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Murphy, trundle beds

Murphy bed order 33207

packaged

received 30 Sept
no damage visible while strapped to pallet (images)





torn plastic wrap at corner




crack visible after unstrapping and removing top load

FedEx lady called Monday, delaying delivery from Tuesday to Wednesday,
saying that driver would notifiy about 30 minutes before arrival.

Wednesday, driver just delivered pallet, leaving before we were aware.
The good: pallet was left near garage instead of at curb..

parts moved to living and dining room
Panels are heavy;
panel carrier (red arrow) absolutely needed for largest:



damage

Panels 33, 35; can laminate be flattened and reglued?
(3-way clamps and Gorilla Max Strength Construction Adhesive ordered)


about 2 inches of panel 2 edge laminate loose.


back corners of 11 and 29


panels 52, 71; will these clean up??

seemingly unlisted parts:

Friday, 2 Oct
labels for damaged or missing panels

panel 2


panel 11


panel 29


panel 33


panel 35


labels on panels like missing panels:
missing panel 69, like 50


missing panel 70, like 51

assembly step 1: "tab A in slot B"


some cam holes too shallow (15mm Forstner bit ordered):

A jig is wanted for holding pins normal to panel surfaces.
Mine is a 9/32 hole by drill press in wood scrap:

IMO, inserting cams in holes before pin insertions
unnecessarily risks cam alignment issues;
cam insertions after pin insertions work fine
except when cam holes are too shallow...

assembly step 6: headboard helper

18" box supported one end of headboard
while engaging cams at the other end.
wish labels had been glued to panels' hidden sides...

3 Oct step 16: heavy lifting
Upper cabinet with back weighs around 180lbs;
no way do I lift that 34" onto lower cabinet by myself...
Once stacked, units become IMO effectively immobile. Consequently:
  • First lower cabinet should be at its final location before stacking.
  • Assemble and locate lower bed cabinet before second side unit.

(mis)alignment issues Step 16 diagrams could be more helpful
  • ignore that bed cabinet is not already screwed to right cabinet.

  • ignore side alignment completely
    upper side cabinet base panels are about 3/16" deeper than side panels;
    - 1/8" in front, 1/16" in back
  • Upper and lower side cabinet side panel widths differ:

    right side of right cabinet


    left side of right cabinet


    right side of left cabinet

    • assembly step 18: upper bed cabinet Panel 5 also has shallow cam holes; effectively halting assembly
    pending 6 Oct Forstner bit delivery
    6 Oct:   Forstner bit, 3-way clamp delivered
    15mm Forstner cures shallow cam holes.


    Laminate scarring minimized using rubber pads,
    hardboard and parchment paper with 3-way clamp.


    Panel 35 damaged edge laminate less than perfect result
    using just heat and pressure, no glue.


    Better panel 33 result, stuck flat by
    a drop of Gorilla Max Strength Construction Adhesive.

    8 Oct:   panels 9 and 27
    Too large and heavy for me to simply manhandle up stairs;

    - clamps and wood block hold one upright on hand truck
    - strap and panel carrier lash it to hand truck

    9 Oct:  panels 69 and 70 delivered.

    10 Oct:   Step 21 fail

    Some sort of temporary brace for upper bed cabinet
    replacement panels 39 and 40 bottoms will be improvised.



    Step 30 - a sick joke?
    Lowering very heavy panels 9, 27 onto cam pins is IMO crazy.
    Any time smaller pieces can be offered up to larger,
    why would you not?
    Panel 26 has edge laminate damage near its center;
    I had checked only corners during initial inspection...

    Heating and clamping mostly cured this.

    step 32 for pre-drilled holes specifies 8x1.25" screws, not supplied.
    Provided 6x1.25" screws seem small for predrilled holes, but are used.

    Oct 13:  step 35 should IMO be part of step 32.

    13 Oct:  step 36 clarifications
    - '3/4" #6 Flat Head Phillips' are actually 1/2"
      (unlabelled packet, not in hardware inventory list)

    - Small Rollers' offset direction is reportedly unimportant

    Oct 16
    Two replacement panels delivered,
    but one is wrong (50 instead of 39).
    Repaired damage around cam hole in panel 22
    using a clamp
    and Gorilla Max Strength Construction Adhesive.

    Oct 22
    Replacement panel 39 delivered intact;
    assembled into upper bed cabinet
    weighing over 70 pounds,
    which was then braced for installation
    using lumber scavenged from the pallet,
    with protectors on side cabinet leading corners.

    Several strong helpers wanted...

    Thursday, 1 Oct
    Trundle bed delivered and assembled: