A new bed frame using loose tenons.

For a long time I wanted to make a new bed for my wife but she couldn’t seem to find a design she liked. A while back she found a plan she liked, a Perry Ellis Stickley Design. The design she found had quite a bit of inlay which kind of freaked me out as it was beyond my skill level so ultimately I decided to make the bed without the inlay component. It was about that time that I started to read about loose tenons which made me realize that the process of building this bed could be simpler than I originally thought. I hadn’t used them before and asked a few questions here about the process. First off I needed to make a couple of jigs, one for the loose tenons holding the panels in place and then for the legs. It took me a long time but patience really paid off on nice snug fitting joints. If I had any regrets it would be with the finish process. I tried my first effort with an HVLP sprayer and a water based lacquer, and of course had problems. Most notably with a finish that ended up like orange peel. Lots of sanding later and reading more on using a sprayer and I ended up okay. Ultimately the wife is very happy and as the saying goes, “if momma’s happy we’re all happy”. Now her part of the bargain is to make a nice queen sized quilt to go with the bed. Time to move ahead with my next project, a Thein top-hat for my DC.

-- Randy, Central MN