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Project: Bunk bed
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Fine furniture from construction-grade lumber
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By Steven Maxwell
Photos: Simon Cheung
Illustration: Len Churchill
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Refine The Legs And Safety Rails
The plans show how each leg needs counterbored holes for the bed bolts, and two mortises to house the safety rails for the top bunk. Drilling the holes is easy (just dont do it before youve read further), though the mortises demand explanation. I made mine using a router and flush-trimming bit, guided by the shop-made plywood jig. This creates four identical round-cornered mortises in the legs that need to be squared by hand with a chisel. Use these mortises as a guide to plane, rip and joint the safety rails you rough-cut earlier, so they fit into the mortises sweetly. Complete the rails by sanding, trimming to final length and routing quirk beads on all four edges. These extend to within 1 1/4" of the end of each safety rail.
 Side Rails, Support Strips And Support Boards
These parts connect the head and foot boards, and support the two twin-size mattresses that the bed is made for. Mill and trim these parts to final size, then rout quirk beads on all four edges of the side rails, on one edge of the support strips, and along one edge of the support boards. The plans show the details, though you're free to use whatever profile you like.
Before you go further, think about mattress size. Although there are supposed to be standard sizes out there, the variation from brand to brand can be considerable. It's safest to have your mattresses on hand, then measure them and adjust side rail hole locations in the legs, and the side rail lengths, to suit. The dimensions and locations I used are for mattresses that are slightly larger than printed mattress specs.
Drill holes in the legs and side rails for the bed bolts now, then glue and screw the mattress support strips to the inside edge of the side rails. If I had to build my beds over, I'd raise the support strips 1" higher than where I put them. That's what's shown in the plans. Without an exceptionally thick mattress, the side rails press into your legs as you roll out of bed. Raising the mattresses with the higher support strip location solves the problem.
 Final Fit And Finish
Test-fit the head and foot boards with the side rails using the bed bolts, but leave the safety rails off for now. Even if the safety rails fit easily into their mortises, they can be tight when they come together in the completed bed. Save this wrestling match for final assembly. I needed an 8' set of pipe clamps to draw the head and foot boards together over the safety rails as the bed came together after finishing.
Cut, sand and rout the support boards, then test-fit them over the support strips. The plans show how the corners of the outer support boards need square notches to fit around the legs. You don't have to fasten them, they just rest loose on the support strips.
When everything looks good, take the bed apart and apply a finish. I chose not to use stain because it highlights dents and scratches when light, unstained wood shows through the damaged areas. And that proved a good precaution because Joseph, my two-year old, wasn't in his bottom bunk more than five minutes before he sunk his teeth savagely into the silky, hand-rubbed urethane finish I applied.
Fine Furniture From Cheap Wood
Where I live, kiln-dried construction-grade 2 x 10s sell for about 70 cents per board foot at lumberyards. That's less than half the retail price of furniture-grade pine, and the wood is better in some ways, too.
Construction-grade stock is cut from spruce, jack pine or fir trees, all of which are surprisingly strong and dense for softwood. The quality of wide construction planks can also be astonishingly high. It's not unusual to see a 12'-, 14'- or 16'-long 2 x 10 that's nearly free of knots. Even planks with big ugly defects often contain lengths of beautiful wood on each side. Spruce, in particular, is especially striking when it's quartersawn, revealing closely-spaced growth rings on the visible face. Construction-grade wood makes great furniture, as long as you choose and handle it properly.
You'll find about half the wood in a given lumberyard pile is good enough for fine work. And dont be afraid of defects or mechanical damage on otherwise good boards. You'll be planing and jointing the lumber anyway, so these flaws are irrelevant. Once you get your wood home, you'll need to dry it to the 6% to 8% moisture content demanded for furniture use. Even though dry construction lumber has been kiln-dried, don't be fooled. For construction lumber, kiln-dried means the wood has less than a 20% moisture content. That's enough to prevent mold growth in transit, but it's far from being dry enough for furniture. As you leave the lumberyard, grab some of the thin strips of wood that separate planks in the pile. They'll be thrown out anyway, and they're perfect for separating layers of lumber as you restack them indoors, in a heated space. This is key; you've got to store your wood in fully heated, indoor conditions (preferably during bone-dry winter conditions) or it won't dry enough. An oscillating room fan directed at the pile will help drop moisture content from 20% to 8% in about a month. You don't have to wait that long to begin cutting, just be sure the wood is that dry before final jointing, planing and assembly.
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