Lego Table #1: Sketchup Model

I had been planning on entering the LumberJocks Halloween Challenge. Anytime the prizes are given away randomly, instead of based on skill and craftsmanship, I’m all over that! But my wife didn’t particularly want me spending a lot of time in the shop merely for the chance at a $50 gift certificate for tools (and DEFINITELY not for a plane holster or a cap, she would say).

So she told me that she’d let me have $50 extra bucks for tools if, instead, I built a lego table for our kids. We’re expecting our third child in a few weeks, and once that little bugger starts crawling around, we’ll need to have those legos off the floor.

So I thought that was a pretty good deal. I downloaded Google Sketchup (my first time using it) and started planning the table. I based it off of this great project (a train table) by Joshua Sargent.

The table will be a multi-use table. The plywood panel will be covered with a 70×100 (centimeters) “car mat” – you know, a colorful very thin rug that has roads, buildings, etc. drawn on it. It’ll be removable if need be. I’ll then build a frame and panel “lid” which will seat onto the top. On one side, it will be a plain smooth surface for a homeschooling workspace (I’ll have to figure out the best way to fill the grain so it’ll be smooth). On the other, I’ll have a checkers/chessboard painted on one half, and on the other half…hmm, any ideas?

Below is the sketchup of the main part, minus the lid. You can see that it’s pretty much identical to Joshua’s table, except that I’ve joined the frame pieces with dovetail joints instead of screws. I think I’ll still need screws to attach the legs to the frame, unless you guys can think of another option.

Thanks for reading!

-- Eric at http://adventuresinwoodworking.com