What should I make to sell at the school fair?

Re: Clip boards

Moses Yoder in White Pigeon, MI


>Lee Valley sells a number of different clip board hardware parts, on page 186 of their new catalog I got yesterday. I think a nice wood clipboard, planed to about 1/4" thick with some striking wood and perhaps a stripe glued into it for contrast would be a quick and easy project that perhaps a number of the teachers attending the sale would want. Or sink magnets on the back so they stick on a fridge.

pencil cases

Ian (in Sydney Australia)

Picture frames or...

Scott Burr in Ben Lomond, CA


>Spoons...

Re: What should I make to sell at the school fair?

Ed Mulligan, Cape Cod


>Angus

Fine Woodworking Magazine just had an article about child height sticks. Just a 4 1/2' x 3" x 1/4" piece of wood with perhaps a decoration of some sort on the top end. No finishing.

Families record their childrens' heights on the the stick instead of on a wall. They can take the stick with them if they move.

Ed

How About Magic Wands a la Harry Potter?

Bob Hutchins in central TX

Re: How About Magic Wands a la Harry Potter?  *LINK*

Dave Thompson



HP Magic wand link

Re: Some more ideas *PICS*

William Duffield, on the Cohansey


>Here are some of the sorts of things I have made that should sell well:

Spoons and spatulas. These are mahogany and teak.

Wine bottle stoppers. This one is walnut. You don't have to get this fancy. I use clock and bed finials for inspiration.

Magic wands. The kids will need to know exactly why kinds of wood you used to make them. This one is bloodwood and curly swamp maple.

Salad tongs, spatulas, cheese knives:

Screwdrivers with interchangeable heads: You can find raw materials, with plastic handles, at most hardware stores. Just remove the original handle.

Tops:

Thanks for all the responses. Great ideas.

Angus Barclay, in New Zealand


>Thanks for all these excellent ideas. I'll certainly be trying to make quite a few of these.

The wands really appeal. My 7 year old and all his friends are very enthusiastic about Harry Potter and anything related to magic. Ditto for toy swords. Both would seem to be well within my capabilities too.

I'll be sure to post photos of the completed work in a few weeks time.

Thanks again for all the ideas.

regards

Angus Barclay

Re: What should I make to sell at the school fair?

Angus Barclay, in New Zealand

>A couple of months back I asked for your suggestions about what to make for sale at the local school fund-raising fair. I got lots of great suggestions.

These Harry Potter style wands are made from kauri, totara, pohutakawa and sycamore that were either in the scraps bin or firewood pile. Some of the wood was from garden tree trimmings.

The kid who lives next door bought the one that I think is the nicest of the lot, seventh from the left, which is also the only one that is completely turned on the lathe. It took way too long to make and I was fearfull of snapping it as I turnesd the shaft progressively thinner. For all the others I turned only the handles, then draw-knifed the shafts, glued a glass bead on the butt-end and rubbed on a bit of briwax. Each draw-knifed wand only took 25-30 minutes from go to whoa and I really enjoyed making them. I also really enjoyed hearing they sold for ten bucks apiece and all sold within 25 minutes of the fair opening its gates.

I also made a dozen toy swords and cutlasses from plywood, painted silver and black with twine wrapped around the handles. Not nearly as much fun to make as the wands but they sold for fourteen bucks each and were also fairly rapid sellers.

Both Houghton Valley School and I say thanks to the good folks of WoodCenbtral for the suggestions. All up, the fair made about $16,000 which will come in handy for a small school of only 189 kids.

regards

Angus Barclay

Angus, there's no picture

Ian (in Sydney, Australia)

>

This time with picture (I hope).

Angus Barclay, in New Zealand

>

Sorry, I can't seem to upload photos . . .

Angus Barclay, in New Zealand

>. . . but the wands really did look quite nice.

regards

Angus Barclay

Re: Sorry, I can't seem to upload photos . . .

Dan Donaldson

>If you want to send me the pictures, I will get them up for you.