Maintenance and Repair of our Products

Many of the old time toys of so many years ago were built to just last for very, very short times. Often, a toy or game might only last for an hour or two until it would break. One of the most common problems was that knots in string would pull through holes. Another was that wood would spit often making the toy useless. We at Faire Tyme do everything that we can to make our products safe and long lasting while still giving them the period look. (Always remember that our products should not be used by children under three years of age!)

1. . If you have a toy that has string on it with a knot tied in the string, after every few hours of use check that there is a visible amount of glue on the knot. These knots are glued, but with constant wear and flexing that glue can become brittle and allow the knot to untie. If you do not see any glue there simply put some more glue on the knot. Most any glue works. Since we use a modern string to give very long time wear, it unties very, very quickly if that glue joint breaks. If the knot unties it can be very frustrating for you to repair the toy if you are not familiar with how to do it. The Bull Roarer and Egg mill are two examples of toys where this is very important.
2. . If you have a toy with a twisted wire holding it together make sure that these twisted wires are kept fairly tight. In many cases they must be loose enough to allow free working of parts of course. It is easy to twist these up with a pair of small long nose pliers. It is extremely easy with surgical clamps as well. (That is the tool we use at Faire Tyme to make them quickly.) But we realize that most places will not have a way to obtain those.
3. . With a very few exceptions, you should store your toys and games in a clean dry place. Remember that wood takes on moisture. A constant taking on of moisture and drying out will in time often cause the wood in a toy to split or even break with use. One exception to this is metal hoops. These can be kept out of doors allowing them to rust nicely making them look much more "Period".
4. . Some Faire Tyme products will have a polished finish. You might want to give others such a finish. If they do not already have the finish you desire give it the colour you wish with a water based wood stain. Then coat the toy with a coat or two of wax. Karnuba and/or Bee's Wax are good products for this. But you can also get a reasonably good soft sheen like the old time products using vegetable oil.
   Now and then you should upgrade the finish on your toy with a coat of wax or oil and follow with a quick polish with a soft cloth.
5. . If the end of a string should begin to fray out in loose fuzzy strands simply tie a knot in the end of the string and wet it well with glue.
6. . A few Faire Tyme Products, have an "Upkeep" area right in the "Our Catalogue" area for that toy on our web site. The Bow and Arrow is a good example. There are instructions there on how to string it. The Walking Horse is another example of a toy like this.

If you require repairs or parts for any Faire Tyme Product please let us know. Often we can supply them with little problems or cost. Unfortunately not all Faire Tyme Products are "Assembly Line" made, so there are sometimes cases where we need measurements or need to see the toy to supply a part. But normally that is not a problem. If you require information on how to repair a toy or parts for any of our products, please contact our toymaker. You will see how to do that in our "Contact us" area of our web site available from the front page.

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