Scroll Saw Village

Since we’re on the subject of T-Rex, here’s a fun little dinosaur puzzle you can easily make for the budding paleontologists in your life. This free standing puzzle was designed by William Berry for Scroll Saw Woodworking & Crafts (Issue 29 Holiday 2007). You can read the full article online which includes detailed instructions and a free PDF version of the pattern. Check it out!

When I came across Pictures In Wood, I had a tough time choosing what to write about. They had this really cool farm toy with some progression pictures of the construction process. I was really drawn to that because of my recent interest in toy making. But on the flip side, their intarsia is amazing as well! You see my dilemma? Do I talk about their super cool toy, or do I talk about their amazing intarsia? Well, it looks like I just talked a little about both! Check out their website. It’ll certainly inspire you to get out into the shop and make something super-cool too!

I wanted to end the week with a book review that got me started on this folk toy kick. I recently got Scroll Sawing Egg Roller Toys by Doug Turner. Don’t look for it on your bookstore shelves, because you can only find it online. This is a self published 44 page ebook with detailed instructions, 12 egg roller patterns and 2 bonus craft show quick-sellers.

An egg roller is a wheeled folk toy popular in rural areas. A wooden egg balances between a set of wheels and spins as you push the roller. This mechanical movement is a lot of fun will provide little ones with hours of entertainment.

Traditionally, the egg roller was a pull toy. But the long string is now recognized as a strangulation hazard. So in the interest of safety, Doug left the pull string off the designs. He was also conscious about making sure that the wheels and egg would not be a choking hazard. To avoid toxic chemicals, he chose not to paint or finish his toys. However, he does offer suggestions for safe finishing.

The ebook comes on CD and mailed to your home. All you do is email Doug with your name and address, and he’ll send a PayPal request via email. The CD was in my mailbox within 3 days. So I was very happy with the prompt service.

When I looked through the patterns, I immediately wanted to make the turtle roller. I read through the instructions and printed the pattern. I found the wheels and egg at a local craft store. I ended up using some scrap poplar and began cutting it out. The cutting, sanding and assembly took less than an hour. I wanted to add some color to my roller, so that took a bit more time. But in the end, I had a fun little toy for my son pictured to the right.

When I showed it to him, I was the greatest person in the world, at the same time the most unimportant person in the world. He was completely focused on his cool new toy. He grabbed it, sat down and immediately started to push the roller on the floor. It was quite a thrill to see my son enjoy a toy I built with my own two hands. At first, he wasn’t terribly interested in the egg until I showed him how it worked. Then all he wanted to do is watch the egg spin! I think I have a winner! I’ll be making a bunch of these for my nieces and nephews for Christmas!

Overall Impression:
I was pretty happy with Doug’s book. The egg rollers were simple and easy to build. The charming design will certainly delight young and old alike. I can easily see how this would be a great seller at craft fairs. The patterns were a simple and effective. I found the turtle roller was a bit front heavy. But it certainly didn’t affect the enjoyment or playability of the toy. The other designs look a bit more balanced. Doug provided great service, but I wish he had a shopping cart with instant download on his website. I’m an immediate gratification kinda guy. But the CD was at my home much quicker than I expected, which was a pleasant surprise. The book may not be as polished as something you’d find at a bookstore, but I didn’t expect it to be. The information and the patterns contained within is where the real value was.

OK, here’s the rundown:

The Pros

• Full size patterns.
• Descriptive assembly instructions and photos.
• Instructions for production runs.
• Jigs designs to make production easier.
• Lists sources for pre-made parts.
• 2 bonus craft show sellers.
• Very good at answering questions promptly.
• Prompt shipment and service.

The Cons

• No shopping cart.
• No instant download.
• Turtle pattern was a bit front-heavy.

The Jacob’s Ladder is a folk toy that dates back to the ancient Egyptians. This simple toy was especially popular during the American Colonial times and still played with children to this day. Donald DeVeny of Woodcraft Arts has a nice tutorial on how to make this timeless toy. While a scroll saw isn’t necessary to make the Jacob’s Ladder, the flat panels do offer an opportunity to embellish the design with fretwork. The panels can be made with any size lumber, and the ribbon can be any width. So get creative and make a few of these Jacob’s Ladders for the little ones in your life.

PS – They make great stocking stuffers!

My son loves cars. If it ain’t got wheels, he just isn’t interested. Mom and dad drive cars, and so does he. Much was the same for children of former times, but instead of driving cars, they imitated their parents by riding hobby horses.

Woodcrafter.net has provided a nice set of vintage plans with instructions to make your own hobby horse. Unfortunately, the horse’s head graphic is not full scale. So, I recommend saving the JPG file and enlarging it with a graphics program until the grid measures 1 inch. You could also use a photocopier to enlarge the pattern. Then all you have to do is glue the pattern to the wood and cut out!

When finished, paint it with some non-toxic acrylic paints or leave it the natural wood color. Maybe break out your wood burning kit to add the details. Perhaps add some reigns, or some string for the mane. Intarsia artists, I think there’s certainly a great project waiting to be born. There’s so many possibilities with such a simple concept. Get creative. Have fun!

This little climbing bear folk toy has been around for generations. Originally, it was used to teach children the art of milking cows. But in today’s day and age, it’s just plain fun! Pull each of the strings in an alternating pattern and the little bear climbs to the top. Release the strings and he comes back down.

Shopsmith has a pattern and detailed instructions for this cute little toy.They recommend a tilting-table drill press, but a hand drill could be carefully used instead. The angle of the holes should be close to 45 degrees as possible, but it shouldn’t matter if you’re off a little. Just eyeball it and you’ll be fine.

Give this cute little toy a try. They’re easy to make, and will certainly delight young and old alike!

Safety Note: The strings dangle and can become a strangulation hazard for young children. So I’d recommend supervised play with very little ones.

In this day and age of mass-produced plastic toys, it’s so nice to see a hand-made wooden toy. Toys that have character in their simplicity, but never short in fun or imagination. There’s definitely a sense of great satisfaction when a child puts down his Transformer to play with a toy you built with your own two hands. So I thought I’d step back into history and talk a little about Folk Toys this week.

To start things off, this week’s Book of the Week is Folk Toys: Patterns & Projects for the Scroll Sawby Ken Folk. This book includes 19 patterns for the scroll saw with detailed measured drawings. The patterns range in difficulty from beginner to advanced. A great place to start if you’re looking into creating some ‘old fashioned fun’. Check it out!

As a blogger who highlights scroll saw resources on the internet, I have a difficult time not constantly writing about Steve Good’s website, Scrollsaw Workshop. If I was to write an article each time Steve creates a wonderful pattern, this blog would quickly turn into a Steve Good fan site. So I constantly have to reel myself in and only write about the patterns I really find extraordinary. Today, Steve came through with this wooden toy bi-plane pattern. The thing I like best about this pattern is that this design isn’t bogged down by excessive detail. I think a lot of designers get caught up in detail. There’s a fine line between too much detail and not enough, and I think Steve found that balance. The simple elegance and smooth curves really make this project stand out. This free scroll saw pattern is provided in PDF format for easy printing. Steve has also included a great video covering construction tips. Check it out! You won’t be disappointed.

David from Tuliptree Crafts has another great puzzle pattern. He has made this elk pattern available for free on his blog called (oddly enough) Scroll Saw Blog. This elk puzzle is similar to Jim Sweet’s Woodimal puzzles. This is David’s second attempt at this style of puzzle, and I must say he’s getting pretty good at it. It’s a fine balance between making the text readable without sacrificing detail. Give it a try. While you’re there, be sure to read some of his blog entries. He’s always working on something new and innovative. I know I read it everyday. I’m sure it will become one of your favorites too.

If you like this elk design, be sure to check out Jim Sweet’s Woodimal pattern site. He has a ton of designs to choose from!

My son is getting to the age where he wants to play with more interesting toys. I’m getting to the point where I want to make those toys for him. There is no greater satisfaction than having a child enjoy a toy created by your own two hands.

Last week, I bought Making Toys That Teach, by Les Neufeld. Let me tell you, this book is awesome. It is exactly what I was looking for. Toys that are simple, fun and educational. I liked it so much, I had to make it this week’s Book Of The Week.

These toys are designed for children between 7 months to 12 years old. Each toy offers numerous teaching opportunities, but still allows room for creative play. They teach the basics like manipulation, shape recognition, sorting, and pattern making. But they also teach more advanced concepts like fractions, decimals, geometry and even basic structural engineering! These toys will provide countless hours of play, and they’ll be learning too. Its a win-win situation!

This book has 9 fantastic projects. I know I’ll build each one of these wonderful toys. The coolest toy, in my mind, is the Ultimate Building Block Set. It is the best blocks set I’ve ever seen. I wish I had this when I was a kid!

OK. Here’s the rundown.

Pros:

• The toys are simple and elegant.
• The toys offer creative play and learning opportunities.
• Each toy has a section on how to use it for teaching opportunities.
• The projects are easy to make.
• Only basic tools are needed.
• Easy to read plans and measurements.
• Clear instructions with plenty of color photographs.
• Lots of lists; Cut lists, Materials List, Recommended Tools List.
• Great bibliography for further reading (mostly academic).
• List of resources and suppliers.

Cons:

• I wish the book would go into more detail about safe finishing techniques.
• I also wish the book would include information of toy safety.

If you have kids or grand kids, this book is perfect for you. It is worth it just for the building blocks alone. The toys you create will provide countless hours of fun, and help foster creativity and problem solving. I can’t recommend this book enough. Grab yourself a copy!