Toboggan

Made this toboggan for a friend’s kids. Was originally going to make a few toboggans this winter but I found making this pretty tedious and time consuming so I think that my other friends will have to wait until next year.

Steam bent 1/4 ash around MDF forms after soaking the kiln dried ash for a few days in water. The ash bent really nicely and didn’t end up with any cracks or splits. Did the traditional way of attaching the rope with leather loops rather than drilling holes through the cross members.

It’ll be interesting to see the long term durability of this; each ash slat is attached to each crossmember by two screws; this kind of breaks the cardinal rule in woodworking of allowing for wood movement. Will be interesting to see how wood movement affects this.

I was concerned that 1/4” thick ash wouldn’t be thick enough, but it is surprisingly strong.

Finished with 3 coats of Minwax “Tung” oil and paste wax.