Introduction: Kid's Kitchen Assistant Endure

How it all began...

The outstanding thing about beingness a shop teacher (or just a handy someone in general) is you can build a lot of things instead of buying them. So, when my married woman tells Maine she wants some form of a kitchen stool/tower/stand thing that our boy can consumption to get up to counter level, I say "O.k. I can belik build up something alike that."

Determination time to centerin on designing and construction something from scratch usually takes many sentence than I have these years. At least much sentence than what my wife has in mind for getting these projects done (usually in my mind too). Needless to read she doesn't ask me to build much. On the rare occasion she does ask/allow me to really make something for her I try to bring down advantage of the opportunity. This 'ible walks through and through the design and build of a Kids Kitchen Assistant Stand.

YouTube Video Go with Note: I'm a instructor and currently I have been having to create video/remote learning lessons. I like to take a projects to operate happening to assistanc me read radical skills. In luminousnes of having to try to create engaging, relevant, and useful video lessons for my students I thought starting a public YouTube channel mightiness help me learn and fine-tune my TV redaction and teaching skills faster. The embedded video above is my first true attack at creating a start to end video using real video editing software package. I know it's not the best video but I thought it turned out alright, I noninheritable very much, and it was fun making it. If you watch information technology and you experience helpful video/editing advice I'd greatly apprise whatsoever tips to assistanc me improve. Ok enough of my ramblings back to the project.

Supplies

Tools/Equipment

-Laptop & CAD program

-4' x 4' CNC Router (You canful do this with a Jig Sawing machine if you treasured to)

-1/4" Last Mill about

-Power Drill

-Magnate Sanders

Materials

-3/4" x 4' x 8' Sheet Plyboard

-3/4" x 36" Dowel Rod (2)

-120 Grit Sandpaper

Ill-trea 1: Research

I honestly didn't take such of a clew what my married woman was asking for when she first brought up the theme of a kid's kitchen stand. She told me it was similar to a fold up ill-trea stool merely looked better, should be safer, and was specifically made to be used aside kids thusly they can serve in the kitchen/wash their hands/see what's happening/etc. She showed me a render of what she wanted, it looked achievable.

A Google search or two later, with varying degrees of success finding the right information/products, and I had the elementary idea of what I my wife wanted me to build.

Side Tan: I don't love if these tiddler helper stand products sell very well, but holly crap they are dear! I get into't know how many designs I saw that were literally just a few 2x4s screwed jointly with a piece of plywood slapped on for the platform that had an request monetary value of about $100 or Thomas More!!!! Peradventur I live in a lower price of animation area, peradventur I don't value these products as much because I know how easy/cheap it is to build, maybe I'm just a total penny pincher! But by golly if those 2x4 stands are actually marketing on a day-after-day basis I'm in the wrong tune of work. Alright tangent over noncurrent to the real argue you're probably here.

The nicer designs I found online were all made primarily out of plywood. The designs I liked usually had one measure, a standing platform, and most had octuple heights the platform could be set. I liked the multiple heights feature as we plan to have many kids in the future. From what I realize kids can number in varying sizes. Our but kid at the sentence of this writing is in the 99th centile in height. His doctor (and pretty much everyone other that sees him) North Korean won't stop talk about how tall he is. Which his dad doesn't mind as he is banking on his son making the NBA, then keep growing fry! My guess is our other kids are sledding to equal more average in the tiptop department (those poor suckers). Anyway being able to adjust the height connected the platform I think would get into handy down the line when we have more kids of varying heights in the put up.

Footstep 2: Intent

I'm lucky to have entree to a CNC router that has a 4'x4' work table. I don't generally have a lot of clock to devote to working in the shop for my personal projects. I do tend to embody capable to find time where I can sit with a computer and intention projects exploitation Dog software. With the combo of CNC router and ample time to figure in CAD I settled my project around existence able to cut all the parts of this Kitchen Helper Stand with the CNC router.

The design is pretty simple and only took me about 20 minutes to sustain the BASIC structure consummated, then peradventur some other time of day or so to rectify it. Beneath is the primary iteration of what I came up with.


You'll see few differences in version one above and the closing design. I generally use the Dog model to get feedback or simply a meliorate understanding of a design earlier I actually survive. In this case I made two slenderly different sides and let my wife choose which one she liked best.

I also ended up changing the safety bar slots on the apical, aft of the stand. When my son dependable extinct the first prototype version of this matter he could well just pull Oregon knock that dowel pin rod out, which didn't really allow any additional safety.

The chopine slots were the separate that took the longest to get right in the design.

I necessary the slots to embody tight simply leave enough of a gap so the platform could slide in and out relatively easily. I knew if I made the gap just the homophonic thickness of the material the parts wouldn't fit together. I also knew from prior experience that the cuts the machine makes are not always exactly the same as you designed them to be. The toolpaths will run close to the original design but lean to either be few thousandths of an inch also big or small. (This is probably mostly due to my new circumscribed understanding of toolpath/tooling tolerances) I ran a test of basketball team surgery six different slot widths working in .005" increments opening at 0.755". The largest gap at .78" worked rightful some sodding and that's what I used in my design.

I yearned-for to try and make the assembly component of this project as quick and easy as viable. I added in few places that would comprise engraved during routing where the cross braces would demand to be installed. My hope was that these incised locations would go far easier for me to ensure my parts were level and square.

Subsequently everything was aforesaid and done, with feedback from my wife, I ended up with the intent shown below.

Mistreat 3: CNC ROUTER Operate

I secondhand a political platform called Aspire to political platform the toolpaths I needful to keep going my CNC router to cut out the parts for the stand. There are two basic types of toolpaths I used for this project, which were PROFILE and Pouch toolpaths.

Profile Toolpath - Imagine of these as line following. Essentially this type of toolpath is just a big game of connect the dots. Your design is translated into a bunch of X, Y, and Z coordinates which the computer then uses to diagram a path. Every bit it hits points on the fashio it will switch focal point when needed so that IT will perforated kayoed/grave the shape you want. Usually multiple passes around your desired outline are needful to completely cut out the shape you deprivation.

On a real basic level its similar to the white board example below.

Pocket Toolpaths - Think out of these as a robotic void, the Roomba of CNC toolpaths. These toolpaths work between boundaries. You're instrument leave go back and forth removing material in stages. Every time information technology hits the boundary you identified surgery an area the tool has already removed crucial it leave modification direction, rightful look-alike the way a robot vacuum testament change direction when it hits a wall or a piece of furniture. When finished you are left with some form of a "pocket" in your material.

Again on a rattling basic level pocket toolpaths act similar to the examples to a lower place

The hard divide of this whole CNC process is getting your design just. Once you give birth that dressed, the current programming of and running of the parts on the CNC machines is jolly straight forward.

-Load and secure your material to the router table

-Insert the right tooling into your router

-Load your toolpaths onto your automobile

-Hit start

-Keep your appendages departed from whatsoever moving parts

-Repeat that process until you have all the parts you need.

Eventually you'll fetch up with something like this.

I programmed tabs into my toolpaths to be leftish atomic number 3 the CNC router ran the profile cuts thus the parts wouldn't move during the CNC operation. Tabs will look something like what is shown in the image below after your CNC router is over.


If you don't include tabs in your toolpath your parts are jolly much ready to go when the CNC router finishes doing its affair, which is faster simply IT has it's drawbacks. Chiefly, without tabs you peril your parts wiggly before the CNC really finishes fully cutting out your parts.

Away from your parts potentially being ruined, having parts move while the CNC router is still keen can become pretty unsafe. If the parts move ahead your tooling is clear of the material the bodied backside break apart and throw chunks across the room at really high speeds. Or along the less grave side your tooling can break which if you don't have extra, can genuinely cast the breaks along your project. All of these lessons I've learned the knotty way.

I think most people should use tabs if they can in their CNC program. Tabs will donjon parts connected to your overall part of bodied while the CNC router runs, which in the long run will save you a lot of frustration and John L. H. Down time. The tabs have to be cut verboten and clean up after the fact, which generally isn't a very big handle.

Step 4: Post CNC Clean Up Work

As I mentioned ahead after the CNC router finished running all of my parts, they were all nevertheless connected to my sheet of plyboard with tabs. You can cut through with the tabs in any routine of different ways, I generally just use a shield-shaped gigue saw.

Once each the parts are cut out the left over tab holdouts (as shown in the picture above) need to atomic number 4 cleaned up through some sanding. I used a belt sander to get all the edges of my parts level. The openhanded thing here is just non to rush. Keep your parts moving along the sanding knock at a nice consistent belt along with light insistency. You don't want a colossal divot showing up connected the abut of your parts from sanding too much material off.

It's a rookie move over I'm inculpative of making far to often.


Before I moved on to testing how all of the parts fit together I used a couple of force sanders with 120 gumption sandpaper to give all the parts a good once terminated. I'm not sure if I'm departure to paint this or maybe impartial give it a nice clear coat, simply it is manner easier to do a majority of the sanding prior to final assembly.


I victimized the sanders to cushion all the chisel-like edges and corners too. To begin with, I planned to use a hand held router and a round over bit to clean up the edges. But, I ended up not having access to one when I was working connected this task. The sanders worked impartial fine. The edges wear't look as uniform and peachy as they would have using a router with a round over bit, merely they look good enough and you can't really see any mistakes unless you are looking for them.



Step 5: Assembly

The fall of building things by yourself is you never have enough hands. I imagine some DIY-er, maker, builder, and/or hobbyist has run into this issue before. You go to start putting every last the components of your project together and ........ NOPE. Granted, this can lead to some sincere solid ingenuity and problem solving. In the moment though I either feel dumb or frustrated (usually both). I kept my cold beautiful symptomless during this build up, merely boy there were some times I felt real dumb.



I was happy to get a line my engraved brace locations worked not bad and rattling helped realize it easier to perspective the orthodontic brace in the correct and level position. The first fit screen showed I had a flaw somewhere in my design as the stand had a decent size wobble once I got the whole thing clamped collectively.

My first thought was I had inconsistent pressure along the clamps. Indeed, I adjusted the clamps to see if that would reduction the wobble, simply no luck. I came to the discovery that my step was to sweeping.



I'm not doomed if this was an issue from my original CAD model, the exporting of the invention to Aspire, or a problem that occurred due to my plywood being bowed/warped before I swerve it on the CNC router. In any case I over leading having the same issue with the vertical platform too. To specify the wobble, and make the platform put to work, I ill-used the bang sander to tardily polish of material from cardinal death of each of those parts (the step and political platform) until they fit the way they should.


Afterwards taking sour more or less an 8th of an inch of material from each and clamping all the parts back together the wobble was gone.

Because I'm not entirely sure what caused those two parts to non work (well-nig likely it is meet an error in my CAD model) I didn't live back fix the step and political program widths in CAD. I image if I make any more of these for families or friends I'd instead have the parts cut slimly too big and then sand or cut them to fit. If these helper stands become something I make all the time I'll most verisimilar get back and optimize my Bounder modeling. If you decide to make over your personal one of these stands from my design files (included below) keep that in mind.

Kitchen Helper Stand Files

Kids Kitchen Helper IGES Lodge

The assembly struggle bus didn't stop after figuring out the issues with the step. I currently suck at these types of gum ups.

One thing I preach when I'm teaching my students, but always look to forget when I'm operative on my personal projects, is planning and patience. I did plan impossible the order of my mucilage up during the dry run. What I didn't do is test or plan out the best methods to bugger off all the parts together without getting glue everyplace.


The whole thing wasn't a complete disaster, overall my process worked out hunky-dory. It just wasn't the smoothest ride. There was a bit more glue cleanup once everything dried than I would have liked. The inferior parts of the glue squeeze verboten were either underneath or on the inside where those mistakes will by and large be hidden when the point of view is on the shock. If I end up picture this thing you South Korean won't even be able to tell.

My tip on gluing up this stand is to convey your time and plan out your order of operations. If you can convince someone to help, four custody wish by all odds be punter than cardinal here. If you accomplish this feat all by yourself and you find some cool technique to make this complete process easier, let me know.


I contemplated using screws atomic number 3 well but I wanted a nice clean see on the exterior. After the glue dried I ran a quick structural integrity test by stagnant along the supporter stand myself. I weigh around 170 pounds and the stand matt-up solid under my weight. Considering my kid only weighs just about 30 pounds I believe exploitation only gum will be fine. I sack ever go back and add screws later if needed.


Step 6: Sentence TO PUT THE Chaff TO WORK!

Nothing left field to do but put the kid to work preparation and cleaning the counter tops!


This kitchen benefactor stand works great! My son is a conspicuous buff of his new found independence and now wants to laundry his hands by himself every time we get base. As he grows I think back he'll really savour helping us call at the kitchen. My wife seems to cerebrate I did an very well job and she is looking first to having our son help stir things as she bakes glorious, delicious confections.

I'm happy I was able to build something recyclable for my menag and practice whatsoever CNC skills along the way. I answer think IT needs a coat of rouge or something to really bring up the project home, but we'Re active to live with it for a bit and construe about that later.


Step 7: The End Bit

Thank you so so much for checking impermissible my project. I truly treasure any fight people have with my work. I trust this was helpful to you in some manner or at the rattling least somewhat interesting.

Check out much of my sour on my internet site Shop Class Builds.

Find me connected Instagram @shopclassbuilds

Again thank you for taking clip out of your solar day to scan through my project.

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