I am making my daughter a bed using 12/4 cherry along with some 4/4 6/6 slabs. I have started jointing the wider pieces by hand using hand planes and my planer on the 11″ stock. I have two or three 7/8 planks about 11″ wide and 5′ long for the headboard. I am concerned that these headboard pieces will twist because they are so thin so I suspect I will need to put an edge cap across the top. My question are:
1. Will I need to make a cap to cover the top of the 7/8 stock from 8/4 stock to keep the headboard from warping?
2. I plan to make the bedposts from the 12/4 stock. It has cracks in a number of places. I understand that the cracks should be filled with a mixture of sawdust and epoxy. Should this be done before jointing? I have an 8″ jointer.
3. I plan on making the headboard of panels made from 6/4 slabs of walnut. I was thinking of making the panels 1/2″ or 5/8″ rather that 3/4″. Again the walnut is kiln dried rough-cut from the same saw mill.
All comments and suggestions are welcome.
Lynn
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Lynn... are there any drawings or online plans you can point us at to get a better idea of your design?? I don't quite get what you're trying to explain.
Mike Wallace
Stay safe....Have fun
I am using the article by Richard Jones in the Woodwork magazine and the city bed in jeff miller book "Beds" FWW series. My questions have to do with how to deal best with plane sawn cherry with lots of checks, cracks. I am afraid to use 7/8 x 11" cherry on a 5" span.
Ahhhh..... I should've known... you should always be suspicious of someone who's eyes shine at the mention of sheep... ;)
It's hard to envisage the problems you're anticipating without seeing the design, however... I've had to face similar concerns with the bed I'm currently building. I made an oak frame to house 5 elm raised panels in both the head and foot board, making sure that the panels have plenty room to expand / contract as they wish without putting any stress into the frame that holds them. Each frame fits into the legs with M&T joints, and they're both topped with a top cap board.
I used 3/4 stock to make the frames; the panels range in thickness from 7/8 to 9/8. The top caps are 4/4 stock, the wider being nearly 7", both slightly over 60" long. I don't anticipate any trouble caused by the material wanting to twist.
Mike Wallace
Stay safe....Have fun
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