Let There Be Light

Our kitchen light fixture wasn't working.  I finally got around to checking out if it was fixture, the wiring or the switch. The fixture was the issue.  A quick to Lowes for a new fixture and got it up and working at least for now. I only wired up the one switch. But for now, it works.

Loft Bed Post 2

Here is the correct front of the loft bed. The ladder is wider (compare it to here).

The puttied areas and the rest of the bed need sanding, staining, disassembling and installed.

Loft Bed Corrections

Repeat after me: A 2" x4" is 3.5" not 2.5" wide. That mistake cost me 2" from the length of the bed. I can offset the end pieces by an inch to recover but it was a dumb mistake that if I bothered to measure could have been (and should have been) avoided. Measure twice, cut once.

Other than that it looks pretty good. I demo'ed the original ladder which was only 13" wide. I made it 20" now. It looks better, is more stable, and someone over the age of 7 can get up into the bed.

I puttied some holes and filled some cracks. On to the sanding and staining. I put some of the desk together using left over wood. It should be nice and big. Pictures tomorrow.

Loft Bed Post 1

Today we started the loft bed for our daughter's bed room. She wanted bunk beds with a twin over a full. We talked her into just a full loft bed and we'll put a desk and bookcase underneath. She was OK with that. I used one of Ana White's plans as the basis for the loft bed. Here is the plan.

I made a few changes to to Ana White's plans:

• I raised it from 63 to 70 inches.
• It's a full bed so it's bigger 54"x75".  
• 2x4's instead of 1x4's for the legs
• 3 1x4's at the top and 1 2x4 instead of another set of 3 1x4's.
• 2x3's for the ladder steps.

Hopefully my math was correct and the measurements will work. So far so good.

 All the boards measured and cut.

 The back section. Need to add the lower cross 2x4.

The start of the front ladder.  Need to add the other leg and cross pieces.

Finish the Night Stand

This is a night stand i made for my daughter. She picked the colors. I learned a lot with this starter project - see previous post. I was able to correct most of the issues and it,s solid Plus she's happy with it and that's what matters.

Many Explatives Later - Lesson #1

OK, I am working on the side tables. I picked up a Circular Saw @ Sears. Good price, of course it went on sale the next day for $30. So, I'll have to go back to get the $10 back.  So I looked up on-line how to make straight cuts. Easy right?  Just measure the distance from the cut to the edge of the base plate, line up a carpenters square on the line, cut away. Except I didn't account for the width of the blade. See my handy dandy diagram. So, this first table has a few gaps. Learned a lesson. Move on.

Started Cutting the Table Pieces

Tonight I was able to do must of the cuts for the side tables. I was able to cut everything from the 1x2, 1x3 and 1x6 boards with my mitre saw. But for the 1x10, 1x12 and plywood I need to get a circular saw. I just can't seem to decide.