Beer and Power Tools: October 2006

Making beer is easier than you might think. After you invest the time and energy in learing how to do it, buy the equipment an all the books you too can enjoy the fruits of your labor and stumble into the hall closet, drop your drawers in a drunken stupor and piss into the hall closet (thinking it is a bathroom). A very rewarding thing. You can start easy with the syrupy stuff and (if you prefer) graduate to all grain brewing like I have. I have acquired three 15 gallon kegs and have modified them to include in my all-grain setup. The stainless steel kegs have been modified with their tops cut off and weldless fixtures mounted to drain the kegs throughout the process. Keg 1 is my lauter tun (Holds heated water at about 175 degrees F), keg 2 is the mash tun (holds the beer ingredients to form the basis of the beer) and the wert (the boiling vessel). After experience with Ales I plan to do lagering next and will modify my freezer to maintain the colder temperatures.

I am a consumate tinkerer. I seem to seek out things I have never done, get hooked, learn it, then move on to the next thing. My latest addiction: Furniture making. So I decided to build my own queen size pencil bed. Revelations included the need for more power tools, hand tools, techniques and a place to buy the raw lumber. I found a jointer at Sears for $400, too much for a hobby I am not sure of. Then a friend told me about Harbor Freight. I got a chinese made jointer

for $250 and after 5 hours of assembly I got to ruin my first piece of wood. The saying goes "You get what you pay for" is a correct one, but, the tool will do with some minor adjustments. Once I learned how to adjust the jointer knives my first bedpost came out. I got the lumber locally from a place called Northland Forest Products in Troy, Va. I bought a wood workers magazine and got some ideas. I decided to do the octogon corners with a hand plane. What a beautiful tool. ($10 at Harbor Freight)The finish comes out so smooth that even the finest grain sandpaper could not match. As I said, I ruined the first post but keep it around as a test piece to pratice on. The second piece is perfect. I needed a way to cut the angles into the posts so I found a bandsaw on sale at Sears, $140. Not too bad and it works great

My jointer cleaned up the angles enough to get rid of the gouges and the rough cuts. I used a hand plane to cut in the remaining 4 sides to make the octogon.

I plan to connect the side rails and footboard with mortise and tennons. The headboard will float in a mortise. All sides will be connected with bed bolts. The finish is 1/2 part Olympic Gel Stain (Cherry) and 1/2 part Minwax American Brown. Top coat is Deft brushed lacquer.

Wood:
All American Cherry
(3) 5/4x9" by 8' boards ripped to 2-3/4" boards for the Posts. ($120)
(2) 5/4x8" by 8' boards ripped to 7" boards for the side rails. ($80)
(2) 4/4x10" by 6' boards ripped to 9" boards for the headboard. ($44)
(1) 5/4x10" by 6' board ripped to 9" for the foot board
($45)
(1) 5/4x8 by 8' board ripped to 7" for the headboard rail.
($40)
Bed Rail Fastener ($25)
Bed Bolts ($25)
(8) Bolt Covers ($48)

Total unfinished Price: $427
Comparable New Chinese made bed: $1200
Pride from doing it myself : PRICELESS