As promised, here are a couple pictures of the toys Santa made this year. It's been a busy season and so there was more creativity needed than actual labor. This first item is called a Marble Run or Roller Coaster.
Basically it's a plastic storage box filled with "T" and elbow fittings and various lengths of 1" PVC pipe. It's been interesting to watch the kids come up with outlandish designs that defy all laws of physics and then modify their designs until the marbles complete their descent.
The second picture is of the through mortise joint used on a pair of stilts.
A couple bolts would have been easy enough, but I wanted to try without any hardware and so glue and a couple dowel pins are all that hold it together. So far it's held up to them.
The last couple items were not as involved. For the Mrs. I cleaned up three old wooden shutters she had found at a garage sale this past summer and hinged them together to create a screen. A strip if window felt along the bottom assures it won't scratch the hardwood floors.
And then the youngest is at a stage where she wants to display all her schoolwork on the walls of her room and the plaster has begun to suffer. So she received a 3'x2' cork bulletin board which I painted the frame pink to match her room.
Basically it's a plastic storage box filled with "T" and elbow fittings and various lengths of 1" PVC pipe. It's been interesting to watch the kids come up with outlandish designs that defy all laws of physics and then modify their designs until the marbles complete their descent.
The second picture is of the through mortise joint used on a pair of stilts.
A couple bolts would have been easy enough, but I wanted to try without any hardware and so glue and a couple dowel pins are all that hold it together. So far it's held up to them.The last couple items were not as involved. For the Mrs. I cleaned up three old wooden shutters she had found at a garage sale this past summer and hinged them together to create a screen. A strip if window felt along the bottom assures it won't scratch the hardwood floors.
And then the youngest is at a stage where she wants to display all her schoolwork on the walls of her room and the plaster has begun to suffer. So she received a 3'x2' cork bulletin board which I painted the frame pink to match her room.
I think it's awesome you came up with such creative (and affordable, non-mass-marketed) gifts for your kids. I can see stilts being the hit of the neighborhood. Seems like no one has homemade toys anymore. When we were kids, my absolute favorite toy (albeit most dangerous) was a piece of plywood on wheels. It had an old wagon handle hooked to the front axle for steering. We'd sit about 5 kids on it and whiz down the hill by our house all day long. Much more entertaining than a video game ;)
ReplyDeleteReally neat ideas for everybody. Builds imagination, creativity, and independence; freshmen in high school love to build roller coasters. They learn Newton's Laws of motion by doing it.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing.