2017-08-13

Can I use my belt sander to sand toys?

The 90% sanding on this little truck body was done using two belt sanders. A Shopsmith 6x48 belt sander with a worn 80 grit belt and my Delta 1x42 strip/belt sander with a silicon carbide 220 grit belt. It's about as smooth as you can get pine.

Wooden Toy Truck Sanded With Belt Sanders
Wooden Toy Truck Sanded With Belt Sanders

I use the larger Shopsmith sander to do the heavy work an smooth out the flat areas and in this case remove the finish from the recycled wood. Then I use the Delta belt sander to fine tune and do the final smoothing. It takes a little practice an a light touch. Even 220 grit belts can can chew of a bunch of wood in a hurry. It is sort of like carving with a sanding belt. I can literally reshape the toy as I;m smoothing it.

As for the 10% I eased the corners with a foam fingernail file. If your hand is steady enough you could do this with the bet sander. However, I can't control the wooden toy well enough to give me satisfactory results.

I sanded inside the window with a shop made scroll saw sander that I made with two strips of sanding belt, some double sided tape, and a scroll saw blade.

Delta 1x42 Strip Sander
Delta 1x42 Strip Sander
 Shopsmith Belt Sander and Power Stand
Shopsmith Belt Sander and Power Stand

2017-08-08

Play Pal Bat Car With Red Wheels - On the Toy Makers Bench

Playing with color on the wheels.  The blue hubs were what I had made up already and they don't look bad but I think black would look better.

The hubs and wheels have two coats of acrylic paint and one coat of shellac. Big surprise for me was how the red color really pops the red paint. not only did it make them glossy but the red color now looks more intense.

Wooden Toy Car - Play Pal - Bat Car - Shellac - Red Wheels - Blue Hubs
Wooden Toy Car - Play Pal - Bat Car - Shellac - Red Wheels - Blue Hubs
Odin's Toy Factory
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2017-08-05

Play Pal Bat Car With Pink Wheels - On the Toy Makers Bench

I'm playing around with colors because the kids like the colors. My personal experience and that of people who sell at craft shows tells me this. Adults tend to go for the wood grain and the kids go for the bright colors.

I have this bright pink paint I'm experimenting with so I decided to see what it would look like as wheels. Black was the only axle pin color I had that worked with the pink.

Wooden Toy Car - Bat Car - Pink Wheels - Odins Toy Factory
2017-08-05 14.13.07 Wooden Toy Car - Bat Car - Pink Wheels


The body is pine with several coats of amber shellac. The Wheels are painted with pink acrylic and top coated with clear shellac. The hubs are black acrylic with clear shellac on top.

Odin's Toy Factory
#odinstoyfactory
#woodentoycar
#handmade