Wooden animals and figures

Wooden animals made from 12 mm finger jointed rubber wood

These wooden animals were made from 12 mm finger jointed wood. They were just the right thickness so that they can stand upright. I used some figures that I saw in a scroll saw book scroll saw basics, with a few  modifications. I used a proxxon DS 230 E scroll saw. Cutting through the wood was a little slow, but otherwise this was a very simple project. A little bit of sanding was required for finishing. Such kind of figures can be extended to make a farm set, along with trees and houses or a zoo etc. I drilled a hole right through for the eyes. Also shown below is a set of people.

Wooden people made from 12 mm finger jointed rubber.

The complete set of animals and figurines

An Indian DIY forum

For those who have not stumbled upon the site as yet, please check out DIYable.net which is an Indian  DIY forum, which has people from varied hobby and DIY interests.

Wooden toy planes

This was made with finger jointed rubber. I used 12 mm finger jointed rubber. I cut it out initially into a piece about 4 inches by 12 inches to facilitate cutting with the scroll saw.
I got a general idea of the plane from a picture online and drew the body freehand. The wing was fixed in a groove below the body of the plane. It is possible to fix the wings in the center of the body but that will be a little more difficult.

Wooden toy plane

The wings needed thinner wood. 12mm is the thinnest wood available in finger jointed rubber. To thin this out I cut a thin strip of this wood into two thinner pieces  with my 'table saw'. Although I tried to get two equal pieces I ended up with a thicker and thinner piece. The thicker piece went for the wing. This may be about 4 mm thick. The thinner piece went for the propeller. It may be about 2 mm thick.
I initially made wheels that could move, but they turned out to be too brittle. As these planes are made for kids who may be quite rough with them I thought just a cut out would do.
The propeller : Screwed on to the tip of the plane. The hole in the propeller has to be a little larger than the screw so that it rotates. Screw it in just short of tight so that the movement is smooth with minimal wobble. I put a little bit of glue on the tip of the screw before screwing it in.
All joints for the wing and the wheels were with fevicol and reinforced with headless nails. I found out that I could cut the headless nails with a cutting pliers to get them of the right size.

Wooden sea plane

This was a kind of seaplane. I used stainless steel screws instead of headless nails. However I did not like the look of steel on what was otherwise a wooden finish. It is not a replica of any plane but just a free hand drawing.

After cutting out with the scroll saw there is a bit of sanding to be done to smooth the edges.



I made three such planes, with slightly differing profiles. I like the look of finger jointed wood as it is, that is unfinished. It does not seem to stain very easiliy.
To protect it (if the planes last) some protective clear coating will have to be painted on. Overall this is an easy scroll saw project to undertake for a beginner.

Three wooden planes made from finger jointed rubber with a scroll saw