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Indoor Furniture
Dave Campbell
Editorial Content Chief, WOOD magazine

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scrapwood project

playtime building blocks

Give kids an assortment of wooden

blocks, and watch them create
fantasy structures fit for a king.

Y Make the straight blocks

ou could buy toys and games for 6"
kids, but nothing stimulates their Note: Working with small
imagination like wooden blocks The basic blocks require only two sizes of pieces requires firm support,
made in your own workshop. They’re stock: ‡×‡" and ‡×1fi". Mill several such as a zero-clearance insert
durable and take just a few hours to make. 24"-long pieces of each size stock. Cut in your tablesaw, and using
We used pine and cedar scraps for ours, but several sets of 3" 3" backer boards when cutting
any light-colored woods will work. To blocks to with a tablesaw miter gauge
achieve the brilliant colored look of the the lengths 1½" or mitersaw.
1½"
blocks shown here, follow the finishing shown
method on page 26. at right.

Cut shaped blocks TRIANGLE TOWER TOP

The shaped blocks are made from the same On a length of To make the tower
‡×‡" and ‡×1fi" stock as the basic blocks. 1fi" stock, lay tops, laminate two
Find the dimensions and full-size patterns out the triangles 24" lengths of ‡×1fi"
for each shape in the WOOD Patterns® using the dimen- stock together to form a
sions found in 1fi×1fi" blank. After the
insert. Then follow the instructions shown the pattern insert. glue dries, clean off any
for each. After cutting all of the pieces, ease Carefully drill the ›" hole where indicated squeeze-out and square
the sharp edges with a router and a ¤" on the pattern. Then using a mitersaw or the ends. Set up a fi"
round-over bit or sandpaper. Prepare the tablesaw and miter gauge, cut the triangles to dado set in your tablesaw to make a ½"-deep
the correct size. cut. Mark out both ends of the blank shown on
blocks for finishing by sanding through the pattern. Using a miter gauge with a backer
220-grit paper. BUTTRESS board and stopblock, cut the tower tops, as
shown below. Now cut the tops to 1fi" long,
To make the buttresses, rip a and repeat the procedure.¿
length of 1fi"-wide stock to 1"
ARCH AND HALF-CIRCLE wide. Lay out the needed number CUTTING TOWER TOPS
Make several on the stock according to the pat-
tern, and cut the pieces to size.
photocopies of the
arch pattern and
adhere it to the CRENELATED TOP
stock with spray
adhesive. Cut the Cut the crenelated
desired number of tops from ‡×‡"
pieces to length. stock. Lay out the
Install a #12 blade stock as shown in
in your scrollsaw the pattern insert,
and cut out the and cut fi" dadoes ‹" deep the full length of Backer
half-circle following the workpiece. Then cut the dadoed stock into board
the line carefully. 3" lengths.
Stopblock

30 DP-00467a WOOD magazine September 2005

finishing school

colorful
finishes to
dye for
Here’s an easy and safe way to
beautify and protect toys and other
brightly toned projects.

L ong after today’s fad toys end up in

a garage sale or trash can, wooden
toys will be handed down as
heirlooms. So give them a vivid finish in a
rainbow of colors that will endure for
generations. The best way to do that: Mix a
non-metallic, water-soluble dye combined
with a water-based gloss finish to make a
tinted coating (also known as a toner) that
lets the wood grain show through. It’s as
simple as that.
Furnituremakers have long used toners
for consistent coloration, even in pieces that
combine woods of different species or
woods that tend to soak up stains unevenly,
such as pine, maple, or cherry.
Here, we’ll show you how to mix your
own toners for a kids’ project, DP-00467a
Playtime building blocks. The resulting
finish is perfectly safe for children. To
protect the color, add two more clear coats
of water-based finish.
Mixing toner
To begin, round up an assortment of water-
soluble dyes and a water-based gloss finish.
(See Sources for dye suppliers.) The colors
shown here represent just a sample of what’s
available. Also, you’ll need quarter-
teaspoon and half-cup measures, stirring
sticks, plastic or glass mixing jars, nylon
mesh for straining mixtures, disposable
gloves, and foam brushes.
Mix enough tinted finish for your project,
plus a little extra for touch-ups or
unexpected problems. For our set of kids’
blocks, we mixed batches of finish in the
ratio of a quarter-teaspoon of dye powder to
a half-cup of water-based finish.
Consider this ratio a starting point. You’ll
probably want to vary your ratios for the
dyes you use to achieve the degree of color
you want. Some colors are more intense
than others at the ratio we used, especially
the red and blue shades. For dyed finish
color in the finish itself, you’ve minimized
blotching that occurs when you saturate
such woods as pine with straight water-
based dye. Pay special attention to laying
down an even, streak-free coat.
You can add more color to your project
by applying a second coat. Or you can add
more water-based finish to the mix to thin
the color and allow more wood grain to
show through.
Finish your projects by covering the
tinted coat with two coats of clear finish.
Variations on a theme
Once you get the hang of applying tinted
finishes, feel free to experiment.
Mix dyed finishes to expand your color
selection. One tablespoon of TransFast
blue and two tablespoons
of lemon yellow create a
medium shade of green,
as shown at right.

Prepping the wood

First, sand your wood pieces to 220 grit.
mixing instructions, see “Make Bright
Tinted Finishes in Three Easy Steps,” at the
top of page 28.
Try other
combinations of
dyes by mixing
✚
Then raise the grain by moistening the red and blue to
wood with a water-dampened cloth. After it
dries, lightly sand with 220-grit sandpaper
just enough to knock off the raised fibers.
Applying finish
Apply tinted water-based finish as you
would any clear finish. By capturing the
make purple, or
red and yellow to
make orange.
=
KEY: continued on page 28
¹ W.D. Lockwood dye
² TransFast dye
0)¹
80
(#7

)¹
90
ge

(#7
ed
an

)¹

yR
Or

lue
37
ow

err
(#

tB
²
ed

et

Ch
ell

en
iol
tR

nY

sc
ue
pV
rle

ore
lde

tiq
e
a

Flu
An
Go

De
Sc

26
 MAKE BRIGHT TINTED FINISHES IN THREE EASY STEPS

Step 1: Add a half-teaspoon of water to a Step 2: Pour a half-cup of finish into the Step 3: Strain the mixture through a nylon
quarter-teaspoon of dye powder to make a paste, and stir until the mixture turns an even mesh to remove undissolved dye clumps or
paste that will mix with water-based finish. color. Break up clumps of undissolved dye. finish that becomes lumpy after reacting to dye.

WHAT HAPPENS WITHOUT TONER

Blotching

Lemon yellow Crimson

(#5230)¹ (#6057)¹

White Pine Red Oak White Pine Red Oak Blotching

Wood species vary in how they’re affected by dyed water-base finish, which obscures less of
the oak grain than the pine. The yellow shows more wood pores than the red.
Different wood species produce wood
Even bright
finishes gain
surfaces with a different look and feel. For
the look of example, we tried yellow and red on both
antiques with pine and oak with good results, as shown
light sanding above. Light-color woods provide the
and a touch brightest colors, while such species as red
of stain.
oak create sharper grain contrast.
For an aged look that suggests a toy has
already survived generations of play, apply
bright finishes and scuff-sand the edges and
Straight dye can have mixed results. The
yellow and blue pine blocks absorbed stain
evenly, unlike the green and red samples.
corners for a worn look. Before you apply the
protective clear top coats, rub on a light coat
of any brown stain to create an aged patina,
as shown left. Then preserve your new
antiques with two coats of clear finish. ¿
© Copyright Meredith Corporation 2005
Sources: For a list of TransFast dye suppliers, call
Homestead Finishing Products at 216/631-5309 or visit
homesteadfinishing.com. To order W.D. Lockwood dyes, call
866/293-8913 or visit wdlockwood.com.

KEY: Actual colors may vary from printed colors.

¹ W.D. Lockwood dye
² TransFast dye
)¹
00
(#8
se
Ro
ne
mi

)¹
0)¹
da

)¹

9
4

58
W2
ho

#3

)¹

(#6
n(
tR

(#C

4
04
ree

e
en

Blu
#9
ise
sc

tG

e(
uo
ore

igo
igh

rpl
rq

Ind
Flu

Pu
Tu

Br

28 WOOD magazine September 2005

 3" ‹"

Sand or rout a
slight round-over.
ARCH
1fi"

2"
R=‡"

BUTTRESS
‹"

HALF-
CIRCLE 1"
R=‡"

fi" fi" fi"

1fi"
TRIANGLE
fi"

›" hole
Sand or rout a
1fi" slight round-over.
TOWER TOP fi"
‹"

3›"
1fi"

fi" fi" fi"

‹"
‡"
CRENELATED TOP fi"

3"

BLOCKS
To ensure full-size patterns are correct FULL-SIZE PATTERNS
size, your printer should be set to print
at 100% (not fit to page). Measure
full-size patterns to verify size.

fi 1"
‹ ‡

FILENAME:164ScrapBlocksPP.eps
Date: 2-05
Lorna J.
WOOD Patterns® insert
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