Desk or easel, on the wall - construction plans for a child's sized combination easel and desk

Sunset, Sept, 1994 by Peter O. Whiteley

You can build this wall-mounted art center for young artists or writers in a da

THIS CHILD-SIZE ART center features a fold-down front that converts the wall-mounted unit from easel to desk. Inside are built-in shelves for out-of-sight storage of paints, crayons, and other artistic clutter.

The project comes from David Anderson of Pasadena, who built a similar one for his 4 1/2-year-old son. We modified his plans slightly so it could be built fro a half-sheet of particleboard. Exclusive of paint, we paid about $20 for materials.

Plan on taking about 3 hours to assemble the frame and front. Drying time for paint or stain and sealer will add to the time required to finish the project.

HOW TO BUILD IT

1/2-sheet of 1/2-inch particle-board 1 30-inch piano hinge with screws 4 feet of lightweight chain 4 1/2-inch aluminum screw posts Woodworker glue 1 1/4-inch finish nails Wood filler Sandpaper Paint or stain and sealer

Using the plan below as a guide, cut 10 pieces from the half-sheet of particleboard with a table or circular saw. Start by cutting it into 30- and 18-inch-wide pieces. Then cut the fold-down front, easel tray, shelves, and sides from the larger piece, and the cross-braces, top, and bottom from the smaller piece. To give the front edge of both the top and the bottom the same angle as the sides, use one of the side pieces as a guide for setting your saw blade (make sure that the top tapers out from 3 inches wide).

Assemble the front by gluing and nailing the 1 1/2-inch-wide tray to the bottom edge. Before assembling the frame, mark shelf locations 6 and 12 inches from th top of the side pieces. Glue and nail top, bottom, shelves, and cross-braces in position. (The braces butt against the top and bottom.)

Countersink all the nails, fill the holes with wood filler, and then sand. Pain or stain and seal the frame and front.

With a hacksaw, cut the piano hinge to match the width of the frame. Lay the frame flat on its back, and place the front on it (with the tray facing up) so that its bottom edge is flush with the bottom of the frame. Center the hinge on the joint, drill holes for the screws, and attach the hinge.

Next, open the desk so the front is at a right angle to the back of the frame. Cut the chain in half, then tension both pieces at a roughly 45 [degrees] angle so they touch the desk front and frame at identical locations on each side. Drill holes for the screw posts at those points and attach the chain to the inside face, making sure the posts will miss the sides when the front is closed Mount the easel desk on wall studs with screws running through the cross-braces

If you have small children, you may want to add a hook and eye or other simple latch to keep them from opening the desk without your help.