'ELVES' AT WORK FOR KIDS' SMILES.

Byline: Dana Bartholomew Staff Writer

Sanders whined and wood chips flew Sunday as 18 oversize elves worked far from the North Pole to bring holiday joy to needy children.

And when the sawdust cleared at their Woodland Hills workshop, the San Fernando Valley Woodworkers had fashioned handmade wooden helicopters and cradles for Santa's lucky few.

``I'm a 6-foot-even elf,'' said Barry Lampke of West Hills, taking a break from the two-day production of nearly 225 wooden toys at the El Camino Real High School wood shop. ``This is mitzvah day. This means giving, charity.''

Whether their holiday is Hanukkah or Christmas, he enjoys helping to create toys for children who have few or none.

Around the frenetic workshop Sunday stood boxes of parts manufactured since August: poplar bodies for helicopters, Baltimore birch blades to make them ``fly''; beds for cradles, rockers to make them sway from side to side.

And at each saw and drill and router and wheel stood a quiet man with one goal in mind: to build heirloom-quality toys for those who can't afford them.

``We're just having fun ... doing this thing and thinking about where these toys are going,'' said sawdust-covered Dan Cameron, 66, a retired electrical engineer from West Hills.

After each toy was sanded, glued, nailed and finished, the elves gathered round to ``play'' with each gift and make sure that each blade spun perfectly, each cradle rocked with ease.

``Gnat's (behind),'' yelled one woodworker to another to describe the precision tolerances of their work.

The San Fernando Valley Woodworkers, who began assembly on Saturday, were assisted by the Granada Hills Woman's Club, which supplied each cradle with a handcrafted doll and blanket, and Swaner Hardwoods of Burbank, which donated wood.

Next month, the group, based at Balboa Recreation Center, will host a toy contest whose products will be donated to nearby charities and hospitals.

``Smiles from ear to ear'' are the result, said one man who has witnessed the reaction when toys were handed out in a children's cancer ward.

For the woodworkers - most of them retired from paying careers - it's all a labor of love.

``This is probably one of the happiest times of the year for me,'' said Arron Latt, 65, past president of the group and co-chairman of this week's gift assembly.

``We know where the product is going - that's the most important thing.''

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3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 2) San Fernando Valley ``elves'' make toys, above, for needy kids. At left, Spike Beltz and Arron Latt sand.

(3) A woodworker shows off one of the toy helicopters volunteers have made.

Phil McCarten/Staff Photographer