# Advice for my dilemma



## Muzhik (Jan 26, 2007)

Well folks, I finally finished my bed. 8 months in the making. But here's the kicker. The headboard won't fit up the stairs from my shop to my bedroom. D'oh! So I'm going to put this to a jury. Here are my options:

1) *Leave the headboard in the shop.* I'm guaranteed a move out of here in May '09, since that's my rotation date. I'm active duty Air Force living in Germany, and my tour is up in a year and a half. The next place I move to will most likely be in the 'states. I can find a place with a master bedroom on the main level or at the very least one without a stinkin' spiral staircase!

2) *Hoist it to my bedroom.* My shop is on the bottom floor of my house. The bedroom is one floor above that, but one floor below the main entrance level. I have walkout doors from my shop (thankfully) and a balcony off my bedroom that aligns directly below the balcony off my living room on the main entrance floor. With two (or more) guys on the top balcony hoisting it up with ropes, we could lift it just over the height of the rail on the bedroom balcony, then angle it into the bedroom. Easier said than done, and a little risky. Plus, I have to worry about the movers destroying it when I move out of here in a year and a half.










3) *Cut it.* I could conceivably cut the posts just below the middle rail and rejoin them (without glue) with giant loose tenons, then cover the cut lines with some sort of edge banding. There's obviously a lot that could go wrong with this idea, though, so I really do consider it a last resort.

For reference, here's a picture of the beast I'm dealing with (footboard in front of headboard):



















The mattress and box springs are being delivered tomorrow, but I'm pretty sure we can just live with them being on the floor without worry of damaging them. If I don't move the headboard to my bedroom, I *could* just make some temporary half posts and cross rails to hold that end of the bed up and use everything but the headboard.

So, I'm looking for input. What would you lumberjocks do?


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## dennis (Aug 3, 2006)

Over the balcony! It's to beautiful not to use.


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

rent a helicopter, or borrow one from work. Maybe a training session on rescue in reverse.


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## shaun (Sep 16, 2007)

How about moving the tools upstairs and the bedroom into the shop? LOL seriously, please don't cut it, the work is much too nice to be "rigged", I'm with Dennis, letting it sit in the shop would be a crime. That leaves ya with up and over the balcony, I'd even go so far as bringing it back down to the shop the day before the movers show up in '09 to mitigate that risk. I think I would carefully measure the balconly before breaking out any rope though just to be sure.


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## Russel (Aug 13, 2007)

Hoist that puppy up to the bedroom. The shop is no place for that. It's beautiful and begs to be used and displayed. Wrap it in blankets, lots of them, for protection and heave ho.


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## miles125 (Jun 8, 2007)

Invite some friends over and hoist that sucker. Just wait till you get it done before breaking out the beer!


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## Tangle (Jul 21, 2007)

Buy a keg of beer , fry up a bunch of chicken and have a party for the crew. Then before the beer, hoist this sucker over that rail. With a pulley and lots of hands it will be easy. When you move, reverse the move and all will be well.


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## MsDebbieP (Jan 4, 2007)

Hoist it - and enjoy the camaraderie of the process. I can hear the stories now: Do you remember "someone" made a headboard that wouldn't fit through the stairs and we had to haul it up, once balcony at a time?" "Yah and "someone started singing a pirate song" "Yah.. and "

don't cut it; don't wait;


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## Dadoo (Jun 23, 2007)

Fryed chicken and cold beer…I'll be there!

You could always just ship it to me too.


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## dalec (Oct 3, 2007)

Nice Bed, too nice to sit in a shop for 18 months.

What about renting/borrowing a hoist and lifting it up to the balcony?

Dalec


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## gbvinc (Aug 6, 2007)

Hoist it up with your buds, then lower it back down prior to the movers showing up. Nice headboard!


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## MarkM (Sep 9, 2007)

First of all beautiful work on the bed!

I'd say with a couple of friends you can hoist it to the first floor without a problem. Maybe have someone below guiding from a ladder so that it cannot bang into the balcony and a couple more people on the balcony to lift it up and over.

I work in a basement shop with a 90 degree turn in the stairs going up so I know what it's like. I always measure for a piece before I start building so that I can alter my plan to be sure that it can make it up and out…the things we woodworkers have to put up with!


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## Betsy (Sep 25, 2007)

I'm with the others. Don't cut it!!! Get some buddies and hoist that baby upstairs and then lower it back down before the movers come. It's to pretty to leave in the basement.


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## Radish (Apr 11, 2007)

Heave Ho! Great looking design and execution. I'm with the rest of us on getting it installed after all your hard work.


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## mot (May 8, 2007)

Hoist it up, sonny! Snap to and get it done. If you cut it, it will rain nails. If you leave it in the shop, you'll not get another nights sleep in Germany. Go get some rope!


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## Praki (Jun 17, 2007)

Hoist it. I see people doing it all the time with Pianos and shouldn't be such a big deal. If you are doing it yourself, wrap the edges up with some foam and it should be safe.


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## DanLyke (Feb 8, 2007)

Hoist it! Go by a bike shop to pick up some bike boxes for protecting the edges, and find someone who's got climbing experience to help you rig a good solid belay on it, but with a couple of buddies it shouldn't be a big issue.

And you can always call back those same buddies to help you lower it back down when you move.


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## Paul (Mar 13, 2007)

Don't even think about cutting it - much too beautiful to marr with a cut! Very nice work indeed.

My vote - hoist it.


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## Sgt_Lobo (Nov 2, 2007)

The military side of me says "keep in your shop, you've only got till may", but I am very impatient and would probably hoist it myself! Your work is extraordinary. This is a beautiful bed. I hope someday my skills improve to the point that I can create fine furniture like yours…


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## JasonH (Dec 2, 2007)

Hoist it! Don't hide your work…every night as you drift off to sleep on another bed, you'll wonder how much better it could be if you were sleeping on a bed of your own creation!

As for moving it out, do that yourself, too! I wouldn't trust movers to not damage the piece trying to get it out of the apt.

Great work!


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## Muzhik (Jan 26, 2007)

Wow! I didn't expect unanimous! I'll try to put a team together to do it next weekend.

At this point I'm trying to decide if I want to remove the railing to get that obstacle out of the way. On the one hand, it'll make things a whole bunch easier not having to maneuver the headboard over the rail or between the rail and the bottom of the balcony above.

On the other hand, it'll make the whole operation a bit more dangerous for the guys on that balcony, and I'll have to cut it in two places and repair it. I already know how I'm going to do that (just sleeve it and run bolts through so taht it is removeable in the future).

The question on that is, does the old adage "easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission" apply to a German landlord?


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## Dex (Dec 12, 2007)

Was fuer ein Meisterwerk!!! So, where are you stationed? I will be heading back over to Germany TDY the 6th of January. If you haven't moved it by then, and still need some help, let me know and I will see if I can make it! Just be sure to have some awesome German Bier! Oh, if you need help with the local lingo, I spent almost 9 years over there. If you move it up there before that, Viel Glueck!


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## lazyfiremaninTN (Jul 30, 2007)

Here is another idea…..go visit the guys at the fire station and offer a couple of cases of beer to get them to sneak the ladder truck over and use it to haul it up. Just an idea.

Adrian


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## Muzhik (Jan 26, 2007)

Vielen dank, Dex! I'm stationed at Ramstein. Hopefully I'll have it moved by 6 Jan, but if you're coming to K-town we could have a bier or three anyway.

Everyone else, I forgot to say thanks for the kind words. Just like all of you, probably, I'm my own worst critic. I look at all of my pieces and see the mistakes or what I would do differently if I had it to do again. Worst case scenario, if I drop it I'll have the "opportunity" to make another and incorporate those tweaks.


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## Muzhik (Jan 26, 2007)

Adrian, I've considered it. The Feuerwehr (which either means fire house or fire dept, I'm not sure) is right down the street from me, and they were out front smoking when I drove by last night. The only problem is that there is no way to get the truck down into my backyard. There is a steep hill on the side of the house opposite the one pictured, and it's pretty soft to boot.


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## lazyfiremaninTN (Jul 30, 2007)

I take it you live off post? How bout seeing if you could borrow the ground ladders and SLIDE it up VERY VERY carefully?

Adrian


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## gizmodyne (Mar 15, 2007)

Did you try it sideways?


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## Dex (Dec 12, 2007)

Fuerwehr means fire dept. Wehr basically means defense. If I can make it up to K-town, I will drop you a line. My German wife pretty much has most of my weekends planned out for me. Gotta go see friends and relatives in Bad Aibling, then I want to head up to Wiesbaden to see my old friends up there. Good luck!


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## Muzhik (Jan 26, 2007)

Yep, gizmodyne. I tried it sideways, too. In fact that's how I measured and was *sure* it would fit up the stairwell that way. The only problem is that it hits the bottom of the treads for the next flight of stairs when I turn it on end. We tried 3 different ways to get it up those steps. Again, I'm sure glad my shop at least has a walk-out door!

Adrian,
I should just stop by with some bier and see what they think, huh? I have no idea if their gear here is the same as a typical firehouse in the states. Then again, I have no idea what a typical firehouse in the states has, either. Everything I know about fire departments I learned from Dennis Leary on "Rescue Me."


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## Muzhik (Jan 26, 2007)

Well, thanks again for the advice, everyone. I took it, and I'm sure glad I did! I got two neighbors and three friends over this evening. We removed the balcony railing, moved my workbench out from the shop to the patio and raised the headboard from the ground to the top of the bench. With two guys standing on the bench, three on the balcony and one on the top balcony with a rope tied to the headboard (more to stabilize it than anything) we were able to easily get it into the bedroom. I've posted it in the projects section of this lumberjocks.


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

Glad the problem is solved. Looks nice.


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