGURE 6
Thread the 3-inch pipe nipple into one of the
K-inch flanges (first applying a few drops of
lubricating oil to the threaded ends), and then
insert the nipple through the countersunk
hole in the center support. Attach the flange
to the center support using four 1N-inch pan
head screws.
Assembly Tip:
Pre-drill all the screw holes.
Photographs by Kevin Ayer
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 6
1O”
1O”
1O”
12K”
FR NT AXLE
FLANGE

6
Go-Cart: Piece Assembly
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FIGURE 7
Unscrew the nipple from the attached flange and
thread it into the second flange. Insert the nipple
up through the countersunk hole on the bottom
of the front axle, flip the axle over, and attach the
flange, again using four 1N-inch pan head screws.
FIGURE 8
Next, thread the free end of the nipple into the
first flange, turning the axle to tighten the con-
nection until there is about C/af-inch between the
center support and the front axle, and the pieces
pivot freely.
Photographs by Kevin Ayer
Photograph by Peter N. Fox
FIGURE 7
FIGURE 8
FR NT AXLE
CENTER SUPP RT
FR NT AXLE

7
Go-Cart: Piece Assembly
FIGURE 9
To assemble the go-cart frame, first use three 2K-inch
drywall screws to attach the back end of the center
support to the center of the rear axle, positioning it so
that the end of the support extends Ninch past the
back edge of the axle. Then use drywall screws to
attach the rear axle blocks to the top of the rear axle,
positioning them so that they overhang the back edge
by Ninch just as the center support does. They should
also extend Ninch over the ends of the axles where
the wheels will go. (Note: Overhanging these pieces
will help to better support the seat back and the
wheels when you attach them later).
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FIGURE 10
Attach the front axle blocks next, overhanging them
Ninch past the wheel ends of the axle but keeping
them flush with the long edges. (Note: while one end
of each front block supports the wheels, the other end
helps control the steering by acting as a stop that
prevents the axle from turning too far.)
Photographs by Kevin Ayer
FIGURE 9
FIGURE 10
N”VERHANG
N”VERHANG
CENTER
SUPP RT

8
Go-Cart: Piece Assembly
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FIGURE 11
Now it’s time to attach the wheels to the axles (the
larger ones to the back, the smaller to the front). To
create the assembly for each one, use a screwdriver
to remove the small plastic hub in the center of the
wheel rim. Then, thread a metal collar on a wheel bolt,
leaving about Kinch of bolt threads exposed between
the head of the bolt and the collar. Insert the bolt
through the K-inch hole on the smaller face of an
angle bracket as shown.
Slide a K-inch washer onto the bolt and insert the bolt
through the center of the wheel. Slide on a W-inch
washer, then screw on a W-inch lock nut, tightening it
until the assembly is snug but the wheel still spins freely.
FIGURE 12 (A & B)
Use four 1N-inch pan head screws to attach the wheel
brackets to the underside of the axle ends.
FIGURE 12 (A)
FIGURE 12 (B)
Photographs by Kevin Ayer
FIGURE 11
UNDERSIDE F AXLE
METAL C LLAR
ANGLE
BRACKET
UNDERSIDE
F
FRAME

Go-Cart: Piece Assembly
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FIGURE 13
ark the steering column 9 inches from the top. Butt
the steering column support up against the steering
column, centering it on the mark. Use two 2K-inch
drywall screws to secure the two pieces together.
FIGURE 14 (A)
FIGURE 14 (B)
FIGURE 13
FIGURE 14 (A & B)
Using eight 1X-inch drywall screws, attach the
steering column side panels, lining the edges up
with the top of the steering column and the side of
the steering column support, as shown.
Photographs by Kevin Ayer
9
STEERING
C LUMN
STEERING
C LUMN
SUPP RT