Oak is Cheaper

than clear pine. So I found out from the kind folks at a nearby lumber and kitchen design store. Clear pine is recommended for making children's play blocks, but I learned that red oak (used for fine cabinetry and furniture everywhere) is cheaper by about fifty cents per board foot. So Gwendolyn's gift of a set of blocks turned out to be more hoity-toity than I thought it would be. Here's the raw material: "eight-quarters" red oak, which is really seven-quarters of an inch thick:

And here's the "How Stuff Works" website image, consulted for moral support:

Here's the first round, cut, sanded (thanks to Bobby and Mike again for generous access to the wood shop!), and lined up for oiling:

Before I could get any further, however, the Total Quality Manager had to check them out:

TQM department says that red oak is good for teething. Check.

When I was little, I had a set of blocks painted all sorts of bright colors. (They were probably knotty pine. I don't know if people cared about clarity in the '70s.) So when I thought I'd be making Gwendolyn's out of clear pine, I also thought I'd be painting them. But no one in his right mind paints red oak. The grain is too gorgeous and the color is too beautiful. So I decided to oil them to delay moisture damage. The first round I did with linseed oil:

Here's the first set, golden after its first coat:

Then a couple of friends who have been at this much longer than I have recommended I use mineral oil instead. Apparently one is not supposed to use linseed oil for wood that will be in frequent contact with food--or, in my case, that which consumes the food. So I switched to mineral oil for the next rounds of blocks.

To make a set of blocks complete, you have to have triangles, columns, and of course archways:

And no project would be complete without some sort of battle scar. After sanding umpteen blocks on a worn-out sanding belt, I decided to replace the belt. I discovered the virtues of fresh sandpaper moving at high speed, and in the process gave myself a wood-shop-manicure--ouch!

In pursuit of the finest product for my daughter, I had the blocks subjected to another round of testing:

Amber showed us that under skillful hands, these blocks are destined for great things:

Thanks, Amber!

It's not fair, though, to keep the cook's spoon out of the chocolate mousse. So the laborer got a chance to play:

I'm not sure my skills have improved since elementary school. It's been a while since I've played with blocks:

That's not how I expect it to look under Gwendolyn's hand for a while yet. Every time I build a tower, she tries to knock it down:

But that's all right. After all, now they're her blocks, to build up, knock down, chew on, probably throw a little bit. And perhaps, if we're all blessed this way, to give to her kids when the time comes for them to have blocks.

Happy building, Gwendolyn Hope! Unleash your creativity.

~emrys