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Made My Bed

Project by Thuan posted 596 days ago 1338 views 3 times favorited 21 comments Add to Favorites Watch

My wife asked for a daybed, so I wanted to get it done quickly because I realized that if she wants something and I can get it to her before she had forgotten she had asked for it two years ago, then I would get points that can be traded in later for all sorts of things.

So it took me about 10 days, working on it a several hours a day. I had a fuzzy idea as to what the final product would look like, and I refined the vision as production progressed. This is not a hard thing to do for two reasons:

1. The economy of wood once again took the lead on the design of this day bed. The stock dimensional poplar at Lowe’s comes in six and eight foot length. The mattress comes in at 74” long. Trading the original mortise and tenons idea for dowels drawn tight with pocket screws saved me from purchasing 8 foot goods. Thus the dovetail on the headboard was my attempt to stretch a six foot board.
2. My limited tools and skills determined everything else.

Overall, the bed worked. It can be dismantled in minutes and it’s surprisingly strong and sturdy. I since put a few coats of shellac on the important parts of the bed since brushing shellac into all the nooks and crannies would really put me to sleep.

-- Thuan


21 comments so far

View Ad Marketing Guy - Bill's profile

Ad Marketing Guy - Bill

314 posts in 691 days


posted 595 days ago

GREAT job——you used wonderful ingenuity in the course you chose for the project.

-- Bill - - Ad-Marketing Guy, Ramsey NJ

View DAN 's profile

DAN

6438 posts in 875 days


posted 595 days ago

well done and sweet design.. the light and dark contrasting grain on the headboard looks cool, ... so does the use of dovetails …

-- work from your heart and your spirit will live forever

View Chris Davis's profile

Chris Davis

554 posts in 874 days


posted 595 days ago

You said something about your limited tools and skills? There is nothing limited about this bed. Good design and finish product.

-- Watch live video from our shop. http://wwbeds.com/live.htm

View grovemadman's profile

grovemadman

558 posts in 664 days


posted 595 days ago

FINE JOB! It matches the decor of the room you have it in very well.

-- --Chuck

View mrtrim's profile

mrtrim

1700 posts in 773 days


posted 595 days ago

as always great looking job thaun ! well thought out as well

View teenagewoodworker's profile

teenagewoodworker

2479 posts in 661 days


posted 595 days ago

wow great job and great design. those are nice dovetails, i’m not sure if you mentioned it or not but are they hand cut or did you use a jig. great job!

View clieb91's profile

clieb91

683 posts in 827 days


posted 595 days ago

Thuan, Great looking project. I like how the Dovetails provide a decoritive look to the bed as well.

CtL

-- Chris L. "Don't Dream it, Be it."

View Blake's profile

Blake

2759 posts in 767 days


posted 595 days ago

This is excellent, Thuan. I love your style. But limited skills? Give me a break! I always look forward to your posts. Its a beautiful bed.

-- Check out my new website! http://www.blakeweberwoodworking.com

View GaryK's profile

GaryK

9521 posts in 881 days


posted 595 days ago

You did this with hand tools right? You get extra points for that! Great job.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

View bayspt's profile

bayspt

184 posts in 597 days


posted 595 days ago

b-e-a-u-tiful

-- Jimmy, Oklahoma "It's a dog-eat-dog world, and I'm wearing milkbone underwear!"

View ND2ELK's profile

ND2ELK

6136 posts in 666 days


posted 595 days ago

Great bed,design and job! (100 Points) Thanks for posting.

God Bless
tom

-- Mc Bridge Cabinets, Iowa

View arcarius's profile

arcarius

16 posts in 598 days


posted 595 days ago

That is one fine bed! Wow! I love the dovetail details.

-- Young Padiwan Woodworker

View Thuan's profile

Thuan

203 posts in 710 days


posted 595 days ago

Thanks for the kinds words guys,

To answer some questions, here’s a picture of me hand cutting the dovetails for the bed slat rails on the floor of the living room in my pajamas, November 2007. The bed is on the background standing up to conserve space. Good times.
worker

-- Thuan

View HallTree's profile

HallTree

2040 posts in 660 days


posted 595 days ago

Another great project Thuan. Nice job on those dovetails.

-- Ron in Osseo, Minnesota

View snowdog's profile

snowdog

808 posts in 875 days


posted 595 days ago

Great job, did you ever give any thought to building a fold up bench so you don’t have to work on the floor? :)

-- "so much to learn and so little time"..

View jockmike2's profile (online now)

jockmike2

7297 posts in 1139 days


posted 595 days ago

Nice job Thuan, very nice joinery. mike

-- Mike. mwurm13@yahoo.com

View unknownwoodworker's profile

unknownwoodworker

218 posts in 596 days


posted 595 days ago

What beautiful day bed. Oh, watch out for those points you earn. Mine always result in little lunch bags running around the house.

-- ??? My mistakes heat the house. It's very warm in here. ???

View Scott Bryan's profile (online now)

Scott Bryan

20564 posts in 714 days


posted 594 days ago

Thuan,

I want to commend you for your devotion to hand tools. It is a time-honored skill that, for a lot of us, is lacking. You did a wonderful job with the bed. It is something I would be intimidated by with all the power tools that I have at my disposal.

Thank you for the inspiration and I am sure that your wife is pleased with it.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

View dennis mitchell's profile

dennis mitchell

3791 posts in 1207 days


posted 594 days ago

View MyFathersSon's profile

MyFathersSon

25 posts in 205 days


posted 188 days ago

As others have mentioned – I would debate your comment about ‘limited skill’.
You have disproven your own statement and demonstrated your skill by being able to use the tools at hand to create a solid lovely piece.
Too many times using the latest and greatest digital readout laser guided whatchamacallit—becomes a substitute for the time and patience it would take to develop and use the skills you have mastered.
Or maybe thats just me.

-- Those who insist it can't be done - should politely refrain from interrupting those who are doing it.

View a1Jim's profile

a1Jim

16598 posts in 469 days


posted 188 days ago

Great Job cool day bed

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon

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