Woodworker extraordinaire [Matthais] was approached by a toy business to produce a ‘marble run’ toy. [Matthais]’ jig-building skills are beyond reproach, so whipping up a prototype for this toy was quite simple for him.

The fundamental system of building for this marble run is a simple ramp block with inputs as well as outputs at either end. These were crafted from blocks of wood, with the ramp carved out with a slot mortising machine. To make the side cuts on each block, [Matthais] utilized his pantograph router and a jig that cuts the wood for marble inputs on either side.

After taking his development to a hackerspace for some extremely big youngsters to play with, [Matthais] discovered a few issues with his preliminary design. The blocks didn’t want to stay aligned when marbles were moving down the ramps, so a little mortise as well as tenon – looking extremely much like a piece of Lego – were added in a number of places on the underside of each block.

Making one of something is fairly easy, however [Matthais] is making numerous pieces for his marble run prototype, each interchangeable with another. That’s impressive for something crafted by hand, however when you’re a master at making jigs like [Matthais], whatever goes by quite easily.