Wooden beech abacus: ten rods, beads colour-coded by place

My son turned seven this spring. At school they have started adding and subtracting within a hundred, and he still does it on his fingers under the desk. We already tried a plastic abacus: the beads rattle, the rods bend, and the whole thing was abandoned after one evening. I would like to commission a proper wooden one — something that lives on his desk for years and that is simply pleasant to touch, so that his hand reaches for a bead without being told to.

Here is how I picture it. A beech frame, roughly 30 by 25 centimetres, with ten rods and ten large beads on each rod. Colours follow the place values: one tone for units, another for tens, a third for hundreds, three or four muted natural shades repeating along the frame. No acid brightness, please. The movement matters more than anything else: a bead should slide smoothly, never jam halfway along a rod, and never rattle when the frame is carried across the room. It must stay exactly where the child leaves it. I also want a horizontal divider bar and place-value markings burnt or carved into the side post — not a sticker that peels off by winter. The stand should be stable enough for the frame to sit on the table at a slight angle without sliding when pressed.

Alongside the abacus I would like a small set of counting sticks in a wooden box with a lid, and an inset board with the digits from zero to nine. On safety, I want this written into the agreement: beads on rods are small parts, so the item is not intended for a child under three years old; the rods must be fixed in the frame so that they cannot be pulled out, with the ends capped. The wood is to be sanded until there is not a single splinter anywhere, the finish must be a safe one and fully cured and aired out before delivery. The child plays under adult supervision — please print that line on the card that comes with the set.

What I expect from the maker:

— a sketch and a quote before any work starts: species, frame dimensions, bead and rod diameters;
— finish samples on a beech offcut so I can judge the tone in daylight;
— a movement check — every rod run end to end, no bead binding and none loose;
— photographs before packing, including the rod ends and the joint between frame and stand;
— the stick box and the digit inset board finished in the same tone as the abacus;
— a care card with cleaning instructions and the small-parts warning.