Drawing/LEGO table for my son

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My son likes LEGO. He also likes drawing. I thought it would be a fun design exercise to combine these features into a table for him.
Had the idea to incooperate a large stack of paper as the table top. Nice to draw on and easy to clean - just rip off a layer of paper. And the edges to keep Lego from falling off the table.
 
Wanted to make something in my usual MCM style but felt that turned legs would be a little bland. Allso at that time I had just bought the Anarchist Design Book and felt like exploring that aesthetic in a modernist way. Ended up with a compromize: Octagonal legs and turned, straight tennons. Worked well. The table top itself is 16 mm plywood so needed a little more support and added the blocks underneath.
 
After a lot of thinking and sketching this is the plan i built after: 


 
The sheets of paper is from a pad for a flip chart stand. This was easy to find but in retrospect i would have prefered a better quality paper (this is like thick newspaper). When it needs refilling i´ll definitely go to a print shop or similar and get nice, high quality paper.

Local ash, birch plywood, Osmo "natural" for a light colour that does not yelow


Fun project, let me know what you think!

Built this project in 2016
2023 update: The table has held up well an is in almost daily use. My son is now 16 but still builds Lego, now a bit more advanced. Here a 2,5m tall crane he built last summer:

"The good chair is a task one is never completely done with" Hans Wegner

cool project. thats one tall crane from legos !

working with my hands is a joy,it gives me a sense of fulfillment,somthing so many seek and so few find.-SAM MALOOF.

Nice table for the LEGO's, and a great idea to use it as a drawing table also. Well done. Pretty soon he is going to be building robots, if he hasn't yet.

Main Street to the Mountains



Are you a podaiatrist in your spare time?  It's great to see those ankle breaking, ankle bitter toys off the ground where they can do so much under foot damage to the clumsy old boys in the middle of the night sneaking about on their fridge raid quests.

(Not that I would call that near 6 footer an ankle bitter to his face.)

If your first cut is too short... Take the second cut from the longer end... LBD

Great project - well done design! Neat to provide such an awesome space for your son to be creative.  
Great project - well done design! Neat to provide such an awesome space for your son to be creative.
Thanks BB1! I guess we all try to do the best for our children

Are you a podaiatrist in your spare time?  It's great to see those ankle breaking, ankle bitter toys off the ground where they can do so much under foot damage to the clumsy old boys in the middle of the night sneaking about on their fridge raid quests.
Certainly have had my share of legos attacking my feet at night. We used to call my son´s room "The minefield"

Nice table for the LEGO's, and a great idea to use it as a drawing table also. Well done. Pretty soon he is going to be building robots, if he hasn't yet.
Thanks Eric! There probably is some kind of engineer waiting to emerge from that kid..

cool project. thats one tall crane from legos !
Thanks Pottz! A few weeks later he made another crane thet was even taller. So tall in fact that there had to be no wind at all for it to be assembled.  Turns out Lego is not that stiff after all

"The good chair is a task one is never completely done with" Hans Wegner