The Pinnaple Bank inspired The Tree Bank. Again, started out with a piece of redwood 4x4 and used the mortising machine to do the coin slot and a mortise in the bottom of the "leaves" for a loose tenon. A forstner bit and some time on the drill press created space to hold the coins. An eccentric circular plug closes the bottom of the bank.
The "leaves" are from some scrap walnut and poplare, the bird on top is canary wood. The base is poplar. If we were to do this again I think sections of walnut dowels between the poplar layers would look more like branches but hey, kid projects are quickies.
I did the bandsawing and the rough out carving on the trunk, Jess did all the sanding to the lines, the mortising, all the drilling AND got introduced to a carving chisel or two. She now knows Nora Halls Broom Rule - "carve Down the Bristles - NEVER "up" from the ends of the bristles". She also learned that Canary Wood is brittle and that dropping the "leaves", with the bird on top WILL cause a piece of the bird to break off. A little glue fixed that.
The "trunk" got a coat of Dark Oak stain before the whole piece was given two coats of "bug spit" (shellac).
Here's The Artiste with her creation.
These wooden banks are great. They're fairly simple, use a lot of scraps, introduce kids to various tools and tecniques AND get them to start saving their money. The fact that kids' creative minds may present special challenges when going from idea to finished piece. It's learning to solve problems that is probably the most valuable part of these kid projects. They're also fun to do!
Next up, something a little different - a paddle wheeler from a book of wooden toys.