Excuse #1:
Right after my last post, I came up with a vague idea of how I wanted to use some of the wood from the old crib, and went to work chopping it up and screwing it in place. I got about half-way through, and couldn't bring myself to work any further on it. It was ugly and didn't match the rest of the bed, and I couldn't figure out a way to make it even slightly harmonious. All I could do was stare at it, not wanting to move forward on it, but not wanting to take it down. I think the Scottish (read: frugal) side of me just liked the idea of being able to reclaim some wood that was just going to the junk pile. I was stuck in that hellish stalemate state for probably 2 weeks, before I came to the conclusion that there was no way that I could make it work, and should just figure something else out for the bed rails.
Excuse #2:
Right after I admitted defeat and that I couldn't reuse the crib for the bed rails, we had a meeting with our son's school, where they expressed concern about him walking to and from school by himself, which meant that either Arlene or myself would have to do this. Now let's not forget how pregnant Arlene was at this point. How pregnant you ask? Well, right around the time of this meeting, the pregnancy progressed to the point where our midwives advised Arlene to stay off her feet as much as possible (she said "I don't want to say 'bed rest', but basically bed rest!"), which meant that I was going to be the escort to and from school. Not only that, but I pretty much had to become Mr. Mom overnight. All meals, cleaning, taking care of the kids and wife. Seriously, I didn't even think about working on the bunk beds during this madness.
Excuse #3:
Somewhere in all of this I ended up getting a new computer, my first Mac since 1992. New toy! What bunk beds?
Excuse #4:
We had our third son, Ryder Flynn Reid. Personally, I think this is the best excuse on the list.
Enough with the excuses, already! So, Ryder is old enough that Arlene is able to put him down for a bit, and can take him out. And I figured out how I want to make the bed rails, and managed to get all of the pieces cut out in an afternoon when the weather cooperated. Then I took a day to clamp and glue three upright support posts, which are joined along their entire length on a 45ยบ angle (let me just say that was a frustrating experience.)
Today I sanded all the pieces with an 80 grit, and gave all the appropriate edges a pass on the router table. This meant that I got to use my new Rigid 3x18" belt sander (love it!) and set up my router table for the first time! Tomorrow I plan to assemble the rails. I'll try to take some pictures and get you all caught up visually.
