I did my scariest measuring so far yesterday. I attached metal plates to the bed frame. These plates will be the hinges and the connectors for the pneumatic springs. If the measurements are off, the bed may not open and close correctly. I followed the instructions as closely as I could. I watched the DVD, paused, read the paper instructions, measured, measured again, measured again, read the instructions again, measured again, and drilled the holes.
One of the things I took the most care with was a spacer the instructions told me to make. It was to be five sixteenths of an inch. I used an electric sander to get it to the right size.
After getting the plates on, I assembled the bed frame. It went very quickly. If the whole project was screwing boards together into a box shape, I would have been done already! Hehe…
I feel like I didn’t get lots done yesterday. I built the bed frame. It required boards that were 3/4″ by 1-1/2″, otherwise known as 1 by 2. Why is wood not actually called what it is? Or, alternately, why is a 1 by 2 not actually 1 inch by 2 inches? What takes so much time is stuff like this that I don’t know because I don’t have tons of woodworking experience. The instructions say “drill a pilot hole and countersink the screw”. I know what a pilot hole is and I know what countersinking is, but is there a drill bit that does that in one step, or must it be done in two steps? A trip to the store, and fifteen minutes looking at drill bits and I figured it out – yes there is a special bit. But my brain was a little tired from having to think so much. Several incidents like this, and I’m mentally exhausted.
Anyway, for building the bed frame, I had a lot of woods to choose from, but went with poplar. It seemed like a good choice.
Building the bed frame was actually pretty easy. There was lots of measuring again. And there was careful drilling to be done. And I was trying to assemble it on a surface that was not quite big enough. After much finagling, six ruined screws, a burned finger from a backed-out screw, and sawdust all over my dining room floor, I have a bed frame!
I finished my workday by doing the last cuts on the plywood pieces. Today starts with the mounting of the plates that the pneumatic springs are attached to. If I measure this wrong, the whole project will be ruined and the bed will not open and close properly.
But no pressure.
I started my murphy bed Project yesterday.The kit I got from Create-A-Bed has very detailed instructions. At first I was really nervous about all the details, but then I was really glad. They also include a DVD that shows somebody actually doing the stuff the instructions say. I was REALLY glad about that. I think I’m actually going to be able to do this.
To start, you have to get the wood. Most of the pieces you need come from plywood you cut yourself. The plywood required for this is fancy stuff. It was $45 per sheet! Ack! But I’ll be glad when I have a sturdy bed. The instructions show how you should cut the wood:
What I couldn’t figure out is how to cut long straight lines. I asked a former student of mine who is currently in my handbell group. He and a friend have been doing home renovation stuff on the side and really have a knack for it. His suggestion was to clamp a piece of wood to the plywood as a guide for my circular saw. Capital idea, Tim! Thanks!
The DVD shows the bed being built on a gigantic table. I don’t have a gigantic table, but I do just so happen to have two folding banquet tables that I’ve been using for Bible study. I took them out on the front porch and cut all my wood on them. They were perfect! I could saw plywood into pieces, and the blade passed harmlessly between the tables.
By the time it was getting dark, I had all my long cuts done. I still have to shorten almost all of these boards, but that will be quick work. The instructions have them all labelled with letters from the alphabet. I’ve used tape labels to keep them sorted.
According to the instructions, the first thing I build doesn’t actually use these boards at all. I will use pre-cut boards to make the slat assemblage that the mattress rests on. I’m nervous because measurement seems so important, and I’m scared I’ll make a mistake, but if the DVD guy can do it, so can I!
Since I have been thinking about it from the first time I saw these kits, and since I’ll be having family visit in June, I’ve finally decided to do it: I’m going to build a murphy bed. The kit came last week. I got it from the Create-A-Bed company. The kit is kind of pricey for just some pistons and clips and bolts, but it’s way cheaper than buying a constructed bed. And in the end, I’m not paying for just the components – I’m gladly paying their price because they’ve assembled all the ingredients for me and given me detailed instructions about how to build the bed correctly.
I’ve only given the instructions a quick lookthrough. They look very detailed. I don’t have very good focus skills or attention span lately. But spring break is the week after Easter. After a little rest this weekend, I should have mental faculties equal to the task. I’m so excited!
My hanging porch light hasn’t been working for a long time. I was too lazy to check it for myself… What if it was something serious? I’d go to all that trouble for nothing. After I finally got around to calling an electrician, I got a shock: he said it would be $75 for the visit and $75 for the first hour, for a minimum of $150. Yikes! It was enough for me to at least look at the light. I took the fixture down and tested the wires. There was power in lines.
That meant the fixture was broken. No problem. I’d get a new one. But it was harder than I thought to find something. Apparently, pendant fixtures are not in vogue right now. I couldn’t find anything I liked. Out of curiosity, I started taking apart my non-working light. I saw the problem: the wires had shorted and burned out. You could even see the burn spot:
As I continued to pull the light apart, I started thinking that maybe I could actually reassemble it. I laid all the pieces out carefully.
After a visit to Home Depot with my burned out wires for reference in buying new wires, I carefully put the light back together. I was following my dad’s method of repair: look at how it was put together when you take out the old parts, and put the new parts back in the same way. And lo and behold, IT WORKED! Thanks, Dad!
Instead of spending $150 for an electrician and $70 for a new light, I spent a total of $7.50 on some wires. I have a new light for $7.50! PLUS, I can add “successfully rewired a light” to my resume! I’m a genius!
