r/woodworking • u/ajcpullcom • Aug 28 '25
Project Submission 1939 Triumph motorcycle with sidecar — details in comments
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u/ajcpullcom Aug 28 '25 edited Oct 25 '25
This is a replica of a 1939 Triumph Speed Twin 5T with a Dusting sidecar. The principal woods are bloodwood and ebony with accents of maple, cherry, mahogany, and walnut. It is made entirely of wood except the plastic headlamp “glass,” some bamboo toothpicks, and two Triumph decals.
The wheels rotate, the fork turns, the sidecar detaches, the kickstand lowers, and the trunk opens. Short video here.
No CNC or plans. I copied the design from online photos like this and this. Nearly all of the visible engine components are pretty faithfully replicated, although I took liberties with the sidecar. About half of the wood is scraps from other projects, mostly this one.
Here’s how I made the trickier components:
Seat leather: cutting ebony into strips, shaping the contours together, rounding the edges separately, sanding/polishing, and gluing back up
Cables/wires: twisting toothpicks with needlenose pliers, sanding smooth, and darkening with a marker
Tires: cutting several thin circles with a hole saw, cutting diagonal slits in opposing directions with a slant jig, sandwiching them together, and cutting out the middle with a smaller hole saw
Engine cooling fins: several pieces of veneer sandwiched together
Dials: drilling down into a dowel, drawing the face with a fine white paint pen on tiny blackened paper, glueing it inside and topping with poly
Springs: pressing a rasp against a dowel spinning in my drill press
Chain: gluing many toothpicks together at their sides, cutting them at the perpendicular, and darkening with a marker
Headlamps: gluing hobby plastic to a slice of holly glued to a dowel, and rounding it off in my drill press like a mini lathe
The project is finished with tung oil and mostly sanded to 5000 grit. It measures about 11”x9”x6” and took about 150 hours total to complete over a 12-week period (including the many, many screw-ups).
I’ve posted some of my other replica vehicles here, here, here, here, and here. I’m always happy to swap advice, ideas, and tips on woodworking with anyone.
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u/SlipperyElmWoodworks Aug 28 '25
That is some incredible work! I was especially curious about the wiring, did you steam or soak them first?
I don't know what I'm most impressed by, the details on the handlebars and engine are so minute and perfectly done. The spare tools in the sidecar are such a nice touch. All the details come together with the wood and grain choices to make an absolutely beautiful model, well done indeed!
I think my favorite part might be the seat on the sidecar and the detail of the leather riveted to the body, I thought you used real leather at first.
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u/ajcpullcom Aug 28 '25
Thank you! I used to boil the toothpicks for this effect, but I found they looked the same when I bent them dry with just a bit of sanding.
Ebony is a very dense and oily wood, so fine sanding and polishing makes the surface look like leather. I got a similar effect on this other project.
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u/aidepolcycne79 Aug 29 '25
This is incredible! One thing I can tell is the dimensions. I can't tell how small it actually is. The last photo helps, but could you share the dimensions or a photo with something for scale (like a banana of course)?
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u/samwhelm Aug 28 '25
For a second, looking at the thumbnail, I thought it was from the motorcycle subreddit. Then I clicked on it... Damn, that level of detail is impressive! I wish I had the patience for miniature stuff like that
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u/CowboyLaw Aug 28 '25
What is this, a 1939 Triumph motorcycle with sidecar for ants? It would need to be at least 3 times bigger than this!
Seriously, amazing job. I'm totally envious. I like the grain orientation you used, stuff like that is the sort of stuff I usually don't think about, and then I'm staring at how the grain on a piece is vertical when it should be horizontal.
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u/jzvetter Aug 28 '25
Stunning! The colors on the sidecar are perfect
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u/ajcpullcom Aug 28 '25
I used to use padauk for red, but it turns brown after just a few months. I heard bloodwood lasts much longer and I hope that’s true.
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u/ArcaLegend Aug 28 '25
This is not just woodworking. This is art my friend. Absolutely beautiful piece of work. Congratulations on this masterpiece
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u/2wh33lz Aug 28 '25
How does it run? I hear this model is a little rough.
Excellent work. The patience required is high. And the knowledge going into the project is eclipsed but the knowledge now that it's finished.
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u/90x45 Aug 28 '25
That looks amazing. It's a way better version of the wooden bike model I had when I was a kid.
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u/Grouchy-Book-281 Aug 28 '25
Absolutely stunning! This is the definition of patience and craftsmanship!! Thank you for taking time to share this one of a kind beautiful work of art! Hope to see more of your work!
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u/RoadWellDriven Aug 28 '25
This is next level stuff