# My first attempts with toys



## toycrafter (May 31, 2010)

I just wanted to show a few of my toys (no not the woodworking tools :laughing that I made in the last few weeks.
My wife and I are going to open a small company for handmade toys this summer so we're building some inventory.










This steam train is made out of 78 pieces, mostly poplar. I used only wood and glue, no metal hardware at all. All wheels are turning and the cars are linked together with peg and hole couplers. Engine, passenger car and caboose have 3/4" holes inside to place the peg figures. 










This truck is also made from poplar with a bubinga radiator and walnut head and tail lights. The back door opens by turning the knob on either side of the trailer. The roof comes off for easy loading. Trailer and tractor are linked with a peg and hole coupler.




























Now these little fellows are obviously not made out of wood but I thought I'd show them anyway. My wife makes these among many other awesome plush animals as her part of our little company.

Let me know what you think.


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## ACP (Jan 24, 2009)

I think you have some cool little toys there. I really like the fit and finish of your wooden toys. They look very well done. I know my son would have fun playing with them. What are you going to finish them with? Do you have to jump through any hoops with the government to sell kids toys? I have heard grumblings on this site awhile back about how the govt. is making it almost impossible to make and sell or donate wood toys b/c of safety rules. Too bad they don't apply to China but I digress. Your wifes stuffed animals are very cute too. Please let her know I think she does excellent work too.


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## beelzerob (May 2, 2010)

I think the detail *and* simplicity are excellent. Great kids toys any kid will love to have..heck, _I'd_ love to have the train. I can only aspire to someday make my girls some toys they'll like before they've already moved out of the house....

Did you also create all of the round/rounded parts from your own stock?

How long does it take you to create a single train? Just gluing speeds things up a bit I'd bet. That train would probably be a several week affair for me, so unless I sold it for thousands of dollars, there's no way *I* could make a business out of it. But I do hope you can.


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## toycrafter (May 31, 2010)

So far I have not finished any of the toys but I will probably finish them with tung oil or shellac.

The consumer protection agency is keeping a very strict eye on toys and ANY product for kids under 13 but luckily they have come to their senses a little bit and exempt a few materials including wood, fabric, shellac and tung oil. I was planning to color some of the toys with milk paint, as in "you can eat it its so non-toxic" kind of milk paint, but guess what, it has to be tested for lead content since it is paint. We might do that eventually but for now most toys are unfinished (as in the pictures) or tung oil and therefore CPSIA compliant.

I wish I had a lathe but not yet, scroll saw is next on the list. Some of the parts like the wheels are pre-made from craftparts.com.
A lot of the rounded parts are made from either dowels or with the band saw and belt/disc sander.

As far as the time to make these toys goes: I am still working on finding a balance between the right detail and the time it takes to make the toys. The train takes a long time to make. My experience from my job as R&D Manager helps to develop processes though and the more you make at one time the faster it gets. It takes a few minutes to set up a tool but only a few seconds to use it. Then I just need to sell the multiples that I make :laughing:

My wife was very happy to hear positive feedback about her plush animals too, thanks.


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## Gene Howe (Feb 28, 2009)

Very nice. I too, really like the plush toys. 
As a non-professional toy maker, I empathize with the need to mass produce parts. 
Wife and I usually think in terms of 24 of one model at a time. 
At times (not often, though) we'll have a part that, at a stage of production, can be used for more than one model. then we double or triple that part's out put. 
We have plastic bins loaded with parts and arranged in storage by model. 
Why so many toys for a non-pro toy maker? We have two grand kids and, as of now, 21 grand nieces and nephews. 
Good luck in your venture. Both of your work is fabulous and I'm sure will sell well.


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## beelzerob (May 2, 2010)

Ya, I shoulda mentioned....of all the pics you posted, those stuffed toys are the ones that would make my girls go mad with the wanting.

I've pondered if I ever got good at making little things and/or toys, and then mass produce enough of them, if it'd be worthwhile to try selling them at a swap meet or other type of craft fair. Just seems like some of the kinds of things you'd see there.


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## toycrafter (May 31, 2010)

I think for now craft shows are going to be our best bet once we have a little bit of inventory. Wife and I went to about 2 dozen shows last year just to scout which ones would be good for us. Luckily the competition in quality toys is very low. Some wood crafters have a few toys and there is always a Melissa&Doug vendor but no dedicated toy vendor, especially not quality (sanding toys seems to be quite outlandish :laughing. I'm sure this is different from region to region.
The second best bet is the internet. I made a website to showcase our products (www.storybuildertoys.com) and we are currently offering the toys for sale on etsy.com. My wife is maintaining a Twitter account and I'm sure Facebook won't be far behind. This summer I will integrate a shopping cart system into our site so we can sell directly off the site. 

I think if we ever wanted to make this our full income so I can quit my job and just make toys we'd have to find a manufacturer to make the quantity for us and that is several years in the future, if ever.

I definitely appreciate all the positive feedback from you all, it is very motivating!


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## Streamwinner (Nov 25, 2008)

Beautiful work. I just drafted up some plans for a train that I'll start for my son in the next few weeks. Won't be nearly as nice as yours.


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## toycrafter (May 31, 2010)

Thanks!


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## gideon (May 26, 2010)

I like what you are doing. I am in the toy business (web sales).

You have to be extremely careful now. Due to the incredible fear mongering around the Chinese toys and lead paint, the government now requires that you have your products tested at independent labs and provide material data sheets. 

I knew some cottage toy makers who just stopped producing.

It was a case of dealing with what turned out to be a pretty minor problem with a sledgehammer because of the panic.


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## toycrafter (May 31, 2010)

Thanks for the warning. 
I have done extensive research and we are currently only using exempt materials. I wanted to color some of my toys with milk paint but that would have to be tested so I postponed that.

What toys are you selling? Are you making toys as well?


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## Chris Adkins (May 12, 2010)

Looks great! My wife makes wooden puzzles and we by toy safe paint from Highland Woodworking. 

Anyway they look great and good luck I am sure you will do well with them!


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## toycrafter (May 31, 2010)

Chris, nice website and I am very jealous of that wooden clock. Not sure if I had the patience and I know for a fact I don't have the time but I love it, really good work.

I checked the Highland Woodworking page and found some very interesting options. Which dye/paint is your wife using and does she put a finish on top of it like salad bowl oil or tung oil? I'd love to see some pics of the puzzles.


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## Chris Adkins (May 12, 2010)

The wood gear clock was a fun project to build. I stay pretty busy myself with work but it was worth putting in the time to complete. Give it a try sometime you will love it.

As for the finishes we use. For coloring I like Arti Toymakers's Dye but for finish I guess my "official" response should be Behlen Salad Bowl finish but..... I went to a wood finishing class with a prominent woodworker and was told that the Salad Bowl finish is exactly the same as any other polyurethane and that essentially any Polyurethane is in fact food safe, after a little research of my own I found the same results.....but I am always apprehensive about sudgesting this to people since at least with the Behlen you get the label stating that it is toy and food safe.

Here is a snake puzzle that we made.


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## toycrafter (May 31, 2010)

I had envisioned the puzzles different when you told me about it, I guess like the classic flat puzzle, but this is awesome, I really like it.

I looked at the dyes again and I am wondering, are they cpsia lead tested? 
I know they are non-toxic, so is the salad bowl oil, but to be cpsia conform it needs to either be tested by the manufacturer or by whoever uses it to make children's products out of it. 

I tried milk paint on some of the toys I made for my son and it looks great but even though you can practically eat milk paint, it does not have the governments seal of approval. I am planning to use it sooner or later but I will have to send it to a government accredited lab for testing first (thanks China).

Btw, interesting info about the salad bowl oil. I'll keep that in mind but don't worry, I didn't hear it from you :whistling2:


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## Chris Adkins (May 12, 2010)

She has made quite a few "flat" traditional puzzles as well but I like these best. We worked together just before Christmas and made a bunch of Whales that are also 3D puzzles and put a little man inside of them. They were a big hit and my wife got a kick out of selling them.


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## JohnK007 (Nov 14, 2009)

Those are some really nice pieces! Whoever gets those will have some great treasures to play with. Well done !!


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## brendanrcarpenter (Apr 14, 2010)

Awesome!


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