This guy built a walking chariot that’s powered by a 20-volt cordless drill

By Nicolette Emmino Published July 10, 2015

The DIY community definitely has no shortage of weird and wacky personal transportation devices, and this one from Izzy Swan of Think Woodworks is one of the best we’ve seen in months. Over the years, Swan has made a name for himself in the maker community with creations such as drill-powered lawnmowers and mini-bikes — but this new one is a little bit different.

Inspired by Theo Jansen’s wind-powered kinetic sculpture, the Strandbeest, Swan’s latest creation is a strange walking chariot that pushes the rider around with a pair of mechanical legs. And of course, this one is also powered by a cordless drill.

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So how, exactly, do you build a drill-powered riding machine? Well, after developing a suitable set of wooden legs (modeled after those on the Strandbeest) Swan attached them to a worm drive shaft, an axle, and gear box. The entire drive assembly is held together with screws traditionally meant for woodworking, but even so, Swan says they’re working out just fine for his purposes.

Over the past few weeks, Swan has been putting the finishing touches on different parts of the walking machine, and recently took to social media (as he does with all of his creations) to share step-by-step updates with his fans and followers. He’s worked feverishly to create the walker, which he says “takes the cake” in his YouTube video.

While his finished product is capable of carrying loads up to 370 pounds, in his video, Swan isn’t exactly speeding away on this thing — although he does allude to the fact that lighter people would pick up better speed on the machine.

And the best part? Swan was kind enough to provide links to every part used in this build — so anyone with a few tools and some basic woodworking skills could potentially make one of these crazy contraptions. Weekend project = found.

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Nicolette Emmino

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Nicolette is a technology writer, but wishes the days of paperback books and print newspapers were still thriving. She’s a…

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