Anybody else making toys?

[dennis thompson]

I've pretty much filled up both our houses & yards with all the furniture that will fit. I've also built some furniture for my church.
I've started to make some toys for my newest grandson who is now 6 months old.
I just finished a dump truck that was in Wood magazine and am now working on a much more complicated fire engine.
I enjoy it but am struck by the difference from "general woodworking". I'm working with very small parts, the part I'm currently working on is 1/8" thick X 1 1/4"w x 6"l.
Many parts are 1" x 1" and even smaller.
I find it even more necessary than usual to concentrate as I cut & sand these very small parts.
Anybody else making toys?
Any tips or hints are appreciated.
Thanks
Dennis

[Michael Koenig]

My woodworking hobby is making mostly toys.
One tip for small parts is to use double stick tape and tape them to a bigger piece to sand them.
I have made most of wood magazines toys so if you have any questions ask i will help you if i can.
Here is a shot of most of the toys i make.

[dennis thompson]

My woodworking hobby is making mostly toys.
One tip for small parts is to use double stick tape and tape them to a bigger piece to sand them.
I have made most of wood magazines toys so if you have any questions ask i will help you if i can.
Here is a shot of most of the toys i make.
Mike
Great collection, they look like very high quality toys.
I do have a few questions:
-do you ever paint your toys?, I'm painting since I assume my grandson would be more attracted to a colorful toy
-what do you finish with?
-where do you get your wheels & other parts?
-what woods do you use? I have a bunch of Ash, so I'm using that.
-are there any specialized tools you use?
Thanks
Dennis

[Kevin Guarnotta]

I'm making toys too. I have a 15 month old, so I am excited about making toys for him. I find it hard to find good wheels. I can find plenty of wooden wheels, but I'd like to put some rubber tires on the wooden toys. Anyone have a lead on those?

As far as finishing my toys - I have been starting with sanding sealer - 2 coats. I am using a shellac sanding sealer. Then topping with a hand rub poly (which I think is just a really thinned out poly). this is supposed to be non-toxic when fully cured. the other option I've been trying is Milk Paint (when I want some color). I don't believe this is real milk paint, but rather Rockler's version of it. I use the same sealer, then foam brush some milk paint on, and coat poly on top. I find the parts are way too small to paint with a brush. one tip I saw in one of the toy books I got-get some gutter screen. Then when you are finishing your pieces you can put them on that-to let them dry. This only works for the clear coats, not the paint.

Sequencing is pretty hard on these things too...I find I need to plan a bit more in sequencing the parts, as at a certain point they are too small to hold. The first book I got was Making Heirloom Toys. I think there are some good tips in there, and the toys seem pretty simple to make. I've since gotten some more complicated toy books - but have not made any of them yet.

When I made my first toy (a wooden boat) I worked really hard at trying to get the finish just right-and then at a certain point I realized my sons doesn't care, and I'm sure he is going to drop this more times than I can count, and it's going to get beat to heck...so I try not to obsess about a perfect finish. Now I focus more on getting it to feel nice in his hands.

I just got a couple more toy books-for ideas. One of them suggests using tung oil finish. I think these types of finished are good, because they don't form a film, so they are easy to re-apply. I have not tried that way yet-maybe my next toys.

As for wood-most of the toys I've made so far have been from scraps around the shop - clear pine, mahogany, and poplar. I think maple would be good as well.

One more suggestion - usually when making a toy-I make 3 of them. The set up time is the same, and the actual working time is not very different. this allows me to try out a couple minor differences without much work, and also gives me a couple extra toys that I can give to my friends who have kids, or my nieces and nephews.

One last comment to Michael - that collection looks amazing! Someday I hope to have made half that many toys for my son. I hope to keep making toys for my son for a long time. Right now he is pretty young, but if I wait until he is older-it will take me too long to make them! At least that is what I tell my wife...

[Michael Koenig]

I never paint my toys can't paint worth a darn.
I use poly on all my toys.
I use maple and cherry the most but i have used all kinds of wood ash oak honeylocust red elm birch and others.
Drill press is a must to get accurate straight holes other wise tablesaw jointer planer 1 inch belt sander oscillating spindle sander and others.
Most of the wheels and parts i don't make i get from Caseyswood.com or americanwoodcrafters.co or cherrytree.com and a few other specialty places.
I have to work of plans can't get the proportions right otherwise. get my plans from magazines books and a few websites like toys and joys.
Good luck and please post pics when done i really like seeing how everyone's toys look like.

[Kevin Guarnotta]

I was asked which books I have used - here goes
1st one I got -Making Herloom Toys, Jim Makowicki. I've made a couple from this book. I recommend it. It is well written, and well detailed. Great one to start with.

Next time I bought three books at once, I just got these a couple weeks ago, and have not made anything out of them yet-so I can only review reading them -
Making Toys that Teach - by Les Neufeld
- ok book, nice ideas, not too many. A little repetitive on directions, sometimes that can be helpful. Nice information and suggestions on how kids interact with toys, and give good guidelines on age appropriateness of toys. There are also some great suggestions on making simple toys, to a bit more complex toys. Overall seems like most toys are relatively easy to build.
Tremendous Toy Trucks - by Les Neufeld
-have not read this one yet
Marvelous transforming toys, Jim Mackowicki
-have not read this one yet.

I'm looking forward to making all of these...

[Lee Schierer]

I've made a few toys.251283251284251285251285251290251291 You can see the rest at my website.

Most of the designs came from "The Great All American Wooden Toy Book" by Norm Marshall. He has decent plans for making the toys. I make mine from maple and don't put on any finish at all. They develop a nice patina after a short time of use and there are no worries about chipping or toxicity.

[ryan carlino]

Toys are fun for me and the 2 boys and a good bridge project between larger furniture projects, since they take less time (generally).

Here's a link to a few I made a while back.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?187849-Toys-Container-Ships-Crane-and-2-Cars

I also keep an eye on the toymaker plans and made the big dump truck out of spare wood. It is huge!
251325 251326251327

We've gotten a lot of mileage out of our "kiva blocks", too which are simply 1/4" x 3/4" x 4" blocks that you can stack in many ways. They are in the third pic.

I use the toymaker finish of beeswax and mineral oil. It's really nice the first few months, but always seems to dry out over time. I haven't tried painting since the other toys the kids have are very bright plastic. It's nice to mix in something made of wood.

Toymaker recently changed their web site to www.toymakingplans.com

They have some interesting, scroll-saw-centric stuff, but most of their construction is simply glued butt joints which isn't very inspiring or tough looking.

ryan

[Kevin Guarnotta]

great looking truck. I bet your boys love playing with that.

[Kevin Guarnotta]

Michael, I remember you asked for pics of toys made...I've made a few but don't have many photos. I'm trying to take more. But going through my photos for something else, and I came across this one of a boat I made. 259976 With all of the toys I've made - I find painting them to be the biggest pain...I guess that is why the word pain is in paint.

I think I've got to move towards different woods and just an oil finish.

[Grant Wilkinson]

I've not done as many as the previous posters, but I've found that, for the cuts on a table saw, small parts cut more easily using a 6" blades. They are very thin and not as aggressive as a normal 10" blade.
Lee Valley is a good source of small parts.

[Michael W. Clark]

I've built a doll bed and am building an armoir for an American Girl Doll now. I am new to the toy making so not much experience that I can add. One thing I have noticed that I didn't expect is that I find you need ultra precision. A 1/32 that may be un-noticable on a large case piece, sticks out like a sore thumb on the small items due to scale.

I don't have problems on the TS as long as I am using a zero clearance insert and back up the cut. The thin pieces tend to splinter very easily. I try to build everything slightly over so I can "fit" and "flush" with hand tools and sand paper. I think stock prep is very important (flat and square) since you need the precision and quality cuts. A drill chuck with hex shank that holds small bits for piloting the tiny hinge screws would be nice.

Mike

[Michael Moscicki]

A scroll saw( power tool) is the best toll for making small objects such as most toys. That is of course if you do not use a coping saw(hand tool) or CNC laser. Followed by a drill press and a small oscillating spindle and edge sanders.

When I get home I will post some pictures of a space ship that I made and painted.

[Larry Frank]

I have similar problems but with doing projects with a scroll saw. I make wooden puzzles which have small intricate cuts in them and need very careful sanding. Also doing Intarsia with the scroll saw and shaping the parts to form 3D looking animals and flowers and such.

I use a Dremel tool with a flex shaft, small pieces of sand paper and am always fighting to find ways to hold and shape parts. I have come to the conclusion that part of the challenge is figuring out how to make each part. I will use double sided tape sometimes but it can also stick to well and break a part trying to get it off. I end up making small wooden pieces to hold a specific part so that I can sand it.

I think that the most important tool is patience.