[Thomp]

Al Archey,

i got a 3 yr old and 2-1/2 grand children the 3 yr old's birthday was yesterday she is 3 going on 16. the grandson is 2-1/2 he says me baby and is progressing pretty good along normal standards, but giving grand paw a fit with his low volume and half said wordsbut you gots to love them to death.

both different as night and day, they are seeing more of each other now because not being exposed to other children they would have turned any family get together into a great death match if pitted together over jealousy...

never the less of that outcome..
when they were learning to walk i started making hobby horses, w/upholstery fringe and leather ears and a 3 " ball to drag the ground on the end of the stick to aid in there wanting to stand and walk,
the granddaughter seamed to take to it like a duck to water once she started pulling up it wasn't 3 or 4 days and she took off across the room .
but the grand son took longer he wasn't as confident so i made him a duck on a stick with big floppy leather feet set into wheels to aid him in support,
he was at the point he just standing in the center of the room then set down, so the ducky was right on time...

but his improvisation was to stand up holding a fly swatter and use it to flip little toys over by sliding the fly swatter under the toys and like flipping pancakes he giggled,
when the toy got out of reach he took a step..Wallah! he was doing it.

now all we had to do was tye a string to the toy and just keep it just out of reach to get him to walk across the room....

i know its a little ahead of time for a ducky on a stick, for your grandchild but here's the shape i used with a 1/2" dowel and a 2" wooden ball on the end of the dowel to dull the possibility of injury in a fall...
wheels were of hardwood cut out with a door lock set hole saw then 3/8" dowel Axel the feet of leather or inner tube almost big as your hand wheels, I had to cut a slot cut in the wheels for leather floppy feet to be slipped into and screwed down.. the feet make a whop sound on the floor and the kids get tickled at the noise..

here are some puzzles. the duck was cut from 2" stock, wheels from 3/4" oak the outer shape of the duck puzzle given was used just print it to fit the need and remember to wax the axle shaft or it will swell

i was told an old feller here made 75 of these things and put one of them out to visit a sick friend, walked it through the hospital on pull string, here, folks seen them stopped him asked where he got such a thing and he sold all 75 there that day, the trick was the slap the feet made and the wheel being cut where the foot attaches the cutoff was screwed back on, causing the wheel to be out of round which made the duck to waddle as it was pulled it...
good luck

[AlArchie]

Thanks, Thomas! I've been looking for a "Ducky" pattern for a while now. There was a guy around here made them with feet out of truck inner tubes, and somehow had a quacking mechanism on the axle. Now if I can figure out the quack, I'm in business. I think it was just some notches cut onthe axle and a flat stick to rub across the notches when thew axle turned./

And yep, those grandbabies are SPECIAL!!!

Al

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

Car? you need a sled up there! with a BIG heater! lol

[AlArchie]

Sled, heck we just walk when the goin' gets tough. Boot studs, snowshoes and cc skiis. It started out this AM at a mild -17 at 5:00AM but is now down to a respectable -20 and we'Re hoping for a good solid -35 before nightfall. Not snowing much yet, though. I can still see across the street.

The good thing about winter around here is it WEEDS OUT THE WIMPS!

Al

[Thomp]

AlArchey,

make the Quaker out of maws credit card, you got to drill one hole for the gear nearly through the duck at the axle for the one sided gear so it will quack flop flop quack flop flop..

but situate it so them little fingers cant get caught in the Quaker..
the truck tire may contain latex powder with so many having allergies i just made mine from some oiled leather i had on hand

i have a turtle puzzle i seen maybe more..

i use intraview to print them as i can force the print function re size the printout and leave the original file alone and unchanged
some times just printing things in landscape will make enough of a change to enlarge IT portrait to shrink

[AlArchie]

Here's some more from Fiona's Pine Branch Bakery. This is a two layer chocolate cake with cherry frosting, cut into six pieces, and each "piece" made up of three layers.....two cake and one frosting. It's all held together with "Marichino Cherry" posts. Every piece is a tiny bit different so it really is a puzzle, but it can still be put together willy-nilly for little fingers. I've stamped numbers in the bottom of each layer of each piece so Mom or Dad can get it right!

Got a strawberry pie puzzle in the oven now, and a tray of cupcakes, if I can find a 2" dowell......any ideas? Biggest I can find without buying a case of the darn things is 1 1/4"

Al

[Thomp]

great job al.

i been looking in a catalog my daughter has its dr office waiting room toys of course their priced high as a cats back.. but ill get the company nane for you


my 20 cents worth of ideas for 2" or larger dowell to cut up for cupcakes

• dollar store baseball bat,?
• cheap dough roller,
• grand maws old table leg.
• styrofoam?

or use a door lock set hole saw cut into a 2x4 from both sides and dowell the hole.

At book a million i seen a book i been putting off buying making heirloom toys

[mdallensr]

Very realistic and well done. Don't be surprised to find some peanut butter and jelly on one of those pieces of bread. Mike

[carver6]

Al,
Check with a building supply house. A stair rail that mounts on a solid wall is close to 2" as well as a cloths closet rod.
Garon

[AlArchie]

Garon and Thomas, thanks, but I've looked at all those......stair rails are all 1 3/4" and closet Rods are 1 1/2" I need a full 2" to bore out to 1 1/2" for the pockets in a cupcake baking tin. The cupcakes will be 1 1/2" dowells with half 2" balls for the top. I'll keep poking around the internet and maybe can find a supplier for single items and not wholesale by the dozen.

None of the local building supplies either can or won't order the 2" ones. Neither the big box stores.

Al