Quick Water table tutorial

Real quick general guideline for a water table using a bucket and scraps. This was really ad hoc, not much planning.

Materials
1 plastic self-contained container that is water proof and has a lid ~10$
1 2 x 4 ~2.50$ http://goo.gl/zhYWb
1 1 x 6 ~8.00$ http://goo.gl/3eZDk
1 scrap MDF for the bottom to add some rigidity
handful of nails, screws what have you
Wood glue, because you love it

I already had the glue, nails, screws from previous projects. I sourced all the wood from the Home Depot Scrap bin, ~50c a piece or from my hackerspaces scrap bin. All told I spent about 1.50 on wood.

Tools
Something to cut wood with, jig saw, circular saw, table saw, band saw, hand saw etc.
Drill
Hammer (if you decide to use nails)
Sand paper
Hand sander

Steps
1. Get 4 table legs, either from various scrap or use a single 2 x 4 cut into four equal parts (a little less than 2' per leg, we built it taller than he needed right now, so it will grow with him)

2. Measure around your future water container. For a snug fit I just measured with the wood, marked it, then cut it.

3. Place the water container ontop of the MDF/Rigid bottom piece and place all the side peices around it. Trace around the exterior. Cut out your trace.

4.Start putting together the side pieces, make sure they are as close to square as possible. Pre-drill if using screws as the wood is thin and you don't want it to snap. I also use a countersink bit so the screws will be flush with the surface. You can also use finish nails and tap them in so little fingers won't snag on them.

5.Once the Sides are all screwed/nailed together you will want to make sure your bin still fits. We chose (had on hand) a bin that had a tapered form so it snugly pushed into the frame I quickly made. (I nailed in one nail loose to get everything together then pre-drilled and screwed in with glue for a snug fit)

6.If the bin fits, great, time to attach legs. Remove the bin, and pre-drill from the inside of the frame into each leg. I turned the frame "upside down" so that the legs were sticking up in the air and level with the top of the frame. I used two screws per leg with glue between the frame and the 2 x 4.

7. Once your legs are attached, time to put the mdf bottom on the frame. I first attached it using screws (gently as you are close to the MDF edge) then flipped it all over and sealed up the entire inside where the MDF met the frame with wood glue.

8. I then let the glue dry a bit (I made this while packing up my workshop for a move, so had the time to wait for glue to dry)

9. After the glue was finished I used about 5 or six 60 grit pieces of sand paper and a hand sander to smooth down all the edges of the 2 x 4s and smooth out the rough cuts etc. Rounded corners hurt much less then sharp 90 degree ones.

10. If you want it to last you should seal up the wood with some poly-ureathane/acrilic what have you. I didn't have time for that and my finishing stuff was already moved so I didn't have any on hand. For what it cost, I'm not too worried if the wood warps. The biggest problem is the MDF bottem. Hmm I should seal this baby up next weekend....

Hope that helps give some direction. I don't "know" what I'm doing and if you choose to follow these directions I can't be held responsible.

Good luck,

Ross