Need Help in Cincinnati

[Mike McCann]

I am building bunk beds for my brother out of Cherry and the plans call for 2 1/2" square posts. I have checked my regular source for lumber and they do not carry thick enough stock. I would rather not laminate thin boards together. ANy one know who carries 3" thick lumber or has a solution for building the posts.

thanks

Mike

[Brian Tymchak]

Mike,

Mutterspaw Lumber in Xenia might be able to help you out. I haven't personally shopped with them but they are pretty well known in SW and Central OH. I just checked their domestic price list (http://www.crlumber.com/domestic.html). They don't show 12/4 cherry but they do have other species in 12/4.

Brian

[Jerome Stanek]

Check with Keim Lumber in Charm OH they have many different kinds of wood.

[Steve Mcmahon]

Mike

Check out craigslist - http://cincinnati.craigslist.org/mat/2137458748.html

He looks to have what you want in milford

By the way did you grow up in Sharonvile and go to Moeller? If so I think we know each other

[Michael Schneider]

I have had good luck at Wilhelm's.

It is just an exit or two off 74 in Indiana.

They have a real nice pile of shorts there are are dirt cheap. Worth a look while you are there.

Wilhelm Lumber Co Inc


Address: 9098 Saint Peters Rd
Brookville, IN,
47012-8320

Phone: 812-576-3380
Fax: 812-576-3044

[Mike McCann]

Hey guys thanks, Chad at Muterspaw already emailed he does not carry I will have to check out Wilhelm and Keim.

Steve I am from Brooklyn, NY so I do not think so but thanks for the lead on that wood in Milford

[Neil Brooks]

Out of sheer curiosity, and ... no judgment meant here ... why the preference for the 3" stock, rather than gluing up thinner stock ?

Personally, I find this kind of glue-up simple. It also adds stability to the wood, often reducing warpage over time.

[Greg Portland]

I would NOT use a solid 3" piece of wood for multiple reasons: cost, stability, and visual appeal. If you join four 4/4 boards together with lock miters then you can get the same grain pattern on all four faces (E.G. QS grain for mission furniture). The resultant structure will also be more stable. Fine Woodworking #121 has an article on this technique (Stickley Style Legs). If you are mortising the column then include additional wood on the interior @ those mortising points during the glueup.

[Dave MacArthur]

I would consider making the post out of 4 mitered boards, one on each face, it's a great look and very stable and strong. Randy Klein has a bed he made in Projects, one of the very early pages, where he built the posts this way, and the ability to put quarter-sawn beauty on all four faces is a huge advantage. Search projects for Randy Klein and "bed".

[Matthew Sherman]

Check out http://www.bonesteelmillandmolding.com I haven't dealt with them, but have them bookmarked for possible future wood. They list 2 inch, but seem like a smaller operation and might be willing to cut some for you.
Or http://www.frankmiller.com has 10/4 and 12/4 cherry listed.

[Dave Lehnert]

Did you check out Hardwood Lumber and More in Milford?
https://www.hardwoodlumberandmore.com/Default.aspx
Also do a search for a guy who owns a woodmizer sawmill at Lake Lorelei. He has air dry lumber fore sale. He advertises sawmill service on Craigslist. Think he list Fayetteville, OH. as his home address.
http://www.lakeloreleiohio.com/lakeloreleiohio/Directions.html

A number of years ago I got thick cherry at Whites lumber in Morehead Ky.

[Randy Klein]

I would consider making the post out of 4 mitered boards, one on each face, it's a great look and very stable and strong. Randy Klein has a bed he made in Projects, one of the very early pages, where he built the posts this way, and the ability to put quarter-sawn beauty on all four faces is a huge advantage. Search projects for Randy Klein and "bed".

Here's the link (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?68898-First-Project-Finally-Complete&referrerid=5960) for how I made the legs. It's real easy and makes perfect bunk bed legs when you consider joining the two.

As an update, I finished the other bed and have recently bunked them. It was a perfect fit. A 3 foot, 1" oak dowel from the Borg fit the cavity perfectly. It bottomed out on the bolt of the lower bed and stops just shy of the bolt in the upper bed. Bottom line, the bunk bed is solid, like a tank.

[Charlie Barnes]

+1 on Wilhelm. If they don't have the thickness you are looking for in stock, I'm sure they can cut it for you. I've been buying from them for at least 15 years and highly recommend them.

Having said that, I think there's some merit to the idea above about having face grain on all 4 sides. I did something similar when I built my youngest son's bed a few years back and it turned out nicely.

Good luck either way.

[Chris Padilla]

Here's the link (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?68898-First-Project-Finally-Complete&referrerid=5960) for how I made the legs. It's real easy and makes perfect bunk bed legs when you consider joining the two.

As an update, I finished the other bed and have recently bunked them. It was a perfect fit. A 3 foot, 1" oak dowel from the Borg fit the cavity perfectly. It bottomed out on the bolt of the lower bed and stops just shy of the bolt in the upper bed. Bottom line, the bunk bed is solid, like a tank.

Nice job on those legs!