Replies

1. 
   adair | Jul 28, 2003 11:37am | #1

   Most of my furniture constuction is the same as your plan. Did not use

   a belt sander, used the palm sander hooked up to a shop vac, and started with Makita 120 then 240...results were great.....only problem

   wife wants more.

   Good luck, Terry

2. 
   DavidP52 | Jul 28, 2003 04:32pm | #2

   BElt sander will dig into the wood and leave it looking pretty ugly when you put a finish on. Presumably you lack a jointer, so a hand plane would be the way to go. It's tough to make anything without the right tools.

1. 
   stossel1 | Jul 29, 2003 04:10am | #5

   Boatman, do you make boats? I'll agree that the right tool for the right job is sound advice. However I plan on this being my only foray into furniture building. I do admire Shaker Style though........

1. 
   Sancho | Jul 29, 2003 05:01pm | #6

   Do you have a Table saw to make light cuts on to clean up the wood prior to sanding. Thats what I do when doing a simular type project like yours.  

   Darkworks:  No Guns No Butter squilla and the bling bling.

1. 
   stossel1 | Jul 30, 2003 02:45am | #7

   I do have a table saw but I'm not following.

1. 
   ian | Jul 30, 2003 02:49pm | #8

   I guess that what Ron is suggesting is that a tabe saw fitted with the "right" blade and set for a grazing rip cut will leave a near planned finish on your lumber.  There is discussion here from time to time about being able to glue two of these faces together.

   Ian

3. 
   HowardAcheson | Jul 28, 2003 06:32pm | #3

   That's going to be one "mother" of all bunk beds if you're using 4x4 and 4x6 timbers. So, how dry is the wood? Most construction lumber is only dried to either 18-19% or if kiln dried, to about 12%.

   Sanding construction lumber can be a chore but a belt sander is the fastest way to do it. A 60 grit would be the best to start with then move to 80 or 100. Just keep the sander moving and you should not dig into the wood. Personally, I would finish off with a 120 grit belt and then hand sand with 120. After all, you are not making high grade furniture.

   Then, put on a thinned coat of poly varnish and let it cure for 4-5 days. Now, hand sand this with 220 paper and apply 2-3 full strength coats. It should be a fine finish for what the item will be used for.

1. 
   stossel1 | Jul 29, 2003 04:05am | #4

   Thanks for the feedback. It will be a bomber bed, I did mention I was a framer didn't I. Lucky I didn't use microlams. I guess I suspected that the sanding would take me longer than I had hoped. I don't know what the moisture content is, I just bought it at home depot.

4. 
   MarkRoderick | Jul 30, 2003 07:18pm | #9

   My suggestion is to stay away from the construction-grade lumber. It's not just sanding. I'm afraid you'll find that the lumber is twisted, warped, etc. which will make it real hard to make a quality piece. I learned from experience.

   The alternative is to run the construction-grade lumber through jointers and planers to change it to furniture-grade. That process will also deal with most of the sanding issue.

5. 
   ETG | Jul 30, 2003 08:04pm | #10

   Some folks are recommending you stay away from construction grade lumber and there is truth to that.  Many builders across the country use SPF and yes it is wet compared to cabinet grade lumber and it twists like a pretzel.  But you said the magic word - fir - do you mean Douglas Fir?  I live on the east coast and most builders here don't even recognize it anymore but good lumber yards do have Doug Fir.  My lumber yard stock is quite good and yes, I have used it for interior doors, built-ins, etc.  Doug Fir does have a tendency to splinter so all edges need to be sanded thoroughly.

   I think 4 x 6 is too heavy for any bed.  Use 4 x 4 for the posts and 2 x 4 for the rails and you will be fine.  I've built some beds in the past year and never used above a 4 x 4 for anything and one was a king size bed.  Besides, Doug Fir has excellent structural properties that would give you good results.

   As a framer, you know that structural lumber has rounded edges and most furniture is built with rounded edges (unless you want the "crate" effect).  I usually run my fir through a planer first that reduces the cross section to just over 3 inches.  Then I have a good surface to finish sand with random orbit machine.

   Good Luck!

1. 
   MarkRoderick | Jul 30, 2003 09:01pm | #11

   I agree that in my neck of the woods I've never seen construction-grade douglas fir. Do they really make 2x material out of it?

1. 
   ETG | Jul 31, 2003 03:56am | #12

   Doug fir was a standard for many years - you can find in many older homes on the east coast along with souther yellow pine - nice straight framing with great structuraql properties.  On the west coast they still use doug fir - cheaper there because the mills are close by.

   Here on the east coast, we pay a premium for it - it's available in 2x from 2x4 up to 2x12 up to 20 ft lengths.  Most folks use it where they need more strength than the standard spf.  I'm using doug fir on my woodshop/garage for framing (2x6) and rafters (2x8 on a steep gable roof).  My shop will be on the 2nd floor of a garage built into the side of a hill so I can enter the shop from ground level.  Because it's a second floor shop, I wanted a ruggedness and strength level than spf doesn't deliver - but the price is about 1.5 times the price of spf.  But the material doesn't twist, is straight and works beautifully.  Try some!  You'll need to go to a real lumber yard - big box stores don't touch the stuff.

1. 
   stossel1 | Jul 31, 2003 05:54am | #13

   Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. Maybe i overdid it on the 4x but it is already paid for and cut to length. My 4 year old is pretty rough on stuff so better safe than sorry. To clear up some confusion the material probably isn't Doug Fir, I'm not sure what it is. I guess the reason I called it Doug Fir is that when I order framing material they call it Hem Fir and this stuff looked a little nicer.