A friend’s faithful pupper was getting older and reached out to discuss a set of steps to aid in accessing the bed. Not being an experienced woodworker or furniture maker, I jumped at the chance to collaborate on something that would get regular use and solve an existing problem. Products available online didn’t satisfy the desired aesthetic. Once I suggested it could double as extra storage we were locked into the design stage!
This was my first project ever using something nicer than MDF, pine board or sanded ply. I bought two full sheets of 15/32 birch veneered ply for the project (oooh, aaah!). I designed it with the space of my Avid CNC Benchtop Standard 2x3 in mind (now For Sale). Everything cut with a 1/4" straight plunge 2-flute except the shelf pin holes.
The rear locker has holes for shelf pins and the front step is removable. The owner chose the pulls, hinges and covering. The treads are 3/4" pine. It’s built with pocket screws and a little glue and brads where I thought it made sense. It went together like a dream, everything was perfectly square and landed exactly where it was drawn in Fusion. The Benchtop Standard machine did exactly what was asked and never skipped a beat. This would have been a single layout on a larger machine but I had to do it in 5 or 6.
