Frank Pellow
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- 2,332
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- Toronto, Ontario, CANADA
(part 1 of 2)
For those of you who may not know it, Quadrilla is a marble run construction kit and game that is designed and distributed by a Swiss company called Hape. The components are all made of wood and are of good quality.
I have recently purchased blocks and tracks for three children; that is Isla (my granddaughter) who is turning 7 soon, Leah (my granddaughter) who just turned 6, and Melanie (my honourary niece) who just turned 5.
Here are a couple of examples of marble runs that I constructed last week in order to test things out.
I said “test” but I must admit that I also “played” with the structures. Hape claims that Quadrilla can be enjoyed by anyone between the ages of 4 and 99 and I certainly agree. There are lots more runs and other information to be found at http://quadrilla.com/ (and you will get to practice your German ).
I mixed and matched blocks and tracks from various sets for the gifts so the boxes that I bought the Quadrilla in were no longer suitable for storage. The obvious solution to a woodworker (hey I’m one of those ) is to make some custom boxes with compartments and to allow for expansion. So that’s what I did. Here is a finished box with the cover off showing the blocks, tracks, marbles, etc, in their compartments:
The box sides are made of 12mm Baltic birch joined at the corners via a joint made with a small drawer lock bit (Lee Valley catalogue #16J76.72)
It’s the first time I used such a joint and I found the single router bit used on both sides of the corner but with a different orientation worked easily and perfectly. The glue up was among the easiest that I have ever done.
When gluing and clamping the corners of one side, the dry-fitted piece for the other side locked in place to keep everything straight.
For those of you who may not know it, Quadrilla is a marble run construction kit and game that is designed and distributed by a Swiss company called Hape. The components are all made of wood and are of good quality.
I have recently purchased blocks and tracks for three children; that is Isla (my granddaughter) who is turning 7 soon, Leah (my granddaughter) who just turned 6, and Melanie (my honourary niece) who just turned 5.
Here are a couple of examples of marble runs that I constructed last week in order to test things out.
I said “test” but I must admit that I also “played” with the structures. Hape claims that Quadrilla can be enjoyed by anyone between the ages of 4 and 99 and I certainly agree. There are lots more runs and other information to be found at http://quadrilla.com/ (and you will get to practice your German ).
I mixed and matched blocks and tracks from various sets for the gifts so the boxes that I bought the Quadrilla in were no longer suitable for storage. The obvious solution to a woodworker (hey I’m one of those ) is to make some custom boxes with compartments and to allow for expansion. So that’s what I did. Here is a finished box with the cover off showing the blocks, tracks, marbles, etc, in their compartments:
The box sides are made of 12mm Baltic birch joined at the corners via a joint made with a small drawer lock bit (Lee Valley catalogue #16J76.72)
It’s the first time I used such a joint and I found the single router bit used on both sides of the corner but with a different orientation worked easily and perfectly. The glue up was among the easiest that I have ever done.
When gluing and clamping the corners of one side, the dry-fitted piece for the other side locked in place to keep everything straight.
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