No Products in Your Cart
Kids Art Table[8/4 Wide · 4ft · 5-Pack]
One pack. One build. All 5 boards used. • Makes 1 art table
Shop Black Walnut 8/4 Wide · 4ft Pack Shop All Speciesselect 4' Lengths / 6-8"
How it goes together
Black Walnut
Hard Maple
Cherry
White Oak
Red Oak
Ash
Hickory
Ambrosia Maple
Sapele*
Padauk*
Purpleheart*
*Exotic — not available for shipment to US customers.
A low, solid hardwood art table for kids, with a roll of kraft paper at one end and a crayon trough at the other. Four wide 8/4 boards edge-glue into a 36" × 22" top on short hairpin legs. Board 5 makes the two paper-roll brackets and the trough. Pull fresh paper across the table, draw, tear it off, repeat.
Quick Build — for experienced woodworkers
| Part | Qty | From | S2S size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top pieces | 4 | Boards 1–4 | 36" × 5½" × 1¾" |
| Paper-roll brackets | 2 | Board 5 | 7" × 5½" × 1¾" |
| Crayon trough | 1 | Board 5 | 22" × 5½" × 1¾" |
Top: four 5½" × 36" boards edge-glued → 36" × 22" × 1¾".
Paper-roll brackets: two 7" × 5½" blocks, grain running with the top, glued under the long edges at one end plus 3 × #10 × 3" screws down through the top (plugged). 1⅛" hole for a 1" × 22" dowel.
Crayon trough: 22" piece butted to the other end, 1" core-box channel ½" deep. Two 3" × 10" cleats (from offcuts) glued and screwed under the trough, then screwed up into the top through slotted holes, no glue — cross grain.
Legs: 4 × 18" hairpins, #12 × 1" pan-head screws in pre-drilled holes.
Finished size: Top 36" × 22" (about 41½" long with the trough) × about 19¾" high on 18" legs. Takes an 18" kraft-paper roll up to about 5" across.
Before You Start
Shopping List
- 1 lumber pack — 8/4 Wide · 4ft (6–8" wide, S2S)
- Wood glue (Titebond II or III)
- 4 × 18" steel hairpin legs (3-rod are stiffer)
- 16 × #12 × 1" pan-head wood screws (often included with the legs)
- 6 × #10 × 3" and about 16 × #10 × 2½" flat-head wood screws
- 1" hardwood dowel, cut to 22"
- 18"-wide kraft-paper roll (about 5" across or less)
- Felt or rubber leg caps, a few ½" wood plugs
- Sandpaper 120 / 180 / 220
- Finish: water-based poly, or hardwax oil left to cure fully
Tools
- Saw for crosscuts (mitre saw or circular saw with a speed square)
- Track saw, or circular saw + straightedge
- Jointer, straight-line rip jig or hand plane
- 6 bar clamps, 24" or longer
- Cauls (straight scrap strips)
- Router with a 1" core-box bit and a ¼" roundover bit
- Router sled, hand plane or belt sander
- Drill/driver, countersink bit, pilot bits, 1⅛" Forstner bit, ½" counterbore
- Random-orbit sander or sanding block
Why S2S only? The 6–8" wide 8/4 boards come S2S: both faces planed, edges rough. Plan on losing about ¼" per edge when you straighten them.
Our sizing assumptions: ⅛" per saw cut · 6–8" wide 8/4 S2S boards trimmed ½" each end and ¼" off each rough edge (5½" clean at the narrowest), planned at 1¾" thick · sizes drawn for the narrowest board in the pack. Wider boards give you a bigger offcut or a wider part — never a shortage.
Step-by-Step
S2S Lumber Pack (6–8" wide)
Surfaced 2 sides — straighten edges first
- 1 Prep the boards. Trim ½" off each end to remove any end checks. Joint one edge straight, then rip the other edge parallel (¼" off each rough edge is our planning allowance).
- 2 Cut the parts. Square one end of each board. Crosscut boards 1–4 at 36" for the top. From board 5 cut two 7" brackets and one 22" trough piece. Keep the long offcuts: two become trough cleats.
- 3 Glue up the top. Joint the mating edges, then edge-glue the four top pieces in two pairs, and the pairs together the next day. Every joint is long grain to long grain. The top comes out 36" × about 22" (closer to 21½" once the edges are jointed). Use cauls and leave each stage overnight. Then scrape off the glue and flatten with a router sled, hand plane or belt sander (it is too wide for most planers). Trim both ends square.
- 4 Fit the trough to the top. Trim the trough piece to the exact width of your top. Rout the crayon channel in its top face: a 1" core-box bit, ½" deep, two side-by-side passes, stopped 1½" from each end. Mark which long edge meets the top.
- 5 Make the roll brackets. On each 7" bracket, mark a hole 2½" in from one end and 3" down from the top edge. Drill a 1⅛" hole so a 1" dowel turns freely. Round the bottom outer corner of each bracket to a 2" radius.
- 6 Round everything. Draw a ½" radius on every outside corner of the top and the trough (trace a large coin) and sand to the line. Ease every edge about ⅛" with a roundover bit or sandpaper. Little hands and heads find every sharp corner. Sand 80 → 120 → 180 → 220.
- 7 Finish all faces. Use water-based poly, or a hardwax oil left to cure fully (about 2 weeks) before kids use it. Coat the top, bottom and edges the same so the top stays flat.
- 8 Attach the trough. Rip two cleats 3" × 10" from the board 1 and 2 offcuts. Glue and screw them under the trough, end to end, with half their width sticking out past the edge that meets the top. Their grain matches the trough, so glue is fine. Butt the trough to the end of the top, faces flush, and screw the cleats up into the top through slotted holes, no glue. Use #10 × 2½" screws, counterbored ½" and pre-drilled, kept clear of the channel.
- 9 Attach the brackets. At the other end, glue a bracket under each long edge, flush with the end and the side, hole toward the end. The bracket's grain runs the same way as the top, so glue is fine. Counterbore ½" deep, pre-drill and drive three #10 × 3" screws down through the top into each bracket. Glue in wood plugs.
- 10 Legs and paper. Screw on four 18" hairpin legs with #12 × 1" pan-head screws in pilot holes. Put the plates 1" in from the long edges and 2" in from the trough end, clear of the cleats. At the paper end set them about 9" in so they clear the brackets. Add leg caps. Slide the 1" dowel through one bracket, the paper roll, then the other bracket. Feed the paper up over the end and pull it across the table.
Why is the trough screwed, not glued? The trough's grain runs across the table, and the top's grain runs along it. The top grows and shrinks about ⅜" across its 22" width through the year, and the trough doesn't. Glue would crack. The cleats are glued to the trough only, and their screws into the top sit in slotted holes so the top can move.
Why can the brackets be glued? Each bracket's grain runs the same way as the top, so the two pieces move together. Long grain to long grain is the strongest glue joint there is.
Why 18" legs? With a 1¾" top the table stands about 19¾" high, a good height for kids about 3 to 7 years old on a 10"–12" chair or stool. For older kids, use 20" or 22" legs.
Why pre-drill? Maple, oak and hickory split if you drive a screw without a pilot hole. Pre-drill every screw and countersink so the heads sit flush.
Make It Yours
- Matching stool: glue the 10¾" offcuts from boards 3 and 4 edge to edge for an 11" square stool top on 10"–12" hairpins.
- Tear bar: screw a thin strip of hardwood along the paper end, just above the paper, so kids can tear sheets off cleanly.
- Chalkboard end: skip the paper roll and paint a chalkboard panel on a bracket face for doodling.
Safety and Care
- Wear eye and hearing protection. Use a push stick for every rip under 4" wide.
- Pre-drill every screw — hardwoods split without a pilot hole.
- This table is for drawing and crafts. It is not a step or a seat — don't let kids stand, sit or climb on it, or lean on the trough.
- Round every corner and ease every edge. Use leg caps so the hairpin feet don't scratch floors or toes.
- Let the finish cure fully before kids use the table. Water-based poly is ready in about a week; hardwax oil can take two.
- Use #12 × 1" screws in the leg plates so they can't break through a top flattened to 1½".
- Wear a dust mask when cutting and sanding, especially exotics (padauk, purpleheart, sapele).
Frequently Asked Questions
The 6–8" wide 8/4 pack comes S2S (faces planed, edges rough). Straighten the edges with a jointer, a table saw and a straight-line jig, a track saw, or a hand plane.
Any 18"-wide kraft or easel-paper roll up to about 5" across. Bigger rolls hit the underside of the top. Swap rolls by sliding the dowel out sideways.
Yes. Hairpin legs unscrew in minutes. Swap the 18" legs for 22" or 28" legs later and it becomes a craft table or a small desk.
Hard maple is the toughest and resists dents from pressed-down crayons and toy cars. Walnut and cherry hide marks and wear well. Every species in the pack is hard enough for daily use.
Planned offcuts: about 10¾" off the end of boards 1–4 and about 10" off board 5. The board 1 and 2 offcuts become the two trough cleats; the board 3 and 4 offcuts make a matching stool top (see Make It Yours). All 5 boards go into the table.
A 2ft wide pack is too short for this table. It makes our Hairpin Plant Stools, which work as kids' stools too.
