I just have one thing to decide…

To paint, or not to paint?  That is the question.

• April 28, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.6 (0)
• April 6, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.4 This is the End (not really) (0)
• April 2, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.3 (0)
• March 23, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.2 (0)
• March 16, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v.1.1 (0)
• April 21, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.5 Too Long 4 Lathe (1)

More and more I am starting to think I might just leave it natural. Wood is so pretty, its a shame to cover up all the grain.

End tenons chiseled and sanded down to 1″

Chalk lined a straight line on the rails and drilled 1/2″ holes every 4″s

Rails coming together.  I caught my nephew using it as a fire ladder. You just cant get mad at a 2 1/2 year old when they want to play fireman. Even if it means having a big old dent in the wood where he dropped it…. <sigh>

I was a little worried about making the tenons for the rail ends so thin but I think it will not be a problem as the two rails are solid as all heck. I took a rope across the middle of the bed and twisted it to see how much inward flex I was going to have to deal with. My last rope bed had a hell of a lot of flex (1 1/2″ hemlock curtain dowel).  Little to no flex at all.

I have a 8′ yurt, and the bed is 6’4″ long. That doesn’t give a lot of left over room in the yurt. I guess one of my future projects is going to build a round center pole pavilion big enough to fit the bed between the walls and center pole.

• May 6, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.7 Last Call (0)
• April 6, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.4 This is the End (not really) (0)
• April 2, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.3 (0)
• March 23, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.2 (0)
• March 16, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v.1.1 (0)
• April 21, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.5 Too Long 4 Lathe (1)

Colds over…enough lallygagging around.

Since I no longer have an unlimited supply of skids, I resorted to using 2 2×3′s laminated together with a polyurethane glue.

I sliced down the laminated board from the rough 3×2.5″ to the end size of 2×2′s.

I then set the tablesaw blade to a 45′ angle and cut the 2×2 square post to a 2×2 octagonal post.

Since my lathe is only capable of turning a 40″length, I had to resort to a different way to make the ends become a 1″ dowel. First I cut the chisel stop to 1″ deep the whole way around the post (1″ in). I scribed a 1″ circle on the end, and chiseled of the waste wood a little at a time.

Once I had the waste wood cut away, I took a 1×3″ steel plumping pipe, and sharpened the outside edge. Making the pipe a round dowel chisel. Placing the pipe over the rough chiseled end, I taped the pipe in to remove the left over wood.

Finally I used a rasp file to do some fine wood removal so that it would fit in a 1″ spade bit hole. One post completly done 3 more to do.

• May 6, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.7 Last Call (0)
• April 28, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.6 (0)
• April 6, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.4 This is the End (not really) (0)
• April 2, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.3 (0)
• March 23, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.2 (0)
• March 16, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v.1.1 (0)

The two ends seperated by a couple short lenghts of 1″ doweling.

The rough rounded dowels. Speeds things up a whole bunch to get this all done right away.

More images after the jump

Part of me hates the idea of painting the frame. I adore the toothpick eyes from the nail holes.

• May 6, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.7 Last Call (0)
• April 28, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.6 (0)
• April 2, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.3 (0)
• March 23, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.2 (0)
• March 16, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v.1.1 (0)
• April 21, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.5 Too Long 4 Lathe (1)

Still have to paint all the parts  either red, black or gold leaf.

Originally I was going to make the whole bed from the Douglas Fir pallets from my workplace. Well plans change. My company recently went through a massive restructuring. We are now primarily a research facility, and production will be done in our sister plant in Taiwan. I survived the cuts, and it looks like I will have more work than ever. The downside to this (other than 220 people out of work) is we will no longer need to bring in a lot of goods on pallets.  Since I don’t have enough pallets already, I am being forced to use laminated 2×3′s as my side rails.  Since my lathe will not accommodate 6.5′ poles, I will be ripping  the lumber to 2″ octagonal rods.

Adapt or die!

Tonight I start on the foot board. It should go alot faster as it is a much simpler plan.

• March 23, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.2 (0)
• May 6, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.7 Last Call (0)
• April 28, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.6 (0)
• April 6, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.4 This is the End (not really) (0)
• March 16, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v.1.1 (0)
• March 11, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.0 (0)

Have all the larger dowels roughed down to size

Starting in on the Center Doughnut.

Turning a 1″ sphere with two 1/2″ 90′ holes through it is hard… real hard!

Doughnut in bedframe

Center panel with 1″ spheres. The small dots are 1/4″ buttons. Not sure if I’ll add them or not. They look cool, but painting them all in a contrasting color just seems to be painful.

Proposed color scheme. Do you have a better sugestion?

• April 2, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.3 (0)
• May 6, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.7 Last Call (0)
• April 28, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.6 (0)
• April 6, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.4 This is the End (not really) (0)
• March 16, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v.1.1 (0)
• March 11, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.0 (0)

Got a bit more work done on the turned bed frame.

Made a plan for all the spindles. Every sq. is 1″ in length.

Took apart another couple of skids, turned down a half dozen to ~2″ round.

More porcupine poles.

The top and bottom cross rails. I will have to turn down the ends a bit more when assembly time comes, but for now this is good enough.

• May 6, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.7 Last Call (0)
• April 28, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.6 (0)
• April 6, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.4 This is the End (not really) (0)
• April 2, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.3 (0)
• March 23, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.2 (0)
• April 21, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.5 Too Long 4 Lathe (1)

Heres my drawing (one step up from the doodle) of the turned bed frame.

Heres a picture of a example of the insanity a wood turner can get up too. I have found no images of a bedframe done in such a manner, but I can so believe that a turner would have been just as deranged as to attempt one. My version will be a happy medium between the simplicity of the turned backstool, and insanity of a uber turned arm chair.

I will once again being using only wood gathered from pallets at my workplace. That meens it will be out of Douglas Fir, as that is what is currently going through the plant.

approx. 112 turned pieces (not including buttons)

Lots of updates in the future.

• April 2, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.3 (0)
• March 23, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.2 (0)
• May 6, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.7 Last Call (0)
• April 28, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.6 (0)
• April 6, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.4 This is the End (not really) (0)
• March 16, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v.1.1 (0)

I still have a but load of scrap skids kicking around, so I thought I would give a shot at cooperage.

I know nothing about cooperage, other than the edges of the wooden boards are sloped. That and there is a dado near the bottom of the boards to except a bottom board. With that tiny bit of knowledge I played.

Pictures of the fun after the jump

• May 6, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.7 Last Call (0)
• April 28, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.6 (0)
• April 6, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.4 This is the End (not really) (0)
• April 2, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.3 (0)
• March 23, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.2 (0)
• March 16, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v.1.1 (0)

I took one of the nails and cut it down to ~ 1 1/2″ with a wire cutter

I then took the nail gripped in a vice grip to the bench grinder. Grinding down both sides of the nail has a couple of good side effects.
1.  The flattend profile of the nail cuts through the wood, not just pushes it to the sides. So if you orientate the flat of the nail with the grain of the wood you can hammer the nail quite close to the edge of the boards. A normal nails would split the wood.
2. The end of the nail glows red on the grinder and become malleable allowing the nail to be easily turned. Normally the nail would be difficult to bend, and may become brittle and snap.
3. The nail having cut the fiber, has the added benifit of the fibers slopping in the direction of the nails path. This acts a bit like a feather board making the nail  less likely to become loose.  Which could be a problem on a hinge where there would be considerable movement.

An image of the nail path (note the wood only cracked when I band sawed very close to the nail)

• February 15, 2009 -- Chest v1.3 The End is Nigh (0)
• February 12, 2009 -- CHEST v1.2 Assembly has begun (0)
• November 12, 2009 -- Monkey Jaw (0)
• May 21, 2009 -- Chest v2.0 Simple 6 Board (0)
• May 12, 2009 -- Pierce Work Lantern (0)
• May 6, 2009 -- Turned Bed Frame v1.7 Last Call (0)