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Bed, part 1
I'm really heavy, and Milo is sort of heavy and, more importantly, ballistic. Box springs are a joke - he's literally broken one within hours of it being in the house - the last box spring I ever bought. My mom had made him a bed, but it broke after a long while and then it sat outside for even longer, so it's around but filthy. I'd found a heavy duty metal bedframe for my bed that's about $100 and lasts maybe 6 months or so, but he's now gone through three of those - two of them within the past month. (Amazon, btw, was AMAZING about first doing an exchange and then a refund without making me go through hoops trying to sent the bent frames back. Woo, Amazon.)
After a little bit of kicking myself for not keeping more of my mom's tools when she was moving and selling or giving away everything that wouldn't fit in her car, I decided that I was going to just get the damn tools and then make a new bed for Milo myself. The beds mom had previously made all had the same point of failure - the 1x1 piece of wood that held the slats in place. Instead of having a separate, thinner piece of wood attached to the side rail, I'm instead putting a 2x4 sideways, so that it's a lot less likely to sheer off. (Sort of like the bed <ahref="http://www.thestonybrookhouse.com/2015/09/easy-bed-frame-for-under-40.html">here.)
Things I already have:
Power drill (about $30 if I'd had to buy it)
Power sander (another $30)
2x4s - about $3 each
Sawhorses (???)
Level ($5?)
Slats - 2x6 boards cut to 38" long, need to be sanded down since they're unfinished and written/drawn on (about 2 for $5, total of 12, so $30?)
Things I bought:
Circular saw
pocket jig set
pocket screws
hole filler things
right angle clamp
regular clamp
caulk gun
project adhesive
wood stain
polyurethane
sandpaper
tack cloth
2x6 cut into two 42" lengths with a bit left over
candy for my very patient son
=$241
Now, was all of this necessary? Not really - the jig, special screws, and clamps could be replaced with just drywall screws and save about $100, but that would mean weaker joints, and I want this thing as steady as possible. Also, the thing promises to be an easy thing for new woodworkers to use, and I'm all about easy. There'd also be some savings if you either already had the tools or had someone you could borrow them from, but I already regretted once saying "oh, I won't need those!" and so I'm buying the damn tools to keep on hand.
Most plans for bedframes like this just use 2x4s and maybe add some 1" pieces for the side and/or the legs, but I'm hoping the changes I made to include the 2x6 pieces will make it extra sturdy. Definitely no 1" anything involved. If I hadn't already had the slats I might've gone for plywood or more 2x4s instead, but I think the 2x6s will be good and durable.
The benefit of doing it myself is that if it does break then I can either repair or replace it with just the outlay for the wood; the expense for the tools has already happened, y'know? The actual materials for the bed would be about $40 and another 10-20 for finish/sealer. That's for a twin/single, but I think scaling it up for a full size would still be well under $100, where the metal bedframe I've been replacing at least once a year is $100-130. I think it'll be good? And hey, if it turns out well, I can do it again and again and maybe branch out into other projects - there's plans out there for all sorts of things.
First things first, though. Today I'm going to clear space on the patio to set up my work area, and if I have the energy then I might also make a start on cutting and/or sanding. Tomorrow I'll cut and sand and then lay it all together like a giant set of tinkertoys to plan out how it'll all get screwed together, marking where I'm going to drill. After that, drilling and assembly and gluing the relevant parts, then a day for the glue to dry, more sanding if needed, a quick wipe with the tack cloth and then time for the stain and the polyurethane to be applied and to dry. Theoretically I could get it all done over the weekend, but I think I'm going to be kind to myself and set a limit of 2-3 hours max at a time; I'd rather do it slower and well than make mistakes and get frustrated.
In any case, it's after 3, so I'm going to pee and then get started! I'm going to take pictures along the way, but those will probably go on tumblr just because it's easier to post pictures there. I'm pretty excited about getting this done!
After a little bit of kicking myself for not keeping more of my mom's tools when she was moving and selling or giving away everything that wouldn't fit in her car, I decided that I was going to just get the damn tools and then make a new bed for Milo myself. The beds mom had previously made all had the same point of failure - the 1x1 piece of wood that held the slats in place. Instead of having a separate, thinner piece of wood attached to the side rail, I'm instead putting a 2x4 sideways, so that it's a lot less likely to sheer off. (Sort of like the bed <ahref="http://www.thestonybrookhouse.com/2015/09/easy-bed-frame-for-under-40.html">here.)
Things I already have:
Power drill (about $30 if I'd had to buy it)
Power sander (another $30)
2x4s - about $3 each
Sawhorses (???)
Level ($5?)
Slats - 2x6 boards cut to 38" long, need to be sanded down since they're unfinished and written/drawn on (about 2 for $5, total of 12, so $30?)
Things I bought:
Circular saw
pocket jig set
pocket screws
hole filler things
right angle clamp
regular clamp
caulk gun
project adhesive
wood stain
polyurethane
sandpaper
tack cloth
2x6 cut into two 42" lengths with a bit left over
candy for my very patient son
=$241
Now, was all of this necessary? Not really - the jig, special screws, and clamps could be replaced with just drywall screws and save about $100, but that would mean weaker joints, and I want this thing as steady as possible. Also, the thing promises to be an easy thing for new woodworkers to use, and I'm all about easy. There'd also be some savings if you either already had the tools or had someone you could borrow them from, but I already regretted once saying "oh, I won't need those!" and so I'm buying the damn tools to keep on hand.
Most plans for bedframes like this just use 2x4s and maybe add some 1" pieces for the side and/or the legs, but I'm hoping the changes I made to include the 2x6 pieces will make it extra sturdy. Definitely no 1" anything involved. If I hadn't already had the slats I might've gone for plywood or more 2x4s instead, but I think the 2x6s will be good and durable.
The benefit of doing it myself is that if it does break then I can either repair or replace it with just the outlay for the wood; the expense for the tools has already happened, y'know? The actual materials for the bed would be about $40 and another 10-20 for finish/sealer. That's for a twin/single, but I think scaling it up for a full size would still be well under $100, where the metal bedframe I've been replacing at least once a year is $100-130. I think it'll be good? And hey, if it turns out well, I can do it again and again and maybe branch out into other projects - there's plans out there for all sorts of things.
First things first, though. Today I'm going to clear space on the patio to set up my work area, and if I have the energy then I might also make a start on cutting and/or sanding. Tomorrow I'll cut and sand and then lay it all together like a giant set of tinkertoys to plan out how it'll all get screwed together, marking where I'm going to drill. After that, drilling and assembly and gluing the relevant parts, then a day for the glue to dry, more sanding if needed, a quick wipe with the tack cloth and then time for the stain and the polyurethane to be applied and to dry. Theoretically I could get it all done over the weekend, but I think I'm going to be kind to myself and set a limit of 2-3 hours max at a time; I'd rather do it slower and well than make mistakes and get frustrated.
In any case, it's after 3, so I'm going to pee and then get started! I'm going to take pictures along the way, but those will probably go on tumblr just because it's easier to post pictures there. I'm pretty excited about getting this done!