My Creations

Making toys can be great fun because you realise that the end result will be enjoyed by children. As a grandparent, it is a delight to make something for my own grand-daughters and then to see them using it. Some of what I have made is to my own design and others are modelled of something seen in real life or on the internet. I also get called upon to fix toys, which is far better than following the consumerism approach of society of just throwing something out if it is broken.

A lot of the furniture I have made is for children’s use, so is sized appropriately (desk, wardrobe & bed in the below photo are examples). Generally I do my own designs, so it all starts with a bit of time putting pencil to graph paper. In most cases the work has been done on commission, but I have made a few things for myself. I don’t claim to be a ‘fine woodworker’ but am willing to have a go and where possible come up with a design that is within my capabilities.

I try to use recycled hardwood for my boards, but have on occasion purchased timber. A good source of material is old furniture which can often be obtained for free or very cheaply on Facebook Marketplace or Gumtree. Using recycled timber is also saving our rainforests and stopping us just sending old furniture into land waste or even worse burning it.

My earlier work had my brand burned into it using a branding iron, but now I use a laser engraver , getting a neater and smaller brand.

I discovered laser engraving a few years ago and have fun finding images that I can use software to turn into line drawings which then can be engraved. As well as boards, I have engraved coasters, signs and even a jigsaw (see the one in the toys photo above).

I now have 2 engravers – one allows me to do the bigger designs on boards and is controlled by my laptop (see my blog), while a smaller one lets me do coasters and small designs and for convenience is controlled via bluetooth from my mobile phone (I’ll blog about it soon).

I have always had a wood lathe – but a recent purchase of a better quality Carbatec brand lathe has got me back interested. I also have lots of timber blanks that are just waiting to be turned into something.

There is nothing like the smell of Huon Pine and I’ve got a fair few blanks to work with. I also have other timbers like Red Cedar, Black Heart Sasafras, Myrtle and Blackwood.