Daughter's art desk w/ never-ending paper roll

[James Dudley]

Quick weekend project for my 4-year-old.

Wanted to to do a table for her to draw on. Thought up an idea using rolled butcher paper (restaurant supply item). Pretty simple construction. I wanted to test this leg design. Might do a stronger taper and/or slant next time. The initial leg cuts were done at 10 degrees. The taper added roughly another 10 degrees to the 2nd edge.

First time cutting tapers on a table saw. Had to build a jig that worked fairly well.

Paper will come up through the slot, across the table, and down through the 2nd slot that'll also facilitate a quick tear-off kinda function. The roll is 900 feet. That should hold her for a while!

Itll be be getting a simple garnet/Amber shellac finish in a few days.

Whaddayathink?

[Mel Fulks]

I like it. She will love it! But your optimism about how long the paper will last could be destroyed by one drawing of a
"really long snake".

[James Dudley]

I like it. She will love it! But your optimism about how long the paper will last could be destroyed by one drawing of a
"really long snake".

lol. True.

[James Dudley]

one more pic. for some reason, the system wouldn't let me upload this one.

The horizontal spars have a taper to the ends as well (the taper starts as the inside corner with the legs). The legs are .5 inch thick, so they bend fairly easily. I'm hoping not to have long-term issues with the glue joint at the top of the legs (reinforced with screws on the inside through all three layers) coming apart over time.

Looking forward to getting some color on that light pine. It's really pale! The spars are some old pine that's been in my parents' garage for.....a LONG time. So that color is just age.

[Aaron Conway]

I really like that leg design...very cool.

Aaron

[James Dudley]

Thanks Aaron. Found a similar design in a pic online somewhere, but can't remember where. I'll see if I can dig it up. I liked the spar and twin-piece leg idea as well. Especially the slight curve created by bringing the two pieces together at the foot. Offsets all the geometric lines well.

[Phil Mueller]

Well done! Great idea.

[James Dudley]

Thanks Phil.

One coat of Shellac (garnet de-waxed) applied. Just want to do a few coats to seal it up and give it a light finish. Nothing too drastic or fancy. Will probably leave the shellac as the final finish, though I haven't entirely decided on that. I finished some shelving in the same shellac (from flakes) a couple of years ago, and it's worn just fine. Pretty hard finish.

I used a Roto-Zip to cut the slots for the paper to go through the top. Kinda annoyed that they're not straighter. Used a nice straightedge...but the bit itself wobbles too much, leaving some weave in the cut. Not a big deal for a table that'll get drawn all over and beat up I'm sure. But good to know for future projects. It's a good tool for roughing out holes and stuff....not so much at making final cuts if you want them straight/smooth/etc.

[lowell holmes]

Nice desk. I like the design. I'm sure your daughter will make good use of it.

If the screws give you problems, you might drill holes and glue dowels through the joint. Nice oak dowels are strong.

[James Dudley]

Thank you!

Good thought Lowell. I think the joint will hold fine, since it has both glue and screws. I think I was just being paranoid.

Hopefully laid final cost of shellac tonight. That spruce top really soaked it up. Took more coats than I planned to get just a light finish.