Thomas the Tank play table - I want to make one

[mckenzie]

My son, who is just 2, adores playing with teh Thomas the Tank Engine play table that is in our local department store, he'll happily play there for 30 mins or so while I just enjoy the air conditioning and hope to see someone I know for a chat!

They are £200 in the Early Learning Centre and there is no way I'm going to pay that. My step father is a sign writer so he's said that he'll paint it etc so I thought I'd have a go at making one.

Shot in the dark I know but has anyone ever made a play table like this? Any tips?

I haven't seen the table. What is it like? For a basic table you would most likely be able to buy a plain one from Ikea cheaper than you could make one.

Isn't it just like an ordinary table but with shorter legs and a lip running round the edge?

As Janstar says, Ikea have a plain pine table for about £50 (the Ingo table) which you could saw the legs off. I'm fairly certain it's unfinished pine so perfect for painting.

we sort of did this....
When Ds1 was about 2 he loved all the Thomas/Brio stuff but just was too clumsy / rough and demolished the track if we built in on the floor...
So we bought a whole load of 2nd hand Brio/wooden track, DH got a large piece of MDF, nailed some 'dowelling edging' (don't know what it's called - like picture frame...) glued the track/bridge/tunnel etc on and painted it green with ponds/ car parking/ road etc.
we actually just rested it on top of a cheap IKEA coffee table which was just slightly smaller, but the right height.
It worked perfectly and DS1 loved it. Also all kids visiting gravitated towards it.

A couple of years later it now lives under his bed and DS2 plays with it (12 months).

The play tables are a COMPLETE rip off IMO....

thanks all. By coincidence, the Ikea catalogue arrived yesterday so I'll take a look through there for a cheap table. Mind you, I did quite fancy trying my hand at a bit of drilling and hammering!

I did similar to Mo2 with our Brio. I didn't bother with the dowelling edge (not clever enough for that) but had MDF board, 4 strips of wood on underneath to hold it in position on a B&Q wooden storage box. (I put jigsaws and surplus toys in the storage box). Painted the top and the edge. Had great fun making it and designing track layout. Finished it about a week before I gave birth to ds3 (must have been a corrupted version of the nesting instinct). It's 2 years old now, played with every day and VERY popular with visiting playmates.

My dad made one for my ds(now 3) last Christmas. He based it on the large table in the early learning centre. It is the best thing we ever did. he plays with it every day! Dad made it mega strong and reinforced it so that it is strong enough in case litlle hooligans climb on it- which they don't"!

He also just used scrap wood from an old bed so really cheap. IMHO the shop ones are a complete rip off although I have seen them cheaper than ELC.

Good luck with the DIY.

You are inspiring me Lubu. The coffee tables in ikea, althoguh certainly cheap are I think too small to use as the abse. I want to be able to have a track with bridges and tunnels etc. So, the home made one is looking more like the best choice again, then I can also make the legs such that I can add to them when DS grows taller.
I wonder if there will be any nice men at B&Q on this weekend who might help me choose the right type of wood etc? What are the chances of that do you think?

Don't know, most of the men that I have met in B&Q are always grumpy, but maybe that's just our local store
This is the table that my dad based it on (without the drawer - too technical)! The legs are made out of one piece of wood and he put an extra bar underneath for stability. We also spent half an hour in ELC examining their one whilst ds played with the trains
Hope this is of a bit more help - have a go, it certainly keeps the track off the floor and has saved my feet from getting bruised!