Now that Thor is an adoring grandfather to little Octavia, he’s using his woodworking skills to make some special toys for her.
Take it away, Thor:
I became a grandfather in April. My granddaughter Octavia is adorable. When Laura, my daughter, asked me to make some toys for Octavia, I was elated. I am handy, and I like projects, but for the last few months my main projects have been walking the dog and pulling weeds. Not truly life-sustaining activities. So when she requested baby toys, I jumped at the chance. But I need to give you some background first.
I grew up poor. When my father, mother, and older brother moved to Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C., he built a one-room cinderblock house with a dirt floor to live in. He then spent the next two years building a one-bedroom house, by hand. He laid the foundation, built the frame, wired and plumbed it, and he did it all with hand saws, hammers, and nails. A couple of years later I was born, and we all shared this little home.
This is my father and older brother standing next to the foundation of our house. The one-room cinderblock temporary home is in the background.
My father and mother were true DIYers (Do it Yourselfers). My mother raised chickens and butchered them in the kitchen sink. My father did all the repairs around the house. If the septic tank needed cleaning, he would put hip waders on and bail it out. I don’t recall ever seeing a service man come to the house. If something needed doing, he just did it. I grew up with much the same mindset. I learned how to use my dad’s power tools and built things. I used to service and tune my cars back before they became computers on wheels. When Sara and I moved to our present house, I built a garden shed and a sauna, among many other smaller projects.
The Sauna
Inside of sauna
Why do I do this? Partly to save money. Mostly, I just enjoy it. I have a nice workshop with the standard array of woodworking tools: table saw, radial arm saw, drill press, sander, and innumerable small hand and power tools. So, making some kid’s toys will be a cinch, right?
Well, not so fast. You have to remember that you are not making toys for an adorable little child. You are making them for an adorable little monster. When you give your toy to this creature, they will try to eat it. Then they will throw it at the cat. If they can walk, they will flush it down the toilet. I started with a simple wood block set. I cut them into different lengths so they could be used to make little houses and things, but none of them were big enough to be swallowed. They were sanded and smoothed so there were no sharp points or splintery edges. I coated them with food grade mineral oil so they could be chewed on. Here they are in a pyramid.
But a wood block set is a little advanced for a six-month-old, so I googled “DIY wood baby toys” for ideas and got tons of images of beautiful little rattles, puzzles, cars, animals, you name it. The only trouble is that they are not so easy to make. First of all, they are small and often have some fairly intricate designs. You need a saw that makes smooth, tight, curvy cuts. I watched a few YouTube videos of guys making “easy” wood child toys. They have large, neatly organized shops loaded with power tools: band saws, scroll saws, spindle sanders (what?), lathes, planers, all hooked up to professional grade vacuum systems. One person eagerly described their method for making a peg board with geometric holes using a LASER SAW. Oh My God, this is not the DIY I grew up with. I decided to splurge and buy a scroll saw. I figured I could make do with the rest of my old, non-digital tools. I chose a nice whale-design baby rattle for my first project. Bought a red oak plank and a dowel and got to work.
Completed whale rattle with mineral oil finish.
Time for the Show. I took the rattle over to my daughter’s house, and she presented it to Octavia.
Octavia is interested.
She eats it! It’s a winner!
Buoyed by my success, I drove home, my mind racing with images of elaborate child toys. Oh, Santa’s Workshop is going to be busy this Fall!
Thank you, Grandpa Thor! Adorable, indeed.
*****
You will find The Rambling Writer’s blog posts here every Saturday. Sara’s latest novel from Book View Café is Pause, a First Place winner of the Chanticleer Somerset Award and an International Pulpwood Queens Book Club selection. “A must-read novel about friendship, love, and killer hot flashes.” (Mindy Klasky). It’s also a love letter to the stunning beauty of her native Pacific Northwest wild places. Sign up for her quarterly email newsletter at www.sarastamey.com
