If you're like most people, you probably have a dozen or more boxes under your bed, storing everything from board games to irreplaceable snapshots. In this workshop segment, Ron shows us a better way to use that space. With the help of his young friend, Jonathan McCleary, Ron builds an under the bed storage unit that is just perfect for storing Jonathan's huge Lego collection.
Click here for a list of what
you will need in order to complete this project.
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1. Drawing:
- Ron took Jonathan over to his drawing table to show him the sketch he had prepared. Basically the design was a large, relatively simple box designed to fit perfectly under Jonathan's bed. Jonathan had previously measured the dimensions and knew exactly how much room he needed from the floor to the underside of the bed. They made sure that Ron's design was just a little bit lower for clearance.
- View, download and print Ron's Under Bed Storage Unit drawings.
NOTE: Ron made a few changes that deviated from these original plans.
You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view these PDF files. If you do not have it, you can download Adobe Reader now.
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2. Cut wood:
- Jonathan moved to the power miter saw and began by cutting all the 1 X 6s that they would need for the sides of the storage unit.
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- Next, they cut joints on the ends of each board with the table saw. Ron had designed an interlocking rabbet joint for connecting the pieces.
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- Ron set up the saw with a dado blade. This actually consisted of three blades stacked together to form a wider blade. They passed the lumber over the dado blade to make the first cut out.
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- After cutting the rabbets on the ends, they switched to a narrower blade and cut grooves along the length of each board. Later, they would slide the bottom section of the storage unit into these grooves.
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3. Assembly:
- Once all the pieces were cut, they were ready to glue the box together.
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- They used glue brushes to paint glue onto the rabbet joints they had cut.
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- Ron tipped the sides of the box up to form the two end joints and then attached an adjustable clamp to hold the joints in place while the glue dried.
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- In addition to the glue, they used a nail gun and nails to further reinforce and strengthen the joints.
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- With three sides attached it was time to install the quarter inch plywood bottom before attaching the final side. Ron held the box firmly in place while Jonathan slipped the plywood into the grooves they had cut earlier.
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- Jonathan used a block of scrap wood and a hammer to tap the final few inches into place.
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- They attached the final side onto the box without gluing the bottom in place. This would allow for expansion and contraction.
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4. Wheels:
- To cut the wheels, they used a drill press with an attachment tool called a hole saw.
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- After cutting and sanding the wheel, and enlarging the center hole, Ron helped Jonathan prepare the axle. The first step was to drive the axle into the cap.
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- Jonathan put a couple of washers on the axle.
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