Jamie Posted May 4, 2021 Share Posted May 4, 2021 Turned out awesome Chet! Love how the finish brought them to life! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted May 4, 2021 Share Posted May 4, 2021 (edited) Very well done Chet. I agree with Bryan! Edited May 4, 2021 by Coop 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tmize Posted June 7, 2021 Share Posted June 7, 2021 I agree with Bryan the faux tenon thru the front was to busy. The way you cleaned it up took the piece to another level great job. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted August 26, 2021 Author Share Posted August 26, 2021 I started the bed on this project a few weeks back and it has been slow going for a few reasons. One even in retirement I only spend 4 or 5 hours a day in the shop because there are other things like reading the paper and drinking coffee. Second and more of an effect on this project is the size of it and the size of my shop. Building a king bed in a two car sized shop is a chore. At first I was thinking that I would build the foot board get it out of the way and then the head board. Then reality set in, first thing is there are two legs for the foot and two for the head board, also there are three raised panels on each and you are just asking for problems milling the foot board parts first and then trying to duplicate the set-ups when you start to work on the head board. Along with this there are stile and rail parts that are similar. This is a long way of saying I have parts stacked all over the shop and every time I want to us a tool there is something that needs to be moved. Needless to say this slows things down. I haven't been real diligent in my photo taking but here are some to catch you up. The first thing i did was a bent lamination for a piece that will be the top molding for the head board. I started here because I wanted to make the form, us it and then get it out of the way and out of the shop. I also want to use the finished molding to draw my shape on the panel that the molding will go on so they match up nicely. This was the finished molding, it is a little over an inch square. At the same time I started gluing up the legs. I used Poplar in the center and 4/4 sapele front and back. These are the foot board legs with the head board legs lurking in the background. Next I glued on a 1/8 inch thick veneer to hide the glue lines. Head board legs. Foot board legs. After this I worked on the raised panels, no work in process pictures just the final product. The end grain cove took a lot of hand sanding clear up to 400 to get it to look like the edge grain coving. I think they all came out pretty nice but I did give more attention to the head board panels (top) as far as matching up the grain to hide glue lines because when you walk into the room they will be more eye level. Each of the 6 panels is made up of three pieces. I am using floating tenons all around so next up I cut all my mortises in the foot board stiles and rails. The stiles were first using my mortising jig and a 3/8 up spiral bit. I cut them 1 1/2 inches deep. Now I don't want you all laughing at this next picture. The rails are 69 inches long and to cut the mortises in the ends I need to get my jig about 70 inches high. So I built a down and dirty platform 29 inches tall to clamp my jig to. I wasn't going to pay the current silly prices for some construction lumber ,but I did have a neighbor having their kitchen remodeled and I found a couple of scraps of 2 X 10 in his tear out pile that would work along with a couple of pieces of ply on my part. I had to stand on a stool. Then I made a bunch of tenon stock out of scraps. A dry fit of the foot board. 4 Quote "Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for." - Epicurus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted August 26, 2021 Share Posted August 26, 2021 Another awesome project! Interesting choice in the legs with the Poplar centers.. I'm sure you've thought of it but, would love to hear your thoughts around wood movement.. I think I know the answer but, best to let you describe it.. Your bent lamination form is extremely interesting! Curious about the kerf'd clamping strip! Love the raised mortising set up! I'd of like to have been there drinking a cold one while you did this! 😂 Fantastic design! Very unique! Curious what the inspiration was? As for the space, having been in your shop, I completely understand! When I did my first shop, my thinking was that open floor space should be filled with tools. In the second shop, I had no control over the space but understood the importance of open floor space.. In the current shop, I was able to account for that space. It's actually kind of funny but, I've done a King bed in each of those shops so truly appreciate what you're dealing with! Guessing you're doing dry assemblies in your living room? Fantastic build and workmanship as aways! Thanks for taking us along! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted August 26, 2021 Share Posted August 26, 2021 That is some fantastic work and progress Chet! I especially like the grain patterns in the panels of the footboard. I at first questioned the direction of the grain in the upper panels compared to the lower panels but I think it to be a great choice. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted August 26, 2021 Author Share Posted August 26, 2021 11 hours ago, Kev said: I'm sure you've thought of it but, would love to hear your thoughts around wood movement.. I didn't think there would be a problem but the fact that you brought it up has me concerned. What comes to you mind? Quote "Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for." - Epicurus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted August 26, 2021 Share Posted August 26, 2021 12 minutes ago, Chet said: I didn't think there would be a problem but the fact that you brought it up has me concerned. What comes to you mind? Maybe nothing.. What got me thinking was the thick Sapele. Obviously the grain is run correctly but, I'm sure sure if there will be more/less movement from one species to the other? I certainly don't see this being an issue on the thin veneer and I'm not so sure it will be with the thicker stuff.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted August 26, 2021 Author Share Posted August 26, 2021 Well I am doing some research to see if I screwed the pooch on this one. We just don't see a lot of movement where I live. I don't work recklessly because of it, I still try to think about wood movement. I never thought about different species together. I did find this on Woodweb - Q. I am laminating three layers of 3/4" stock. Since only the exterior layers of the lamination are visible, I'm considering using poplar for the center. My question: is it all right to face glue different species in lamination? This piece will be placed in Tucson, Arizona. A. It is okay to laminate different species so long as the top and bottom are identical thickness and species. It is okay to laminate under any conditions if the MC will never change--it is only when the MC changes that the different shrinkage could (but not always) cause a little warp. - Professor Gene Wengert is Extension Specialist in Wood Processing at the Department of Forestry, University of Wisconsin-Madison. 1 Quote "Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for." - Epicurus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted August 26, 2021 Share Posted August 26, 2021 9 minutes ago, Chet said: Well I am doing some research to see if I screwed the pooch on this one. We just don't see a lot of movement where I live. I don't work recklessly because of it, I still try to think about wood movement. I never thought about different species together. I did find this on Woodweb - Q. I am laminating three layers of 3/4" stock. Since only the exterior layers of the lamination are visible, I'm considering using poplar for the center. My question: is it all right to face glue different species in lamination? This piece will be placed in Tucson, Arizona. A. It is okay to laminate different species so long as the top and bottom are identical thickness and species. It is okay to laminate under any conditions if the MC will never change--it is only when the MC changes that the different shrinkage could (but not always) cause a little warp. - Professor Gene Wengert is Extension Specialist in Wood Processing at the Department of Forestry, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Like I said, you're probably fine. Just got me thinking.. I do know we do cutting boards like this all the time and they seem to hold up. Wasn't my intention to screw up your day doing a bunch of research.. Apologies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted August 26, 2021 Author Share Posted August 26, 2021 38 minutes ago, Kev said: Wasn't my intention to screw up your day doing a bunch of research.. Apologies! Nothing wrong with educating ones self here and there. It may make me of service down the road to someone else. Also I saw a chart that showed the radial and tangential shrinkage of wood. Both were 4.6 percent radial and sepele was 7.4 tangential and poplar was 8.2. These numbers were from green to kiln dried. So I would think that seasonal movement would be a pretty tiny fraction of that. 1 Quote "Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for." - Epicurus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted August 26, 2021 Share Posted August 26, 2021 14 minutes ago, Chet said: Nothing wrong with educating ones self here and there. It may make me of service down the road to someone else. Also I saw a chart that showed the radial and tangential shrinkage of wood. Both were 4.6 percent radial and sepele was 7.4 tangential and poplar was 8.2. These numbers were from green to kiln dried. So I would think that seasonal movement would be a pretty tiny fraction of that. That's interesting! I never worried about it with thin material and will now worry about it a bit less with thicker material. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted August 26, 2021 Author Share Posted August 26, 2021 16 hours ago, Kev said: Your bent lamination form is extremely interesting! Curious about the kerf'd clamping strip! I was out in the shop when I realized in talking about wood movement I failed to respond to some of your other questions. I don't know if you recall from Morris chair there was a top and bottom to the form for that arm laminations. Because of the length of this piece and the depth of the curve I thought that it would be a bit cumbersome during the clamping process to use something similar. Your do need some sort of caul or you will get bubbles in the lamination, so I went with some MDF kerfed about every 3/4" It worked real well. 17 hours ago, Kev said: Love the raised mortising set up! I'd of like to have been there drinking a cold one while you did this! Every time I got on the stool I bumped my head on a light fixture. I finally got smart enough to raise the fixture up. 17 hours ago, Kev said: Fantastic design! Very unique! Curious what the inspiration was? Just like the nightstands I am using the existing queen bed for ideas so everything look like it sort of belongs together. 1 Quote "Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for." - Epicurus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted August 27, 2021 Share Posted August 27, 2021 A+ on the wood / grain selection on the foot board Chet!! Looking forward to following along. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted September 8, 2021 Author Share Posted September 8, 2021 I made some caps for the legs. I started with some blocks 1 3/4" thick and the same width and depth as the legs. I set the table saw blade at 15° and cut the two short sides and then the two long sides, pushing a scrap behind them so I didn't get any digits tangled up in the saw blade. I took some lengths of scraps and made up some molding to go with the caps and also at the base of the legs. I there should be way more then needed of the three different moldings but I don't want to have to go back and recreate something at the last minute. Next thing up was to put a coat of shellac on the panels and the edges of all the stiles and rails before I start the glue ups. I put some blue tape on the edges where glue will be applied. The first glue up was the lower section that has the three panels. When that dried I added the horizontal panels and top rail. After that came out of the clamps I used a flush trim bit and straight edge to trim just a fuzz off of the edges so the legs will set perfectly flush with the panel section. This section was 69" in length and after running the router along it its now 68 31/32" 5 Quote "Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for." - Epicurus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted September 8, 2021 Share Posted September 8, 2021 Looking great! I'm sure a project this size presents some unique challenges in your shop..lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodenskye (Bryan) Posted September 9, 2021 Share Posted September 9, 2021 Looking really good Chet! They caps turned out really nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted September 9, 2021 Share Posted September 9, 2021 Chet, you actually cut the bevels on the caps after cutting the stock to 1 3/4” lengths? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted October 21, 2021 Author Share Posted October 21, 2021 Well I actually finished this project a couple of weeks ago but haven't been keeping up with it here so this is going to be a long update. This is the hardware I am using to attach the side boards to the legs each part sets flush in a sallow mortise and attaches with screws. I'm thinking it will be easier to rout the mortises for the hardware before gluing the legs to the foot board panel section. I have been working mainly on the foot board at this time, but as with some of the other steps it seems to make sense to do the mortises in all four legs and the two side boards at the same time. So first up was prepping the side boards. After milling them flat I need to rip them to width and cut them to final length. My shop doesn't have the space to do this on any of the stationary equipment, so I am using the track saw. Cleaned up one edge and the ripped to width. After ripping the two sides I was able to pretty up both edges on the jointer. This was the set up for cutting to length. I used my shorter track along with the TSO guide rail square. made up a jig to cut the mortises along with the plunge router and a 1/2 long pattern bit. Then leaving the jig in place as a guide I cleaned up the corners with a chisel. And the fit. The legs were pretty much the same process. I do have one more step to do on the legs. 2 Quote "Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for." - Epicurus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted October 21, 2021 Author Share Posted October 21, 2021 I had to cut a deeper mortise to provide clearance for the male portion of the hardware. I did this by placing the female piece in its mortise and tracing the slot. After I traced it I flipped the piece end for end and traced it again, this gave me the proper length for the mortise. I used the double fence with my router and a 1/4" up spiral bit. And this is the completed mortises in a mortise. After this I finished up a couple of things on the sideboards. First, I put a 3/8 dowel an inch back from the end. I did this from both sides instead of drilling one hole all the way through because the bit wasn't long enough. The reason for the dowel is I am screwing the hardware in place with 1 1/4" screws and the dowels will give the screws something a little more substantial to bit in to other then just the end grain. I start by using my dowel jig and then complete the hole after removing the jig. Glue the dowel in, flush cut it and sand it smooth. The last thing was to attach the ledge that the slates will rest on. When I did the glue up for the legs I didn't have any clamps long enough and I don't have enough of the proper length to even hook two together. So bought some good quality load straps which worked out real well. And it made cleaning up the little bit of squeeze out pretty easy. I did glue on the bottom molding for the legs before attaching the leg. This allowed me to glue it on with the leg standing on the flat surface my assembly table. This is the bottom of the leg. When the panel and leg glue up dried I did the top cap and molding on the two legs. I glued the pyramid cap on to the to of the leg, then the first molding is about an 1 1/2 strip with a cove at the top that blends it to the pyramid. After this I attached a second piece that has a chamfer on top and cove on the bottom. This is the results. 3 Quote "Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for." - Epicurus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted October 21, 2021 Author Share Posted October 21, 2021 There isn't enough room in the shop so I moved it out in front of the garage to be able to get a decent picture of the finished product. The headboard should go faster because I think I have worked out most of the kinks in the process. Like I mentioned before a lot of the parts for the headboard were done at the same time as the footboard because of using the same set ups for both. The only part that still need to be made was the top panel. The panel had a curve at the top and again because of the space in my shop I couldn't use the bandsaw for the cut so I used my jigsaw. I cleaned up the edge with a spoke shave. At this point I was like a horse headed for the barn and ceased to remember to take any pictures, but basically the only other thing I did before starting all the glue ups was to cut a rabbet along the bottom of the curved top panel and the top edge of the top rail to glue the two pieces together. The rest of the glue up was the same as the footboard. Completed headboard. My intention was to have the top panel have a recessed appearance similar the top drawer of the nightstands with the same band of molding right below it. We completely emptied to bedroom and I shampooed the carpet. Then the next day I set everything up. This picture got taken before the slats were in place. And the new mattress, which instantly made this project very expensive, arrived the next morning. The nightstands have gained a rich dark color since bringing them in the house, I can't wait until the bed is the same. This project was also an interesting milestone, with the exception of two couches and my wife's piano all the furniture in our house has now been made by me. 6 Quote "Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for." - Epicurus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodenskye (Bryan) Posted October 22, 2021 Share Posted October 22, 2021 Great job Chet! The bed and the nightstands look better than anything you could buy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted October 22, 2021 Share Posted October 22, 2021 Very well done Chet! Beautiful work. The post caps look great and good idea regarding the dowels. I would never have thought about the straps in lieu of clamps! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted October 22, 2021 Share Posted October 22, 2021 Awesome work as usual Chet! I always enjoy your journals! The furniture in the room really looks great! It always amazes me how dark Sapele gets over time! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie Posted October 29, 2021 Share Posted October 29, 2021 Amazing job! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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