Wooden Toy Ideas?

[Thomas Wilson]

A scroll saw and some plywood for jigsaw puzzles. A scroll saw is not too loud. I use one in my apartment shop. I have a book of cleverly simple plans. Each piece is painted a solid color which makes painting easier. I found a source for non-toxic bright color paint. When t go to the apartment tomorrow I can add the name and publisher of the book and the brand of paint to this thread. It goes without saying the finish needs to be safe to eat.

The book is Ed Sibbetts, Jr, Wooden Puzzle Toys . The book gives 24 patterns using iron on transfer paper.
I have just copied them and used spray adhesive to glue the sheet to the work piece.

Here are the front and back covers and a back inside page. That should give you an idea of the scale and difficulty of the scroll saw work and painting.

Book Cover.jpgBackCover.jpgBackCover 2.jpg
I remembered incorrectly about the painting being solid colors. Some pieces have multiple colors and lines.

The book is available used from private sellers through Amazon. Prices range quite a bit. I saw from $.75 to $877. A new copy was $39.97. I could also copy a few designs and mail them to you if you want to try just one or two.

I do not have the paint anymore but there are lots of non-toxic paints for sale online. This project does not require anything special.

[Joe A Faulkner]

You are probably a decade away from considering the wooden swords. You will blink and he will be 10 years old. Blink again and they are off to college. Custom jig saw puzzles were a big hit. The simple doll house/bookshelf makes for a nice nursery accessory. Wood burning cross sections of maple branches make for fun educational, manipulatives.

[Luke Dupont]

You are probably a decade away from considering the wooden swords. You will blink and he will be 10 years old. Blink again and they are off to college. Custom jig saw puzzles were a big hit. The simple doll house/bookshelf makes for a nice nursery accessory. Wood burning cross sections of maple branches make for fun educational, manipulatives.

Oh man, I look forward to wooden swords!

I actually happen to also be a martial artist and practice several sword arts, so I've made specialized wooden training swords for my practice before.

Maybe get him hooked young with toy swords, and then he'll be interested in doing martial arts with me

[Luke Dupont]

Thanks everyone!

So many great ideas here.

I really like the book suggestions, by the way. My biggest problem with woodworking is finding inspiration, especially as almost all materials seem to be geared towards totally power-tooled methods.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

I thought I would start a thread "Santa's Workshop". It is already covered and contains some really neat stuff in the Wood Turners Forum. I see from other Toy topic threads that Santa has quite a few helpers. I am fond of the nativity puzzle in the attached image. It is a design that the owner of the shop next door to dads shop (Walt's Bike Shop) would make a few of each Christmas. Another of Walt's creations resides in the Smithsonian Institute. The tortilla press and piggy cutting board are also recurring family Christmas gift items. The workbench opens up to become a ping pong table. This gets opened up when the kids (adults) can come home for the holidays.

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Happy holidays! I will be in the shop until Santa arrives every Christmas Eve.

[Ed Aumiller]

He is still too young... but from about 3-4 years old till they are almost teens.... Make as many "Lincoln Logs" parts as you can... they learn a lot from them, but mostly just have fun building houses, roads, bridges, etc...
Have 7 grandsons and gave each one a tote full of them and they ALL wanted more... Naturally they got more.... they could and did literally build small towns...
They are now in their 20's and up.... And some of them still build houses for under the tree at Christmas!!!

[Jim Koepke]

They are now in their 20's and up.... And some of them still build houses for under the tree at Christmas!!!

If they have kids, they will likely be wanting more again.

jtk

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Here is a scan of the Nativity jigsaw. I suspect there is a more accurate pattern in a book. Also a web address for an article about Walt (the gentleman who showed this pattern to my dad)

https://www.columbiatribune.com/stor...s/21533897007/

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[Keith Outten]

Not exactly a toy but something that children of all ages enjoy is a gumball machine. I made this one 30 years ago.

Gumball Machine 01.jpg

[Luke Dupont]

Not exactly a toy but something that children of all ages enjoy is a gumball machine. I made this one 30 years ago.

Gumball Machine 01.jpg

Wow! That's awesome. Never would have thought of making one from wood.

[Brandon Speaks]

My niece loves ones that have some movement. I made a dog with wooden wheels that had a joint in the middle so it wiggles when she pulls it around and the ears etc can move. I made some animals with an internal wheel with the axel offset so when they roll it flaps a tail etc. Lots of good books on amazon with ideas.

[Lee Schierer]

My niece loves ones that have some movement. I made a dog with wooden wheels that had a joint in the middle so it wiggles when she pulls it around and the ears etc can move. I made some animals with an internal wheel with the axel offset so when they roll it flaps a tail etc. Lots of good books on amazon with ideas.

Here's a dog toy that I made. It has a toothed cam and sound chamber in the body powered by the front wheels so if makes a barking noise as it is pulled. Sort of arf, arf, arf....
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[John K Jordan]

I like the mobiles. Those colorful hanging over the crib airplanes, butterflies, clouds . Always been fascinated by those things…..moving all
around without batteries ! You can even make little cable cars….but you’ll have to be careful with “air spaces”. Congratulations ! Have a
ball !

I didn't see this until just now, but just wanted to say I love mobiles! When in college in '68 I made a couple of huge mobiles for a concert, hung from the edges of the upper balcony. They were just large geometric shapes painted various shades of grey but I think the dynamics of the motion and the shadows added something!

When my middle son was in high school he got interested in making mobiles, mostly from origami. I experimented with photos of a mobile of folded cranes in motion. Far more interesting than the static shots! Good fun.

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JKJ

[Maurice Mcmurry]

These are great. I keep looking for a Like button. We have a marble roller from Grandpa in the attic. loading one with gum balls is brilliant!