High Chair Construction Queries

[wizer]

Hi Guys

I'm being nagged to build a high chair for the nipper. The workshop is now at a point where I can actually make something, so I probably should.

I considered the Tripp Trapp but LOML didn't like the fact it didn't have a tray. So I knocked this up:



The tray will be mounted on small FE drawer slides to make getting in and out easy but it can also be removed.

First issue is the adjustable seat. I have designed a bracket that can be used much like a cabinet shelf:



Will this be safe enough?

The other issue is the weight. Thinking about using Ash with black Nylon rods for the slats.

Will it be too heavy?

My design was basically rubbished over at the other place, so I thought it would be interesting to hear the comments of this board.

[engineerone]

don't think it is rubbish, but to check weights is always difficult cause kids never do what you expect with things.

old story i have told many times but years ago a company i worked with made fork lift truck attachments. sold a 50 gallon oil drum device to the navy at chatham. at that time we had never had a return.

within 90 days got a call, it had broken, so we replaced it,
less than 60 days later same thing, our engineer went ape sh*t.
so we went down there. were given permission to check it out.
talked to the bosun and he said well they pick them up here, go by that route, and then deliver them to a ship at the quayside.
somehow though they are breaking. so we said, can we watch without the drivers knowing??

so there we were, looking out of the window we noticed that in fact to save time, the drivers headed out over the quick route which included going up and down some stairs, only about 4, but of course we had not designed for the swinging, so the attachments were stressed in the wrong place

same for kids they find faults you would never think of. i think you brackets might well be too small.

in addition you should be careful about the sliding tray cause he might well catch his fingers.

paul

[dom]

Will the 'nipper' be able to get his fingers round to work the slides

Is the centre of balance good

[jfc]

Off topic a little but the catching fingers reminded me of one customer that called me back because every time her son opened the shoe box lid i made for them it came down and crushed his fingers . She said it is really hurting his hands and has caused bruising on his fingers . I was round like a shot , a little baffled at why it was happening as i had made it so this wouldnt happen . When i got there i found a stack of coats hanging behind the lid not allowing it to open fully thus slamming down every time the poor kid opened the box I moved the coats and the lid closed perfectly I'm still amazed that she called me rather than actually look at why it was happening when it didnt happen with all the other boxes


Back to the subject .....

Could you put the tray on some kind of u chanel so it slides on and also make the chair adjustable by using solid timber . 45mm x 25mm through morticed into the legs would give plenty of support and you could fix the base of the chair to that with screws . to change the hieght you just undo the screws and move the supports down . I'm assuming you only need to move the seat as the nipper grows up ?

[afterglow]

Hi Wizer,

Talking aesthetically, I like the look of it a lot, really distinctive and not got that nasty cheap knocked out by the gross look of so many bits of kids' furniture.

The problem with kids furniture, especially toddlers, is that you're designing for all sorts of eventualities that most likely won't ever happen to you or yours. Trouble is, if they do and you haven't considered it, how are you going to feel?

My main concerns/thoughts:

1 - The fixing bracket doesn't appear to have any mechanical locking element like screws or nuts to make sure that it can't rattled, pushed or bullied out of place by an active toddler.

2 - Add a safety strap to hold the child in place and prevent nipper doing a Houdini and landing on his/her head (happened to our youngest and seat-belt became mandatory usage after that).

3 - Centre of gravity has been mentioned - kids sometimes do like to throw their weight around because it's fun to be able to do that and you wouldn't want that weight + nipper crashing down with soft squidgy bits caught up in it...

4 - As already mentioned in other replies, little fingers are easily trapped in all sorts of places and so the sliders for the table might not be child safe. I'd go for some removable option instead with a locking device of some kind to hold it in place when fitted.


As for materials, Beech is often the wood of choice because once finished well and shaped with no sharp edges, it's unlikely to splinter even when dented and lived with for a while. I suspect that's why it's used for building blocks and so on. Not sure how Ash reacts to heavy use, but I've never seen it used for children's toys or furniture before.

If you choose to use nylon for the bars, make sure you test a secure way of locking the joinery together - I've never combined these materials and don't know how well they stay fixed or what glues to use to keep them together. To be honest, where small children are concerned I'd just play safe and use stained beech for the bars and keep experimenting with materials for other projects.

Perhaps one of the professionals on the forum might know of a British Standard or other design regulations for furniture for children? Food for thought anyway.

Cheers,

Lee

[wizer]

afterglow said:

Talking aesthetically, I like the look of it a lot, really distinctive and not got that nasty cheap knocked out by the gross look of so many bits of kids' furniture.

Cheers Lee, I like it too. I was trying to make something different.

However, I have decided not to build the high chair. I have very little WW experience and probably shouldn't be experimenting with a child's chair.

I'll buy her a high chair and build something which is only a danger to myself

Thanks for your help and comments guys.

[mrspanton]

I would splay the legs bacward and forward to make the base area bigger, when they push with there feet against the table leg, your design is almost certain to tip backwards over. Foot rest's are a good idea as well instead of them hanging in mid air