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Puppet theatre
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Build this portable puppet theatre for your kids
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By Rick Campbell, photos by Tracy Cox, illustration by Len Churchill
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Transform simple baltic birch plywood into the stuff dreams are made of. This puppet theatre is designed with safe play in mind, from materials to finishes
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This easy-to-build puppet theatre should provide hours of imaginative play for the young kids in your life, and it tucks out of the way between dramatic productions. That's because the unit comes apart in minutes, making it perfect for hiding under a bed or in a closet.
The secret is interlocking slots that allow the walls to go together without the need for tools or mechanical fasteners. A lightweight fabric roof, supported by crossbars, adds to the jovial look without adding much weight.
I made this project using two and a half sheets of 1/2"-thick Baltic birch plywood, but you can substitute hardwood-veneered cabinet ply. The advantage of Baltic birch is it has fewer voids between the all-hardwood layers, plus more than twice as many plies as conventional plywood. It comes in unconventional 5 x 5 sheet sizes, which actually work best for the dimensions of this project. Avoid using veneered particleboard: it's much heavier and not nearly as strong-an important consideration when it comes to all of the playhouse's interlocking slots.
Frame the House
Begin by cutting out plywood panels for the walls, the roof peaks and the window ledges using a tablesaw or a circular saw guided by a straightedge. Don't cut the angled top edges of the roof peaks just yet, though: leave these parts square for now.
Next, prepare the interlocking slots that connect the panels. I used a dado blade in a tablesaw with a board clamped to the fence to serve as a stop.
Start by setting up your dado blade to form a slot that will receive the plywood without binding or excessive side-to-side play. Finding the right slot size may require experimenting on scrap wood with different combinations of chippers and shims.
Continue by clamping a small block to the fence to limit slot length, then orient the slot position relative to the plywood part edges by adjusting the saw fence. For consistency, complete all slots requiring the same setup before repositioning the fence and stop block for the next bunch due to the curvature of the blade. Remove this with a sharp chisel and mallet after completing the cuts on the sides with a jigsaw.
Once the slots are done, cut the angled top edges on the roof panels and roundover the top corners of the wall panels and all four corners of the ledges. Removing the exposed sharp corners is important for safety reasons.
Now it's time to cut the oval openings in the wall and roof panels that receive the roof and curtain rails. Each one is 3/4"-wide x 2"-high, with rounded ends. Complete the ends first by drilling holes using a 3/4"-dia. spade bit. To avoid tearout, drill halfway through the plywood, then flip the panels over and finish from the other side. Connect the edge of the circles with scribed pencil lines, then cut along the inside with a jigsaw.
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