From time to time we get emails from customers who order our loft bed plans that want to know what technique is the best for various parts of their loft bed. It seems the question we get asked the most about are the notches detailed on each of the legs. The notched legs serve many purposes on the bed, but the most important is lateral stability. Without the notches, the loft bed would be able to sway back and forth. So the question remains, how in the world do you cut these things? There are many ways to do it, but here are a few suggestions that we have tested:
- Cut the notches on a table saw with a dado blade. This is the preferred method.
- Use a jig saw to carefully cut the notches. Use the thickest blade you can find, so it does not bend. This is probably the most used method
- Use a circular saw to put multiple saw cuts in the notches at the appropriate depth. Then use a chisel to remove the excess.
- Use a coping saw to remove the material in the notch. This is probably the most time consuming method and least recommended.
So there you have it. Any one of these solutions should work pretty well. If anyone else has any suggestions, we would love to hear them!
Filed under: loft-bed-plans, Build a Loft Bed, Loft Bed Construction on November 14th, 2008 | No Comments »
So you have decided to build a loft bed. You have your tools all laid out and you have purchased a set of loft plans from campusloftbeds.com. Now what?
Now all you have to do is head to the local hardware store to buy all your parts. As a test, I wanted to see how much it would cost to buy all of the materials needed to build a loft bed. I see loft bed kits offered online for $100’s, surely it cannot cost that much. For my experiment I used the twin loft bed plans and headed to a local Lowe’s hardware to do a little research.
The parts list found on the first page of the loft plans made shopping a breeze. I found all of the parts in probably less than 20 minutes. So how much did everything cost?
| Item |
Qty |
Cost/Item |
Total |
| 2×6x8 |
7 |
$4.26 |
$29.82 |
| 2×4x8 |
4 |
$2.19 |
$8.76 |
| 1×2x8 |
2 |
$0.97 |
$1.94 |
| 2×2x8 |
5 |
$1.77 |
$8.85 |
| Box 2 1/2″ Wood Screws |
1 |
$5.94 |
$5.94 |
| 1 1/4″ Wood Screws |
8 |
$0.16 |
$1.28 |
| 3/8″x3 1/2″ Carriage Bolt |
8 |
$0.43 |
$3.44 |
| 3/8″x5″ Carriage Bolt |
4 |
$0.61 |
$2.44 |
| 3/8″ Washer |
12 |
$0.11 |
$1.32 |
| 3/8″ Nut |
12 |
$0.14 |
$1.68 |
| Small Bottle of Wood Glue |
1 |
$2.57 |
$2.57 |
| 1/2″x4×8 Sheet of Plywood |
1 |
$28.37 |
$28.37 |
| |
|
Total = |
$96.41 |
So for just under $100 you can build your own loft. The price above also includes the cost of a sheet of plywood. Most of the loft bed kits that are available online do not include this cost.
Filed under: Loft Bed Construction on September 15th, 2008 | No Comments »
Bill Vondriska writes in to share his loft bed building with everyone. “The picture is in my garage so it isn’t that good. I made a minor change but for the most part, it is to plan.”
Thanks Bill, it looks GREAT!
Filed under: Loft Bed Construction on August 18th, 2008 | No Comments »
Welcome to the campusloftbeds.com project page! This page is devoted to customers projects, construction tips and techniques, and conversations about all of the great products at campusloftbeds.
If you have a finished project and would like to share it with the world, we would love to post it. Simply email projects@campusloftbeds.com and share your pictures and story.
Filed under: Loft Bed Construction, Loft Bed Projects on August 29th, 2007 | No Comments »