Happy New Year, everyone! Who’s making resolutions? We’re still mulling ours over (you know Sherry loves a list), but for now let’s talk about our last-minute holiday project: making a latch board for Clara. Clara’s play fridge wasn’t the only homemade gift she opened this year. The weekend before Christmas we decided to build a little latch board of her very own, and now we’ve finally put together a clear, simple rundown of how we did it.
We first learned about latch boards when Clara’s cousin Elsa got one a year earlier. Kids seem to love the turning, twisting and flipping that latches provide, so once Clara had developed enough fine motor control with other stacking and twisting toys, we felt she was ready. We waited until she was unlikely to get frustrated, then set out to make one ourselves.
We shopped at our favorite local hardware place that feels like a treasure trove of old skeleton keys, latches, knobs and random curiosities — basically an adult candy store for makers. We came home with a good assortment and waited until Clara was napping to spread everything out and determine the best arrangement.
After experimenting with layouts, we chose a compact arrangement that included a few hinges, several window latches, some door bolts, and a couple of decorative carabiners attached to drawer pulls. We didn’t use everything we bought — some pieces felt redundant or made the board too busy — so we returned a few items and kept the size manageable for little hands.
The mock-up board in the photos was a scrap piece of plywood used to figure out sizing. For the final board we wanted something thicker so screws wouldn’t come out the back and scratch the floor. I found spare 1×4 and 1×3 boards in the basement and joined them with my Kreg jig. You could also have a single board cut to size at a home center to avoid joining boards, but we liked the slightly weathered look of reclaimed pieces — it matched other projects in our home.
I waited to cut the joined boards to final length until they were clamped and even, then made one clean pass on the table saw to square the edge. The finished board ended up as a 12″ x 12″ square. I also sanded the edges and rounded the corners to make it safer for small hands.
To give it some personality we added a simple stain-and-paint treatment. Not required, but we enjoy adding color and texture to kid projects. I taped the edges, knocked the top up a bit with light distressing, then applied a Dark Mahogany stain. Once the stain dried, I carefully primed and painted the edges with a bright Citron color leftover from a previous project to give the board a contrasting pop.
After edging with a brush, I rolled a small foam roller over the paint to ensure an even finish without disturbing the sharp line between stain and paint. Once the paint was dry, Sherry added a clear topcoat of low-VOC Acrylacq polyurethane for durability and safety on kid items.
With the sealer set, we attached the hardware. We were on a tight schedule — about 40 hours before Christmas morning — and had one hinge swap to make, so we ran back to Lowe’s on Christmas Eve to pick up the final piece and finish the board in time to wrap it for Santa to deliver.
The total cost was about $35. That’s a bit more than some store-bought versions, largely due to two decorative carabiners and one locking window latch. If you substitute less expensive hardware you can reduce the price. In our case, the carabiners turned out to be Clara’s favorite elements, so it was worth the small splurge.
Update: As for weight and safety — Clara has dragged the board around for a week and it’s similar in weight to her wooden puzzles. We selected smooth-edged hardware to avoid pinches and used only external latches and hinges, not internal locks used for baby-proofing. A few teachers have told us latch boards are popular in classrooms and great for building fine motor skills.
We captured a short clip of Clara opening her latch board on Christmas morning, and her reaction was exactly what we hoped for. What parent wouldn’t love an “Oh wow, man”? Have you made a latch board or found yourself wandering an old hardware store like a kid in a candy store? We’d love to hear about your finds and favorite hardware pieces for projects like this.