novocaine":27gdepzq said:
Nice.
The hole cutting tool is a simple trammel, but really neatly made in aluminium and he gets good results using it with a trim router. I assume it's one of those side-cutting-spiral drill bits that were really popular a few years ago for jobs like cutting out for sockets in plasterboard. If you only have a few to do, it's really nice.
. . .
But... there are two big safety issues that he should have addressed, one during construction and one over time when the bed is in use:
Construction: a lot of the bigger tube he's welding is galvanized (zinc plated). Apparently, zinc poisoning leads to collapse of the gastrointestinal system, and lovely things like colostomies and, er, nasty and protracted death. I think his welding mask has an air filter but that's not really enough - the fumes are zinc oxide and will coat things nearby and can be breathed in by bystanders. I had a scare about this the other day, and I was only using Galvafroid (galvanizing paint).
Secondly, it certainly looked like he was fitting mains elecrical plates into a metal construction without adequate attention to earthing, wire protection and clearances. He may have done it right, but it didn't look like that.
There's a good reason why socket boxes for plaster are the size they are - as well as room for lots of wires, it provides a margin of safety to minimise wires chafing, etc. There needs to be a big enough hole around the actual switch-plates themselves to allow for clearances - you can't take the hole right up to the bakelite at the back. I've done this myself (fitting socket plates into metal construction), and it is a bit of a PITA when you're trying to make everything neat, but this isn't a wall - you'd expect a bed frame to move about a bit (at least if a younger couple are using it
). So cables will probably move about and flex inside the structure. There's usually a weld seam on the inside of steel tube, and that's often razor sharp. So it's fine if you take steps to earth everything carefully, AND put the wire in something protective inside the frame, but could become dangerous (or art least unreliable) if you don't. Plastic ducting would do it, but you do need something more than just the wire's insulation.
I know: I do sound a bit of a wet blanket above (wet duvet?). He's obviously really skilled and it's impressive, and clever, with some great ideas. I love some of his techniques, like using a hardwood straightedge for his plasma cutter*, and the system for joining the bed together. Simple, efficient, effective.
Overall that's well worth a second look, and I'm certainly going to look at some of his other videos. Thanks for posting it.
E.
* That may well be the usual way to do it - I freely admit my MIG welding is self-taught and I'm not very good!
