Introduction: Make a Passive Ramp Walker Toy Using Binder Clips and Wooden Dowel

By Jim Demello
About: I am an American teaching English at Shangluo University, Shaanxi. I like making machines that do interesting but fairly useless things - I call them Quixotic Machines.

Here is a simple, easy, fast, and cheap way to make a ramp walker toy using six binder clips, a 5/16" X 18" wooden dowel and a ramp using a mouse pad.

Step 1: Build the Ramp Walker Toy...

First mark the center of the dowel as this is the balance point.

Then slide two 1.25" binder clips onto the dowel to act as the legs.

To make sure they do not move away from the center point, clip two small .75" binder clips (the green ones) onto the dowel.

Finally clip a 1.25" binder clip on each end of the dowel. These act as counter balance weights.

Step 2: Using and Adjusting the Walker...

Adjust the two binder clips at the ends of the dowel to be sure the walker is balanced.

Place on the ramp (must use a foam ramp of some kind like a mouse pad to get traction) and push down on one end of the dowel and let it go.

If you find it walking sideways or turning on the ramp then adjust one of the end clips.

You can experiment with different lengths of dowels as well as more or less weight on the end of the dowel.

Have fun!