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Make a Spinning Bow-Tie Clown with Finnboard and Timed Drag Racer Kit

2025-03-06 | By Kitronik Maker

License: See Original Project Laser Cutters

Courtesy of Kitronik

Guide by Kitronik Maker

Create a spinning Bow tie on a cartoon clown using Finnboard or Poplar Plywood and our ‎very own Timed Drag Racer kit. This make combines the use of materials and electronics, ‎making it perfect as a classroom activity. ‎

Download the dxf file of the Kitronik Clown and follow, our in-house animator/designer, ‎Kev's instructions. In the file you’ll find the clown artwork as well as 2 stands and the ‎template for his bow-tie.‎

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‎We Used:‎

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Step 1 - To the Laser Cutter:‎

Engrave and cut the clown onto a sheet of Kitronik Finnboard or Poplar, making sure to ‎remember to cut out the hole for the motor to sit in the main body and the hole for the motor ‎in the bow tie.‎

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Step 2 - Decoration:‎

You can get your students to colour their clowns in any way they’d like using, felt tips, paints ‎or coloured pencils. We found the felt tips worked best on the Finnboard, while the coloured ‎pencils worked well on the poplar plywood.‎

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Step 3 - Solder your timed drag racer kit together:‎

Full details on how to assemble the kit can be found in the teaching resources. The kit is ‎largely pre-built, but some soldering is required.‎

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Step 4 - Kit + Clown:‎

Push the motor so that it sits in the hole of the clown. Make sure to remove the small plastic ‎pulley from the metal driver and turn it around so that the bowtie can sit snugly ready for ‎takeoff.‎

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Step 5 - Attaching the legs: ‎

Connect the standing legs to the body and if you wish, use the holes in the leg to screw on ‎the board. We used PVA glue which will be strong enough for this card or the plywood.‎

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Step 6 - The finishing touches: ‎

Push the bow tie onto the plastic pulley and you’re good to go (to secure it that little bit ‎more, add a tiny drop of superglue).‎

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Press the button!*‎

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We’d love to see your colourful circus clowns in all their glory!‎

‎*You may need to place some tac to the base of the clown if he decides to go wandering ‎when you get the motor running.‎

‎ ‎Download the Vol 3 PDF!‎

‎©Kitronik Ltd – You may print this page & link to it but must not copy the page or part thereof ‎without Kitronik's prior written consent.

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