Making a headboard
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Next I changed the lower slats to line up with the upper slats. Then it was off to the lumber yard to do some shopping.
I like the model I think it’s gonna look great.
Looking good, Jude 🙂 Just have one question, though. Why does it look like there is a half-lap on the bottom of the legs? I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before.
@georgeinnwfla George, those bits on the ends of the legs are a couple of bits of plywood I screwed on so that I could get the overall height figured out. I adjusted the height by just unscrewing the plywood and attaching it up or down until I got it right.
Next thing I did was go buy some lumber. I squared it up and planed it flat.
I chopped out some mortises with a guide block as an aid. The rails needed tenons cut and these had to be done at the bench and sawed by hand. It was a bit of a job handling these as they’re nearly six feet long.
One of the tenons was cut a bit thin, so I glued on an extra piece of oak on the cheek and then pared it down to shape.
I dry fit the rails into the legs. The tenons needed to be hammered home but they weren’t too tight. The frame of the headboard can hold itself together without glue, so I am happy about that.
Next I cut up the lower slats and ran grooves in each one on the table saw to hold plywood.
The legs also needed a groove to hold plywood. I did this groove with a Stanley 50 plane and chisel.
I dry fit the lot to check before I went any further.
The upper slats needed tenons cut on them too. I used the table saw along with knife walls etc to keep them clean.
Also, each tenon needs a mortise. I cut them out with a Forstner bit on the drill press as I had never tried that approach before. They still needed cleaning up with a chisel.
With this all done I was able to dry fit the lot.
Gluing up was a job in itself. Not too hard, but I had to keep cool when doing it.
The two top rails were glued first with the small slats between them. W
After setting up overnight, I glued in the lower slats with the plywood, and the lower rail.
The next day I glued on the legs. I wanted to let a day go between glue-ups as I had to hammer a lot of joints home and was afraid of having some joint open up.
With everything set up, I wiped on about five coats of thinned out polyurethane with plenty of time between each coat.
I finally got around to installing the headboard and I’m pretty happy with the result and having a design come from my head and be fully realized.
Looks fantastic Jude! Very nice work.
Well done Jude??
That’s great, Jude. Nice design and execution. I’m sure the glue-up phase was nerve-wracking.
Do I see carpet end strips (strips of wood with many small nails protruding) under your project as the poly dries? That’s an interesting solution to keeping the project off the bench and letting air circulate.
Thanks, guys. It means a lot.
Matt, the finished wood was set on carpet strips. You are correct.
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