Carlsen - Building unique and useful kids furniture: 24 great do-it-yourself projects

Building Unique and Useful Kids Furniture

24 Great Do-It-Yourself Projects

by Spike Carlsen

Building Unique and Useful Kids Furniture

24 Great Do-It-Yourself Projects

by Spike Carlsen

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher.

Spike Carlsen, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-610353-25-0

135798642

Linden Publishing titles may be purchased in quantity at special discounts for educational, business, or promotional use. To inquire about discount pricing, please refer to the contact information below. For permission to use any portion of this book for academic purposes, please contact the Copyright Clearance Center at www.copyright.com

DISCLAIMER: Woodworking is inherently dangerous. Your safety is your responsibility. Neither Linden Publishing nor the author assume any responsibility for any injuries or accidents.

Book design by Maura J. Zimmer

Cover design by Jim Goold

Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data on file

The Woodworkers Library

Linden Publishing Co. Inc.

2006 S. Mary

Fresno, CA 93721

www.lindenpub.com

About This Book

Every how-to book is a compromise between how many projects to squeeze in and how much detail to delve into. This book tried to strike a logical balance. With YouTube at ones disposal, one can find tutorials on just about anything. So when it came to more advanced techniquesusing a biscuit joiner or pocket screw jigwe covered the basics, but encourage you to hit the Internet to learn more.

In the area of plans we tried to provide complete information via diagrams, templates, cutting lists and shopping lists. That said, we encourage you to use our plans as a starting point for creating your own unique furniture. Before digging in, noodle around a bit with the size, color and wood speciesthen have at it.

A Word on Safety

Woodworking is both intrinsically rewarding and inherently dangerous; before diving into any project, make certain youre comfortable with the tools and materials youll be handling and take time to familiarize yourself with the overall game plan. Think about safety, not just while a project is being built, but also when its installed and in use. Use common sense. When in doubtdont do it.

Dedication

Dedicated to grandchildren everywhere; mine happen to be named Paige, Morgan, Riley, Anna, Claire, Bella, Louise, Priya and Blue.

Contents

Building Unique, Useful Kids Furniture

Thats the thing about handmade items. They still have the persons mark on them, and when you hold them, you feel less alone. Aimee Bender

A quote like that packs a pretty powerful punchand its true. Even years after its been created, handmade furniture calls out, Hey, remember I love you so much I took the time to build this for you.

I became a fan of hand-built kids stuff one Christmas morning, when, granddaughter Annasurrounded by piles of plastic toys and games that beepedwas most enthralled by a simple wood circus car Id made (you can see a similar one on ). Built from four store-bought wheels, a couple of 16s and a few dowels, I could see her mind churn as she placed a stuffed animal into it and paraded around the room. One moment she was a lion tamer, the next a train engineer. And she didnt do this for minutesshe did it for months. When she outgrew the circus car, her little sister adopted it.

The circus car didnt come with instructions, so she had to make up her own rules. It was nearly indestructible so she could drag it down the stairs and sit on it without fear of it breaking. Andthough I dont think it was clear in her 18-month old mindsomewhere in that little noggin she realized it was made with love by Poppy.

As the years rolled on, I made more and more furniture. Building things gave me reason to pursue the hobby I loved. It tucked a few extra dollars in my pocket and gave me bragging rights. It gave kids something that was personal and fostered creativity. It gave parents something that didnt have a jillion pieces. I built LEGO tables, toy boxes, dollhouses, sleeping lofts, rocking horses, tree houses, Barbie Doll bunk beds, clothes giraffes and more. And most of those things are still around today.

This book is for those that believe tis more blessed to build than to buy. The 24+ projects in this book cast a wide net. They can be used by infants, toddlers, kids and tweens. They can be built by first timers, intermediate do-it-yourselfers and seasoned woodworkers. The projects can be used in bedrooms, kitchens, playrooms and outdoors. Many can be converted to adult use when their kid use days are past. Better yet, this book doesnt just show you how to build furniture, it shows you how to become a better woodworker.

So, whether your first project is a circus wagon or a bunk bed, roll up your sleeves and get going. Youll make a mark on someone.

Spike Carlsen

An Awesome Mirror

A project to make you go in circles

The full length I Can Do Anything mirror (p. 69) is ideal for bedrooms; it fits nicely on the back of a door or on a wall. But what about a mirror for the bathroom? Or above the dresser? Or in the entryway? A person needs to reflect on inspirational things in those places too. So we designed this 2-foot diameter Born to be AWESOME mirror for smaller spaces.

We encourage you to customize your mirror, graphics and words so they fit the kid or the family in your life. In fact, for this one, we dont even include a diagram or materials listso design away! Ours is for a kid that loves skateboardingand who was, clearly, born to be awesome.

How to Build It

For starters, dont freak out about the jig in . This trammel jig can help you cut near-perfect circles, butif you dont feel like building a jigcut your parts the good old-fashioned way: freehand.

We started with a 16" diameter mirror which established the basic design. The mirror opening couldnt exceed 15" in diameter, since the face (A) needs to overlap the mirror by at least " on all sides. Then a 24" overall diameter allowed us to make good use of material and provided a wide rim for decals.