Wednesday, March 23, 2011

a walnut slab bed

the completed bed
3/24/2011 ... we'll be finishing up an interesting new bed project today or tomorrow. it started with an internet request and an inspiration photo. we offered a couple of photoshopped options and settled on using some local slabs i had bought from lathrop's lumber, specialists in vermont wood, in bristol, vermont.
as is photo from the client ....
photoshop option #1 ... photos of the slabs we used in the end, cropped and floated behind the existing bed
option #2 ... wide planks glue up square and straight ... the more time you spend with photoshop, the more rewarding and handier it is ...
the actual slabs cropped and photoshpped into shape
here's the layout ... click it to see the details ..
the end result, in process ...
discovering the high and low points ...
having at it early on .. trevor is great with the power planer
deciding which way is up ... not that way ...
we added some butterflies ..
we needed quite a few ...
will fabricated the drawer boxes ...
glued them up ..
and made some drawers ...
and we erected a temporary timberstrand wall to lay out the french hooks that will hang the bed on the wall ... they will have to be drilled and screwed to the studs in on site, (florida). fortunately the client is a tradesman and undaunted by the process ... wrap up photos later ....

12/7/2014  .. we finished another version of this bed recently  more photos at that link

9 comments:

Jeff Branch said...

Beautiful project, but I especially like your drawers and the grain of the drawer sides.

Jason Herrick said...

Dan, this is great!

I agree, PS is such a great program to use once the learning curve has been accounted for.

Just out of curiosity.... would you care to share what you plan on finishing it with. Also, I LOVE all the holes under the box spring. Did you do that for weight reduction, or just cause it looks really cool? :)

I LOVE your blog. (PS, tell Will that I'm now a junky of his as well) Damn you Mosheim family. :)

Dorset Custom Furniture said...

hi jason ... the holes in the platform are because the client will not be using a boxspring and the mattress (14" thick) will be directly on the platform ... we put the holes there for ventilation in that situation ... in this case the client is on the coast of florida so they are kind of necessary ... it does look cool too ... finish is one coat of minwax gloss poly brushed on, 2nd coat of satin minwax poly brushed on, lightly sanded and wiping coat of minwax wipe on poly ... good to go ... i'll tell will what you said about his blog too ... thnx ... dan

Jason Herrick said...

All good to know.

Thanks for taking the time to follow up!

Cheers.

Unknown said...

Can you explain how you use the
Amana slot cutting bit to cut the butterfly splines?

Dorset Custom Furniture said...

hi atgcpaul .. sorry about the confusion .. the amana bit in the previous post was for cutting the splines for the breadboard ends on the ash table. it just happened to be photographed lying on the headboard with some butterflies from this post. sorry for the confusion ... thanks for reading ... dan

Unknown said...

the drawer are so cool.





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Unknown said...

How come people get so much time for this:)


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Unknown said...

Dan,
The slab bed looks great. How did you attach the legs to the bed frame? Typically the load in the legs is straight down except when the bed is moved by dragging and then there is quite a cantilever load on the leg. I have been working on a platform bed sketch for a while and am trying to keep a "delicate" leg but am concerned with how to attach it. I am not sure if a double threaded screw will be strong enough.
I appreciate any insight.
John