Day 9: My Wife's Favourite Tool?

     One of the items I bought on my last shopping trip and forgot to mention was a new hand planer. My wife likes it because it's one of the few tools she knows how to use, and she has nostalgic memories of her late father's hand planer. I like it because it has an extremely old school feel and provides the instant gratification of really working the wood hands on like few other tools can provide.

     So I spent a little while the morning the next day with this fun little guy, getting familiar with the weight of it and how it feels in my hand, and re-familiarizing myself with how to use it. About an hour and a half and a glorious scattering of wood shavings later, everything looks good!

     The next step is to figure out how I want to make the safety rails and get those attached. I have an old crib that I'm thinking about chopping up and using, but I'm not exactly sure how at this point...

After that, staining!

Day 8: Another Shopping Trip

     Yesterday was a good day: The sun was shining, it wasn't too windy, and I finished sanding the cedar planks for the top section of the bed. I got some great advice from an old friend who happens to be following my progress here, that will most likely turn out to save me a day or two during the staining process, and finally, I got to go shopping!

     The advice my friend gave me was to buy a stain/polyurethane combo product by Minwax, called Polyshades, instead of staining separately, and then clear-coating afterward. This would (1) save me at least a day's work since I'll be doing two steps at once and not waiting for the stain to dry before moving on to the polyurethane, and (2) should reduce the amount of harmful fumes as the stuff is supposed to be less stinky than just wood stain (this means that I won't have to buy another fan and build a second fan box, I'm told that one should suffice). I spoke to somebody at Home Depot and found out that this stuff will get darker with every coat I put on it, so I ended up getting only enough for one coat, and then bought a gallon of clear gloss polyurethane, so I can add an extra couple of clear coats. I'm hoping that I have the patience to actually do this!

     I took a quick scan through the lighting section to see if I there were any LED lights that I could use/cannibalize, or maybe to get some new ideas on how exactly I'm going to add some illumination to the bunk beds. I was wanting to inset LED lights into various places in the wood of the bed itself because I thought that would be super cool, but it turns out that I just about need an electrical engineering degree in order to figure out how to make it work, because I would not only have to inset and wire up each individual LED, but I would have to figure out exactly how much impedance each circuit  would have, and how to deliver the various voltages to each light without popping them (too much power) or making them too dim (too little power). Nothing jumped out at me except a couple of stylized fluorescent light fixtures, but I'm really wanting to use LEDs, so I'm holding out. I'd better make up my mind soon, though!

     I also got a wicked deal on a router table! I've been contemplating whether or not I should buy a router table or make one, which, ironically enough, would require the use of a router table. There are plenty of DIY plans online, but for something like this I'm a little hesitant to make one without having owned one first. Also, the off-the-shelf router tables have some great features like dust/particle exhaust suction port, mitre guages, featherboards, level/square guides, etc.. I don't really need one to make the bed, which is why I've been holding off, but I saw a Ryobi model for $99 that looked pretty decent and decided to make an impulse purchase! My favourite kind! I couldn't see one in a box so I asked a clerk to see if they had any in stock. They checked and found out that not only were they out of stock, but so was every location in the city, and the item was on clearance because they weren't going to be carrying it anymore (the manufacture has a new model). This meant that the display model I was looking at was the last in the city! I asked if they would make an exception to the Home Depot rule about not selling display units, and she said they would because this was a clearance item that was not going to be re-ordered. I ended up getting a 40% discount because I didn't get a box, instruction manual, and safety key that prevents the power from coming on without it in place -don't worry, I have a Ryobi table saw that uses the same key.

     So now I have my stain. I have my brushes. And I have a router table that I really want to use but can't think what for. I really shouldn't be getting too sidetracked, anyways. I think the baby is going to come in the next few days so I'm starting to freak out a bit about the unfinished nature of the project!

Day Six & Seven...A Foolish Move

     The break in working on the beds has allowed me time to reflect on two important problems: (1) How, exactly, am I going to stain and clear coat this monstrosity outside? And (2) how can I best prevent weather delays, given my lack of a garage or other covered structure? Surprisingly, the solution to both problems can be found in one solution: Bring the beast inside!

Ready to be reassembled

     First of all, I will be up front and honest and admit that I completely did not properly factor in staining/clear-coating the bunk bed properly when originally considering this project. My original newbie plan was to cut the wood, then stain the pieces in the basement, and finally assemble the bed. However, that turns out to be inadvisable because of the damage the pieces will inevitably suffer during the assembly process. Duh! I should have thought of that! I also should have remembered how powerful (and toxic!) the fumes are. There is absolutely no way that I would be able to do this inside without the wife & kids away for a week...unless...[insert flourish of trumpets here] my newly build exhaust fan box to the rescue! I plan to buy another fan and build another box and effectively create a positive airflow system, which should allow me enough ventilation to stain it in the boy's room without harming my family in the process.

Deep in contemplation...how I spend at least 50% of my time.

     After my last update, I spent the rest of the morning clearing everything out Jacob's room, disassembling and throwing away his old captain's bed frame, and re-organizing Maxwell's room so Jacob can sleep in there for the time being. Then I spent the afternoon preparing and disassembling the bunk bed completely in order to bring it all inside. To prevent damage to the carpet in the room, I took my two tarps and covered  every square inch of the floor. For the most part the tarps are layered over each other, so I'm pretty confident that the carpet is protected well enough for me to work in the room and from any spillage that might occur when staining. The *new* problem is that the room isn't much bigger than the bed itself, and I really don't have much room to work in! Yes, things are a little tight!

The door is only open 14"! Tight!

     Yesterday I had enough time to add a couple of cedar planks to the bottom bunk frame, and to cut the remaining cedar planks for the top level. I was able to router the pieces and sand a couple of them, but I ran out of time before I had to stop.

     Stay tuned. I have a feeling my frustration level is about to go up, so it should get amusing!

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Perfect use for this bike.

     Because I'm doing this in my back yard I'm pretty much at the mercy of Mother Nature. This means for the last four days I've pretty much been at a standstill because of rain or the threat of rain. The day after I made all of my fabulous progress I had to take the "L" section off and store it, along with all of the rest of the lumber I have for the project, on the bottom bunk and cover the whole thing with two 9'x12' tarps, the only ones I have. Let me tell you it sure is fun going outside a few times a day to re-cover and/or adjust the tarps because of our wonderful Prairie winds. I finally had the bright idea yesterday to lean bikes against the outside to hold the tarps down. It isn't pretty, but it's working so far.

It doesn't get much more tidy than this.

     Yesterday was nice enough for a few hours for me to do a bit of work, but not on the bunk beds. Instead I built a box to fit inside the window in my basement bike shop room that I could fit a fan into, effectively creating a fitted, removable exhaust fan. The smell of some of the products I use to clean or lubricate my bike(s) bothers Arlene, and it's always a good idea to exhaust any chemical fumes straight outside, especially when you have 2, soon to be 3, kids running around.

A tricky window to fit.

     I had originally wanted to build this box from a salvaged fan, but after a couple of weeks of keeping an eye out and not finding one, I opted to buy a new fan instead. So instead of building a removable exhaust fan box with a permanently mounted fan, I built one with a removeable fan instead. The downside is that it cost more to make, but the box was a lot simpler to construct and now I have a fan to use elsewhere in the house when I'm not using it as an exhaust fan.

    It's a pretty simple box using cheap 2"x4" frame, and 1"x6"planks measuring 7.75" long, with a particle board faceplate to control airflow. Luckily, the two (wood) inset frames' offset distance measured 1.5", which meant the planks could be secured right to the 2x4 box and give a fit fairly snug against the innermost wood frame and the frame of the window itself. The distance on the bottom of the frame was a little greater, at 1-7/16", requiring a 1/16" shim between the 2x4 and the planks. Cutting a length of 2x4 to get a thin strip of wood like that I think was the hardest thing I've had to do on my table saw yet! Funny, but my heart was pounding the whole time!

The shim I'm so proud of!

Backing blocks from scraps

     To prevent the fan from blowing back (having the air I just pushed out blow back in) I put in a face plate that I quickly cut from a piece of 1/4" particle board I had lying around. I secured it to the box by nailing it to a some backing blocks I made from scraps from cutting the 1x6 planks.

Box in window, fan in box.

     And voila! That's pretty much it. Down & dirty. Does the job, and installs and removes very quickly and easily.