Pikachu Bedside Table - a Diy Furniture Project Inspired by Pokemon

The contests in here are fun because of the simple requirements set for participating and this freedom gives a good opportunity to challenge your creativity.

After finishing my Cardboard box woman side table build (here) I looked at the Hand Tools challenge and although it had only four days left until deadline I thought that perhaps I can still make something to participate.

One of the next projects in my things to make list was a request to make a rather small bedside table inspired by Pikachu from the Pokemon cartoons. I already had some sketches done but the original idea would have been too much time consuming work to be made with only hand tools. But the design and contest made me thinking that perhaps I can simplify the construction and make more easy wood project.

Lets see what came out of this plan.

The material I used is pine glulam which is 18 mm thick and 200 mm wide. It is a good material for this project because it is already straight and smooth and therefore it needs very little sanding. It also is relatively soft which means it is easier to work with (this isn't as important if you are using power tools).

The room where the side table must sit is rather limited and therefore I had to make it small. If there is room for it then I recommend to make it wider. The table is 200 mm wide, 218 mm deep and 570 mm high.

All the pieces were left 200 mm wide to make the process as simple as possible and I made the box part 350 mm high but if you plan to make something like this for a small child (3 - 5 years) to sit on then make it lower, around 300 mm. And also a bit wider.

Cutting out 4 rectangular pieces with a handsaw is not difficult because the material already has 3 straight sides, it is relatively thin and there isn't much distance to cut.

The Pikachu body part was a bit more complex. The shape itself is not complex but the curved ears make the cutting a bit more difficult. Of course the easiest option would have been a jigsaw but it is not a hand tool and so I went with a fret saw. Surprisingly I have to admit that the cutting wasn't actually that difficult, but of course it took time.

I prefer screws and therefore had to make a few holes. Took some time to find my old carpenter brace, it is rusty because I haven't used it for at least 8 years. Making those holes was easy because the wood is soft.

Adding the screws is a simple process even with a screwdriver. Then I had to use wood putty to cover the screw heads and some cracks. Having done that twice I sanded all the surfaces slightly and was ready to paint it.

If I could have used power tools then I would have used pocket holes where possible. At least to attach the box and Pikachu body part together after all the painting is done.

Probably it is possible to use finishing nails and glue instead of screws but then clamps are needed to fix the position of the parts, not big ones but they have to be long enough.

Why I suggest to use screws is the fact that to make the box rectangular you need rather straight cut edges and making all the cuts very close to 90´ cuts on both axis with a handsaw is not that easy to achieve for a beginner. Screws give you some room to correct mistakes, especially when attaching the box to the front plate (body).

First I painted everything white. This wood absorbs quite a bit of paint and therefore at least 2 layers is needed.

After it was dry I painted the box part white again and then painted the Pikachu yellow. One yellow layer is enough because one layer of white paint is already under it.

Then I prepared the drawing that I made in my computer by cutting out the face and hand areas that must be painted onto the surface.

Normally I use double sided tape in these situations but in this case I thought that it is a kind of object which needs some inaccuracy to be more alive. Making everything very precise would make it look mass produced and that is why I only used the drawing to mark where the painted areas are and then painted everything with a small brush. This thing must not be perfect.

After everything was dried I added small pieces of felt under the edges to protect the floor and then it was finished - a diy furniture project in a shape of a Pokemon. It was a cool furniture project to make.