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25 Posts
Gday,
Here is a project I finished recently (still a couple of little things to do). The issue was to build a fun and different bed for my 4 year old. From the outset I was determined to build a very large bed and an entirely indestructable bed...hopefully that way he will have use of it into early adulthood at least. Those dads amongst us know that for it stand up to a 4 year old boy..needs to be pretty damn solid lol. Anyhoo, I designed the bed in photoshop (suits me better than CAD for some reason?). A major hurdle was that we wanted alot, and I mean alot of room under the bunk for a lounge and entertainment area etc (roughly translated that really means playstation of course). The problem then is the height of the bed and the subsequent high center of gravity, ie how to stop wobbling. Trusty router to the rescue of course. 19mm panels, routed into the frame as tightly and as perfectly as you can, this has the effect of bracing everyhting together solid as a rock and adds valuable weight to it all. Add some real heavy duty bolting and screws and viola! We have had 3 adults lying on the bed watching a portable DVD player and there was no swaying creaking or cracking. The table by the bed box is strong enough so that I can stand on it and it does not seem to stress it at all. The bed box was designed in knowing full well that it would be pretty handy..and so far it is proving the best feature of the bed. The underside will eventually be floored with covered hard foam and some custom pillows made up. The light in the entertainment area has a hidden switch built in to ensure that sneaky 4 year olds dont get up in the middle of the night, turn on the light and play playstations etc, another pre emptive strike! Being that it was always going to be a chunky, heavy duty sort of bed decided to give it an "Industrial theme"...lots of exposed bolt heads, treadplates and repair plates etc...threw in some work site safety signs in the entertainment area and the result is pretty effective for a little boys bed....ummm thats about all I can think of I guess, other than he bascially lives in and around his bed now..he really digs it...just have to knock up a cabinet for the TV and playstation now and mission complete.
Cheers
Bobby
Here is a project I finished recently (still a couple of little things to do). The issue was to build a fun and different bed for my 4 year old. From the outset I was determined to build a very large bed and an entirely indestructable bed...hopefully that way he will have use of it into early adulthood at least. Those dads amongst us know that for it stand up to a 4 year old boy..needs to be pretty damn solid lol. Anyhoo, I designed the bed in photoshop (suits me better than CAD for some reason?). A major hurdle was that we wanted alot, and I mean alot of room under the bunk for a lounge and entertainment area etc (roughly translated that really means playstation of course). The problem then is the height of the bed and the subsequent high center of gravity, ie how to stop wobbling. Trusty router to the rescue of course. 19mm panels, routed into the frame as tightly and as perfectly as you can, this has the effect of bracing everyhting together solid as a rock and adds valuable weight to it all. Add some real heavy duty bolting and screws and viola! We have had 3 adults lying on the bed watching a portable DVD player and there was no swaying creaking or cracking. The table by the bed box is strong enough so that I can stand on it and it does not seem to stress it at all. The bed box was designed in knowing full well that it would be pretty handy..and so far it is proving the best feature of the bed. The underside will eventually be floored with covered hard foam and some custom pillows made up. The light in the entertainment area has a hidden switch built in to ensure that sneaky 4 year olds dont get up in the middle of the night, turn on the light and play playstations etc, another pre emptive strike! Being that it was always going to be a chunky, heavy duty sort of bed decided to give it an "Industrial theme"...lots of exposed bolt heads, treadplates and repair plates etc...threw in some work site safety signs in the entertainment area and the result is pretty effective for a little boys bed....ummm thats about all I can think of I guess, other than he bascially lives in and around his bed now..he really digs it...just have to knock up a cabinet for the TV and playstation now and mission complete.
Cheers
Bobby
