Dave Kerr's Home Page

Wooden Toys and Things

After my wife gave away the painting to take up quilting and patchwork (she changed mediums) I bought a wood lathe and began making wooden bowls. After filling all the cupboards with wooden bowls I had to think of something else. We have eight grandchildren so wooden toys as gifts for all occasions seemed to be the go

I was given commissions from the parents for prizes for school and pre-school raffles. For one of the prizes, one of the larger trucks was loaded with Easter eggs and a bottle of champagne and proved quite popular. Thomas the tank engine had to be made using pictures in childrens' books as the basis for design ... Soon the parents became interested in a little more detail so vintage cars and Model "A" Ford cars in particular became the go... The antique fire engine was quite a challenge and was made from some scrap Australian Cedar. The wheels of the cars are quite intricate, the spokes were made from toothpicks and turning the tyres, rims and hubs took some delicate handling. This viking ship was much simpler to rig than the other ships,but the sail required the fixing of diagonal strips. I added a water barrel and slops bucket that were not included in the kit. The stand also is not original.

This collection of hollow wooden balls containing various shapes were made entirely on the lathe and resulted from a book on the subject given to me by my daughter. They make quite good conversation pieces as viewers try to figure out how the shapes got inside. This wooden ship, The Baltik was the first wooden ship I built. It came in a kit with full instructions, however, the skills needed for some tasks can only be obtained through experience. It requires much patience, not only in the construction but the rigging can just about drive one around the twist This ship is a model of Nelson's Victory. A much bigger task than the Baltik with a lot more detail. It contains rows of cannons and mantlets on each side together with more complex rigging

This dump truck was built using plans purchased some time ago. The plans are all in imperial measurements and at times hard to folllow, some modification was nexcessary to get everything to fit. one of the trucks in the first picture was based on this design but considerably simplified. This time I decided to follow the plans as closely as possible This is a model of the Scottish Maid, and like the Viking boat, it is fitted with sails and that was another challenge since the rigging is rather different from the standing rigging The Mayflower was,in many ways similar to Victory except it required rigging of the sails

The Traction Engine was made using a picture in a magazine as guide San Juan is a Spanish Gallion complete with several cannons This model Traction Engine has parts so tiny that assembly almost needs a microscope. The overall length is about 150mm

This model Backhoe/Loader has over 220 parts all hand made these model locos were based on "the General" Thiese model tractors made from some old plans


I was given commissions from the parents for prizes for school and pre-school raffles. For one of the prizes, one of the larger trucks was loaded with Easter eggs and a bottle of champagne and proved quite popular. Thomas the tank engine had to be made using pictures in childrens' books as the basis for design	... Soon the parents became interested in a little more detail so vintage cars and Model "A" Ford cars in particular became the go... The antique fire engine was quite a challenge and was made from some scrap Australian Cedar. The wheels of the cars are quite intricate, the spokes were made from toothpicks and turning the tyres, rims and hubs took some delicate handling.	This viking ship was much simpler to rig than the other ships,but the sail required the fixing of diagonal strips. I added a water barrel and slops bucket that were not included in the kit. The stand also is not original.

This collection of hollow wooden balls containing various shapes were made entirely on the lathe and resulted from a book on the subject given to me by my daughter. They make quite good conversation pieces as viewers try to figure out how the shapes got inside.	This wooden ship, The Baltik was the first wooden ship I built. It came in a kit with full instructions, however, the skills needed for some tasks can only be obtained through experience. It requires much patience, not only in the construction but the rigging can just about drive one around the twist	This ship is a model of Nelson's Victory. A much bigger task than the Baltik with a lot more detail. It contains rows of cannons and mantlets on each side together with more complex rigging

This dump truck was built using plans purchased some time ago. The plans are all in imperial measurements and at times hard to folllow, some modification was nexcessary to get everything to fit. one of the trucks in the first picture was based on this design but considerably simplified. This time I decided to follow the plans as closely as possible	This is a model of the Scottish Maid, and like the Viking boat, it is fitted with sails and that was another challenge since the rigging is rather different from the standing rigging	The Mayflower was,in many ways similar to Victory except it required rigging of the sails

The Traction Engine was made using a picture in a magazine as guide	San Juan is a Spanish Gallion complete with several cannons	This model Traction Engine has parts so tiny that assembly almost needs a microscope. The overall length is about 150mm

This model Backhoe/Loader has over 220 parts all hand made	these model locos were based on "the General"	Thiese model tractors made from some old plans