Wood Toy Making - buying parts?

[Brian Sommers]

I read that some people who make wooden toys, buy the small parts and wheels etc.

If you are trying to sell these isn't it better to make everything? Yes, I do buy my dowel rods, but other than that I was planning on making everything, but now I'm concerned about keeping my cost down.

Thoughts/ideas?

Thanks

[Robert Payne]

Casey's Wood Parts (http://www.caseyswood.com/) in Maine. Excellent source of quality toy parts.

[Brian Sommers]

But is it considered a good practice? Would you be more inclined to loose sales because you didn't make everything yourself?

[Myk Rian]

Don't worry about it.

[Jim Finn]

Casey's Wood Parts (http://www.caseyswood.com/) in Maine. Excellent source of quality toy parts.
This is where we (our club) get our dowels and wheels also. We make and give away over five thousand toys a year.
Making wheels and /or dowels, is so time consuming that using them boosts you out of reasonable and competitive pricing.
Making toys can be very lucrative and I would get back to doing it if it were not for the liability insurance. They sure do sell well.

[Brian Sommers]

I was planning on "punching" a few out with a hole saw and then sanding out the edges round, I will try making them myself, I'm hoping it shouldn't take me to long.

You make it sound easy to sell these. Where did you sell them? I was planning on Etsy and trying to get them in a few stores around town here, but I'm afraid of their percentage they will want to take.

Liability insurance?

[Jim Finn]

When some child smashes your toy and then chokes on the wheel you may be sued. Liability insurance to protect you and everything you own will cost over $800 a year. That is a lot of toys to sell just to cover that. I used to sell toys at farmers markets and street fairs and festivals. I no longer do that. Especially toys with wheels. On line sales would be even more risky!
Making wheels under 2" is dangerous and not cost productive. You can buy a one inch wheel for about seven cents, I think.

[Lee Schierer]

I was planning on "punching" a few out with a hole saw and then sanding out the edges round, I will try making them myself, I'm hoping it shouldn't take me to long.

I think you will find that flat wheels made with a hole saw will reduce the quality look of your toys. There are wheel making bits you can buy for use on a drill press, but believe me when I tell you they don't work that well and you will have to cut 3-4 times as many as you actually complete to get the same look you can buy for a few pennies each.


I'm currently making 36 toy tractors for my niece's wedding next year and I looked high and low for bar tread tractor type tires close to the size I needed. I couldn't find any that looked good, so I came up with a jig to make what I wanted. I have 18 pairs made so far and have more than 4 hours in them. For front wheels and axles, I plan to purchase them.
316468

[John Aperahama]

craftparts .com in Fort Worth TX

[Bill Ryall]

Having just done a few hundred specialty wheels for a specific car/truck design of my own, wheel making is a huge PITA. I made some specialty cutting jugs and a powered lathe style sanding machine for them trying to cut down the time needed to make wheels, but it still isn't enough. I will tweak the designs on the next run to use purchased wheels. Wheel for wheel between quality and cost, purchasing wheels is more cost effective, especially when you are producing quantities of toys.

[jared herbert]

Being a farmer myself that is a nice looking tractor. Care to elaborate on how you made the back tires or is it a trade secret? Thanks Jared

[Jim Finn]

Sorry I misunderstood.

[dennis thompson]

When some child smashes your toy and then chokes on the wheel you may be sued. Liability insurance to protect you and everything you own will cost over $800 a year. That is a lot of toys to sell just to cover that. I used to sell toys at farmers markets and street fairs and festivals. I no longer do that. Especially toys with wheels. On line sales would be even more risky!
Making wheels under 2" is dangerous and not cost productive. You can buy a one inch wheel for about seven cents, I think.
Jim
If you form and sell your products through a "Limited Liability Company" wouldn't that limit your liability?

[Jim Finn]

LLC status may limit ones liability. I do not know if insurance is still necessary.

[Keith Outten]

I thought that Congress passed a law several years ago requiring toys to be tested to certify that they don't contain any hazardous chemicals. There were some threads here in the past on the subject, as I recall the testing was too expensive and caused most of the toy makers here to stop making toys for small children.

An LLC protects your personal assets but I believe your company is still liable for damages, hence the necessity to have insurance.

It would be wise to consult a lawyer concerning your risks, both personal and professional before you sell the first toy.
.

[Stew Hagerty]

Hobby Lobby is where I've always found what I needed.

[Dan Cameron]

I think you will find that flat wheels made with a hole saw will reduce the quality look of your toys. There are wheel making bits you can buy for use on a drill press, but believe me when I tell you they don't work that well and you will have to cut 3-4 times as many as you actually complete to get the same look you can buy for a few pennies each.


I'm currently making 36 toy tractors for my niece's wedding next year and I looked high and low for bar tread tractor type tires close to the size I needed. I couldn't find any that looked good, so I came up with a jig to make what I wanted. I have 18 pairs made so far and have more than 4 hours in them. For front wheels and axles, I plan to purchase them.
316468

I used to belong to a club that made hundreds of toys for charity each year. Often I made hundreds of wheels for a special size or special look, like the big wheels on the tractor shown in the picture. I used a home made "router lathe". One afternoon I made 300 of these tractor wheels.

[Lee Schierer]

Being a farmer myself that is a nice looking tractor. Care to elaborate on how you made the back tires or is it a trade secret? Thanks Jared

Here you go.
Tractor wheel jig (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?237644-Bar-tread-tire-jig&p=2492430#post2492430)

[Chuck Nickerson]

I used to belong to a club that made hundreds of toys for charity each year. Often I made hundreds of wheels for a special size or special look, like the big wheels on the tractor shown in the picture. I used a home made "router lathe". One afternoon I made 300 of these tractor wheels.

All right! 'Wheels Cameron' knows what he's talking about. We really miss his wheel-making ability. Actually we miss having him around for several reasons.

[Brian Sommers]

any images of what these tractor wheels looked like?