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Thread: Recent work from the shed
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22nd May 2013, 10:53 AM #16
Cooroora Woodworkers Newsletters
Hi, here are a couple of our clubs recent newsletters with pictures and stories of our recent Show.
Newsletter NL189Mayl2013.pdf
Newsletter NL188April2013.pdfHandmade Wooden toys Sunshine Coast Queensland
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22nd May 2013 10:53 AM # ADSGoogle Adsense Advertisement
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31st July 2013, 07:31 PM #17Novice
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- Mar 2013
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Wow!
Hey there, these are great! I've been wanting to make a treehouse and some natural finish items like this for my daughter to play with, do you have any tips at all? Looking at some of them online, especially the 'natural building blocks' it looks like people simply pick up dry branches, cut them and sand the ends. /
Obviously there's much more finesse involved in these items pictured here, but at it's most basic how are such items finished for use? Is a protection put on the bark? What stops it eventually falling off? Can you literally sand the ends of branches found in the garden? Are particular woods more favorable for this type if work than others?
Sorry or all the questions but this is the only stuff of this type I've seen here on the forum and am keen to give it a go.
Thanks in advance!
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31st July 2013, 09:16 PM #18
Treehouse
Hi Kafter,
The best timber I've found to use for these items are the branches of the Camphor Laurel tree.
They retain the bark for many years, no special treatment required. I've not had the same result with any other branches of other species.
Yes, I literally do pick up dry branches off the ground. They are the best to use.
""It's money for nothing when your sticks are free""
I use a band saw to cut features into the furniture and slice off doors and table tops etc from thicker sticks.
I then use a bench sander to smooth the edges.
I paint them with one coat of sanding sealer.
Hit them with a very fine grade sandpaper and your done.
Your welcome to copy any of my designs.
Have a look at the other toys in my other post "the Cooroy toymakers album" in this forum.
All the best with your endeavors.
The Cooroy Toymaker
Handmade Wooden toys Sunshine Coast Queensland
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31st July 2013, 10:02 PM #19Novice
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- Mar 2013
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- Brisbane
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Great, thanks for the tips... just two more questions then; when you say you use fine grade sandpaper,(400?) is that just in the sanded edge or in the bark too? And where might I find camphor laurel sticks in NW Brissie (nr Samford)?! Lol. There's plenty of trees round here but I wouldn't have a clue what a camphor laurel looks like before it's chopped up!
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1st August 2013, 09:51 AM #20
Camphora Laurel tree
savingourtrees-camphor-laurel.jpg
This is the bark of the Camphora Laurel tree, very distinctive.
A small broken branch will smell like camphor of course
There should be plenty of trees in the surrounding suburbs. The dry dead branches are black and grey in color and usually smooth.
You may want to experiment with what timber is available in your area.
You can use any fine grade sandpaper as long as the rough edges are taken off. Any rough knots I sand down on the bench sander.
Once varnished a light sanding to smooth any table tops or benches is all that is needed.
If you like , rub a little vegetable oil or linseed oil into the table tops to highlight any nice grain or features.
All the timber I use is recycled or laying on the ground.
The floors in the 7 level tree house are made from discarded cabinet shelves from Early Settlers rubbish bins.
Once you start looking in bins behind furniture stores you'll be surprised what you'll find.
Always ask the Staff first if you can rummage around in their bins and tell them you want to recycle their timber to make toys for children.
I now get most of my timber from the off cuts from other woodworkers projects in my Club.
Below is a notice from the Brisbane city council.
camphora_laurel.pdf
regards
The Cooroy ToymakerHandmade Wooden toys Sunshine Coast Queensland
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1st August 2013, 10:25 AM #21
With the Tree houses, you should buy some lego star wars men etc and set them up on it, thats what my kids would play with for hours, even turn up some large lego men heads. I think they would sell really well for your club, make a money box out of them or something.
Great work though it has inspired me to make a tree house. Thanks for posting your awesome creations.
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1st August 2013, 10:59 AM #22Novice
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- Mar 2013
- Location
- Brisbane
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Hi Dean, it is about the scale of lego men actually and I'd reckon they'd work really well. To give you an idea of a populated treehouse though most of the steiner kids would either use wooden peg people like these
peg people.jpg
or woollen creations like these...
Magic Cabin treehouse.JPG (sorry for the small pic, the original is here)
Thanks for all the tips Rob, I'm definitely going to have a go at this I think.
Just got to finish the wooden locket I'm making the wife first, then I can crack on...I feel some family nature walks coming on to hunt down a camphor laurel! lol. I just made us a couple of camphor chopping boards actually...finished them with a mix of orange and tung oil, and then a butchers block wax (beeswax and carnuba blend). They've come up good, but I like the light finish contrasting the dark bark on these...when tung oil's involved it can get pretty dark, so now I'm looking for an eco-friendly, non-toxic sanding sealer like you suggested.
I wonder, I know there's a big debate over camphor's toxicity if ingested (hence the oiling and waxing of the chopping board)...if these toys were chewed on do you think it could be an issue? Just wondering...I suspect probably not, but have you come across any concerns like that?
All the best
Andy
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1st August 2013, 02:04 PM #23
A leggo man in TONKA TRUCK is quite acceptable
Thanks for all the compliments guys.
Like I always say , how you play with the toys is only limited by your imagination.
Little kiddies have the biggest imagination.
As for scale, with children, anything applies. A leggo man in TONKA TRUCK is quite acceptable.
The seeds of the camphor laurel tree are toxic to birds according to the brochure I posted.
I've been making these toys for 23 years and I've not had an incident of poisoning.
If in doubt leave it out and try some other species would be the best policy.
thanks again
The Cooroy ToymakerHandmade Wooden toys Sunshine Coast Queensland
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