Hello again folks, this blog aint done yet, I still have to finish the railings and ladders and make this thing a bunk bed.
I started a new job recently so I’ve been very busy, as a result, shop time has been limited and my picture taking has been lax. But I’ve got enough below to give you an idea of the process.
Nothing too ground breaking here and no galoot points when it comes to mortising.
Jointing one face and one edge so I can feed them through the thickness planer
After some machine ripping and hand planing I have the parts I need for my railing.
And then my first venture into doweling. It went ok, if I had to do it again I would have done M&T but with the router trick for making the mortises, you know the one where you rout a grove and then make a notched piece to glue in to form the mortises. Also I would have made the slats thinner than the horizontals, that way you save a step having to flush things up. That was a pain to do on this wood with hand planes. Next time…
These were a pain to make, my wife wanted me to make 4 of them! Luckily I was able to talk her down to 3. Lol
After the railings were finished I glued on some leather to protect the railings from bruising.
Next for the ladder.
Cutting dados was a lot of fun to do by hand.
Before I finish the ladder I stacked the beds, that way I know my support blocks are aligned perfectly with the rails.
So I lay out for my alignment pins and drill them by hand.
1/2” steel rods went into the holes.
Next we stack them up and put the slats back on. The boys help out with this.
Screwing on the railings.
Happy customers so far!
Next I locate and glue on the support blocks.
Dye & Poly
Aluminum for the hooks, there is some leather glued in there as well which you can’t see.
And voila! We are DONE!
Here are a few more pictures taken with the good camera.
So that’s it for this project, thanks for watching folks, hope this inspired a few more bunk bed builds here on LJ.
-- Mauricio - Woodstock, GA - "Confusion is the Womb of Learning, with utter conviction being it's Tomb" Prof. T.O. Nitsch
17 comments so far
tyvekboy
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2182 posts in 4467 days
#1 posted 12-22-2013 04:52 PM
Nice build. Looks like you could park a mack truck on those mattress slats … lol. I guess when your kids leave you’re planning to use it to sleep.
-- Tyvekboy -- Marietta, GA ………….. one can never be too organized
luv2learn
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3158 posts in 3756 days
#2 posted 12-22-2013 04:58 PM
This has been a great blog and the end product is superbly done. I see the boys are really happy with their new beds.
-- Lee - Northern idaho~"If the women don't find you handsome, at least they ought to find you handy"~ Red Green
CL810
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4297 posts in 4442 days
#3 posted 12-22-2013 05:01 PM
Great work Mauricio. Your sons will have great memories of the years they shared the bunk beds built by their dad.
-- "The only limits to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today." - FDR
Mosquito
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11753 posts in 3746 days
#4 posted 12-22-2013 05:10 PM
Excellent work Mauricio!
-- Mos - Twin Cities, MN - http://www.youtube.com/MosquitoMods - http://www.TheModsquito.com
theoldfart
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13129 posts in 3905 days
#5 posted 12-22-2013 05:27 PM
Outstanding Maur, your sons are going to have a blast in that bed. The only problem I see is who gets it for their kids later on? May have to make a second!
-- "With every tool obtained, there is another that is needed" DonW ( Kevin )
ShaneA
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7085 posts in 4052 days
#6 posted 12-22-2013 05:32 PM
Nice job Mauricio. I can only imagine the dare devil tricks that will be forthcoming. Looks great.
SASmith
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1850 posts in 4440 days
#7 posted 12-22-2013 05:47 PM
Very professional looking, and the kids look pleased too.
-- Scott Smith, Southern Illinois
chrisstef
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18140 posts in 4460 days
#8 posted 12-22-2013 05:56 PM
Looks like the boys love it buddy. Job well done and extra dad points have been awarded for this project.
-- Its not a crack, its a casting imperfection.
ScaleShipWright
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253 posts in 3339 days
#9 posted 12-22-2013 06:49 PM
Two very satisfacted customers there!
-- God exists... But relax, He's not you!
alohafromberkeley
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257 posts in 3858 days
#10 posted 12-22-2013 06:50 PM
Man, your kids are cute….Oh, beds look good, too! Off topic- Did you purposely get the open mouth router and do you prefer it to the closed mouth?....Wes
-- "After a year of doing general farmwork, it was quite clear to me that chickens and I were not compatible"-George Nakashima
Mauricio
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7170 posts in 4605 days
#11 posted 12-23-2013 02:37 AM
Thanks for following along folks, I appreciate the support.
So far the kids love it and no one has fallen off, yet…. I hope that doesn’t happen, lol.
Wes, Thanks!, This one (Stanley #71) has the shoe that closes the mouth but I have never used it with the mouth open, not yet. I like that I have the option to use it either way.
-- Mauricio - Woodstock, GA - "Confusion is the Womb of Learning, with utter conviction being it's Tomb" Prof. T.O. Nitsch
jaysonic
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219 posts in 3596 days
#12 posted 12-26-2013 06:19 PM
Awesome blog! I just found it…so I read through the whole thing right now. Beautiful bed, thanks for sharing!
alohafromberkeley
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257 posts in 3858 days
#13 posted 12-26-2013 07:00 PM
Mauricio, I’m curious as to why three railings…maybe there’s a poltergeist or opening to the twilight zone and you don’t want to lose a kid in the wall?................Wes
-- "After a year of doing general farmwork, it was quite clear to me that chickens and I were not compatible"-George Nakashima
Mauricio
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7170 posts in 4605 days
#14 posted 12-26-2013 09:59 PM
Glad you found it entertaining Jaysonic, and thanks for commenting.
Wes, because of the way I designed these beds there was about about 1.5” of “reveal between the long stretchers and the outside edge of the bed posts. That plus the space crated by the shoe molding made for about a 2” space between the bed and the wall Enough for a kid to wedge a body part in there (a design flaw) . So to compensate I needed two railings on the wall side plus one on the outside of the top bunk. Hope that makes sense.
-- Mauricio - Woodstock, GA - "Confusion is the Womb of Learning, with utter conviction being it's Tomb" Prof. T.O. Nitsch
Dave
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11435 posts in 4293 days
#15 posted 12-27-2013 01:18 AM
Loved all the glamor shots.
And the boys look great to.
-- Superdav "No matter where you go - there you are." http://chiselandforge.com
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