I have not been able to post much hobby-wise lately, but I wanted to show some the 1:1 scale projects I have been working on. Last fall, we found out we were expecting again. Getting ready for the new baby preempted everything else. We’d like to add on to the house, but time being at a premium, we decided bunk beds were a better option for now.

I designed this in Sketchup, and built it out of cabinet grade plywood & poplar. She wanted the stain to match the crib. I tried to work out everything on paper before I built it. Window clearance, ceiling clearance, etc. Everything went in exactly like I wanted it to, until we tried to put the sheets on the mattress. Finally decided it was easier to take the mattress out to put the sheets on!

I built some extra storage into the stairs:

As well as adjustable bookshelves:

I also designed & built a toy box for the both of them. This is loosely based on a joiner’s toolbox, that I saw on Roy Underhill’s TV show years ago. The veneer is laser cut bamboo & walnut. All the joinery was done with hand tools. I find a lot of the skills we develop in model making carry over into woodworking.

Nice stuff, Burl…

Great job on everything, yes a lot does carry over between hobbies

first i was astonished by the quality of your carpentry.

… untill i remembered, that your boss was a carpenter too.

but you’ll have to make a second one.

in fifteen or twenty years, they both will want to take their box with them, when they leave home.

(https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)

Sam and Eli. I like good names.

Cool job Dad, a bed fort is hard to come by these days.(https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)

outstanding!

Too cool. Nice work, Burl. Korm is half correct. You’ll have to build 2 new boxes because I have a feeling Mamma is not gonna turn loose of the original. I believe it just might become a family heirloom (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif).

Great job!

Our motivation for the projects above arrived on Tuesday:

He looks like a carbon copy of his big brother:

Oooo … Double trouble … Great news … Good luck ……

Congratulations Daddy! (https://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-laughing.gif)

Wow that bed/fort is terrific and nice job on the toy box and the babies too!

On the toybox I think you might be better with a locking lid lift or one that slides and gives resistance in opening and closing. With just the chain I foresee the possibility of little fingers having the lid slam shut on them.

Congrats, Burl. Your fathering skills appear to be as good as your carpenter skills (https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-laughing.gif)

great stuff

one of the best projects to date

Congrats Burl!

Love his name ! Does “Ellis” come from the family tree ?

Get some rest and enjoy the new family member!

Yes, Congrats!

Rooster: my great-grandfater’s name was Ellis. He spelled it Eles, which always confuses people when they see it written. We decided to spell it differently.

congrats, Burl, my middle name is Ellis ! Now the sleep becomes a thing of the past!