cable car for kid dolls
or
Pulley for kids
are two things I’ve been jonesing to buy for the kidlets. But I don’t want to pay $19-49 for them.
I want the pulley thingie to be something that after the kids are done with it, I can use it in the garage ( I don’t know for what.)
And naturally, I want these things to be ultra cool and traverse their rooms or our new barn ( naturally, I haven’t cleared that last idea with Mr. Ujest, but he has the rest of his life to get over it.)
But, is this something I can just nip off to some major all-in-one store and buy a few parts for say $25 bucks for something bigger/better/more manly or am I screwed?
Sulky
We have a leather office chair that has no more bottom due to a mechanical failure, and we want to make this sulky with it. Mr. Ujest is all for this, but all his attention is focused on his new barn…which it will be this way for the next ten years until he has every tool, gizmo and ever spare dollar invested into it.
FYI, I think the cable car design is flawed: it will droop like crazy unless the angle is real steep. There is nothing to tension the “cable” like in a real cable car, so instead of ascending in a straightish line, the car will swoop from start to destination in a droopy arch. Am I right?
One more thing. The design would be improved if the cable wrapped around one or both of the pulley-wheels capstan-style, and if the pulley-wheels offered some resistance (that is, they were not freespinning). These improvements would make the ascent straighter, but then the descent would be problematic if not impossible. Oh well.
If you’re handy (not * that * handy), then all these things are do-able. The cable car thingy is simple, but realistically, by the time you buy the bits and pieces, construct it, and paint it, much more than $19.95 worth of time and energy will be gone. So unless you’re crafty and enjoy building things, I’d give this one a pass.
The sulky is easy – specifically, the kid sitting will be happy, and the one pulling will be sulky 
Figuring out how to mount the axle and wheels to the chairs might take some time, but there’s nothing complicated about it, and you can certainly get all the parts for well under $200. I’d be mildly worried about safety and I’d probably want the rider to be wearing a helmet if you have any hills about.
The pulley – to me it just looks almost like a classic come-along. Might be complicated to fabricate and I bet you can buy something similar right off the rack. Might not be child friendly, though, with lots of finger-pinch-able bits.