This may sound basic, but I am new to this. If I wanted a 6×6 chunk of oak – what would you do? Put another way – I want a 6in by 6in post for a bed made out of oak.
This is a project I am envisioning to do in the fall – not right now (I want to hone in some skill before tackling a bed frame). So how do furniture makers make those giant posts of wood?
Do they have a cheap 4×4 post with oak glued around the four sides and perfectly aligned to achieve such stature? or do they actually have a giant plank of oak that they work with?
Replies
45* Lock Miter
If you have a shaper or router table, use a 45 degree lock miter bit on planed 5/4 stock. Leaving the center hollow. Thats the way Stickley would have done it.
Hmm, I never thought about doing a hollow post! That actually makes a lot of sense. Thank you!
Bed
6 x 6 sounds kind of heavy to work with and crack over time from shrinkage. Why not get a sheet of 3/4 oak ply - cut 4 pieces 5-1/4 in. wide - veneer iron on tape every other edge and nail with brads - it's a reasonably easy project for a new woodworker
If you really want solid wood, and that's appropriate for some designs, you'll probably glue up 8/4 (2") or even 12/4 (3") material, but the cost would be quite high - probably $150 each for a post 4' long, more or less.
You can glue up a hollow post as others have said, but it's a challenge to get mitered edges to all line up right and butted edges don't look quite right unless 2 sides are quarter sawn and two are flat sawn.
If your posts are square then I'd go with mitered corners and glue up a hollow post.
If on the other hand you're doing a tall tapered post then I'd say you want to glue up a solid post out of multiple boards.
:)
Cutting long 90 degree corners
I am working on a similar project, cutting miter corners on box newel posts. I am concerned about ensuring the finish joint has integrity for the 4 foot + length. I will use a gage to set the 45 degress on the tablesaw blade, and all the stock will be planed consistently. Are there techniques I could learn that will increase the quality of the joint? I have been thinking a lot about making a jig with clamps to run all the sides through the saw. I'm worried about keeping 4 sides of 4 seperate posts all consistent.
Would running the pannels through the saw against the fence with a featherboard keeping pressude vertically, be adaquate?
I've read about the glue up technique with taping the corners like a "hinge".
Repeatability
I have done both of the types that have been discussed. I have built up box legs using the mitered corners, and I've cut posts from solid stock. Either method can produce very nice results, but the key to either method is repeatability of your cuts.
For the solid stock, I built a sled to hold the stock in the exact position it had to be in for the cut to be accurate. For the mitered corner box, I built a jig to guide the stock through the saw. In either case, the most important thing is accuracy, so that you have a repeatable setup, a saw that is setup properly to provide repeatable cuts, and your attention to detail to make sure that the stock is placed in the correct positioon in the sled or jig.
On another note, I would have to advise against trying to cut a 6" square post from solid stock unless your shop has extraordinary tools in it. The stock will be extremely heavy, and a 10" table saw will barely cut half way through the stock, requiring a second pass after flipping the stock over to complete the through cut. That will probably require that the original stock be oversized to begin with, and you will have a difficult time finding stock of that size, and it will be extremely expensive.
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