A child's log building kit mostly made from old fence boards

I must say reading this thread had the same effect on me as Roger above me.

I don't have any kids yet but I suddenly find myself thinking about what I'm going to make my grandchildren.

This is a very nice project. Btw, do you know this is exactly the way how Lego was first invented? It was a woodworker who made some interlocking wooden parts for his children to play with.
 
Thanks Alex, I didn't know that about Lego.  But, the way that Lego is designed so well and so appealing to both kids and adults it certainly makes good sense.  The best toys are toys that children have helped design and test.
 
Wow, Frank.  Today is the first time I came upon this thread.  Fantastic in every regard!!  What a beautiful story about a beautiful project based on love!  What a great family heirloom and memories bank in the making?  It should also be winner of the environmental "green" award for recycling.

When I was a child over 50 years ago, I got to play with some Lincoln logs and Erector Set at the home of an older cousin.  That probably had a lot to do with my later becoming an engineer, as did that cousin before me, from the same school, too, although we lived in different USA states.  My daughter and her younger brother got to play with Lincoln Logs and Legos and I bought for them, and still have since there are no grandchildren.

But nothing I had or my children had can compare to Frank Pellows Logs and child-sized accessories like the Crane, table and chairs!!

Great job in every aspect.

Dave R.
 
Repairs in 2009   (post 1 of 2)

I spent a lot of time recently repairing and refurbishing the log construction set.  For the most part, the pieces had stood up well to two years use but there had been some damage.

For example, the plastic on one of the roof pieces broke and I replaced it with plywood:
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My original design of the pieces that sit at the peek of the walls and support the roof rafters was bad.  There is a weak part near the roof edges resulting in breakage in 3 of the 4 such spots:
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I had goofed even more building the log in the photo shown above because the was a knot in the week spot.  :-[

I glued these back together and reinforced them with a small metal bar on one side and the homemade  Baltic birch plywood ?hardware? on the other side:
[attachthumb=#3]

A few other pieces, such as the window frame:
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had either cracked or broken and had to be put back together.  Cedar has the advantage of being light and wearing well outside but it has the disadvantage of not being very strong.
 
Repairs in 2009   (post 2 of 2)

A problem that occurred with about 5% of the logs was that the two fence boards that were glued together came partly apart at the edge leaving gaps of up to about 8mm.  I glued, clamped, and screwed the worst of these:
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I had only branded about half the logs when constructing them, so another task was to brand the remainder:
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Finally, I sanded about ? of the logs then applied another coat of Spar Urethane:
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Here all the parts are unloaded and lined up along the fence in my daughter Kristel's back garden:
[attachimg=#4]
 
Frank,
Thanks for updating this thread,  It was the first time i had seen it, and i am sure it wont be the last.  I have 5 Children  with our two neighbors each having 6, the oldest of any being 14. I am not a craft project kind of guy ....but.... After showing this to my wife it looks as if i will be flattering copying your design  ;D  thanks for the inspiration to do something really fun for and with my kids.

Craig
 
That's great Craig!

I hope that your children and you have as much fun with the logs as my grandchildren and I are having.
 
Very neat idea.  I remember having a small kit like this when I was growing up.  I think I used it to make a birdhouse.  I can`t wait to get going on a set like this for my son.  He`s only 7 months old now, but when he`s bigger!  This forum has really got me pumped about working on some projects over the winter!

Chad
 
Charimon said:
Frank,
Thanks for updating this thread,  It was the first time i had seen it, and i am sure it wont be the last.  I have 5 Children  with our two neighbors each having 6, the oldest of any being 14. I am not a craft project kind of guy ....but.... After showing this to my wife it looks as if i will be flattering copying your design  ;D  thanks for the inspiration to do something really fun for and with my kids.

Craig
Click to expand...

There is an interesting variation on this idea at http://www.woodshop4kids.com/#bb-main

roofanim1_64c-adapt4tnth.gif
 
Frank,

A second on the thanks for updating this thread.  I have been looking for a project for my nephew (a very handy 9 year old) and I to do together.  I am in the process of replacing my fence, and I think I have just found a great way to reuse the old material. 
 
Frank - it's obvious the kit is getting a lot of use from your grand children.  I'm sure it's holding up better (and more easily repaired) than most of what you could buy at the store.

It's a really inspired project in my eyes -

neil
 
In a similar thread to this in the Canadian Woodworking forum, yesterday I was asked: "what is your estimate of the youngest age to introduce the kit, and up to what age are they likely to enjoy it?"

My answer was:

The youngest child to play with the logs has been my granddaughter Jamie who had just turned 4 the first time she used them. She had the assistance of her older sisters but was able to accomplish quite a lot on her own.

It seems that children younger than 7 or so require some assistance in figuring out the potential configurations of the logs and just what can fit with what.

The oldest child that has played with it so far was the 12 year old son of a friend.

As to the maximum age, I don't think that there is one. I enjoy playing with the set and I am 67.
 
Last week, my neighbour Norm took down his old cedar pergola and, as is usually the case in our neighbourhood, I received the old wood.  The were quite a few 2X6 boards that were rotten at the joints, but with good wood in between.  

So, this morning I started a salvage operation and our log construction set is going to gain 30 new parts.  None of the rescued wood segments were long enough for the 138 cm boards but, I was able to create eighteen 65 cm logs, eight 80 cm logs and four 40 cm logs.  The kids will be happy to obtain more parts.

[attachimg=#]

Right now; I am in the middle of cutting out 148 notches with my jigsaw* which is not a lot of fun for someone who attempts to avoid repetitive tasks.

It's nice to be using wood that is thick enough and to not have to glue and screw thinner pieces toghether.  ;)

* Notice that I am using my old Festool PS2 jigsaw.  I declared this saw dead some time ago (see the thread http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-tools-accessories/i-declare-my-festool-jig-saw-dead/msg95131/#msg95131) but, while waiting for the Carvex to be available in Canada, I was forced to us my (inferior) Bosch jigsaw, and I missed the PS2 so much that I went ahead and had it repaired.
 
Thanks for the update on this thread, I had not seen it before, so I got to enjoy it today. [smile]

The memory of the repetitive task will fade the moment you see the grandkids faces on seeing the new additions [big grin]. Pleased too that the jigsaw has been reprieved. ;D

Regards Rob.
 
Man! what a way to build a relationship with your Grandkids, and too included them in the build process. All the Grandkids must take pride in there contributions to the log kit.

Mine get excited about building a little wood truck. Can not image what they would do if we did this project.
 
There were photos missing in  this thread.  [sad]  I have now restored  all the ones from me (about 90 of them ) from my computer backup disks.  [smile] 

Unfortunately a couple of pictures from others are still missing.  [sad]
 
Thanks for restoring the photos.  My wife saw what I was reading and now she wants one for herself. :)
 
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