Two toys made for a local pre-school as a (Tudor Rose) club challenge. The roll-back toy (it rolls back towards you if rolled away on a flat level surface, propelled by the wound rubber bands held by the weight) is made of softwood ply, the spacers of redwood and the weight of lignum vitae. Coated with several coats of food safe oil.
The 'Tower of Hanoi' disk puzzle is less obvious - actually an adult-level puzzle of which I made a dozen last Christmas (Google for the rules but basically one moves the disks one at a time to a new post, no disk to rest on a smaller disk - should take 31 moves!). However it has proved a big hit with smaller people who just enjoy moving the disks! So I have added a Christmas tree (from a previous gallery post) with a hole in its base so it fits and a big (ie not a 'small part') yellow ball glued on replacing the original small gold sphere (whose gold wax contained copper). Various woods, all colouring with food dyes and coated with food safe oil. The iridescent green paint on the tree is acrylic and thought safe. The disks are from different woods and not dyed.
Might inspire some!
Of course if one was to regard the tree as an extra, smallest 'disk' (of course the smallest disk will always be on top) then one has a 6 disk puzzle requiring 63 moves!
