Unusual Project-done and delivered

 Last Friday I had a customer deliver materials for a bedside table that he wanted built.  The  table was for a basement bedroom and was customised for space and to cover an obstacle on the floor. 

  Several years ago I stopped doing 'finished' projects for folks because as often as not the customer decided they didn't like the colour/stain/finish that they had picked out once I had applied it.  Since I am retired and use my shop for my own amusement I can be picky like that now.  

  On this project the customer also bought the  materials I was to use. (no sweat) Since he bought pre-finished sheet stock he knew what he was going to get before the project began.  Pre-finished material does require special handling so that it is not scratched during construction.  I put a large sheet of clean card board down on my bench while I worked.

  I was provided with an excellent drawing out lining the size and design of the table.

  As you can see the table is really a three sided item that fits into a corner.   The thing that made this an interesting and initially challenging project was the material.

  I was provided with two table tops from IKEA.   I pointed out to him when he dropped the tops off that they were hollow which would make for some construction challenges if there wasn't enough wood framing around the edges for me to drive screws into.  

  

  We not only were the table tops hollow, they were not wood, and...there was no framing around the edges to provide me with any place to drive a screw.

  These table tops were cardboard.  The finish is not even veneer, it is printed, miracle product.  Once I got my head around the situation and decided just how I was going to cut the pieces it became a 'glue and clamp' project.  I laid out the three pieces I needed on the two panels.  Since I had no clue with what I was working I marked out and made a test cut.  My fear initially was there would be splintering of the thin veneer, no fear...not veneer. That was also when I discovered that I was dealing with 'corrugated cardboard' with no real structure to it at all.   

 

  I marked out the three pieces and scored my cut lines deeply with a marking knife. Cutting the materials apart was straight forward with my Japanese Style Plywood Saw,  I wanted a thin kerf  but didn't want to risk my better saws on the plastic miracle product layer.  

  Having cut the pieces out it took three sessions to glue and clamp the pieces together.  Since the entire project was held together with glue I allowed plenty of setting time, usually over night.  Often with Weldbond I only allow a couple of hours drying time and carry on with my project because the bond is okay. This time I left extra  time to be the glue had time to cure.  Before gluing the pieces together I glued 1x2 into the cut edges for support and  because I needed something to screw the French cleat to, so I could attach the open edges to the wall.

  After the three sides were glued together I went back and glued in extra pieces for support.  Adding the pieces into the corners gave me more bearing surface for the glue.  The French cleat was screwed into the 1x2 I added to the cut edge. Incidentally the French Cleat was the customers idea.

  So....how did it turn out?

  My customer is pleased and I think it worked out fine.  It wasn't really a traditional wood working project but where else would someone find the saw or the various clamps to do the assembly?

  Hey, it was fun.  And it is a building material that should be remembered when building some kinds of furniture in the future. The panel is very light for its size and with proper treatment of the edge, sturdy.

cheers, ianw

Bunk Bed for the Grand Kids

  My wife and I recently finished assembling a bunk bed kit in our basement.  Our grand children are big enough that they have out grown their kiddie beds and we wanted the space savings of the bunk bed design.

 Our grand children slept in a crib that I made from scratch. Clara sleeps in a bed that I made for her, but this time we bought a kit.  I was planning to make their bunks in my shop. The major reason for making beds from scratch vs. buying a kit is that often the kits aren't actually wood.  This kit is 3/4 inch pine with dowels and knock down hardware used in assembly. We decided on this bed because it is well engineered, nicely designed and pre-finished.

  It took us about 2 hours last evening to assemble the kit.  All these kits come with some tools but not all the tools you really need. For example to make assemble things more efficiently a large square is vital. A square aids in alignment as you are tightening the various sections together. A mallet is also useful for persuading some of the parts and fasteners in to place. A cordless drill can also be useful for driving bolts and lag screws. 

 Since this bed kit is solid wood I will be able to make a couple of modifications to if for our particular needs and should the need arise it will also be easier to repair.

 Truth be told the time and cost involved in designing and making a set of bunk beds from scratch is probably not cost effective unless you are planning something very unique and special.

the bed in the
Ikea catalogue

   Now it is time to go to the dentist and get yet another broken tooth repaired.  Thank goodness for modern adhesives. 

cheers, ianw