Baby Rattle

[Christopher Fletcher]

I recently made a baby rattle for my good friend's new baby girl.

8/4 cherry ripped into 1" wide halves. Routed out a 1/2" deep x 1" wide x 2" long trough from both sides. Filled the hollow with Copper BB's, gorilla glue, and clamps. Finish is Tung Oil and buffing.

On the next one, I think I'll make the hollow a little shorter. Comments and critiques welcome.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Christopher - nice design! Looks stout enough to last! What are the finished dimensions? I'm sure the baby girl will love it! Nice work!

[Christopher Fletcher]

Thanks Steve!
I kept the bulb as wide as possible for anti-choking standards. It is 1 11/16" in diameter at the bulb and 5 1/2" long. I was really concerned about safety and tried to keep it thick and sturdy.

I have another rattle glued up and ready to turn, I am just waiting on a replacement tool post.....green bowl blank + loose tool rest = broken cast iron:(

[Bernie Weishapl]

Great looking rattle. I am sure it will be a great piece for the baby.

[Jon McCoy]

I use assorted dried beans inside, figuring eventually one will be broken open and anything inside better be edible (or at least safely passable).

I also finish with shopmade shellac, using high-test grain alcohol instead of denatured alcohol. The ones I've gifted are being gnawed within a minute. I dip them halfway up the handle, then hang them on nails spaced 1/2" apart to dry for a half hour or so, then dip the other end and hang upside down. I do them in runs, and a $20 quart of Everclear & some blonde flakes will complete several dozen rattles.

I made a go/nogo gauge with a scrap block, with a 1-11/16" hole through it. Any rattle (or block, or other toddler toy) that fits in, gets immediately split in half and thrown in the fireplace. One of the CPSC brochures left over from a crib hardware kit suggests that dimension for the under-3 crowd.

Probably overkill on all counts, but I'd hate to be responsible for making someone's baby sick, or worse. If I were selling these, I'd be talking up all these points, and probably have some (shiny) go/nogo gauges for sale or included with each toy.

[Mike Peace]

I made some similar except I did not have a large router bit to hollow out so I drilled out from the end with a forstner bit and then plugged it and turned the plug smooth. I used popcorn but I think dry beans might be louder. The thinner the walls the louder they will rattle. I am not sure that any finish will survive the end users gnawing. I simply beall buffed with carnuba wax so it would look good out of the box.

[Tom Wilson66]

Really great job, she will have a lot of fun with it.Made one for my granddaughter, but just carved the interior opening. Saved setting up the router. I read somewhere that the cardboard tube from a roll of tp is a good go/nogo gauge for the choking issue.

[Clara Koss]

what a great rattle!!!!! my son had one and i kept seeing him hit his head with it over and over because he was too little yet to handle the weight...maybe that's what's wrong with him?????jejejejejeje....:D

[Christopher Fletcher]

I use assorted dried beans inside, figuring eventually one will be broken open and anything inside better be edible (or at least safely passable).

Jon,
The filling was a concern of mine. I tried a few different beans, but the best sound came from the BB's. I had a moment of levity when I was buffing the rattle and ending up throwing it down on to the concrete floor.:eek: To my surprise, the only damage was a small dent and a chip off of the bottom of the handle. I sanded all that out and refinished the piece, but felt confident that it would withstand the abuse.


The thinner the walls the louder they will rattle.
I thought of this too, but I wanted to err on the side of too thick rather than too thin. I used the most dense filling I could think find. My next rattle will not have the flat bottom (no chipping), and I might try popcorn or something like that just to be super safe.

Thanks for all the input! I really appreciate hearing feedback!

[David Walser]

Thanks for the reminder I'm supposed to be making some of these for the upcoming crop of grandnieces and nephews! (I bought the wood over a year ago. Just haven't gotten time to turn.)

The photo of Christopher's rattle and the ensuing discussion made me question my memory of the safety rules that apply to rattles. First, what size does the rattle need to be to not pose a choking danger? The rules provide that no part of the rattle may go more than 1.68" (just under 1 11/16") deep into a hole with a diameter of 1.68". From the picture, I suspect that Christopher's rattle fails this test since it appears the handle of the rattle could easily enter into a hole 1.68" in diameter AND nothing would stop the handle from going more than 1.68" into the hole. The way to avoid this problem is to have a bulb on the end of the handle that is at least 1.68" in diameter. Unfortunately, that doesn't look nearly as nice as Christopher's rattle, but it's safer.

Second, what kind of finishes are okay to use on rattles? The rules only prohibit lead paint. It appears that any of the our regular finishes -- from mineral oil to polly -- are okay. The rules also prohibit sharp edges.

Here's a link to the government's rules: http://www.cpsc.gov/BUSINFO/regsumrattle.pdf

Here's a link to an article by Nick Cook on how to make rattles: http://www.nickcookwoodturner.com/articles-babyrattle.pdf

[Christopher Fletcher]

Yes, the handle of the rattle is more narrow than allowable. This was not my intention as part of the foot chipped off during buffing. The original foot was closer to the 1 11/16" guideline. Truthfully, I was not aware that neither end should be less than 1 3/4 dia. This was an err on my part. As I have already gifted the rattle, I will advise the parents and modify subsequent versions. Thank you for your concern.

[Paul Engle]

Nicely made, the ones I made I used whole coffee beans .... just in case.The CFR is quite explicet about these....at least the commerical ones.