New Etsy Shop Listing - Handmade Wooden Toy Car - Bat Car from the Play Pal Series - MDF - Green

Handmade Wooden Toy Car - Bat Car from the Play Pal Series - MDF - Green

 

Experimenting with acrylic paints and MDF on this one. Brush painted with acrylic house paint. Oops paint from Home Depot. No primer, no sealer, just several coats of paint sanding between coats until I was happy with how smooth the surface was.

Flat paint is easier to apply, and it covers better. At least that is the way it seems to me. When I am using acrylic paints, I have to relearn how to paint with it when the color changes.

Free Plans For Bad Bob's Custom Motors Wooden Toy Cars

John Lewman over at ToyMakingPlans.com created these plans for me and released them in the forum. If you are not a member and you are interested in toymaking you should join the fun. My grandson loves these wooden toys.

Bad Bob's Custom Motors Wooden Toy Cars Green & Yellow

Bad Bob's Custom Motors Wooden Toy Cars Yellow

In the Shop - Blue & White Bad Bob's Custom Motors Coupe

Handmade Wooden Toy Car - Bad Bob's Custom Motors - Blue & White

Just out of the clamps. Painting with contrasting colors looks really good but, is tricky to pull off. You have to paint the parts separately masking off the spots where the glue will go.

Handmade Wooden Toy Car - Bad Bob's Custom Motors - Blue & White

Fitting all the parts together after they are painted is quite tedious. There is a risk of damaging the finish with tools or glues.  Being wood, fitment is not precise some parts need to be carefully modified to fit without damaging the paint.

Handmade Wooden Toy Car - Bad Bob's Custom Motors - Blue & White

 If you look closely at the photo above, you can see one tiny spot just above the fender where the paint was scratched off during assembly.

Handmade Wooden Toy Car - Bad Bob's Custom Motors - Blue & White

I learned the hard way that you must clean the jaws of your clamps before clamping painted parts together and be very careful not to touch the toy car with any of the metal parts of the clamps.

Small Quick clamps work well for this sort of clamping, The jaws are easy to clean and padded well. I've not had these stick to anything yet.

What kind of paint are you using for your Bad Bob's Custom Motors cars?

Bad Bob's Custom Motors

I use a variety of paints from various sources. I like the acrylic house paints the best. All of the paints are nontoxic when cured.

 I like to use a white primer to seal the wood and make the colors pop. In this case, I am using Zinsser B-I-N shellac based primer.

 I prefer to use an airbrush for painting toys but, I have to paint outdoors, and the weather where I live does not cooperate, and I have to wait or use a brush. I used an airbrush for these wooden toy cars. My airbrush is a Badger Anthem 155.

 I prefer acrylics over all other paints. They clean up easily, cover well, and are readily available in a vast array of colors. To clean, I flood with water to get rid of the bulk of the paint. The remaining paint is easily removed with ammonia-based cleaners such as window cleaner. I use household$ ammonia to remove dried paint.

 I used the following to paint these wooden toy car bodies.

Pink - Behr Acrylic House Paint
Green - Apple Barrel Gloss Green Acrylic Craft Paint
Blue - Behr Acrylic House Paint - Oops Paint
Yellow - Createx - Airbrush Paint
Red - Apple Barrel Bright Fed Acrylic Craft Paint
Lavender - Behr Acrylic House Paint - Oops Paint
Primer - Zinsser B-I-N

New Etsy Listing - Handmade Wooden Toy Car, Hot Rod 1927 T-Bucket From the Hot Rod Freaky Ford Series

Handmade Wooden Toy Car, Hot Rod 1927 T-Bucket From the Hot Rod Freaky Ford Series Pink

This one had a small problem. The hole for the peg doll wasn't drilled deep enough. I carefully set up my drill press and bit to extend the depth of the hole and added about 1/4-inch. The result was not what I was expecting. Either the bit was too small, or something was misaligned. The peg doll got stuck in the hole when I tested it. After trying several different tools sanding, I finally wound up using a diamond burr mounted in a rotary tool to enlarge the hole.

New Etsy Listing - Handmade Wooden Toy Car, Hot Rod 1927 T-Bucket From the Hot Rod Freaky Ford Series

Handmade Wooden Toy Car, Hot Rod 1927 T-Bucket

 

My first peg doll. It came out much better than I expected. I had this car and one other collecting dust waiting for me to get around to painting a peg doll.

Painting inside the hole is a problem. It's hard to do and get it to look good, and it makes the hole smaller. The wood swells a little from the paint and its hard to sand. If I paint after drilling the hole, I have trouble keeping paint out of the hole. I finally decided to try drilling the hole after painting.

After trashing a couple of paint jobs, I figured out that the way to drill them out is to wait until the car is assembled and painted. I put blue painters tape over the area where I need to drill and use a good quality brad point or Forstner bit that is very sharp.

Waiting until the car is finished ensures the hole is vertical. No jig is required to get the hole straight. I hold it by gently clamping with a padded hand screw.


 

New Etsy Listing - Handmade Toddler Puzzle, Rooster, Chicken, Very Easy Assembly

Handmade Wooden Toy Puzzle For Toddlers - Rooster - Chicken

Intended as a simple puzzle for kids and toddlers three years and older just getting into puzzles. The Cat has only four parts. It is more difficult than the White Rabbit sold separately but still quite simple. It is also a freestanding stacking toy. It is a bit tricky to do but, My four-year-old grandson can do it.

These puzzles have been thoroughly grandson tested for playing fun and durability.

 Handmade Wooden Toy Puzzle For Toddlers - Rooster - Chicken

Tray puzzles are much easier to assemble and store than your typical wooden puzzle. I think they are much more comfortable for children. The pieces are painted only on one side to make it easier for kids to put together.

The edges and backs of the pieces are unfinished.

Handmade Wooden Toy Puzzle For Toddlers - Rooster - Chicken

Every part of the puzzle is non-toxic. I made the tray and puzzle parts from premium grade pine, not construction lumber. The bottom of the puzzle tray is hardboard. The tray is hand finished with three or more coats of amber shellac carefully sanding between coats. I painted the puzzle parts with non-toxic acrylic craft paint.

Not intended for use by children under three or children who like to chew on things.

Handmade Wooden Toy Puzzle For Toddlers - Rooster - Chicken

Height 3.5 inches
Width 3.5 inches
Thickness 0.75 inch

These puzzles are handmade from real wood. Each piece, even from the same board, is different. The puzzle you receive may not look the same as the one in the listing photos.

Handmade Wooden Toy Puzzle For Toddlers - Rooster - Chicken

I sell these individually instead of in sets so you can pick and choose only the ones you want. Shipping per item gets lower as you buy more of them. There are four puzzles in the set.

Handmade Wooden Toy Puzzle For Toddlers - Rooster - Chicken

I combine shipping for multiple items and strive to give my customers the lowest rates possible. The more you buy, the lower the cost per item. For example, you could buy eight to four puzzles or other similar size items from my store and your shipping cost would be the same as one. I refund excess shipping. If Etsy charges you $8 to ship and it costs me $6, you get a $2 refund.

Handmade Wooden Toy Puzzle For Toddlers - Rooster - Chicken

Custom orders are welcome. I can make these from Pine, Oak, Poplar, Plywood MDF and other materials. I can make sizes up to 8x10 inches in thickness from 1/4 to 3/4-inch. Please contact me for custom order pricing.

Handmade Wooden Toy Puzzle For Toddlers - Rooster - Chicken

If you don't see a puzzle, you like or want something different. I can probably make it for you.