[zhd]

Hi. I want to build a wardrobe and bed at the top space saving furniture. I actually never worked with wood at this size, just some shelves and precise hobby objects and diy stuff. I am all up to go, but there may be, and probably, aspects that a mere newbie like me may not be able to see. So i wanted to ask my adept craftsmans before I start buying equipment and designing. Would you suggest me to get into this or not? Consider these informations.

-I work obsesively precise. I am confident at designing, marking and cutting.
-I am planing to build it only with those equipments:
* I am going to buy a circular saw, found one at sale: Bosh PKS 66 AF which has guides for precise linear cutting.
*Two sawing horses.
*An electrical driver and driller(borrow from friend)
*Thats it :sweatdrop: I don't want to use milling machine. I am not able to find one and don't know how to use. I like sharp edges anyway :laughing:
-Going to use real wood, which is very uncommon and expensive here. Only avaliable as massive panel and timber. I am planning to buy timber and cut it as I want. I expect it to be cheaper and I will still able to work with real wood. I may get it cut to layers to local shop, than adjust rest with my own circ. saw.
-I don't expect it to be a state of art design. To me, the real wood texture itself is better than anything anyway. I have a boxy, two sliding panels design in my mind. So I don't need milling machine for dravers and cabinets hinges.

 

[woodnthings]

maybe, maybe not...

As a complete newbie, can I build a wardrobe?
"Hi. I want to build a wardrobe ...... and bed .... at the top ... space saving furniture."
Are these separate pieces?

"-Going to use real wood, which is very uncommon and expensive here."
Do you not want to use "plywood" ?


"I don't want to use milling machine. "
Do you mean a planer which will thickness the wood to a given dimension?



What do you mean by these statements? Explain please.

You did not mention clamps., which are necessary to join "real wood" together into wider panels

Do you have plans or a drawing which is necessary to proceed?.
Based on the above, I'd say maybe not. :no:

 

[GeorgeC]

Welcome to the forum. It will be a pleasure to have you here. Where are you from?

I do not understand " I want to build a wardrobe and bed at the top space saving furniture."

By buying timbers do you mean trees/logs? You will definitely need to have those milled into planks. If you do have or have access to a jointer/planner you need to also have them milled into finished lumber. You could finish with hand planes, but it would be a large task.

Without knowing details of your skills and tool availability it say it is certainly possible to build wardrobes and beds with hand tools. Our ancestors certainly did it.

George

 

[amckenzie4]

As with the others, I'm not entirely sure what you mean by "wardrobe and bed at the top."

That said:

Yes, you can build a wardrobe and bed, even as a beginner. As I see it, the biggest difference between a beginner and an expert is that the expert will use less time and material. As a beginner, you're likely to mis-cut at least one piece, which means you'll have to replace it or work around the error somehow. You may find partway through that there's a problem with your plans that you didn't realize before you started, and have to stop and revise. An expert will have an easier time working around errors and revising plans mid-build.

With only the tools you listed (circular saw, sawhorses, and drill/driver), you're going to be very limited in what you can do. I recommend adding at least a good random orbit sander and, if it's not included with the saw, and 8+ foot piece of aluminum guide-track for the saw. The sander, in particular, will make finishing a lot easier and leave you with a nicer finish.

 

[cabinetman]

We have an introduction section where you can say a few words about yourself. If you fill out your profile in your "User Control Panel", you can list any hobbies, experience or other facts. You can also list your general geographical location which would be a help in answering some questions.

You didn't mention if and what type of space you have to work in. Can you do it? Well, that depends on how determined you are, and if you can budget your work as need be. You can get help here along the way through your project. At some point you will have to decide if it's an appropriate project, before you start buying materials and tools.

.

 

[Chris Curl]

By buying timbers do you mean trees/logs? You will definitely need to have those milled into planks. If you do have or have access to a jointer/planner you need to also have them milled into finished lumber. You could finish with hand planes, but it would be a large task.
George

this is the part that I was curious about as well. if you buy timber (logs), and don't have someone mill them for you, then how do you intend to turn them into planks that can be used for your project? A circular saw won't do that for you. Is that what you are referring to when you say "cutting layers" at a local shop?

 

[zhd]

Thanks for warm welcome!

Ok, it seem like my english failed

What I want to build is samthing like this. But instead of desk, a wardrobe at the bottom.

By milling machine I meant this: (I (think) wont need it because I am fine with sharp edges, with a little sanding of course)

And I by real wood, I meant natural wood. Avaliable as like this, called "masif wood" here.

Of course this is expensive So thought I can get away with buying timber and get it into planks at local shop. When I said "I may get it cut to layers to local shop, than adjust rest with my own circ. saw." I tried to say this. My english The "real wood thing" is this, when I touch the furniture, I want to feel "wood".

These exaples are not "real wood" to me be because its laminated with a wood looking plastic(melamine) at the surface. MDF as you know and "Sunta" as it called here:

I dont know about plywood, can you show what is it? I looked at google, some places sell it. But at the description it always say it is used for cement molding. It maybe different than what you use there. But it looks very strong and if it doesn't have melamine like material at the surface, and cheaper, I would use it with plasure.

 

[mikeswoods]

ZHD---Welcome---your English is not bad at all---just some of your wood working terms are a bit confusing--

The design you posted looks like a simple enough project---the 'milling machine' is called a 'router'---the cutting tools that fit in it are called 'router bits'

That project could be done with a circular saw and some hand tools---a set of chisels will be needed to make joints that will support the bed---

What part of the world are you from? I don't recognize the wood used in the glued up panels---handsome wood---Mike---

 

[BernieL]

Welcome from NH (North East USA).

I would recommend you use plywood which is made from "real" wood. Plywood is reconstructed wood. It is made from thin layers of wood which are crisscrossed which makes it very strong and stable. One thing you need to know about wood is that it will always move (generally speaking it gets bigger in hot humid weather and smaller in cold drier climate). Wood only moves across its' grain, not lengthwise. Because plywood is made from thin crisscrossed layers of real wood, it will not move. The only problem with plywood is that you can see the layers on the edges, but that problem can be solved by using edging. There are 2 ways to hide the layers. You can cut thin strips from planks or you can buy edging in a store that comes in a roll with glue. The rolled veneer is applied with a hot iron that melts the glue.

Like others have said, you can accomplish the build, but you have a big task with the few tools and limited experience. This is a good place to learn if you ask the right questions - but considering you're from a different part of the world, try to ask your questions with pictures because by "milling machine", we all thought you were talking about planners and jointers, not a router (which is the "milling" machine you showed us).

Welcome and good luck... I'm sure we will help you when we can.

 

[Chris Curl]

I dont know about plywood, can you show what is it? I looked at google, some places sell it. But at the description it always say it is used for cement molding. It maybe different than what you use there. But it looks very strong and if it doesn't have melamine like material at the surface, and cheaper, I would use it with plasure.

this is plywood. it is used for all sorts of things, not just cement molding. As you can see, the grain in each layer is perpendicular to the grain of the layers next to it.

 

[amckenzie4]

There are a lot of grades (quality levels) of plywood. Cement molding is usually something like C/C, meaning it's not very good on either side. I've built shop furniture out of A/C, meaning it has one really nice side and one not very nice side. I've also used what some stores here (Massachusetts, USA) call "cabinet grade", which is basically A/A.

I'd be surprised if they aren't all available wherever you live, but I haven't tried buying wood anywhere but the USA yet.