2017-07-30

Today In the Toymakers Shop

It doesn't look like much but there is more work here than it you would think from looking at the photos. A bunch of little parts got painted and clear coated. Some new paint tried out. And a few cars assembled.

Wooden Toy Cars Parts
Wooden Toy Cars Parts

Here a freshly assembled bat car is sitting on a test board. Yes the pink paint does one coat coverage on bare plywood.

Wooden Toy Car Bat Car
Wooden Toy Car Bat Car 
Below is a lot of exhaust pipes ready to install in the Hot Rods. I takes a lot longer than you might think to make these. They are painted and clear coated.


Wooden Toy Cars Exhaust Pipes and Hubs
Wooden Toy Cars Exhaust Pipes and Hubs
SPme seriously red wheels.  The clear shellac makes the color pop.

Wooden Toy Cars Seriously Red Wheels
Wooden Toy Cars Seriously Red Wheels
Two assemble bat cars. The Pink one is an experiment with brushing paint that didn't turn out to well. It's still a solid playable toy but ot really didn't work out well.

Wooden Toy Cars Bat Cars Pink -Amber Shellac
Wooden Toy Cars Bat Cars Pink - Amber Shellac

Today in the Toymaker's Shop

I should have taken some photos of the car the axle pegs got stuck halfway in. I was so intent on the repair that I totally forgot about taking photos of the repair. I sawed the axle pins with a flush cut saw and drilled the stubs out with a drill press and rigged up temporary jig to hold the car body in the right place with the front wheels on it. It worked perfectly. So good that the only way I can tell you which one it is the scratch on the back of one of the wheels where I scraped it with the saw.

Lesson learned: Always dry fit everything. The reason they got stuck was that the pegs were to long.

Some of today's work.  The ones I didn't for get to photograph.

Wooden Toy Cars Some of today's Work.
Wooden Toy Cars Some of today's Work.
Wooden toy Hot Rods waiting for exhaust pipes ans wheels. The finish is brushed amber shellac on pine. 


Wooden Toy Cars Hot Rod Waiting for Exhaust Pipes and Wheels
Wooden Toy Cars Hot Rod Waiting for Exhaust Pipes and Wheels
Wooden toy cars with what is probably their last coat of shellac. I sand and recoat until I;m happy with the results. The white bat car is primer coated with white acrylic gettin ready to pain tie. There was a hidden nail in the body that I could not see until I started sanding. so it gets painted. I'm thinking pink. for this one. 


Wooden Toy Cars & Trucks Final Finish In Progress
Wooden Toy Cars & Trucks Final Finish In Progress
171 exhaust pipes in progress. These are used on a lot of my toys so when I make them I make a batch. It seems like a lot but I use six per car so this is only enough for 28 cars.


Wooden Toy Cars - 171 Exhaust Pipes In Progress
Wooden Toy Cars - 171 Exhaust Pipes In Progress

Finished cars waiting for the photographer to finish the rest of the toys. I've been trying to assembly line toys so they come out in batches. This batch is going to have about 40 cars and trucks . I really should have dusted the table.


Wooden Toy Cars & Trucks Camera Ready
Wooden Toy Cars & Trucks Camera Ready

The toymakers workbench at closing time today.  Etsy likes to show photos of sellers "studios" in their newsletters. They never look like this. It's I good bet that I'll never get featured. No it doesn't always look like this. Sometimes it's worse.

Wooden Toys - Toymakers Workbench
Wooden Toys - Toymakers Workbench

2017-07-20

Assembly In Progress

Looking over some of the bodies I've been working on I decided that the finish was good enough on some of them. I started assembly and worked at it until help arrived (3 yer old grandson) who wanted some shop time with papa. 

I ruined one that is not in the photos. Both back axle pegs seized before they were fully inserted. It's not the first time this has happened. I can cut the wheels off and re drill the holes but its a pain. I really think I should start drilling the holes 1/64 larger than the plan and pining the axle pegs. 


20170720_210615 Wooden toy cars & Trucks - Play Pal Monster Trucks - Hot Rod Freaky Fords - Ford 32 For Sedan - 32 Ford Coupe Garage Shop Workbench
20170720_210615 Wooden toy cars & Trucks - Play Pal Monster Trucks - Hot Rod Freaky Fords - Ford 32 For Sedan - 32 Ford Coupe Garage Shop Workbench

2017-07-11

How do I support small parts while the paint drys?

When painting small parts such as wheels and even large car bodies like the Hot Rod Freaky Fords need to be supported while the paint or shellac dries.  SInce all of these have holes for axles or other things such as exhaust pipes I devised a way to take advantage of this. I insert dowels in the holes apply the finish and  then I can insert the other end of the dowel into a hole drilled in the stands,

Paint Stand for supporting wooden toy parts while the paint dries.
Various paint stands I have made.
The one on the left is the first one I made. Its half inch plywood which turned out to be to thin to get the holes deep enough to support larger items. The holes are to far apart. Closer holes give you more options. It is also to narrow heaver items have tipped it over. I keep it because it is perfect for 1-1/2 inch wheels.

Threes of these are made from BC plywood. Not my favorite. BC ply is seldom flat and when you are drilling nearly all the way through it breaks through. The smaller one has masonite glued to the bottom because of this.

The stand on the front right is MDF. Its heavy and flat, drills easy and its dirt cheap.

I use 1/4 inch dowels that I sharpen on one end. to hold everything. Sharpening the dowles let me use them for ay size hole up to 1/4 inch, I like to use 4 inch dowels. I can use shorter ones but I find the inserting short dowels in the holes is difficult in tight quarters.

Wooden toy cars on a paint stand.
One of my paint stands in use.

I made a paint stand on a lazy susan but so far I haven't found it any more useful than the regular ones.

Lazy Susan Revolving Paint Stand for Painting Wooden Toy
Lazy Susan Revolving Paint Stand for Painting Wooden Toys 


I started with 1/4 in holes but soon discovered that these were to tight. If you make one of these drill the holes 1/64 or 1/32 inch larger. I just took the next larger bit iin the drill index.

 Pay Pal Wooden Toy Cars On A Paint Stand 
Pay Pal Wooden Toy Cars On A Paint Stand 
  Hot Rod Freaky Ford Wooden Toy Cars On The Original Paint Stand
Hot Rod Freaky Ford Wooden Toy Cars On The Original Paint Stand


 Wheels On A Paint Stand Hot Rod Wooden Toy Car In Foreground
Wheels On A Paint Stand Hot Rod Wooden Toy Car