Make this kinetic toy of a walking person out of laser cut plywood and paper. The base works like a finger-joint box so you can measure your plywood and change the material thickness and kerf to get a nice press fit. See the video below for assembly instructions.

Plywood Components

Cut these parts out of plywood, 3mm or 1/8" thickness is ideal. Your specific material thickness may vary so make sure you measure it. Adjust the kerf based on your machine, in general 0.007 inches to 0.008 inches works for most people.

Paper Components

Laser cut the character out of thick paper. A little stiffness is desirable so something like 92 lb (150 g) works well.

How to use

1. Measure your the thickness of your plywood with calipers and enter a good average on the materialThickness option

2. Download the Plywood parts SVG and cut them out of 3mm (1/8")

3. Download the Paper Character SVG and cut it out of 90 lb paper or cardstock

4. Follow the assembly instructions in the video

Materials

From left to right:

• 3mm (1/8 in) plywood

• 92 lb construction paper

• PVA glue

Inspiration

Back in 2017 I (federico) made a series of hand-made, hand-cranked figures that were very popular on social media. You can see them all on my website at: https://wolfcatworkshop.com/index.php/portfolio/one-month-small-machines/

I tried to use the same basic materials for all of these to have a consistent aesthetic, mostly black paper, wooden blocks, paper clips for the wire and popsicle sticks. One of the most popular ones was this walking character:

Since a few people even made their own versions I wanted to design one that would be easy to replicate if you had access to a laser cutter. I shared one attempt in 2018:

But it was designed for a very specific material thickness and it wasn't very easy to change. The current Cuttle Template version lets you adjust the material thickness, and also has a new, simpler design for the "foot rests".

I hope you enjoy making your own!

－ federico