Bunk Beds WIP - Build complete now on to finishing

[Mt. Gomer]

Sooo, I have no idea why I didn't think of this before but I've discovered a wonderful new vacation destination: The Shop!!! I decided to take the week off so I could actually get down there and it's one of the better ideas I've had. I mentioned in another thread I was going to be building a set of bunk beds for the kids. I'm using the plans from woodgears. Here's what's going on so far.... apologies in advance for the less than stellar pics. The combination of bad lighting, a phone camera, and total lack of photographic talent is too much to overcome.

DAY 1

I'm using construction lumber from Lowes. As you know the pickings can be a bit rough, even in the 2x8 and 2x10 sizes. After it adjusted to my shop for about 2 weeks I spent the day getting everything cut to width on the TS and run through the jointer. Here's where I was at the end of the day:

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Because it was somewhat unruly lumber I even pulled out the board buddies...

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DAY 2

Got everything run through the thickness planer and all parts cut to size....

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A bag of firestarter for my buddy Kevin...

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DAY 3

Spent about 3/4 of the day at the router table chamfering all the edges. The last bit was spent building up the bed rails.

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DAY 4

Started planning for assembly. Decided early on I didn't want to use Matthias' dowel method. Opted for aligning the end pieces on the posts with biscuits, gluing it up and reinforcing (clamping) with wood screws..... Did a lot of work with the plate joiner. I'm not smart enough to do all this in my head yet. I have to work it all out on paper first. Here's my "desk" for the morning, it's actually an unstaged picure while I was working out measurements for my story stick...

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Testing out the story stick....

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Dry fit of the end pieces. Yeah, I'll fix the vertical alignment when I do the real assembly, the dry biscuits allow for some slop up and down....

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[Don Alexander]

Re: Vacation Pictures!!!!

looking good so far

i can't think of any better place to spend a vacation than in the shop making something :icon_thum

 

[FredP]

Re: Vacation Pictures!!!!

looking good. :icon_thum:icon_thum are you going to separate the top and bottom bunks? when the kids get a little older they may decide they dont like bunk beds and they want their own rooms.:gar-Bi what Finnish are you thinking of using?

 

[Mt. Gomer]

Re: Vacation Pictures!!!!

looking good. :icon_thum:icon_thum are you going to separate the top and bottom bunks? when the kids get a little older they may decide they dont like bunk beds and they want their own rooms.:gar-Bi what Finnish are you thinking of using?

Nope, they're not designed to break apart.... I'm sure we'll find a home for them when they get outgrown. Going to finish with a couple coats of poly......

Trav

 

[FredP]

Re: Vacation Pictures!!!!

Nope, they're not designed to break apart.... I'm sure we'll find a home for them when they get outgrown. Going to finish with a couple coats of poly......

Trav

poly is a good choice for this project!:icon_thum

 

[TracyP]

Re: Vacation Pictures!!!!

Great Vacation Destination!!! You have done good!!!!

 

[bwat]

Re: Vacation Pictures!!!!

GREAT vacation idea! Let me know how you keep work from calling and emailing!:help: Did you let them "assume" you were on a cruise without phone or internet?

 

[Sealeveler]

Re: Vacation Pictures!!!!

Looking good there.
Tony

 

[MarkE]

Re: Vacation Pictures!!!!

Looking good Travis.

 

[Bill Clemmons]

Re: Vacation Pictures!!!!

The beds are looking good Travis, and great vacation idea. Every year my wife goes to the beach for a week, and I go to the shop. No interruptions. Of course, being retired is kinda like a vacation every day. :rotflm:

Bill

 

[Mt. Gomer]

Re: Vacation Pictures!!!!

Thanks guys, much appreciated!

 

[Trent Mason]

Re: Vacation Pictures!!!! (Really Bunk Beds WIP)

Those are looking great Travis! :eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap That's a vacation well spent! :icon_thum

 

[ScottM]

Re: Vacation Pictures!!!! (Really Bunk Beds WIP)

The shop is one of my favorite vacation spots as well. Great progress on the beds.

 

[Bas]

Re: Vacation Pictures!!!! (Really Bunk Beds WIP)

Good looking beds Travis. I'm a big fan of shop vacations too. Why spend all that time, effort and money on your house and shop only to go away when you finally have time to enjoy it?

 

[Mt. Gomer]

Re: Vacation Pictures!!!! (Really Bunk Beds WIP)

Well, as the week is coming to a close, things are starting to slow down a bit. Had to start thinking about things like grocery shopping, laundry, etc etc. Between yesterday and today I only got 4 or 5 hours in the shop. Yesterday I did a lot of layout work, pairing up parts, etc. Today I got the rest of the biscuit slots cut for the post pieces and started the sanding process..... One more grit to get through and I can start assembly! Probably won't get back to the shop till midweek though....

More proof as required:

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Trav

 

[Bryan S]

Re: Vacation Pictures!!!! (Really Bunk Beds WIP)

Sometime vacations like that are fun, especially if you can get left alone. I had one of those the prior week, I did not accomplish as much as you, but had some fun in the shop.

 

[Canuck]

Re: Vacation Pictures!!!! (Really Bunk Beds WIP)

You are progressing very nicely, Travis!!!:icon_cheers

You're making that Borg wood look pretty snazzy with all of that prep work. There sure seems to be a lot of pieces and parts to keep track of.

(One little trick I came up with to keep parts from getting lost is to take all like pieces of the project (ie stiles, rails, stretchers, legs etc.) and quickly wrap them in that packing Saran plastic stuff they use as shrink wrap and label each bundle with chalk or writing description on some blue tape. That way, all like parts are corralled into bundles waiting for assembly time. Works for me., and don't usually lose parts in all of my offcuts and clutter.:wsmile

Looks like you are getting real close to assembly.

Thanks for the progress report.

Wayne

 

[Mt. Gomer]

Re: Vacation Pictures!!!! (Really Bunk Beds WIP)

I'm right there with you Wayne, keeping track of all the parts is something I've been very intentional about. It's adding a bit of time overhead but it's going to be worth it in the end. Each of the stacks you see in the last picture are intentional groups and all the parts are labeled, including orientation markings, on the surfaces that will be hidden in final assembly. I like the "wrap" idea a lot though. I'll certianly file that idea away for future use.

Yeah, prep time has been huge. I've never actually attempted a project of this size that was designed to be "pretty" before. Before I started I was thinking I'd have it knocked out with a full 5 days in the shopg. :rolf: The BORG lumber has presented several challenges but I've got a lot more time than money these days so it was definitely the right choice. It's also been a great learning project, especially where patience is concerned.

Thanks,

Travis

 

[Mt. Gomer]

Re: Vacation Pictures!!!! (Really Bunk Beds WIP)

As expected I didn't get as much time in the shop this week. Between a few evening sessions and some time this weekend I was able to make some good progress. I completed the sanding and got the end pieces assembled. I'm off tomorrow for MLK day so I hope to clean up the end pieces now that they've been glued up and assemble the entire bed so I can complete the build of the ladder and upper bunk rails. If I'm lucky maybe I'll be able to get the first coat of poly on too. Here are a few pics.

Assembling the end rails:

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Gluing the up the outer post pieces:

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Completed end pieces:

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[Bill Clemmons]

Re: Vacation Pictures!!!! (Really Bunk Beds WIP)

Looking good Travis. If I remember the original design correctly, it looks like you're on the home stretch now. Just final assembly and finishing. :eusa_danc

Bill