Childs Chair Side Table

[Mike Heidrick]

Inspired by Narayan's post. My daughter is 14 months old. My wife bought her a kid sized rocking chair. My daughter climbs up into it and then turns around and sits down. Last week, with a sippy cup in her hand, she tried to get into the chair. It was either put it in the chair and sit on it when she turned around or put it on the ground and then not have her milk when she got in the chair. My daughter thought about this and then stuck the sippy in her mouth, clamped down, and then climbed into the chair. I decided she needed a side table.

Got the MM20 a week ago Friday and here is the first work with it. This was my first attempt at tapered legs, resawing, and book matching. I still have to sand it and finish it but here are the preliminary sizing pics. Finished this far at 11:15pm. Still an Easter present right? Wood was all freebies but the top and that was a $2 walnut bowl blank from Pekin Hardwood. I used slotted blocks to attach the top and biscuits to join everything else. Four kreg screws through the slotted blocks are the only metal in the piece. Dimensions are 16" tall, 12" wide and 10" deep. Wife said no drawer as Megan would pull it out and tip the table. Next time I will try adding a drawer.

Now I need to make a kitchen for her. May add a Chopping block top for this table and then it can be her island for her kitchen.

[Mike Cutler]

It's nice Mike. It has pleasing proportions, even scaled down to little tyke size. The bookmatching of the top turned out very well and the legs are excellent.

Yo did a nice job, and should be proud.

Your wife was right about the drawer though. Give Megan a few years and then add the "moving parts".

[Heather Thompson]

Mike,

Very nice project, hope your daughter will appreciate the piece and treasure it, would make a great gift for her first child when that time comes around. She has a nicer side table than 90% of of American homes, just remember that she will never be able to settle for store bought furniture after being exposed to fine craftsmanship at such a young age, maybe she will follow your lead and express interest in fine woodworking. Congratulations on planting the seed.

Heather

[Narayan Nayar]

Well done, Mike!

I had my parents on videoconference (simple Mac thing) when I gave the table and chairs to my son and my dad said he's probably one of very few kids in this country that have something like that made of real wood. Though it's a lot easier to go to Ikea and pick up melamine versions of the same thing for $20, it sure is a lot more rewarding to know your child is using something you made.

Looking forward to seeing that kitchen. Beware, though--might give others in your family the idea that you should take on the full scale version...

[Jim Becker]

That's really great, Mike!!! Wonderful work and a great addition to your daughter's world, too!

[J. Z. Guest]

Very nice Mike. How are you going to finish it so she won't mess it up with spilt milk?

[Mike Heidrick]

Very nice Mike. How are you going to finish it so she won't mess it up with spilt milk?

Thankyou everybody for the compliments.

I was going to ask a cabinet buddies advice on the finish. Do you guys have any advice on how to finish this for durability and good looks?

[Narayan Nayar]

I did a poly (Arm-R Seal) and wax on everything but the seats. Didn't want the seats to be too slippery (he still wants to climb on things...).

Let the poly cure completely, of course, so that it's inert. My son doesn't chew on things so I'm comfortable with my decision; if your daughter still teeths on household objects (not uncommon I understand), you might go with something like shellac.

Basically I went with poly because I wanted something that would harden on the surface and make things like markers and crayons easy to clean up.

[Jim Becker]

The thing is, Narayan...the only notable property that polyurethane adds to the finish is some abrasion resistance. It's actually a softer finish (because of the flexibility needed to be abrasion resistant) than the other two primary types of oil-based varnish (assuming you used oil based)...which are alkyd resin or phenolic resin products. These later two types offer greater clarity and rub out to a nicer finish, too. If you use a water borne product that contains poly, it's just an acrylic with some polyurethane resin added to, yes, add some abrasion resistance.

[Richard Dragin]

That looks just like a table some guy posted on another forum!