New Bed Project with Pics! FINISHED!!

[John Scane]

Hey All,

I finally finished and delivered the bed. They were very happy with it and next I will start the 2 nightstands to go with it then the dresser.
Here are some of the final pics of it.



Slats to hold matress, made from poplar. After cutting all the pieces to length and width I cut the notch in each end with the router table then rounded over all edges with a small router and a 1/8 "roundover bit.



dowels hold the slats in place.





Without



And finally...With mattress, finished, delivered and done !

It was a fun project. The wood and materials ended up costing about $1200.00 and I put about 120 hours into it. It is the first bed I've made so there was a big learning curve so I think I can get the hours lower on a similar project.

Thanks for looking and I hope it was informative.

John

[Chris Rosenberger]

Very Nice.

[Mark Singer]

John,

That really came out great! The joinery is tight ...the finish is beautiful! Is that your tung oil...varnish...turpentine mix?

[John Scane]

Thanks.

Mark, that's the mix ...I just mix the 3 together using oil mostly then varnish then turp. The later coats can have more oil and varnish in them and less turp but I am not very scientific about it...it's always different. You can really get a good shine to it if you are patient and do a lot of coats. I like a satin/ slight gloss finish so I don't do too many. I think the bed only has 3 coats but i've put more on other things and it gets really glossy. Also the more coats you put on the more durable the finish is.

[John Scane]

Hey Mark,

Do you still think the curve in the back is wierd ? My other friend Lars doesn't really like it but I think maybe it's a subjective thing ? ? The clients really love it so I guess that's all that matters now. I go back and forth looking at it, I think over all I like it but I don't know if I would do it that way again. That's the fun thing about all this is taking what you've done and moving/expanding the idea further.

I'll talk to you later

John

[Dan Forman]

Beautiful bed, the contrasing woods work well together.

Dan

[lou sansone]

Hey Mark,

Do you still think the curve in the back is wierd ? My other friend Lars doesn't really like it but I think maybe it's a subjective thing ? ? The clients really love it so I guess that's all that matters now. I go back and forth looking at it, I think over all I like it but I don't know if I would do it that way again. That's the fun thing about all this is taking what you've done and moving/expanding the idea further.

I'll talk to you later

John

hi john
excellent work and nice detail on the bed slats. I think that it would also look nice with the headboard curved as you have done with the maple, but somehow also curve the cherry to match it. Just the same it is very nice.

regards
lou

[Jeff Sudmeier]

I really love the design on that headboard. You have made a great peice here!

[Gary Whitt]

All I can say is


W O W !

[Mark Singer]

John,

I still have a problem with it from a purely a design sense. It seems that if the arch is used on the headboard , it should be "free" and not "captured" within the rectangular frame. They are redundant, meaning you don't need both and not complimentary , in that the forms are basically different. Nature is always a great sounding board and with few exceptions, like forms occur on the same species. The chambered natulis is commonly cited. Even every plant, every leaf, every stem of an Agave is of a like form. On future versions I would consider either not framing the arch and allowing it to span and terminate the piece, or simply make the headboard rectangular like a larger version on the footboard. This is IMHO of course and I know you well enough that I want to really try to answer the question. I will ask Ryan to comment as well. He is well versed in combinding forms and may have suggestions, or he may say his old man is off again..

Hey Mark,

Do you still think the curve in the back is wierd ? My other friend Lars doesn't really like it but I think maybe it's a subjective thing ? ? The clients really love it so I guess that's all that matters now. I go back and forth looking at it, I think over all I like it but I don't know if I would do it that way again. That's the fun thing about all this is taking what you've done and moving/expanding the idea further.

I'll talk to you later

John

[Jim Becker]

Great execution, John. Beautiful!

[Scott Esbrook]

I'm with you guys....WOW. Just to make myself useful around here, I put together a list of posts on the construction of this piece:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=18086
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=19291
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=19388
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=19462
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=19580

Thanks for the documentation John.

[John Scane]

Thanks Scott...I should have done that in case someone didn't get to see the others.

Thanks All for your comments. Thay are all much appreciated.!!

[Roy Wall]

John,


Terrific job - the bed looks great! Thanks for such good detail in the building process---that helps guys like me out a tremendous amount!!

Well done!

[Ryan Singer]

Hi John. it was nice to be with You, Sacha and my Dad at the Woodworker's Convention on Saturday. I like David Marks. his lecture was interesting and opened me up to making mock ups. I think this is really important when dealing with wood because a tree takes a long time to grow and should be respected. Your bed looks nicely finished off and you did a great job with building it soundly. Hmm.. it's not my piece, but if you feel the back is weird, maybe it could be explored a little more. I think it's great how you were patient taking the time to focus on detail like how the slats set onto the support rails guided by dowels. that's something I need to learn. even though many people don't get to see this side of the bed, it's a sign of a devoted furniture maker. and sometimes this is the stuff we can pride ourself on. it's funny how everyone has different values. it is all very subjective. From the images I have seen of the bed, there are some things that could be different . the wood selection for the headboard and footboard panels could be more similar. grain figuring amounts and color seem to vary but maybe it's the photograph. I don't think that the back is weird. It is something that if repeated somewhere else in the design, could be interesting. Maybe using the similar curvature for the leg could also be interesting.. but then again, you may be trying to create harmony with the other pieces of furniture in the room. I made an image exploring your curved back on the front with the idea of a similar curved leg.. but then again, I don't know where this piece is going so I don't know the context of everything. sometimes it's easier to just come up with a piece that is consistent within itself. matching legs and other parts can throw off a design.

Design is a hard one to put into words. visual aesthetics are similar to other types of aesthetics but have their own rules which can cross over to other creative outlets such as music, painting, architecture, furniture making. every outlet has it's canvas, paper, dance-floor, building site, or our case room which the furniture is in. speaking in furniture design we use metaphors differently. when we design, we tap into our own universe of rules and speak in this language which resonates with the other objects in the room. a pleasant room is a universe where there is consistency between the dialogue of all the objects. I don't profess to be an interior designer. but as a designer of furniture pieces, I know that when I am creating something I am tapping into the rules of that particular piece. all of it's rules must sit well inside me or I change it. when I don't have enough time or desire to want to figure out the piece then sometimes just letting it all flow in the woodshop can be a good thing. when you do this you are tapping into a higher source. We are all mini Gods when we design. our rules consist of color, material, form, texture, language, proportions, finish, magic numbers, function, or non function... etc.. there really is no wrong and right when creating your rules. it's more a matter of the consistency of the dialogue which is spoken within the furniture piece. every part of the whole piece has it's special way to communicate to one another as they are juxtaposed, joined, fastened, connected, stacked, etc.. and every piece can be of a certain form, material, texture, finish, color, etc... so when breaking down the components into piece, connection and the space around it, one needs to make sure that from whatever perspective the furniture piece is viewed from that there is this consistency within the dialogue between parts and how it reads as a whole object.

John,

I still have a problem with it from a purely a design sense. It seems that if the arch is used on the headboard , it should be "free" and not "captured" within the rectangular frame. They are redundant, meaning you don't need both and not complimentary , in that the forms are basically different. Nature is always a great sounding board and with few exceptions, like forms occur on the same species. The chambered natulis is commonly cited. Even every plant, every leaf, every stem of an Agave is of a like form. On future versions I would consider either not framing the arch and allowing it to span and terminate the piece, or simply make the headboard rectangular like a larger version on the footboard. This is IMHO of course and I know you well enough that I want to really try to answer the question. I will ask Ryan to comment as well. He is well versed in combinding forms and may have suggestions, or he may say his old man is off again..