What age group would play with this toy?

[ChuckM]

I still have check books in Can and US currencies. I may write them no more than 4 or 5 times a year. e-Transfers are the way I pay or receive money for non-business transactions.

Banks tried for years to get rid of the passbooks in vain because many older customers preferred them over paper statements (online stmts in pdf? Over my dead body, they said!). Then came Covid-19 and the perfect justification (excuse [tongue]) to stop handling the passbooks. The passbook printers have since been removed for good.

Technology has allowed us to order dishes or food on a tablet or via a QR code, but in Canada, we still have to get a server involved to settle our bill. In some Asian countries, some restaurants encourage customers to use the QR code to order food as well as to pay the bill.

 

[Packard]

I have started to make a prototype for a cell phone.  No picture taking capabilities though.

When making a child’s toy, and having child safe finishes, do penetrating finishes have to be child safe too?  They cannot be flaked off.  The only child-safe wood stain I have in the house is black tea brewed strong.  It is an effective stain, though I don’t know how UV resistant it is.  On the other hand, I don’t know how UV resistant a toy needs to be if it is only going to be played with from ages 3 to 5.

P.S:  Notifications from this thread have mysteriously ceased.  The setting is still for me to be notified, but those notifications are not coming through.  I will check back regularly.  And I will reset the notifications.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

It is getting that way here too [member=57948]ChuckS[/member] Some fast-food places (McDonalds, Wendy's, etc.) have touch screen kiosks to place orders, when you go inside. So far, the drive thru is still the same, talking to a person with a headset, so they can poke the picture of the thing you said, on the screen.

Many sit-down type restaurants (chains) have gone to an on-table kiosk device too. They usually send a server to take the order in person, but they expect you to pay that way though. A green light flashes on top of the unit, after you have paid. That way they know it's ok, when you walk away from the table.

I still have a few checks, for some billers who were hung up on it for a while, but I haven't used one in a long time.

 

[Packard]

I still carry cash.  But except to pay my house cleaner once a week, I exclusively use a credit card.

An exception:  I need to break a $20.00 bill each week so that I can pay the house cleaner the exact amount, so I buy one $2.00 lottery ticket each week.  But everything else is credit card.

Oh, and I carry at least one quarter on me at all times.  The grocery store won’t allow you a cart without a $0.25 deposit.  But it gets returned at the end so one quarter lasts a long time.  [big grin]

 

[luvmytoolz]

I have started to make a prototype for a cell phone.  No picture taking capabilities though.

When making a child’s toy, and having child safe finishes, do penetrating finishes have to be child safe too?  They cannot be flaked off.  The only child-safe wood stain I have in the house is black tea brewed strong.  It is an effective stain, though I don’t know how UV resistant it is.  On the other hand, I don’t know how UV resistant a toy needs to be if it is only going to be played with from ages 3 to 5.

P.S:  Notifications from this thread have mysteriously ceased.  The setting is still for me to be notified, but those notifications are not coming through.  I will check back regularly.  And I will reset the notifications.

I could be wrong but as long as it doesn't have any VOC's they're usually safe to use. One exception being any oils derived from nuts due to allergies.

 

[batmanimal]

This would be popular among Montessori classrooms. They don’t do the crazy singing dancing light up toys. Both my kids went to Montessori school, partly for that reason.

It’s a beautiful toy. I would suggest ages 2-4.

 

[Packard]

This would be popular among Montessori classrooms. They don’t do the crazy singing dancing light up toys. Both my kids went to Montessori school, partly for that reason.

It’s a beautiful toy. I would suggest ages 2-4.

Most of the commercial sites that sell wooden phones list 3+.  My guess is that their lawyers have some input on that.  I think a 2 year old would play with it.

Also, my Internet research shows that almost all babies are done with teething by the age of 2-1/2 years.  So specificity 3+ years probably guarantees that wood toys would not be chewed to pieces.

Right now, I am in the process of prototyping a cell phone toy.  That seems more contemporary, though I may make both.    I will show samples in a few days.  I have to get my hands on some child-safe paints.

 

[jeffinsgf]

On the duck I posted a few days ago I used aniline dye. I've always heard they were child safe. I know that's what they used on Lincoln Logs, building blocks and Tinker Toys.

A kit with primary colors and color blending directions was less than $20.

 

[Packard]

On the duck I posted a few days ago I used aniline dye. I've always heard they were child safe. I know that's what they used on Lincoln Logs, building blocks and Tinker Toys.

A kit with primary colors and color blending directions was less than $20.

I will check on that.

Addendum:  The only thing I found was that it was not food-safe for use on cutting boards.  I don’t know where that is on the safety spectrum.

I am wondering about food coloring?  How long lasting would that color be?

 

[Packard]

I found a couple of articles where they used food color to stain wood.  They mixed one tablespoon of rubbing alcohol with 10 drops of food color.  But does introducing the alcohol change this from being child safe?

I found no articles online anywhere that addressed the fading issue on food color on wood.

I did find one that addressed it on coloring wool yarn.  In that case, the writer knit a window ornament using food color dyed yarn.  After 6 months of daily exposure to the sun, the colors were still evident, but lost a lot of vibrancy.

However, that same writer describes a knit hat that she wore all winter and there was no evidence of loss of color.

If the alcohol does not put the kibosh on the child safety aspect, then that is an easy route.  I can get that at the baking aisle in the supermarket.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

The alcohol would be gone as soon as it is dry. It evaporates into the air, leaving nothing behind.
For the most part pretty much all finishes are "food safe", once they are cured, but that is about contact. I don't know that there is any "official" recommendation for an item that may be chewed on? I would go with a natural oil like linseed or tung, without any kind of dryers. These types of finishes penetrate and harden in the fibers, rather than one the surface, like a film finish (paint or lacquer) Chewing could peel the those off.
You could also go straight to beeswax, simple and safe.

 

[batmanimal]

A cellphone is also fun, but I do like the view hole on the camera. It gives the kiddo something to look through.

For the cellphone prototype, I suggest adding buttons or something else that a child can touch / engage with.

And yes, kids put everything in their mouths so a food safe dye is a good bet.

There were a few wood toys my kids loved. One was a sort of plinko contraption with a small pegged plank set at a 45 deg angle, and a little tear shaped wood piece with arms that would plink down the length of the run. However, the pegs were somewhat easily damaged (you can see one broken off at the top), and the toy was made by a deceased great aunt, so it is now in storage.

[attachimg=1]

The other, probably most used wood toy, was a simple drawer box with a small pull out drawer and a slot cut in the top. The red drawer is missing in the photo, as it’s probably being utilized in a fairy house somewhere at the moment.

[attachimg=2]

Very simple, very loved little drawer.

 

[Packard]

This is my second attempt at a cell phone.  My first attempt was a failure.  I will post images later.

I started with a 2-1/2” x 5-1/2” x 3/4” blank, which is exactly the same size as my IPhone SE.

I used 3/16” hole plugs with a mushroom cap that is about 3/8” diameter.

It features a full keypad, a 1” diameter disc for the speaker, volume controls on the left and an on/off switch on the right.

Below is the rear of the phone showing the “taking lens”, a 1/2” diameter hole plug.

I have ordered thicker discs for the ear piece.  But this is pretty close to what I would end up with.

The dark spot below the lens is a knot in the wood.

Here is a side by side of the wooden version and the real life version of the IPhone SE.

And below is my failed attempt.  This is a technique I’ve used with great success in the past using 1-Shot sign makers’ lettering paint.  It is an oil based paint and there is no chance that it would be safe to use for children’s toys. 

The technique involves creating a void and then filling it with paint.  I start out by applying (in this case) a water based poly to act as a paint resist.  (In early uses of this technique, I used Sealcoat as the paint resist.) Then, using a forstner bit, I drill shallow voids on the surface.  And then I fill with paint.

The 1-Shot flows well and fills the void by just leveling. 

The acrylic paint I used was so thick out of the bottle that it created its own texture and would not flow into the perimeter of the voids.

I added about 25% water which allowed the paint to flow fairly well.  I filled the voices with a hypodermic-style glue applicator.  But as you can see, the paint bled under the poly and into the surrounding wood. 

The image shows the phone face after I sanded off any errant paint.  Additional sanding, I judged would not remove the bleed-through of the paint.  The dark blue is particularly egregious.

Most of the wooden phones I see online have printed details showing the keypad and other features.  They do show the numbers for the keypad.

I believe that the 3 to 5 year olds that I envision playing with this would not yet be able to read the numbers and the tactile feel of the buttons would be better.

Unfortunately, I could not figure out how to incorporate a viewfinder.  So this phone is just for phone calls.

I could make a selfie-only phone, by mounting a mirror.  I would have to find a shatter proof mirror though.

 

[luvmytoolz]

Nice job, my missus works in a kinder so we're sorta super aware of the issues of making stuff for them, I'm wondering how hard it would be too knock any of the mushroom caps out through their normal play and bashing it around, as that could be a major issue if any came out.

My experience with mushroom caps is if you knock them on the right part they practically lever themselves out. Dowel ends rounded on a router table with a roundover using a simple jig may be a better or safer option?

 

[Packard]

I used a generous amount of glue, and I had to use a mallet to hammer them home, but I will test for permanence tomorrow.

I could use some 1/2” dowel rod and set it 1/2” deep, leaving about 3/16” standing proud.

I could then trim them to about 1/8” proud by presenting the assembled piece to the stationary belt sander.  But adding a radius would entail too much work.

I would still have to find a way to knock the edge off the trimmed ends.

I think that would look good though. 

These are just prototypes.  Who would have thought that making toys would take so much thought?

Before my photography studio morphed into a framing shop, I would make props for the child photos.

By far, the best prop was two tin cans connected by a piece of string.  We would tell the child to listen and I would have the mom talk to them on the “phone”.  The look on their faces of wonder and delight is almost impossible to replicate any other way.

I will look for one of those shots and take a phone shot of it.  The simplicity of the prop and the extravagant response is remarkable.  I was asked to replicate that shot several times.

 

[luvmytoolz]

Here in Australia things like these for that age group are very tightly regulated.

Probably part of why companies here making stuff like that charge like a herd of wounded bulls in a china shop!

My missus get's me to make heaps of stuff for the kinder, and the safety aspect absolutely drives everything.

 

[Packard]

Here is the keyboard only, using oak 1/2” diameter dowels.  I drilled the holes to 1/2” depth, and I cut the dowels to 5/8” length.  Glued in place and then sanded flat.  It yields buttons that are between 0.086” and 0.092” proud of the surface, almost certainly because I did not apply even pressure on the sander when leveling it.

I applied bees wax only in the key area as I have other items to glue up.
I like the appearance of this better than the mushroom caps.  So I am not going to go ahead and test those. 

The keys more nearly resemble the icons on the IPhone,  and the risk of these falling out is as close to zero as I can reasonably achieve.  Each plug was glued in with Woodworkers III, and required a mallet with several hits to drive it home.

The sanded edges are crisp, but not sharp.  I think it is safe to use.

Just for comparison, I sanded down the buttons to just under 0.050” (0.036” - 0.048”).

Not much difference, but I (by a small margin) prefer the second version:

 

[Vondawg]

As nice as it seems…making things like this for kids today, is to satisfy ‘you’ more than anything else. You must not be around the young parents of today…they’re germ phobics they want to be able to clean things, often by throwing them in the dishwasher. Same reason for cutting boards, they look great but don’t take to a dishwasher. With all the strains of viruses going around today you have to be able to really clean stuff…if this in the vain of displaying well…better get into more detail.

 

[Packard]

I had not thought of that.

My house cleaner did not come this week.  Her granddaughter came home from school with pink eye.  Now her sister and brother have it, her mother and father, and her grandmother and grandfather. 

So kids have been bringing germs home forever.  I’m not selling these, they are intended for next Christmas’ giveaways.  The parents have the option of not picking the toy.  I won’t know.  They go into a large bin and I never get feedback.

 

[Packard]

I have a finished prototype.  I am both pleased and disappointed.  I am pleased with the product.  But while each of the steps are simple, each requires a setup.  In the end I think it is too much work for the return.  I will have to come up with a simpler toy. 

In any case, this is the final result:

The “ear piece” is nearly flush—maybe 1/64” proud of the surface.

The on/off button and the volume up/down buttons are about 1/16” proud.  All the 3/8” and 1/2” oak dowels are set 1/2” deep.  I have no concern at all that they will fall out or be pried out of the holes. The ear piece is only inset by about 1/8”, but there is plenty of glue surface, and I believe it is secure.

On the back, the “taking lens” is as nearly flush as I was able to make it.  Sanding it flush was problematic because the face grain of the poplar is so much softer than the end grain of the oak.

No surprises on the back of the phone.  The nearly flush taking lense is all that really shows.

I don’t know why these images are showing up so large.  The earlier ones seemed more manageable.  Is there a way to size these?

As a slde note:  The phone feels good in my (adult) hand.  It is uncertain how a 3 year old would perceive this.