Odin's Toy Factory

The photography for thes one took a long time. I thought I had this all figured out then I met light colored wood on a white background. No matter what I tried I just could not get this to work. There just wasn't enough contrast. It is also posible the my photography skills were just not up to it. After trying many different things I started trying different backgrounds and it finally hit with blue. Black worked pretty good too but I have never ironed the wrinkles out of the  black backdrop and it looked really bad, I cut  this batch of Nost Dragon Puzzles from poplar. It cut really easy but it the cuts were really fuzzy. I was able to take care of the fuzzies with a sanding mop. The sanding mop is new to me and I am just now starting to under stand how it works. You need a very light touch or its going to take the piece away from you and throw it across the room. It always throws it into a hole behind some thing so you are back there scratching around with a flashlight ...

This is handmade wooden toy '27 T Coupe. The body is made from wood. The body is solid pine. The wheels. exhaust and axle pins are made from birch hardwood. The large wheels will let it roll well on most any surface even carpet. The the wheels and body are body finish is hand finished with several coats amber shellac. The wheels are finished with hand brushed shellac. Exhausts and axle hubs are painted with non toxic acrylic paint and top coated with clear shellac. Shellac is a safe nontoxic durable finish that has been approved by the FDA for use in foods. It is used as a glaze on many foods and medications. There is a good chance that you ate some shellac today. I make every effort to make sure the toys I make perform well. The axles are sanded smooth and waxed and nylon washers are between the wheels and the body to insure the toy truck rolls smoothly. Not only is this wooden toy 27 T Coupe an excellent toy but it makes a very nice decoration for home or office. I have t...

I made this one as an experiment using some almost free MDF I picked up at Home Depot in the cull lumber pile because it was broken.  I made quite a few toys from that piece of MDF. When I am making toys I rarely need a piece larger than 10 inches long and most are a good bit smaller than that. The paint was also an experiment using hand brushed Behr acrylic house paint with an additive called Flotrol that slows drying time and lets the brush marks flow out smoother. It works pretty good. I sold this one today. The first one of my Bucket Ts I have sold. Now I need to make a new one. If it sells you need more. Left Front - Wooden Toy Car - Hot Rod Freaky Ford - 27 T Bucket - MDF - Blue - Black - Gold Right Front - Wooden Toy Car - Hot Rod Freaky Ford - 27 T Bucket - MDF - Blue - Black - Gold Right Side - Wooden Toy Car - Hot Rod Freaky Ford - 27 T Bucket - MDF - Blue - Black - Gold Left Side - Wooden Toy Car - Hot Rod Freaky Ford - 27 T Bucket - MDF - Blue ...

Short answer is it depends. Wooden Toy Car - Unfinished - 1932 Ford Sedan - Hot Rod Painted vs Bare Wood is a complex question with no easy answer. In my limited experience, kids go for colors every time. Adults go for wood. I get the same message from experienced sellers. I've sat with my grandson on my lap looking at photos of toys and asik which he liked best. Very nearly 100% of the time he picks the painted toy.  When he plays the bright colored toys are the ones he goes for. Kids are not surfing Etsy stores for toys. The listings in my store that get the most hits and the most favorites always seem to be the painted ones. I'm guessing that the color photos grab their eye and get them in the store. Sales are about half and half. This also holds true in my YouTube channel. The video that consistently gets the most views is the one that has an icon with the brightest color. Wooden Toy Car - Painted - Lavender - 1932 Ford Sedan - Hot Rod ...

I made a few of these yesterday from a pattern that was published in Scroll Saw Woodworking & Crafts magazine. I've got a bit of a soft spot for dragons and my grandson loves them. When I saw this one I knew I had to make some. They are made from poplar 1x6 and just barely fit. The first one I cut with a #5 reverse blade. It worked OK but the cuts were fuzzy aka woolly. I've seen this described but never encountered it. For the second one I switched to a #3 double cut and got a very smooth cut almost glossy in places.  However, I don't think I'm going to be doing any stack cutting with these blades. They cut on both the up and down stroke and they are a bit harder to control in the tighter turns. I used my sanding mop for the first time on an actual project. It's going to take some getting used to but it cleans up the fuzzies and gently rounds the edges as advertised.  I was skeptical of this when I first got it because it would eat up the pieces of pin...

I spent a couple of hours today trying to find an online source for poplar the was less expensive than Home Depot. I could not do an exact comparison because Home Depot sells S4S select lumber in standard dimensions and the online lumber dealers have random lengths and widths. I calculated the board foot cost of 20 BF of 1x6 and compared the to all the 20 BF project packs I could find. Lumber in the project packs had to be at least surfaced two sides. I factored in all costs including taxes, shipping, and any discounts.  What I found was a bit surprising. Not only were most of them more expensive that Home Depot but only one was lower cost per BF. There were some that were twice as expensive. When you include the fact that I can go to Home Depot and: pick out the board I want buy as little a 1 linear foot get it in standard deminsions 1/4 to 3/4 inch thickness it doesn't look so bad.

This Norm Marshall wooden toy Model Truck I essentially the same as the one in the previous post. Its a little newer and unfinished. I cut all of my parts with a bandsaw working on my patio with an extension cord run out the window. There was a lot of sanding done on these parts. Mostly with a 6x48 belt sander. At one time I was making the cab by using 60 grit sandpaper and sanding to the pattern. You would not believe how much dut it made. I work mostly indoors today and would never do that in my garage.  Size: Length: 8 inches Width: 4.5 inches Height: 7 inches Right Front - Handmade Wooden Toy Truck - Norm Marshall Model T Pickup Truck - Version 2 Left Side - Handmade Wooden Toy Truck - Norm Marshall Model T Pickup Truck - Version 2 Left Rear - Handmade Wooden Toy Truck - Norm Marshall Model T Pickup Truck - Version 2 Rear View - Handmade Wooden Toy Truck - Norm Marshall Model T Pickup Truck - Version 2 Right Rear - Handmade Wooden Toy Truck ...