A drawing table and two chairs for my 4 year old granddaughter

Frank Pellow

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At least once a month, a number (that number being somewhere between 12 and 24) of woodworkers mostly from the eastern portion of the greater Toronto area meet for breakfast or lunch.  We originally got to contact each other on the Canadian Woodworking forum.  But, meeting in person is even better!

On the first Saturday in December, a group of us met in Leaside for fish and chips and beer.  I was particularly fortunate to be sitting across the table from Don McFarland of Markham.  Don told me about a table and chairs that he is making for his grandson and I immediately decided that I want to make something similar for my 4 year old granddaughter Jamie.  Here is picture that Don later sent me of his table:

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The table supports a role of drawing paper as well as two strips that are held to the table with magnets and keep the paper in position while someone is drawing.

Don found plans for children?s chairs on the Lowes web site (http://www.lowescreativeideas.com/idea-library/projects/Childs_Table_and_Chairs_0507.aspx).  I thought the plans were quite good and built a couple of chairs with only very minor modifications.  Here is an extract from the chair plan:

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Last week I built the table and two chairs.  The rest of this thread shows and describes the steps in the project.

(01) Two of the pieces shown in the photo below form the rear legs and back frame for a chair. They were cut using a jig saw.

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(02) Each chair has three back slats and each slat must have a rounded section cut out in order that the back of the chair will fit the contour of its occupant.  I made a template, marked each slat using that template, cut each slat on my small bandsaw, then smoothed the cut using a Festool Deltex sander equipped with 40 grit paper.

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I followed this up with 80 and 120 grit paper using my Festool linear sander.

(03) I tapered the front legs of the chairs and all the legs of the table freehand ( [embarassed] but very carefully  [embarassed]) on my table saw:

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(04) The slats were attached to the chair using glued and screwed butt joints.  Here is one of the backs:

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(05) Most of the joints on both the chair and table were made using pocket hole screws.  Here the holes are being drilled with a Kreg jig:

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And here a cross piece is being screwed into place:

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(06) A chair seat was cut out of Baltic birch plywood, then the chair was assembled:

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(07) Here, the table frame is being screwed to the top:

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(08) I next tested both the chair and table for size and strength:

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(09)The next steps were to build and install a roller to hold the paper, embed four washers in the table top, build a couple of hold-down bars with embedded magnets, paint the table white, paint one chair red, and paint one chair yellow, and install screw-in rubber feet on all the legs.
 
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Looks like a great project Frank!  Looking forward to seeing more of this thread!
 
Frank,

Very nice project so far and on such a tight schedule.  I am really jealous of your woodworker meetings.  Sounds like a super idea.  Beats the hell out of a Chamber of Commerce meeting.

Neill
 
very nice work.

I'm interested in trying something similar. I can get the chair plans from Lowe's but can you give me some rough dimensions of the table?

Thanks in advance

Martin
 
Thanks Martin.

In that I designed the table myself, I was able to use the (much prefered) metric system.  The table is 1 metre long, 60 centimetres wide, and the top is 50 centimetres above the floor.

The table top was made with 15 mm Baltic birch plywood, the legs were made from scraps of  2 inch x 2 inch beech, and the frame pieces were made from 3/4 inch pine.
 
Frank,

Another beautiful job!!  I sure wish I could be one of your grandchildren.  Thanks for sharing with us.

I noted your duct tape connection of your Festool hose to the Kreg Pocket Hole Jig.  Here is my solution to that same problem - a piece of PVC electrical conduit (1 1/4 inch, I think) cut from a prefab 90 degree curved piece.  Carlton brand from HD.  You'll have to grind out a small amount from the inside to make it a snug slip fit over the Kreg Jig Dust Shroud with can be done with a Dremel or other rotary tool.  The slight curved portion helps reduce the bending strain from the weight of the hose on the shroud.

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Note this is my first attempt to post photos in a gallery and from a gallery.  Let met know if this doesn't come through and I will directly post the photo.

Dave R.
 
It turns out that Kristel (my daughter) had a very big role of paper that someone gave her.  It is 36 inches long and the role that I bought at Mastermind is 18 inches long.  Also it is very thick but not so thick that it will not fit on the roller.  I thought that I would be able to cut the roll in two on my table saw, so I brought it back to Toronto with me and gave it a try:

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The job was easy and the results were good. They will now have enough drawing paper to last a very very long time.
 
Very slick, Frank.  I suspect next year is going to be a banner year for Grandpa!!

Have you considered doing much the same to mount a full width roll of paper for use when gluing up or finishing?

Dave R.
 
Thanks Dave.  A banner year in terms of making gifts throughout the year YES.   :) 

I doubt that I would get much use out of a roll of paper for glue-ups and finishing.

But in terms of making Christmas gifts for my grandchildren, I am only going to mange to make gifts for 40% of them this year.   :-[
 
Now the project is really complete.  I completed the remaining two chairs early in the week and delivered them on Wednesday.  All four chairs together are really colourful:

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Frank,

Those chairs are beautiful.  Oh, to be a kid, again!!  Just seeing the photo makes me excited.  Add some children, some chocolate and some sugar and ... madness of joys!

Please tell us (show us) how you achieved that result.  I have made many projects with clear and stained finishes, but never any painted wood projects.  Did you spray the color coats?  Any special preparation needed?  Any clear coats over the color coats?

Dave R.
 
Looks like you have Ridgid, Milwaukee, DeWalt and Festool colors(in order of chairs) all taken care of!

Was that sheer coincidence ?
 
Dave Ronyak said:
Frank,

Those chairs are beautiful.  Oh, to be a kid, again!!  Just seeing the photo makes me excited.  Add some children, some chocolate and some sugar and ... madness of joys!

Please tell us (show us) how you achieved that result.  I have made many projects with clear and stained finishes, but never any painted wood projects.  Did you spray the color coats?  Any special preparation needed?  Any clear coats over the color coats?

Dave R.
Thanks Dave.  The chairs were simply painted with one coat of primer/sealer then two (and in places 3) coats of CIL oil-based gloss paint.  I did it the old fashioned way with a brush.  I waited a day between coats and sanded lightly with 180 grit paper before applying the next coat.
 
nickao said:
Looks like you have Ridgid, Milwaukee, DeWalt and Festool colors(in order of chairs) all taken care of!

Was that sheer coincidence ?
Yep, it was coincidence.  They happen to be the colours that my grandduaghters like best.
 
Maybe its an omen that you have some little woodworkers coming up!

My 6 year old daughter is the the only kid of six that has expressed any interest in woodworking and even has her own little table in my shop for her projects. She has a portfolio of inlay designs for me to make already going!

I am trying to get my 12 year old son involved he got a small lathe for Christmas I will post some of his pens in another thread when he gets some completed. I am hoping it will take and his reliance on video games for entertainment  starts diminishing.
 
Thanks, Frank.  What is CIL brand?

Nick, good observation.  Frank has been training his granddaughters properly.  On my PC, the red is too deep and dark to pass for Milwaukee red.

Dave R.
 
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