Easy Wood Block Figurines

Hi there!

Here are some very simple wooden figures that are fun to make, posable, and relatively easy and customizable.

They look a bit like a hybrid between a LEGO minifig and a Funko Pop doll, but a wooden handmade version for those of us that like to create rather than buy.

I've been making these little blocky figurines for a while, and decided to share my basic design and process here. This block figure layout and design is shared for your personal non-commercial use. Please respect that.

Thank you for reading and please enjoy!

I made several versions of these before I settled on the design I'm sharing here. This design intentionally makes very efficient use of material.

These figures require some precise drilling that can be especially tricky with with new construction grade lumber.

I prefer to make these out of old, very dry cedar or pine 4x4 fence posts (actual size is closer to 3.5 inch by 3.5 inch) which I often get for free when people tear down old fences.

Any big chunks of kiln-dried hardwoods are excellent to use as well but are not cheap. These figurines are a great way to use up hardwood scraps if you have some.

These are supposed to be imperfect and a little rough around the edges. They're not fine art or fine woodworking and they definitely have a handmade look.

Almost everything is laid out in proportions or by simply eye-balling it. There's no need to try to make anything perfect.

The tools needed are a bandsaw (with a 1/4" blade, 6 teeth per inch), drill press, drill press vise, standard drill bits and Forstner style drill bits, a Dremel-type tool with sanding drums, and a few common tools like hammer, handheld power drill, paint brushes, etc.

You don't need a big bandsaw or drill press - small, relatively cheap benchtop styles are perfect for this!

Materials needed are some wood, wooden dowels, 1/8 inch metal rod, glue, and paint.

For one figurine you need two blocks of wood that are the same width and depth. Since I use old wood, the first thing I do is sand the block faces a little with an orbital sander to remove the gray weathered surface.

I have a large bin full of blocks prepped for these, so I just grab two matching blocks and go when I want to make a new figure.

I like the height to be 1/8 less than the width and depth dimensions or thereabout.

The easiest way to determine this when using a piece of wood like an old square post is to mark out a height that will produce a cube shape when cut, but then shorten that measurement by about an eighth.

I mark these not-quite-cube shapes on the board, then cut them off with a bandsaw.

One block is set aside to become the head.

The other block is cut in half as shown in the photos - one half will become the torso. Set that aside.

Mark the other half in quarters lengthwise along the height (the short length of the piece). The outside quarters are cut off and these will become the foot pieces.

The middle squarish section is cut if half across the narrow width to make two chunks. One will become the hands and the other will become the arms and legs.

Take one of the squarish chunks and mark it in quarters on the end grain as shown.

Two of these will be legs which will be drilled all the way through with a 1/4" drill bit, and the other two will be drilled down about halfway with the same bit.

I find it easier to do this before cutting this chunk apart. I put it in a drill press vise and drill the holes as noted using a Forstner bit.

Be sure to leave a gap below this chunk in your vise so your bit doesn't hit the bed of the vise, or put a scrap piece of wood underneath to protect your bit.

The arms have a simple joint made out of a 3/8" wooden dowel and a piece of 1/8" metal rod that acts as a hinge.

The chunk from the last step is cut in half and the two pieces that have the 1/4" holes drilled halfway are now drilled with a 3/8" bit crossways through the other end, to begin creating the clearance area for the swiveling 3/8" dowel.

See the photos, as they outline this better than I can explain.

Use the bandsaw to cut out the ends up to the holes, and make sure the dowels fit in the gap. They should be snug but not loose. This is critical so nibble away a little if needed and work your way up to fitting tight, but not loose. If they're loose, get some scraps and start over. The dowels must be snug, but movable in the gaps.

The ends of the blocks are rounded over a little with a Dremel drum sander (these ends become the shoulders), and then the block is cut apart with the bandsaw.

The dowel ends and arm ends are drilled with an 1/8" bit and sanded a little as needed so the dowels can swing unobstructed in the arm pieces, and a small piece of 1/8" rod is pressed into the holes.

The bit of metal rod can be cut beforehand with a Dremel cut-off disc. It helps if one end is sanded to taper it a little so it presses into the wood holes easier. A piece of a snug-fitting nail could also be used.

I like to drill these holes carefully by hand with a handheld power drill instead of the drill press.

A little super glue can be added to the ends of the metal rod piece to keep it from slipping out, but it should be in there pretty tight.

The foot pieces can be cut into more foot-like shapes using the band saw.

Some 1/4" holes are drilled into the heel areas and then 1/4" dowels are glued in through the legs and into the feet as shown. I'm using pine dowels for this figure, but I recommend hardwood dowels - especially for the hinged arm pieces in the last step.

The hands are the trickiest part of this whole figurine. Ask any artist, hands are always the hardest part!

I made a LOT of scrap wood trying to figure out this hand design. But I like this version the best out of all that I have done, because it has that cute little thumb!

The chunk of wood that will become the hands has two holes drilled in it. I use a 7/8" Forstner bit and hold the chunk in my drill press vise and drill these on the drill press.

One hole goes all the way through, and the other just part way. For the through-hole, I like to drill a small pilot hole first, then drill the larger hole half-way in from either end so it's a clean hole with no blow-out.

Again, see the photos as they explain better than words.

Two 1/4" holes are drilled to receive dowels for the wrists as shown.

With the holes drilled, a little shaping can be done by sanding or cutting with the bandsaw, and then the piece is cut in half.

The hands are then sanded with a Dremel and drum sander to remove some of the extra material and make them look more hand-like.

Pieces of 1/4" dowel are glued in to make the wrists.

We're almost done!

The head gets a 3/8" hole drilled into the middle bottom, or just a little off-center further toward the back of the head (which makes the head a little more balanced-looking when assembled).

The top of the torso gets a matching 3/8" hole in the top middle.

Two 3/8" arm holes are drilled in the top sides, a little below the top.

Two 1/4" holes are drilled in the bottom for the legs. No measurements here, just eye-ball it and put them centered and where they look right.

The torso is cut with the bandsaw to put a small taper along the top 2/3s or so. Note that this is done after the holes are drilled. All of these holes are done using a drill press.

I like to drill two shallow holes for the eyes using a 5/8" bit. The eyes should be just below the centerline of the face.

All of the pieces are now sanded with a Dremel and sanding drum to knock off the sharp angles along the edges. Some quick light hand sanding can now be done with 150 or 220 grit sandpaper to smooth things out a little more.

Put all the pieces together and you now have a basic blockifig, or blockman figurine.

If any of the connections are too tight you can sand the dowels a little, or ream out the holes a little with a drill bit to loosen them up.

If they're too loose, a little bit of masking tape can be wrapped around the dowels to make them more snug.

Now, for this little guy I decided to make him into Deadpool. I use cheap common craft paints.

I did a quick search online to see some pictures from the movies, and tried to make a boiled-down interpretation of his outfit.

The trick here is to simplify as much as possible, but try to capture the person or character's lovely essence and then stick to details that you can actually execute nicely without driving yourself crazy.

Easier said than done perhaps, but if you mess up it's just paint and you can always start over!

A base coat of red was painted on, then the eyes were painted white. Various black shapes were outlined with pencil and then painted in. Hands were painted black. His cute Mary Jane shoes are a highlight of the character to me.

Details were added with a fine detailing brush.

I added some stitching to finish the look using a black Sharpie marker, and some lines on the black gloved hands that stand out in certain lighting. A silver marker was used to put some little details on the belt buckle.

I didn't make any other accessories for this guy, but some little weapons and props are always fun to include. You just have to make them in a way that they can clip on/slip on over the back of the hands so they stay in place (or include little magnets in the hands and props so they stay in place).

These make perfect gifts, either as custom one-off mini-me's for people, or of their favorite popular characters.

If you make some please share photos in the comments. I'd love to see yours!

If you want a custom version made just for you, shoot me a message through the site. I love making custom items for people as occasional one-off personal sales (no etsy store, etc).