Wooden Toys

[Ian Malcolm]

Hi!

As a new grandfather, I would like to make wooden toys for my grandson. Does anyone have any suggestions for suitable books or internet sites for toy ideas and / or patterns?

TIA

Ian

[Neillarson]

I have this one and it is a great book:

Great All-American Wooden Toybook (Reader's Digest Woodworking) (Paperback) by Norm Marshall (Author)

I have heard very good things about this one:

Making Heirloom Toys (Paperback) by Jim Makowicki (Author)

Luck,

Neil

[J T]

Tue, Oct 16, 2007, 5:00pm (EDT+5) [e-mail] (Ian=A0Malcolm) waves and says: Hi! As a new grandfather, I would like to make wooden toys for my grandson. Does anyone have any suggestions for suitable books or internet sites for toy ideas and / or patterns?

Well, you didn't say what type of toys. For a newborn, a mobile would do it. Older, a rattle. And so on. Here's a link that tells how to make toy blocks. Those are good for about any age, but you need to make 'em so a little kid won't be bothered from chewing on them, and they will.

I think they vastly over-rate the cost, but that may be because they want you to buy the wood from them - I wouldn't. There's at least one other link out there with pictures and cutting diagrams for the same type of blocks.

I'd say go to your local library and start there. I wouldn't buy any books without the chance to thumb thru it in person first, I don't care what anyone else says about it. Used bookstores should be good. Or, just check the archives here, I've posted a number of plans and patterns, all free.

I've been planning on putting my links for kids toys on one page, and posting that every once in awhile. Guess it's time to get on that project. By the way, if you want to do something nice for mommy, don't maker her a cradle, make her a rocking chair, there'll be a LOT more use made of that than a cradle.

JOAT "I'm an Igor, thur. We don't athk quethtionth." "Really? Why not?" "I don't know, thur. I didn't athk."

[Clint]

This book is for when he's a little older, but you can start anytime! :)

don't know where you live, but our local library has quite a selection of decent wood toy books, as someone else suggested as well.

Clint

[J T]

Tue, Oct 16, 2007, 7:22pm [e-mail] (J=A0T) on this day I did say: =A0I've been planning on putting my links for kids toys on one page, and posting that every once in awhile. Guess it's time to get on that project.

And, here's the start. There's be more added within the next few days, and, hopefully, adding links will be a continuing process.

JOAT "I'm an Igor, thur. We don't athk quethtionth." "Really? Why not?" "I don't know, thur. I didn't athk."

[Peter Huebner]

About the best wooden toys I've ever seen ( and used, I got one of these sets when I was about 3 y.o. and it was still in use when I was 10 or 12) are simply wooden blocks and plates, with holes drilled and connected by wooden dowels (some with heads) that I could use to build gazillions of my own wooden toys.

You make him a set of these (I suggest beech as a material, doesn't need finishing) and he should get many miles out of it.

this webpage shows the principle:

the one I had was a lot more primitive than that though. Well it was 50 years ago! The fact that they're still made and going strong suggests something good to me.

Feel free to email me if you want a closer description of the basic parts. (see message footer for address)

-P.

[Charlie Self]

Hamiltons are friends, so that's the disclaimer, but they've already gotten their royalties off this one.

You might also look up Richard Blizzard's toy book. It is a standard, but the toys are for kids a few years older.

[J T]

Wed, Oct 17, 2007, 3:51pm (EDT+4) [e-mail] (Charlie=A0Self) did posteth:

On-line book sellers have this book, at a much better price, including postage.

Any more, I would only recommend looking on eBay if it's something you absolutely cannot find anywhere else. Awhile back I got a book off of eBay, signed by the author even, for $99+, including shipping. Pricey, yes, but the only other one I saw for sale was priced right at $300, not signed, and I'd been searching hard for a copy for about a year. It was a limited printing, and I've got it from the author's son that it will ever be reprinted. In that case eBay was probably the only place one would be available. I'll probably sell my copy after a bit, but don't figure on asking $300 for it. Oh yes, for those interested, it's: Single Shot Rifles - Their Design And Construction.

JOAT "I'm an Igor, thur. We don't athk quethtionth." "Really? Why not?" "I don't know, thur. I didn't athk."

[J. Clarke]

If you just google "wooden toy plans" you'll find a zillion hits.

You might also think about games when he gets older. Dominos are always a good bet--lots of things you can do with them besides play the games. "Incra jig projects and techniques" will show you step by step how to make both the dominos and a very nice box for them, and the version of the jig that Rockler sells for 100 bucks will be fine if you already have a router table. A good backgammon or chess set can be an heirloom if you go in for carving or turning and intarsia.

While not toys, don't neglect furniture--a desk with a good solid top that can be easily raised as he grows is something that he may not appreciate until he's much older, but I wish that somebody had given me one when I started first grade.

[J. Clarke]

Now _that_ is _sweet_.

If one is going to make such a set, I think it would be clever to make it with the same hole spacings and diameters as Meccano parts, then if the kid has Meccano (and Grandpa, you make _sure_ he has Meccano or Vex--Vex is Meccano that died and went to heaven) then he can combine the two.

[Peter Huebner]

They have two systems, a bit like Lego for older kids and Duplo for preschoolers. The basic 1-unit cube on my set was ~50mm, the plates were sized

2x1x1/2 units, 3x1x1/2 unit and 3x2x1/2 unit along with a bunch of 1x1x1 cubes, and misc. wheels obviously. Clearly the variety can be improved on :-)

The advanced system for older kids is much smaller and closer to meccano in makeup and versatility. The neighbour's kids had one of those and you could build 3' high working cranes with it, from parts not much larger than meccano.

-P.