Jerry Strojny
03-13-2007, 12:50 PM
Here are a couple of toys I made for my little nephew in Williamsburg, VA. Just accross the river from the home of this great forum. My sister and BIL come back to Wisconsin for Christmas each year. So this year since they have a one year old, I let them page through a book I have "Making Toys that Teach" by Les Neufeld and said, "Which ones do you want me to make?" These are the first two. A classic stacking pyramid, and an attribute box.
The stacking pyramid was a bit more challanging for me than first glance. The inside hole is tapered to match the angle of the center post, and also done so that the piece can be put on the post either side up. They also need to fit a certain spot on the post. The toy was mostly made with hand tools. I cut the sqaures out on the tablesaw, but the rest was done with a coping saw and files. OK, the drill press was used to give the coping saw a place to start in the 4 corners. It took me a couple weekends to finish it. I made it with purple heart and maple. Finish is 3 coats of GF Salad Bowl finish.
60154 60155
The attribute box is a bit more simple. It has three layers of maple wtih shapes cut into each. They shapes get progressively larger as you go up so there is only one way to get all the matching pieces in the box. There is a fourth piece of maple for the top and a section of piano hinge to act as the simple "latch". That is finished with 3 coats of shellac.
601566015760158
I really enjoyed making these. There's something about helping the development of a child that makes this so much more rewarding. Next projects are a set of building blocks and eventually an attribute train. So much fun...so little time.
Thanks for looking.
The stacking pyramid was a bit more challanging for me than first glance. The inside hole is tapered to match the angle of the center post, and also done so that the piece can be put on the post either side up. They also need to fit a certain spot on the post. The toy was mostly made with hand tools. I cut the sqaures out on the tablesaw, but the rest was done with a coping saw and files. OK, the drill press was used to give the coping saw a place to start in the 4 corners. It took me a couple weekends to finish it. I made it with purple heart and maple. Finish is 3 coats of GF Salad Bowl finish.
60154 60155
The attribute box is a bit more simple. It has three layers of maple wtih shapes cut into each. They shapes get progressively larger as you go up so there is only one way to get all the matching pieces in the box. There is a fourth piece of maple for the top and a section of piano hinge to act as the simple "latch". That is finished with 3 coats of shellac.
601566015760158
I really enjoyed making these. There's something about helping the development of a child that makes this so much more rewarding. Next projects are a set of building blocks and eventually an attribute train. So much fun...so little time.
Thanks for looking.