Holding Out Help:  Bunk Bed Extravaganza


Day One

Good first day, we got the first one all put together and Dad and Chuck got a great jig built that should help assemble the rest. The Biel’s did a good job on cutting boards and Kent and Dad got things prepped for tomorrow.


Thanks to : Chuck Travis, Kent and Lorna, Simon and Martin, Tim, Sheri, Sara and Aunika for their help today. 

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Day Two

Today we were able to assemble our first prototype and everything went together well after some modifications last night. We also finished cutting all the parts for the two end structures.

 

Chuck 1 (Travis) was awesome on the router table today and got all cut edges of the boards rounded over so there are no sharp corners. Chuck 2 (Gutzwiller), and I were able to layout and drill all the legs, these holes will be used for connecting the ends to the rails of the bed. Will, Cole, Ben and Peter were like bees creating a buzz as they sanded boards with reckless abandon. Pat and Chuck 1 were able to purchase, position, and attach webbing and slats for bed support for 5 of the beds, just a note, stay out of the way of Pat with a hammer staple, she knows how to swing that thing). Finally we were able to use the jigs (patterns) that we created yesterday to start putting end rails together, the jigs worked well and we got 4 more sets of ends put together. Lynn also knocked it out of the park with some chicken BBQ that was hard to not eat earlier in the day.

 

Tomorrow we will continue with sanding and assembly, we will have some more cutting and fitting for the bed slats, and we will start working on the cutting and fitting of the safety rails. There is more drilling and sanding work needed on the rails to get them ready for final assembly. Hopefully we can get most of this done so that we can clean up all the dust and start staining on Thursday (I think that the Early American is the color of choice at this point).. Thanks again for all the support and great responses to what we are doing.

 

Special thanks to:

Chuck 1, Chuck 2, Peter DeVries, Pat VanHeyst, Lynn Gutzwiller, Cole Hysong, Will Gutzwiller, Ben Gutzwiller,

Day Three


Another good day.  Chuck 1 and Cole finished off all the end frames.  Chuck 2 got all the safety rail cut and routered (I think that might be a made up word but I think you know what I mean).  Pat and Lorna attended Chuck #1 and Moe training session on the assembly and use of a jig (also known as a pattern) and then proceeded to knock out the 8 remaining rails.  Cole and I were able to finish off the drilling on the rails, and Moe Chuck 2 and I continued working on sanding.


Tomorrow Chuck 2 and I are taking the morning off for breakfast and a movie, we will be back at it around 2:30 as we prep for the start of staining, although there is still a lot of sanding to finish.


Special thanks to:  

Chuck #1 and Chuck #2, Lorna Sprik, Pat Van Heyst, Cole Hysong, Moe Veurink.

LOADING PLAYER…

Day Four


Dad and I started slow this morning but got things figured out on the bed with a double bed on the bottom. Then it was on to more sanding to finish up the rails. Peter and Holly dug in along with Chuck #2. Chuck #1 continued his teaching ways as Holly, Ian and Colin worked on layout, and assembly of the rail pieces. Mike and Jill jumped in with Pat and Adam to finish off the slats for all 18 beds. After some great dinner we were joined by Josh and Lyndsay to start staining. All grabbed some gloves and then a brush, roller or rag to get all parts covered on one side. It is really amazing how much the stain makes this ordinary framing lumber and all its flaws look amazing (I am sure there is a sermon topic in there somewhere). 

 

Tomorrow we will continue the staining of the second side of all the ends and all the rails. Based on the speed to day I think this will go pretty quick. We will still plan on having pizza around 6. Lynn and I will need to step out to go see Adam play for the ICS pep band at the basketball game but would love to see all pieces with one coat of stain.

 

 

Special Thanks to: 

Chuck #1 and Chuck #2, Pat, Peter and Holly, Colin and Ian, Josh and Lyndsay, Mike and Jill, and Adam.

LOADING PLAYER…

Day Five

Well we got everything stained which I think is quite an accomplishment for a week of work. We had people on rollers, brushes, wiping, stacking and an emergency Home Depot run for more stain. Thanks again to all who have been involved, I have really enjoyed working with you and seeing this project come together. 

 

For today Special thanks to: 

Chuck 1 and Chuck 2, Peter, Pat, Mike, Jill and AnnLea, Tom, Drew and Cole. 

Thanks for finishing strong as the Gutzwiller clan had to leave early, nice work.

What's Next!

I think we will let all the stain dry for a little bit and then will slowly work on polyurethane coating. I think this will take longer for application and drying, I will be in touch when that is to start. From what I understand mid-February is when the house will be ready, we will keep you informed about a day to load up all the beds and go to the house and set everything up.

 

Thanks again, great working with you all as the hands of Christ for a little bit. I hope you can read up a little on Holding out Help and what they are doing for people in a very tough situation. Lynn and I are more than willing to share our story with Kendall and how our family has been forever changed by what Holding out Help is doing.