Building Safe Toys

[perryobear]

Hi Guys,

Toys are great woodworking projects for a lot of reasons not the least of which is that they are fun to make, fun to give, and fun to watch being played with by a favorite child (or more than one).

We had a thread recently on the forum concerning making toy building logs. There was some good discussion, most of it concerned with safety in one form or another such as safe woods and finishing materials to use, and appropriate ages based on the size of the toy's parts.

We all want the toys that we make (or buy) to be safe to play with. I was curious, so I took a look at some of the government's Consumer Products Safety Counsel toy testing procedures. I am not an expert in this area by any means, and the actual testing requirements have many additional details, but here are some of my personal observations based on what I saw.

Some important things to consider:

Small Parts Test (Toys intended for children under 3 years of age)

Using the government's “Small Parts Cylinder”, do any removable parts fit entirely in the cylinder?
For example, the smallest of the toy building logs could possibly fail this test.

NOTE: Some toy safety groups feel that the standard Small Parts Cylinder is too small to adequately protect young children from choking hazards and suggest that parents use the cardboard tube from a roll of toilet paper as a test device. Also please note that there are separate stricter requirements for small balls 1.75” in diameter or less.

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Pointed Parts or Sharp Edges

This may not be as much of a problem for wooden toys as for those made from plastics and metal, but is still a concern especially if the wood splinters, or if fasteners such as nails, brads, or wood screws are used in assembling the toy.

Use and Abuse Tests

What would my handcrafted wood toy look like if:

1. I dropped it four (4) times onto the concrete floor of my shop from a height of three (3) feet? (Note: This impact test is for toys weighing about 10 lbs or less. There are Tip Over Tests for larger toys.)

2. I twisted every part of the toy that can be grasped between my thumb and forefinger (or that I can get my teeth behind) with a torque of 3 to 4 inch-pounds? and...

3. If I then pulled on the same parts that I just twisted with a force of 15 lbs?

4. I set my toy on the shop floor and applied a dead weight of 25 to 30 pounds to my toy?

Did any pointed parts or sharp edges develop after any of these “use and abuse” tests?

Did anything fall off? (If it did, and the toy is intended for the “under three crowd”, I will need to go back to the Small Parts Test with the broken pieces.)

Strings and Rope

I didn't see this mentioned in the CPSC tests, but some experts say no cords, or cord lengths less than 6 or 12 inches for toys for infants and young children.
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I thought I would share this as “food for thought” for all of us toy makers out there, not to discourage anyone from building toys, but maybe to give some insight into how to best design and assemble them.

I'm sure there are other things to consider that I didn't mention. If anyone has comments, corrections, or other suggestions on this topic please add them!

Maybe one of our Sketch-up capable folks could build a standard Small Parts Cylinder model.

Regards,

Dennis

[kalynzoo]

Wow, not to put down your procedures in any way, as they are meticulous, I stick by the KISS principle. Keep it simple ***. Personally I enjoy the challenge of making toys with very few or no metal fasteners. Dowels, plugs, and joints make for a sturdy and hopefully safe toy. The walking cart I made requires screws in the lazy susan hardware, so I use the longest screw possible, and finish off with a bit of epoxy. I like to finish toys with polish and wax. I also like to mix woods for color effects, and if I need a bright color, I use a child safe dye, although I have read that kool-aid works well. Some day I will try the kool-aid dip. Most of all, I truly and personally believe that no item is child safe when the child is left unattended or unsupervised. Think blunt force trauma, trip and fall, tangle, and collateral damage from broken glass.
Although it is heartening that the Government has established safety standards for toys, it is a shame that they felt there is a need for Government standards. Thinking, caring parents should be able to judge what is safe and age appropriate. Sorry, getting off subject. I do appreciate your post, and thankfully I believe my project apply within the guidelines.
Gary

[jnimz]

Wow, not to put down your procedures in any way, as they are meticulous, I stick by the KISS principle. Keep it simple ***. Personally I enjoy the challenge of making toys with very few or no metal fasteners. Dowels, plugs, and joints make for a sturdy and hopefully safe toy. The walking cart I made requires screws in the lazy susan hardware, so I use the longest screw possible, and finish off with a bit of epoxy. I like to finish toys with polish and wax. I also like to mix woods for color effects, and if I need a bright color, I use a child safe dye, although I have read that kool-aid works well. Some day I will try the kool-aid dip. Most of all, I truly and personally believe that no item is child safe when the child is left unattended or unsupervised. Think blunt force trauma, trip and fall, tangle, and collateral damage from broken glass.
Although it is heartening that the Government has established safety standards for toys, it is a shame that they felt there is a need for Government standards. Thinking, caring parents should be able to judge what is safe and age appropriate. Sorry, getting off subject. I do appreciate your post, and thankfully I believe my project apply within the guidelines.
Gary

For the most part, parents should be able to judge but some things are tough. Honestly, a parent is probably going to be charged for vandalism if they walk in to a retailer and disassembled a stuffed animal to look for sharp objects, or to ensure that the plastic eyes are not going to come off the toy, etc. I would suspect a similar reaction if that same parent/consumer brought in a lead testing kit and began shaving bit's and pieces of toys off to test for lead.

There are certain expectations that until recently, were assumed to be omnipresent, such as a child's toys being lead free. I've seen plenty of wooden toys that had wood screws in them. You cannot take things for granted when buying retail and as crafters, these are all things that must be carefully considered when making toys.

I, for instance thought it would be a pretty good idea to put a seat belt on a rocking horse initially. Of course, just a few moments pondering this thought lead me to the conclusion that no matter how tip resistant that rocking horse was created, a child would manage to tip the thing. Being unable to disengage from the apparatus, the child could potentially choke from their own body weight being trapped under the weight of the thing because they were strapped to it.

It's not the planned events you must foresee, it is the unintended, and unplanned events that you must divine that are important.

[beeg]

I've been told ALL finishes are non-toxic. Once they're dry.I'm not sure if I believe that or not.

[sawmill]

When I make wooden toys I never put a finish on them. I just made my grandsons a tractor , haybaler and wagon for Christmas and I put stickers on the tractors to cut down on the fighting. I alwas use wooden dowels and the only place I use any nails I set my nailer to go deep and fill the holes with sawdust and glue. I think the finish takes something away from the looks of the toys.

[a1gutterman]

I've been told ALL finishes are non-toxic. Once they're dry.I'm not sure if I believe that or not.

I do knot believe it, beeg. As just one example, I do knot care how long it has been dry, paint with lead in it is toxic. Now, with that in mind, who is to say that other chemicals are knot toxic when dry? Knot that anyone wood use Teflon on a childs toy, but that is another "finish" that has been proven to be toxic.

[kalynzoo]

They (whomever they may be) tell us it is safe. For years in high school I used asbestos shields, and in metal shop wore asbestos gloves. My father ALWAYS used carbon-tet as a cleaning solution, for electronics, stains, and fine moving parts, I believe deep down that this may have been the cause or contributed to his fatal brain tumor. Do you guys (and gals) remember "playing" with liquid mercury in school, I do. By the way, did you use a ventilated hood as a kid when you used model glue, the old butylated stuff.
I agree, with the vast quantity of manufactured products, both domestic and imported, the Government needs to protect the public at large against lead, and other toxins, and sharp or hazardous toys.
For my part, I will stick to buffing and waxing, and staining with food coloring products.
This is a very thoughtful thread, the introspection brings back memories, both fond and fatal.

[sawmill]

This is a very good thread. Today certain finishes are safe but a year down the road they were rechecked and found to be toxic. When I was in high school there were jars of mercury in the lab and while in class everyone got to play with the beads that were formed, but today the men in white suits would have to come in and clen everything up. I often wonder how much toxic stuff in laying in some of the old chemistry labs hidden in the wood work.

[perryobear]

Hi again,

Some good feedback and discussion already – thanks to all.

With regard to adult responsibility –

Let me say that I agree wholeheartedly that there is no substitute for good adult supervision during play no matter what the toy (and checking that the toy remains in good condition).
Let me also say that there is no substitute for an adult knowing the abilities and habits of the child. The government has established 3 yrs old as a break point for several aspects of toy construction. Each child is different – if a certain type of toy wasn't a good fit for the child the day before their third birthday, chances are it won't be a good toy for them the on the day after, no matter what the government guidelines or the toymaker might say.

With regard to testing –

I wasn't really expecting anyone to drop the new toy truck that they just built for Johnny or Sue on to the concrete floor four times, or place a 25 pound concrete block on it either. Rather I was trying to give folks a feel for what kind of strength we needed to build into a toy and what materials and design features may work better than others based on the required tests. For example:

Avoiding Points and Sharp Edges: I think several things may come into play:

Type of Wood:

Hardwoods or softwoods

Many wooden toy book authors seem to work mostly with pine (often with the exception of turned hardwood pieces such as wheels). Is it a good application for softwoods such as pine, or just a cost/availability compromise?

Wood Species

Are some woods less prone to splintering (Maple? Birch?) than others (Oak? Redwood?) and therefore better for toys?

Any comments or suggestions on wood selection for toys (especially for the beginning woodworker or toymaker)?

Type of Fasteners:

Several have mentioned that they try to avoid assembling toys with nails, screws and such whenever possible (and consider placement of nails very carefully when they are used).

This is also my line of thinking. The new woodworking glues are good, but I often strengthen joints with dowel pins. Sometimes I use a manufactured axle peg to combine the pinning of the joint with the addition of a surface detail (such as a light) to the toy.

Any comments or suggestions of fastening or joining methods that have worked well (or poorly) for you?

Thanks again for participating in this discussion. Please add anything that you think will be helpful especially to a less experienced fellow woodworker.

Dennis

[beeg]

http://www.shopsmithacademy.com/Tips_Ar ... _Woods.htm

Here's a link to the Nick SS tips session on toxic woods. I think it's more with working with it, but some woods you WOULD KNOT want to use in a kids toy.

On January 10th, I'll be attending a talk about food safer finishes. At my local Woodcraft store, should be interesting. It's based upon an article in Woodcraft magazine from Oct/Nov 08 issue, page 66 .