Thread: Toy Project

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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. Nice work on that Roger!

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

Originally Posted by firebird77clone

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

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.....