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Author Archives: Patrick

Building the Stairs and Installation

This entry is part 6 of 6 in the series X-Men Bunk Bed

Building the stairs With the main bunk bed complete, it was time to turn my attention to the stairs. For safety reasons, mom insisted the bunk bed have stairs instead of a ladder. The original design featured drawers on the end and paneled sides. Upon further reflection (and measuring) it was clear that this placement … Continue reading »

Categories: Woodworking, Furniture | Tags: , , , | 3 Comments

The Back “X” and Top Bunk Safety Rails

This entry is part 5 of 6 in the series X-Men Bunk Bed

In the last few weeks since my latest post, I’ve made significant progress on the bed. I applied the finish to the poplar parts and glued up the head and foot ends of the bed. At this point I was able to test-assemble the bed and give the kids a chance to take it for … Continue reading »

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Test Assembly and Finishing the Ends

This entry is part 4 of 6 in the series X-Men Bunk Bed

Over the last couple weeks I’ve completed the construction of the side and end rails and cut the slats for supporting the mattresses. I also settled on somewhat novel connection hardware for the rails. Woodcraft sells a very inexpensive bed rail set bracket set that are nonetheless very sturdy and heavy duty. I’ve augmented the connection … Continue reading »

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Assembling the Circle-X Panels

This entry is part 3 of 6 in the series X-Men Bunk Bed

Fits and Starts The last couple weeks have been crowded with both personal and professional activities. I’ve had to work in found time, an hour here, an hour there. My next task was to fit the upper and lower bouts of the “X”s with their panels. Finishing the Wedges The pie wedges are cut from … Continue reading »

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The Headboard and Footboard Part I, Making Xs

This entry is part 2 of 6 in the series X-Men Bunk Bed

Laying out the Ends Typically I find a detailed SketchUp drawing to be sufficient for my builds. For this project, however, I felt the need to do a full-size drawing to lay the components out on. After drafting an end on a 4×8 sheet of MDF,  I started ripping down another MDF sheet to 6″ … Continue reading »

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A Bunk Bed for My Superheroes

This entry is part 1 of 6 in the series X-Men Bunk Bed

UPDATE Based on some excellent feedback, I’ve made some changes to the design. The front rail was a bit troublesome from both a design and stability perspective. I’ve replaced it with 1-1/4″ tube steel posts extending from the head and foot of the top bunk, with angles that mimic the back “X”.   UPDATED DESIGN … Continue reading »

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The Rosette

This entry is part 4 of 6 in the series Building an Acoustic Guitar

The soundhole rosette is an aesthetic embellishment that provides an excellent opportunity for the luthier (or newbie like myself) to leave his distinctive impression on the finished instrument. Consequently I spent much time considering the design for the rosette on my first guitar build. Although I’ve significant experience inlaying wood, I’ve never worked with abalone … Continue reading »

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The Soundboard and Back

This entry is part 3 of 6 in the series Building an Acoustic Guitar

Back to work I took some time off guitar building to spruce up the shop and make some much needed improvements. Also, with the parents visiting for the week, the shop was occupied for a time with more pressing matters… Alterations This weekend I was finally ready to get back to the build. Since carving … Continue reading »

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Some Long Overdue Shop Upgrades

Although I’m rather anxious to make progress on the acoustic guitar project, the recent departure of a close family friend caused me to shift gears briefly to build them a going away present. During the glue-up process, I was frustrated by the lack of suitable bench space. My old glue up table was a $50 … Continue reading »

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The Neck

This entry is part 2 of 6 in the series Building an Acoustic Guitar

My lovely wife spent her weekend watching the kids and provided me with nearly two full days of shop time. In the intervening days I’d decided I wanted to build one of the guitars from cherry. I have a rather large stockpile and had read somewhere that Martin made/makes a “sustainable” series out of cherry, … Continue reading »

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