Years ago, we started in a two-car garage with benchtop tools, and on Saturday mornings my 5-year-old son and I would create and build a toy for him to play with. The toy would last a short while and we would redesign and build a newer version each week until the toy survived playtime. Our experiences in designing and building sturdy toys led us to the tag line of timber rough, timber tough, truly describing the toys themselves. The toys in this book are designed for the beginning to intermediate woodworker in mind, and they are all "weekend" projects. If you spend a few hours on Saturday and a few hours on Sunday, you and your child can complete a toy together. They are laid out, from the onset, to build on your skill set and confidence by starting with simple toy builds and ending up with more and more challenging toys as your child grows older and your skill set grows with them. They are designed for the rugged at heart. All of the toys are designed without any metal fasteners. All parts are either pined, jointed or a non - toxic adhesive is used to assemble the toys together. When we started this project, we were looking for ways to give back to the community in which we live and decided that, with a particular focus on children, we would go down the path of toy design and donation. All the proceeds from the book are being donated to The Home of the Innocents (Louisville Kentucky) and St Jude's Children's Cancer Research Hospital. We believe that this is the start of more good things to come and hope to build upon this book and expand our abilities to help others and their children. I hope that you will join us in this effort.
