Wooden objects for babies ideas?

[ear3]

My brother and his wife are having a baby shortly, so I wanted to make some gifts for the newborn.

Ideas so far include a wooden teething ring, a box for baby parts like teeth and hair, and a rattle.

Any other suggestions?

Also, I see that most of the teething rings are made of maple -- I assume that's because of the tight grain and the hardness.  Any other woods that might be good for this (have to be non-allergenic obviously).  Maybe rosewood?

 

[Goz]

Start saving scraps of different species of wood to make a set of multi-color blocks?  That way you'll have a good stock built up by his/her first birthday, which would probably be a good age for that gift.

I can't think of many additional things you could make that would be appropriate for a newborn.  Other than furniture (a crib, changing table, etc.).

 

[Sparktrician]

You might want to consider making a loft bed (for when the suspect gets older), but make it so that the desk could be used as a changing table in the meantime, and with a chest of drawers or bookcase on one end. 

 

[six-point socket II]

Hi!

(all pictures (c) by their respective owners)

What about a wooden puzzle like this:

[attachimg=1]

Or like this:

[attachimg=2]

Or like this:

[attachimg=4]

Or something like this to train eye-hand coordination:

[attachimg=5]

And when a little older, something like this:

[attachimg=3]

Kind regards,
Oliver

 

[live4ever]

I know you're probably aiming smaller, but having a newborn at home myself, this caught my eye as I was browsing for non-obnoxious jumpers for our little guy.  Something like this becomes useful starting at 4-6 months of age, so it's a perfectly appropriate early gift.
https://www.threepears.ca/collections/frontpage

The kiddo's name as wall art as Oliver posted is always good (if the name is known).  Something that I've been meaning to get but there's still a blank space above his crib... 

You can DIY a mobile pretty easily - the music box/spinner and mobile arm can be had on Amazon.  You could hang wooden objects off of it. 

A friend got us this for my wife's baby shower...his name wasn't known at the time so she used our last name.https://www.etsy.com/listing/119547270/name-puzzle-stool?

If you're familiar with their plans and space for the nursery, perhaps designing and installing a set of nice floating shelves to display books and toys.

 

[clark_fork]

New parents report that kids grow so fast, they are not prepared for the changes. Therefore rather than think just items for babies, think ahead and perhaps think furniture to show off your skills.

Here is an item that is both a seat and a step stool that grows with the kid by just flipping it over. Contrasting wood, dovetail joints and perhaps personalization can fit into a long term useful item to see a child through their early years.

[attachimg=1]

Lots of other choices for step stools, some with storage that can serve as a toy box.

 

[flair woodworks]

How about wooden blocks, with or without letters carved on them? Puzzles, toys and stools are good ideas.  Have you seen that toy where kids hammer wooden pegs from one side, flip it over and repeat?

Do not use rosewood or any other oily woods.  Maple, beech, birch or ash are some good choices due to their non-oily nature, strength, and non-splintery nature.

 

[ear3]

Thanks for the ideas thus far.  Guess I'll have to get a scroll saw if I want to make the puzzles.  But the play center looks like something achievable as a gift down the road.

BTW, baby is in Japan, so I have to keep shipping in mind.

 

[bkharman]

Thanks for the ideas thus far.  Guess I'll have to get a scroll saw if I want to make the puzzles.  But the play center looks like something achievable as a gift down the road.

BTW, baby is in Japan, so I have to keep shipping in mind.

If it will be in Japan, Edward, maybe you should send it some Yen and have them buy this for you!

Oh wait... That's right... YOU wanted to do something for THEM!  ;^)

Cheers. Bryan.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Roachmill]

A couple things on my to-do list include:

Some cutesy animals

A noisy croc (I've seen frogs like this as well). I'd be tempted to incorporate somewhere to keep the stick.

Parents just love getting noisy gifts for their children [crying]

My advice would be to keep whatever you do decide to make down to just a few parts (preferably one). I don't know how many things my little cherubs have been given that originally comprised of 20-50 bits... half of which vanish into the ether. that's why I give them things like a bed, a bookcase or something equally substantial that's hard to lose!

 

[nclemmons]

Rocking horses!

[attachimg=1]

 

[ear3]

Definitely rocking horse!  Though that will have to wait till the 2nd birthday.

 

[ear3]

Well, executed the simple objects today. Two maple teething rings. Almost feel a bit embarrassed posting something you can get for 50 cents per unit on etsy, but the process was educational insofar as the first one was entirely done with rasp (except for the hole in the middle). I speeded things up on the second one and did most of the shaping on the lathe, finishing off the middle with the oscillating spindle sander. Then hand sanded both to 600. They're currently soaking in mineral oil to ensure no distortion from baby drool.  Still, that's a lot of $ in capital equipment to produce a 50 cent piece of wood.

 

[ear3]

Raised the skill level a little bit for the next installment: a baby rattler.

The blank is simply a piece of walnut with two through mortises filled with rattling objects sandwiched between two pieces of maple

View attachment 1

This is actually a picture of my first attempt, which used square mortises.  This turned out to be a mistake, though, as it constrained the form I could shape out of it without breaking through to the mortise.  So on the second attempt I went back and simply left the mortise round (actually, third attempt -- on the second attempt I put two much glue on and the squeeze out froze the objects in the mortise so that they didn't rattle).  After glue up, I mounted it on the lathe and turned the basic form:

View attachment 2

After giving it a smoothing sand on the lathe then paring it off, I rounded the ends and flattened the maple rounds with the RAS:

View attachment 3

Final shaping was done with the RO90 and interface pad.  For finish sanding, the Granat foamed back hand sanding pads are perfect for this.  Unfortunately, my current supply only goes up to 150, so I'm currently waiting on an order of a set of 10 packs in a grit progression up through 600.  I'll finish off the hand sanding when I get those.  In the meantime I wanted to see the approximate finished look, so I applied some mineral oil and got this:

View attachment 4

Next up is another rattler with a shape like the one you see in the background of that picture. 

 

[Bohdan]

When I look at enlargements of the pictures the second and fourth ones display correctly but the first and third are rotated 90°.  [eek]

 

[rvieceli]

Looks good Edward.

the problem with straight mineral oil is that it is a non-drying oil. So it never really dries out.

As suggested above you might want to try The Osmo. You would want some sort of penetrating finsh that does not build up a film that can be chewed off and ingested,

Ron

 

[RKA]

I've been watching this thread with interest.  I love these items you produced!!  I hope people keep posting ideas as well.  I'm waiting for a call later today to say I'm an uncle (again) and that another project!!  I'm lost as to what I can reasonably produce.  This rattle is fantastic and the mix of wood you used really elevates it.  Great work!

 

[nclemmons]

A few other ideas...

Bookends and a selection of favorite books are always a great option.

Doll cradles.  Etsy offers many choices for linens to go with the wood and design of your choice.

Push toys.  The duck is a favorite for kids in the 2-3 age.

Picture frames.

 

[ear3]

Thanks [member=167]neilc[/member]

I sure remember the duck I had when I was young!

That cradle -- is it for a baby or a doll?

A few other ideas...

Bookends and a selection of favorite books are always a great option.

Doll cradles.  Etsy offers many choices for linens to go with the wood and design of your choice.

Push toys.  The duck is a favorite for kids in the 2-3 age.

Picture frames.

 

[ear3]

Thanks [member=21249]RKA[/member] !

I've been watching this thread with interest.  I love these items you produced!!  I hope people keep posting ideas as well.  I'm waiting for a call later today to say I'm an uncle (again) and that another project!!  I'm lost as to what I can reasonably produce.  This rattle is fantastic and the mix of wood you used really elevates it.  Great work!