WOOD TOY NEWS Expert Toymakers Ken and Helen Goetz create toys that provide great fun and lasting joy for all the grandchildren in their life. Following is an interview by Wood Toy News Editor Samkit Shah with Ken Goetz, a creative and passionate wooden toymaker. Ken is a retired Electrical Engineer and began creating wooden toys in the 1970 s and 80 s. He is accompanied by his wife Helen who is a retired housewife and an Occupational Therapist. Together they enjoy working on various toymaking projects. This transcript gives an insight into the life and journey of Ken as a wooden toymaker! Samkit: Ken, we at Toymakingplans.com appreciate you taking time out and interviewing with us. This will be a short discussion about you as a toymaker and will be featured in our Wood Toy Newsletter. Ken: I and my wife are humbled by this opportunity and we are glad to do this interview with Toymakingplans.com. We appreciate the consideration and think it s a great idea to feature toymakers like us. Ken and Helen s grandkids Charlie and Addy look forward to every new creation from Grandpa and Grandma s magical wood toy workshop. Above Left: Delivery Truck from ReallyWood Fleet of 4 Trucks. Above Right: Fire Dept. Truck from ReallyWood Emergency Fleet of 5 Trucks. 1
Samkit: With a background in Electrical Engineering how did you find your way into wooden toymaking? What is your earliest recollection of building things with your own hands? My dad used to do a lot of carpentry. He was involved in building houses and a lot of recreation rooms for people. I used to accompany him on his projects and that is my earliest memory where I was introduced to wood-working. Ken Goetz Ken: My dad used to do a lot of carpentry. He was involved in building houses and a lot of recreation rooms for people. I used to accompany him on his projects and that is my earliest memory where I was introduced to woodworking. I went on to study electrical engineering later working on electrical motor generators. Toymaking for me occurred when I started a family and had children. I got a book from the library to make wooden toys for children. Ken uses power tools like this belt sander to achieve the high levels of fit and finish. Samkit: Did you receive any formal education or attend any classes in school related to Helen Goetz works side by side with her husband to create the high quality toys that come streaming from their woodworking? How were you introduced to workshop. Helen s education and experience in Occupational Therapy adds a special quality and tenderness to toymaking? everything she touches. Above: Helen working on the My First Doll House toy with husband Ken. 2
Ken: I took classes at Woodcraft. Although it was not related to toymaking they did teach us how to use various tools like the table saw to use on projects such as box making etc. I then started creating wooden toys and as my children grew I switched to making wooden boxes. Toymaking came back when I had grandchildren. at that time too. I had two boys and I was 30 when I began making wooden toys for my kids. Initially I did not have a lot of time to concentrate on toymaking with my full time job. But once I retired and had grandchildren I took to toymaking full time and started enjoying it as a focus and purpose even more. Wood Toy News Samkit: You started on your own and brickby-brick went on to become a great creative toymaker. What advice would you give to toymakers who are just getting started? Samkit: Walk us through some of your early projects. What kind of tools and materials did you begin with? What were some of your initial creations? Ken s well equipped and orderly workshop helps him keep his focus on precision and perfection. The result is museum quality toys that are built for rugged play. A wood clamp is used by Ken to hold small parts while drilling. This makes it a lot easier to drlll accurately. Ken: I started with my desk tools. I also had hand saws and table saws. I initially made some little toy cars for my kids. Eventually as I grew into toymaking I went on to invest in more advanced tools to work with. Samkit: When was the first time as an adult you explored toymaking? Ken: After I was out of college and got my first job for an electrical motor generator manufacturer in Wisconsin. I started a family 3
From my experience, safety is one of the important factors, especially with table saws. New toymakers should read the instructions carefully. Ken: From my experience, safety is one of the important factors, especially with table saws. New toymakers should read the instructions carefully. I personally use a band saw many times. I started with a drill press too. So handling these instruments requires careful attention to detail. Samkit: New toymakers might have limited resources in terms of money, time and space. Based on your experience, how should they setup their workshop? Ken: I would recommend investing in a bench top band saw and a small bench top table saw. One can also look for hand detail sanders and a bench top drill press. These are some of the most economically priced tools one can buy and begin the toymaking journey. I initially had a hand drill and a table saw but no band saw. I used to do sanding with sandpapers. I then went on to invest in other tools. We put plexiglass in the My First Doll House windows by boxing in each window with a 1/8 thick wood insert which was 1/8 less wide than the thickness of the wall. We then adjusted the window frames so that when they were installed they would trap the plexiglass between the window frame and the insert. 4 Samkit: Where do you buy your toymaking materials? Ken: I usually buy materials for creating toys from a local Wisconsin store named Kettle Moraine Hardwoods. They are a southeastern Wisconsin sawmill and dry kiln. They sell shorts which are essentially scraps, but those scraps are perfect for toymaking. The scraps are sold for an
economical price. Types of wood usually include walnut, cherry, maple and oak. One of the other places I go to buy wood is a big box building supply store called Menards. Samkit: What are some of the basic toymaking supplies which we can always find in your workshop? Ken: My table saw, band saw, drill press, different sized belt sanders and a table router would be my most prized possessions in my workshop today. Samkit: You mentioned your wife participates on many toymaking projects. What is her usual role on a project? Ken: Yes, my wife Helen loves participating on many of my toymaking projects. Whenever I get stuck she helps me brainstorm different ideas for toy designs. Helen also helps me in the design, and in cutting art pieces. She sometimes even operates the table saw. She has also taken basic woodworking classes in college. Samkit: Sounds like you and your wife seem to be enjoying the toymaking activity together. What is one of the favorite toymaking assignments that you and your wife had the pleasure of working on together? Ken: I and Helen enjoyed the My First Doll House project we did last fall. We put plexiglass in the windows by boxing in each window with a 1/8 thick wood insert which was 1/8 less wider than the thickness of the wall. We then adjusted the window frames so that when they were installed they would trap the plexiglass between the window frame and the insert. Helen and Ken s toymaking partnership shines through with detailing on this version of the toymakingplans.com My First Doll House Plan Set. The doll house and furnishings were a big hit with the grandkids at Christmas. 5
Toddler grandkids love the Stakki and Zanzibar Zoo toys made just for them. Above: Stakki Toy from the Snazzy Toys for ScrollSawers Book. The looks on the faces of grandson Eli and granddaughter Norah capture the essence of healthy play. They are totally absorbed in the process of creating a world all their own. Through that process they are also learning important problem solving skills while improving their understanding of the principles of balance. Eli is building a tower formed of Stakki toys and Grandson Eli Norah is rearranging the Zanzibar Zoo blocks masters the for the thousandth time. The toys have been a principles of favorite for passing the time since they were first Physics. discovered under the Christmas tree. And what a surprise it was! 6 Above Left: Stakki from Snazzy Toys for ScrollSawers Book. Not to be outdone, Granddaughter Norah adds just one more block to make the tallest tower! Above Right: Zanzibar Zoo includes stacking blocks for zoo buildings.
The Zanzibar Zoo (inset photos) and the Toobye Circus Truck (from Snazzy Toys for ScrollSawers Book) are full of playful adventure. The grandkids play with them for hours amid squeals of laughter. 7
This farm tractor and trailer are crafted using maple, walnut, store-bought wheels and a scrolls saw. Quick n Easy Farm Tractor and Animals Farm toys are a favorite and this tractor and trailer are wildly popular with grandson Eli. He is just getting to setting up the play set and hasn t yet begun to arrange the farm fence into a corral. Right now he loves to load up the trailer, hook it to the tractor and take off across the floor on an imaginary journey. The set is designed with Eli in mind. It s tough enough to take any amount of rough and tumble antics. All the edges are rounded over to prevent scratches and also to prevent the wood from splintering. The finish is rugged polyurethane clear coat. It cleans up with a damp cloth. Quick n Easy Farm Tractor and Animals 8 Quick n Easy Farm Tractor and Animals
Ken and Helen-Built toys created by using ToymakingPlans.com wood toy plan sets. Wood Toy News Scroll Saw Magic Hefty Hi-Loader Scroll Saw Magic Hefty Hi-Loader Scroll Saw Magic Hefty Hi-Loader Scroll Saw Magic Hefty Hi-Loader Scroll Saw Magic Hefty Hi-Loader Dump Truck from ReallyWood Fleet of 4 Trucks 9
Ken and Helen-Built toys created by using ToymakingPlans.com wood toy plan sets. Dump Truck from ReallyWood Fleet of 4 Trucks Delivery Truck from ReallyWood Fleet of 4 Trucks Fire Department Truck from ReallyWood Emergency Feet of 5 Trucks Rear View of Fire Department Truck from ReallyWood Emergency Feet of 5 Trucks End View of Fire Department Truck from ReallyWood Emergency Feet of 5 Trucks Lumber Truck from ReallyWood Fleet of 4 Trucks 10
Ken and Helen build their popular Brio-style train sets using quality hardwoods and custom features. Ken says, We make the curved and switch tracks on the router using jigs I made. The tracks are made using maple. The engine and cars are from a variety of hardwoods. Ken and Helen Goetz can be contacted at: kengoetz@wi.rr.com 11