Thread: WIP Blackbutt Toddler bed with safety rails

Looking good so far MM!

Great idea to build a more suitable bed for your young'un

cheers
Wendy

thanks,

some more progress - I'm trenching the head, tail and rails for the vertical slats that will form the safety rails and the feature inlays.

the whole thing is going to be very simply constructed (mainly because I have very limited tool reserves...) using beadlocks for the M&T joints.

I'll completely round over every conceivable sharp edge to prevent any painful knocks.


clamping the tail of the bed together: as you can see my embarrassingly cheap carbatec economy sash clamps and I'm using smaller Bessey clamps to clamp the joints down flat



and a few days after the tail - the bed head getting clamped together

I have finally finished and the little blokes both love it! I think I'll have to leave some 5x2 Blackbutt aside to build another one in about a year's time for number two...

It weighs an absolute tonne - it's as heavy as my queen bed which is of course crapiata, I finished it in Organoil hand rubbing oil - 3 coats. I sanded the whole bed and each of the smaller components in the following sequence: 80, 120, 240, 400, 800 & 1200 grit, then I kept the old worn 1200 from my first final sand and sanded between coats with it. It had a slight sheen to it just after sanding that's how smooth it ended up.







Damn super macro lens! I promise you can't see any of that with the naked eye - after taking this photo I hit with some more sanding and a scraper to get rid of the tool marks I couldn't even see unless I photographed it!


Now that I've made this one out of recycled Blackbutt fence posts I have to make my other son's bed the same to match but other than that this will be the last time I use something with a Janka hardness of 11kn to make furniture out of! it takes hours to work, machine or sand it and just lifting it while working it is back breaking.

the seal of approval:

Love it!

My current project (TV cabinet) is recycled Blackbutt and my next one is a single bed for my 3yo daughter. Was going to buy recycled Ash/Tas Oak but have acquired a shedload of Spotted Gum from a neighbour's reno.

Nothing wrong with solid and heavy hardwood for furniture - especially if young kiddies are going to have their way with it!

I'll use heavy-duty bed brackets for my daughter's bed so that the side rails, head, foot and slats can be moved independently.

Steph

where are you getting the brackets from - I'm currently making an identical unit from meranti (soooooooo much softer) and want to use bed rail brackets instead of bolts & sockets

You got a "WOW!" from SWMBO - high praise indeed! Beautiful, and destined to become heirlooms.

I love that bed Missionaryman.
top job.

Looks great!! And to have a triple seal of approval from the family - even better

cheers
Wendy

I like it.

Thanks guys - higher praise than I expected, I'm building another one out of Meranti to sell on eBay to fund the next workshop acquisition. Don't know what that will be yet.

Meranti looks crap though - I thought Blackbutt wasn't too special but next to Meranti it's like gold next to copper.

Great bed, and a fantastic job on construction.

That bed looks fantastic, I'm just about to start a queen for myself in the next few weeks.


you can get the bed fittings from a company called Lincoln Sentry Group, they specialize in cabinetmaking hardware, timber joinery,furniture manufacturing etc. they are on the web

http://www.lincolnsentry.com.au/

hope this helps.

Thanks specialist I found them previously but it looks like you need to be a business to buy from them.