COMMON WOODS USED IN TOY MAKING
#41. Economy in Selecting Material.#--Economic use of materials should
be encouraged at all times. Toy making offers an excellent opportunity
where economy may be taught in the most practical way.
Where toys are to be painted, more than one kind of wood may be used in
the same toy and thereby using up small pieces of wood that would
otherwise be called scrap. Yet, it is not advisable to sacrifice the
strength and durability of the whole toy for the sake of using up a
piece of scrap wood which weakens the particular part of the toy where
it is used. For that, in the long run, is not economy.
#42. Qualities of Different Woods Used.#--The following are some of the
common woods used in toy making.
Maple: hard, fine grained, compact, tough, used for wheels, axles,
handles, dowel rods, etc.
Ash: white, strong, open grained, easily worked; used for bodies of
coasters, wheels, axles, oars, etc.
Oak: hard, firm and compact, strong and durable, hard to work.
Birch: moderately hard and heavy, even grained; difficult to split, but
easily worked.
Chestnut: resembles oak in appearance, is much softer, moderately hard,
course grained, not strong, but durable.
Cypress: moderately hard, very fine and close grained, virtually
indestructable; known as "the wood eternal".
Basswood: white, light, soft, tough, closed grained, easily worked, not
strong, but durable; used for almost any part of a toy where much
strength is not required.
White Pine: very light, soft, close and straight grained, inferior; easy
to work.
Yellow Pine, yellowish, grain noticeable, harder than white pine,
stronger.
Tulip (yellow poplar): light, soft, close and straight grained; tougher
than many woods equally soft, compact, not very strong or durable,
easily worked.
Spruce: straight growing, light, straight and even in grain, tough,
elastic, easy to work.