Twin Potty Chairs with a Story

tdubnik · Post by **tdubnik** » Mon Aug 09, 2010 10:31 am

This story starts about 30 years ago when my wife was potty training our son. She had a potty chair with a tray so that when she sat him down, he couldn't get up until he finished his business and she let him up. She was old school and started this process when he was under a year old. By the time he was 14 months old, he was completely trained and out of diapers.

Our grandson is now 10 months old and stays with us every Friday. She is anxious to start the training process with him. She searched high and low for a potty chair with a tray but none were to be found. She perused the internet with no luck. She lamented to me and I off-handedly said I could probably make one. This got her excited BUT I would have to make two; one for us and one for our son.

This shows what I wound up with. The potty was actually pruchased and I built the potty stand WITH tray to satisfy my wife. She is very happy with the results and can't wait for our grandson to get here on Friday so she can test it out.

This picture shows both chairs completed and sitting on my workbench. The frame and tray are maple made with some short pieces I had laying around. I didn't have enough maple for the platform that the potty sits on so that is made from generic whitewood I had laying around.

This shows a head on view of a single chair. The tray pieces had a nice curly grain pattern. I routed the tray recess with my newly purchased OPR. I had to make a special OPR pin to match the 1 1/4" tray bit I used.

This shows the pieces for the tray locking mechanism. I could have purchased a metal tray mechanism but decided to make my own instead.

This is the tray lock attached to the underside of the tray. It works well and holds the tray securely.

I earned a few wifey points on this project and now I'll have to figure out best to cash them in.

rkh2 · Post by **rkh2** » Mon Aug 09, 2010 12:32 pm

Great looking chairs there. I would venture to say that after they serve their purpose they will still be stored away as they are too nice looking to be let go. A definite thumbs up for your craftsmanship and design work.

kalynzoo · Post by **kalynzoo** » Mon Aug 09, 2010 1:07 pm

Very cool and practical. Isn't it amazing how grandchildren will change the direction of our projects. But it is great to watch them grow and progress. My next project is a Thomas the Train table. I'm loving it.

mbcabinetmaker · Post by **mbcabinetmaker** » Mon Aug 09, 2010 1:49 pm

Very nice workmanship one those pottys. I does however remind me of a movie that I recently saw with Meg Ryan where she duct taped her husband to a toilet to prevent him from leaving her.

nuhobby · Post by **nuhobby** » Mon Aug 09, 2010 6:52 pm

Really outstanding job there!

Also thanks for another glimpse of your "Bench of Many Colors," a great posting of yours from last year.

tdubnik · Post by **tdubnik** » Mon Aug 09, 2010 8:24 pm

nuhobby wrote:Really outstanding job there!

Also thanks for another glimpse of your "Bench of Many Colors," a great posting of yours from last year.

As you can see if you look near the vise, this workbench has been used a lot since I built it. It is beginning to display the battle scars of my various projects it has made a little easier. While I haven't tried to bowl on it as you suggested in the workbench thread, I have used it extensively.

charlese · Post by **charlese** » Mon Aug 09, 2010 9:52 pm

Super work on routing the trays, and your locking mechanism show how innovative you are. This added to the over sized "pin" on the OPR table shows the fine craftsman you are!:D

Not even mentioning your beautiful work bench!

ATTA BOY TDUBNIK!!!!

shipwright · Post by **shipwright** » Mon Aug 09, 2010 10:18 pm

Very Nice Work! ....and nice material too, not everyone trots out the curly grain for a tot's project. Good on Ya!

I too like the bench. You do nice work.

Paul M

tdubnik · Post by **tdubnik** » Tue Aug 10, 2010 5:16 am

shipwright wrote:Very Nice Work! ....and nice material too, not everyone trots out the curly grain for a tot's project. Good on Ya!

I too like the bench. You do nice work.

Paul M

I used the maple because I already had it. The pieces were too short or narrow for a major project and I also didn't have enough for a project any bigger than this. I do like the way it turned out and even though it may only be a potty chair, I always use projects like this to try and improve my skills.

efmaron · Post by **efmaron** » Tue Aug 10, 2010 9:46 am

great looking chairs and very well done.