Making toys the night before Christmas

[Fortis]

subtitle: Where the heck are my slave elves?

It was 3.30am on the night before Christmas, and I was still very much awake. Putting the finishing touches on some wonderful wooden toys I had built for neices and nethews. There was a pull-along waliing dog made of jarrah with hand forged pivot pins for the joints, a leather collar and decorated lead and a brass bell that tinckles (quietly) as the toy is pulled along.

There was the mighty ride-on steam roller toy, made of blue gum and jarrah with the PTO pulleys and other miniture details in redgum. It could be a pushalong toy or be sat on and steered as I had made a steering wheel that connected to the rod that ran up the chimney (which was candy-striped in alternating timbers) so that the front roller could be steered. The little pulleys all turned and there was another (different) little brass bell hanging from the roof overhang at the back.

There was a pencil case, and a second fold out paint box in redgum.

all of them with little brass plates with the childs name engraved in it.


I was once told that all woodwork is 96% sanding and my forays into this sort of detail work certainly bear that out. 96% sanding, 2% cutting out, 1% gluiing and fastening and between 1% and a bonus 50% swearing and looking for little tools and pieces as they go bouncing into the sawdust and disappear.

Anyway...'twas all done, and I was just applying the last coats of furniture oil. A product I had not used before, but one rated all organic and safe for children to chew on and such. Costs a lot, but the results are as nice as tung oil and smell of citrus (it is a blend of oils). I had ordered it off the internet about ten days earlier and it had arrived that morning (yay!)

So there I am in the wee small hours, lovingly applying the oil and planning to get some sleep and then buff it all back to a fine shine when I wake up in a few hours. The jarrah is positively glowing with the oil and all is right with the world.

It was then, just out of mild curiosity, and to see if there was a way to get the timber to REALLY shine and glow a treat that I decided to read the instructions on the bottle of timber oil.

Blah blah blah, knew that, knew that, yeah yeah yeah yeah....errrrr....?????

WHEN USED IN CHILDREN'S TOYS AND FOOD CONTACT ITEMS ALLOW 8-14 DAYS FOR FULL VENTING OF VOLATILES. MAY OTHERWISE CONTAIN TOXINS

!!!!????????!!!!!!!! WHAT !!!!!!!???????!!!!!!

Read it again.
yep, safe for use on young childrens toys including chew rings....but must be allowed to vent for 8-14 days depending on climate and then buffed with white synthetic rags.

So I am now NOT going to get to present these toys at Christmas, am I???

("Here children, look but do not touch these wonderful things that have your name on them, now I am taking them away again and you may get them back ina couple of weeks"...cue evil laugh and moustache twirl...I don't think so.)

So it is now chirstmas day....and I have been running around looking for emergency gifts to give this afternoon on the one day of the year when pretty much everything is closed.

It may be an artefact of deep exhaustion, but I cannot help but find the situation amazingly amusing and keep gigglingand smiling about the sillyness of it all.

Fortunately, the kid getting the steamroller has his birthday on the 6th of January, the girl getting the pencil case and pens is going to a summer art camp in about ten days.

Not sure about the one meant to ve getting the pull along dog, but I can come up with something, so it is only a delay....But wow...you have to love deadlines, don't you? Mostly you have to love the whooshing sound they make as they go by.

I feel like a twit...but an oddly happy one.


If you insist that christmas story should have a moral...I guess this one is ALWAYS READ THE INSTRUCTIONS, EVEN, OR ESPECIALLY, WHEN YOU THINK YOU ALREADY KNOW!...and it works better to read them before, rather then after you have already used the product.



Alex.
...going off to have a nap, now.

[AdriftAtSea]

Oooppps... If you had read that just a bit earlier, you might have been able to plan for it...

[CapnK]

It may be an artefact of deep exhaustion, but I cannot help but find the situation amazingly amusing and keep gigglingand smiling about the sillyness of it all.

...or maybe it's that cheery feeling when, despite it all, you know you've done good. :)

Sound like some wonderful gifts there, Alex. And some great woodwork, too. Since you have a few days  ::) before you turn them over to their intended owners, you oughta post us some pics of your handiwork. :D

Merry Christmas!

[Frank]

You're just exibiting typical male traits. I only look at BBQ instructions AFTER I can't figure it out and it's 3/4 assembled wrongly...or look at a map until I'm lost driving......no worries...you're normal.  It's great to give something you made and put time and love into. They WILL adore them!! Merry Christmas