Transform Your Junk Into a DIY Gravity Cart With Classic Looks: Made From a Bathtub

As I was growing up, I loved to tinker with things. From ripping apart broken phones, TVs, and radios to beatdown bicycles and junkyard bits, everything had its place. Well, I'm clearly not the only one who loves making new things out of old ones.

In this spirit, I'd like to draw your attention to the work of Totally Handy, a DIY craft video channel on YouTube with quite the following: 1.54 million subscribers to date. Naturally, I wanted to see what the fuss is all about, and here we are, staring down the barrel of a clip that takes us through converting an old steel bathtub into a downright four-wheeling gravity racer. That's right; it's a gravity-fed machine, and one completed in such a way as to resemble the racing cars of old, those of the 1910s and 20s.

In reality, however, this is nothing more than a beefed-up soap-box car, and that makes a perfect project during these colder months of the year. Furthermore, this is also the sort of project that you could share with your child, at least during the more aesthetic stages of the design.

Now, everything starts off with nothing more than a good old sheet metal bathtub, and not a very large one at that. Oh, and by the looks of the first few seconds of the video, this thing was already a wicked sled with wooden skis strapped to its bottom.

Before we go on, there's something I need to mention: some parts of this project will require some heavy-duty tools and machines and clearly prior knowledge as to how to operate them. This includes welders, saws and cutters, and even a hydraulic press for shaping some of the chassis and other components. Getting your hands on these tools is bound to be a challenge for some.

The only other problem I had with the rather short video below is the fact that there are no instructions whatsoever to go along with it. In short, you'll need to wing it to get the proper results. Having some prior knowledge of basic engineering is sure to help.

First, you'll need a bathtub, and once you have that, flip it around, and let's get ready. Next, you'll need to cut a massive hole into it with whatever you've got that can handle the job. This section of the tub will be the eventual driver's seat. At this stage, there will be no finishing or smoothening out of any edges.

From here, you'll need to put the tub aside and get cracking on crafting a chassis for your machine. For this stage, you'll need six sections of rectangular tube steel and the ability to weld these babies together. Be sure to note the spacing and placement of the beams; it's going to dictate axle placement and all that.

Speaking of axle placement, you'll then need to construct this vehicle's wheel hubs, and this is where you'll also need to find a hydraulic press if you don't already have one. During this stage, solid pieces of rectangular steel are bent in half-square configurations, and by the looks of things, you'll also need to drill some holes for two massive bolts that hold everything together and, once mounted, swing on a horizontal axis.

After you've completed two such sections, you'll then need to introduce the entire steering linkage, rack-and-pinion and all. Weld that to the chassis and connect the rod ends to that rather rudimentary steering arm, if we can even call it that, and you're set to progress to attaching your steering column and wheel, with a tad of welding included, of course.

Up next, it's onto the brakes, which are nothing more than more of those solid steel beams bent at 90-degree angles that literally drag along the ground to help you stop. Force is to be applied by pulling up on a steel bar welded to the system. Be sure to notice all the other little added components that we aren't shown in the assembly process.

With the steering and braking out of the way, it's time to give ourselves a seat, and while the one in the video is stitched leather, you can use any old bucket seat. Weld that in place, too, and let's add the bathtub, spray paint it, give it a couple of racing stripes, off-center, of course, a number, license plate, and reflectors on the rear. The unsanded and rugged edge of the tub's cutout will be covered with just your most basic edge trim.

Now, the finishing touches include adding a pair of headlights, although I didn't happen to see any battery packs or anything of the sort to power said lights, a rear-view mirror, and the wheels, which are a set of four 20-inch bicycle wheels. Ta-da! You have your very own bathtub racer.

All you need now is to work out all the little bits of missing information from the video, find a solid hill where you can test your machine, and off you go, coasting around in what I feel looks rather neat and the perfect way to spend some time with your loved ones over the holidays. Why not make two, three, maybe even four and get a league started in your neighborhood? Way to go, Totally Handy!