Wooden Football Placekicker Toy

When I was a child I had a plastic toy that would kick a field goal when you hit him on the head. It was called "Super Toe". (There were other sports in the line like basketball, baseball, and hockey.) I made a version for myself out of wood. You need:

• Some 1/2 inch thick wood.
• Some 3/4 inch thick wood
• About a 12-inch by 12-inch piece of 1/8 inch thick craft plywood.
• Some 5/8 inch dowel
• Some 3/8 inch dowel
• Two machine screws (#10)
• Several #10 washers
• Two #10 nylon lock nut
• A #10 nut
• Wood glue
• #6 wood screws (1/2 inch)
• #8 wood screws (2 inch)
• A 1-1/2 inch compression spring that can fit a 5/8 inch dowel inside it.
• Clamps
• Paint
• A brad nailer is helpful

Step 1: Cut the Pieces for the Body

• Rip some ½ inch thick wood to 3 inches wide.
• Cut 3 pieces at 4 ¾ inches long
• Cut 2 pieces at 2 ½ inches long
• Cut 2 pieces at 2 inches long
• Cut 2 pieces at 4 inches long.
• One of these 4-inch pieces is ripped at an inch for the kicking side leg.

Step 2: Drill Holes in Body Pieces

• Drill a 5/8 inch hole through the center of all three 4 3/4 inch pieces
  
  • I clamped the pieces together and drilled all of them at once
• Drill a 3/8 inch hole through the 2-inch pieces at 3/4 inches from the front and bottom
  • I also fastened these together for drilling, this time with double sided tape

Step 3: Assemble the Body

• Glue the two 2 1/2 inch pieces perpendicular to each end of one of the 4 3/4 inch pieces.
  • I used brad nails so I didn't have to clamp and wait for the glue to dry.
• Glue another 4 3/4 inch piece tom the other side of the 2 1/2 inch pieces.
• Glue the two 2 inch pieces perpendicular to each end of the last 4 3/4 inch piece.
• Glue the faces of the 4 3/4 inch pieces from each assembly together, using the 5/8 inch dowel to guide alignment.

Step 4: Add the Stationary Legs

• Put the 3/8 dowel through the holes in the 2-inch pieces to aid in alignment.
• Glue the full leg (4-inch piece) to the inside of the 2-inch piece of the toy's left side, abutting it against the dowel.
• Glue the wider portion of the kicking leg to the right side of the toy, aligning it with the back and the bottom of the dowel.

Step 5: Make the Large Linkage and Kicking Assembly

• Cut a 1-inch by 1 3/4 inch piece from some of the 1/2 inch thick stock
• On the center line (of the 1-inch dimension)
• Drill a 3/8 inch hole at 1/2 inch from the end for the pivot dowel
• Drill a 5/8 inch hole 1/2 way through 1/2 inch from the other end. (make sure it is on the side that will be facing the kicking leg)
• Drill a 3/16 inch hole the rest of the way through the middle of the 5/8 inch hole for a machine screw
• Put the pivot dowel through the sides and linkage and position the narrow portion of the kicking leg in position against it.
• Glue the leg to the linkage
• After it dries, reinforce the leg with small screws or similar

Step 6: Make the Small Linkage

• Cut a piece of 1/8 inch thick material to 1 1/2 inches by 1/2 inches.
• On the center line of the 1/2 inch dimension, drill two 3/16 holes at 3/8 inches in from each end for machine screws..

Step 7: Prepare the Main Dowel

• Cut the main 5/8 inch dowel to 8 inches long.
• In order to get the holes on perpendicular planes, hot glue (or tape) the dowel to some scrap wood fastened at a right angle.
• Drill a 3/16 inch hole through one of the scrap boards and the dowel for a machine screw, 1/2 inch from the end of the dowel.
• In the other scrap board, drill a 3/8 inch hole at the point where the dowel will hit the inside of the top 4 3/4 inch piece when the kicker is in the "ready" position. (Approximately 4 3/16 inches from the opposite end of the dowel as the 3/16 inch hole.)

Step 8: Assemble the Mechanics

• Using an appropriate sized machine screw, fasten the small linkage to the large linkage. Use a washer on the screw head, and a washer and on lock nut on the end of the screw.
• Place the spring by the 5/8 inch holes between the 4 3/4 inch pieces. Insert the 5/8 inch dowel through the holes and spring.
• Fasten the 5/8 inch dowel to the small linkage with another machine screw, using a washers and a regular nut for spacing between the small linkage and the dowel, and secured with another washer and lock nut.
• Put a 3/8 inch dowel pin through the 5/8 inch dowel above the spring.
• Drill a small hole and put a screw on each end of the pivot (3/8 inch) dowel inside the body. This keeps the pivot dowel from moving laterally to much.
• Drill a hole in the side of the large linkage through the pivot dowel. Fasten the linkage to the pivot dowel with a screw.

Step 9: Add the Feet

• Cut out two right triangles out of the 1/2 inch think material, with a height and width of 1 inch.
• Glue the triangles to the bottom of each leg.
• You can use painters tape as a clamp.

Step 10: Make the Helmet

For the helmet, I glue up some ¾ inch thick stock, trimmed it to size, and cut the shape with hand saws and a rounding bit.

• Glue four pieces of 3/4 inch thick material face to face to form a block
• Trim the block to be 3 inches by 3 inches by 3 inches.
• Drill a 5/8 inch hole in the center of the bottom about 1 1/2 inch deep.
• On the front, make 3/4 inch deep cuts at
  
  • 1/4 inch from the bottom
  • 1/2 inch from the bottom
  • 1 3/4 inches from the bottom
• Cut in from the bottom 3/4 depth until you read the 1/4 from the bottom cut. This is the bottom of the face mask.
• Cut out between the 1/4 inch cut an the 1 3/4 inch cut. This is the face of the kicker.
• Round the other edges with a 1/3 inch round over bit.
• Shape the rest with files and/or sandpaper

Step 11: Add the Front and Back

• Cut two pieces of the 1/8 inch thick plywood to slightly bigger than the area from the top to point where the legs meet the body.
• Cut a slot in the front panel for the kicking leg and large linkage. Cut it to fit the maximum extension of the kicking leg.
• Glue the front panel to the front of the body.
• Fasten the back panel to the back of the body with screws. This is so the mechanics are accessible for potential repair.
• Trim the back and front panel flush with the body.

Step 12: Add the Arms and Shoulder Pads

• Glue two pieces of 1/2 inch stock to form 1 inch thick stock
• Round one end with the 1/2 inch round over bit.
• Cut 1 one inch wide strip with the rounded end.
• Cut another one inch wide strip (with no round over).
• Cut the rounded strip into two 3 1/4 inch long pieces. These are the shoulder pads.
• Cut the not rounded strip into two 3 inch long pieces. These are the arms.
• Cut the leftover rounded pieces into two 1/4 inch, by 3/4 inch, by 1 inch pieces. These are the hands.
• Glue the shoulder pads on opposite sides of the top, protruding 1/2 inch above the top.
• Glue the arms to the sides, centered and perpendicular to the shoulder pads.
• Glue the hands to the sides at the bottom of the sides.

Step 13: Make the Base

• Cut a piece of 3/4 inch material to 7 inches wide.
• Slice it into widths of 2 inches,1 1/2 inches, and 5 inches.
• Cut the 1 1/2 inch wide piece off at 2 inches.
• Glue the all the pieces but the 2 inch cutoff of the 1 1/2 inch piece to some of the 1/8 inch thick plywood.
• Drill a 5/8 inch hole in the 2 inch cutoff in the center of the 1 1/2 inch dimension so the side of the hole is about 1/16 inch from one end. Drill it about 1/8 to 3/16 inch deep. This is the tee.Cut a small 45 degree angle off the bottom of each end (of the 1 1/2 inch sides) so it will avoid any glue squeeze out in the base.
• Trim the base to size.

Step 14: Fasten the Kicker to the Base

• Line the kicker up on the base, with the kicking foot in the middle if the tee area.
• Mark where the legs fall on the base.
• Drill two holes for screws in the base for wide leg and and one for the narrow leg.
• Drill counter sink holes in the bottom
• Insert 2 inch long #8 screws from the bottom until they just protrude from base.
• Set the kicker back on the screws to mark their location.
• Drill pilot holes in the kicker.
• Replace the kicker and insert the screws into the kicker.

Step 15: Paint and Final Assembly

• Paint the base green (or blue if you are in Idaho).
• Paint the kicker as desired.
• Replace the kicker onto the base.
• Insert the helmet onto the 5/8 inch dowel. Do not glue so you can un-assemble for repairs.

Step 16: Conclusion

• Use some small foam footballs or similar.
• You can adjust the trajectory by moving the tee closer and further from the foot.
• Press the head down to kick the ball.

You can get a SketchUp file of the kicker here.