latest project, a cherry frame and panel bed

[Tom Lindsay]

I haven't submitted anything in a while so I thought that I would share my latest project, a queen-size cherry frame and panel bed that I finally finished (well, almost finished”) about a month ago. The remaining work is to rub out the poly finish on it to drop it back to more of a satin sheen; just waiting for it to “harden” a bit more before I attempt that.



I basically combined elements of several frame and panel beds that I saw into the design for this one. I added the fluting on the posts to match a similar element I have on a chest on chest dresser and two night stands that I made years ago. The most challenging part was working with tenons on the curved rails, and then getting a good fit between the stiles and the curved rails on the frame. I never routed curved pieces before, and I now have a much healthier respect for those who tackle arched kitchen cabinet doors now! The finish consisted of a diluted seal coat of shellac (to minimize blotching), a light coat of Minwax cherry gel (to get closer in color to our other bedroom pieces), 6-8 coats of wipe-on poly, and what felt like lots of light sanding between coats as needed. I understand the use of stain on cherry is generally frowned upon here, but I've had pretty good luck with the seal coat / gel process so far on the cherry pieces I've made, in terms of minimizing blotchiness. Hopefully they won't all look like ebony in 20 years.



Comments, feedback and suggestions are welcome. I usually start any project by perusing the Creek for ideas and insight, and the bed project was no exception.



CherryPanelBed1.jpgCherryPanelBed2.jpgCherryPanelBed3.jpg

[Phil Mueller]

Beautiful job Tom. Compliments on the joinery. I think the tone of the cherry looks great.
I've avoided a stopped flute on cherry for fear of burning...what's your secret?
Thanks for sharing!

[David Utterback]

Very nice! It will keep looking better over time.

[Gene Davis]

Nice job!

Interested in your formulae for the shellac anti-blotch coat and the gel stain. Ratios of solvent to straight.

I need to improve the look of my cherry pieces.

[Yonak Hawkins]

Very Classy. I like the way you did the flutes on the posts. Those panels and stiles must have been fun to make.

[Tom Lindsay]

Thanks for the feedback. For Phil, I did the fluting in a single pass (for fear of screwing up pass #2), and did a lot of sanding. Next time I'll put the effort into making a better jig and going the two-pass route. For Gene, my first few cherry pieces turned out blotchier than I wanted; was basically just using Watco's Danish and shellac on them. My more recent pieces have followed a formula similar to what I did with the bed. I started with Zinsser Seal Coat shellac and diluted it 50% (guesswork on my part); then a light sanding. I then put on one coat of a gel stain (in this case Minwax Cherry Gel stain) and left it on for 5-10 minutes before I wiped it off, followed by yet another light sanding. Then 6-8 coats of wipe-on gloss poly (regular poly diluted ~50%) with light sanding between 3-4 of the coats. Still have to hit it with some steel wool and probably paste wax before I can officially call it done. I really could use a course or some "mentoring" on finishing; I'm getting better but don't feel I'm quite there yet.

[Jim Becker]

Beautiful!

[Pat Barry]

Very very nice project! I love the finish as is but would love to see it when you are done with the final steps.