How To Create a Toy Bookend

How do you make a toy bookend?

Cutting a toy dinosaur in half and gluing each piece to an L-shaped timber block makes a bookend that looks like the creature is walking out of the shelf. It is a short project — four pieces of pine, a rubber toy, some stain and one adhesive — and the adhesive is doing most of the work: Selleys Power Grip, a high-strength household glue that is extremely flexible and shock and impact resistant.

The pace of the job is set by two figures from Power Grip's technical data sheet. It has a setting time of 3 minutes, and an initial bond time of 12 hours for porous surfaces such as wood and ceramics. So you can move from joint to joint quickly, but the finished bookend needs to sit overnight before it holds books.

Technical specification — Selleys Power Grip

Colour	Transparent with a yellow tinge
Setting time	3 minutes
Initial bond time	12 hours
Service temperature	-15°C to +120°C
Pack sizes	4 g, 5 g, 8 g, 10 g and 20 g tubes
Key features	Shock proof, high flexibility, high bond strength, water and weatherproof, bends on impact

Indicative data only, not intended for the preparation of specifications.

Check the toy will actually bond before you cut it

This is the step most likely to catch you out, and it is worth doing first. Power Grip sticks to a wide range of surfaces — metals, wood, ceramic, stone, brick, concrete, masonry, glass, foam, leather, laminate, fibreglass, vinyl, fabric, cardboard and most plastics — but its data sheet is explicit that it is not for polyethylene or polypropylene plastics, and Selleys directs you to All Plastics for those.

Cheap moulded toys are frequently made from exactly those plastics. Before you cut a favourite dinosaur in half, check the recycling mark if there is one, or test the glue on an inconspicuous spot — the underside of a foot is ideal — and see whether it holds after a few hours. A soft PVC or rubber toy will usually take the glue; a polypropylene one will not, no matter how much you use.

What you need

• Selleys Power Grip
• 4 pieces of timber (pine, 140 × 200 × 19 mm)
• 1 rubber or soft plastic toy
• 250 mL of interior wood stain
• A fine grit sanding block
• A utility knife and masking tape
• A soft clean cloth and a drop cloth

How to make it

1. Prepare and sand. Cover your work area with a drop cloth. Sand and smooth all four pieces of timber, including the edges.
2. Stain the timber. Stir the can of wood stain. Dip a clean rag or brush into it and apply along the grain, staining all sides of each piece. Allow 2 hours to dry before applying another coat if you want a darker finish. One coat produced the colour in the project photo.
3. Cut the toy in half. Apply masking tape around the middle of the toy to give yourself a straight line to follow, then cut along one edge of the tape with a utility knife. A rubber toy cuts easily.
4. Keep the weight in. If the toy has stuffing inside, keep as much as you can in each half so the bookend has weight to support books. If it was hollow to begin with, you can add weight — rocks, stones or fishing sinkers work. Make sure the cut edges are clean and clear of any material.
5. Glue the L-shape. Once the timber is dry, apply Selleys Power Grip along the grain edge of one timber piece, then press it onto the top short edge of another to form an L. Use masking tape to secure the pieces while they set. Repeat with the remaining two pieces.
6. Let each joint set. Allow at least 3 minutes before continuing to the next step — that is the product's stated setting time.
7. Attach the toy. Apply Power Grip along the cut edge of the toy and to its feet, then press it onto the L-piece. Lay the bookend with the toy facing up and allow it to dry completely — approximately 12 hours.
8. Repeat for the other half of the bookend.

Why the 12-hour wait is not optional

The 3-minute set time makes the glue feel finished long before it is. Practical strength is usually achieved within 12 hours on porous surfaces such as wood and ceramics, and Selleys specifically says to allow longer times for non-porous surfaces such as metals and plastics. A toy is non-porous. So the timber-to-timber joint is at practical strength in 12 hours; the toy-to-timber joint may need more.

The instruction to lay the bookend with the toy facing up while it dries is doing something useful too: it puts the joint in compression under the toy's own weight instead of in shear, which is the easiest way to keep an unclamped bond in full contact.

There is one handy trick in the technical data sheet worth borrowing: to reduce set times on non-porous surfaces, keep the surfaces apart for 30 seconds before bringing them together.

Limitations — where Power Grip should not be used

• Not for polyethylene or polypropylene plastics. Selleys directs you to All Plastics for those.
• Not for permanent water immersion. It is water and weatherproof, which is a different thing.
• It will yellow on direct exposure to UV. Worth knowing for a bookend on a sunny windowsill — the glue line at the toy's feet will darken over time in direct sun. A shelf out of direct sunlight avoids it.

Variations and clean up

Timber letters from a hardware or craft store work just as well as a toy — you can spell a name or a word split across the two ends, such as LO on one side and VE on the other. The gluing method is identical, and timber letters have the advantage of being porous, so they reach practical strength inside the 12-hour window.

Clean up before the adhesive sets, using turps or acetone. Cured Power Grip can be sanded and scraped. The product cures rapidly, so wipe the nozzle clean and replace the cap tightly straight after use, and store it upright in a cool dry place.

Safety: the glue is Danger, and the test step is the risky one

Selleys Power Grip is not classified as Dangerous Goods for transport, which is why it sits on the shelf like any household glue. It still carries the signal word Danger, and the reason is the eyes.

H318 — causes serious eye damage (Category 1). Category 1 means the effect is not assumed to reverse. It also carries H317 (may cause an allergic skin reaction, skin sensitisation Category 1A), H315 (causes skin irritation) and H335 (may cause respiratory irritation).

H318 and the method above. Gluing an L-joint means holding two pieces of timber together at close range while you squeeze a small tube against resistance, then repeating it for the toy's cut edge and feet. A tube whose nozzle has part-set between joints releases faster than you expect when it clears. Keep the nozzle pointed away from your face and wear eye protection; if a child is helping, the adult does the gluing. A splash needs a 15-minute flush and a Poisons Information call, not a rinse.

H317 and the test step. The page tells you — rightly — to test the glue on the underside of a foot before you cut a favourite toy in half. That test, plus four timber joints, plus the toy edges, is a lot of small finger contacts in one afternoon. Skin sensitisation at Category 1A is the more severe sub-category: it is the immune system learning to react, generally permanent once acquired, and it is built by exactly this pattern of repeated casual contact rather than by one big spill. Nitrile gloves, and wash hands before eating.

H335 and the overnight dry. Step 7 has you laying the bookend toy-up for roughly 12 hours. Put it somewhere ventilated — a laundry, a garage, a bench near a window — rather than on the desk you are sitting at.

If the toy turns out to be polypropylene, the hazard profile changes. Selleys All Plastics is the substitute this page names, and it is Danger, H225 — highly flammable liquid and vapour, with H319 (serious eye irritation) and H336 (may cause drowsiness or dizziness). It comes with a primer pen, also solvent. That is the point at which this stops being a project a child should help with, and starts needing an open window, no heater or flame in the room, and an adult doing the work.

The lower-hazard variation is already on this page. Timber letters instead of a toy give you a timber-to-timber bond throughout — no plastic, so no reason to reach for All Plastics at all, and porous surfaces that reach practical strength inside the 12-hour window.

Poisons Information Centre — 131 126 in Australia, 0800 764 766 in New Zealand.

Common questions about making a toy bookend

How long does Power Grip take to set?

3 minutes to set. Practical strength is usually reached within 12 hours on porous surfaces such as wood, and longer on non-porous surfaces such as plastics and metals.

Will it stick to my plastic toy?

It bonds most plastics, but not polyethylene or polypropylene. Test on an inconspicuous spot before you cut the toy in half.

What do I do if the toy is polypropylene?

Use Selleys All Plastics, which is what the data sheet directs you to for polyethylene and polypropylene.

Do I need to clamp the joints?

Masking tape is enough for this project — the method uses tape to secure the timber pieces while the glue sets. Selleys' general direction is to clamp or tape to support the bond until the adhesive sets.

How do I make the bookend heavy enough to hold books?

Keep as much of the toy's original stuffing in each half as you can. If it is hollow, add rocks, stones or fishing sinkers.

How long does the wood stain take to dry?

Allow 2 hours before applying a second coat if you want a darker finish.

Can I put the bookend on a sunny windowsill?

You can, but Power Grip will yellow on direct exposure to UV, so the glue line will darken over time.

Is the glue waterproof?

It is described as water and weatherproof, but it is not suitable for permanent water immersion.

Can I speed up the bond on the plastic toy?

Selleys' own tip is to keep the surfaces apart for 30 seconds before bringing them together, which reduces set times on non-porous surfaces.

How do I clean up excess glue?

Turps or acetone before it sets. Once cured, it has to be sanded or scraped.

What temperature range will the finished bookend tolerate?

Power Grip's service temperature range is -15°C to +120°C.

Can I use this method for other decorations?

Yes — timber letters are the obvious alternative, and the same glue and sequence apply.