Baby Changing Station

Alan Holtham creates an elegant project that will make life easier for parents

Table of Contents

It is some years since I had anything to do with changing nappies, but at the time I did serve an intense apprenticeship spread over three children and the procedure is forever embedded in my mind. In fact I got so good I could do it with my eyes shut, which was often the best way really!

As with woodworking where you cannot beat a decent workbench to get the best results, so a changing station with the baby contained at the right height and with all the paraphernalia immediately to hand makes the job so much easier. I also wanted refinements like ‘touch to open’ doors that you could open with your knee to get the forgotten wipes, without having to let go of the squirming infant. This one was designed to match in with a range of chain store nursery furniture that didn’t have a changing stand in the range.

Although at the time it seems like the nappy changing routine goes on forever, babies do actually grow up quite quickly and I wondered if the unit could also be designed to be put to good use afterwards. With this in mind, I made it so that the easy-clean laminate surface just drops in place and can be changed at a later date to a timber one, converting the unit into a rather nice washstand.

Timber preparation

A large amount of timber is needed for a project of this size, so make sure you plan your cutting list carefully to minimise waste. The baby changing shelf rests on the dowels, but if everything is cut accurately it should be a nice tight fit – there are no safety issues there. On that note, make sure you sand everything carefully and remove any sharp edges before you finish off.

Templates

1. Start by making a 6mm MDF template for the uprights, bending a steel rule around some nails in the board to form the necessary gentle flowing curves
2. Lay out the shaped ends of the uprights using a variety of French curves
3. The template is cut using a jigsaw then carefully sanded so that the edge is perfectly smooth, as the slightest ripple will be reproduced in the timber when you run the cutter bearing along it later. The front upright is shorter than the back one so make two templates, keeping the ends the same on both, just adjusting the middle length

The uprights and cross pieces

4. Thickness the timber for the uprights and draw round the templates, trying to be as economical as possible, though inevitably there will be a fair amount of waste. Bandsaw out each shape, cutting about 2mm clear on the waste side of the line. A 10mm blade should get round all but the tightest radius

Baby changing station plan

5. Use double-sided tape to fix the template back onto each upright. Don’t overdo the tape; three 25mm square dabs should be enough to hold it. Use a bearing-guided trimmer in the router to cut back the waste to form a perfect copy of the template
6. It is always a bit more difficult to work around the curves without slowing down and scorching the timber. A small amount of burning will sand off, but slow the router down a little if it is a real problem
7. Machine the cross pieces and cut the two top curved ones in a similar way to the uprights using another template

Assembling the frame

8. The frames are all dowelled together using a jig and 8mm dowels
9. Make a trial assembly to check everything is square and number all joints lightly with a pencil
10. The groove for the end frames is formed with the router handheld, but if possible use two side fences for maximum accuracy
11. I wanted all the arrises to be radiused over with a tiny ovolo cutter and a lot of this has to be done before the panel is put in place, just think about where you can access with the cutter before assembly
12. Assemble the panel and complete the rounding over on the remaining edges
13. The front face frame is dowelled and assembled. Angle the sash clamps slightly if necessary to pull it square as it glues. The rear frame is made up with an internal panel of white faced 4mm MDF, fitted into a routed groove as before
14. The edges of the front and back frames are dowelled down their length to fit into the ends
15. The two dowelling rails are formed with a dowelling jig. They will need a good hand sanding to clean up any cutter marks
16. These are fixed in place with a single dowel, the centre being eyeballed and then drilled by hand. Assembly is quite straightforward, but if you can get someone to help you hold it initially it is a great help, at least until you get a few clamps in place

The shelves and doors

17. The support strips for the shelves are glued and pinned in place using a nail gun which virtually loses the heads
18. The melamine faced top and bottom shelves just drop in place in case they need to be changed for solid alternatives later
19. The doors are made from veneered 18mm MDF lipped with a solid wood edging thickened to 3mm
20. Hang the doors using flush hinges and fit the ‘touch to open’ catches. There is no need for any other handles with these as they spring the doors wide open

Finishing

Although I sanded the various components as I went along, a final light sanding cleans up any marks from the clamps. Add three coats of food safe oil to finish. As with woodworking where you cannot beat a decent workbench to get the best results, so a changing station with the baby contained at the right height and with all the paraphernalia immediately to hand makes the job so much easier.

Further reading

Cherry Credenza

PHOTOGRAPHS BY ALAN HOLTHAM

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