The project was a success! I hit some road blocks. The first problem was that I don’t have a framing square. I thought that was no big deal. However, I learned later that was an issue. As a result, my initial cabinet looked lopsided. So, I had to get creative to remount the face panels AFTER the bed was fully assembled. I did this by prying the plywood free (I thought this might be a problem so I didn’t put the screws in at first) then laying the plywood face panels on the floor in front of the bed then laying the bed back on its face and adjusting it to fit then screwing it. I then had to trim the top of the cabinet so it would fit inside. It now looks great.
I used a couple of ikea dresser pulls for the handles and got some metal molding from Home Depot. I didn’t like the idea of the edging tape. Especially because I knew I would be using a steel wool and vinegar solution to Stain.
The steel wool and vinegar solution is very easy to make and use. I bought the finest steel wool available. Then soaked it in vinegar. All you need is 12 hours. I had it dissolved for 2 weeks though. The vinegar breaks down the steel and when you paint on the solution the wood reacts to what you see. You can see the Unstained wood in the final phot to see the reaction difference.
I winged it on the strap installation. I couldn’t find that in the instructions. I ended up just using some washers and putting that into the frame with a wood screw. Maybe I missed th instructions for that?
Overall I thought the project came out good. I did have to by Forster bits. Then, I almost went out to get a spade bit to drill the bed frame holes. However, I realized I could use a Forster bit for that task as well. You might want to consider including that in the instructions.
Thanks for your product and for sending me the cut list early. I was happy to get the cutting done early!
Thanks again
Hans Menos
Jersey City, New Jersey