How to Make Children's Wooden Building Blocks

Building blocks have long been one of the most popular toys on the market. They stimulate the imagination and creative impulse, but their simplicity is what makes them timeless classics. While building blocks can be purchased at any toy store, they are easy enough to make even if you're a novice woodworker. You'll save a bundle--and can produce more interesting shapes to build with--if you make them yourself.

Things You'll Need

• Scrap wood Saw Sandpaper Electric sander Paint or stain (optional)

Instructions

1. Find scrap wood to use for this project. If you have no scrap wood of your own, ask any handy person, or search through the scrap wood bin at your local lumber store for bargains. Make sure the wood you use is not pressure-treated. Pressure-treated wood has chemicals in it that are unsafe for children to handle. If you are uncertain whether the wood you have is pressure-treated, bring it to a lumberyard for an expert opinion.

2. Look at each piece of wood and imagine the shapes that might be within them. Use a pencil and a ruler or template if you want to make straight lines or shapes on them to guide your cuts. Be creative with the shapes. Remember that they don't have to be perfect to be fun. In fact, unusual shapes can make building with the blocks even more interesting and challenging.

3. Use a table saw, or a handsaw if you don't have one, to cut the wood into pieces. Do not cut any pieces to less than 3 inches if children age 3 and under will be playing with the blocks, as such pieces present a choking hazard.

4. Take the basic shapes you have cut and begin sanding them. This is the most labor-intensive part of the entire process and can take several sessions. While you can use sandpaper and elbow grease, an electric sander will be very useful in this task and help the job go more quickly without tiring your arm. Be sure to sand all the sides flat and round the corners and edges. Start the job with a coarse paper to wear the wood down, and finish it with a fine-grain sandpaper to smooth each piece.

5. Finish your pieces if you like by staining them, either with natural wood colors or primary colors. You can also paint the blocks--just be sure to use a low-odor, low volatile organic compound (VOC) paint specifically made for use with children, such as Dutch Boy's Kid's Room Paint.