Harsh and cold winter in the memory of each of us it is still associated with a festive and bright time. The reason for this is not only the most important holidays, but also childhood, which all of us loved to spend outside, sledding, skating or even skiing. If you want to plunge back into childhood, then we suggest you make such a sleigh with your own hands.

What to make it from?

If the material itself does not raise any questions, then there are still many unclear issues regarding the shape, length, thickness and type of wood, which will be sorted out in this article.

It is best to purchase ready-made small boards of processed wood, but if it is not possible to purchase them, then you can cut them out of wood yourself using a woodworking machine. To process wood you will also need a sander, a jigsaw and a drill.

In addition to a block of wood, you will also need metal strips; aluminum strips are best suited for sleds.

For drawings and making various marks, you will need to take a standard student set: ruler, pencil and paper.

Wooden tenons, screws, round cross members, and glue are small, but important details, with the help of which children's wooden sleds cannot be assembled.

Instructions

Below is one of the options for assembling a wooden sleigh for children with your own hands. The whole process is divided into the following stages:

• The first stage is preparing the drawing and main parts. First you need to draw a drawing of the runners on paper. They should not be small, but should correspond to their actual size. After completing the drawing, you need to transfer it to the tree using a pencil. The marked future runners must be cut out using a jigsaw. It is important to remember that the drawing must be drawn up for each of the runners separately and they must also be cut out according to a separate drawing. Afterwards, you need to use a grinding machine to make the runners suitable for use. If you plan to make a large sled, then you need to glue extension strips to the runners on both sides (front and back) using glue and screws.

This process must be approached very carefully and patiently, since glue that has not dried can lead to breakage, and incorrectly installed screws will interfere with subsequent grinding of the entire new elongated runner structure. At this point, the difficult first stage can be considered completed.

• The second stage is fastening the runners. This stage is highlighted separately, as it will require, as usual, accuracy and will take some time. First you need to use a drill to drill holes in the middle of each of the runners, then you need to do the same with the crossbars. At this stage, it is important to properly coordinate the holes of the runners and crossbars so that they can be fastened to each other.
• The third stage is preparing the seat. You can cut the seats to your taste. They can be made of narrow boards, several wide ones, or even in the form of one continuous seat. The distance between the boards in this case should not be less than 5 mm. The main thing is to match them with the size of the runners. In order to do this, you need to drill holes in the places where they will be attached to the latter. The seat boards are secured with spikes.
• The fourth stage is the final one. Skids, like any other wooden products must be protected from any external influences. To this end, to lower parts In contact with the surface, metal (aluminum) sheets are attached. This is done using screws. At this point, the hand sled can be considered ready.

What else do you need to know?

Some necessary tools You can always replace them with cheaper and disposable ones. You can avoid unnecessary expenses, for example, on grinder just for the sake of the sleigh alone. It will be replaced by sandpaper.

It is also not necessary to purchase wooden blocks separately; it is enough to use leftover wood from other buildings or repair work.

Any hard wood is suitable for a homemade sled.

Screws can easily be replaced with nails or a drill-hammer. You just need to buy good stainless steel nails.

There are a lot of options for sled designs. They can differ both in design (with a back, with a seat, with carvings, with boards, with additional runners) and in design.

The most important thing is that new sleds should not lie idle; they should be tested at the first snowfall, so you will not only have fun, but you will also be able to clearly see whether additional processing or repairs are required.

After you can make a sled with your own hands, even if it’s for children, winter will become an even more long-awaited and fun time for you. Good luck!

To see how sleds are made, see the following video.

A snowmobile sled is a must-have attribute comfortable winter travel over long distances. Having loaded all the necessary luggage into them, you can go hunting or fishing or on any other trip.

A sled is a great addition to a pannier that can hold all the essentials, but cannot pack large, heavy items. Thanks to their use, the capabilities of the snowmobile owner are significantly expanded.

If you want to become the happy owner of such a design, you don’t have to buy them at all - you can make it quite easily with your own hands.

Snowmobile sleds - types of structures and the principle of their operation

There are several main types of snowmobile sleds, and each of them has advantages and disadvantages. The sled is very versatile in its design. They easily attach to all types of snowmobiles. For example, for a Yamaha snowmobile, Russian Mechanics, Ermak, Viking 540, Dingo 150, BRP and Varyag 550.

In order to choose the type that suits you, you need to consider several factors:

• the routes and trails you need to navigate, features of snow cover and terrain;
• type of cargo transported;
• driving style.

For more information about snowmobile sleds, watch the video:

Volokushi - description and dimensions of plastic snowmobile sleds

Sleigh-drags are the most simple option.

They have several advantages:

• compactness and low weight;
• simplicity and speed of loading and unloading luggage;
• The drag body body does not freeze.

However, drags have a serious drawback - due to the design features, their front part is often damaged. This type of sled is inexpensive, and making it yourself is impractical.

Passenger sleighs can be found infrequently. They usually consist of a housing made of plastic or plywood mounted on skids.

For greater passenger comfort, the design of the passenger sleigh can be sprung, and lighting and heating can be installed in the cabin.

They are not easy to find on sale, but such designs are sometimes made by winter fishermen and other outdoor recreation enthusiasts during the cold season.

A passenger sled can carry one or even several passengers, therefore, having only one snowmobile, the owner of this design can take a large company out into the snowy nature.

The main disadvantages are the large dimensions and weight of the structure. Because of this, passenger sleds can only be attached to powerful, high-powered snowmobiles.

Cargo sleds are the most versatile and practical option. They are designed more complexly than drags, but at the same time much simpler than passenger ones. These sleds have a large load capacity with small dimensions.

Due to the relatively small contact area with the surface, cargo sleds have a smoother ride than drag sleds - such structures easily slide on their runners, easily overcoming obstacles.

The luggage in them is protected much better. Below are photos of a homemade snowmobile sled.

Due to the fact that their skis are located on long distance from each other, cargo sleds can also boast much greater stability than drag sleds.

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A standard cargo sled consists of three main elements:

• frame;
• runners;
• flooring

The frame is the basis of the entire structure. The runners are attached to the bottom of the frame using racks. There is a flooring on top, on which the loads will be placed.

For greater convenience and functionality, the frame of the cargo trolley must be equipped with railings and a covered structure placed on it.

In such a box, cargo will be reliably protected from snow and wind.

Required materials

What are skis for a snowmobile sled made of? Let's consider the structure simple option snowmobile sled from metal pipe. In order to make such a design, you will need:

• profiled metal pipe 20×20, wall thickness - 2-3 mm;
• round plastic pipes for making skis;
• sheet metal;
• plywood sheets 10-15 or more millimeters thick.

A sled with a metal frame is much more reliable and durable than structures made from plastic pipes.

Their disadvantage is their greater weight, but they will serve for a long time and without failure. The only thing that may be needed when operating such a design is periodic replacement of plastic skis, which will wear out over time or may be damaged when hitting rocks and roots.

Making a homemade sled for a snowmobile with your own hands

• Weld from four pipes rectangular metal frame.
• If you want to provide the structure with high strength and make it possible to transport heavy loads, make several additional crossbars.
• Weld vertical posts to the frame, their number depends on the length of the sled, best option- from 2 to 5 racks on each side. The more of them there are, the more reliable the design will be.

• Make out tube skis. It is better if they are flat - in this case the sled will fall under the snow much less. To straighten the pipes, you need to use a hair dryer.
• If such a tool is not at hand, the pipes can be heated over an open fire to level them, but this must be done with caution. After heating, the pipe must be placed under the board, a weight placed on top and left until it cools. After this, you need to make an upward bend in front of each pipe.
• Secure the runners on the frame. In order for the sled to pass through the snow as easily as possible, upper part each ski should extend directly to the level of the frame and be attached to the front of the frame.
• Also secure the drawbar to the front of the frame. To do this, reinforce the mounting location with a metal sheet and cut a bushing into it.
• After this, you need to fix it on the frame. plywood flooring- and the sled is ready for use.

Results

Because homemade sled for a snowmobile with your own hands will be used in winter, you need to carefully select materials and components that should withstand the lowest temperatures well.

In addition, it is necessary to take into account that the structure will be subject to shock quite often, therefore, they must also be very durable.

If you choose materials and components not carefully enough, the sled may simply fall apart on the move after a few months of use, or even earlier.

If you decide to make not cargo, but passenger sled, the issue must be approached very carefully. Safety must come first - this applies both to the choice of materials and to the care with which all parts must be connected.

Speeds when traveling on a snowmobile can be high, and encounters with obstacles usually occur unexpectedly, so you need to think through everything important points so that the design of your passenger sled is as reliable as possible.

The presence of a sled provides many additional possibilities, and making such a structure with your own hands is not so difficult. Its construction will not require large expenses and will not take much time.

It is important to take into account that there is no universal sled for all occasions - which means that ideally it is worth having a set of several different designs, which will be sufficient for any situation.

If you make them yourself, carefully approach the choice of materials and the work process itself. In this case, the sled you make will be reliable and durable and will serve you for many years.

Whatever devices for winter recreation are invented, sleds remain leaders. They have gone through so many modifications, they are made from so many different materials, including with your own hands, that you can get confused in them. We will try to tell you more about wooden sleds.

Historical background

The ancestors of the sleigh are considered to be drags, which were used by people even after the invention of the wheel. The first sleds were a very simple device: a seat and runners tightly fastened together. People tied oxen, horses, and dogs to poles tied together, while the back of such a sleigh dragged along the ground.

Rus' in the pre-Petrine period had rather bad roads, which is why sleighs were popular not only in winter time, but also in the summer. Moreover, riding a sleigh was the most honorable, so sleighs were especially often used for special occasions. Their appearance resembled a boat with edges curved at the back and front, or a long box tapering towards the front edge. The sleigh was pulled by one or two horses and one driver. The king's carts had shelves (ledges), on which two stewards were placed at the feet, and at the heels? two boyars.

In Rus', sleighs were called “carriers”, “drovnyas”, “kaptans”. and?huts?. Today the following types of sleds are known:

• wood? sleighs without a body, used by peasants;
• cart? This is a covered sled with a backrest;
• sledge, otherwise move? low, wide sleds;
• toboggan? This is a sled without runners, which today is used for special riding. gutter by athletes;
• Kerezhka? this is a sled up to two meters long with a hole in the nose for straps;
• sled? hand sleds made of wood;
• buer? this is a sled used in sports, equipped with a sail and designed for driving on ice;
• skeleton? sleds without runners or steering, used in sports;
• bean? sleigh that has steering, are used in sports.

Were sleds made of wood before? beech, birch, linden, ash, oak? and then varnished. The runners were also made of wood, but to protect them from wear they were reinforced with metal plates. Today they are made entirely of metal, plastic, and so on. However, most craftsmen make them with their own hands from wood.

Application

Sled? It's not just fun for kids. This is, first of all, vehicle. They are still used today, for example, in rural areas for transporting cargo (they are harnessed by horses). It was customary for peasants to make sleighs according to special purpose? manual rolling, universal (transportation of people and household needs), passenger cars with camber runners, manual utility vehicles, ordinary passenger cars. Naturally, they had no decor, and they themselves were simple.

Also sleigh? This is an important equipment for luge sports. They are made of wood, but special technology to reach the appropriate speed.

Also in cities you can find sleighs decorated, carved or painted to resemble Khokhloma, which can be rented for a walk, for children to ride, or ordered to celebrate an event.

Today, not only horses or dogs are harnessed to sleighs. With the development of mechanical engineering, snowmobiles and motorized towing vehicles appeared. Despite their diversity, hunters and fishermen cannot do without drag sleds (including those made of wood) for them. Modern models sold are distinguished by reliability, frost resistance, durability, safety and comfort. They try to make the runners iron to protect the bottom and extend their service life. Some craftsmen make such sleds with their own hands.

Model range

There are many types of sleds, among which the most popular and popular are:

• wooden folding ones, which save space during downtime due to the folding mechanism. They have a very durable construction;
• wooden vintage. Their main advantage? stability due to their heaviness. By the way, thanks to the latter, the downhill is guaranteed;
• wooden for two children close in age. Is this real joy for parents? no disputes in the fight for place. Just a perfectly calm walk;
• wooden with long handles, with a back. Best option for walking with children aged from one to three years.

In principle, the material for making sleds has not changed today? birch, ash, any conifers. Main? original quality of wood and its correct processing.

So let's buy it?!

Some people may have a question: what is the best way to do it? buy a sled or make it yourself, with your own hands? In principle, the question is rhetorical, and it is difficult to give an unambiguous answer to it.

You should proceed from your capabilities. For example, the simplest wooden sled, without decorations or additions, can be bought for an average of 1000 rubles. What if you already have the material? wooden blocks? this speeds up and reduces the cost of the matter. If there is no material, then you can buy it for an average of 500 rubles. All that remains is to measure, cut out the parts and connect them. If you have the desire, there will be no problem with how to make a sled with your own hands.

For process self-made sled you will need the following materials and tools:

• the material itself? tree;
• screws or wood glue;
• fine-grained sandpaper;
• drill and jigsaw.

Before you start making a homemade sled, you need to calculate everything. To do this, you should draw on paper the details of the future sleigh in life size and then adjust them according to size.

On a wooden base for the runners, you need to draw a circle using a compass, and then cut it out. To secure the cross members, you need to drill blind hole and use round spikes. Having secured the crossbars, it is necessary to mark the center in them. Then drill the blind hole again. When the glue has completely dried, all the tips of the spikes should be trimmed and then sanded.

It is necessary to cut grooves on the sides of the seat for joining with the runners. The pieces of wood need to be glued to the back of the runners, but exactly where the edges of the runners will go. In those places where the runners will be connected to the seat, it is necessary to re-drill the holes for the round tenons.

If you want to make runners with strips of steel or aluminum, you need to drill holes for screws in the places where they are fastened. Required Items for a child seat, you can also make it from plywood, for example, attaching it using the same round spikes.

If you decide to make the sled longer, you should use wooden slats rather than round crossbars at the front and back. To make a seat, you will need to use not three, but four planks and place them on round spikes. If you decide to make strips of aluminum or steel, they should, accordingly, be longer than the previous version.

This is how easy it is to make a sled from wood with your own hands, spending literally one day on it.

Winter always comes unexpectedly, even if you are really looking forward to it: one morning, waking up and looking out the window, we will see the long-awaited snow, which so attracts the kids to frolic! And adults are usually not averse to cheerfully throwing a couple of snowballs, enjoying the clean frosty air and squinting at the sparkling white, still untouched snow cover.

It would not be a mistake to say that the main attribute of winter games for children (and often adults) is sledding.

Parents who have to take their children to... kindergarten; An important help in the household is a sleigh, adapted solutions for various tasks. As a rule, any sled can be bought in a retail or online store: the choice of models is huge, the price range is very wide, the range of materials used and colors is also, as they say, for every taste. But what if you are a creative person, and your skilled hands miss the tools? Of course, get down to business! And the money saved, the feeling of satisfaction with the result and the child’s pride in his father, who “can do anything!” will be a well-deserved reward.

So, before you get down to business, you should choose the type of sled, think about its design and structure, and also decide on the materials. Let's be honest, you can assemble a classic-type sled on your own (“on your knees”)
or Finnish sleds, which are distinguished by the presence in the front of a seat with a backrest and elongated runners with small anti-slip platforms for the feet.

As an option, you can consider a snow scooter with a front turning ski and steering wheel, but this is somewhat beyond the scope of this article and, in the strict sense, is not a sled.

The design and structure of children's sleds can be very diverse - from simple ones, aimed at solving strictly utilitarian problems, to carved ones, using openwork elements and parts from bent wood, usually in a pseudo-traditional style. It will not be a secret that everyone home handyman chooses a design according to his capabilities and technical skills, often based on available materials.

In the old days, at any time of the year, where there were no roads and the soil was too wet and soft, where even a cart could not pass, all-terrain sleds were used. The simplest form sleds were called drags. They consisted of two poles, one end of which was attached to the sides of the horse, and the other was dragged along the ground. The ends were connected to each other by a crossbar, and a load was attached to the crossbar. When the shape of the dragging ends was improved, the result was a sleigh.

Types of sleds

Sleighs are divided into two types:

• with high runners;
• with low runners.

Sleds with high runners were used in areas with loose snow and rough roads. At the North Pole, this type of sled is called a “sledge.” The runners are set high so that the snow is not raked up by the sled itself. IN North America"toboggans" are used. This is a sled with high runners, curved upward. The bottom of such a sled is solid. IN Western Europe the sleds were used only for sport. Therefore, the shapes of the sleighs are pretentious and unusual, and since the snow in those parts is loose and melts quickly, the runners are set high.

With low runners, the sled is much more stable, however, it is intended for roads with compacted snow. These sleighs include Russian sleighs. In the 18th century in Russia, a wheeled carriage winter period a ban was established so that the compacted road would not deteriorate. Therefore, the owners of the carriages removed the wheels and installed a runner in place of each, thus placing the carriage on the runners. A sleigh with a carriage-shaped body was called a “carriage.” Empress Elizaveta Petrovna once rode in such a winter cart.

Russian sleighs are also divided by size, purpose and design:

• firewood;
• slides;
• sledges;
• urban;
• carpet;
• Chukhonsky.

Drovni are working sleds without a back or bends. Designed for transporting logs and firewood.

The sled is a durable, medium-sized sled. Typically, firewood was attached to the back of the slides. Thus, long loads were transported in the form of a log house.

Roswalni are light sleds with a low back or no back at all, and rope weaving between the bends and the flooring. Designed for work purposes and transportation of heavy loads.

City sleighs are lightweight outdoor sleighs with a small body for one or two passengers. The runners are thin and short, but due to the fact that they are set quite wide, the sled remained stable during maneuvers

A carpet sled is a large travel sled with an additional passenger seat in the back of the sawhorse. The inside was upholstered with carpets, designed for riding large quantity people.

The Chukhon sleigh is a wide, insulated sleigh for outings. The bast body was insulated from the inside with cotton wool, and covered with thick fabric on top. They were harnessed from one to three horses.

Currently, sleighs are considered an exotic form of transport and it is almost impossible to see them within the city. However, in rural areas where cleaning snowy roads produced, not so scrupulously, a sled can be found in every second place. After all, the same sledges are very convenient for transporting firewood, hay or bags of grain. A road sleigh is already an indicator of the level of skill or wealth. In addition to horse-drawn ones, sleds designed for snowmobiles have come into wide use.

Sleigh material

What are horse-drawn sleighs made of? Unfortunately, there are no clear restrictions and GOST standards when designing sleds. Masters mainly take measurements from ready-made exhibits or use knowledge passed down by inheritance. Also, there are carriage workshops where sleighs are made by experienced personnel using different tree and metal processing machines.

When making a sled, the lightness of the material is important so that the horse is not subjected to heavy loads during transportation. And since the design itself is quite large, the choice of material must be approached with great responsibility.

In the old days, sleds were made from pure wood without the use of nails, since metal was very expensive. Over time, the sleds began to be strengthened with metal sheets, bolts and welding. Currently they are even used plastic pipes. And so, what kind of material is used in modern sled manufacturing:

• wood (oak, ash, birch, elm, bird cherry, linden);
• steel (stainless, carbon);
• plastics

Sleigh structure

A sled is, first of all, a structure that consists of parts, so first you need to understand its structure. Let's take sledges as an example. Why them? Because sledges are a cross between woodshoes and road sleighs. If desired, just a minor upgrade is enough to get one or the other.

Let's look at the structure of wooden sledges, which were manufactured by the Golitsyn convoy-building plant.

Fig.1 Sleigh - sledge. General view.

a) side view;

b) top view.

• runner;
• undercut;
• forged bracket;
• hoof;
• bolt for fastening the skid;
• bar;
• frame;
• lateral outlet;
• flooring;
• shield;
• front bar;
• steel bar;
• rolling pin;
• cross member of side branches;
• rope;
• cross boards of the shield.

The main part of any sled is the runners (1). As can be seen in Fig. 1, the length of the runners in the already bent state is 2250 mm, and the height of the bent part does not exceed 800 mm. The cross-section of the timber from which the runners are bent within 80 mm, the distance between their midpoints is 570 mm - this is the track width. From the undercut (2) to the extreme point of the arc of the runners, the distance should be no more than 600 mm, and from the place where the runners are attached to the front bar (11) to the extreme point of the arc - 420 mm.

The length of the frame (7) is 2100 mm, and the decking (9), which is attached to the frame, should be within 1500x700 mm. The distance between the extreme points of the bends (8) should not exceed 1300 mm.

Fig.2. Sleigh - sledge. Frame and mount

a) frame design;

b) frame fastening;

c) forged bracket for the shaft.

• cross bar;
• longitudinal bar;
• runner;
• mounting bracket;
• hoof;
• steel strip.

The frame is attached to the runners using hooves with a cross-section of 30x15 mm (5), fastening brackets with a cross-section of 50x3 mm (4) and steel strips with a cross-section of 50x3 mm (6). The distance between the runners and the frame varies from 100 to 300 mm. Holes for the hooves must be made in the frame in advance.

The frame strengthens the structure and becomes rigid due to the uniform fastening of the cross bars (1) to longitudinal beam(2). At this point, the main thing is to maintain strict parallels so that in the future the sled does not drift to the side and overturn.

To protect a person from the snow that flies from under the horse’s hooves, a shield (10) is installed, the lower end of which is attached to the runners, and the upper end to the front bar (11) - this is the place where the curved ends of the runners are rigidly attached. A rolling pin (13) is attached in front of this block, on which the front ends of the side branches are held. To ensure that parts 10, 11 and 13 hold well at the point of contact, they are reinforced with steel rods (12) and pulled through the upper structure to the frame, where they are secured in the runners themselves. In the side branches, as well as in the flooring, it is necessary to make holes in advance for weaving in rope (15).

A steel bracket is also attached to each runner (Fig. 1a - 3, Fig. 2c), which is intended for attaching shafts.

DIY sleigh

Before you start making a sled, you need to decide for yourself what kind of sled it will be. Since we have already examined the structure of the sleigh as a whole, and the object of consideration was the sledge, it’s time to concentrate the practical part on the traveling sleigh.

And so, the first thing we need is dimensions. Travel sleds are famous for their stability due to their track width, however, the roads on which the sled will travel should be taken into account. The most practical solution to this issue is to measure the bottleneck on the proposed route. But if this is not available, then you can use the general dimensions.

The width between the runners is up to 900 mm.

The length of the runners when bent is from 1700 mm.

Body width – up to 1200 mm.

The height of the sled from the ground to the bottom of the body is up to 300 mm.

The length of the shafts depends on the size of the horse - about 1200 mm.

The most labor-intensive and essential part in making a sled is the runners. They must be strong enough and at the same time light. They are made from long pieces of wood, steel or plastic pipes, and to ensure greater contact with snow when driving, thin metal strips are welded to the pipes.

Metal runners for sleds

To make metal runners, stainless or carbon steel is used. The choice of steel depends on the master himself, and depending on what resources he has, the selected material will not affect the ride quality. The disadvantage of metal runners is their instability to severe frosts, under heavy loads in minus temperature the runners may crack.

Ideally, the runners would be forged from solid steel sheets, but not everyone has access to forge shops. Therefore, more popular in use steel pipes, with a diameter of 25-50 mm.

The length of the pipes should be 1-1.5 meters longer than the intended length of the sleigh, because the runners will have to be bent on both sides. In front - for a smooth ride, in the back - for the ability to reverse.

Pipe bending can be done in two ways:

• using a pipe bender;
• using heat.

A pipe bender facilitates the process of bending pipes. Curved runners can be connected to each other by additional pipes bent in a “P” shape. If you weld them to the runners at a distance of 200 mm from each other, the structure will become much stronger and stiffer. And the U-shaped frame will serve as hoofs onto which the decking is welded.

If your farm does not have a pipe bender, you will have to bend the pipes manually. To do this, it is necessary to pour sand into the pipe, preferably dry and clean, and heat the metal to a temperature that allows special effort produce deformation. Bending must be done slowly and carefully to prevent the metal from breaking. Also, it is necessary to strictly control the bending diameter so that the runners are as identical as possible. The role of hoofs in in this case will make metal racks from pipes with a diameter of 25 mm, which are attached to the finished runners by welding.

If the sled is needed for work purposes, then there is no need to bend the runners very high. So, for example, in Fig. 3 you can see a simplified version of the sleigh frame.

Rice. 3. Drawing of runners.

• pipe runners;
• U-shaped pipes;
• Metal flooring.

To enhance metal frame metal corners, profiles and channels are also used. All parts are attached to each other by welding. Welding areas are cleaned and polished so that there are no nicks.

Wooden runners for sleds

Working with wood is very labor-intensive and requires certain skills. A beginner will have to spend a lot of effort and resources to get strong and durable runners. To avoid extra costs, it is better to consult with experienced carpenters. If there are no such people in your environment, here are some recommendations from folk craftsmen.

First, you need to choose the wood from which the runners will arch. Oak, ash, birch, elm, bird cherry and linden are used in production. Bird cherry is the softest of all trees, viscous and bends well. Oak is the hardest of all, so it requires longer evaporation. Birch should be cut down in the spring, when it is at its juiciest.

Secondly, before bending, the tree must be prepared so that it becomes elastic. Most often, the tree is steamed for several hours. Some craftsmen steam it in a bathhouse, while others soak it in water for several months. Some even boil for a long time. There is also a method of steaming wood in its own juice. When the workpiece was wrapped in bark and placed in a smoldering fire for 2-3 hours. After which in in the right place did the bending. Whatever technology is chosen, in any of the options, when bending, the beam is likely to break. In this case, the main thing is not to stop, but to continue trying to achieve the goal. After all, a lot depends on the wood itself. If elm does not bend, try linden or birch. It is also recommended to cut the tree (every 6-8 cm) at the intended bend from the inside.

Thirdly, you need to bend the tree so that the diameter of the bend is the same on both runners. To do this, you will need a template and considerable force, which is applied during the bending process. Usually assistants are invited, but you can do it alone if you have a horse on the farm. For the template, a wide tree trunk is used, sawn along its entire length, in which a recess is made for the desired bending shape of the runners. Or the shape is created using hammered wedges, between which wood harvesting. There are craftsmen who bend the tree around the disk of a truck, securing the bending end with wire, but in this case the master must have strong nerves and several assistants.

Much can be simplified if the craftsman has free access to carpentry machines. After all, a beam, no matter how thick it is, is much harder to bend than a wood plate 10-15 mm wide. The curved plates are glued together and kept under pressure for several days. And then they are additionally bolted along the entire length. Such runners will last no less than runners made of solid wood.

Plastic runners for sleds

Plastic pipes are sometimes used for runners. Although this makes the design easier, this version of the sled will be limited in its cargo-carrying properties. Pipes are bent using blowtorch for plastic pipes. But such runners require sheathing with a metal strip so that the plastic is not damaged during the trip.

Assembling the sled frame

And so, the runners are ready, which means the most labor-intensive part is over. Regardless of what material your runners are made of, you should now focus on securing all the parts evenly so that the structure will be strong and reliable in the future.

If you have metal runners, but you want general design make it lighter, then you can combine metal with wood at this moment. If you use lightweight materials in the construction of the body, then the runners with the frame can be metal.

To prevent the sled from sagging under a heavy load, racks are installed on the runners, also known as hooves. Racks can be made of either wood or metal. Wooden racks They are bars with a cross section of 30x15 mm; metal ones use pipes with a diameter of up to 25 mm. They are attached to the runners at a distance of 20-30 cm from each other. The more racks, the stronger the sled will be. If the sled is not designed to carry large loads, two stands on each runner will be sufficient. The racks must be the same height and installed strictly opposite each other so that further installation of the crossbars maintains strict parallels.

The crossbars can be cut from the profile. Wooden posts are attached to the runners and crossbars using metal corners. Metal racks are welded to the runners and crossbars. You can make racks with crossbars in one piece; for this, the pipes are bent in the shape of a “P” and welded to the runners.

Flooring is laid on the crossbars. The metal flooring is either welded or bolted to the metal crossbars. Screwed to wooden beams wooden boards, which must fit tightly together to form a flooring.

The shield can also be metal or wooden, and is attached to the front crossbars. In the same area, only plates for attaching shafts are welded to the runners.

Body and finishing materials should be light, since there is no force load on them. Plywood is used for the sides, and thin boards are used for the seats.

Insulation of the body from the inside and exterior decoration– this is, entirely, a flight of imagination of the master. You can be creative in decorating your sleigh using artistic forging, wood carvings, oil painting and woven upholstery. The main thing is that the product pleases the eye of the master and is used for as long as possible.

Arch for horse

The sleigh is ready, the shafts are fastened to it, all that remains is to make an arch for the horse, to which the shafts are attached, connecting the entire mechanism of the sleigh into a single whole.

For the arc you will need a block of wood with a cross section of 50x70 mm and a length of 1.5-2 meters. Preparing the wood before bending is the same as for wooden runners. However, after the final bend, the ends of the arc are pulled together and tied with a tight rope. In this fixed position, the product is sent for drying, which lasts up to 40 days. Then the wood is primed, varnished or painted, and decorated with painting.

Whatever type of sled is chosen, making it requires a lot of patience, endurance and strength. It’s not for nothing that they say that you need to prepare a sleigh in the summer, because the time required for this is not just a couple or three hours. But on that frosty day, when you can’t see your own fence because of the snowdrifts, when transport will be absolutely useless due to the snow-covered roads, a sleigh ride through the snow-covered surroundings will pay off all the work that was spent on making a wonderful product.