Queen size bed from myrtle

It looks great. Is southern Myrtle expensive? Moving is always such hard work. I bet this will make the nights a but more pleasant.

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

Great looking bed!! Beautiful finish. thanks for sharing!!

-- Pat, Colorado

Bob,

This is a beautiful bed. I really like this style of furniture and you did a good job with the construction.

Very well done.

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

Very nice bed, Bob. The slats are a nice change from the spindles in Mission styles. A little less work too. I sure your daughter loved it. Thanks for the post.

-- Tim -- http://tmuli.com

Bob,

Great looking bed. I am sure FMC is delighted.

By “Southern”, I take it you mean the south of Australia. Here in Florida (USA) we have a deciduous tree known as a Crepe myrtle that usually grows no more that 20’ or so, and is most often pruned to the point that it is more of a shrub than a tree. Your myrtle must be like some of the myrtles seen in the Pacific northwest (Oregon, etc.).

How did you join the slats to the cross members of the bed? I like the curve you have in both headboard and footboard, and am wondering how difficult it was to make the attachment.

Again, congratulations on a thoughtful, beautiful heirloom you have created for your daughter.

-- Sola Gratia, John

Thanks to everyone for their comments. Snowdog, I will get back with a price. Timber is sold by the cubic metre down here, so I will need to convert to board feet.

JohnR. We also have the crepe myrtle that is usually planted as an ornamental in gardens. This is not the myrtle used for furniture. Tasmanian myrtle is the first choice for woodworkers wanting to use myrtle. However, it is not always easy to get. Southern myrtle on the other hand is realively easy to come by – it is from South America and belongs to the same family.

-- Bob

That is a gorgeous bed that will endure many generations. Great job!

-- Depend on the rabbit's foot if you will, but remember it didn't work for the rabbit.

Bob I like the soft subtle grain lines in your wood selection. It’s interesting how much wood species of the same name differ between Australian woods and North Amercian woods.

-- Phil in British Columbia

BobR, that’s a great piece. I love the design and wood selection. I’m sure you’re FMC will cherish it always.

Thanks for sharing it.

-- Martin, Kansas

Well you know what you’ve done, don’t you ? Next will be a matching dresser drawer. Then matching chest of drawers. Then maybe a armoire. But you are off to a very great start. Mighty fine looking bed.

-- JJohn

My goodness….this is the nicest bed I’ve ever seen !!! I love the style and the wood you selected as well ! Congratulations on a project well done ! oh , is this the natural color other than what the Danish oil did for it ?

-- Dusty56@comcast.net

Very nice job.

-- jeanmarc manosque france

Great looking job! All those slats must have been a chore!

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

Great looking bed.

If you used a stain, what did you use? And what to finish it?

Dalec

Thanks for the additional comments. The natural colour of the timber is mostly a light pink through to a darker pink. Some can be almost a light red. In addition the figure can be almost nil – just straight grain, through to highly figured. This can creat a problem as quite often you don’t know what you have until after the first pass on the jointer. Also, horizontal grain can appear lighter than vertical grain.

No stain, just Danish Oil after sanding to 400.

I notice that after loading the images on to this site that they appear much darker than the originals. Looks like the go is to ensure that images are a little lighter than norma.

Once again, thanks for the feedback.

-- Bob

Woukld you share/sell you plans for the bed?
lhill@terraworld.net

70445, as mentioned above, the plan came from Woodsmith magazine. Look here http://www.woodsmith.com/plans/classic-cherry-bed/

-- Bob

Great work on this – terrific…

-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA

Snowdog, finally got around to getting a myrtle price for you. It is in the order of 5,500AUD per cubic meter. This comes down to around 13AUD per super foot, or 12USD at the current exchange rate. Not sure this compares with timber like cherry.

-- Bob

I’ve not used Myrtle before…. This looks great.

-- Chris

Great looking bed. You did a beautiful job on it. Thanks for posting.

god Bless
tom

-- Mc Bridge Cabinets, Iowa