So this project all started cause my kid kept bugging me to make something fun and easy to move around. I saw some soft maple scraps in the garage and thought – hey, why not try making removable dancing pieces? Maple’s got that nice bend without snapping.

What I Actually Did

First I chopped the timber into little blocks – each about palm-sized. Grabbed my pocket knife and whittled curved edges like those wooden snake toys. Messed up three pieces trying to make ’em too thin before realizing thinner ain’t always better.

Then came the removable part. Tried magnets – big fail. Too strong, pieces wouldn’t dance apart. Switched to these plastic ball-and-socket joints from broken action figures. Forced ’em into the wood with glue and crossed fingers. Two joints popped right out during testing. Had to redo with epoxy putty holding them in.

Making It “Dance”

Here’s where things got stupid: My bright idea was attaching strings to pull the limbs. Looked like a tangled puppet massacre. Almost trashed it until coffee spilled on my workbench. Saw how the liquid made the timber blocks slide… lightbulb moment!

Final solution:

• Filed the joints loose enough to wobble
• Nailed smooth-bottomed furniture pads underneath
• Picked the loudest bass speakers I own

Now when I blast music? Those maple pieces jiggle and bounce crazy on smooth floors like drunk robots. Kid loves kicking ’em around too. Whole thing breaks apart in seconds – joints just pull out. Timber gets chucked back in the scrap bin.

Wasted a whole Saturday but hey – sometimes you gotta let crap break twenty times before it kinda works. Still finding wood shavings in my socks though.