Walnut Sleigh Bed

[Mike Wilkins]

That is some fine woodworking. Love that Walnut. Really love those panels. I may have missed it, but what finish schedule did you use? Thanks.

[Pat Barry]

Hans, really nice work on this bed. I tend to disagree with your thoughts on the bed posts though. I think what you did here is the best possible finished results. Using laminated leg assembly, although likely a faster way, would not look nearly as good as your result with the solid material. Congratulations on a well executed project. Sometimes the easy way isn't the best way.

[Roy Wall]

Hans --

That is a Beautifully Designed Sleigh Bed -- excellent. It looks fantastic!

Tell me a bit more about the rail-to-post connections. Where did you get the hardware and does it lock solid? You happy with it, etc...

Roy........... jaw dropped at this beautiful piece of furniture.........

[Hans Braul]

Tell me a bit more about the rail-to-post connections. Where did you get the hardware and does it lock solid? You happy with it, etc....

Hi Roy,
Thanks for the comments. For the headboard I used bolts from Lee Valley:
http://www.leevalley.com/en/hardware...842,41269&ap=1
Because they require a medallion to cover the bolt hole if visible, I opted for this hook design for the footboard, also from Lee Valley:
http://www.leevalley.com/en/hardware...842,41269&ap=1
Although the bolts are supposed to only require one per end, I used two. They are as strong as anything and provide a VERY rigid assembly. The hooks are not as rigid, but with the headboard fixed, the overall bed assembly is extremely stiff. Easy to assemble and bullet-proof.
Regards,
Hans

[Hans Braul]

I may have missed it, but what finish schedule did you use? Thanks.

2 coats of walnut Watco Danish oil, followed by about 6 coats Minwax wipe-on poly.

Thanks for the kind comments!

Hans

[Hans Braul]

Hans, really nice work on this bed. I tend to disagree with your thoughts on the bed posts though. I think what you did here is the best possible finished results. Using laminated leg assembly, although likely a faster way, would not look nearly as good as your result with the solid material. Congratulations on a well executed project. Sometimes the easy way isn't the best way.

Pat,
Thanks for the comment. I was not suggesting I would laminate the legs. I agree with you - solid wood is the only way to go. I was referring to the stiles - i.e. the vertical pieces between the panels. For those, I could make curved laminations, incorporating the grooves into the laminations. There would be no evidence of the fact that the pieces were laminated, and it would be easier to do. I fully agree that the easiest way isn't the best way, but sometimes the best way isn't necessarily the hard way!

Regards
Hans

[Randy Bonella]

Hans, this is STUNNING!!!

What finish did you use?

I can't show this one to my wife otherwise I'll never finish any of the other projects in the shop at the moment.
Great Job and it is one on my list to do. Looking forward to seeing more detail.

Randy...

[Roy Wall]

Hans, this is STUNNING!!!

What finish did you use?

Randy...

Originally Posted by Mike Wilkins
I may have missed it, but what finish schedule did you use? Thanks.
2 coats of walnut Watco Danish oil, followed by about 6 coats Minwax wipe-on poly.

[Pat Barry]

Hans - yes - my misunderstanding - the stiles would work nicely to be laminated as you described. Once again, nice work!

[Jim Becker]

Masterful, Hans!!

[Hans Braul]

A few progress pics in no particular order...
Bed spoke L.jpgBed panels watco L.jpgBed plane L.jpgbed groove2 L.jpgBed stiles watco L.jpg
Finishing was done all advance (2 coats Watco followed by 5-6 coats wipe on poly), then the finished head and foot boards got one more coat after glue-up. One of the most critical parts was routing the grooves to accept the curved panels. This had to be accurate so there would be no slop.

Thanks to all for the kind comments. One of the real joys of doing woodworking is to share our work with others who know what's involved.

Regards
Hans

[Richard Goodwin]

Hi Hans,

a beautiful bed. I am in the process of designing one similar, however I was contemplating larger panels with only one stile in the middle. Your idea of laminating the stile is a good one. I am interested in how you did the forming, but don't quite understand your description above. What is a pattern router bit and I'm not sure what you meant by using dominoes? Also are you able to post more information re the design - height of head and foot boards etc?

[Dave Bower]

That's a beautiful bed and I love the walnut, my 2nd favorite wood!

[glenn bradley]

Beautiful piece Hans. I don't know how I missed this until now. Great design and very cool use of the veneer. Very well done.

[Nelson Howe]

Very nice! That walnut is exquisite.

Nelson