Making a DIY shift lever with 100-yen shop items! [Gift]

The other day, for the first time, my son
gave me a Father's Day gift.

A story about receiving a handmade donut-shaped magnet

Man, I was truly happy.

Three days have passed, but
the joy still hasn't faded, haha.

At times like that,
I am enveloped in a certain feeling.

"I want to give someone a gift, too."

That's what I was thinking about
on Father's Day.

My son suggested our usual game.

"Dad! Let's play bus!"

My son is three years old.
He goes to kindergarten by bus.

There are always two people on the bus,
the driver and the teacher.

Wiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnn!! [Childcare]As I wrote in the article,
my son loves cars.

Of course,
he is also very curious about how the kindergarten bus works.

At some point, he started imitating it,
and he mastered the teacher's greeting first.

He uses the house door
as the kindergarten bus door,
and plays the role of the teacher.

(Opens the house door)
"Good morning!"
"I'll take care of them!"
(Closes the house door)

On the door that became the subject of the game,
a picture indicating it's a kindergarten bus
is taped on with Scotch tape.

And,
while looking at the name list,

"Today, ○○○-chan has a cold,
so we're skipping the stop."

He even mastered the lines.

Even those who don't ride the kindergarten bus
can imagine the scene inside the bus🤭

His insatiable curiosity continues.


Next, he set his sights on the driver.

He placed a chair behind the door,
and with a toy steering wheel,
he started playing driver.

Vrooooom!! (My son's voice)

(My son opens the door himself)
"Good morning!"
"I'll take care of you!"
(My son closes the door himself)

He's playing every role by himself, surprisingly🤭

However,
my son muttered something here.

"The thing on the side of the bus is missing"

He was also gesturing with his hand moving up and down.

Could it be a gesture for a shift lever?

I immediately searched for images on my phone,
and when I confirmed with my son,

"This!!"

Phew.
Our understanding matched.

However, we don't have one at home.

"But, I'm sorry.
We don't have this at home."

When I told him that,
my son looked sad.

But,
don't worry, my son.

Unlike when your father was a child,
the variety of toys has increased,
and if I click a button, it will arrive at our house in a few days.

Look, I already found it on my phone.

6,399 yen

It's more expensive than the toy I bought for his 3rd birthday.

After reading the description,
it seems to be a shift lever for racing games.

I kept looking after this, but
it doesn't seem to be sold as a children's toy.

Then
I
should
just
make
it
myself.

I'll start by letting my imagination run wild.

I thought the following three points were key
features of a shift lever.

• Easy to grip with your hand

• A bit of resistance when operating it

• Size balance with the steering wheel

I found this image while searching online,
so I decided to aim for this design.

It's an image of a shift lever
inside a black cup.

The product in this image
is a shift lever-style interior accessory
that can be placed in a car's cup holder.

By the way, it costs 9,900 yen😂

I got an idea, so
I'm off to the 100-yen shop to buy supplies!

Here is what I bought.

• Kendama

• Tension rod

• Smartphone holder (300 yen)

• Black camping cupx2

• Silicone kitchen tool

• Disposable chopsticks

The total is 900 yen excluding tax.

I didn't end up using the items with strikethroughs,
so in the end, I was able to make it for 700 yen.

Main body construction

First,
I'll use a pencil to mark where I need to make holes.

Using a pointed pick,
I'll pierce the plastic body,
and use a utility knife to connect the holes.

Finished making the holes.

However,
if the edges remain jagged, children could hurt their hands,
so I'll smooth them out with a file.

When you combine the cups,
it looks like this.

Making the main body mounting holder

I'll cut the smartphone holder with a hacksaw,
keeping only the length I need.

Drill a hole in the main body.

Combine them.

I tried using super glue to join them, but it came off immediately, so I drilled a screw hole and fastened it with a screw.

By the way, this is what it looks like from above. A little bit of wire is sticking out.

Lever production

Cut the tension rod to the required length using a hacksaw.

Cut the string attached to the kendama and extract the ball. (I forgot to take a picture of this 💦)

Insert the silicone from the smartphone holder onto the tension rod.

Apply super glue and then insert the kendama ball to join them together.

It's really starting to take shape now.

Creating resistance

When it comes to a shift lever, that unique feeling of resistance is important, isn't it?

To create that, I insert the tension rod into the silicone hole so that a force is always working to keep it vertical.

I'll try inserting them into the cup in the order of silicone, then the tension rod.

Even though I'm not holding it with my hand, it stays upright and still. It's a great success.

By the way, the silicone and the tension rod are inserted slightly into the wire so that the fulcrum is in the center.

I also inserted a second piece of silicone to create double the resistance. This provided just the right amount of resistance.

Finishing touches

Using a label maker, I applied the gear stickers to finish it off!

This is when the gear is in 5th position.
It's securely fixed in place.

Gift for my son

I'll give it to him as a gift right away😊

Look, I made this for you!
!!

He's playing with it so happily✨
It looks like his bus-driving pretend play is about to get even better.

As a side note,
I also gave a gift to my wife.

I bought another 300-yen smartphone holder
at the 100-yen shop
and gave it to her as a gift✨

Since she is pregnant and spends a lot of time lying in bed,
I gave it to her so she can use her smartphone
while lying down.

She's using it as intended without cutting the smartphone holder at all,
and she loves it🤭 lol

What did you think?

If it hadn't worked out,
I had a plan to make it using disposable chopsticks,
but this time the silicone did a perfect job!

If I have another chance,
I'd like to try making various other things😊

Below is
my self-introduction and an introduction to my paid note!

Who is Bakoshi?

Regarding heartfelt gifts,
I also publish paid notes.
Please take a look if you have some time✨

100-yen trial article! Surprise gifts that won't make the recipient feel obligated

Instruction manual for choosing gifts (paid note)