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Do you have a band saw? I'd try and "resaw" those things into popsicle sticks or something similar and then maybe make a small table or something. In fact you could make a "firewood bin" and use the bark and waste as firewood.
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if you have a lathe you could turn something. Make a mold or a container add casting resin, sticks and whatever else the kids want to put in and let your imagination run.
Al
Some people are like a Slinky. Not really good for anything but still bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs.
A dead enemy is a peaceful enemy. Blessed are the peacemakers.
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Kudos to those industrious kids! Some birds make nests of sticks, so I’d make a little bird nest. They could put it in a tree and be hopeful.
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Something like shown in
this video.
It would keep the sticks recognizable. Doesn't have to be big. You could even make something like a coffee table and just have the disks in a feature in the middle.
Ray
(formerly "WxMan")
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No ideas, but VERY sweet.
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Thanks all for the ideas. Feel free to share more!
One of the casting ideas seems like the best approach at the moment. Two possibilities that I'd thought of, in line with Al's and Ray's ideas, would be to either do a small cast bowl on the lathe or do a few coasters (like a tiny version of the table shown in the video that Ray shared). I have some turquoise metallic flake coloring left over from other projects that I could add to the epoxy to give a fun burst of color. I do worry a little that these sticks will be so soft relative to the epoxy. I may need to add some thin CA glue to the end grain as I go.
FS7, unfortunately, I think the kerf from a bandsaw would completely consume many of the sticks. There's not a whole lot to work with here.
This morning, the kids saw that I'd carefully left the sticks stacked on our front porch and wanted to make sure that I take them into the shop/garage to be used. Haha. Indeed very sweet of them.
Tyler
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Well, they certainly haven't forgotten.
One idea would be to pack up the kiddos and go to a nearby city/county/state park to get more solid stock. Tell them you need some bigger stock and guide them to more solid pieces to add to the collection. Make an outing of it, get some more solid pieces, and then on to the creating.
Simply no way of telling what seed might be planted with your kids in this project.
Ray
(formerly "WxMan")
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Location: Pacific ocean now much further away!
Build a fire, make s’mores for the kids!
VH07V
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(01-02-2023, 05:43 PM)OneStaple Wrote: Ok, my three year old and five year old diligently walked around the neighbors' yards this afternoon collecting small sticks in their mini wheelbarrow. They then proudly presented them to me as a "gift" since they know the sticks are made of wood and that I use wood in the garage to make things.
Sooo, I think it'd be fun to actually make something. The quantity and quality are very limited though (see picture...the purple hue is from nearby Christmas lights). I have a few preliminary ideas of small projects, but wanted to see if the brain trust here has any ideas.
Best idea wins twenty imaginary points!
Tyler
Your kids sound adorable. Nice job on instilling/embracing their thoughtfulness...
