Convert a Table to a Babys Changing Table
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Convert a Table to a Babys Changing Table
Our daughter was born a few days ago.
We thought a simple table will serve for the purpose of a changing table.
But after only a few times changing diapers we realized the table is far to low.
So I build this simple attachement that sits on top of the table and brings the baby to a comfortable height.
We thought a simple table will serve for the purpose of a changing table.
But after only a few times changing diapers we realized the table is far to low.
So I build this simple attachement that sits on top of the table and brings the baby to a comfortable height.
Materials and Tools
The main material for this table consists of 19 mm MDF(medium density fibre board) and four legs of 44 x 44 mm square timber.
The MDF is about 14,00 EUR /m² at our local hardware store. There they provide a service for cutting the MDF so I just had to provide the dimensions of the board and got it premanufactured.
The tabletop of the original table has a dimension of 60 x 80 cm so that is the target size for the attachement.
The height of the original table is at 75 cm. I wanted a target size of about 1 m so the legs of the attachement need to be 24 cm high (this size allows a plastic box to be placed between the attachement and the table).
Here is the complete material list:
* MDF 19 mm:
- 1x 80x60 cm (Dimensions of the original table)
- 2x 80x20 cm (if you want the table to be wide and short only 1 is neccessary)
- 2x 60x20 cm (if you want the table to be narrow and long [my choice] only 1 is neccessary)
* 4x 24 cm square timber 44 x 44 mm,
* Wood strip 10x20 mm (number of pieces according to the MDF parts):
- 2x 60 cm
- 2x 80 cm
* 2x 20x10 mm
* 4 wood screws 5 x 80 mm
* 20 wood screws 4 x 40 mm
* 2x bracket 15x40 mm
* white paint
The tools I used:
* electrical miter saw [for the legs] (you can use a miter box and a hand saw too, electrical is easier for a straight cut :) )
* cordless electrical screwdriver (for drilling and screwing)
* 3 mm wood drill
* 4 mm wood drill
* 5 mm wood drill
* counterbore
* (small) electrical sander (for sanding the edges and corners of the boards)
* screwdriver bits according to the screws used
* paint roller (for applying the paint on the MDF)
* a clamp
The MDF is about 14,00 EUR /m² at our local hardware store. There they provide a service for cutting the MDF so I just had to provide the dimensions of the board and got it premanufactured.
The tabletop of the original table has a dimension of 60 x 80 cm so that is the target size for the attachement.
The height of the original table is at 75 cm. I wanted a target size of about 1 m so the legs of the attachement need to be 24 cm high (this size allows a plastic box to be placed between the attachement and the table).
Here is the complete material list:
* MDF 19 mm:
- 1x 80x60 cm (Dimensions of the original table)
- 2x 80x20 cm (if you want the table to be wide and short only 1 is neccessary)
- 2x 60x20 cm (if you want the table to be narrow and long [my choice] only 1 is neccessary)
* 4x 24 cm square timber 44 x 44 mm,
* Wood strip 10x20 mm (number of pieces according to the MDF parts):
- 2x 60 cm
- 2x 80 cm
* 2x 20x10 mm
* 4 wood screws 5 x 80 mm
* 20 wood screws 4 x 40 mm
* 2x bracket 15x40 mm
* white paint
The tools I used:
* electrical miter saw [for the legs] (you can use a miter box and a hand saw too, electrical is easier for a straight cut :) )
* cordless electrical screwdriver (for drilling and screwing)
* 3 mm wood drill
* 4 mm wood drill
* 5 mm wood drill
* counterbore
* (small) electrical sander (for sanding the edges and corners of the boards)
* screwdriver bits according to the screws used
* paint roller (for applying the paint on the MDF)
* a clamp
Preparing the Material
First I needed to cut the feet for the table out of the square timber.
Just mark the length of 24 cm and cut along the mark.
Next step is to drill the holes for the screws in the MDF panels.
The panels will be screwed with two screws to each foot.
To avoid that the screws will collide when screwed into the foot the holes on the short panels are in a slight different position than on the long panels.
The big panel (60x80 cm) will be screwed to each foot with one long screw. Thats why we need a hole on each corner of the big panel.
Position of the holes:
Short panels: 22 mm from the short edge, 20 mm and 60 mm from the long (bottom) edge
Long panels: 22 mm from the short edge, 25 mm and 55 mm from the long (bottom) edge
Big panel: 22 mm from each edge
After drilling the edges use the counterbore and drill deep enough for the srew heads to sink into the MDF.
Then use the sander and make round corners at the corners of the side panels that will be on the top.
After these steps paint at least the top side of the big panel and the outsides and insides of the side panels.
Just mark the length of 24 cm and cut along the mark.
Next step is to drill the holes for the screws in the MDF panels.
The panels will be screwed with two screws to each foot.
To avoid that the screws will collide when screwed into the foot the holes on the short panels are in a slight different position than on the long panels.
The big panel (60x80 cm) will be screwed to each foot with one long screw. Thats why we need a hole on each corner of the big panel.
Position of the holes:
Short panels: 22 mm from the short edge, 20 mm and 60 mm from the long (bottom) edge
Long panels: 22 mm from the short edge, 25 mm and 55 mm from the long (bottom) edge
Big panel: 22 mm from each edge
After drilling the edges use the counterbore and drill deep enough for the srew heads to sink into the MDF.
Then use the sander and make round corners at the corners of the side panels that will be on the top.
After these steps paint at least the top side of the big panel and the outsides and insides of the side panels.
Putting It All Together
Now it is time to put all pieces together.
For the screws that hold the side panels and the feet together it is not neccessary to drill holes into the feet. However a 2 mm hole will help making it easier to put the screws in.
First mark the feet 8 cm from one end. This is the lengt that will be screwed to the side panels.
Then take the 2 side panels that will sit on the sides of the table.
Then use the clamp and mount one leg to one side of one side panel. Clamp the leg with the 8 cm end to the inner bottom side of the panel (optional: drill with 2 mm through the holes of the panel into the leg) and use the screwdriver to drive the screws through the panel into the leg.
Then go to the other side of the same side panel and put the second leg to this side.
Then do the same to the other side panel.
After this you should now have two side panels with feet on them, a big panel and one sidepanel.
Now we put the two side panels with feet on each side of the big panel and drill with a 3 mm drill through the holes into the legs. Then we screw the 5x80 mm wood screws through the big panel into the legs.
The whole construction is now quite stable. Now we put the last panel on one open side and screw it in place.
Last things to do is to screw the wood stripes to the bottom end of the legs so that the whole construction does not slip from the table where it is put on.
For this we:
* drill 4 mm holes at the end of the wood strips at 22 mm from the end and 5 mm from the edge,
* use the counterbore to make the screws flush with the surface of the wood strips
* drill 2 mm holes through the holes of the wood strip at the end of the legs to make sure the wood does not splinter when we put in the screws
* screw the wood strips to the legs
When our attachement is put on the table the final thing to do is securing it to the table by attaching the brackets to the front legs.
For the screws that hold the side panels and the feet together it is not neccessary to drill holes into the feet. However a 2 mm hole will help making it easier to put the screws in.
First mark the feet 8 cm from one end. This is the lengt that will be screwed to the side panels.
Then take the 2 side panels that will sit on the sides of the table.
Then use the clamp and mount one leg to one side of one side panel. Clamp the leg with the 8 cm end to the inner bottom side of the panel (optional: drill with 2 mm through the holes of the panel into the leg) and use the screwdriver to drive the screws through the panel into the leg.
Then go to the other side of the same side panel and put the second leg to this side.
Then do the same to the other side panel.
After this you should now have two side panels with feet on them, a big panel and one sidepanel.
Now we put the two side panels with feet on each side of the big panel and drill with a 3 mm drill through the holes into the legs. Then we screw the 5x80 mm wood screws through the big panel into the legs.
The whole construction is now quite stable. Now we put the last panel on one open side and screw it in place.
Last things to do is to screw the wood stripes to the bottom end of the legs so that the whole construction does not slip from the table where it is put on.
For this we:
* drill 4 mm holes at the end of the wood strips at 22 mm from the end and 5 mm from the edge,
* use the counterbore to make the screws flush with the surface of the wood strips
* drill 2 mm holes through the holes of the wood strip at the end of the legs to make sure the wood does not splinter when we put in the screws
* screw the wood strips to the legs
When our attachement is put on the table the final thing to do is securing it to the table by attaching the brackets to the front legs.