I know there are a lot of beginners that have joined here recently, and in response to Ken's thread, Why don't we each share one of our projects (that we have WIP pictures of), how we did it and which tools we used.
I guess I'll go first. :rotflm:
Project: Jatoba, king-sized, platform bed
This wood was originally three pieces. Two were about 8/4" x 6"x 10'. The other was a slab. Probably thicker than 8/4" x 16" x 12'. I had the guys at Anchor Hardwoods mill them down to about where I needed them. I'm not setup to resaw/plane/joint boards like that.
I started by measuring the mattress, how high I wanted it off the floor, etc. From there, I drew a rough sketch and calculated how much wood I needed. A good rule of thumb is to always get more wood than you need in case you make a mistake. :BangHead:
I started by making the headboard and footboard. Cut the boards to length (including the tenons) using the miter saw. These were originally 4 boards. I looked at the grain and matched them up the best I could. I used a table saw to saw out a groove on the edges that were going to be joined. Then I cut off a tongue to fit in the groove. I used tightbond 2 and glued them up using pipe clamps.
After that, I glued up the posts for the headboard and footboard. All cuts were made on the miter saw and table saw.
Then it was time to make the tenons on the headboard and footboard. I used a router with a straight bit and a "fence" to do the long sections. For the sides, I just cut them out with a coping saw.
Then it was time to make the mortises in the posts that would receive the tenons. There are several methods of doing this, but I used a drill and a chisel. Draw a centerline and center your drill bit on that line. To control the depth, I measured how deep I wanted to go on the drill bit and wrapped a strip of duct tape around the bit so I knew when to stop. I then cleaned them up with a chisel.
I used strap clamps to glue up the head and footboards to the posts.
Since I didn't have enough wood left, I edge-glued the board at the top and I think I used 1" dowel rods to keep them in line.
I wanted to add a little decorative piece between the top of the headboard and the top board, so I cut that out on the tablesaw and MS and used dowel rods to keep it in line for the glue up.
I can't find a picture of when I glued the top board onto the headboard, but I think I used dowel rods for that too.
After that, I made some decorative caps to go on the tops of the footboard posts and the bottoms of every post. I cut them out on the tablesaw and MS and rounded them over on the router table using a roundover bit.
Then I made some shoe molding. I did this by taking a board and running it across the RT with a roundover bit. Then I cut the strip on the tablesaw.
I then glued the caps on using two dowel rods per cap to keep them from turning if they ever came lose.
I then cut the shoe molding on the MS and initially tried drilling pilot holes for nails, but was breaking drill bits trying to drill pilot holes. :swoon: So I ended up just gluing it. :gar-La;
The side rails are connected to the head and footboard posts with mortise/tenon joints (not glued) :nah: and secured with corner braces. I cut a thing strip of pine on the tablesaw and screwed/glued that to the side rails to house the slats. I then made a center support piece that more or less resembles a floor truss. On top of the slats were two sheets of plywood that I cut with a circular saw.
I sanded using the random orbit sander. Starting with 60 grit and going up to 220. Then I sanded by hand up to 600. Cleaned it off with compressed air and mineral spirits. I applied one coat of Tung Oil with a lent-free applicator pad. Let that dry over night. Lightly sanded with 0000 Steel Wool. Cleaned that off with a rag and applied another coat.
And that's about it. I hope this has been somewhat informative. Got a bunch of phone calls while trying to do this post, so hopefully it made sense. :BangHead::BangHead::BangHead:
I guess I'll go first. :rotflm:
Project: Jatoba, king-sized, platform bed
This wood was originally three pieces. Two were about 8/4" x 6"x 10'. The other was a slab. Probably thicker than 8/4" x 16" x 12'. I had the guys at Anchor Hardwoods mill them down to about where I needed them. I'm not setup to resaw/plane/joint boards like that.
I started by measuring the mattress, how high I wanted it off the floor, etc. From there, I drew a rough sketch and calculated how much wood I needed. A good rule of thumb is to always get more wood than you need in case you make a mistake. :BangHead:
I started by making the headboard and footboard. Cut the boards to length (including the tenons) using the miter saw. These were originally 4 boards. I looked at the grain and matched them up the best I could. I used a table saw to saw out a groove on the edges that were going to be joined. Then I cut off a tongue to fit in the groove. I used tightbond 2 and glued them up using pipe clamps.
After that, I glued up the posts for the headboard and footboard. All cuts were made on the miter saw and table saw.
Then it was time to make the tenons on the headboard and footboard. I used a router with a straight bit and a "fence" to do the long sections. For the sides, I just cut them out with a coping saw.
Then it was time to make the mortises in the posts that would receive the tenons. There are several methods of doing this, but I used a drill and a chisel. Draw a centerline and center your drill bit on that line. To control the depth, I measured how deep I wanted to go on the drill bit and wrapped a strip of duct tape around the bit so I knew when to stop. I then cleaned them up with a chisel.
I used strap clamps to glue up the head and footboards to the posts.
Since I didn't have enough wood left, I edge-glued the board at the top and I think I used 1" dowel rods to keep them in line.
I wanted to add a little decorative piece between the top of the headboard and the top board, so I cut that out on the tablesaw and MS and used dowel rods to keep it in line for the glue up.
I can't find a picture of when I glued the top board onto the headboard, but I think I used dowel rods for that too.
After that, I made some decorative caps to go on the tops of the footboard posts and the bottoms of every post. I cut them out on the tablesaw and MS and rounded them over on the router table using a roundover bit.
Then I made some shoe molding. I did this by taking a board and running it across the RT with a roundover bit. Then I cut the strip on the tablesaw.
I then glued the caps on using two dowel rods per cap to keep them from turning if they ever came lose.
I then cut the shoe molding on the MS and initially tried drilling pilot holes for nails, but was breaking drill bits trying to drill pilot holes. :swoon: So I ended up just gluing it. :gar-La;
The side rails are connected to the head and footboard posts with mortise/tenon joints (not glued) :nah: and secured with corner braces. I cut a thing strip of pine on the tablesaw and screwed/glued that to the side rails to house the slats. I then made a center support piece that more or less resembles a floor truss. On top of the slats were two sheets of plywood that I cut with a circular saw.
I sanded using the random orbit sander. Starting with 60 grit and going up to 220. Then I sanded by hand up to 600. Cleaned it off with compressed air and mineral spirits. I applied one coat of Tung Oil with a lent-free applicator pad. Let that dry over night. Lightly sanded with 0000 Steel Wool. Cleaned that off with a rag and applied another coat.
And that's about it. I hope this has been somewhat informative. Got a bunch of phone calls while trying to do this post, so hopefully it made sense. :BangHead::BangHead::BangHead:
