Oversize Wooden Blocks

by arpruss

3.3K453

Intro: Oversize Wooden Blocks

I wanted our toddler to have some wooden blocks of a size that would let her comfortably build a well-balanced tower, and I had a newish miter saw and a piece of untreated 4x4 left from a babyproofing project.
Make sure your 4x4 is untreated, or treated with something safe for baby to bite on!

STEP 1: Cut

I clamped a piece of scrap on my miter saw at just the right distance from the blade to cut the 4x4 and then cut off six blocks. The last cut was close to the blade so I held the wood down with a piece of scrap (the triangle in the second picture).
My 10" Harbor Freight miter saw could almost cut all the 4x4 blocks. The rounded edge of the lumber helped. Some blocks it didn't cut all the way through, leaving a thin segment that got broken off. No problem.

STEP 2: Sand

Nothing fancy. Just some sanding to avoid splinters.

STEP 3: Play

I was surprised how much easier these large blocks were for the baby to build with.

3 Comments

cwolters1 9 years ago

where did you get the foam board?

arpruss 9 years ago

The clearance section of foamtiles.com. Paid $197 for 52 eco-soft tiles. They make great flooring for a toddler play room, and we laid them down on a wooden floor. They can be nicely cut with scissors (nothing fancy--just the cheap Harbor Freight ones that they give away for free or sell for $2).

Eventually, we may take the tiles up once the toddler grows up. Unless I can persuade my wife to keep them as I really like this flooring.

The only problem is that the toddler sometimes pulls them up.

Mrballeng 10 years ago

This is such a great idea. I have to do this.