| Project by Sinister | posted 1010 days ago | 2074 views | 8 times favorited | 8 comments |  |
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If you’re like me, you have a box full of orphan hardware sitting around. I don’t think I’ve seen a project like this anywhere else, so I decided to upload a few pictures. Basically, it’s a box with 3 chambers and 9 doors. Each door has a different latch mechanism.
I built this box of doors for my son a few years ago when he was a toddler. The idea was to give him something that would help him develop his motor dexterity. To be honest, he rarely touched it. But now he’s 6, and he plays with it more often. He puts action figures or cars in it. His imagination is better than mine so I don’t know what he’s doing, but it keeps him busy.
It’s made out of mahogany and aspen and was a good exercise in half-lap joints. It does have some small parts so I feel compelled to put a “not for age under 3” warning on it.
-- Patrick, Iowa City
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8 comments so far
WoodenFrog
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2379 posts in 1111 days
#1 posted 1010 days ago
Neat Idea! I’d play with it!
-- Robert B. Sabina, Ohio.....
TopamaxSurvivor
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#2 posted 1010 days ago
You shouldn’t have to dig to the bottom looking for anything!!
-- "some old things are lovely, warm still with life ... of the forgotten men who made them." - D.H. Lawrence
rivergirl
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3197 posts in 1036 days
#3 posted 1010 days ago
Nice- this is a toy similar to one designed by Maria Montesorri for her children’s schools in Italy in the late 1800’s. Nice work and excellent small motor practice for a little kid.
-- Homer : "Oh, and how is education supposed to make me feel smarter? Besides, every time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain."
rivergirl
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3197 posts in 1036 days
#4 posted 1010 days ago
noottoman- goggle Maria Montesorri manipulatives. I did it and there is quite a bit there. (Manipulatives is a fancy word for early childhood educational toys.) You may be aso interested to know that Maria Montesorri was the first person to develop little furniture for kids. She actually began by cutting the legs off of her own dining room table and chairs so that the kids could sit at it easier. She worked with orphans and children in poverty. Cool lady.
-- Homer : "Oh, and how is education supposed to make me feel smarter? Besides, every time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain."
Stevinmarin
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#5 posted 1008 days ago
That’s really cool! What a great way to do something with old hardware.
-- Entertainment for mere mortal woodworkers. http://www.WoodworkingForMereMortals.com
Sinister
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53 posts in 1668 days
#6 posted 1008 days ago
That’s a funny coincidence. My son went to a Montesorri preschool.
-- Patrick, Iowa City
rivergirl
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3197 posts in 1036 days
#7 posted 1008 days ago
Well Sinister, that is probably why you came up with the idea. You obviously (subconciously?) picked up on all the cool Montesorri stuff they were using in his school. And that is why he likes playing with this toy so much, it is appropriate for him, it is stimulating for him, and it probably feels familiar to him. :) You go Dad!
-- Homer : "Oh, and how is education supposed to make me feel smarter? Besides, every time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain."
spunwood
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#8 posted 529 days ago
Very cool. I bought my kids a toy for Christmas, but now I wish I had done something like you did! Much cooler
-- I came, I was conquered, I was born again. ἵνα ὦσιν ἓν
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