First post and saying HI

[Damien Wright]

I'm a welder/fabricator by trade, have been for over 22 years, but always had a love of woodworking since watching norm abram with my father when I was younger. So after finding this forum I thought I'd add a few pics of a bed I made for my son. When he was ready to move on from the cot around 1 year old I didn't like the idea of either a normal single bed as it wouldn't be safe, or a transition bed as then I'd have two beds to buy once he was big enough for a normal single. So I came up with my own, just made from spruce that I got from BnQ. Not the best timber but I think it looks good enough until he's older and wants a batman bed or something . Made it low so he could get in and out easily and gave it a lift off panel. Added some large cushions against the wall too.

 

[DeBangis]

You are welcome to UKW.

I am a Welder/fabricator apprentice.

 

[Stanleymonkey]

Welcome - great job with the bed.

How many hours did you spend sifting through their timber to find straight stuff!!

 

[Damien Wright]

Welcome - great job with the bed.

How many hours did you spend sifting through their timber to find straight stuff!!

Thanks, it took way longer than it should have , their timber is bobbins. I wanted to use some nice hardwoods and give it a lot nicer looking design, but I really struggle to find good suppliers near me so it seemed wasted time putting any more effort into a spruce bed. Especially since my son will undoubtedly want something different when he's a bit older. This will just end up in the skip later on. But it's safe for him for now and it allows my girlfriend to sleep in there with him when he's not well.

I started a loft bed for my step daughter a few months ago using the same timber, will hopefully get that finished soon. But I'll admit I'm better at working in brass, aluminium and stainless steel so I'm thinking I might revert back to what I'm used to until I can find better timber that is worthwhile using.

 

[Damien Wright]

You are welcome to UKW.

I am a Welder/fabricator apprentice.

Now why would you want to be one of us?

 

[Sachakins]

Hi and welcome to our sanatorium

 

[Stanleymonkey]

Loft bed sounds like a good project - my ten year old is about to outgrow his shop bought one.

Need to move to the next size mattress up and a new bed!!

 

[Damien Wright]

Loft bed sounds like a good project - my ten year old is about to outgrow his shop bought one.

Need to move to the next size mattress up and a new bed!!

Yeah the loft bed I'm building is for a double mattress, so a proper design and set of drawings on fusion 360 was needed, she'd go mad if it collapsed . But with the size of the rooms in our house she needs the extra floor space that allows, I like the idea of them as she can have her desk and laptop under the bed as well as her clothes storage, I imagine the stairs for it will be a lot of work though as each step has a built in drawer for even more storage. The plans alone have taken months

Do you plan to build your sons next bed or buy one?

 

[Bingy man]

Hi, hello and welcome

 

[DeBangis]

Now why would you want to be one of us?

Strong passion and enjoyment. I like the trade/technology.

 

[clogs]

welcome....
wood splinters are much nicer than steel ones......hahaha....this one had just popped out......

My own bed is all Oak......but the other 6 beds are steel framed Ikea units....unbreakable with taper lock rails......much needed in a rental.....
always promised to build a shaker style d/table n 6 chairs for us......
cant justify the cost of all that Oak....as local supplier only keep the equiv of fire wood.....it was €500 per cub/m 2 years ago....

Show us what u make in metal.....pls......

 

[Stanleymonkey]

Yeah the loft bed I'm building is for a double mattress, so a proper design and set of drawings on fusion 360 was needed, she'd go mad if it collapsed . But with the size of the rooms in our house she needs the extra floor space that allows, I like the idea of them as she can have her desk and laptop under the bed as well as her clothes storage, I imagine the stairs for it will be a lot of work though as each step has a built in drawer for even more storage. The plans alone have taken months

Do you plan to build your sons next bed or buy one?

Drawers in the steps sounds complicated!

Not sure about buying or making. At the time buying a small one was straightforward and probably cheaper than buying all the wood from scratch. Bit of a no brainer in that sense.

Need a proper measure up for this size. Might be difficult to work around the window and sill. No room for fancy stairs (luckily) so just a ladder. Other challenge is will have to be a complete clearout of a very cluttered small bedroom. So pressure will be on to get it all finished double quick!!

 

[Damien Wright]

welcome....
wood splinters are much nicer than steel ones......hahaha....this one had just popped out......
View attachment 166224

My own bed is all Oak......but the other 6 beds are steel framed Ikea units....unbreakable with taper lock rails......much needed in a rental.....
always promised to build a shaker style d/table n 6 chairs for us......
cant justify the cost of all that Oak....as local supplier only keep the equiv of fire wood.....it was €500 per cub/m 2 years ago....

Show us what u make in metal.....pls......

Ouch, that's a proper splinter haha,

Wood prices are ridiculous these days so I don't blame you for not having made that table by now, it's one of a few reasons I went with spruce for my lads bed.

I'll upload some pics of some of the stuff I've made at work shortly

 

[Damien Wright]

Drawers in the steps sounds complicated!

Not sure about buying or making. At the time buying a small one was straightforward and probably cheaper than buying all the wood from scratch. Bit of a no brainer in that sense.

Need a proper measure up for this size. Might be difficult to work around the window and sill. No room for fancy stairs (luckily) so just a ladder. Other challenge is will have to be a complete clearout of a very cluttered small bedroom. So pressure will be on to get it all finished double quick!!

Yeah they are very complicated, but it means she won't need separate drawer cabinets for her clothes so it saves a lot of space, same messy room situation too so it should be easier for her to keep it clean. I have pictures of the design on my laptop so I'll post them the next time I'm on there if I remember. Personally I try to build rather than buy, I can usually make it to a better quality and I have the freedom to design it however I want to, sometimes you just can't buy what your looking for.

Fusion also makes the design process a lot easier, seeing the product to scale before cutting anything saves making silly mistakes, and to adjust or redesign only costs a bit of time. I have started doing build plans of products too, for sale online, the first ones I will hopefully get done before the end of the month, to do them justice takes a lot of time though.

 

[Damien Wright]

As requested, a few products I made over the last couple of years at work, but all the product designs are owned by my employers.

Some solid brass, aluminium and copper

 

[Damien Wright]

This is a solid brass bar gantry I did last year and some bar stools just out of mild steel

 

[Britman]

Welcome to UKW