tree blocks

[maranapanda]

I would like to make tree blocks for Christmas. My plan is to get a branch, slice it,, sand it, and beeswax polish it. I haven't worked with wood since 6th grade shop!

Any tips? Has anyone made these before? I have a branch from a pine tree that I found in the woods. Is that too soft for blocks? Will the bark stay on? Is there a way I can make it stay on?

I have searched the threads, I couldn't find anything on this subject, so is it not even possible? The tree houses where gorgeous, so wouldn't this be like that but easier? :

Any advice, tips or guidance would be great!!!!


Thank you all,
Amanda

[antannie]

Never done it but thought of it. Cut now and leave to dry because you will get some cracking most likely. I am not much of a woodworker myself.

[maybemom05]

How funny, I was just thinking of posting the same question.

I wonder if pine might be too soft., and perhaps too sappy. I think I saw in Magic Cabin that they use Cherry - which I believe is a harder wood. I've thought about heading down to an orchard by my parents house and asking them if I could borrow a few branches when they're done pruning - but that's about as far as I've gotten in terms of planning.

I'm looking forward to seeing the other responses.

[AmmiK]

:

[redwolf2]

In the book "Toy Making With Children" they do recommend Pine, and nut trees and birch. I really love the look of Birch, I am thinking of doing the same thing for Christmas.

I was thinking they would be messy (bark coming off and stuff) does the beeswax go over the whole thing or just the cut ends? It says in the book to sand the ends and put beeswax on them but it wasn't clarified as to just the ends or the whole thing.

[lakesuperiormom]

I a in the process of making tree blocks and gathered some branches on a nature walk that looked perfect. Apparently, you should check to make sure bugs or other animals haven't ruined the inside!! As was the case in my birch branch!! I have read that you sand down the blocks and then you can use walnut oil to finish it and let the little ones sand as it's great fine motor skills!

[maranapanda]

Thanks for the tips. I haven't cut into my pine branch yet. I was thinking that I might sand most of the bark off, as i want to give them to my ds who will be about 9 mo by Christmas time. I was talking to a guy that works with wood (cabinet apprentice) he suggested that I should store my branch in a cool dark place to let it cure for a while. This would allow that wood to retain its natural oils, and help reduce sap. I am not sure how reliable his information is, but it can't hurt.

So, that's where I am at. I would love to hear about your progress for those of you working on this also. Oh, and some pictures would be great!!!

Take care,
Amanda

[lakesuperiormom]

In my Enki craft guide it gives instruction on how to do this...if only I would have looked sooner!! It says to cut a branch off of a tree and then let it dry out in the house...can't remember for how long.I'll let you know how it turns out.

[kennedy444]

I went out a gathered some branches yesterday and picked ones that would make great discs as well as interesting shapes. They were nice and dry after some great weather. I put them on the deck and forgot to bring them in!! I am so mad at myself - it rained all night!!! Ugh! : :

[rebyell]

If your town has a Brush site, go look there for dry wood. That is where we got our branches to make ours. I haven't put any beeswax or oil on them so I don't know about that part.

After you cut them, let them sit in the garage or something for a while to further dry out, we found maggots under the bark of a couple...yuck.

[autumnbloom]

we had a few larger branches fall from a pecan tree during a storm. we are going to do this with one of the branches for our DD's They have had some wooden painted blocks but since all of the fuss with lead paint (and since we dont remember where these blocks came from) we're throwing them out and doing this instead

[Zoo Loo Naturals]

We've had a set that we made many years ago and they are played with almost daily by all of my kiddos.

And we currenlty have several big branches drying to make more/different ones.

[operamommy]

I'll have to ask dh how he plans to make the ones for ds2's birthday. I was going to order some, but he looked at the price tag ($50) and said "I'll make them!!" He's been really busy lately and I didn't want to ask him. He's estimating they'll only take a few hours to make. I'm excited; he made ds2 some wooden animals for Christmas that were fabulous.

[aprons_and_acorns]

It's easy as pie, we've made several sets. Just make sure the wood is very very dry. And they don't have to be perfect, the wonky ones are fun, too.

[maranapanda]

I made mine a few months ago now. I love love love them! I will post a picture sometime. What I did was super simple. Found the branch, let it cure, dry out, what ever, in a closet for a few months. (probably not necessary to wait that long) Used a table saw and sliced into pieces. I decided to remove the bark, as I was working with pine and didn't care for the mess. I hand sanded them using three grades, ending with a super fine, super soft product. Finished them off with Bee-utiful wax (or whatever its called) from Nova Natural. I love them so much. I left a small amount of bark on each one for interest, and the ones that have a *wonky* shape really are quite beautiful. My children already have cubes, and geometric shapes. I am so excited about these.

Amanda

[Ideesmom]

I cut a few pieces off a Pecan tree branch that fell at my DD's school this weekend. How long do the cut pieces need to dry out? Its been very dry here and the big branch from the tree fell off maybe 3 weeks ago.
Also, once the pieces (sm. discs etc.) are cut do you just sand over the bark to smooth it out?
What sort of finish did you use? oil, wax?
Thanks

[operamommy]

Ok, so I have a question now. Dh and I were talking the other day, and I asked him if he had wood drying for the blocks (ds2's birthday is this coming weekend) and he said no and asked why. When I told him everyone in this thread was talking about drying wood out, he wasn't sure why everyone was concerned with doing that, so I told him I'd ask. Dh is a woodworker, and he said the only time you need dry wood is when you're building something like a piece of furniture, etc. that will shrink as it dries and knock out of shape. He said otherwise wet wood is just fine, and that wood-drying didn't even begin till industrialization -that before that people worked wet wood with hand tools because it was easier (softer) and that allowances were made for shrinkage when needed.

Mind you, he's not saying that drying the wood is "wrong" - it's just got me curious...why do the books say the wood must be dried?

[isaberg]

I made a few last fall - just a 2" wide aspen trunk chopped into hunks. Since aspen doesn't really fork or anything, they're pretty boring. I didn't dry them first, and they "checked" - meaning there were small cracks in them that you can see on the ends. They're still plenty strong, though - it's not the kind of cracks that would cause the piece to break. Checking is just cosmetic, and you do see it on rustic antiques a lot. I suspect that's why they say to dry them, but I don't think a kid would care one way or the other.

You've inspired me; maybe I'll make more fun ones for Junior for Christmas.

[aprons_and_acorns]

Originally Posted by operamommy

Ok, so I have a question now. Dh and I were talking the other day, and I asked him if he had wood drying for the blocks (ds2's birthday is this coming weekend) and he said no and asked why. When I told him everyone in this thread was talking about drying wood out, he wasn't sure why everyone was concerned with doing that, so I told him I'd ask. Dh is a woodworker, and he said the only time you need dry wood is when you're building something like a piece of furniture, etc. that will shrink as it dries and knock out of shape. He said otherwise wet wood is just fine, and that wood-drying didn't even begin till industrialization -that before that people worked wet wood with hand tools because it was easier (softer) and that allowances were made for shrinkage when needed.

Mind you, he's not saying that drying the wood is "wrong" - it's just got me curious...why do the books say the wood must be dried?

Interesting. That's free advice from a real craftsperson--I'll take it! In my experience-- when we made several sets one year for christmas from a birch branch-- a couple of the pieces started to grow a little fuzzy mold on the cut end. Well it looked like mold--it was some type of organic material anyway. I assumed it was because the wood wasn't dry enough. Out of probably 100 pieces of blocks we only had a couple with "fuzz", and the pieces we cut from seasoned firewood didn't have any fuzz. Maybe it wasn't due to moisture after all.

Thanks for posting that! Tell your husband he can hang out here any time

[redwolf2]

We had to cut down a pine tree in our yard that was leaning real bad. We had a storm the other night and it looked like it was about to go.
I want to use it for this purpose.

What kind of tool did you all use? An what ideas for shapes?

TIA