Two More Steps Forward On The Platform Bed Project

Another busy day here at the Tinker's Workshop working on the platform bed project.  I was able to get the staining done on the headboard riser and the outer oak lip on the platform for starters.  Here's what it looks like so far.

 I was more than happy to get this portion of the project done as I was not sure if the stain would be the proper shade.  So far I think it will be just about right.  I am more than happy with the look of the riser with the stain on it and one coat of varnish.  When it is a hot day here in the Midwest like it was today the garage is a perfect place to do this kind of work.  Keeps me out of the sun for starters and once I close up the garage it heats up like an oven which bakes the parts that I have varnished.  Speeds up the drying time for sure.

The fit and finish of the riser looks pretty good already but like a lot of projects you put effort into it's the little things that make it complete.  The problem is a lot of detail is hidden from view when the project is done. This is the case with this photo.  I could have left most of the bottom of the riser unvarnished and stained but it would bug me if I did not completed the underside of the extensions on the riser.  Personal preference in my case.  Helps me sleep nights. LOL

Here the platform oak lip assembly boards are stained and varnished with the first coat of polyurethane.  The unstained 2x4 sticking out in the photo will not be seen as it will be covered by the headboard riser when the platform bed is completely assembled. 

In this portion of the post I put together the platform base for the bed.  This is made up of pine 2x8's and 2x2's.  In this photo one of the 2x2's is glued and screwed into the end of the base center board.  This will create a mounting point for the long platform base side boards in this assembly. 

Here the platform base is laid out for assembly.  The three black painted boards will be on the outside of the assembly.  The two unpainted boards with the 2x2 blocks already attached to them will space out the remaining supports in the assembly.

Here two 3 1/2" lag bolts are used to mount a side board to the base board through a 2x2 corner block that was assembled earlier in the build.  This makes a simple, clean, and strong mount that will make it easy to pull apart should the bed have to me moved in the future.

In this shot you can see the outer frame completely assembled with additional 2x2 mounting blocks added to the headboard and foot board.  This will make alignment of the remaining 2x8 platform supports easier to install in the assembly.

Here is the the completed platform base assembly with all the components in place. The center 2x8 support  has four 2x2's mounted to it and the last four 2x8's are simply dropped into place.  If the entire assembly had been permanently glued and screwed together it would be impossible to pick up and move if the bed needed to be moved in the future.  The assembly is 49 1/2 inches wide and 84 inches long. 

  I will have to varnish the headboard riser and platform lip assemblies a couple more times before I am happy with them and then the assembly of the platform itself can start.  This will go quick as these parts are already cut and drilled for the mounting screws. Once all of this is completed the platform bed can be fully assembled and be ready to use. Then the dust can settle in the workshop for a little while and I can move back into my own bedroom again with my newly completed platform bed. Hopefully in the next couple of days.

A Few More Pieces To The Platform Bed Puzzle

Today at the Tinker's Workshop I got a few more pieces for the platform bed assembled.  These assemblies will be used in the platform itself.  The outer board on the platform is made from 3/4 x 6 inch oak and the inner board is part of the platform frame made up of pine 2 x 4's.

The two longer rails will be on the sides of the bed and the shorter rail will be at the foot of the bed.  This will wrap the mattress nicely and prevent the mattress from shifting on the platform once it is in place.

The assembly is screwed together using #10 two inch wood screws that are counter sunk. Each screw will then be covered up using oak wood buttons that will be glued into place. 

The 2 x 4 that extends past the end of each of the longer rails is set up so that the headboard riser (completed in the last post) will straddle and rest on the platform cleanly without interfering with the oak lip on both sides.  The platform will be assembled completely once the oak rails are stained and varnished with at least four coats of semi-gloss polyurethane varnish to match the headboard and headboard riser.    The platform frame without the plywood will be light enough for two people to pick up and move should the occasion call for it. 

  Next on the build list will be the platform base assembly. This assembly is designed so that it can be disassembled time and again  should it need to be moved as it is a much heavier than the platform.  Hopefully I will have the entire bed together in the next coming week.  The hardest assembly to put together was the headboard riser so the rest should be a snap to finish.  Stay tuned for further progress posts and photos. 

Lots Of Work But Tremendous Progress

This past couple of weeks here at the Tinker's Workshop have been hectic to put it simply.  I have my new bed room painted and prepped for new carpeting that will be installed in a couple days and the pieces of the new bed project are starting to fall into place.  Lots of hours work but I still have a smile on my face while building the new platform bed so it's not all bad.  Here is the latest news with the platform bed project. 

This little jig comes from a company named Kreg.  Without this great little tool this project would be near impossible to build. At least without going into spending a lot more cash for a more elaborate setup to do the same amount of work.  The jig clamps to the end of the board you want to mount so that holes can be drilled into the end of the board at the correct angle and depth for mounting screws.

The kit that Kreg put together has everything you need to make the holes including clamps and a special drill bit with adjustable collar so that you cannot drill the hole to deep or to shallow. Simplicity to say the least.

In this shot you can see both a front and back face of the headboard riser that is a key piece to the construction of the platform bed.  The boards were first drilled out using the Kreg jig and then clamped together and screwed together.  No glue is needed.  Simple and fast to assemble.  Notice that the front and back of the riser is exactly the same.  Remember this as farther in the assembly this will change.

Next the first mounting boards are added to the first part of the assembly.  I used a couple of clamps and a piece of scrap wood to keep everything in correct position while mounting screws were installed.

Here the small mounting boards have been installed and ready for the next big piece.

The bottom board that will actually rest on the platform is mounted to the front face of the assembly and the two vertical mounting boards. All the mounting holes for the screws were drilled before the new board was installed.  Makes it a lot simpler to build this assembly.

Now two end plate boards for the assembly are added with screws going into the bottom mounting board and the front facing board. The wood frames that is shown in the upper portion of this photo were made the same way but to my surprise were not needed in the assembly.  The structure at this point was so strong the additional inner frames were not needed.  They only added more complexity to the assembly and worse yet more weight. The blue tape shown on several of the pieces of the assembly was just a simple way for me to write a note about what part was what while I put it together. 

In this photo the assembly is nearly complete and VERY strong.   The screw holes are six inches apart and being as I put double screws in this made for a little more work but it is now strong enough to stand on.  Not that I need to but it's nice to know I could if I had to.

This is an interesting shot of the riser on the inside with mounting holes running along the outer perimeter of the assembly. 

This is a shot of the back of the now completed headboard riser.  In the first portion of this post I mentioned that the front and back of the riser was exactly the same.  This is where it changed.  I figured out that because the riser was so strong at this point and that there was no need for any internal framework the center 3/4 inch middle board only added more weight to the assembly and served to real purpose.  Once the riser is placed on the platform for the bed and the headboard is stacked on top of it you will never see that there is not back board.  It simply is not needed.  

This is a good shot of the headboard riser ready for sanding, staining, and varnish. it is 75 and 1/4 inches long, 13 inches tall and 7 inches wide.  It's heavy but not so heavy that I can't pick it up easily and move it around. 

   I tracked  down the  stain that I needed at the Sherwin-Williams paint store for the riser and a couple of other pieces that will be made in the next day or so for the platform bed. They said it would be no problem.  I went to Lowes to find the stain and they did not even want to attempt to even try and match a stain with the headboard and said it could not be done.  Wrong!  The stain I was shown at the paint store looks to be a perfect match.  Helps to keep hunting when you are told something can't be done.  Something that applies to my blog here too.  When I build something new that has never been done and am told it can't be done I find a way to make it happen.  Just have to keep plugging along until it works.  Like this project it is worth the effort to keep at it until it works.  With the mounting screws all inside the headboard rise the outside is smooth, clean and really professional looking. Another good day at the Tinker's Workshop!

  For more info about the Kreg jig setup that I used on this project see the link below that will tell you a lot more about their products and what can be done with this fine piece of equipment. 

http://www.kregtool.com/

Out With The Old...... In With The New!

It's been a busy couple of weeks here at the Tinker's Workshop.  I thought it best to finally get a new post out on what has been happening and what is planned for the coming weeks.  I have been busy with a large project here at home that has turned into a chain reaction of projects as most people know can happen.  For some time now I have been wanting to replace the carpet in my bedroom and repaint the room at the same time.  This in turn called for the removal of a well cared for king size water bed which because of its weight had messed up the position of the closet in the bedroom.   The bed weighed close to 2000 pounds and had managed to shift the closet away from the back wall of the bedroom.   This I corrected with some help from a close friend and have now painted the bedroom and am waiting for the new carpet to be installed.  So now on to the fun part of this project.

  The current project I am now working on is to build a new bed to replace the water bed.  I no longer want that much weight on the floor and so I've decided to build a queen sized platform bed instead of the over sized, overweight king sized water bed.  This will be lighter on the floor and make more room in the bedroom too. The headboard of the water bed is solid oak and is to nice to discard and so that is where I started this project.

With this in mind I had to design a new platform bed using the king sized headboard yet still reduce the size of the new platform bed to a queen.  This is what I came up with.

The new platform bed will use a setup very similar to the water bed as it will have a base that the mattress and mattress deck will sit on.  A couple of things had to be addressed here in this project as the headboard is set up for a king sized bed and the mattress is a queen.  Also the headboard could not sit directly on the same platform as the mattress as it would be to low to be usable.  I designed a headboard riser that would straddle the platform so that the width difference from a queen to a king sized bed could be used along with raising up the headboard to a correct height. 

The headboard riser will be made from oak along with the mattress rail  (shown in gray) that will rap the deck and deck frame.  The deck frame base will be made out of 2 x 8's and the deck frame out of 2 x 4's. Both made from pine. The deck is half inch plywood.  All of the parts for the new bed now have been cut  and being as photos of a pile of wood is not that interesting I will hold off with taking more photos of the project until it starts taking shape.
   I was also concerned with the height of the bed mattress once the bed was completed as I thought it might be to low.  This turned out to be no big problem as the mattress is 12 inches thick and the total height will be 24 inches tall.  Very good news for the project.  I will post further photos  in the coming weeks as progress is made on this project.

A Video Camera Mount For Your Car For Less Than $20.00!

Today I completed another small project that has been in the back of my mind for some time now.  I've always wanted to take video in my Mini Cooper while cruising down the road.  That's what today's project is all about.  

These two photos show the wooden parts that were cut out on my CNC machine for the camera mount.  This could also be made using a band saw or scroll saw and a drill press just as easily.  

In these two photos you will see the remaining parts that are needed for the video camera mount.  There are two pieces of 3/4" poplar wood, two 1/4" x 3" bolts, four washers, two lock washers, two wing nuts, a 1/4" x 1" bolt and washer and a quick connect mount for the video camera.  The two small grooves in between the two horizontal arms will located the mount securely when it is put into the car for use.  The three inch bolts and related hardware squeeze the two wooden part together to create a strong simple mount that is as easy to use as it is to create.

Here is a good shot of the video camera mount located on the vertical posts that secure the headrest on the passenger front seat.  The seat needs to be in a near vertical position so the video camera is not pointing upward toward the roof.  I did a trial video using the mount on the passenger seat but found that  I liked the drivers seat video better. As long as the roads are fairly smooth the video turns out very well.  Check out what I shot  today for yourself. 

Click the YouTube button for a bigger view of the video.