Maker Faire Inspires Father/Daughter Steampunk Table

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Maker Faire Inspires Father/Daughter Steampunk Table

SteamPunkTable#2

Last year was our first trip to Maker Faire Bay Area. My daughter Sawyer and I were inspired by the work and creative projects we saw. Sawyer, who was 7, really got the bug to make things.

One of our first projects was a table built out of 1-inch black steel pipe, wood 2 x 4s, and glass. We finished it off with smooth rolling wheels that enabled us to easily relocate it anywhere in the family room. The black metal pipe and fittings made for easy construction and provided Sawyer and me a chance to work out our design, math, and power tool skills. Materials were acquired online and via the local big box hardware store, which happily cut our longer length and odd length pipe on their in-store pipe cutter and threader.

Sawyer says she is looking forward to this year’s Maker Faire and is excited about visiting with the makers and getting new ideas for a summer of making.

Here’s a video of how the table came together.

YouTube player

-With help from Sawyer.

8 thoughts on “Maker Faire Inspires Father/Daughter Steampunk Table

  1. Chief says:

    What a great beginner project! Especially when kids want to be involved! I love it when my daughter wants to build something, it’s great daddy/daughter time.

    What was the total cost of one table? And how much was the glass top?

  2. John Patten says:

    Hi Chief…

    The glass top was courtesy of Ikea, $79. In terms of size and cost, it was the best solution. The table will cost you about $235 if you use the same wheels ($50). You could reduce the cost by eliminating some of the parts. Also, we found that shopping around on Amazon for fittings was the cheapest way to go and getting longer lengths of black pipe at Home Depot and having them cut your lengths (cutting was free). I have a list of parts and pieces here on an blog post from last fall, http://edutonica.blogspot.com/2012/10/maker-project-steampunk-inspired-table.html

    Cheers!

  3. Bob says:

    Wow I’m a woodshop teacher and that girl can use a screwdriver better than most of my seniors. Way to go.

  4. Mike says:

    What a perfect, beautiful table. Way to go, you two! Great video, as well.

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