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Description
I've done a little woodworking before, but never something quite like this. Our big Christmas presents to our kids this year were these two tables for their Legos, arts, and crafts. They're big; each one is about 30 inches wide and 80 inches long (About 75 cm by 2 meters). Their previous Lego table was the converted crib you see in the background. The wife and I wanted to give the kids a bigger dedicated space to play with. I decided I wanted to make something that would last, look good, and remain useful for many years to come.

Both tables rest on shelving units from Ikea that I reinforced with plywood on the back. The Legos are sorted by type and stored in the sides. The space between the shelving units is big enough for two people to sit side-by-side in chairs that match the white-and-stained-wood look of the table (you can see one in the background). The tabletops are secured to the shelving units with 1/2 inch bolts through holes that I placed so that the shelving units can open inwards or outwards. This allows them to be arranged in any configuration while keeping the bins accessible. The bolts are slightly recessed into the surface of the table, and their tips are flush with the bottom surface of the shelving units' top surface. This allows us to take the tables apart and move them without tools in seconds.

The tabletops I made from plywood for the face, an L-shaped molding for the edges, and 2x4s underneath for strength. I stained the lumber with an oil-based Golden Oak stain. I glued the lumber for the tabletops together with Titebond II, while the reinforcing plywood sheets got screwed into the shelving units. Both tabletops got three coats of satin finish polyurethane.

The shelving units cost a total of $100. The lumber was about $150 at Lowe's, and one of their people was nice enough to cut the lumber to the dimensions I needed at the store. The stain and varnish ran me back another 20 bucks, and I spent about $80 on new tools, mostly clamps for gluing the tabletops together. Total cost was about $350, or &175 per table.

The kids love these things. They're already covered with about a dozen Lego projects.

Description
I've done a little woodworking before, but never something quite like this. Our big Christmas presents to our kids this year were these two tables for their Legos, arts, and crafts. They're big; each one is about 30 inches wide and 80 inches long (About 75 cm by 2 meters). Their previous Lego table was the converted crib you see in the background. The wife and I wanted to give the kids a bigger dedicated space to play with. I decided I wanted to make something that would last, look good, and remain useful for many years to come.

Both tables rest on shelving units from Ikea that I reinforced with plywood on the back. The Legos are sorted by type and stored in the sides. The space between the shelving units is big enough for two people to sit side-by-side in chairs that match the white-and-stained-wood look of the table (you can see one in the background). The tabletops are secured to the shelving units with 1/2 inch bolts through holes that I placed so that the shelving units can open inwards or outwards. This allows them to be arranged in any configuration while keeping the bins accessible. The bolts are slightly recessed into the surface of the table, and their tips are flush with the bottom surface of the shelving units' top surface. This allows us to take the tables apart and move them without tools in seconds.

The tabletops I made from plywood for the face, an L-shaped molding for the edges, and 2x4s underneath for strength. I stained the lumber with an oil-based Golden Oak stain. I glued the lumber for the tabletops together with Titebond II, while the reinforcing plywood sheets got screwed into the shelving units. Both tabletops got three coats of satin finish polyurethane.

The shelving units cost a total of $100. The lumber was about $150 at Lowe's, and one of their people was nice enough to cut the lumber to the dimensions I needed at the store. The stain and varnish ran me back another 20 bucks, and I spent about $80 on new tools, mostly clamps for gluing the tabletops together. Total cost was about $350, or &175 per table.

The kids love these things. They're already covered with about a dozen Lego projects.