UPDATE: It's finally done.
I had to learn a lot from scratch, scour numerous forum posts, and watch countless YouTube videos, but it's finished. Here is some information about the tools and materials used for those, like me, who are learning and would like to know more. I'm sure there are a thousand better ways to achieve this, but I couldn't always find the best answer online, so I had to trust my instincts.
Location:
- I live in a flat, and all the work was done in the second bedroom where the furniture was intended to go. It presented its challenges, and working on the floor definitely provided a great knee workout.
Wood:
- Birch Plywood 18mm overall, 12mm for drawer sides and 9mm for the drawer bottoms and for shelves.
- 3.6mm Hardwood plywood for the backs
- I bought the full panels and cut them in the room floor using a track saw and an insulation board to protect the floor. I used
opticutter to help me with the measurements.
Tools - All of these are entry level tools that offer very nice results for a beginner like myself:
- Track Saw - I had a circular saw already and I considered buying a track system that I could use. I quickly realised that buying a track/plunge saw would be a better option. I went for a Mac Allister from B&Q, which brings two 700mm rails.
- Blade (recommended by
@petermillard) -
Triton 48T - I managed to get very clean plywood cuts
- Track - I bought a Makita 1500mm guide rail which fits the Mac Allister. The connection between the Makita rail and the Mac Allister is not 100% smooth, but it works. Buying more rails or longer rails was not an option due to budget and space.
- Sander - Corded 125mm Random Orbital DeWalt with 3M cubitron II disks
- Combi Drill - DeWalt
- Dowel Jig - This
jig, which I saw recommended here in the forum, was such a great purchase. It would have been a very painful process to do dowels without it
- Router/Trimmer - Although not entirely needed,
this famous cheap router from Amazon helped me to cut the door handles and to cut the grooves for the drawer bottoms. I got a few router bits from Wealden.
- Jigsaw - Also not entirely needed, but very useful, I went for the
Makita M4301 - For £40, it's a very solid jigsaw, with hard plastic body and a strong cord.
- Combination Square - Just a special mention. I have never used a combination square before, and this
little Bahco is such an inexpensive, but now essential tool in my toolbox
- Dust extraction - Unfortunately, I couldn't justify buying something that I don't have space to keep, but it would have been really helpful to have some kind of vacuum cleaner to reduce the level of dust, especially during sanding.
Wall Bed Mechanism, Hinges, runners, etc:
- I made an extensive search for wall bed mechanisms. I was decided to go for
this one from Struts Depot, due to its affordability and because the company sells struts, so I suppose they can help you with the best ones for the bed weight, but a friend of mine moved to a flat with a wall bed and he was not keen on keeping it, so I was lucky enough to be given the mechanism and the legs, which is this
model from Hafele. It required some reverse engineering since I didn't have the original instructions or bolts. I ended up deciding for some insert nuts on the caracass and I ordered the bolts from ebay.
- Blum inset soft closing hinges - Not entirely essential, but this
3d printed jig, was really helpful to fit the hinges.
- Blum movento runners
Finish
- Two coats of Osmo polyx Oil Semi-Matt using a non-abrasive pad.
