Toy Project

I found an old pattern for a baby's rolling toy hanging on a nail in the shop, and decided to make one for the littlest grand son but the wooden ball I had was a bit big so I scaled up the pattern. A pair of offset ovals connected by four dowels to trap a wood ball. As the toy rolls on a hard floor the ball click-clacks side to side in the dowels. Walnut ovals from my property, maple ball from the hobby store, vegetable oil finish so there's no concern with it going into the mouth at some time....

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Very nice work! Vegetable oil finish, that's a great idea!

Been there, a Labor of LOVE for sure !

nice work too

Em

That is so cool.. it's so simple - it's cool!

Nice work Roger.
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Just had 2nd birthday party for Gavin and I wanted to give him a welding helmut so he could help building go kart frames-----

Roger, do you have any other plans or templates for other wood toys you could show or share? Our kids new favorite toy is a lawn cart so they can ride behind the mower. :LOL:

Hey, can I show my ignorance here please and ask just what it is and how does it work ? Now you guys might not know, but my wife and I had decided long before we got married that we wouldn't bring a child into the world resulting in the fact now that I have absolutely no idea of what childrens most desireable toys are let alone how they work. I do like the idea of using vegie oil to stain the object as that certainly is better then a good dose of lead based paint like what was used on toys and cribs of old.

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Originally Posted by Whiplash23T

I have absolutely no idea of what childrens most desireable toys are let alone how they work.

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Whiplash my friend it's simple, the desireable toys are hotrods, and how they work is simple, give 'er gas!

Whip, like Matt says, you just roll it across the floor and the ovals being offset causes the captured ball to roll from side to side as the toy rolls. As the baby gets older they'll push it and crawl after it again, and again, and again.

Ryan, I've got a template for a wood rattle for the little ones. It's a piece of hardwood, split with a portion routed out to form a hollow, then glued back together with a spoonful of rice inside. All smoothed with a cutout for easy holding, and of course vegetable oil finish. If they happen to break it open the rice is harmless.

There may be others, and it's easy to copy old designs that were common 40 to 50 years past, but no longer seen.

Nice work.
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Nice work!. I've heard Danish oil is safe too. I used that on a crib I built for my first Niece. Also built it out of Elm as that is a non toxic wood too.

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Originally Posted by stovens

Nice work!. I've heard Danish oil is safe too.....

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Thanks! Lots of opinions in the wood turning world about "safe" finishes, and many do say that Danish Oil is food safe but the consensus seems to be that it must be fully cured before it's inert, up to a month of drying time. I like Canola Oil for things like this, as it's a food product immediately safe, and it can easily be renewed if desired.

Roger, For the numerous baby beds, and butcher blocks the shop we had always used mineral oil, it use to be the ol'standard for safety, however I had heard of using vegetable oil as well, the mineral oil is really cheap in the pharamacy dept, don't know why all shops used mineral over vegetable?? Just something we all did maybe...

I've been using Veg/Canola Oil on my carbon steel skinning and kitchen knives for years with great success.
3 in 1 doesn't taste very good on a steak.

I think they use mineral oil on butcher blocks as it won't go rancid like some vegetable oils (olive, etc.) over time.

I think it was linseed oil I used back in high school days mid 50s??
I think there was both cured and uncured or raw???

Yup linseed oil is also in danish oil along with tung oil. The nice thing about the combo is it penetrates below surface and cures there, leaving the grain and surface clean. It's a great finish to follow with 7 coats of paste wax on pine furniture and stuff, for a fantastic look.

Ryan, you asked if there were other plans in the works. This is one done from memory, copying a design that I think we had for my oldest, probably around '72 or '73. Used a piece of walnut that we milled from our property and some standard 3/8" and 7/8" hardwood dowels. A simple design with a pair of rounds, four "axles" evenly spaced, each with a 7/8" "clacker" swinging free. The only critical measurement is that the top of the "clacker" dowels be inside the diameter of the rounds so they swing free and don't hit the floor. Roll it across a flat surface and the larger dowels give a "clack, clack, clack" as they impact the adjacent axles. I suppose that it could also be made with five or six axles for a bit more noise. This one has a pure mineral oil finish for Olin who's going on five months old and will be crawling before long.

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Nice design Roger. I'm sure the kids would love to play with these when still young and curious! Anything that makes noise excites them!

The more noise the toy makes, the better, my family apparently thinks. :LOL: Nice work on that Roger!

That's cute. I can picture it with a handle, for a toddler

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Originally Posted by firebird77clone

That's cute. I can picture it with a handle, for a toddler

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Yeah, a handle would definitely extend the usefulness into the toddler stage, but it would have to be a "U" mount that hooked in on the outside center of the wheels with a couple of axle points. I may have to remember that idea.... Thing is, Olin is their first, and I'm thinking there will be one or two more coming so it'll get quite a bit of use as time passes.....