This pencil post bed was made as a Christmas Gift and assembled Christmas Eve so that when the recipient came home from evening service – the bed had been “delivered” by Santa. 

The bed is based on a combination of a Fine Woodworking article and another magazine’s plan blended with detail from inspection of other federal period 4 post beds.  The overall scale was thinned down and “lightened” – especially in post diameter dimension because the height had to be trimmed slightly to fit the available height in the newly restored bedroom in a small 18th C colonial house.  The headboard uses shaker style floating tenons in mortises.  Despite scaling the bed – the mattress is full Queen Size.

Though this bed is most often found built in cherry – as a result of a chance expression of preference by the recipient – the timber is South American or “pattern” mahogany.  16/4 for the posts was going to be ruinously expensive to find so 2 pieces of 8/4 were epoxy glued together with opposing cupped grain to even the tensions in the posts.  Between the very fine grain of the wood, the high pressure joint and the carefully blended color in the epoxy (mahogany dust and white colloidal silica fibers) the glue line is almost invisible.  The opposing tensions on either side of the glue line means the posts have remained extremely straight in the wildly variable humidity of the non HVAC wood house as it cycles through dry New England winters and steamy summers.

Bed Hardware and end brasses – Horton Brass

All surfaces were sanded – 80 / 120 / 320 grit and then sealed with Interlux wood sealer.  Then Interlux one pot polyurethane Golden Spar varnish was built thin coat on thin coat till the grain was completely filled.  Rubbed back with 400 grit to absolutely flat and finally coated with two coats of Interlux Satin varnish.  The effect is the finest hand rubbed look you have EVER seen.  Hey – it’s the ex-boat builder in me!!  J

Launch Gallery