Meeshi, this is just my opinion, but I think the best finish would be to rub it with bees wax. this will protect the wood, give it a nice shine, make it smell great, and most of all bee natural
Where do you get this and are there any specifics other than rub it down?? Does it harden like linseed oil? I was thinking if we use raw linseed oil we can use pine and it still be nice and hard like the more expensive woods, yk?
__________________
~*~Tiffany~*~
"Receive the children with reverence.
Educate them in love.
Send them forth in freedom."
~Rudolf Steiner
Where do you get this and are there any specifics other than rub it down?? Does it harden like linseed oil? I was thinking if we use raw linseed oil we can use pine and it still be nice and hard like the more expensive woods, yk?
Basically, you just need to mix bees wax and oil 1/1 and rub it in to the surface. It dries hard and the more you rub in the better. You could use linseed as the oil. Some recommend mineral spirits, but I don't like that smell, blech! Melt the wax an oil together slowly, use a double boiler or the microwave. HTH!
Location: firmly planted in the postmodern pastoral economy
Posts: 13,303
If you want to oil it, use walnut or sunflower oil. Much safer than linseed oil...wouldn't want my baby sucking on linseed-oil-rubbed wood...yk? Food grade oil is best. Walnut and sunflower make really pretty wood; the walnut is a little darker, the sunflower very yellowish...but both look extremely natural.
Our playstands and kitchen are both oiled wood, and it's held up beautifully. I clean it with a microfiber cleaning cloth dampened with water, scrub any crayon marks out with a little baking soda and water paste if needed, and reapply the oil every 6 months to a year (I think I've oiled them once or twice since we made them).
Thanks...great plans! I'll have to post pics of our fort/swingset soon...it came out soooo cool, and mostly recycled from an old playset. We only bought a new swing beam, swings and a glider.
__________________ Be realistic: Plan for a miracle. ~Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh
The statements contained herein have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
Any products mentioned are not intended to treat, cure, mitigate or prevent any disease.
Actually, yesterday, I was planning up one of those rocking boat things that Allison had in her living room... That looked really neat, and simple as well! Plus, J has sooooooo much wood and tools in his shop, I know I could make some cool stuff if I actually went in there! *lol*
So, what's the most recommended finish for wood toys and structures, or so most people leave it natural?
If you want I can trace the side of it for you. I think the only hard part is getting the curve the right slope so it rocks easily without rocking too much.
We use organic sunflower oil from the grocery store.
__________________
Allison
mama to Ara, Simone, and Zarin
Re: Allison can you post a pic of the rocking boat you have?
Quote:
Originally posted by mikaylasmama or was there a pic posted and i missed it?
it was posted in the pics of your playrooms thread.
There is a rocking toy in these plans. It uses plywood, but not sure why you couldnt use real wood.i cant even picture how to make the underneath of a rocking boat. how do you get the wood to curve? i'm dumb about picturing stuff lol
Yes, mine is similiar, although I think mine is a lot nicer. It is solid maple, not plywood, it comes from http://www.communityplaythings.com (my absolute favorite wooden toy makers, I use to buy from them a lot when I owned a child care center). I would be easy to make though, if you had plans for the curve, the rest is self explanatory with measurements. The solid maple would probably cost an arm and leg though.
And my anti-plywood plug - I don't use plywood in my house. I think it is as toxic as plastic, if not worse. They use horrible chemicals in the glue that binds it together. Plus they use formaldyhyde as the perservative. http://www.channelcincinnati.com/cin...29-101255.html
Forgot to add, $165 is way to much for the one above. You can get the one from community playthings for $190 and that includes shipping. It comes completely assembled and it is solid maple, not plywood.
What is Top Choice wood? I wanted to get red oak but it was sooooo expensive... this is for my play stand. I was gonna get the pine but the top choice was a lot cheaper and looked just fine. But what kind of wood is it? I got it for like 23.00 for one stand.
Thanks for the info on plywood allison. I knew it was nasty stuff, thanks for the link. We dont buy plywood for anything. Figure if i want wood, i am gonna get wood! (well my entertainment center is plywood i am sure)
Originally posted by hannahsorchard What is Top Choice wood? I wanted to get red oak but it was sooooo expensive... this is for my play stand. I was gonna get the pine but the top choice was a lot cheaper and looked just fine. But what kind of wood is it? I got it for like 23.00 for one stand.
???? No clue. If it is even cheaper than pine I would be wary that it is some type of fiberboard or compressed wood, which all have formaldahyde. Any wood that was once solid, then shredded and glued back together will have formaldahyde. Can you see the wood grain? Is it solid wood?
We used solid pine on your playstands (bought wood at Home Depot, we don't have Lowes yet) and it cost $40 for both playstands and the bar we use across them.
Looks like pine to me. It may just be a cheaper cut of pine, meaning it has more knots in it. I don't mind knots though, as long as it saves me a few dollars
Linear Mode
