benjamin moore historic collection.

Just so I don't have to hunt for this, I am linking it here - the entire Benjamin Moore Historic Collection online from which I am pulling all the colours of my house (there have been a couple of changes since I posted that photo to Flickr).

But that's it for now.

um, wow ... lighting.

Well, for some reason yesterday I went to check out Rejuvenation's website (I think cos we're going to Portland Saturday and I was going to see the store's hours or something) and noticed in the homepage banner that they were offering a promotion - $100 off a $500+ order. And this is one of those places that never seems to have a sale or promotion (well, they do - twice a year I think but really ... ). So I called them up to see if at least went through Saturday. Uh, no luck -ends today (it's not even up on their website today).

So anyways, I already pretty much had the lighting for my bedroom and the back entry figured out and I didn't want to pass up a $100-off promotion so - after being on hold for 20+ minutes waiting for everyone else trying to place an order on the last day of the promotion - I got through to someone who then put me in touch with someone at the PDX store. My goal was to save on the shipping (a whopping 10% of the order total which seems awfully steep) by picking up the stuff the PDX store had and ordering the two things I would have to order so as to only pay shipping on those.

So after some finagling the order/deal with the girl on the phone (and still not 100% sure the charges are correct but I'll check it out when I pick up the stuff Saturday - the order total seemed pretty close) I got the following ...

For the bedroom on either side of where my bed will go (and matches the currently-remodeled bathroom light and the to-be remodeled bathroom lights) -

For beside the back door (to replace a bulb that's just hanging in a socket above the door right now - yes, it will mean rewiring this to mount beside the door about 5' up from the ground) -

And for inside the back entryway (um, it'll be fun to post a pic of the light that's hanging there now before I rip it out of the ceiling ... holy cow, that thing is a beauty) -

All very classic I think.

So anyways - they have to make the Rhone to my 28" specs and order the McKenzie but the other things I can all pick up on Saturday.

Next I need to order my bedroom fan before summer ... come on Restoration Hardware, have a flippin' sale (I did just sign up for their promotions/etc. emails).

bed part five.

Finishing (part one) ...

Well, with a solid weekend of gorgeous weather forecast I knew I would have to get on both coats of stain I intended. The first step was of course to put on a wood conditioner. I talked to the Stain Guy at Rockler last week and he hooked me up with Zinsser Seal Coat to serve the purpose - worked great (not sure what's up with the dude who left the 1-star review on Amazon). Although I should say finishing is not my forté. The last thing I think I stained was my entertainment cabinet I got at Ikea and one day decided to strip and refinish with a really dark stain. It turned out OK, but that was probably five or six years ago.

So anyway with my lack of experience understood I went to work applying the Seal Coat -

The one thing I learned was to not let it be applied unevenly as it will then show through the stain you subsequently apply. Seems obvious, but it just requires constant attention to make sure it's not dripping along the underside of an edge or something while you're applying. I used an old brush to put it on, then sanded it down with the lightest abrasive pad Rockler had (another suggestion by the Stain Guy).

After letting it dry for half an hour or so, I was able to start staining. Ooh boy. I was really nervous about this part I must admit mostly because of all the money, effort and time I had spent up until this point to make the bed as nice as possible. And I could very likely completely ruin it at this stage. I guess I could paint it, but then I would have spent all that extra money on nice clear, knot-free pine and VG fir for nothing. And I wanted it stained, not painted. So hopefully it would work.

I had picked out General Finishes espresso water-based stain cos it was the shade I wanted - a really deep, dark brown -

I used a foam brush (before Katie took over) to apply (it was really thick - almost like what I would expect a gel to be like) and wiped it off with a t-shirt. Well, started using just a t-shirt and my hand but did not like how uneven it was coming off. So I grabbed a mitered 2x4 I had and an old sanding sponge, then wrapped it with the t-shirt. The mitered 2x4 was a good angle to work at and the sponge helped even out the pressure I had to apply. Definitely helped.

The posts and siderails went pretty fast. The headboard and footboard took much, much longer -

I realized pretty quickly after starting them that I should have pre-stained the vertical slats and the edges of the pieces that filled the gaps in between them. That would have made it look much better (I assume), but I was hoping a second coat of stain would a) darken it slightly (although it was about as dark as I wanted) and more importantly b) hide the imperfections of the first coat.

Once I am all finished with the bed completely I am going to compile a list of things I learned (since this was just the practice bed, afterall) so that I don't make the same mistakes again on the next bed I build since even with the frustrations of staining and finishing I am still enjoying the process. Maybe because I am learning everything and figuring stuff out and solving problems as I go which is always good.

Next step - 2-5 coats of varnish.

bed part four.

Joinery (sort of continued) ...

OK, so over the last couple of weeks I have been struggling with how to join the siderails to the posts for this design (and even the headboard and footboard although I partially solved the problem with using the biscuits I routed). The requirement still: no screws can show anywhere on the bed.

So I had gotten some brackets from Rockler Woodworking up here along with a burly hangar bolt and wood screws. Then I thought I'd make my own from 2x4's and use tee-nuts and such. Still, nothing seemed to quite work. And to give an idea of how many options I tried - when I went to return the various brackets and hardware I didn't use it added up to about $50.

But then I hit gold with the idea of using pocket hole screws. I had to go out and get a $20 Kreg jig but I was hoping it would work. It has to be super-duper burly and strong since all the weight of the rails and 2x4 horizontal mattress supports, mattress and, well, my son will rest on these joints. I didn't want it to fall apart one night while he was fast asleep ...

So I tested this out last night with my little mock setup of the headboard/post/siderail I had made to test all my different ideas before doing the real deal -

And wow with only two screws (2-1/2") this joint was strong! I assume it's because you only drill partway in - then the screws that Kreg makes are self-tapping which really embeds them tight in the wood. I'm going to beef it up though and put in three screws for each end on the actual rails just to be safe.

This setup meant I had to cut off a smidge more from each end of the siderails where I had notched them in order for the screws to work (which meant holding each 6' rail upright and slide it along my table saw - good times - then chip the remaining wood away with a chisel like I had originally done when I routed them) but I have both rails done and now I just need to drill the holes for the inside of the headboard and footboard (just the lowest section that attaches - the top section I'll let go with just being glued using the biscuit joint.

Strong. And no screws showing. Perfect.

This is a lot of fun building I must say!

chop saw mount.

Since this so impressed the dude at Lowe's (and I thought it up) I figured I'd throw it on the blog. My chop saw is pretty solid but I've never actually anchored it to the table cos it seems like I'm moving it around a bunch. Or enough. But cutting large pieces of lumber where it is imperative the piece does not move and the saw does not move I have been searching for a solution.

And then it hit me.

If I use some 1/4" tee nuts I can pound them into my workbench (from the top - not from the bottom cos then every time you tried setting the saw back through the screws the downward force would pop them out), then thread 1/4" screws (cos the holes in the Dewalt's base are drilled out for 1/4" screws) up from the underside of said workbench like this -

Then I just slide the chop saw onto them and secure with a washer and wing nut on each. It's fast to secure, rock solid and, when I want to move it - just as fast to remove the wing nuts and lift off the saw.

At least I was impressed. Oh, and the guy at Lowes, too.

bed part three.

Further assembling ...

This weekend - much to do (besides bed building). But Sunday afternoon, after lots of weeding, I was able to finally get back to it. Had to do some routing to fit the biscuit joints for the posts and headboard and footboard. On Saturday I got some new bits along with an adjustable guide that just happened to fit my garage-sale router from a few years back. Both the new bit (the one that came with the router burnt the wood) and the guide were priceless - particularly, the guide. So routing out the holes on the posts was pretty easy, but I had to figure out a way to route the ends of the headboard and footboard.

What I ended up doing was to lay down a 2x4 on the garage floor to rest the headboard, then clamped it to my workbench.

Then just took the router along it after drilling with a 1/4" bit (since my router is not a plunge-type).

And wallah - was able to insert a 1/4" biscuit (just some window stop trim I picked up at the Depot) -

So the final joint when assembled looks like this -

No screws. And when glued I think it will be pretty strong. Now I just need to do the same thing for the two siderails so they can fit into the posts as well.

bed part two.

Cutting and start assembling ...

So first things first - carefully read the plans again along with all the additional notes I had made with my changes and then start cutting into the pile of lumber in my garage. This took probably a little over an hour or so and then I had lots of smaller stacks of lumber in my garage -

Really, it only took that long because of a little tip I came across (coincidentally) reading a TOH article online just the other week: install a blocker when cutting multiple pieces of wood the same length like this -

That way, when cutting you can just shove them up against it and cut - identical length, every time. No measuring. Like in the photo above - for the spacers along the tops and bottoms of the headboard and footboard. I also used it for the vertical slats. Worked awesome.

Then I had to figure out how to notch the 2x4s (one of my modifications) so they would bring the siderails out a bit further on the posts. Hmm, what about routing it? I asked myself. So I broke out the router I bought at a garage sale in Tacoma a couple years ago along with a router table I also got at a garage sale to see if it would work.

It worked perfectly - I routed across the 2x4 about 3/4" deep and 3/8" from the edge, using a speed square as a guide. Then just used a chisel to perfectly cut away the notch on the end to complete it. I have to say, sometimes I totally surprise myself - in that this actually worked and fit the length of the 1x6" board I cut perfectly.

And the final result then looks something like this -

Instead of the 1x6 siderail coming to the inside edge of the post.

OK, after patting myself on the back for that little success it was time to begin assembling the headboard and footboard. My goal is to not have to cover up any screw holes (or even nails) so I am using just glue to piece together the headboard and footboard. So first I had to lay it out -

Using a 2x4 as a post to butt the left side up against, and what would be the toprail to butt the top pieces up against, I went to work.

Then I had to glue. And clamp. Luckily the glue said it set in thirty minutes, cos with only four clamps I could only do one side at a time (and the headboard and footboard each took four turns of glueing). Of course a couple days after doing this I was at a local woodworking shop and found a score on four more clamps so I'll be able to work twice as fast glueing from now on. Sweet. Really, it is.

So once all the glue was dry both of them seemed really quite solid. The trouble was, hmm, how to attach them to the posts without using screws. Then it hit me (and again - totally nothing the plan from knockoffwood mentioned). Since I was so successful with the router earlier, I thought - what if I routed out the top of the post on the inside and used a piece of 1x4/1x6 (top/bottom of each) that stuck out longer than the 1/2x4/1x2x6 pieces and basically create a mortise and tenon joint? Duh!

Except ... this idea came to me after all the glue had set, and now I'm not sure if I'll be able to take out the little pieces I put on each end. If not, I can route out a smaller section and use a biscuit joint so I'm not too worried. And yeah - either one will mean no screws!

So next step - sanding and rough assembly. I really am having a blast building this, and I think perhaps that furniture building may become a bit of a habit. Until something goes horribly wrong, of course ...

goodbye.

I noticed this a little while ago and am just posting it here real quick - the local door and trim shop I would go to for trim and where I scored such an awesome deal on all the interior doors for my house is apparently out of business. Damn. I loved the fact it was right down the street, the owner was super-friendly and it wasn't, well, Big Box.

I'll miss it - really.

bed part one.

So here is part one of testing the plans from knockoffwood to build J a new bed ... lumber.

Phwew. I haven't added it up exactly but I think after all was said and done I spent close to $300 in lumber. Bear in mind the bed is $700. So now I have probably close to six hours minimum invested in it just reviewing the plans, picking out lumber at Lowe's, a trip to Tacoma to Gray's Lumber for the harder-to-find stuff and back to Lowe's to return the stuff I got but am not using due to my altering of the plans.

Which are:

• She had the top and bottom rails of the headboard and footboard the same (6"), but I noticed on the Land of Nod bed they are not - so I am going with 4" stock for the top rail and 6" stock for the bottom rail of both
• She had 1x stuff for everything - it makes sense cos it's cheap and easy to find in lots of dimensions (unless you're using harder-to-find or more exotic woods than most of the soft woods and oak or poplar). But I realized that would make the headboard and footboards 2-1/4" deep whereas the siderails were only 3/4". Unacceptable. Also, I thought varying the depths of the wood used for the headboard/footboard would look more aesthetic so I got 1/2" stock for those 4" and 6" top and bottom rails
• She used 4x4" posts for the bed which are hard enough to find. But still after probably half an hour spent combing the pallet of fir 4x4s at Lowe's, I opted going for the much more expensive 3x3 CVG (clear vertical grain) fir posts that Gray's lumber had (@ $3.40-something a foot!) - thankfully I only needed 12'
• She used 2x4s for the crown on the headboard and footboard which to me seems somewhat ghetto - so for relatively cheap I substituted 5/4 CVG fir (only 98¢ a foot) - got 5/4x3 stock to match the 3x3 posts

So wow - a few modifications but I am hoping they will make the bed look a little more classy and not so much the yeah-I-got-a-bunch-of-cheap-lumber-and-threw-together-a-bed sort of look.

Next step: cutting.

furniture building + upgrade.

So I am starting a little project building a bed for Julian. He is excited. So am I. Let's see ... maybe five years or so ago I built a bookshelf which turned out OK but was nothing to really show off. And that rounds out my furniture-building experience.

So this will be an experience in and of itself. I am trying to build this bed -

Based on these plans from the knockoffwood blog. In a full-size. I figure as long as I'm building J a bed, I might as well build one that he can grow into. I don't plan on building him another.

But - this is in preparation for building my own bed which will be a king with a canopy so this is good practice. If it turns out (big 'if') I will be slightly more confident in being able to pull off building a king-sized bed.

Now Ana (the writer of knockoffwood) claims the lumber is fifty bucks. Well, for even the crappiest, knottiest pine it'd cost just a little over a hundred bucks (for a full - and she was quoting for a twin to be fair). However, I'm not really going for the 'rustic' look and want this to look pretty much like the Land of Nod version so I bucked up and got much nicer pine (which was still slightly cheaper than fir, came in more dimensions, and definitely cheaper than hemlock which is still a soft wood). Which cost me about $250 and required trips to a couple different places (Lowe's for the bulk of the nice pine stock and a local lumber yard for some harder-to-find stuff like 3x3 VG fir posts and 1/2x6"x8' stock). I am modifying her plans slightly to make it (IMO) slightly nicer-looking - using 1/2" stock on the headboard and footboard cross-sectional pieces instead of 1" stuff, going to try to notch the 2x4" supports that attach to the inside of the bedrails so the rails attach a little closer to the center of the bedposts, and going from 4x4" to 3x3" posts cos the 4x ones just look too beefy even though I spent about a half-hour combing through the pallet of 4x4 fir posts at Lowe's only to go back and return them. Oh well. I want this to look as nice as possible.

And today I found this great post on a totally different site (but linked from the knockoffwood blog) about how to treat pine prior to staining. Totally pertinent, since I'll be trying to stain pine as dark as the bed in the photo above. We'll see how that works out.

Like I said about this whole project - big 'if.'

But - the reason for this post, not only to mention my plans to build a bed, was to highlight an upgrade I made to my DeWalt 12" compound double-bevel miter saw (wow, that's a mouthfull). Two words: laser sight.

I figured before I start a project like building a bed I owed it to myself to make it a little easier on myself. But after reading that finishing post, now I am realizing I should have splurged for a variable-speed orbital sander (mine's just an orbital - no control of speed) for when it gets to the finishing stages. Hopefully I don't destroy all the pine in the process of sanding.

But - we'll see how this all goes. It'll be fun. If it turns out. The alternative is - if it does not - cutting the legs of J's Ikea loft bed to make it into a twin instead of trying to sell it on craigslist. But in the meantime crossing my fingers ...