The Dale C. Maley Family Web Site

I had no luck getting the robot man to walk successfully, so I decided to try an easier duck ramp walker.

I found a free pattern an instructions on the Internet. You can download a .DXF file for Sketchup or a PDF file using this link.

You can use this link to download a PDF copy of the plans.

I used the .DXF file to create a model in sketchup.

My idea is to make 2 ducks, then have them race down a ramp. The grandkids can then race them :)

I glued 2 pieces of 1x4 pine together, each 20 inches long.  I used the poor man's method of getting a good glue joint by running them through each side of the table saw. After they were dry, I planed them down to 1/2" thickness called for in the plans.

I used a combination of the big sears 14" bandsaw for the easier cuts, then the scroll saw for the finer cuts.

I made sure the bottom of the feet were lined up and the v-notch in back for alignment. I also ran my 1/4" drill bit through all the pieces to make sure the main dowel would go through ok.

The moving foot must be able to swing by gravity after assembly.

The plans call for a 10 to 20 degree ramp, so I set it at 10 degrees. The duck walked successfully on the first attempt (I carefully sanded the bottom of all the feet keeping the

right curvature on that 1st attempt).

You can use this link to watch a video of the duck walking down the ramp.

I made a ramp such that 2 ducks could race down the ramp.

The divider between the 2 tracks was initially just a 1/4" wide. The ducks do sway from side to side, and they were hitting each other.........so I increased the spacer from 1/4" to 3/4" wide track divider. The wider divider worked fine.

My track is 24 inches long, and a 5 inch riser seemed to work fine.  This is a 11.77 degree slope angle.

After painting, the blue duck would not work right. I had a hunch the curvature was not right on the blue duck.  I traced the bottom of the feet on all 3 ducks, and found the blue duck was flatter on the curve on the feet.  I took the blue duck to the drill press drum sander and slightly increased the curvature.

The original blue curve is on the bottom. After I sanded the bottom to increase the curve, I traced it again which is shown at the top.

You can use this link to download a model of the ducks and racetrack.

You can use this link to watch the ducks racing down the ramp.

This was a relatively quick and easy project. The grandkids love racing their ducks down the ramp!