The best thing about IKEA’s ANTILOP Highchair is that it’s cheap, and I mean dirt cheap. With a price tag of $19.99 you don’t have to worry about destroying it, or even not liking it. Coming in as a close second best thing is the fact that you can purchase extra trays which you can modify into activity centers you can swap in and out, such as this pro-gamer training rig.

For the Highscore Chair I added some Joysticks and Buttons I had lying around, loosely intended for expanding my arcade cabinet. These parts have the added advantage of actually being functional, down the road I can hook them up to a Raspberry Pi, an Arduino, MIDI out (Update: I’ve since added MIDI out), or just to some lights and buzzers — if you’ve got any ideas I’d love to hear them. The sky’s the limit as to what you can add to these trays, just keep safety in mind, for example, I placed Replica watch the joysticks out of the arc of the baby’s head if he were to fall forward.

The trickiest part of this whole process is swapping out the trays. There are four rather stiff tabs that snap in place when attaching the tray. I may make a tool of some sort to make removal easier but in the mean time four butter knives do the trick. It’s probably best to swap the trays without the baby in the highchair, just slip a butter knife under each tab and once all four are in you can remove the tray easily (the butter knives will fall), really, any flat object would work, popsicle sticks perhaps? Now having thought about it, I’ll probably cut off the inner two tabs, the tabs are surprisingly strong I don’t see any risk of the baby removing the tray even if I remove two of them, however removing two would probably allow removal of the tray by an adult pressing one tab with each hand and pushing up on the tray with a knee or the like.

The plastic is very easy to drill, a stepped bit works wonders. Cutting would be a little more difficult but nothing a dremel wouldn’t be able to handle.

Update: I did end up snipping off the inner two tabs on both trays (with some sheet metal shears) and it worked like a charm. The trays can now be removed without the need for tools. Just push on the two remaining tabs with your thumbs keeping your fingers behind the lip for leverage, then use your chest, shoulder or chin (whatever works) to push up on the tray, once the tabs clear the lip you can let go and just lift the tray off. Be sure not to leave any sharp edges and swapping is still best done while the chair is unoccupied due to the number of places little fingers could get pinched while putting the tray on.

Update: I’ve since added MIDI out, which amounts to 10 MIDI triggers, 8 for each joystick and one for each button. The Highscore Chair now triggers samples loaded onto an Akai MPC1000, but with MIDI out it could be used as any sort of control surface now. The MIDI out is accomplished through an Arduino UNO, by following a couple of simple tutorials, found here and here, you can get buttons triggering MIDI notes in no time. I’ll shoot a new video when the little fellow is up for it. While the underside of the tray is already quite isolated from the baby due to the structure of the chair for added safety I’ll be putting the Arduino, battery and MIDI Jack in an enclosure and covering the entire tray undercarriage.

Here’s the Arduino sketch, very bare-bones. I cranked it out after a long day so I didn’t want to risk using the wrong array syntax so it’s just long hand, maybe that helps readability for beginners? Anyhow it would be much shorter if it used arrays. Basically there’re variables for each button pin and variables for the state of each button, it will only send one MIDI note per button push and wait until the button’s been released and pressed again before re-sending that note. This sketch is hard-coded to send MIDI notes 36 through 45 on channel 1 at 69 velocity.

const int buttonPin0 = 2;
const int buttonPin1 = 3;
const int buttonPin2 = 4;
const int buttonPin3 = 5;
const int buttonPin4 = 6;
const int buttonPin5 = 7;
const int buttonPin6 = 9;
const int buttonPin7 = 10;
const int buttonPin8 = 11;
const int buttonPin9 = 12;

int buttonStatus0 = 0;
int buttonStatus1 = 0;
int buttonStatus2 = 0;
int buttonStatus3 = 0;
int buttonStatus4 = 0;
int buttonStatus5 = 0;
int buttonStatus6 = 0;
int buttonStatus7 = 0;
int buttonStatus8 = 0;
int buttonStatus9 = 0;

void setup() {
  pinMode(buttonPin0, INPUT);     
  pinMode(buttonPin1, INPUT);     
  pinMode(buttonPin2, INPUT);     
  pinMode(buttonPin3, INPUT);     
  pinMode(buttonPin4, INPUT);     
  pinMode(buttonPin5, INPUT);     
  pinMode(buttonPin6, INPUT);     
  pinMode(buttonPin7, INPUT);     
  pinMode(buttonPin8, INPUT);     
  pinMode(buttonPin9, INPUT);   
 
  Serial.begin(31250);
}

void loop(){

  int button0State = digitalRead(buttonPin0);
  int button1State = digitalRead(buttonPin1);
  int button2State = digitalRead(buttonPin2);
  int button3State = digitalRead(buttonPin3);
  int button4State = digitalRead(buttonPin4);
  int button5State = digitalRead(buttonPin5);
  int button6State = digitalRead(buttonPin6);
  int button7State = digitalRead(buttonPin7);
  int button8State = digitalRead(buttonPin8);
  int button9State = digitalRead(buttonPin9);  

  if(button0State == 1 && buttonStatus0 == 0)
  {
    buttonStatus0 = 1;
    noteOn(0x90, 0x24, 0x45);
  }
  else if(button0State == 0)
  {
    buttonStatus0 = 0; 
  }

  if(button1State == 1 && buttonStatus1 == 0)
  {
    buttonStatus1 = 1;
    noteOn(0x90, 0x25, 0x45);
  }
  else if(button1State == 0)
  {
    buttonStatus1 = 0; 
  }

  if(button2State == 1 && buttonStatus2 == 0)
  {
    buttonStatus2 = 1;
    noteOn(0x90, 0x26, 0x45);
  }
  else if(button2State == 0)
  {
    buttonStatus2 = 0; 
  }
 
  if(button3State == 1 && buttonStatus3 == 0)
  {
    buttonStatus3 = 1;
    noteOn(0x90, 0x27, 0x45);
  }
  else if(button3State == 0)
  {
    buttonStatus3 = 0; 
  }

  if(button4State == 1 && buttonStatus4 == 0)
  {
    buttonStatus4 = 1;
    noteOn(0x90, 0x28, 0x45);
  }
  else if(button4State == 0)
  {
    buttonStatus4 = 0; 
  }

  if(button5State == 1 && buttonStatus5 == 0)
  {
    buttonStatus5 = 1;
    noteOn(0x90, 0x29, 0x45);
  }
  else if(button5State == 0)
  {
    buttonStatus5 = 0; 
  }

  if(button6State == 1 && buttonStatus6 == 0)
  {
    buttonStatus6 = 1;
    noteOn(0x90, 0x2A, 0x45);
  }
  else if(button6State == 0)
  {
    buttonStatus6 = 0; 
  }

  if(button7State == 1 && buttonStatus7 == 0)
  {
    buttonStatus7 = 1;
    noteOn(0x90, 0x2B, 0x45);
  }
  else if(button7State == 0)
  {
    buttonStatus7 = 0; 
  }

  if(button8State == 1 && buttonStatus8 == 0)
  {
    buttonStatus8 = 1;
    noteOn(0x90, 0x2C, 0x45);
  }
  else if(button8State == 0)
  {
    buttonStatus8 = 0; 
  }


  if(button9State == 1 && buttonStatus9 == 0)
  {
    buttonStatus9 = 1;
    noteOn(0x90, 0x2D, 0x45);
  }
  else if(button9State == 0)
  {
    buttonStatus9 = 0; 
  }
}

void noteOn(int cmd, int pitch, int velocity) {
  Serial.write(cmd);
  Serial.write(pitch);
  Serial.write(velocity);
}

The last thing parents want from a bassinet stand in the middle of the night is a loud clunky rocking motion, unfortunately that’s exactly what you get with some floor covering and bassinet stand combinations. When I couldn’t stand it any longer I took our bassinet stand on a long somber walk to the garage for an attitude adjustment.

Okay, so the walk wasn’t all that long or somber, but the good news is that some elbow grease and a trip to the hardware store can go a long way to smoothing out the kinks in the rocking motion of a bassinet stand. The bassinet stand we have is very similar, if not, this exact stand, and while this post may not seem like a ringing endorsement it is a very affordable and sturdy stand which will support many different baskets and bassinets, our’s being the Britax B-Ready Stroller Bassinet.

The trouble is that when positioned on hardwood, or any other hard floor covering I would think, the rocking motion is, well, rocky. This is partly due to bolt positioning, and partly due to the down-turned ends of the rails which are intended to prevent the stand from rocking too far. While the latter safety feature may be important in some situations, in ours there is no room for the stand to even come close to overturning, which I have to say seems extremely unlikely in any case (unless your child is quite active and/or heavy or you’re living at sea or some similarly uneven ground).

Smoothing out the rocking motion can reduce the angle of down-turned ends and thus reduce or eliminate this safety feature, so be aware and ensure the stand is protected from overturning. Any modification will most certainly void any warranty and absolve the manufacturer of any liability should the result prove to be unsafe. Perform modifications at your own risk.

With all that being said the modification is simple, step one is to use a wood plane, whether hand or electric, to smooth out the bottom of each rocking rail by running the plane the entire length of each rail until you’re satisfied that the curve is smooth and uninterrupted. Be sure to test the motion out along the way. Then run the plane along the side edges of the bottom of each rail to lessen the contact with the floor while leaving about 1/2" flat plane in the center.

Step two is to affix an impact dampening strip to the bottom of each rail. After rummaging through my toolbox I found some leftover foam weather stripping with adhesive on one side, a rubber strip or thick vinyl would have been better but the foam weather stripping does result in a quieter and smoother motion than the bare wood even with its squishy foam munching sounds.

If by chance it still don’t want to axe right just keep planing. The worse case scenario, if you happen to shave off too much, is that you have to replace the rocking rails with whatever you’ve got around the house, like two halves of a hula hoop or something, happy modding.
 

As a soon-to-be parent with time to spare, uh, yeah, I thought I’d take it upon myself to create a chandelier to complement our nursery’s fiber optic starfield ceiling. I have already had some experience with iron pipe fixtures but wanted something a little more delicate for this one. I called the resulting chandelier a pedicel chandelier because the small frosted night light bulbs I used along with the pearl white painted copper pipe reminded me of the small fuzzy horns that a male fawn grows before antlers, also known as pedicels (they’re not actually antlers).

The basic how-to for this chandelier is to use 1/2″ copper pipe to create an organic pipe structure with candelabra lights on the end of each pipe. Since you can use any low watt candelabra bulb, also known as E12 bulbs, a variety of different looks can be achieved using the same process. This projects requires knowledge of electrical wiring and should only be undertaken by those who are familiar with light fixture wiring and the dangers involved.

Three different candelabra or E12 light bulbs.

The copper pipe is attached to a dome fixture cover with threaded adapters and electrical bushing nuts (any appropriately sized nut would work). I soldered the pipe together after it was completely cut and assembled however there are issues with soldering which I’ll get to later. Use of epoxy to join the copper hardware would probably be much easier and safer.

Metal dome fixture cover. These are also available in brass if you’re planning on leaving the copper pipe unpainted.

Below you can see the basic collection of fittings for the chandelier’s horns. Once wired the candelabra socket connections are wrapped in electrical tape to insulate them from each other as well as from the pipe itself, make sure all wires are neatly trimmed and covered in tape. The electrical tape also enables the socket to fit snugly (is there an uglier word with a more desirable meaning?) in the pipes. Not snug enough? Add more tape. Too snug? Take some off. The only coupling I had left to photograph was one that I had done some test painting on, rest assured when you purchase them they are copper coloured.

Though I purchased a whole bunch of 90°/right angle fittings I did not end up using them as 45° fittings convey a much more organic feel. Even though the T junction fittings were at right angles I tried to use a 45° fitting right after to soften the look of the structure. Another tip to help the fixture look organic is to never have two lights extending at the same angle — all angles should be at least slightly different. If you want your fixture to have a more industrial or steampunk feel, more right angle fittings may work better.

I decided on 3 separate structures, or horns with 6 lights each. The total 18 7W bulbs ends up at a scant 126W, perfectly acceptable for most dimmers. This meant 5 T junctions per arm, a total of 15. I suggest mapping out your fixture before heading to the hardware store and try to purchase fittings which don’t have price tags on them, I made this mistake and spent a cozy evening with Goo Gone because of it.

Left to right, candelabra (E12) 7W night light bulb, candelabra (E12) socket, electrical tape, 3/4″ to 1/2″ copper coupling, 1/2″ copper pipe and fittings, 1/2″ to 3/4″ threaded brass adapter, 1/2″ electrical bushing nut.

Here you can see the threaded brass adapters and electrical bushing nuts securing the fixture horns to the metal dome fixture plate. Be sure to get brass threaded adapters and not copper, copper threads are too soft to tighten properly and will bind.

Drilling the mounting holes is a breeze, as long as you have a power drill and a stepped bit (pictured below). Stepped bits can be expensive, but they’re
well worth it as they make quick work of drilling holes in thin metals, holes which could otherwise prove tricky and end up messy. I highly recommend investing in one, or a set.

A few required tools, a stepped drill bit (for drilling the mounting holes in the fixture plate), a copper pipe cutting tool and a roll of electrical tape.

Candelabra (E12) replacement socket.

We don’t need all that extra jazz, just the socket. Some of these are riveted together, others have a screw. In the case of rivets, unscrew the extension, then just bend the remaining metal mounting arms until the rivet brakes — careful not to crack the bakelite socket (I don’t even know if it’s bakelite, but that’s what I like to think it is).

Candelabra socket disassembled. We only need the socket itself, shown on the right.

I started by drilling the fixture plate and mounting the threaded couplings, this gives you a good base to create your chandelier upon. I used a bolt through the center hole of the plate to attached the fixture securely to a camera tripod while I worked on it. Things can fall apart quite easily if you’re not paying attention or one structure is heavier than another, you can use some twine, elastics, or whatever works really to support various pieces while you create.

If it becomes a pain to keep it together while you work than you can affix joints that you are confident will not change. I ended up soldering the main support pipe line of each of the three horns and I kept any extending pipe structures separate to make threading the wiring easier. If you’re soldering you want to do as much soldering as possible before starting any wiring — soldering with wire inside can melt the insulation and short out the entire chandelier, this is one of the soldering issues I mentioned earlier.

Once everything is cut, perhaps some has been soldered or epoxied, it’s time to start running wire. I decided to run three main wiring lines, one for each horn, any pipes extending off the main horn would then be spliced into the main line. Based on the bulbs you want to use, and how many, you’ll have to determine the max amperage and thus the proper gauge of wire to use, if you’re soldering you’ll want to get wire with as much insulation as possible.

A bent nail (left) is great for fishing a wire line out of a T junction. By attaching a nut to the end of a wire (right) you can use a magnet to guide the wire through complex structures.

When running wire ensure that you leave at least 2-3 inches extending out of each pipe and when splicing be sure to maintain the proper polarity — striped or two different coloured wires helps with this. Once wired it’s time to epoxy or solder any final joints, if you’re soldering you run the risk of melting the wiring insulation, to avoid this remember that these joints do not have to be waterproof, just a small amount of solder will hold the joint. Be sure to use flux and have a spray bottle with water ready, quickly get the pipe up to heat, apply the solder and as soon as it’s solidified use the spray bottle to cool down the pipe to help prevent any damage to the internal wiring.

Once you’re done soldering you can test the wiring for faults with a multimeter, check for faults between the two polarity wires and from each wire to the chandelier structure. If there are any faults you’ll have to open things back up, you can re-flow solder to separate parts, not sure what you’d do if you used epoxy and then found a fault :O

To attach the sockets simply strip and screw the wire to each pole on the socket and then wrap them in electrical tape. While not essential, it’s good practice to maintain the same polarity across all sockets, to do this keep track of which wire you’re attaching to the brass pole and which to the silver pole on each socket. Once wrapped in electrical tape you can push them into the pipe ends.

Bulb socket and pipe fitting after white rustoleum and pearlescent acrylic.

Once you’ve got all the sockets affixed you should test for faults again with your multimeter. If no faults are found between the wires or to the structure you can test the fixture by attaching a 120 volt wall plug to the end and giving it a go. If all goes well you can move onto finishing.

I thought, while great looking and oozing steampunk, that the bare copper was a little too hardcore for my infant son’s nursery so I decided to paint the fixture white and use a pearlescent acrylic on the pipes. The sky’s the limit here, but copper is expensive so, if you can, show it off! If you do paint be sure to stuff some paper towel or toilet paper into each of the sockets so that the bulb leads don’t get paint on them.

Once it’s dried you can test it again with the multimeter (can’t be too careful) and then hang it. I ended up using a dimmer with a remote on this fixture so that my wife and I could adjust the lights while minding to the baby and it works like a charm. Good luck! I’m happy to answer any questions in the comments.

Welcome to Parenteers! We’re Phil and Ester and come this December we’ll be trailblazing into parenthood. Follow along for our thoughts, product reviews, projects and more parent-related antics.