Clip toy

cool!! but how does it work? what do you do with it? (I have a 5yr and 14 month old..should I build some???)

-- Matt, Napa, CA...177 days to sanity...

It’s kind of like a big clothespin, except it doesn’t pinch so hard. My son likes picking things up with it (good for coordination and fine motor skills), and he likes that it looks and works just like my spring clamps. At the preschool kids use them to clip blankets to chairs to make forts, or use their imagination to use them with blocks or other toys. And they make a fun clicking noise! The ones they had were somewhat thicker than mine, but the size I made ended up being just right for a 2 1/2 year old’s hands.

PS… since the rubber band could be a choking hazard, be careful if your little one likes putting things in his mouth.

Interesting toys. Always something new here at LJ’s.

-- so much wood, so little time. Bradford.

Broccoli rubber bands needed? Just eat your greens they are good for you. GREAT POST THANKS!!!!!

-- Only the Shadow knows....................

Might I suggest….a couple more rubber bands so that they’re real firm to open and you’ll have…woodclamps! Whatever jaw size you want too!

You might’ve stumbled upon something here!

-- Bob Vila would be so proud of you!

Wood you mind posting the pattern. I am not a fan of the scroll saw, but my friend @ work is. And she would like to build one.

-- ~jtd

Hi JTD,
What I did for the first one is find a picture of one online, print it out, and trace that onto a piece of wood. For the later ones I just used the first one as a pattern. So if you print out one of my pictures and blow it up on a photocopier that should work. Or you could blow it up in Photoshop before you print it.
If you right-click on the thumbnail above and click “Open link in new window” that should allow you to print/save the picture.
-Ben

Thanks for the peg idea and the advice of how to get a print out of the picture you want, without 6 more sheets that I don’t want.

-- Colin, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. "Every craftsman was once an amateur"