wood for wooden toys?

[Brian Sommers]

I hear that birch and maple are good.

I see a lot of people are using pine, but what grade of pine? Select Fine

there is also a pine called white wood board.

also, is it bad form putting knots in finished wood pieces, like toys?

[Larry Frank]

I make toys and often use a 2x4 and cut out clear area between knots. A knot is Ok if it is very tight and does not hurt strength. A loose knot could be a choking hazard.

I really sort thru the wood looking for tight grained ones. I use a lot of ash and oak in toys I make.

[Lee Schierer]

You can use pine, but pine is pretty soft and splinters easily. I prefer making toys out of soft maple. It works easily and holds up well. Here are a few of the toys I've made.
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I give my grandkids a lifetime repair warranty so they can play with them as much as they want.

For a finish I sand to 220 and leave the wood alone. It will gain a natural patina with use.

[John Aperahama]

I make toys for a living typically just use construction SYP from big blue/orange box.

[Rene de Pontbriand]

Fully agree on yellow pine---versatile, not apt to splinter, holds my fasteners/handles reliably, take good color...what's not to like?

[dave nichols]

I use poplar most of the time for toys.

[Bill Ryall]

Usually pine. I have a line of toy cars/trucks that were specifically designed to be quickly made from 2x6 construction offcuts. Small knots ok. Wheels are usually poplar.

[Bill Ryall]

And while we are on the subject, what finishes do you use? Most of the time i use simple mineral oil, and if something needs to be painted I use milk paint.

Any other suggestions?

[John Aperahama]

Keda dyes non toxic (google is your friend) i have gallon pots full of color just dip them. Quick and easy then seal with polyurethane or shellac.

[Stew Hagerty]

I'm making a toy train right now and I'm using poplar. It's hard enough that tykes aren't likely to dent it up right away, it's extremely stable, I'm painting the train (pink... YES PINK! LOL) and poplar takes paint very well. I thought about maple, but I need to make lots of small parts and poplar is just so darn easy to work.

[Jim Finn]

I use poplar most of the time for toys.
Our club makes over five thousand toys a year and most are made of poplar that we get at no cost. It comes from a lumber yard that gets them strapped to plywood to hold the plywood sheets together. Poplar machines very well. We also got a bunch of African Mahogany scraps and made some of our toys out of that.

[Erik Manchester]

I use exclusively hardwood for durability, usually hard maple, poplar, oak, cherry, birch or whatever I have leftover in the shorts and scraps bin.

They are lots of fun.

http://i770.photobucket.com/albums/xx344/beletuen/Toys/DSC02478.jpg

http://i770.photobucket.com/albums/xx344/beletuen/Toys/TractorLowbed.jpg