Christmas Toy drive

[Doug Garson]

Over on another forum I belong to we have had a thread on making toys for Christmas toy drives, so I thought maybe we should have one here as well. Not for any particular toy drive, everyone just donates to their local one. So here goes. It's that time of year again, time to clean out your scrap wood bin and make some wooden toys to contribute to your local Toy Drive. Let's use this thread to share our ideas and encourage everyone to join in, even if you just have the time to make one or two toys or donate some wood or ideas to others so they can contribute. Here's a few pictures of my efforts so far, let's see what you have done. Remember it's for the kids (and a less cluttered shop )



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Mods, can we make this a sticky? and maybe add a Santa imoji?

[Bill Bukovec]

What's the other forum?

[Doug Garson]

forum.canadianwoodworking.com there are a few members here that also post there.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Already cut out and delivered 500 car bodies for local WW group. Have 300 more to do, if health allows. Just spent 11 days in hospital with pneumonia. Kinda washed out right now.

[Doug Garson]

Great, good work. Take care of yourself, hope you get well soon. Love to see some pictures.

[cody michael]

Over on another forum I belong to we have had a thread on making toys for Christmas toy drives, so I thought maybe we should have one here as well. Not for any particular toy drive, everyone just donates to their local one. So here goes. It's that time of year again, time to clean out your scrap wood bin and make some wooden toys to contribute to your local Toy Drive. Let's use this thread to share our ideas and encourage everyone to join in, even if you just have the time to make one or two toys or donate some wood or ideas to others so they can contribute. Here's a few pictures of my efforts so far, let's see what you have done. Remember it's for the kids (and a less cluttered shop )



370672 370674370675370673
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Mods, can we make this a sticky? and maybe add a Santa imoji?


The toys look great, your table saw sled is awesome, are the slots for jigs to attach?

[John K Jordan]

Excellent! I love the puzzles. I've only made little finger tops on the lathe.

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I make a batch every year for the kids at my church. Maybe I can find a local toy drive. One issue is these are often too small for very young kids but maybe I could make some bigger. Do you know where we can find safety/health specs for wooden toys?

JKJ

[Doug Garson]

Thanks, yes the slots are for jigs.

[Doug Garson]

Great looking tops, good way to use up small scraps of wood I'm sure. The question of health and safety specs has come up (on the other forum) and some avoid making toys because of that concern. Mainly by those who have woodworking businesses and fear lawsuits. I do my best to make the toys safe (Titebond 3 glue, non-toxic finishes, no sharp edges, no small loose parts etc.). Ultimately it is the parents who must decide if the toy is safe for their child with or without supervision. Hopefully that is enough to keep the kids safe. Regulations in Canada and the US are easy to find on line but hard to follow as they involve a lot of test requirements that most of us don't have the equipment to carryout. I rely on basic common sense.

[John K Jordan]

Great looking tops, good way to use up small scraps of wood I'm sure. ...Regulations in Canada and the US are easy to find on line but hard to follow as they involve a lot of test requirements that most of us don't have the equipment to carryout. I rely on basic common sense.

Thanks, I'll do some reading. I read once of a "tube" test where a toy should not be able to go through a tube of certain diameter (to prevent choking.)

BTW, I don't really use scraps for these. I buy exotics in sizes to use directly. When I process logs or large wood into turning blanks I cut and dry blanks specifically for tops. I typically start with a 1"-2.5" square blank 6" to 10" long, hold one end in a chuck on the lathe, and turning several tops in a row. I can't even guess how many hundreds I've made! And I'm a slow turner. :) I used to give batches of 50 to a missionary friend who used them in programs at an orphanage in Romania. These kids had nothing. Toys that didn't need batteries made good sense!

JKJ

[Doug Garson]

The "tube test" is certainly one that we could use. The Canadian standard (converted to imperial) is a 1 1/4" ID tube 2 1/4" long on one side and 1" long on the other. I suspect the US standard is similar, I believe the Canadian standard is based on an international standard. I just happened to find a piece of PVC pipe that is 1 1/4" ID and 2 1/4" long (strange coincidence) in my scrap pile, just need to find a safe way to cut it on the diagonal and keep all my digits. The diagonal would be easy to cut off the end of a longer piece.
Just looked at the standard again and the test is that the smallest piece cannot fit entirely in the tube so after cutting the diagonal just need to cap off the diagonal end. If I'm able to make one I'll post a picture.

[Doug Garson]

OK here's the "test tube", ID is 1 1/4", long side is 2 1/4" and short side is 1". Photos show one piece that passes and one that fails from one of my Koala bear puzzles, guess I'll permanently glue them in place. Thanks for bringing this up.

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[Jim Finn]

Our woodworkers club makes and donates well over 5000 toys every year to four different places. Two hospitals, The Salvation Army, and Ronald McDonald house. Must are little cars,, but some are dolls and critters with no wheels. Mostly for toddlers. Older kids, nowadays, have phones to play with.

[Doug Garson]

Looks great Jim, thanks for sharing. Who's the cutie in the third photo?

[Jim Finn]

Marvin the Martian

[Doug Garson]

Well I'm finally finished and here's this year's production. A couple repeats from last year and some new ones. Colours are all food colouring and finish is beeswax.372360372361372362372363372364372365372366 372367372368372369