finally finished my daughter's bed

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bluedawg76

New User
Sam
Here's the bed I promised my daughter on her bday (Nov)...I mean Xmas....I mean New Year's (had to wait for a good mattress sale). Though she would have preferred white/pink with flowers, I convinced her that a more natural wood look would be timeless (and I really don't like painting). Construction is maple and walnut w/ M/T joinery. The tops are attached via dowels into the leg posts. The sides are joined via stub tenons and held in place w/ 6" hex bolts and barrel nuts (still need to get the bolt covers). This is one of the larger projects I've built, mainly just the sides -8" x 76.5". I had to build a new planer sled (melamine w/ a cleat) to joint these boards. The bed slats are 7/8" maple and are notched so that alignment dowels in the side rail keep them in place.

Notable firsts on this project (in addition to building a bed) were virtually no sanding prior to finishing -only hand planes a #3 and #4 Stanley bench planes and a Veritas LA jack. All the edges were chamfered w/ a #3 plane. I did a light hand sand w/ 400 to check for any rough spots (a few) after planing, but no need for the ros. Finish is oil/varnish followed by wax (no finish on the slats). Thanks for viewing.

Sam

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merrill77

Master Scrap Maker
Chris
Beautiful!

Do you think finish come out better without sanding? I think it does...but that is very subjective. I've been wanting todo a side-by-side test.
 

bluedawg76

New User
Sam
Beautiful!

Do you think finish come out better without sanding? I think it does...but that is very subjective. I've been wanting todo a side-by-side test.

I'm on the fence on this one as well- I'd like to think so, but wonder if it doesn't depend on the finish -a film finish may not matter as much as an oil/varnish (i.e. no film)? Definitely unfinished is a night and day difference though. My main reason was just how much i dislike sanding (a lot) vs. the number of bench planes I have (also a lot - 2 #3's, #4, #5, LA jack). I don't think it takes much longer to plane vs. sanding either. If the grain is well-behaved (which is almost never), planing is much faster.

Since I hone my blades free hand it only takes a minute or so and I can keep 'em real sharp throughout the process. Not to get on a sharpening rant, but I initially grind on the worksharp 3000 up to ~1000 grit and then hone on 15, 5, and 0.5 micron paper glued to glass. Unless, I chip a blade, I stick to the honing film thereafter. Also, I find that a close set chipbreaker (about a hairs width or two from the edge) and a tight mouth eliminate tearout altogether for my bench planes but the LA jack outperformed on the walnut for sure. Both the maple (soft) and walnut were pretty gnarly at times so the lack of tearout was a feel good moment for sure!
 

Bill Clemmons

Bill
Corporate Member
Great design AND execution, Sam. She'll definitely appreciate the natural wood long after the painted flowers phase has passed.

Bill
 
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