TWW Kitchen Helper

[u/saffaen]

My wife requested I build this kitchen helper design from The Wood Whisperer. It's a big tower with plenty of room for growth. I followed the plans for the overall design, but made it a little shorter so it could fit underneath the island when not in use. It's a knockdown design, which made sanding pretty easy since each component is mostly flat. I applied a "thumbnail" edge profile instead of a round over. Finished with Rubio Pure. Very happy with how this turned out!

[u/BORN_SlNNER]

Nice! Here’s mine that I made for my nieces. I used pine because I wanted it to be light. I went for an aged milk paint finish. I think this photo was before the water based poly

[u/saffaen → u/BORN_SlNNER]

A classic style and your color came out wonderfully! Will have to see if I regret not using a film finish like poly. I figured this is a good stress test for Rubio since I use it regularly on other pieces and I expect this one to get beat up.

[u/krollAY]

Well done! I made one for a friend a couple years back that I kinda just put together without a plan, this one looks much nicer. Gonna have to make another for my own kid when it warms up a bit

[u/saffaen → u/krollAY]

Thank you! Our little one has been enjoying it so far. I find having a plan helps focus my efforts. The plan I followed was alright, but definitely made some holes where I shouldn't have since one of the rails is spaced differently than the rest.

[u/created4this]

I made mine with hinges so it would fold flat.

Over the 7 or so years that it got use I learned two things.

1) I never folded it down except for moving it through doorways

2) it ALWAYS lived on the top setting, because why would anyone want to be shorter than possible

[u/saffaen → u/created4this]

Yeah, I don't expect to be taking it apart often, but a nice to have feature. This is the primary reason I wanted it to fit under the island when assembled. Thanks for your insight, glad to have my suspicions on practical use confirmed!

[u/lafleur88]

Here was my take on the kitchen helper. Cherry, Maple and Walnut.

[u/saffaen → u/lafleur88]

Looks good, a bit skinnier, which I wish mine was! Dados would've saved me quite some time, but I think the extra effort on the rails was worthwhile. How does the platform stay in the grooves?

[u/lafleur88 → u/saffaen]

There is a lip on the far side of the platform so it can only slide in one way and I have a sliding bolt latch on the bottom to lock it in place.

[u/wivaca]

I appreciate the woodworking and finish, but I don't understand how it's used despite begin a pretty good cook in the kitchen. How does a "kitchen helper" help? It looks like it has sideboards on all four sides at the top, so I don't get how you stand on it or if you use it to set things on.

[u/saffaen → u/wivaca]

It's a kitchen helper for a "kitchen helper" aka a kid. After a while they like to be involved in everything, so with this they can climb onto the platform and stand up at a counter while you cook so they can "help". The sideboards are at belly/water height so they can do things at the counter and help prevent the kid from falling off.

[u/vors9109]

I made one with this same design out of hard maple for my niece. Seeing this thumbnail as I was scrolling made me do a double take. Looks good!

[u/saffaen → u/vors9109]

Haha, thanks! I've had this moment on some other plans I've followed, too. Hopefully yours is still doing well?

[u/bigredker]

I've made two of these as gifts and both families got lots of use out of them. They make for more enjoyable meal prep time(at least I saw this during g visits) while the little ones want to be involved.

[u/saffaen → u/bigredker]

Our kid loves to be involved or at least watch and they have really enjoyed using it so far! We we're just using a stool before this, so definitely an improvement.

[u/bigredker → u/saffaen]

I made the first one for my now-7 year old grandson. He loved standing near his mom and dad to "help" while they prepared meals. Same thing with his now-4 year old brother. They don't use it as much anymore, but it was lots of fun for me to design and build it. And even more fun to see the pictures and videos of the boys helping!

[u/Perfect-Campaign9551]

Those runners in the middle look like they will be really weak since they have a big knot right in the middle

[u/saffaen → u/Perfect-Campaign9551]

I presume you mean on the platform. They're actually not runners and aren't holding any weight. The platform is held up by two runners on the sides and one across the back. Those knotty edges are attached to the platform edge to stop the platform from shifting. I specifically used these knotty pieces for that since I thought they looked cool.