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Copied a $200 commercial “Learning Tower” for my son for about $70.(r/DIY)
My son is always wanting to help do things around the kitchen, but being two years old he can’t reach the counters. I always thought that was a good thing, but my wife thought differently.
I came in one day and my wife had him standing on a chair at the counter. Almost on que, he slipped and had I not caught him he would have had a nasty bump on his head. I thought to myself there had to be a better way and headed over to Amazon to see what was out there. I came across this Learning Tower that was $200. After looking at the construction, I figured I could make it much cheaper so I did.
Time:
It only took about two hours to cut everything out and assemble it. add another half hour for sanding and finishing so it was a nice Saturday project.
Materials:
- (1) 4×8 sheet 3/4″ Baltic Birch Plywood – $45
- (2) 36″ 1.5″ Oak Dowels – $18
- (1) can spray laquer – $7
(I should add that spray laquer is probably the laziest method of finishing this thing. You could do better for not much cost, but I really didn’t give a shit how it looked as long as it was safe and stable.)
Total material cost: $70 (plus a few screws, glue, and sandpaper) and I still have about 1/3 of the sheet of plywood left for other projects.
Tools used:
- Circular saw
- Jig Saw
- Orbital Sander, sanding block
- Pocket hole jig
- Drill and impact driver
- tape measure, string and pencil to lay out arches
Edit: Sorry, forgot to mention I also used a trim router with a 1/4″ roundover bit to smooth up the edges. I wouldn’t call this tool required for the job but it makes it a little prettier when you’re done.