| Project by john2005 | posted 02-08-2016 06:26 AM | 2252 views | 5 times favorited | 23 comments |  |
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I have been working on bunk beds for my two boys for almost a year now. I have had a lot of interruptions in the mean time, but am finally done. This is my first time working from a formal plan, and given my penchant to deviate from any plan, this was difficult for me. My one big mistake was I added a 2 inches to the posts, thinking it would help with storing stuff underneath. Well it turns out that in a bunk bed situation, if there is 2 extra inches on the top and 2 extra inches on the bottom, your ladder comes up 4” short. Oh well, maybe I will build a longer one. Maybe.
I had a couple cracks to cover up so I decided to give butterfly inlays a try. I wanted them to be artistic and hand cut. I feel I did ok, but the first two had a horrible form. I added to them to improve them, but I still don’t like them. The more I did, the better they got though. The boy wanted them everywhere. He may regret that when he is a teenager, but for now thats what he gets.
The plan called for 6/4 boards but that was out of my price range. Cherry shorts on the other hand were on sale and in my budget. So I glued them together and made 6/4 boards. I used polyurthane glue for the board glue up & hide glue for the joinery. The plan called for blind tenons with bolts but I opted for wedged through tenons. For finish, I sprayed General Finishes pre-catalyzed water based urethane and I did it in the spray booth at work ( I work at a body shop )
All in all, very pleased with how it came out, but not as pleased as my 4yr old. He has been spending a lot of time up there. He loves it.
For now, we just have the little guys crib stuffed under the top bunk. It works and clears up some floor space.
This is his happy face! :D
-- In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is.
23 comments so far
Matt Ramsey
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12 posts in 2200 days
#1 posted 02-08-2016 12:39 PM
Love the through tenons – is this just for the stiles? I’m guessing the rails are removable to take the bed apart? Where did you get the plans? Looks great!
-- Matt Ramsey, Auburn, GA
Roger
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#2 posted 02-08-2016 12:50 PM
Mighty fine work. End product is amazing. Looks like someone is very happy happy happy. That spray booth is like something I’d see in a dream. Wow!
-- Roger from KY. Work/Play/Travel Safe. Keep your dust collector fed. [email protected]
CFrye
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11187 posts in 2857 days
#3 posted 02-08-2016 01:37 PM
Great set of bunk beds, John! Are the original ‘bats’ still there? That is a happy boy! Thanks for sharing.
-- God bless, Candy
terryR
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7640 posts in 3325 days
#4 posted 02-08-2016 03:23 PM
Looks cherry! :)
Nicely joined and finished; should last a lifetime!
-- tr ...see one, do one, teach one...
theoldfart
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12474 posts in 3468 days
#5 posted 02-08-2016 03:50 PM
John, great work. Your son can just call them vampires bats when he gets older!
-- "With every tool obtained, there is another that is needed" DonW ( Kevin )
ToddJB
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8727 posts in 3147 days
#6 posted 02-08-2016 04:17 PM
Awesome job, John. Clean work.
-- I came - I sawed - I over-built
john2005
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1768 posts in 3195 days
#7 posted 02-08-2016 05:21 PM
Yes, head and foot boards only. The stiles that connect are bolted in for removal/bed dis-assembly.
Yes, those are the ones I tried to fix. I am not sure if I made them better though.
-- In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is.
hoss12992
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4178 posts in 2910 days
#8 posted 02-08-2016 05:59 PM
That is really cool. Great job
-- The Old Rednek Workshop https://www.facebook.com/theoldrednekworkshoptn
bobasaurus
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3711 posts in 4201 days
#9 posted 02-08-2016 07:33 PM
That is a lot of work, well done. I like the inlays a lot.
-- Allen, Colorado (Instagram @bobasaurus_woodworking)
ShaneA
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7085 posts in 3615 days
#10 posted 02-08-2016 07:35 PM
Turned out great, should be a great addition.
summerfi
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4383 posts in 2704 days
#11 posted 02-08-2016 08:16 PM
Great job John. They look really nice.
-- Bob, Missoula, MT -- Rocky Mountain Saw Works http://www.rmsaws.com/p/about-us.html -- ~Non multa sed multum~
7Footer
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2575 posts in 2965 days
#12 posted 02-08-2016 09:10 PM
Holy cow, great build John! Awesome touches with the inlays.
-- http://www.youtube.com/nrk411
AnthonyReed
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10165 posts in 3457 days
#13 posted 02-08-2016 09:23 PM
It came out beautifully John. I think the butterflies are absolutely fantastic! Sorry that you don’t quite see them as such.
-- ~Tony
chrisstef
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18129 posts in 4023 days
#14 posted 02-08-2016 09:24 PM
The dude is mighty stoked for his new bed. Solid work brother.
-- Its not a crack, its a casting imperfection.
Pezking7p
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3359 posts in 2668 days
#15 posted 02-08-2016 10:18 PM
Love the finish. Nice and smooth and still gives the cherry some nice color even though it’s water based. Must have been a real treat to spray at work and you did an excellent job.
-- -Dan
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