A local woodworker, Dave Boyd, crafts toys in his home and shop.
Seeing how Boyd's wooden toys are created is awe-inspiring. He puts
quality craftsmanship and detail into each piece. He truly is
Pinocchio's Geppetto, bringing each piece he creates to life.Some
of Boyd's works are truly old-fashioned pieces, and others are
really quite complex in detail and function. For instance, there is
a beautiful crucifix inlaid in a rectangular framework that is
actually a 10-piece puzzle suitable for hanging on a wall.
There is also a unique and very colorful snake puzzle that
teaches kids the alphabet. That's right – count them – that's a
26-piece puzzle. What child or educator wouldn't want that learning
and teaching aid.
That particular piece, Boyd said, took an hour to cut out and
nearly three hours to paint. He can't get any paint on the surfaces
where the puzzle pieces connect or they wouldn't fit, or they might
stick to one another. Just another point in his level of commitment
to quality.
Boyd builds all his toys from pine, and they are colorfully
painted.
There are no shortages of trains, trucks, tanker trucks and semis
with removable loads to let the mind play. Perhaps it's a flatbed
trailer that has dowel rods connecting the components together so it
fits perfectly on the semi. Your young person can load any number of
items into the trailer and haul it to wherever their mind takes
them.
Everything Boyd makes isn't necessarily geared to a boy's
interest. One of the cutest pieces and most recently added is a
wooden doll chair. What makes the chair so unique is that it can be
disassembled and stacked flat. This makes them perfect to ship. He
has stained them a darker color, and they are made from Baltic birch
plywood that is 1/8-inch thick. He also makes a wagon suitable for
pulling your favorite dolls to any destination.
Another really nice item that the girls are partial to is a teddy
bear that is colorfully painted, with their name added to it, making
it a very personal gift.
Dave also has an assortment of wood ornaments. Ornaments that are
simply cut from plywood are known as silhouettes. However, Dave's
preference here is known as fretwork. This time-consuming process
involves a stencil and drilling holes in the areas that need to be
removed. Each piece is then slipped over the blade on the scroll saw
through the drilled hole, cut out, then sanded and painted. The
intricately designed ornaments are awesome pieces of work and make a
wonderful gift.
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