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| by:
Steven Maxwell
photos: Simon Cheung
illustrations: Len Churchill |
UNDER CONSTRUCTION (part 2) |
| Refine The Legs And Safety Rails |
The plans show how each leg needs counterbored holes for the
bed bolts, and two mortises to house the safety rails for the
top bunk. Drilling the holes is easy (just don't do it before
you've read further), though the mortises demand explanation.
I made mine using a router and flush-trimming bit, guided by
the shop-made plywood jig. This creates four identical round-cornered
mortises in the legs that need to be squared by hand with a
chisel. Use these mortises as a guide to plane, rip and joint
the safety rails you rough-cut earlier, so they fit into the
mortises sweetly. Complete the rails by sanding, trimming to
final length and routing quirk beads on all four edges. These
extend to within 1 1/4" of the end of each safety rail.
|
| Side Rails, Support Strips
And Support Boards |
These parts
connect the head and foot boards, and support the two twin-size
mattresses that the bed is made for. Mill and trim these parts
to final size, then rout quirk beads on all four edges of the
side rails, on one edge of the support strips, and along one
edge of the support boards. The plans show the details, though
you're free to use whatever profile you like.
| |
| Chamfer
the top front edge of the ladder steps for better
resistance to wear. A sharp chisel makes quick work
of angling the outer corners of each step |
|
Before you go further, think about mattress size. Although there
are supposed to be standard sizes out there, the variation from
brand to brand can be considerable. It's safest to have your
mattresses on hand, then measure them and adjust side rail hole
locations in the legs, and the side rail lengths, to suit. The
dimensions and locations I used are for mattresses that are
slightly larger than printed mattress specs.
Drill holes in the legs and side
rails for the bed bolts now, then glue and screw the mattress
support strips to the inside edge of the side rails. If I had
to build my beds over, I'd raise the support strips 1" higher
than where I put them. That's what's shown in the plans. Without
an exceptionally thick mattress, the side rails press into your
legs as you roll out of bed. Raising the mattresses with the
higher support strip location solves the problem.
|
| Final Fit And Finish |
Test-fit
the head and foot boards with the side rails using the bed bolts,
but leave the safety rails off for now. Even if the safety rails
fit easily into their mortises, they can be tight when they
come together in the completed bed. Save this wrestling match
for final assembly. I needed an 8' set of pipe clamps to draw
the head and foot boards together over the safety rails as the
bed came together after finishing.
| Click
below for a detailed plan |
| |
|
Cut, sand and rout the support boards, then test-fit them over
the support strips. The plans show how the corners of the outer
support boards need square notches to fit around the legs. You
don't have to fasten them, they just rest loose on the support
strips.
When everything looks good, take
the bed apart and apply a finish. I chose not to use stain because
it highlights dents and scratches when light, unstained wood
shows through the damaged areas. And that proved a good precaution
because Joseph, my two-year old, wasn't in his bottom bunk more
than five minutes before he sunk his teeth savagely into the
silky, hand-rubbed urethane finish I applied.
|
| Fine Furniture From Cheap Wood |
Where I live, kiln-dried construction-grade 2 x 10s sell for
about 70 cents per board foot at lumberyards. That's less than
half the retail price of furniture-grade pine, and the wood
is better in some ways, too. Construction-grade stock is cut
from spruce, jack pine or fir trees, all of which are surprisingly
strong and dense for softwood. The quality of wide construction
planks can also be astonishingly high. It's not unusual to see
a 12'-, 14'- or 16'-long 2 x 10 that's nearly free of knots.
Even planks with big ugly defects often contain lengths of beautiful
wood on each side. Spruce, in particular, is especially striking
when it's quartersawn, revealing closely-spaced growth rings
on the visible face. Construction-grade wood makes great furniture,
as long as you choose and handle it properly.
You'll find about half the wood
in a given lumberyard pile is good enough for fine work. And
don't be afraid of defects or mechanical damage on otherwise
good boards. You'll be planing and jointing the lumber anyway,
so these flaws are irrelevant. Once you get your wood home,
you'll need to dry it to the 6% to 8% moisture content demanded
for furniture use. Even though dry construction lumber has been
kiln-dried, don't be fooled. For construction lumber, kiln-dried
means the wood has less than a 20% moisture content. That's
enough to prevent mold growth in transit, but it's far from
being dry enough for furniture. As you leave the lumberyard,
grab some of the thin strips of wood that separate planks in
the pile. They'll be thrown out anyway, and they're perfect
for separating layers of lumber as you restack them indoors,
in a heated space. This is key; you've got to store your wood
in fully heated, indoor conditions (preferably during bone-dry
winter conditions) or it won't dry enough. An oscillating room
fan directed at the pile will help drop moisture content from
20% to 8% in about a month. You don't have to wait that long
to begin cutting, just be sure the wood is that dry before final
jointing, planing and assembly. |
| You
Will Need |
| For
the head and foot boards |
Size |
Qty. |
| Legs |
3
1/4" x 3 5/8" x 78" |
1 |
| Leg
cap strips |
3/16"
x 3 1/4" x 78" |
8 |
| Long
panels |
3/8"
x 9 7/8" x 24 1/2" |
6 |
| Short
panels |
3/8"
x 9 7/8" x 17 5/8" |
6 |
| Long
top stiles |
1
1/8" x 2 3/4" x 24" |
4 |
| Long
bottom stiles |
1
1/8" x 2 3/4" x 30 3/4" |
4 |
| Short
top stiles |
1
1/8" x 2 3/4" x 17" |
4 |
| Short
bottom stiles |
1
1/8" x 2 3/4" x 23 3/4" |
4 |
| Narrow
rails |
1
1/8" x 2 3/4" x 33" |
4 |
| Wide
rails |
1
1/8" x 4 1/4" x 33" |
4 |
| Short
floating tenons—hardwood |
3/8"
x 1" x 2 1/4" |
16 |
| Stile
floating tenons—hardwood |
3/8"
x 1" x 1 3/4" |
16 |
| Long
floating tenons—hardwood |
3/8"
x 1" x 3 3/4" |
16 |
| Bullnose
cap strips |
1
1/8" x 2 3/8" x 38 3/8" |
8 |
| Dowels |
3/8"
dia. x 1 1/2" fluted |
40 |
| For
the mattress support assembly |
| Side
rails |
1
5/16" x 6 7/8" x 76 3/4" |
4 |
| Side
rail support strips |
1
1/8" x 1 3/4" x 76 3/4" |
4 |
| Support
rail screws |
#14
x 2" round head, brass |
24 |
| Support
boards |
1
1/8" x 3 15/16" x 40 7/8" |
40 |
| Bed
bolts |
3/8"
dia. x 5"* |
8 |
| Bed
bolt caps |
hardwood
1" dia. domed caps |
8 |
| For
the ladder and safety rails |
| Ladder
sides |
1
1/4" x 4 3/8" x 61 1/2" |
2 |
| Main
ladder steps |
1
1/8" x 5 1/8" x 16 1/2" |
5 |
| Safety
rails |
1
1/8" x 4 1/8" x 78 3/4" |
4 |
| Long
ladder screws, cup washers |
#10
x 3 1/2" |
2 |
| Short
ladder screws, cup washers |
#10
x 2 1/4" |
2 |
| Dowels |
3/8"
dia. x 1 1/2" fluted |
2 |
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| PART
1 | PART 2 |
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