# X-Men Bunk Bed



## pjaromin (Nov 28, 2007)

*A Bunk Bed for My Superheroes*

*UPDATE*

Based on some excellent feedback, I've made some changes to the design. The front rail was a bit troublesome from both a design and stability perspective. I've replaced it with 1-1/4" tube steel posts extending from the head and foot of the top bunk, with angles that mimic the back "X".


UPDATED DESIGN - The updated safety rail


UPDATED DESIGN - front view

What do you think of the changes?

original post…

*Nightcrawler*

With four kids and only three bedrooms, not counting the master, we knew early on that someone was going to have to 'double up.' Now that they're ages five and three, we decided that they were ready. So, how to fit two young boys into a 11' x 10' room? Bunk beds!

*Gambit*

I wanted something that was fun and would captures the boy's imagination while maintaining a sense of style and taste that could last for years. My boys followed what I assume to be a fairly common progression. First there was Spider-Man. And while he is still a favorite, through the 80's "Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends" they were introduced to Iceman and ultimately some of the other X-men. The instant Nathan saw Wolverine, he was hooked. So an X-Men-inspired design would definitely be a hit.

*Professor X*

For inspiration the wife and I sat down to one of the modern X-Men movies. The actual inspiration for the design didn't arrive until the very last scene with Patrick Stewart seated in his high-tech wheel chair in the wood paneled school. Seemed like a great idea to marry the high-tech curvy and angular lines of the chair with the old-world style frame and panel. So I sat down with SketchUp and began drafting out a plan.

*Beast or Dazzler?*

And here's the completed design. You be the judge…beast or dazzler?









The completed bed design









A view from the front









Side view off drawers and X-panel

[Originally posted at http://tenonandspline.com/blog/archives/663]


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## davidmicraig (Nov 21, 2009)

pjaromin said:


> *A Bunk Bed for My Superheroes*
> 
> *UPDATE*
> 
> ...


I think the whole design looks awesome, except for the rail. The round rail sticks out to me. I think it is because there is no piece that corresponds to it on that side. I might suggest making the rail more rectangular and adding a circled x as an emblem in the middle of it.

David


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## DrDirt (Feb 26, 2008)

pjaromin said:


> *A Bunk Bed for My Superheroes*
> 
> *UPDATE*
> 
> ...


I like it.

I only worry a bit about the top rail - kids being kids they are going to climb over the side - and with the curved rail only tied to the side rail, there is a LOT of torque on the bedrail. It will be plenty to keep them from falling out, but may loosen with the "Abuse" it will naturally get from horseplay.

I think I would consider a wider bedrail (perhaps flush with the top of the mattress) with a double tennon (top bottom) to anchor it. or doubled bedbolts to keep it tight.


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## pjaromin (Nov 28, 2007)

pjaromin said:


> *A Bunk Bed for My Superheroes*
> 
> *UPDATE*
> 
> ...


Hmmm…very good points, both. The rail is obviously there out of necessity and was the last component added. The only alternative that comes to mind right now is maybe doing a frame-and-panel piece attached at the foot end to about the midpoint. I'll need to ruminate and sketch a bit.

Thanks for the feedback/suggestions!


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## TheVoodVorker (Apr 5, 2012)

pjaromin said:


> *A Bunk Bed for My Superheroes*
> 
> *UPDATE*
> 
> ...


This bunk makes me want to be a kid again! Great design. But I do agree with the round rail on the side. It does go with the X-Men logo, but perhaps finishing the circle off on the bottom would work. I've never used sketchup but this plan will ensure I try using it very soon. Thanks for posting it.


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## pjaromin (Nov 28, 2007)

pjaromin said:


> *A Bunk Bed for My Superheroes*
> 
> *UPDATE*
> 
> ...


OK, so I've made some changes to the rail and updated the rail. Whatd'ya think?


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## Grumpy (Nov 9, 2007)

pjaromin said:


> *A Bunk Bed for My Superheroes*
> 
> *UPDATE*
> 
> ...


Looks good to me Patrick. Very solid design.


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## davidmicraig (Nov 21, 2009)

pjaromin said:


> *A Bunk Bed for My Superheroes*
> 
> *UPDATE*
> 
> ...


I like the changes Pat. Really brings it together.

David


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## stan3443 (Mar 3, 2012)

pjaromin said:


> *A Bunk Bed for My Superheroes*
> 
> *UPDATE*
> 
> ...


great design,did the same thing on a tinkerbell treehouse bed for grandaughter watched vidio ,put pencle to paper,dont do sketchup ,hope to have pictures up soon


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## pjaromin (Nov 28, 2007)

*The Headboard and Footboard Part I, Making Xs*

*Laying out the Ends*

Typically I find a detailed SketchUp drawing to be sufficient for my builds. For this project, however, I felt the need to do a full-size drawing to lay the components out on. After drafting an end on a 4×8 sheet of MDF, I started ripping down another MDF sheet to 6" wide strips. After much thought, the easiest way to build the edge-beveled, circle-inscribed Xs would be to cut the strips, bevel the edges on the table saw, and then cut the compound joints to put them together. I'd alternate the full-length ones to provide strength. After ripping and beveling the MDF strips, I drilled holes in the middle of two of them and, using a nail for a pivot, lay them out on the full-size plan.









Laying out the first "X" on the full-size drawing

*Compound Angles*

Cutting the compound angles required to join the shorter pieces in the center properly required setting both my tenoning jig and the table saw blade at different angles. Rather than try to calculate this, I just drew lines and lined things up by eye and a bit of trial and error. I was very lucky - it all came together much faster and easier than I thought it would. The completed joints came out very tight. It's almost a shame that this core of MDF will be coated with my favorite rubberized compound when finished. Because of the texture, there's a lot of room for slop here - but these joints would actually work as raw hardwood.









Both the jig and blade were angled to make the cut









The joint was a bit tricky to cut, but I really dig the result









Gluing up the "X"









Completed joint out of the clamps

* Top and Bottom Arcs*

The design calls for the "X"s to be inscribed within a 60" diameter top and bottom arc. These were fairly easy to cut, but I was reminded precisely why I so rarely work with MDF. What a mess!









Cutting the top and bottom arcs









Arcs cut and ready









MDF dust everywhere…ugh

*Inscribing the "X"*

My biggest concern here was that I would cut the arc improperly and not be able to get the top and bottom to sit square with the side posts. Fortunately things worked out just perfectly here, even with my jury-rigged arc cutter (having misplaced my large adjustable one).









Trimming and radiusing the X ends









Ready for my Festool domino to join the pieces









Second "X" ready for joining

*Next Steps…*

Next up will be cutting the legs, and fitting the cherry ply wedge panels that fill the top and bottom spaces. As mentioned above, the MDF pieces will be coated with a rubbery compound and then painted. However, the wooden panels and legs will be stained and finished. Therefore I'll cut the joinery with the festool domino, dry fit both ends, and then disassemble for finishing. One of the ends will also be cut down at the top back corner where the steps will meet the end. So far this has been a messy but interesting build!

[Originally posted at http://tenonandspline.com/blog/archives/691]


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## vietbond (Nov 29, 2011)

pjaromin said:


> *The Headboard and Footboard Part I, Making Xs*
> 
> *Laying out the Ends*
> 
> ...


Awesome so far. Keep it up!


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## Kentuk55 (Sep 21, 2010)

pjaromin said:


> *The Headboard and Footboard Part I, Making Xs*
> 
> *Laying out the Ends*
> 
> ...


Wow! I mean, wow!


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## Grumpy (Nov 9, 2007)

pjaromin said:


> *The Headboard and Footboard Part I, Making Xs*
> 
> *Laying out the Ends*
> 
> ...


Very tricky & a great result.


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## NateMeadows (May 11, 2012)

pjaromin said:


> *The Headboard and Footboard Part I, Making Xs*
> 
> *Laying out the Ends*
> 
> ...


Patrick,

I am humbled, truly humbled, not only by your creativity but by the way you are able to work with all the angles and curve. I am afraid I would have messed it all up long before now. You, sir, have a gifted mind that inspires you hands. I am touched and encouraged by your work!

Very Respectfully and Gratefully,

Nate


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## pjaromin (Nov 28, 2007)

*Assembling the Circle-X Panels*

*Fits and Starts*

The last couple weeks have been crowded with both personal and professional activities. I've had to work in found time, an hour here, an hour there. My next task was to fit the upper and lower bouts of the "X"s with their panels.

*Finishing the Wedges*

The pie wedges are cut from 1/2" cherry plywood, stained to match the poplar hardwood used elsewhere. Though it seems a shame to stain cherry, the cheaper plywood readily available to me was pretty poor stuff and, well, I wasn't 100% certain I wasn't going to use cherry for the rest of it when I got it…so, that's where we are. In any case, I figured it'd be far easier to stain and finish the panels before they were glued into place in their MDF frames. After a bit of experimentation, I settled on a two part process of penetrating stain topped with a gel stain. Then I went to the big box and wound up buying a single can of Minwax® Polyshades and using that instead. It does a very nice job of obscuring the poplar and hiding the green, though my attempts to brush it on with a foam brush left me less than satisfied. I wound up wiping it on instead, which produced far superior results. Definitely a time-saver, and I think they came out great, no?









Staining the plywood wedges

*Notching for Entry*

I must admit to being a bit concerned about notching out the top for the entry. I considered leaving the top as-is since I'm fairly certain it wouldn't be at all difficult to climb over the end. However, it simply didn't look right that way and it would probably get old having to slide over the arc. In any case, I dry fit the assembly on top of the full-size drawing and laid out the notch.

To my amazement it came out essentially dead-on. Sometimes you get lucky!









Laying out the top bunk entrance









Top corner cut out









Trim for knock out finished and dry fit

*Assembling the Panels*

With relatively stable MDF frames and plywood panels, it seemed safe to glue the panels in place instead of trying to float them. They'll also provide extra strength to the relatively weak MDF structure. The glue-up went smoothly. The posts are here to help align all the parts; I plan to mortise and drill for the rail assembly and stain them before gluing the panels permanently between them. Now I've just got to figure out exactly how I'm going to join the rails. Although I've purchased some metal knock-down bed-rail hangers, I have concerns both about the possibility of a child on the lower bunk pushing the top rail up and out, and the holding power of screws holding in the end grain. I'm leaning right now toward using these plus a single long bolt through the post into a barrel nut in the bed rail to keep it together. The problem with that is I absolutely loathe barrel nuts - I can never get them to line up just right. I'll keep mulling this over….any ideas?









Center panel glued up and set aside with posts for safe-keeping

[Originally posted at http://tenonandspline.com/blog/archives/710]


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## derosa (Aug 21, 2010)

pjaromin said:


> *Assembling the Circle-X Panels*
> 
> *Fits and Starts*
> 
> ...


Good looking Xs, I don't know how I missed the first two posts but this is a cool design.


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## pjaromin (Nov 28, 2007)

*Test Assembly and Finishing the Ends*

Over the last couple weeks I've completed the construction of the side and end rails and cut the slats for supporting the mattresses. I also settled on somewhat novel connection hardware for the rails. Woodcraft sells a very inexpensive bed rail set bracket set that are nonetheless very sturdy and heavy duty. I've augmented the connection with a single 10×50mm domino in each rail for added security and support. I cut the slots to exact width in both the rail and the post, so they will fit snug and the rail won't have any vertical movement.

Before gluing up the ends, they will need to be finished. But before that, I wanted to ensure the whole thing fit together. The MDF "Circle-X" sections that fit into the ends, though solid, aren't designed for actual support. End rails on the inside of the ends are there to hold the rails together and mask view of the ends of the mattress from the outside. So it was time for a test assembly:









Test assembly without the Circle-X parts









Slats in place









Sean testing his top bunk

*Concrete*

The large "X"s in the panels are designed to mimic concrete. Though I'm no scenic artist, I have a good friend who is. Michael Sprada is an incredible artist (and entrepreneur) and was generous enough to provide me step-by-step instructions for creating a concrete-y finish on the MDF. The first part involves a product I'm very fond of - Jaxsan. This is a water-based rubberized roofing compound we've used on many theatrical sets to add realistic textures and finishes to everything from sidewalks to tree trunks. I purchased a 5 gallon pail of the stuff a few years back for a basement project that got scrapped, but now I finally get to use it. The basic process involves mixing up a bunch of batches of the stuff tinted with latex paint to various shades of grey. This is "wet-blended" onto the MDF in random, organic patterns. When this coat drys, we dry brush more gray paint on top, along with some oil-based brown stain. Finally, the entire assembly is given a few coats of a water-based poly finish like Polycrylic.









Tinted Jaxsan









Wet-blended Jaxsan









Dry brushing oil stain









Poly coating the finished "concrete"

*Next steps…*

Next up is gluing together the ends, assembling the bed and completing the large back "X" cross-brace and the top rails. Once these are complete it's on to the stairs!

[Originally posted at http://tenonandspline.com/blog/archives/745]


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## pjaromin (Nov 28, 2007)

*The Back "X" and Top Bunk Safety Rails*

In the last few weeks since my latest post, I've made significant progress on the bed. I applied the finish to the poplar parts and glued up the head and foot ends of the bed. At this point I was able to test-assemble the bed and give the kids a chance to take it for a test…er…rest?









The boys give it a test run

*Back "X"*

The "X" across the back of the piece is very similar to the "X" logos in the ends, minus the top and bottom arcs. It was cut from some lightweight MDF and assembled very much like the ends. One big difference was I didn't bother to bevel the back edge as that would never be seen, and without the bevel, construction was far easier as it eliminated two of the compound angle intersections.









Fitting the "X" on the back

*Jaxsan 600 and Dry Brushing*

I used the same basic finishing technique on the back that was used on the ends; Jaxsan 600, dry-brushed with various shades of grey paint, and some brown oil-based stain. I made this one a bit lighter as I noticed the sides dried darker grey than I'd intended. I also added more texture to this one. This process was a blast and I'm thrilled with the results.









Finishing the back "X"









Distressing the surface









I used both oil- and water-based stains in the dry-brush









From the front

* Top Bunk Safety Rails*

No bunk bed is complete without safety rails along the top edges. I did turn to the CPSC web site for this one to ensure that I met with the minimal standards. Although this won't be going up for sale, I figured the rules were (probably/maybe?) based on scientific evidence of some sort. At least they were better than going with my gut. Thankfully the design I'd originally drawn up appears to work just fine.

The rails were built from bent and cut 1" EMT conduit. I first attempted bending them with a ($80!) bending tool. The problem was the resulting curves were far too gentle and the look was wrong. I'd originally considered using square tube steel, but I'd need to buy a wire-feed welder and either rent a power miter or outfit my DeWalt with a grinding disc and un-mount it from the wooden walls/counter to avoid the sparks. Instead, I built a form and manually bent the pipes around it. Though this results in crushing the pipe at the bends, they actually came out really well I think. A couple coats of Rust-Oleam silver metalic paint + primer and they were ready!









EMT railings bent, cut, and test fit









Our new wind chimes or painting the front safety rails?









Painted rails in place









Just need to build the stairs!

Just about complete…just need to build the stairs!

[Originally posted at http://tenonandspline.com/blog/archives/760]


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## Grumpy (Nov 9, 2007)

pjaromin said:


> *The Back "X" and Top Bunk Safety Rails*
> 
> In the last few weeks since my latest post, I've made significant progress on the bed. I applied the finish to the poplar parts and glued up the head and foot ends of the bed. At this point I was able to test-assemble the bed and give the kids a chance to take it for a test…er…rest?
> 
> ...


Nice solid job Patrick.


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## NateMeadows (May 11, 2012)

pjaromin said:


> *The Back "X" and Top Bunk Safety Rails*
> 
> In the last few weeks since my latest post, I've made significant progress on the bed. I applied the finish to the poplar parts and glued up the head and foot ends of the bed. At this point I was able to test-assemble the bed and give the kids a chance to take it for a test…er…rest?
> 
> ...


You sir, are a true artist! I am humbled by your creative though process and inspired by your work! Keep up the great work!

Nate


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## pjaromin (Nov 28, 2007)

*Building the Stairs and Installation*

*Building the stairs*

With the main bunk bed complete, it was time to turn my attention to the stairs. For safety reasons, mom insisted the bunk bed have stairs instead of a ladder. The original design featured drawers on the end and paneled sides. Upon further reflection (and measuring) it was clear that this placement wouldn't work - there simply wouldn't be enough room to access them. Many commercial beds feature drawers under each step, so I figured this could work here. The final design was based heavily around what materials I had on hand. The stringers and back would be stained cherry ply. I'd always intended to treat the treads with the same faux concrete finish as the "X"es. I decided to use concrete-finished OSB for the side basically because I was out of cherry plywood and the left-over OSB has been taking up space in my shop since it's construction. One more sheet gone!









Building the stairs









Assembled with drawers; treads ready for shaping

*Drawer pulls*

I really wanted to make custom X-Men logo drawer pulls. After much searching and a discussion with my very talented and craft-y sister-in-law, I made a run out to Hobby Lobby and picked up a box of Sculpey III polymer clay. This stuff is very cool. You can sculpt or mold it like Play-Dough, then bake it for 15 minutes and it hardens nicely. Armed with some metal commercial pulls, I formed the "X"s, applied them to the tops, and baked 'em. A quick coat of paint and some clear acrylic top coat, and they were ready to go.









The Sculpey III X-Men logo added to the pulls









Baking the polymer clay drawer pulls









The finished pulls

*Faux Concrete*

This is the fun part! I repeated the same steps as with the earlier pieces. Dry-brushing on the paint and stain is a blast. For the stairs, I let some stain run down the side and pool on a step. The results are very cool and it's difficult to screw this part up. I thought it might be fun to carve Wolverine's claw marks into the side…I think he may have slipped while climbing the steps or something.









Wolverine was here!









Stairs complete!

*Awesome!*

I installed the bunk bed and let them at it. Happily the results did not disappoint. The most heard comment was "awesome!"


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Attaching the back "X"









Finishing the assembly









Ready for unveiling









"Awesome!"

*Next up…*

Next up, a backyard Tree-house Playhouse, and then "A Midsummer Night's Bunk Bed" featuring butterfly fairies and tree-trunk posts for the girls.

[Originally posted at http://tenonandspline.com/blog/archives/778]


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## Kentuk55 (Sep 21, 2010)

pjaromin said:


> *Building the Stairs and Installation*
> 
> *Building the stairs*
> 
> ...


Oh I know there are some happy lil ones.. Very kool


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## blackcherry (Dec 7, 2007)

pjaromin said:


> *Building the Stairs and Installation*
> 
> *Building the stairs*
> 
> ...


Great work Pat …happy father's day…Wilson


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## LeeJ (Jul 4, 2007)

pjaromin said:


> *Building the Stairs and Installation*
> 
> *Building the stairs*
> 
> ...


Very Cool!

Lee


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## davidmicraig (Nov 21, 2009)

pjaromin said:


> *Building the Stairs and Installation*
> 
> *Building the stairs*
> 
> ...


Awesome build Pat. Somebody better wakeup Sunday with breakfast in bed and a couple nice cards


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## pjaromin (Nov 28, 2007)

pjaromin said:


> *Building the Stairs and Installation*
> 
> *Building the stairs*
> 
> ...


Thanks, all! The kids are having a blast on their new bed, which really is the best Father's Day gift I could wish for. Happy Father's day to you too, Wilson, and all dad's.


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## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

pjaromin said:


> *Building the Stairs and Installation*
> 
> *Building the stairs*
> 
> ...


My grandson is an X men fanatic … almost all superheros for that matter. I will show him these pictures when he visits today on fathers day and I am sure he will want a bed like this.

Good job, a lot of attention to detail only a X men fan would appreciate!


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