Unique design challenge
#21
R Clark Wrote: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.
I wonder if my wife would believe me if we ended up at a lumber yard and got some nice big boards of walnut or curly maple.
Laugh

Whatever direction I go on this, I'm going to try to have them involved in the safer aspects, such as pouring epoxy. That way they can see some of the steps along the way and understand how their sticks turned into something unique.

brianwelch Wrote:Your kids sound adorable. Nice job on instilling/embracing their thoughtfulness...
I might be a tiny bit biased, but I agree. It was so cute to see the sincerity and excitement when they presented me with their carefully collected gift.

Tyler
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#22
Tie ‘em into a mini rustic chair.
Like a willow chair.
Gary

Please don’t quote the trolls.
Liberty, Freedom and Individual Responsibility
Say what you'll do and do what you say.
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#23
Ok, it's been a few months, but we have an end product! We went with a bowl made of the sticks/twigs and colored epoxy. I had the kids help me cut/break the sticks to useable sizes and pour the layers of epoxy. I did all the turning, as they're simply not old enough. They like the final product and seemed intrigued by the steps along the way.

Some of those twigs were a little punky and drank up a whole lot of extra thin CA, which did a decent job of hardening them. I certainly had to add CA multiple times though as I went.

The bowl is about 5" diameter and 2-3/8" tall.

For me, this will be a cool keepsake to remember their thoughtfulness (and chuckle-inducing kid-level understanding of working).

Tyler

   

   

   

   
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#24
(07-07-2023, 04:08 PM)OneStaple Wrote: Ok, it's been a few months, but we have an end product! We went with a bowl made of the sticks/twigs and colored epoxy. I had the kids help me cut/break the sticks to useable sizes and pour the layers of epoxy. I did all the turning, as they're simply not old enough. They like the final product and seemed intrigued by the steps along the way.

Some of those twigs were a little punky and drank up a whole lot of extra thin CA, which did a decent job of hardening them. I certainly had to add CA multiple times though as I went.

The bowl is about 5" diameter and 2-3/8" tall.

For me, this will be a cool keepsake to remember their thoughtfulness (and chuckle-inducing kid-level understanding of working).

Tyler

Fantastic !   Great work and the kids picked out just the right sticks.   Roly
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#25
From tinder to incredible.  Just awesome.  I love the color contrast, too.  

John
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#26
Selectively lay them end to end and side to side, epoxy them together and use for hot pads. No need for the sides and ends to be straight and square.
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#27
My oldest daughter was three or four when she glued a bunch of cutoff mahogany scraps/blocks together.  Like at 'tower', maybe 7 or 8" tall.  I know I still had that on a display shelf at least 30 years later.
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#28
Why not make them into a log cabin or a fort to play with.
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#29
That bowl is great!

Now that you’ve encouraged them, let us know when the next batch of twigs is in.
Big Grin
Dave Arbuckle was kind enough to create a Sketchup model of my WorkMate benchtop: http://www.arbolloco.com/sketchup/MauleSkinnerBenchtop.skp
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#30
R-E-F-R-E-S-H-I-N-G!

Simon
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