A few weeks ago we made a bunk bed. I bring it up again only because it was a great project for the kids to participate in. It was a family project even and most importantly involving my father. Unfortunately I never did capture him on film.
We first had to purchase the wood which always presents a challenge. There are several timber yards to choose from but none of them consistently have a great choice of wood. When you do find decent wood it is always rough cut. That means it isn't dimensional. A 1"x4" might actually start that way but at various points along the length of the board it may change a half inch or more in any direction. Thankfully my dad has a planer which helps that a bit.
We first cut the pieces to length then we planed them.
After that they are still quite rough and full of potential slivers so we have to sand each and every board. The kids loved helping at this point.
This is the work table Rachel's dad build for me last time he was in Kenya. It also doubles as a food prep/serving table if we have an outdoor meal.
Tekoa in action. It is certainly a delight to teach your son how to use power tools, even if it is only a small circular sander. Watch out for the dust!
After the crucial sanding it was then time to put the four separate sides together. Though the boards were mostly dimensional and mostly smooth they still weren't all straight. Even still we did our best to nail them in place trying to hide as many flaws in the wood as possible.
A bit of a novelty here. My dad has a small air compressor and finish nailer to secure the wood until I was able to bolt it all together.
The next step was the glossy stain. Tekoa and Eliza both enjoyed painting this stuff on. We had to make a temporary dust shield with plastic sheets because of the excessive amount of dust in the air due to the dry season we are in.
And then of course came the finished product. It won't win any awards for craftsmanship, but due to my children's untrained eyes they shower me with praise. Doing it ourselves also saved us over a hundred dollars and provided us a dependable bed for years to come.
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