| Project by Thuan | posted 94 days ago | 631 views | 3 times favorited | 19 comments |  |
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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
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19 comments so far
Ad Marketing Guy - Bill
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302 posts in 189 days
posted 94 days ago
GREAT job——you used wonderful ingenuity in the course you chose for the project.
-- Bill - - Ad-Marketing Guy, Ramsey NJ
DAN
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2584 posts in 374 days
posted 94 days ago
well done and sweet design.. the light and dark contrasting grain on the headboard looks cool, ... so does the use of dovetails …
-- a legend in my own mind ...
Chris Davis
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190 posts in 373 days
posted 94 days ago
You said something about your limited tools and skills? There is nothing limited about this bed. Good design and finish product.
-- Check out the live video stream from our shop. http://wwbeds.com
grovemadman
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528 posts in 163 days
posted 94 days ago
FINE JOB! It matches the decor of the room you have it in very well.
-- --Chuck
mrtrim
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1484 posts in 271 days
posted 94 days ago
as always great looking job thaun ! well thought out as well
-- if you aint the lead dog the scenery never changes
teenagewoodworker
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1689 posts in 159 days
posted 94 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!
clieb91
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276 posts in 326 days
posted 94 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."
Blake
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1811 posts in 265 days
posted 94 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.
-- Dust collectors suck.
GaryK
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8183 posts in 379 days
posted 94 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.
bayspt
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56 posts in 95 days
posted 94 days ago
b-e-a-u-tiful
-- Jimmy, Oklahoma "It's a dog-eat-dog world, and I'm wearing milkbone underwear!"
ND2ELK
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1851 posts in 165 days
posted 94 days ago
Great bed,design and job! (100 Points) Thanks for posting.
God Bless
tom
-- Mc Bridge Cabinets, Iowa
arcarius
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15 posts in 97 days
posted 94 days ago
That is one fine bed! Wow! I love the dovetail details.
-- Young Padiwan Woodworker
Thuan
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152 posts in 209 days
posted 94 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.
-- Thuan
HallTree
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562 posts in 158 days
posted 94 days ago
Another great project Thuan. Nice job on those dovetails.
-- Ron in Osseo, Minnesota
snowdog
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516 posts in 373 days
posted 93 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"..
jockmike2
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3830 posts in 637 days
posted 93 days ago
Nice job Thuan, very nice joinery. mike
-- Mike. Profisher50@yahoo.com
unknownwoodworker
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59 posts in 94 days
posted 93 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. ???
Scott Bryan
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7806 posts in 213 days
posted 92 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.
dennis mitchell
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2802 posts in 705 days
posted 92 days ago
Impressive
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