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Train and Lego table for a kid

author-gravatar chrislehr Aug 06, 2019

This was a super fun and quick project to mate my other larger effort - the train bed.  


This #traintable has lots of cool features

Storage for books and toys in the leg supports

"tunnel" train storage

A two way drawer in the middle with a catch to prevent it from falling out on a kid foot

reversible top - chalk paint on one side for roads, green paint for grass on the other side.

Photo of Train and Lego table for a kid

This was less of a "fine furniture" project but that made it super fun too.  Glues and Kreg screws mostly.  Oh and LOTS of plywood.

Photo of Train and Lego table for a kid

Lots of plywood.    

Photo of Train and Lego table for a kid

First, the legs/shelves were built

Photo of Train and Lego table for a kid

Here I am figuring out how to make the top sit inside the top shelf.  Note the delta between this picture and the prior one - the "top" is the "back" of the top shelves.  This was later secured with carriage bolts which makes the piece able to be broke down to more movable pieces.

Photo of Train and Lego table for a kid

Here I am using a curve tool to eyeball and mark my desired curve for the underside

Photo of Train and Lego table for a kid

Then I went about cutting the drawer hold in the faces on both sides

Photo of Train and Lego table for a kid

here I am fitting the "skin" that will back the lower two shelves on the supports

Photo of Train and Lego table for a kid

Skinned supports!

Photo of Train and Lego table for a kid

Test fitting my drawer (somehow didn't get pictures of building that)

Photo of Train and Lego table for a kid

Here, the drawer is just sitting in the hole but I've added the drawer supports.  I later added HVLP runners, top and bottom to ensure a smooth slide and waxed the drawer sides and edges to keep things slick

Photo of Train and Lego table for a kid

Here I routed out the four sides of the top to glue and nail the painted part into

Photo of Train and Lego table for a kid

getting ready for the top glue up

Photo of Train and Lego table for a kid

top glue up complete, starting to take final form now

Photo of Train and Lego table for a kid

Before and after on some of the beech used for the train rails

Photo of Train and Lego table for a kid

I got a super fun idea on train storage and started cutting up some scrap plywood to make fake tunnels!

Photo of Train and Lego table for a kid

sprayed primer grey everywhere and hand painted the black parts

Photo of Train and Lego table for a kid

We are in the PNW, so you can't not add some moss!

Photo of Train and Lego table for a kid

Here you can see how the tunnels look.  I painted the plywood behind the tunnel black first, then glued and screwed the tunnel parts and the train rail in later.

Photo of Train and Lego table for a kid

Painted the whole thing white, and the drawer goes in and out nicely, but needed a stop    

Photo of Train and Lego table for a kid

I added two screws and nylon spacers to the middle of the drawer and put furniture bump padding on the wood where it makes contact.  This prevents the drawer from being pulled out or dumped out.  I found myself clever here.

Photo of Train and Lego table for a kid

Finished and ready to play!!

Photo of Train and Lego table for a kid

here's the final look on the train rail tunnel all assembled.

Photo of Train and Lego table for a kid

Safe to say this has already had dozens of hours of play without incident!

Photo of Train and Lego table for a kid

He's a fan

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