What wood for kids building blocks?

[Perry Schmidt]

Been a long time since I've poste anything...been busy. Unfortunately work, not Woodworking.

My question: my parents have an old set of wood building blocks. Very nice block! About twice the size of what you find at places like Toys 'R Us. Of course can't find them anywhere.

So figured it can't be to hard to make my own. Pulled the general dimensions, colored stains easy to find. The only question is what kind of wood to use?? I can't tell what the type of wood is from my 'patterns'.

It's got a grain very much like Oak, but it's not Oak. Not maple...to soft. Not pine...to hard.

What's a good wood for kids blocks??

Thx,

Perry

[Joe Unni]

Perry,

Though I've not made any, my guess is that ANY wood would work so long as you sanded them smooth.

My 2 cents.

-joe

[Luciano Burtini]

Sounds like Beech to me. Looks like Oak (kind a) good for projects like this because it is hard, sands well, relatively inexpensive, etc.

http://www.logsplitters.com/images/WOOD/Beech.jpg

[Tony Falotico]

If it's got a grain like oak I might guess ash. When it comes to making, I would also consider hickory, it's hard and can handle the abuse it might get.

[Lars Thomas]

Maple would be my choice - although beech (as mentioned) would also be good. I would stay away from ash and oak as they tend to splinter a bit. Lars

[Andy Pedler]

I made some a few years ago and used a combination of Red Oak and Ash.

I had two big concerns, which you've probably already taken care of.

1. Size. I found that 1.25" cubes was a nice size. Too big to go in your mouth (if you're 3 and were so inclined).

2. Finish. You need to find a safe water-soluble finish. I can't remember what I used but there are stains out there made for toys, and hence relatively less toxic than your average poly. Although I suppose you could use something like mineral oil as well. If it is safe enough for a cutting board it is probably safe enough for a toy, especially one that doesn't easily get into a kid's mouth.

ap

[tod evans]

perry, lotsa kid toys where made of maple.....02 tod

43051

[Christian Rupp]

Perry,
Les Neufeld's book Toys That Teach has a wonderful set of of blocks. Maybe your library has a copy

[Tom Jones III]

The first wood I would think of is poplar. Finishes well, sands well, easy to work, very cheap.

[Lee Schierer]

I would use maple (hard or soft) for blocks, possibly poplar. Cherry or walnut would also work but would be a bit pricey unless you have a lot of short scraps around. Here's a set of blocks I made with a nice case. Actually the case was a drawer that was the wrong size, that was recycled into a block box.

http://home.earthlink.net/~us71na/blocks.jpg

[Chet Parks]

I have used white and red oad, cherry and maple scraps to make quite a few blocks. My grandsons don't seem to care what wood it is. They all stack and fall over with the required amount of noise.

Chet Parks

[Chuck Saunders]

(In your best Scottish Brougue) Aauch, your coddling them kids. Rough sawn cedar, fir or thistles make fine toys.

A set of Beech blocks with an oiled finish would be a sharp set of blocks. just remember to break the corners so there are no sharp edges.
Chuck

[Gary McKown]

Last Christmas our local group made about 30 charity sets from Ash butcher block cutoffs, unfinished. Boxes were from resawn cutoffs, also - some ash and some maple. See some of them here:

Moderator removed direct link to another public forum -- TOS Violation

One of the guys found that 1½" cubes are the recommended minimum size.

[Steve Schoene]

I made some a few years ago and used a combination of Red Oak and Ash.

Finish. You need to find a safe water-soluble finish. I can't remember what I used but there are stains out there made for toys, and hence relatively less toxic than your average poly.
ap

I don't think there is any particular reason to suppose waterborne finishes to be any safer when cured than oil based finishes when cured.

Bob Flexner is pretty adamant that there are no clear finishes on the market today in the US that would be toxic when fully cured (a month) even on toys or for food contact.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Any nonsplintery tough hard wood. Maple leaps to mind,
Spruce is awful, cedar also. I'd not use oak or teak.

Maple and beech are the likely best candidates - I think. Some may argue that Beech is listed as a carcinogen. I don't give that any credit though because the levels are substantially less than BBQ hamburgers.

[Mark Patoka]

Just about any wood should work for blocks but close grain woods seem to be preferred.

Here is a block wagon, based on the New Yankee Workshop, that I made for my niece a couple years ago. The blocks are scrap maple with cherry letters scrollsawn and glued on. I used Salad Bowl finish just to reassure the family that it was food-safe even though most any finish is food safe once cured.

I also made about 150 blocks out of 2x4 scrap for my wife's classroom that were all spray painted (what a pain). They seemed to hold up very well also.

[Perry Schmidt]

Thanks for the suggestions. I think beech is our winner. The pic was on the money, and I think the 'hardness' is about right too.

Thanks!

As an aside, I found 'kid colored stains' at Rockler which I plan to use to stain them. Some folks mentioned size. I pulled the size from my Parents old block set. It's the best sized blocks I've seen (having played w/ them as a kid...and maybe some recently too. Strickly to help my kids :) ) I've never been able to find blocks this size anywhere. Barclay block are the closest in size, but not colored (which I like) and they are pricey!

The size of the 'basic block' was 3 1/2" by 1 3/4" by 7/8" thick. Then the had some half and double that size - 1 3/4"x 1 3/4"x7/8" and 7" long. Then various cuts which are all ratios of the basic block - rounds, wedges, 1/2 the width, etc.

But nice sized block. So looks like I got my work cut out for be before Xmas.

thanks for the wood suggestions. I believe Beech is the winner, although Ash and maple may be my final product.

Perry

[Ken Salisbury]

The kind you get from trees

http://www.oldrebelworkshop.com/smiley2.gif