Christmas Toys

Yes it's that time of year again ( actually with the pandemic I started six months ago), Here's some pictures of this years production, hope to add to it in the coming weeks. Some old favorites and a few new ones. Made about two dozen of the Tangram (ancient Chinese puzzles) c/w boxes to hold them, some for the toy drive and some for gifts. Great way to use up small scraps. Thanks to DJNelson on another forum for the idea. Again about 2 dozen of the stacking cats and again thanks to Dan for the idea. Third picture shows my annual production of tug boats, race cars, baby rattles and pull toys. For the pull toys I drilled the axle holes in the wheel off center so the ducks waddle and the whales bob up and down as they are pulled. What are you guys and gals up to?
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Treasure chests for toy drives. Okay maybe just think boxes, as simple or complex as you want to make 'em. But the idea is that kids get a place to put their own special stuff. Also is gender-neutral, which makes toy hand-out easier.

Sounds good, any pics?

doug,

you have inspired me to make some tangram puzzles. how big did you make them?

last year i made 43 soma cube puzzles, they were a hit.

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Originally Posted by keith wootton

doug,

you have inspired me to make some tangram puzzles. how big did you make them?

last year i made 43 soma cube puzzles, they were a hit.

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Here's a pic that should help, around 6" overall. Of course exact dimensions aren't critical just relative.Mine are about 1/4" thick but again not critical whatever works with your scraps. When I made them I made a bunch, put them into sets, found I had odd pieces so made some more, rinse and repeat. I think I ended up with about two dozen sets. The boxes are sized to store them in two layers, still takes me several attempts to put them in the box. :) What are soma cube puzzles, can you share a pic?
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thanks for the picture, doug. i made a couple paper versions and can see a six inch puzzle fits into a box about 4.5 inches across... a pretty manageable size.
here is a link to soma cube. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soma_cube just got my first modern cell phone a couple months ago, and not up to posting pictures yet.... but i can text them.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by keith wootton

thanks for the picture, doug. i made a couple paper versions and can see a six inch puzzle fits into a box about 4.5 inches across... a pretty manageable size.
here is a link to soma cube. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soma_cube just got my first modern cell phone a couple months ago, and not up to posting pictures yet.... but i can text them.

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Thanks, your dimensions sound right, if you can make the Soma cubes, the Tangram puzzles will be a walk in the park. I'll have to give the Somas a try, looks a little more challenging.

You will put smiles on many faces including mine. Thanks for sharing!

Doug
Great idea. I recently made my son's some oak swords that they really love and have been thinking about making some to give away. I happened upon a few stacks of oak pallets, so I have plenty of wood.

I know as a boy I loved all things knives, swords, etc (still do 😉). Not sure if those are acceptable toys anymore though?

Yeah, the sword thing maybe an issue but there are lots of other wooden toys to consider.