Cherry, mahogany, birdseye bed

I built this bed for my daughter, her first big girl bed. This bed was refurbished from an antique store. The bed was destroyed when purchased and 20 percent was refinished with acrylic and painted to match the wood that was present. The manufacturer symbol was covered by acrylic and I didn’t discover it until late in the process. The manufacturer was Berkey and Gay with the number 227 under the head board. The birdseye was destroyed, much of the mahogany and cherry. If it was still was wood, it was dented deep, particularly any of the top edges, bed rails. The bottom pieces were broken off and the detail was missing.

The birdseye veneer was re-done as was the mahogany on the headboard/footboard. I re-routed the cherry to make take away the defects. Joints had to be redone. I re-created the detail, going off glue prints left on broken pieces. I think the detail is accurate to the original but can’t find any other beds like this. The feet (rollers) are lignum vitae. I finished the bed with transtint dyes of various colors, sanding back on the birdseye to help bring out the grain pattern. Blond shellac used for finishing followed by microcrystalline wax.

All in all, easier than I thought but more than I thought I was getting into. However, I am happy with the outcome.