Google helped with lots of pictures to spark the planning process. After deciding on the general size of the board, I started hunting and gathering all the fun hardware. (You may have drawers and bins full of hardware that would be great to use. All the better!) After finding every gizmo, I marked the 18" x 13" size of the board on a large sheet of graph paper. Then I played with the placement of each item.
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| ~18" x 13" sheet of graph paper with all the gizmos |
After final editing, I traced each shape onto the graph paper, marking the placement of any screws.
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| small hinges, barrel bolt, d-ring |
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| more d-rings, roller caster, cup hook, slide bolt |
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| screw eye, 3" cabinet handle, crimped dog chain with hex bolts, O-rings |
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| stainless ruler, cup hook, screen door hook and screw eye |
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| metal address plate, cleat |
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| metal address plate |
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| "sill cock" or what I call a water spigot |
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| lock with 2 keys, hasp |
Everything that could possibly be a choking hazard has been permanently affixed to the board.
O-rings, hex nuts, dog chain, keys have been installed so that they move, yet cannot be removed.
The lock can be removed and attached to any number of screw eyes, rings, chains, lanyards;
either key will 'reach' anywhere on the board.
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| porcelain knob permanently secures one of the key rings |
I asked my woodworking friend John if he could cut the board and pre-drill the necessary holes. So in October, when Steve and I chose a piece of cabinet grade plywood, we delivered it (along with the graph paper template) to John in his garage. After he cut the board to size and sanded the edges, John taped the graph paper template in place and carefully drilled each pilot hole. He counter-sank the screws for the porcelain knob and the 3" cabinet pull. Great job, my friend!
Good idea to stain and seal the board before attaching all the hardware. I went on a quest to locate non-toxic alternatives. Websites like this were really helpful. I picked an acrylic paint with the "AP Non-Toxic" seal on the label, diluted it with water, and washed the board to allow the wood grain to show. A diligent rub with fine steel wool took all the wood fuzz off the project once the stain dried.
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| Here's what the AP Non-Toxic seal looks like. |
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| I found Outdoor Acrylic Plaid brand paints that were safe. Diluting the paint with water to make a wash allowed the wood grain to show. |
Then, at the suggestion of another website I started looking for beeswax as a non-toxic sealer. After many fits and starts, purchases and returns, my Ace Hardware man led me to a card of beeswax. I nearly hugged him! Definitely told him he was my hero, anyway. John suggested I apply the wax with steel wool for a smooth final finish.
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| the holy grail of sealers, finally found at Ace Hardware "Ace is the place!" as they say. |
Final construction took just a little time after Thanksgiving--a couple of hours. The beeswax also helped lubricate all the screws for easier installation of the hardware.
After mounting each piece of hardware, it was time to turn Steve loose with a dremmel tool to grind some of the longer screws down flush with the back of the board. The last thing to do was cover the back of the board with pieces of textured colored craft foam glued in place with Green Guard Certified Liquid Nails Adhesive. This Busy Board can be laid on a table or hung on a wall with its blue lanyard looped through the 2 d-rings on top.
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| *a glimpse of the blue lanyard attached to the d-rings for convenient hanging and *craft foam backing will stabilize the Busy Board on a table or keep marks off the wall if it's hung |
BTW: Melissa and Doug make a cute Busy Board--smaller, more colorful, and maybe less expensive than this, but this one is full of big people hardware and hopefully will spark hours of safe imaginative play.
Thanks, Santa! Your helpers had a blast with this project!
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