02-08-2015, 01:27 PM
Hello all: This is a headboard I designed in the early ninties. It was featured in Taunton's Home Furniture Magazine in 1996. I had a request recently to revisit the piece, but in Walnut( the first few I did were in Cypress). I took a few pictures as I built this one, and thought I'd share the process with you all.
I begin building these headboards hunting for curves, patterns in boards that will allow me to showcase them in this curvey piece. The backposts are glued up front to back making sure the roll doesn't cut thru the lamination exposing the glue line(8/4 usually takes care of that. I have resorted to a face veneer on the back posts in this bed.
The main focus is the panels, so I search for something special. In this case, I had some wonderful feathered crotch to use. These were cut into 3/32" veneer and applied using a vacuum bag and a bending form made from blue foam(who knew it was such a great form material,thanks JGROUT) Normally I would have made a ply form or MDF. Foam does the trick easily and cheaply. Two layers were formed arount 1/8" baltic birch.
The basic stucture is pretty straight forward, the top curved piece is bandsawed and trued up with a compass plane. Again, that's a curve I try to find in a rough board. I don't worry about exposing short grain too much because it's held in place quite solidly by the side posts, the center piece, and the top cap.
Positioning the top curve I draw as many lines as I can to the side posts to help me cut the mortise with a Japanese Rip saw. The tenon next and fine fitting for a close joint. The curved piece bends a little to help get the joint perfect if you don't get it the first time.
Cut off the tops of the side posts, carefull to stay in the plane of the top of the curved piece. If you cut it a little strong to the plane, you can adjust it later with a sharp block plane. Remember it's all endgrain at that point.
Measure the angle where the center piece hits the main cross bar, this is a straight angled cut and it leaves the curved cut at the top of the center piece a 90 degree cut( easier to bring to a nice fit). The center piece is held with slip tenons at the bottom and screws at the top. Here's where you can compress the top curved piece to hold it in position.
I forgot to take a few more pictures here, but the bed is assembled with clamps at this point(without the cap piece) and I use a router with a wing cutter to form the dado for the panel. I carefully cut the panel to shape and fit it into the frames. I then glue everything up and add the cap piece. A note on the cap piece, I strip laminate it from one piece of wood and keep it in sequence. I built a MDF curved form(flat on the bottom) and use the vacuum bag to laminate it into the curve.(sorry, no picture).
Here's what the headboard looks like all glued up with finish.
At home in my client's house.
I begin building these headboards hunting for curves, patterns in boards that will allow me to showcase them in this curvey piece. The backposts are glued up front to back making sure the roll doesn't cut thru the lamination exposing the glue line(8/4 usually takes care of that. I have resorted to a face veneer on the back posts in this bed.
The main focus is the panels, so I search for something special. In this case, I had some wonderful feathered crotch to use. These were cut into 3/32" veneer and applied using a vacuum bag and a bending form made from blue foam(who knew it was such a great form material,thanks JGROUT) Normally I would have made a ply form or MDF. Foam does the trick easily and cheaply. Two layers were formed arount 1/8" baltic birch.
The basic stucture is pretty straight forward, the top curved piece is bandsawed and trued up with a compass plane. Again, that's a curve I try to find in a rough board. I don't worry about exposing short grain too much because it's held in place quite solidly by the side posts, the center piece, and the top cap.
Positioning the top curve I draw as many lines as I can to the side posts to help me cut the mortise with a Japanese Rip saw. The tenon next and fine fitting for a close joint. The curved piece bends a little to help get the joint perfect if you don't get it the first time.
Cut off the tops of the side posts, carefull to stay in the plane of the top of the curved piece. If you cut it a little strong to the plane, you can adjust it later with a sharp block plane. Remember it's all endgrain at that point.
Measure the angle where the center piece hits the main cross bar, this is a straight angled cut and it leaves the curved cut at the top of the center piece a 90 degree cut( easier to bring to a nice fit). The center piece is held with slip tenons at the bottom and screws at the top. Here's where you can compress the top curved piece to hold it in position.
I forgot to take a few more pictures here, but the bed is assembled with clamps at this point(without the cap piece) and I use a router with a wing cutter to form the dado for the panel. I carefully cut the panel to shape and fit it into the frames. I then glue everything up and add the cap piece. A note on the cap piece, I strip laminate it from one piece of wood and keep it in sequence. I built a MDF curved form(flat on the bottom) and use the vacuum bag to laminate it into the curve.(sorry, no picture).
Here's what the headboard looks like all glued up with finish.
At home in my client's house.
