From The Toymakers Shop - Handmade Wooden Toy Truck, Pickup Truck from the Play Pal Series

December 01, 2019

I love these little toy pickup trucks. They are simple to make in any size you want, and the design allows for straightforward modifications. These trucks do not follow the original pattern exactly. I have modified the shape slightly to facilitate sanding. To accomplish this, I removed all of the sharp 90 degree corners. Inside corners are almost impossible to sand without damaging to the profile of the truck. After making several of them with the sharp corners got rid of them. A curve is much stronger than an acute angle. This modification makes the truck stronger and gives it a smoother, refined look.

Here are several handcrafted wood toy pickup trucks in the shop almost ready for listing.

Handmade Wooden Toy Pickup Trucks Ready For Final Inspection

First, I need to blow the dust off and make sure they are functioning correctly. I test all my trucks to make sure that all the moving parts are working smoothly. If it is not right, I either repair them or throw them away. Fortunately, I don't have many that get trashed at this point.

Handmade Wooden Toy Pickup Trucks Ready For Final Inspection

You may have noticed the different grains in the wood. The grain is different because I have made most of the smaller items from cut-offs. When I cut out a puzzle with my scrollsaw, for example, there is a lot of waste. I keep an assortment of patterns available for using the waste. When I make a toy, there is little scrap leftover. The small pieces of wood that are left we use as kindling for our back yard fires. None of it goes to the dump.

Handmade Wooden Toy Pickup Trucks Ready For Final Inspection

Making toys uses some very tiny pieces of wood, and you might think that you should save all the leftover bits that are large enough to make parts. When I started making toys for my shop, I did this. If you only make a few, saving scraps to make small pieces might seem like to be a good idea. However, if you make a lot of toys as I do, you will quickly be overwhelmed with small bits of wood. I can quickly fill a 35-gallon Rubber Maid trash can with waste wood in a few days.