Loft Bed

Anything that I build myself is better in both design and materials than anything I can buy.  No particle board for me; and you can keep your bamboo, jatoba, ipe, sapele, and all that other tropical stuff.  Good old American hardwoods; oak, maple, cherry; are my materials of preference.  I prefer real joinery and construction techniques that you simply cannot find in furniture from Ashley, IKEA, or anything imported from China (which these days is just about everything).

The latest project I finished is a loft bed.  The retail prices for this bed were in the $1700 range.  I am in the $300 to 400 range for building it myself.  And that includes a lighting system for the desk.  I have looked at these beds in furniture stores and they are more flimsy than I am comfortable with. 

The legs are made out of plywood.  I glued up four pieces per leg and used a hand planer to shape it up.  I used a trick I have heard of but never tried; auto bondo to fill in gaps, cracks, and wood grain.  It made a perfectly smooth edge that is difficult to achieve with just sanding.

For the side rails, I tried using FAS dimension lumber, but it ended up twisting just enough that I was not satisfied with it.  Back to the plywood; I glued up my own framing stock by gluing two pieces together and using bondo to fill the edges.

The shelves are made with plywood and dado joinery and pine for the face and trim.  The desk is made from plywood and is bolted to the shelves so that it stands on its own.  For good measure, one of the shelves is attached to the 4 x 5 legs.  The desktop and large end-shelf were supposed to line up, but I forgot about that when I was building the shelf for the second time.  The first shelf was too tall, as were the legs.  Adjusting the height on the legs was easily accomplished with a circle saw.  For the shelf, it was a do-over.

The pieces separate so they can be put to other uses should the loft bed be no longer desired.  They will probably make good furniture for a college apartment some day.  The only thing I am not satisfied with is the white paint.  I cannot seem to apply paint without leaving brush marks.  I think it is a problem that can only be solved with a 20 gallon air compressor.  Most men’s problems can usually be solved with a power tool of some sort.

Unlike what you can buy in a store, most of the hardware is hidden or designed out of this bed.  That made it more difficult to design and build, but overall, I am happy with how it looks.  The only thing I would change with some of the parts is to cut more weight out wherever possible.

Overall, I am pleased with how it turned out.  Now I've got to finish that plywood skeleton before the trick or treaters get here.