Like herding cats...

Last October Doug Garson graciously posted the pattern he uses to cut "stacking cats", a childrens toy. I thought it was a unique toy and I could do that on a CNC at larger volumes and contribute to our woodworkers toy drive this holiday. Well, I did it, although I wasn't confident I was going to make the deadline until just a few days ago.

I made 600 cats, 50 dozen, out of poplar, ash, walnut, and cherry. After cutting on the CNC, I routed a 1/16" round over on the edges, and sanded with a 120 grit mop head. No finish, just buffed with a 240 grit mop head. Nice and smooth.

Hopefully 50 kiddos will have a little brighter holiday.

Attachment 510499Attachment 510500Attachment 510501Attachment 510502

Projects like this make me wish I had a CNC.

You know thee are 50 kiddos who will be beaming in Christmas morning. I made a set of building blocks for my grandkids about 12 years ago and sent it to them with a note for my son saying no batteries needed and no noise makers just imaginations at work.

Truly a great project! Meow!!

Great job. How many did you run per job?

Thanks all.

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Originally Posted by George Yetka

Great job. How many did you run per job?

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After cuting the rough lumber down to manageable lengths, the board lengths varied from about 18" - 24". About 50 boards if I remember. The board widths varied from 6" - 10". So I ended up playing with the CAD to optimize the yield from each board. I averaged 13-14 cats per board foot. There was also some waste that was carved into circle blocks at the same time. Those blocks will go a local non-profit that provides blocks to Ohio Head Start programs.

Good on you, sir. Good on you!
Bringing happiness to kids is a very worthy project.

With Respect, Patrick

So cool Brian! That's why I love coming on to Sawmillcreek this time of year. Truly an incredibly selfless thing to do over the holiday season. I also love that they are cats, my wife and I are both huge cat fans.

Neat-O! I added an "excellent" vote to the rate this thread poll.

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Originally Posted by Maurice Mcmurry

Neat-O! I added an "excellent" vote to the rate this thread poll.

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Funny, or disappointing, i never before noticed the "Rate this Thread" tab before. Late to the party again . . . .

But where do the rating show up? Need i click something in Settings?

I have no idea where the vote goes. I generally do not vote unless the thread is benevolent in nature.

Thanks all for the kind comments.

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Originally Posted by Tony Shea

So cool Brian! That's why I love coming on to Sawmillcreek this time of year. Truly an incredibly selfless thing to do over the holiday season. I also love that they are cats, my wife and I are both huge cat fans.

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Us too. In fact my wife, who also loves anything pink, has requested a special set cut from some pink surfaced material I have. I think they were surplus ikea drawer fronts.

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Originally Posted by Maurice Mcmurry

Neat-O! I added an "excellent" vote to the rate this thread poll.

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Thanks Maurice! I think this might be my first rated thread. Appreciate that!

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Originally Posted by Patrick McCarthy

Funny, or disappointing, i never before noticed the "Rate this Thread" tab before. Late to the party again . . . .

But where do the rating show up? Need i click something in Settings?

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I think the rating shows up as yellow stars to the right of thread title in the thread list.

Hey Brian, well done and thanks for giving me some of the credit. I actually got the pattern from someone on another forum. Didn't make any cats this year but did make a bunch of mobiles (including one from left over cats). I think mobiles would be another great application for a CNC so if you're looking for more ideas. Attachment 511311Attachment 511312

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Originally Posted by Doug Garson

Hey Brian, well done and thanks for giving me some of the credit. I actually got the pattern from someone on another forum. Didn't make any cats this year but did make a bunch of mobiles (including one from left over cats). I think mobiles would be another great application for a CNC so if you're looking for more ideas. Attachment 511311Attachment 511312

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Hi Doug! Thanks again for the cat pattern and for the mobile idea. Given how pressed for time I was to do 50 dozen I think I need to make decisions for next year in January and start cutting in February! ;)

The cats have been a real hit! At our November woodworkers meeting, I showed them as part of the member show and tell. Afterwards, people (mostly 60+ years) lined up to play with them. Today was our first day of collecting toys for distribution. Again, many of the people there said they really liked them and thought they would be a big hit with the kids. Maybe I should plan on doing 75 dozen for next year...:eek: I need to find a way to reduce sanding time and cost. The mop head refills are rather expensive.

Fantastic spirit!