My son had his 9th birthday this Monday and I wanted to do something special for him.
He is a young boy who has made his first steps in to this addictive hobby of modeling (modern planes :-( ).

But I am a bit reluctant to let him unattended in my room since there are some chemicals there and some nasty power tools. So I figured that it would be nice if he had a little place where he could do his own modeling, but where? He has gotten a new bed and desk for his birthday but I was not to keen to let him model on his new desk, so what to do.

Well my sister in law provided with the answer. She is 6 months pregnant and we had a lot of baby stuff in our attic that they could use. And one of the items that was stuffed in the back was a IKEA changing table,



and immediately I thought of a moveable building board.

I have seen a picture in one of my modeling handbooks



To make a quick table you only need the top part of it



I did not needed to change a lot



Because it is a bit to deep I needed to shorten the table with 15cm so that it is bit more useable for him.

Next I needed to cut 2 handles in the sides (10x5cm)

And finally I added 2 sheets of high density Styrofoam to the back (2x 2x6cm)

High density because this is not so loose as normal Styrofoam creating lesser mess when cut.
2 layers: the top layer is fixed to the bottom one with toothpicks so that I can remove it and adjust the lay-out if needed.

Lay-out? In the top part of the Styrofoam I have cut several pieces out where the bottles of glue fit snugly in the openings and where my son can keep his knife, tweezers, clippers and other stuff vertically for easy access and security (knife with the blade downwards).

Now he has his own worktable and it took me 20 minutes to cut, reassemble and sand the handles, quick and easy.

Now I know that not everybody has a IKEA changing table at home, but they are dead cheap, 99 dollars and you can even make a storage cabinet.
But also, there are plenty of yard sales and flea markets in this period of the year and I have seen several equally usable this weekend at our local flea market, selling for 10-20 dollars.

So maybe I can give someone a idea with this.

Sorry to say that I had no camera but I will try to take a picture one of these days.

good idea ronny, again another unrelated item that we modelers can put to good use. I think modelers are also hoarders!

That's a pretty cool Idea Ronny.

Excellent idea Ronny. This is something even I could use. If necessary I could take my model building into the bedroom without any problems.

hmmm marty what about yr wife/girflried/boyfriend


heh nice idea ronny

I got my hands on my friends camera and here are 2 pictures of the table I made.





Yeah I know, it looks a bit yellow, but it is +35 degrees Celsius here and the room of my sun is getting the full effect of the sun at this time in day, so we have to keep everything closed

I like that idea! I've been doing my cutting/ building/ sanding/ etc. on my computer table and airbrushing and spray painting on my coffe table. Of course, I will put a thick newspaper to prevent the surface from paints and dents. This table you've just shown us is very useful but ofcourse, building a much larger model (like the SCUD Launcher) Needs a lot of space.

I would use it only if I had to relocate from the dining room (where I normally build models) on a short notice. Once in a while the bedroom is the only place in the house with some peace a quiet (read: place to get away from wife and daughter)

Great idea....thanks for sharing.

Great idea! Well done. For allowing you to model somewhere you normally couldn't it's an excellent idea, particularly with regard to the styrofoam inserts to prevent small bottles etc being knocked over.

Vinnie

Great idea Roadkill. As a matter of fact it couldn't come at a better time. We're in the process of remodeling and I had to pack up my modeling desk. Assuming I have any free time in the coming months, what with the remodel, I could use something like this. We don't have Ikeas here in Colorado but I'm sure there are other retail stores selling something similar.

Thanks for sharing the great tip.

Nice idea Roadkill.

If you don't have an IKEA nearby, you could also look for one of those TV Tray stands or a tea serving stations and just take one side wall off. Find one where the tray part lifts off of the stand or just buy the tray. Or buy some 1/8" plywood and make one with a hot glue gun. Just get a nice flat piece for the bottom and cut some sides.

Thats a great idea! Hey, maybe now you could make your own and then sell and make a fortune!

~Chip

Sorry I am late to this thread but here is my worktop. We threw out a table with a corner unit about a year ago and so salvaged the corner unit top, 2 drawer handles, some computer packaging foam and a thin strip of wood (drilled to hold all sorts of junk). Add some non-slip feet, a kit and away you go. The advantage of this is that I work where my tray is as we do not have a dedicated 'den' in the house. As it can be tidied away it keeps the wife happy :-)



Lee

Thanks for the great idea!
It´ll work fine for me too, cause I love build in front of the TV... (++)