A Backyard Roller Coaster the Whole Family Can Build

Fun & Games Woodworking
A Backyard Roller Coaster the Whole Family Can Build

YouTube player

MF15BA_Badge
Pemble and his coaster will be at the 10th annual Maker Faire Bay Area. Get your tickets today!

Will Pemble might just be the coolest dad ever.

“Once upon a time, my son asked me if we could make a roller coaster in our backyard. I thought it over — for about 15 seconds — and said ‘Yes.’” Pemble says. 

Most people would be intimidated by the thought of creating their own roller coaster, but Pemble seems to delight in the project. After hundreds of hours of work, Pemble’s family now has a 180-foot roller coaster made of PVC, wood, and steel. 

CoasterDad

Pemble and his family started to build the roller coaster in 2013, and he has been documenting the improvements and progress on his “CoasterDad Project” YouTube channel. So far, several hundred hours have been invested in the project, and Pemble has even begun to help others build their own backyard roller coasters.

At the upcoming Bay Area Maker Faire on Saturday and Sunday (May 16th and 17th), Will Pemble will be showing off a brand new homebuilt roller coaster created just for the Faire, so if you’re interested in making your own backyard coaster, come by and ask him plenty of questions!

What will the next generation of Make: look like? We’re inviting you to shape the future by investing in Make:. By becoming an investor, you help decide what’s next. The future of Make: is in your hands. Learn More.

Tagged

Technical Editor at Maker Media. Maker. Hacker. Artist. Sometimes Scientist. Pretengineer. Builder of things. Maker of stuff.

View more articles by Jordan Bunker
Discuss this article with the rest of the community on our Discord server!

ADVERTISEMENT

Escape to an island of imagination + innovation as Maker Faire Bay Area returns for its 16th iteration!

Prices Increase in....

Days
Hours
Minutes
Seconds
FEEDBACK