Odin's Toy Factory

Handmade Wood Toy Trains Designed by Norm Marshall  For several years this was my workbench—some rickety sawhorses with some 2x4 across the top. I made a lot of toys and a few pieces of furniture using this bench.   I had all my tools in a shed butted up against the edge of a concrete patio. When the weather cooperated, I would drag my tools out onto the patio and work in the hot Florida sun while watching the sky closely for convection storms building up off the coast. I sometimes waited too long and had to make a nad dash to get everything put away before the rains started. I made and sold enough toys to buy a jointer, built a huge combination bunk bed and desk out in the hot Florida sun that sometimes hovered around 100F. I had to be careful about what I touched; some of the metal parts would get hot enough to burn my hand. My power was an extension cord run in through a window. Fortunately, the house was wired for 20 amps to all the outlets. I never ran more than one tool ...

Norm Marshall Wooden Toy Pull Trains On My Patio Workbench                             In the mid-80s, I was stationed at Tyndall AFB. My workshop was on the patio at the back of our home. I would drag my Shopsmith out onto the patio and run a power cord out the window. My workbench was some rickety sawhorses with a few 2x4s laid across them. For an assembly table, I sometimes used the trampoline we had for the kids. It was not the best work table, but it was huge, and if it rained, I didn't need to put it away.  As the crow flies, we lived less than a mile from the Gulf of Mexico. Even during a drought, convection storms were coming in off the gulf. The rain was a constant threat, so I tried not to get too much stuff outside. I usually got plenty of warning, so I seldom got wet. The sun was another issue. Let a cast iron table sit long in the Florida sun and touch it with your bare hand, and you will ...