# Pencil Post bed



## mikega (Oct 24, 2007)

*Making a Pencil Post bed part-1*

Last year about this time my son (Sean) told me that he was looking for a Pencil Post bed. Well after finding out how much they cost his next question to me was "Do you think you could make me one Dad?" I told him I would have to see if I could find any information on how to make one. I went to the Internet and typed in "How to make a Pencil Post Bed" One of the hits I got was 3 Youtube video's on just making the rails for the bed.
They were done by a guy I never heard of before CHARLES NEIL. After viewing the short clips I went to his web site and found out some more information about him. I found out that he had a complete DVD on making the bed and the jigs that you need to make the post. I ordered it right away. With the help of the DVD's I felt that this was something that I could do. One of the other things that I found out from the web site was that Charles teaches classes in his shop in New Market VA. I have been making things out of wood for a long time now but I am not a fine woodworker (I am what Charles calls a glue it and screw it woodworker) so I decided it is time for me to jump things up a notch by taking some lessons on what it takes to make fine furniture. Since New Market is only 3 hours from me I decided to sign up for a class on making a cabriole leg. Taking this class would do 3 things 1. find out if I liked this guy and the way he teaches 2. learn how to make a cabriole leg and 3. pick his brain with any questions I might have about making the bed. After just a few minutes with Charles my first question was answered. Right away he made me feel at home and he understood my level of wood working experience and was able to explain and show me things so that I understood them (even if he does talk funny). I knew right away that I had found a new friend and mentor. Within a few hours he had me banging out cabriole legs. I never thought that I would be doing that. Now for the 3rd thing, asking questions about the Pencil Post bed. In the DVD the first thing that he talks about is the size of the table saw you need to cut out the post. He said that if you only have a bench top saw to not even think about doing this, just send the DVD back.
Then he said that if you have one of those 1 1/2 hp saw that say they max out at 3 hp (right) that you are going to have a difficult time but you might be able to do it. Well that is what I have, but I was still not ready to give up. So my first question to him was just how hard of a time was I going to have. He said that I might be able to do it but I would have myself a real good cussin section till I got them all done. At this point I was begining to think that maybe I bit off more then I could chew. But I have friends that have 5 hp saws so maybe they could help me out. A few minutes later Charles came back to me and said "if you can say here another day we can cut out everything you need to make your bed" My next question to him was to ask to borrow his phone to call my wife and let her know that I would not be home that night. We spent that night and the next day cutting out everything I needed to take home to start building Sean's bed.

Here Charles is sanding the curly cherry for the bed rails.
So here I am back home ready to get started. As you can see from the next picture things are just a little tight in my basement shop. I will need to work between vent, lights and floor joist. Most of my equipment is on wheels so I can move things around to make it fit but I bet I will still break a few light before this project is done.
One of the things that Charles stresses on the DVD is to be sure to mark everything so that you have the proper position when you make your cuts for the mortises. I marked everything plus put the blue tape on the sides that I did not want to drill into just to be on the safe side.
The next thing I had to do is to lay out where to put the mortises. The layout is all explained in the DVD. I made a story board so that each one would be the same.

I do not have a mortising machine to make the mortises so I drilled them out on the drill press then clamped the post to my bench to hand chisel the rest.

Here you can see a closeup of the way Charles shows to chisel nice straight walls when you do this by hand.
The mortises are all cut so now it is time to move onto the rails.
 
The rails are made up of 2 pieces of poplar and a 1/4 inch piece of curly cherry on the outside. Doing it this way Charles says he has never had any rail twist or warp. I went to the sawmill and got the poplar that I rough milled and left sit in my shop for a few weeks before doing the glue up. Glueing up the rails is a 2 man job so I called Sean and told him that it was time for him to come work on his bed.

I broke out every clamp in the shop and even borrowed some from my Dad to get these things glued up. I glued up 2 rails at a time so my biggest fear was that when I took the clamps off they would both be stuck together. But following the advice on the DVD I able to glue them up without any problems.
Here are the rails ready to be cleaned up and have the tenons cut on them.
Well that all for now (hope you didn't fall asleep yet). I will post more as I get more done.


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## GaryK (Jun 25, 2007)

mikega said:


> *Making a Pencil Post bed part-1*
> 
> Last year about this time my son (Sean) told me that he was looking for a Pencil Post bed. Well after finding out how much they cost his next question to me was "Do you think you could make me one Dad?" I told him I would have to see if I could find any information on how to make one. I went to the Internet and typed in "How to make a Pencil Post Bed" One of the hits I got was 3 Youtube video's on just making the rails for the bed.
> They were done by a guy I never heard of before CHARLES NEIL. After viewing the short clips I went to his web site and found out some more information about him. I found out that he had a complete DVD on making the bed and the jigs that you need to make the post. I ordered it right away. With the help of the DVD's I felt that this was something that I could do. One of the other things that I found out from the web site was that Charles teaches classes in his shop in New Market VA. I have been making things out of wood for a long time now but I am not a fine woodworker (I am what Charles calls a glue it and screw it woodworker) so I decided it is time for me to jump things up a notch by taking some lessons on what it takes to make fine furniture. Since New Market is only 3 hours from me I decided to sign up for a class on making a cabriole leg. Taking this class would do 3 things 1. find out if I liked this guy and the way he teaches 2. learn how to make a cabriole leg and 3. pick his brain with any questions I might have about making the bed. After just a few minutes with Charles my first question was answered. Right away he made me feel at home and he understood my level of wood working experience and was able to explain and show me things so that I understood them (even if he does talk funny). I knew right away that I had found a new friend and mentor. Within a few hours he had me banging out cabriole legs. I never thought that I would be doing that. Now for the 3rd thing, asking questions about the Pencil Post bed. In the DVD the first thing that he talks about is the size of the table saw you need to cut out the post. He said that if you only have a bench top saw to not even think about doing this, just send the DVD back.
> ...


Great looking project! Keep us posted.


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## Mario (Apr 23, 2007)

mikega said:


> *Making a Pencil Post bed part-1*
> 
> Last year about this time my son (Sean) told me that he was looking for a Pencil Post bed. Well after finding out how much they cost his next question to me was "Do you think you could make me one Dad?" I told him I would have to see if I could find any information on how to make one. I went to the Internet and typed in "How to make a Pencil Post Bed" One of the hits I got was 3 Youtube video's on just making the rails for the bed.
> They were done by a guy I never heard of before CHARLES NEIL. After viewing the short clips I went to his web site and found out some more information about him. I found out that he had a complete DVD on making the bed and the jigs that you need to make the post. I ordered it right away. With the help of the DVD's I felt that this was something that I could do. One of the other things that I found out from the web site was that Charles teaches classes in his shop in New Market VA. I have been making things out of wood for a long time now but I am not a fine woodworker (I am what Charles calls a glue it and screw it woodworker) so I decided it is time for me to jump things up a notch by taking some lessons on what it takes to make fine furniture. Since New Market is only 3 hours from me I decided to sign up for a class on making a cabriole leg. Taking this class would do 3 things 1. find out if I liked this guy and the way he teaches 2. learn how to make a cabriole leg and 3. pick his brain with any questions I might have about making the bed. After just a few minutes with Charles my first question was answered. Right away he made me feel at home and he understood my level of wood working experience and was able to explain and show me things so that I understood them (even if he does talk funny). I knew right away that I had found a new friend and mentor. Within a few hours he had me banging out cabriole legs. I never thought that I would be doing that. Now for the 3rd thing, asking questions about the Pencil Post bed. In the DVD the first thing that he talks about is the size of the table saw you need to cut out the post. He said that if you only have a bench top saw to not even think about doing this, just send the DVD back.
> ...


Great story and blog, There are some great woodworkers out there who are so willing to help. I will have to look into taking a class down there, I am in the process of looking into how I will spend some summer vacation.

Thanks.

I look forward to watching you finish this bed.


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## sbryan55 (Dec 8, 2007)

mikega said:


> *Making a Pencil Post bed part-1*
> 
> Last year about this time my son (Sean) told me that he was looking for a Pencil Post bed. Well after finding out how much they cost his next question to me was "Do you think you could make me one Dad?" I told him I would have to see if I could find any information on how to make one. I went to the Internet and typed in "How to make a Pencil Post Bed" One of the hits I got was 3 Youtube video's on just making the rails for the bed.
> They were done by a guy I never heard of before CHARLES NEIL. After viewing the short clips I went to his web site and found out some more information about him. I found out that he had a complete DVD on making the bed and the jigs that you need to make the post. I ordered it right away. With the help of the DVD's I felt that this was something that I could do. One of the other things that I found out from the web site was that Charles teaches classes in his shop in New Market VA. I have been making things out of wood for a long time now but I am not a fine woodworker (I am what Charles calls a glue it and screw it woodworker) so I decided it is time for me to jump things up a notch by taking some lessons on what it takes to make fine furniture. Since New Market is only 3 hours from me I decided to sign up for a class on making a cabriole leg. Taking this class would do 3 things 1. find out if I liked this guy and the way he teaches 2. learn how to make a cabriole leg and 3. pick his brain with any questions I might have about making the bed. After just a few minutes with Charles my first question was answered. Right away he made me feel at home and he understood my level of wood working experience and was able to explain and show me things so that I understood them (even if he does talk funny). I knew right away that I had found a new friend and mentor. Within a few hours he had me banging out cabriole legs. I never thought that I would be doing that. Now for the 3rd thing, asking questions about the Pencil Post bed. In the DVD the first thing that he talks about is the size of the table saw you need to cut out the post. He said that if you only have a bench top saw to not even think about doing this, just send the DVD back.
> ...


Alright Mike you have got my attention. I am looking forward to the next episode. I really like seeing posts like this where the entire construction process is detailed. It simply can't get done it a single posting and breaking it up like this keep the readers attention.

You are right about Charles Neil. He has some excellent videos posted. I like his style of presentation- straight and to the point and he really knows his stuff.

So far this is looking good. This is better than any of the reality shows on tv.


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## CharlesNeil (Oct 21, 2007)

mikega said:


> *Making a Pencil Post bed part-1*
> 
> Last year about this time my son (Sean) told me that he was looking for a Pencil Post bed. Well after finding out how much they cost his next question to me was "Do you think you could make me one Dad?" I told him I would have to see if I could find any information on how to make one. I went to the Internet and typed in "How to make a Pencil Post Bed" One of the hits I got was 3 Youtube video's on just making the rails for the bed.
> They were done by a guy I never heard of before CHARLES NEIL. After viewing the short clips I went to his web site and found out some more information about him. I found out that he had a complete DVD on making the bed and the jigs that you need to make the post. I ordered it right away. With the help of the DVD's I felt that this was something that I could do. One of the other things that I found out from the web site was that Charles teaches classes in his shop in New Market VA. I have been making things out of wood for a long time now but I am not a fine woodworker (I am what Charles calls a glue it and screw it woodworker) so I decided it is time for me to jump things up a notch by taking some lessons on what it takes to make fine furniture. Since New Market is only 3 hours from me I decided to sign up for a class on making a cabriole leg. Taking this class would do 3 things 1. find out if I liked this guy and the way he teaches 2. learn how to make a cabriole leg and 3. pick his brain with any questions I might have about making the bed. After just a few minutes with Charles my first question was answered. Right away he made me feel at home and he understood my level of wood working experience and was able to explain and show me things so that I understood them (even if he does talk funny). I knew right away that I had found a new friend and mentor. Within a few hours he had me banging out cabriole legs. I never thought that I would be doing that. Now for the 3rd thing, asking questions about the Pencil Post bed. In the DVD the first thing that he talks about is the size of the table saw you need to cut out the post. He said that if you only have a bench top saw to not even think about doing this, just send the DVD back.
> ...


Hey mike you doin just fine,aint nothing wrong with a drill and a chisel,keep whittling, keep us posted and if ya have any questions just yell, thanks for the blog


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## gad5264 (Sep 13, 2007)

mikega said:


> *Making a Pencil Post bed part-1*
> 
> Last year about this time my son (Sean) told me that he was looking for a Pencil Post bed. Well after finding out how much they cost his next question to me was "Do you think you could make me one Dad?" I told him I would have to see if I could find any information on how to make one. I went to the Internet and typed in "How to make a Pencil Post Bed" One of the hits I got was 3 Youtube video's on just making the rails for the bed.
> They were done by a guy I never heard of before CHARLES NEIL. After viewing the short clips I went to his web site and found out some more information about him. I found out that he had a complete DVD on making the bed and the jigs that you need to make the post. I ordered it right away. With the help of the DVD's I felt that this was something that I could do. One of the other things that I found out from the web site was that Charles teaches classes in his shop in New Market VA. I have been making things out of wood for a long time now but I am not a fine woodworker (I am what Charles calls a glue it and screw it woodworker) so I decided it is time for me to jump things up a notch by taking some lessons on what it takes to make fine furniture. Since New Market is only 3 hours from me I decided to sign up for a class on making a cabriole leg. Taking this class would do 3 things 1. find out if I liked this guy and the way he teaches 2. learn how to make a cabriole leg and 3. pick his brain with any questions I might have about making the bed. After just a few minutes with Charles my first question was answered. Right away he made me feel at home and he understood my level of wood working experience and was able to explain and show me things so that I understood them (even if he does talk funny). I knew right away that I had found a new friend and mentor. Within a few hours he had me banging out cabriole legs. I never thought that I would be doing that. Now for the 3rd thing, asking questions about the Pencil Post bed. In the DVD the first thing that he talks about is the size of the table saw you need to cut out the post. He said that if you only have a bench top saw to not even think about doing this, just send the DVD back.
> ...


Very nice write up. Count me in for checking this out when new things are posted.


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## rikkor (Oct 17, 2007)

mikega said:


> *Making a Pencil Post bed part-1*
> 
> Last year about this time my son (Sean) told me that he was looking for a Pencil Post bed. Well after finding out how much they cost his next question to me was "Do you think you could make me one Dad?" I told him I would have to see if I could find any information on how to make one. I went to the Internet and typed in "How to make a Pencil Post Bed" One of the hits I got was 3 Youtube video's on just making the rails for the bed.
> They were done by a guy I never heard of before CHARLES NEIL. After viewing the short clips I went to his web site and found out some more information about him. I found out that he had a complete DVD on making the bed and the jigs that you need to make the post. I ordered it right away. With the help of the DVD's I felt that this was something that I could do. One of the other things that I found out from the web site was that Charles teaches classes in his shop in New Market VA. I have been making things out of wood for a long time now but I am not a fine woodworker (I am what Charles calls a glue it and screw it woodworker) so I decided it is time for me to jump things up a notch by taking some lessons on what it takes to make fine furniture. Since New Market is only 3 hours from me I decided to sign up for a class on making a cabriole leg. Taking this class would do 3 things 1. find out if I liked this guy and the way he teaches 2. learn how to make a cabriole leg and 3. pick his brain with any questions I might have about making the bed. After just a few minutes with Charles my first question was answered. Right away he made me feel at home and he understood my level of wood working experience and was able to explain and show me things so that I understood them (even if he does talk funny). I knew right away that I had found a new friend and mentor. Within a few hours he had me banging out cabriole legs. I never thought that I would be doing that. Now for the 3rd thing, asking questions about the Pencil Post bed. In the DVD the first thing that he talks about is the size of the table saw you need to cut out the post. He said that if you only have a bench top saw to not even think about doing this, just send the DVD back.
> ...


So far, so good. I look forward to following your progress.


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

mikega said:


> *Making a Pencil Post bed part-1*
> 
> Last year about this time my son (Sean) told me that he was looking for a Pencil Post bed. Well after finding out how much they cost his next question to me was "Do you think you could make me one Dad?" I told him I would have to see if I could find any information on how to make one. I went to the Internet and typed in "How to make a Pencil Post Bed" One of the hits I got was 3 Youtube video's on just making the rails for the bed.
> They were done by a guy I never heard of before CHARLES NEIL. After viewing the short clips I went to his web site and found out some more information about him. I found out that he had a complete DVD on making the bed and the jigs that you need to make the post. I ordered it right away. With the help of the DVD's I felt that this was something that I could do. One of the other things that I found out from the web site was that Charles teaches classes in his shop in New Market VA. I have been making things out of wood for a long time now but I am not a fine woodworker (I am what Charles calls a glue it and screw it woodworker) so I decided it is time for me to jump things up a notch by taking some lessons on what it takes to make fine furniture. Since New Market is only 3 hours from me I decided to sign up for a class on making a cabriole leg. Taking this class would do 3 things 1. find out if I liked this guy and the way he teaches 2. learn how to make a cabriole leg and 3. pick his brain with any questions I might have about making the bed. After just a few minutes with Charles my first question was answered. Right away he made me feel at home and he understood my level of wood working experience and was able to explain and show me things so that I understood them (even if he does talk funny). I knew right away that I had found a new friend and mentor. Within a few hours he had me banging out cabriole legs. I never thought that I would be doing that. Now for the 3rd thing, asking questions about the Pencil Post bed. In the DVD the first thing that he talks about is the size of the table saw you need to cut out the post. He said that if you only have a bench top saw to not even think about doing this, just send the DVD back.
> ...


Great Job. I bought the DVD's when I was at Charles Shop this week. I don't know if I'll make the bed but i wanted to see how its done.

I've got a friend that wants to build one.


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## Kipster (Feb 15, 2008)

mikega said:


> *Making a Pencil Post bed part-1*
> 
> Last year about this time my son (Sean) told me that he was looking for a Pencil Post bed. Well after finding out how much they cost his next question to me was "Do you think you could make me one Dad?" I told him I would have to see if I could find any information on how to make one. I went to the Internet and typed in "How to make a Pencil Post Bed" One of the hits I got was 3 Youtube video's on just making the rails for the bed.
> They were done by a guy I never heard of before CHARLES NEIL. After viewing the short clips I went to his web site and found out some more information about him. I found out that he had a complete DVD on making the bed and the jigs that you need to make the post. I ordered it right away. With the help of the DVD's I felt that this was something that I could do. One of the other things that I found out from the web site was that Charles teaches classes in his shop in New Market VA. I have been making things out of wood for a long time now but I am not a fine woodworker (I am what Charles calls a glue it and screw it woodworker) so I decided it is time for me to jump things up a notch by taking some lessons on what it takes to make fine furniture. Since New Market is only 3 hours from me I decided to sign up for a class on making a cabriole leg. Taking this class would do 3 things 1. find out if I liked this guy and the way he teaches 2. learn how to make a cabriole leg and 3. pick his brain with any questions I might have about making the bed. After just a few minutes with Charles my first question was answered. Right away he made me feel at home and he understood my level of wood working experience and was able to explain and show me things so that I understood them (even if he does talk funny). I knew right away that I had found a new friend and mentor. Within a few hours he had me banging out cabriole legs. I never thought that I would be doing that. Now for the 3rd thing, asking questions about the Pencil Post bed. In the DVD the first thing that he talks about is the size of the table saw you need to cut out the post. He said that if you only have a bench top saw to not even think about doing this, just send the DVD back.
> ...


I was interested in this DVD but hesitated. Your article has made it sound very usefull.

Thanks for the post


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## mikega (Oct 24, 2007)

mikega said:


> *Making a Pencil Post bed part-1*
> 
> Last year about this time my son (Sean) told me that he was looking for a Pencil Post bed. Well after finding out how much they cost his next question to me was "Do you think you could make me one Dad?" I told him I would have to see if I could find any information on how to make one. I went to the Internet and typed in "How to make a Pencil Post Bed" One of the hits I got was 3 Youtube video's on just making the rails for the bed.
> They were done by a guy I never heard of before CHARLES NEIL. After viewing the short clips I went to his web site and found out some more information about him. I found out that he had a complete DVD on making the bed and the jigs that you need to make the post. I ordered it right away. With the help of the DVD's I felt that this was something that I could do. One of the other things that I found out from the web site was that Charles teaches classes in his shop in New Market VA. I have been making things out of wood for a long time now but I am not a fine woodworker (I am what Charles calls a glue it and screw it woodworker) so I decided it is time for me to jump things up a notch by taking some lessons on what it takes to make fine furniture. Since New Market is only 3 hours from me I decided to sign up for a class on making a cabriole leg. Taking this class would do 3 things 1. find out if I liked this guy and the way he teaches 2. learn how to make a cabriole leg and 3. pick his brain with any questions I might have about making the bed. After just a few minutes with Charles my first question was answered. Right away he made me feel at home and he understood my level of wood working experience and was able to explain and show me things so that I understood them (even if he does talk funny). I knew right away that I had found a new friend and mentor. Within a few hours he had me banging out cabriole legs. I never thought that I would be doing that. Now for the 3rd thing, asking questions about the Pencil Post bed. In the DVD the first thing that he talks about is the size of the table saw you need to cut out the post. He said that if you only have a bench top saw to not even think about doing this, just send the DVD back.
> ...


Kip
I am sure you will find this DVD set to be very useful. Charles does have a money back guarantee if you are not completly happy with it. Glad you liked the blog. It was a fun project and I learned a lot. I hope to see your bed posted on LJ soon.


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## Grumpy (Nov 9, 2007)

mikega said:


> *Making a Pencil Post bed part-1*
> 
> Last year about this time my son (Sean) told me that he was looking for a Pencil Post bed. Well after finding out how much they cost his next question to me was "Do you think you could make me one Dad?" I told him I would have to see if I could find any information on how to make one. I went to the Internet and typed in "How to make a Pencil Post Bed" One of the hits I got was 3 Youtube video's on just making the rails for the bed.
> They were done by a guy I never heard of before CHARLES NEIL. After viewing the short clips I went to his web site and found out some more information about him. I found out that he had a complete DVD on making the bed and the jigs that you need to make the post. I ordered it right away. With the help of the DVD's I felt that this was something that I could do. One of the other things that I found out from the web site was that Charles teaches classes in his shop in New Market VA. I have been making things out of wood for a long time now but I am not a fine woodworker (I am what Charles calls a glue it and screw it woodworker) so I decided it is time for me to jump things up a notch by taking some lessons on what it takes to make fine furniture. Since New Market is only 3 hours from me I decided to sign up for a class on making a cabriole leg. Taking this class would do 3 things 1. find out if I liked this guy and the way he teaches 2. learn how to make a cabriole leg and 3. pick his brain with any questions I might have about making the bed. After just a few minutes with Charles my first question was answered. Right away he made me feel at home and he understood my level of wood working experience and was able to explain and show me things so that I understood them (even if he does talk funny). I knew right away that I had found a new friend and mentor. Within a few hours he had me banging out cabriole legs. I never thought that I would be doing that. Now for the 3rd thing, asking questions about the Pencil Post bed. In the DVD the first thing that he talks about is the size of the table saw you need to cut out the post. He said that if you only have a bench top saw to not even think about doing this, just send the DVD back.
> ...


Thanks for sharing Mike


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## hermv2000 (Mar 12, 2017)

mikega said:


> *Making a Pencil Post bed part-1*
> 
> Last year about this time my son (Sean) told me that he was looking for a Pencil Post bed. Well after finding out how much they cost his next question to me was "Do you think you could make me one Dad?" I told him I would have to see if I could find any information on how to make one. I went to the Internet and typed in "How to make a Pencil Post Bed" One of the hits I got was 3 Youtube video's on just making the rails for the bed.
> They were done by a guy I never heard of before CHARLES NEIL. After viewing the short clips I went to his web site and found out some more information about him. I found out that he had a complete DVD on making the bed and the jigs that you need to make the post. I ordered it right away. With the help of the DVD's I felt that this was something that I could do. One of the other things that I found out from the web site was that Charles teaches classes in his shop in New Market VA. I have been making things out of wood for a long time now but I am not a fine woodworker (I am what Charles calls a glue it and screw it woodworker) so I decided it is time for me to jump things up a notch by taking some lessons on what it takes to make fine furniture. Since New Market is only 3 hours from me I decided to sign up for a class on making a cabriole leg. Taking this class would do 3 things 1. find out if I liked this guy and the way he teaches 2. learn how to make a cabriole leg and 3. pick his brain with any questions I might have about making the bed. After just a few minutes with Charles my first question was answered. Right away he made me feel at home and he understood my level of wood working experience and was able to explain and show me things so that I understood them (even if he does talk funny). I knew right away that I had found a new friend and mentor. Within a few hours he had me banging out cabriole legs. I never thought that I would be doing that. Now for the 3rd thing, asking questions about the Pencil Post bed. In the DVD the first thing that he talks about is the size of the table saw you need to cut out the post. He said that if you only have a bench top saw to not even think about doing this, just send the DVD back.
> ...


I intend to make such a bed but am frustrated by the lack of material on how to make the jigs. Charles Neil no longer sells the DVD and only one of these is for sale on ebay for well over $2000. Tommy Mac had a great jig for the leg tapers but doesn't sell any plans making me wonder what the point of the show is other than to show off his skills without sharing the knowledge.

I want to make this bed out of tiger maple so I don't want to use a shaper cutter or band saw for the tapers as the shaper would cause tear out and my band saw doesn't have a large enough table. It's the table saw method for me.

I've ordered Norm's book (at least he shared his knowledge and plans) and the Woodsmith magazine article so that may be a start. What I'd really like is to get a copy of the Neil DVD.

Thanks,

Herman


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## mikega (Oct 24, 2007)

*Pencil post bed part-2*

Well the bed rails are all cleaned up and ready to cut to final size. I remembered from the DVD that Charles said to leave an extra inch in the length and width so that it is easier to tuck in the bed sheets. This means that I want 61×81 inches from rail to rail. 

Up to this point I always checked the DVD before I moved onto the next step but for some dumb reason I figured I could figure this one out. All I had to due was subtract the distance from the end of the mortise to the end of the post from my 61 inches and then add back 1-1/2 inches for my tenon's. I cut a test sample out of MDF and put it in mortises and it measured 61 inches from mortise to mortise so I was good to go. I cut just the head and foot rails that night. For some reason at work the next day I had this feeling that I did some thing wrong. I checked my math again and everything looked good. As soon as I got home I put the DVD in again (I have played this thing so many time that the dog gets up and leaves the room when he sees me heading for the DVD player) I went to the section on the bed rails. My bed post and rails are the same size as the one's in the DVD. As soon as Charles started to explain how to get the rails to the correct size I got a sick feeling in my stomach. He didn't do it the way I did and his numbers were different then mine. Most of you have probably already figured out my mistake by now but it was not until I went back downstair to my shop that I discovered what I did. I went 61 inches from mortise to mortise but the rails extend about 3/8 inches beyond the mortise. PANIC TIME!! Now I will be to short. Well after I calmed down a bit I put the test rail pieces that I made in the side rails and measured across and found out that it was 60-3/8 inches from rail to rail so it will be tight but the mattress should fit. But what if it is to tight? Well after arguing with myself for about 2 hours I decided the only thing I could due is call the man that would know so at 9:30 that night I gave Charles a call. I got his voice mail. Next morning shortly after 7:00 he called me back and said " What the #&%^ did you do!" So I explained my problem to him and after having some fun harassing me about not following his instructions on the DVD he laughed and said " you'll be alright and if the mattress is to tight just jump on the son of a b&^%*". Well I felt better. After watching the DVD again I am now ready to cut the tenons. The way the DVD shows is to make a box that slides over the rails and then with a pattern bit in the router just follow the box all the way around to create the tenon. It worked great and after a little sanding and trimming up I was able to get them to fit.

Now it is time to drill the holes in the post for the bed bolts. In this picture you can see the spindle sanded that I just had to have but have only used as a prop for my drill press since I got it back in December. Marked the holes in the correct location and drilled a 1 inch hole followed by a 7/16 in hole for the bolt to go through.

After the post were drilled I clamped the post and the rails together to finish drilling the holes in the rails.

After that I drill a 1-3/8 inch hole in the rail to put the nut in. Did a test fit and everything is looking good so I guess I can start working on the head board.
I made a template out of MDF to test the fit and to use as a template for routing out the final headboard.
YEA I finally got to use my spindle sander.

Next I had to lay out the mortises on the post.

Here is where I am at right now.

Next thing will be to turn some finials for the top and start sanding. I have been testing some different finishes so that I my son can pick the one he likes best. Maybe I will soon be able to put this project to bed


----------



## gad5264 (Sep 13, 2007)

mikega said:


> *Pencil post bed part-2*
> 
> Well the bed rails are all cleaned up and ready to cut to final size. I remembered from the DVD that Charles said to leave an extra inch in the length and width so that it is easier to tuck in the bed sheets. This means that I want 61×81 inches from rail to rail.
> 
> ...


Nice progress, I can't wait to see the finished product.


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## Robb (Aug 18, 2007)

mikega said:


> *Pencil post bed part-2*
> 
> Well the bed rails are all cleaned up and ready to cut to final size. I remembered from the DVD that Charles said to leave an extra inch in the length and width so that it is easier to tuck in the bed sheets. This means that I want 61×81 inches from rail to rail.
> 
> ...


Looks great, Mike! Keep up the good work, and thanks for sharing. I like the tenoning box; I haven't seen that done that way before.


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## Grumpy (Nov 9, 2007)

mikega said:


> *Pencil post bed part-2*
> 
> Well the bed rails are all cleaned up and ready to cut to final size. I remembered from the DVD that Charles said to leave an extra inch in the length and width so that it is easier to tuck in the bed sheets. This means that I want 61×81 inches from rail to rail.
> 
> ...


Looking good Mike. I am about to start my Grandaughter's bed. Looks like you have a similar problem to me in the lack of space, although weather is warn here at the moment so I can do a lot of the assembly outside. Good luck with the project.


----------



## sbryan55 (Dec 8, 2007)

mikega said:


> *Pencil post bed part-2*
> 
> Well the bed rails are all cleaned up and ready to cut to final size. I remembered from the DVD that Charles said to leave an extra inch in the length and width so that it is easier to tuck in the bed sheets. This means that I want 61×81 inches from rail to rail.
> 
> ...


Mike,

This looks good. I have been following your posts and found them to be very helpful. I have been "assigned" a bed as a project and it, like a number of other projects that THE BOSS has put on my list, is her #1 priority.

I look forward to seeing the final product too but don't feel shy about posting some more construction blogs as you go.

Thanks for the post.


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

mikega said:


> *Pencil post bed part-2*
> 
> Well the bed rails are all cleaned up and ready to cut to final size. I remembered from the DVD that Charles said to leave an extra inch in the length and width so that it is easier to tuck in the bed sheets. This means that I want 61×81 inches from rail to rail.
> 
> ...


Mike thanks for the post. I've not looked at the DVD yet. Buts looks interesting.


----------



## mikega (Oct 24, 2007)

*Pencil post bed part-3*

This is the third part of my series on making a Pencil Post bed that I am doing from the DVD that I got from Charles Neil at: www.antiquesbuiltdaily.com. I am now in the the not so exciting part of this project which is the sanding, sanding and sanding. There really is not much to say about the sanding but I would like to share something that I learned from Charles on my first trip to his shop in New Market VA that has really helped to improve the sanding on my projects. He showed me how to use what he calls a "trace coat" to show sanding marks or glue spots that need to be sanded out before you put on the final finish.
A trace coat is a very very diluted dye that is wiped on lightly before you start the sanding. On the first picture you can see the sanding lines on the cherry side of the bed rail that were left by the drum sander. On the cherry side I used a dark dye which will also help to bring out the curl in the wood when I put on the final finish.
The next picture is the poplar side of the rails. I used a diluted Transtint Red dye for this side. Here you can see the glue that I thought I had gotten off before I put the dye on. After you put the dye on you sand it off with 120 grit then put the dye on again and sand it off again with 150 or 180 grit.
The bed rails are made up up 2 pieces of poplar with a 1/4 inch piece of cherry laminated to the face and top and bottoms of the rails. To hide the seam you need to put a 1/4 inch bead on the rails. I waited till after the rails were sanded so that the trace coat dye did not get in the crack and so that I did not flatten the bead when I was doing the sanding. After you put the bead on it looks like you have one solid rail that is 1-1/2 inches thick.
Another thing left to do is to turn some finials for the posts. I made up 2 samples for my son to pick the one he likes best (he likes the one on the right). Turning one of these was easy but making 4 that all look the same will not be as easy. I had planned on putting a canopy on the bed but when I was at my son's placed to measure his box spring and mattress I discovered that he has a ceiling fan in his bed room so the canopy will not fit (I don't think he really wanted one anyway).

If you have been following my blogs on this bed you will remember that I am building this in my basement and I mentioned in my 1st blog that I will probably wipe out a light or two till I am done with this project. While this week it finally happened. Nothing like having glass raining down on you.
The other thing that I have been doing is working on some samples for the final finish. Here you can see my test board. 

However on Sunday I got a phone call from Charles asking when I am gone to bring the bed down to be finished. So you guessed it I will be loading the bed up and heading to VA next weekend. I asked Charles what type of a finish we will be using but he wouldn't tell me. All he said is that it will be a surprise and that we will really pop the grain and that I will be spraying it. This should be interesting but at least I will have Charles there to bail me when I need it.
So stayed tuned in about 2 weeks I should be posting the final blog with the finished bed.


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## GaryK (Jun 25, 2007)

mikega said:


> *Pencil post bed part-3*
> 
> This is the third part of my series on making a Pencil Post bed that I am doing from the DVD that I got from Charles Neil at: www.antiquesbuiltdaily.com. I am now in the the not so exciting part of this project which is the sanding, sanding and sanding. There really is not much to say about the sanding but I would like to share something that I learned from Charles on my first trip to his shop in New Market VA that has really helped to improve the sanding on my projects. He showed me how to use what he calls a "trace coat" to show sanding marks or glue spots that need to be sanded out before you put on the final finish.
> A trace coat is a very very diluted dye that is wiped on lightly before you start the sanding. On the first picture you can see the sanding lines on the cherry side of the bed rail that were left by the drum sander. On the cherry side I used a dark dye which will also help to bring out the curl in the wood when I put on the final finish.
> ...


Good looking progress.

About the light - been there done that.


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## damianpenney (Jun 22, 2007)

mikega said:


> *Pencil post bed part-3*
> 
> This is the third part of my series on making a Pencil Post bed that I am doing from the DVD that I got from Charles Neil at: www.antiquesbuiltdaily.com. I am now in the the not so exciting part of this project which is the sanding, sanding and sanding. There really is not much to say about the sanding but I would like to share something that I learned from Charles on my first trip to his shop in New Market VA that has really helped to improve the sanding on my projects. He showed me how to use what he calls a "trace coat" to show sanding marks or glue spots that need to be sanded out before you put on the final finish.
> A trace coat is a very very diluted dye that is wiped on lightly before you start the sanding. On the first picture you can see the sanding lines on the cherry side of the bed rail that were left by the drum sander. On the cherry side I used a dark dye which will also help to bring out the curl in the wood when I put on the final finish.
> ...


You should pick up some tube protectors, saved me numerous times; it's just a plastic tube that slides over the glass and you can get them at Home Depot, super cheap.


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## sbryan55 (Dec 8, 2007)

mikega said:


> *Pencil post bed part-3*
> 
> This is the third part of my series on making a Pencil Post bed that I am doing from the DVD that I got from Charles Neil at: www.antiquesbuiltdaily.com. I am now in the the not so exciting part of this project which is the sanding, sanding and sanding. There really is not much to say about the sanding but I would like to share something that I learned from Charles on my first trip to his shop in New Market VA that has really helped to improve the sanding on my projects. He showed me how to use what he calls a "trace coat" to show sanding marks or glue spots that need to be sanded out before you put on the final finish.
> A trace coat is a very very diluted dye that is wiped on lightly before you start the sanding. On the first picture you can see the sanding lines on the cherry side of the bed rail that were left by the drum sander. On the cherry side I used a dark dye which will also help to bring out the curl in the wood when I put on the final finish.
> ...


You are making progress on the piece. Actually you are getting ready for the home stretch. I am sure you are beginning to feel the adrenaline rush.


----------



## Karson (May 9, 2006)

mikega said:


> *Pencil post bed part-3*
> 
> This is the third part of my series on making a Pencil Post bed that I am doing from the DVD that I got from Charles Neil at: www.antiquesbuiltdaily.com. I am now in the the not so exciting part of this project which is the sanding, sanding and sanding. There really is not much to say about the sanding but I would like to share something that I learned from Charles on my first trip to his shop in New Market VA that has really helped to improve the sanding on my projects. He showed me how to use what he calls a "trace coat" to show sanding marks or glue spots that need to be sanded out before you put on the final finish.
> A trace coat is a very very diluted dye that is wiped on lightly before you start the sanding. On the first picture you can see the sanding lines on the cherry side of the bed rail that were left by the drum sander. On the cherry side I used a dark dye which will also help to bring out the curl in the wood when I put on the final finish.
> ...


Mike. Charles told me that you had been there. It would have been nice to see it in person.

It's looking great so far.


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## Kipster (Feb 15, 2008)

mikega said:


> *Pencil post bed part-3*
> 
> This is the third part of my series on making a Pencil Post bed that I am doing from the DVD that I got from Charles Neil at: www.antiquesbuiltdaily.com. I am now in the the not so exciting part of this project which is the sanding, sanding and sanding. There really is not much to say about the sanding but I would like to share something that I learned from Charles on my first trip to his shop in New Market VA that has really helped to improve the sanding on my projects. He showed me how to use what he calls a "trace coat" to show sanding marks or glue spots that need to be sanded out before you put on the final finish.
> A trace coat is a very very diluted dye that is wiped on lightly before you start the sanding. On the first picture you can see the sanding lines on the cherry side of the bed rail that were left by the drum sander. On the cherry side I used a dark dye which will also help to bring out the curl in the wood when I put on the final finish.
> ...


It has been 2 weeks where is your conclusion. I love this post annd really need to see it done.

Again Thanks for the posts.


----------



## mikega (Oct 24, 2007)

mikega said:


> *Pencil post bed part-3*
> 
> This is the third part of my series on making a Pencil Post bed that I am doing from the DVD that I got from Charles Neil at: www.antiquesbuiltdaily.com. I am now in the the not so exciting part of this project which is the sanding, sanding and sanding. There really is not much to say about the sanding but I would like to share something that I learned from Charles on my first trip to his shop in New Market VA that has really helped to improve the sanding on my projects. He showed me how to use what he calls a "trace coat" to show sanding marks or glue spots that need to be sanded out before you put on the final finish.
> A trace coat is a very very diluted dye that is wiped on lightly before you start the sanding. On the first picture you can see the sanding lines on the cherry side of the bed rail that were left by the drum sander. On the cherry side I used a dark dye which will also help to bring out the curl in the wood when I put on the final finish.
> ...


Kip
Just click on my blog and goto Pencil Post bed part 4 FINISHED.


----------



## mikega (Oct 24, 2007)

*Pencil Post bed part 4 FINISHED*

In my last blog I mentioned that I would be traveling back down to Charles Neil's shop in New Market VA .to put the finish on my bed. When I arrived there I saw a police car sitting in front of the shop. Charles greeted me and told me that they had a break in that night. After some investigating they found a trail of some items from the shop leading right to the backdoor of the house next door. A drill was found in the basement and a phone charger was found in one of the bedrooms. However the 2 video cameras were no where to be found. The police took the information and the investigation is still on gone. I talked with Charles last week and he said that Sherri has purchased a new camera and some other items needed to get them back up with making his videos. Needless to say everyone was very upset but after the police left Charles was able to pull it together and we got started on my bed. The first thing we did was to spray on an equalized by Gemini products.  Charles explained that this would help to even out the color of the cherry when we put the stain on. This stuff dried really quick so it was not long before we were spraying on the stain. The stained we used was called Honey-Pine also by Gemini.  This gave the cherry a nice warm look and really brought out the curl in the grain. Next we sprayed on a vinyl sealer and left that dry for awhile. Next we rubbed on a dark glaze (mahogany I think) from Mohawk which gave the wood a nice aged cherry look.   Next came a very heavy coat of a precatalzed lacquer. Then we left the bed to dry for the night. On Saturday we got started about 8:30. Charles explained that today would be easier because all we needed to do was to sand and level out the lacquer that we put on the day before and then spray it one more time with another coat of lacquer.  Here is a quick way to sand and glaze the finials.  This gave us plenty of time to sit around and talk woodworking while things were drying. I also took advantage of this time to get some pictures of the new shop layout. If you subscribe to Charles newsletter you know that they split the shop in half. This was mainly done to help keep down the heating cost.   All the woodworking machines except the big drum sander and a planner were moved to the front of the shop.  The main shop is now just a little larger then a 2 car garage. He explained that by setting his shop up this way guys who view his videos can see how they can setup their shop. I looked at the wall that holds some of his 20 routers and said "yea most guys have 20 routers in their shop" He just laughed and said "I hate changing router bits". He then went on to explain that he is still a production shop making furniture for a living so he needs things that help him cut down on the production time like more then type of tool and tools on their own stands so he does not have to waste time moving tools in and out. By 3:00 everything was sanded and sprayed and left to dry for another night. I left for the day and went over to check out the VMI Hall Of Valor which is less then 5 minutes from the shop. If you get to New Market be sure to spend some time there. Sunday morning I was back at the shop by 8:30. We talked for awhile then carefully wrapped the bed in some moving blankets and loaded it in my truck for the trip home. By 4:00 that afternoon we had the bed set-up in my son's spare bedroom so that it could cure for a few days before we moved it into his room. This was the first time it was completely put together and I was a bit worried that everything would fit, however everything fit like a glove and I gave a sigh of relief. On Friday night I went back to my son's house for the final move. We moved the bed into his room and I installed the strips for the bed slates and put on the bed bolt covers. Now for the last big test 'will the box spring and mattress fit?' YES IT FITS!! 

Project done! I would like to thank Charles for all his help in making this bed happen. I could not have done this without his support and the Pencil Post Bed DVD that he has out. If you would like to make your own bed I strongly suggest you get the DVD. Right now it is on sale on his web site www.antiquesbuiltdaily.com for around $50.00. It is a 2 DVD set (5 hrs running time) covering how to make and use the jigs and everything you need to know to make the bed. Thanks also to everyone who took the time to read my blogs. I hope you had as much fun reading them as I did making the bed.


----------



## sbryan55 (Dec 8, 2007)

mikega said:


> *Pencil Post bed part 4 FINISHED*
> 
> In my last blog I mentioned that I would be traveling back down to Charles Neil's shop in New Market VA .to put the finish on my bed. When I arrived there I saw a police car sitting in front of the shop. Charles greeted me and told me that they had a break in that night. After some investigating they found a trail of some items from the shop leading right to the backdoor of the house next door. A drill was found in the basement and a phone charger was found in one of the bedrooms. However the 2 video cameras were no where to be found. The police took the information and the investigation is still on gone. I talked with Charles last week and he said that Sherri has purchased a new camera and some other items needed to get them back up with making his videos. Needless to say everyone was very upset but after the police left Charles was able to pull it together and we got started on my bed. The first thing we did was to spray on an equalized by Gemini products.  Charles explained that this would help to even out the color of the cherry when we put the stain on. This stuff dried really quick so it was not long before we were spraying on the stain. The stained we used was called Honey-Pine also by Gemini.  This gave the cherry a nice warm look and really brought out the curl in the grain. Next we sprayed on a vinyl sealer and left that dry for awhile. Next we rubbed on a dark glaze (mahogany I think) from Mohawk which gave the wood a nice aged cherry look.   Next came a very heavy coat of a precatalzed lacquer. Then we left the bed to dry for the night. On Saturday we got started about 8:30. Charles explained that today would be easier because all we needed to do was to sand and level out the lacquer that we put on the day before and then spray it one more time with another coat of lacquer.  Here is a quick way to sand and glaze the finials.  This gave us plenty of time to sit around and talk woodworking while things were drying. I also took advantage of this time to get some pictures of the new shop layout. If you subscribe to Charles newsletter you know that they split the shop in half. This was mainly done to help keep down the heating cost.   All the woodworking machines except the big drum sander and a planner were moved to the front of the shop.  The main shop is now just a little larger then a 2 car garage. He explained that by setting his shop up this way guys who view his videos can see how they can setup their shop. I looked at the wall that holds some of his 20 routers and said "yea most guys have 20 routers in their shop" He just laughed and said "I hate changing router bits". He then went on to explain that he is still a production shop making furniture for a living so he needs things that help him cut down on the production time like more then type of tool and tools on their own stands so he does not have to waste time moving tools in and out. By 3:00 everything was sanded and sprayed and left to dry for another night. I left for the day and went over to check out the VMI Hall Of Valor which is less then 5 minutes from the shop. If you get to New Market be sure to spend some time there. Sunday morning I was back at the shop by 8:30. We talked for awhile then carefully wrapped the bed in some moving blankets and loaded it in my truck for the trip home. By 4:00 that afternoon we had the bed set-up in my son's spare bedroom so that it could cure for a few days before we moved it into his room. This was the first time it was completely put together and I was a bit worried that everything would fit, however everything fit like a glove and I gave a sigh of relief. On Friday night I went back to my son's house for the final move. We moved the bed into his room and I installed the strips for the bed slates and put on the bed bolt covers. Now for the last big test 'will the box spring and mattress fit?' YES IT FITS!!
> 
> Project done! I would like to thank Charles for all his help in making this bed happen. I could not have done this without his support and the Pencil Post Bed DVD that he has out. If you would like to make your own bed I strongly suggest you get the DVD. Right now it is on sale on his web site www.antiquesbuiltdaily.com for around $50.00. It is a 2 DVD set (5 hrs running time) covering how to make and use the jigs and everything you need to know to make the bed. Thanks also to everyone who took the time to read my blogs. I hope you had as much fun reading them as I did making the bed.


Mike,

This is a nice post and I really enjoyed the background that went into the construction. The bed is nice and the finish is just gorgeous.

Thanks for sharing.


----------



## ND2ELK (Jan 25, 2008)

mikega said:


> *Pencil Post bed part 4 FINISHED*
> 
> In my last blog I mentioned that I would be traveling back down to Charles Neil's shop in New Market VA .to put the finish on my bed. When I arrived there I saw a police car sitting in front of the shop. Charles greeted me and told me that they had a break in that night. After some investigating they found a trail of some items from the shop leading right to the backdoor of the house next door. A drill was found in the basement and a phone charger was found in one of the bedrooms. However the 2 video cameras were no where to be found. The police took the information and the investigation is still on gone. I talked with Charles last week and he said that Sherri has purchased a new camera and some other items needed to get them back up with making his videos. Needless to say everyone was very upset but after the police left Charles was able to pull it together and we got started on my bed. The first thing we did was to spray on an equalized by Gemini products.  Charles explained that this would help to even out the color of the cherry when we put the stain on. This stuff dried really quick so it was not long before we were spraying on the stain. The stained we used was called Honey-Pine also by Gemini.  This gave the cherry a nice warm look and really brought out the curl in the grain. Next we sprayed on a vinyl sealer and left that dry for awhile. Next we rubbed on a dark glaze (mahogany I think) from Mohawk which gave the wood a nice aged cherry look.   Next came a very heavy coat of a precatalzed lacquer. Then we left the bed to dry for the night. On Saturday we got started about 8:30. Charles explained that today would be easier because all we needed to do was to sand and level out the lacquer that we put on the day before and then spray it one more time with another coat of lacquer.  Here is a quick way to sand and glaze the finials.  This gave us plenty of time to sit around and talk woodworking while things were drying. I also took advantage of this time to get some pictures of the new shop layout. If you subscribe to Charles newsletter you know that they split the shop in half. This was mainly done to help keep down the heating cost.   All the woodworking machines except the big drum sander and a planner were moved to the front of the shop.  The main shop is now just a little larger then a 2 car garage. He explained that by setting his shop up this way guys who view his videos can see how they can setup their shop. I looked at the wall that holds some of his 20 routers and said "yea most guys have 20 routers in their shop" He just laughed and said "I hate changing router bits". He then went on to explain that he is still a production shop making furniture for a living so he needs things that help him cut down on the production time like more then type of tool and tools on their own stands so he does not have to waste time moving tools in and out. By 3:00 everything was sanded and sprayed and left to dry for another night. I left for the day and went over to check out the VMI Hall Of Valor which is less then 5 minutes from the shop. If you get to New Market be sure to spend some time there. Sunday morning I was back at the shop by 8:30. We talked for awhile then carefully wrapped the bed in some moving blankets and loaded it in my truck for the trip home. By 4:00 that afternoon we had the bed set-up in my son's spare bedroom so that it could cure for a few days before we moved it into his room. This was the first time it was completely put together and I was a bit worried that everything would fit, however everything fit like a glove and I gave a sigh of relief. On Friday night I went back to my son's house for the final move. We moved the bed into his room and I installed the strips for the bed slates and put on the bed bolt covers. Now for the last big test 'will the box spring and mattress fit?' YES IT FITS!!
> 
> Project done! I would like to thank Charles for all his help in making this bed happen. I could not have done this without his support and the Pencil Post Bed DVD that he has out. If you would like to make your own bed I strongly suggest you get the DVD. Right now it is on sale on his web site www.antiquesbuiltdaily.com for around $50.00. It is a 2 DVD set (5 hrs running time) covering how to make and use the jigs and everything you need to know to make the bed. Thanks also to everyone who took the time to read my blogs. I hope you had as much fun reading them as I did making the bed.


Hi Mike

What a beautiful bed and finish finish job. Really enjoyed seeing the steps in finishing the bed. Charles has a great looking shop. Thanks for posting.

God Bless
tom


----------



## Keni (Oct 7, 2007)

mikega said:


> *Pencil Post bed part 4 FINISHED*
> 
> In my last blog I mentioned that I would be traveling back down to Charles Neil's shop in New Market VA .to put the finish on my bed. When I arrived there I saw a police car sitting in front of the shop. Charles greeted me and told me that they had a break in that night. After some investigating they found a trail of some items from the shop leading right to the backdoor of the house next door. A drill was found in the basement and a phone charger was found in one of the bedrooms. However the 2 video cameras were no where to be found. The police took the information and the investigation is still on gone. I talked with Charles last week and he said that Sherri has purchased a new camera and some other items needed to get them back up with making his videos. Needless to say everyone was very upset but after the police left Charles was able to pull it together and we got started on my bed. The first thing we did was to spray on an equalized by Gemini products.  Charles explained that this would help to even out the color of the cherry when we put the stain on. This stuff dried really quick so it was not long before we were spraying on the stain. The stained we used was called Honey-Pine also by Gemini.  This gave the cherry a nice warm look and really brought out the curl in the grain. Next we sprayed on a vinyl sealer and left that dry for awhile. Next we rubbed on a dark glaze (mahogany I think) from Mohawk which gave the wood a nice aged cherry look.   Next came a very heavy coat of a precatalzed lacquer. Then we left the bed to dry for the night. On Saturday we got started about 8:30. Charles explained that today would be easier because all we needed to do was to sand and level out the lacquer that we put on the day before and then spray it one more time with another coat of lacquer.  Here is a quick way to sand and glaze the finials.  This gave us plenty of time to sit around and talk woodworking while things were drying. I also took advantage of this time to get some pictures of the new shop layout. If you subscribe to Charles newsletter you know that they split the shop in half. This was mainly done to help keep down the heating cost.   All the woodworking machines except the big drum sander and a planner were moved to the front of the shop.  The main shop is now just a little larger then a 2 car garage. He explained that by setting his shop up this way guys who view his videos can see how they can setup their shop. I looked at the wall that holds some of his 20 routers and said "yea most guys have 20 routers in their shop" He just laughed and said "I hate changing router bits". He then went on to explain that he is still a production shop making furniture for a living so he needs things that help him cut down on the production time like more then type of tool and tools on their own stands so he does not have to waste time moving tools in and out. By 3:00 everything was sanded and sprayed and left to dry for another night. I left for the day and went over to check out the VMI Hall Of Valor which is less then 5 minutes from the shop. If you get to New Market be sure to spend some time there. Sunday morning I was back at the shop by 8:30. We talked for awhile then carefully wrapped the bed in some moving blankets and loaded it in my truck for the trip home. By 4:00 that afternoon we had the bed set-up in my son's spare bedroom so that it could cure for a few days before we moved it into his room. This was the first time it was completely put together and I was a bit worried that everything would fit, however everything fit like a glove and I gave a sigh of relief. On Friday night I went back to my son's house for the final move. We moved the bed into his room and I installed the strips for the bed slates and put on the bed bolt covers. Now for the last big test 'will the box spring and mattress fit?' YES IT FITS!!
> 
> Project done! I would like to thank Charles for all his help in making this bed happen. I could not have done this without his support and the Pencil Post Bed DVD that he has out. If you would like to make your own bed I strongly suggest you get the DVD. Right now it is on sale on his web site www.antiquesbuiltdaily.com for around $50.00. It is a 2 DVD set (5 hrs running time) covering how to make and use the jigs and everything you need to know to make the bed. Thanks also to everyone who took the time to read my blogs. I hope you had as much fun reading them as I did making the bed.


Hey Mike,
Your bed turned out great! You are very fortunate to have Charles there to help with the finishing! I am actually considering his finishing video.

Take care,
Keni


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

mikega said:


> *Pencil Post bed part 4 FINISHED*
> 
> In my last blog I mentioned that I would be traveling back down to Charles Neil's shop in New Market VA .to put the finish on my bed. When I arrived there I saw a police car sitting in front of the shop. Charles greeted me and told me that they had a break in that night. After some investigating they found a trail of some items from the shop leading right to the backdoor of the house next door. A drill was found in the basement and a phone charger was found in one of the bedrooms. However the 2 video cameras were no where to be found. The police took the information and the investigation is still on gone. I talked with Charles last week and he said that Sherri has purchased a new camera and some other items needed to get them back up with making his videos. Needless to say everyone was very upset but after the police left Charles was able to pull it together and we got started on my bed. The first thing we did was to spray on an equalized by Gemini products.  Charles explained that this would help to even out the color of the cherry when we put the stain on. This stuff dried really quick so it was not long before we were spraying on the stain. The stained we used was called Honey-Pine also by Gemini.  This gave the cherry a nice warm look and really brought out the curl in the grain. Next we sprayed on a vinyl sealer and left that dry for awhile. Next we rubbed on a dark glaze (mahogany I think) from Mohawk which gave the wood a nice aged cherry look.   Next came a very heavy coat of a precatalzed lacquer. Then we left the bed to dry for the night. On Saturday we got started about 8:30. Charles explained that today would be easier because all we needed to do was to sand and level out the lacquer that we put on the day before and then spray it one more time with another coat of lacquer.  Here is a quick way to sand and glaze the finials.  This gave us plenty of time to sit around and talk woodworking while things were drying. I also took advantage of this time to get some pictures of the new shop layout. If you subscribe to Charles newsletter you know that they split the shop in half. This was mainly done to help keep down the heating cost.   All the woodworking machines except the big drum sander and a planner were moved to the front of the shop.  The main shop is now just a little larger then a 2 car garage. He explained that by setting his shop up this way guys who view his videos can see how they can setup their shop. I looked at the wall that holds some of his 20 routers and said "yea most guys have 20 routers in their shop" He just laughed and said "I hate changing router bits". He then went on to explain that he is still a production shop making furniture for a living so he needs things that help him cut down on the production time like more then type of tool and tools on their own stands so he does not have to waste time moving tools in and out. By 3:00 everything was sanded and sprayed and left to dry for another night. I left for the day and went over to check out the VMI Hall Of Valor which is less then 5 minutes from the shop. If you get to New Market be sure to spend some time there. Sunday morning I was back at the shop by 8:30. We talked for awhile then carefully wrapped the bed in some moving blankets and loaded it in my truck for the trip home. By 4:00 that afternoon we had the bed set-up in my son's spare bedroom so that it could cure for a few days before we moved it into his room. This was the first time it was completely put together and I was a bit worried that everything would fit, however everything fit like a glove and I gave a sigh of relief. On Friday night I went back to my son's house for the final move. We moved the bed into his room and I installed the strips for the bed slates and put on the bed bolt covers. Now for the last big test 'will the box spring and mattress fit?' YES IT FITS!!
> 
> Project done! I would like to thank Charles for all his help in making this bed happen. I could not have done this without his support and the Pencil Post Bed DVD that he has out. If you would like to make your own bed I strongly suggest you get the DVD. Right now it is on sale on his web site www.antiquesbuiltdaily.com for around $50.00. It is a 2 DVD set (5 hrs running time) covering how to make and use the jigs and everything you need to know to make the bed. Thanks also to everyone who took the time to read my blogs. I hope you had as much fun reading them as I did making the bed.


Mike Great job. Nice finish on the bed. I'm sure that the son is proud of his Papa.


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## GaryK (Jun 25, 2007)

mikega said:


> *Pencil Post bed part 4 FINISHED*
> 
> In my last blog I mentioned that I would be traveling back down to Charles Neil's shop in New Market VA .to put the finish on my bed. When I arrived there I saw a police car sitting in front of the shop. Charles greeted me and told me that they had a break in that night. After some investigating they found a trail of some items from the shop leading right to the backdoor of the house next door. A drill was found in the basement and a phone charger was found in one of the bedrooms. However the 2 video cameras were no where to be found. The police took the information and the investigation is still on gone. I talked with Charles last week and he said that Sherri has purchased a new camera and some other items needed to get them back up with making his videos. Needless to say everyone was very upset but after the police left Charles was able to pull it together and we got started on my bed. The first thing we did was to spray on an equalized by Gemini products.  Charles explained that this would help to even out the color of the cherry when we put the stain on. This stuff dried really quick so it was not long before we were spraying on the stain. The stained we used was called Honey-Pine also by Gemini.  This gave the cherry a nice warm look and really brought out the curl in the grain. Next we sprayed on a vinyl sealer and left that dry for awhile. Next we rubbed on a dark glaze (mahogany I think) from Mohawk which gave the wood a nice aged cherry look.   Next came a very heavy coat of a precatalzed lacquer. Then we left the bed to dry for the night. On Saturday we got started about 8:30. Charles explained that today would be easier because all we needed to do was to sand and level out the lacquer that we put on the day before and then spray it one more time with another coat of lacquer.  Here is a quick way to sand and glaze the finials.  This gave us plenty of time to sit around and talk woodworking while things were drying. I also took advantage of this time to get some pictures of the new shop layout. If you subscribe to Charles newsletter you know that they split the shop in half. This was mainly done to help keep down the heating cost.   All the woodworking machines except the big drum sander and a planner were moved to the front of the shop.  The main shop is now just a little larger then a 2 car garage. He explained that by setting his shop up this way guys who view his videos can see how they can setup their shop. I looked at the wall that holds some of his 20 routers and said "yea most guys have 20 routers in their shop" He just laughed and said "I hate changing router bits". He then went on to explain that he is still a production shop making furniture for a living so he needs things that help him cut down on the production time like more then type of tool and tools on their own stands so he does not have to waste time moving tools in and out. By 3:00 everything was sanded and sprayed and left to dry for another night. I left for the day and went over to check out the VMI Hall Of Valor which is less then 5 minutes from the shop. If you get to New Market be sure to spend some time there. Sunday morning I was back at the shop by 8:30. We talked for awhile then carefully wrapped the bed in some moving blankets and loaded it in my truck for the trip home. By 4:00 that afternoon we had the bed set-up in my son's spare bedroom so that it could cure for a few days before we moved it into his room. This was the first time it was completely put together and I was a bit worried that everything would fit, however everything fit like a glove and I gave a sigh of relief. On Friday night I went back to my son's house for the final move. We moved the bed into his room and I installed the strips for the bed slates and put on the bed bolt covers. Now for the last big test 'will the box spring and mattress fit?' YES IT FITS!!
> 
> Project done! I would like to thank Charles for all his help in making this bed happen. I could not have done this without his support and the Pencil Post Bed DVD that he has out. If you would like to make your own bed I strongly suggest you get the DVD. Right now it is on sale on his web site www.antiquesbuiltdaily.com for around $50.00. It is a 2 DVD set (5 hrs running time) covering how to make and use the jigs and everything you need to know to make the bed. Thanks also to everyone who took the time to read my blogs. I hope you had as much fun reading them as I did making the bed.


Those posts look great. Very nice project.

Nice looking shop also.


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## Tangle (Jul 21, 2007)

mikega said:


> *Pencil Post bed part 4 FINISHED*
> 
> In my last blog I mentioned that I would be traveling back down to Charles Neil's shop in New Market VA .to put the finish on my bed. When I arrived there I saw a police car sitting in front of the shop. Charles greeted me and told me that they had a break in that night. After some investigating they found a trail of some items from the shop leading right to the backdoor of the house next door. A drill was found in the basement and a phone charger was found in one of the bedrooms. However the 2 video cameras were no where to be found. The police took the information and the investigation is still on gone. I talked with Charles last week and he said that Sherri has purchased a new camera and some other items needed to get them back up with making his videos. Needless to say everyone was very upset but after the police left Charles was able to pull it together and we got started on my bed. The first thing we did was to spray on an equalized by Gemini products.  Charles explained that this would help to even out the color of the cherry when we put the stain on. This stuff dried really quick so it was not long before we were spraying on the stain. The stained we used was called Honey-Pine also by Gemini.  This gave the cherry a nice warm look and really brought out the curl in the grain. Next we sprayed on a vinyl sealer and left that dry for awhile. Next we rubbed on a dark glaze (mahogany I think) from Mohawk which gave the wood a nice aged cherry look.   Next came a very heavy coat of a precatalzed lacquer. Then we left the bed to dry for the night. On Saturday we got started about 8:30. Charles explained that today would be easier because all we needed to do was to sand and level out the lacquer that we put on the day before and then spray it one more time with another coat of lacquer.  Here is a quick way to sand and glaze the finials.  This gave us plenty of time to sit around and talk woodworking while things were drying. I also took advantage of this time to get some pictures of the new shop layout. If you subscribe to Charles newsletter you know that they split the shop in half. This was mainly done to help keep down the heating cost.   All the woodworking machines except the big drum sander and a planner were moved to the front of the shop.  The main shop is now just a little larger then a 2 car garage. He explained that by setting his shop up this way guys who view his videos can see how they can setup their shop. I looked at the wall that holds some of his 20 routers and said "yea most guys have 20 routers in their shop" He just laughed and said "I hate changing router bits". He then went on to explain that he is still a production shop making furniture for a living so he needs things that help him cut down on the production time like more then type of tool and tools on their own stands so he does not have to waste time moving tools in and out. By 3:00 everything was sanded and sprayed and left to dry for another night. I left for the day and went over to check out the VMI Hall Of Valor which is less then 5 minutes from the shop. If you get to New Market be sure to spend some time there. Sunday morning I was back at the shop by 8:30. We talked for awhile then carefully wrapped the bed in some moving blankets and loaded it in my truck for the trip home. By 4:00 that afternoon we had the bed set-up in my son's spare bedroom so that it could cure for a few days before we moved it into his room. This was the first time it was completely put together and I was a bit worried that everything would fit, however everything fit like a glove and I gave a sigh of relief. On Friday night I went back to my son's house for the final move. We moved the bed into his room and I installed the strips for the bed slates and put on the bed bolt covers. Now for the last big test 'will the box spring and mattress fit?' YES IT FITS!!
> 
> Project done! I would like to thank Charles for all his help in making this bed happen. I could not have done this without his support and the Pencil Post Bed DVD that he has out. If you would like to make your own bed I strongly suggest you get the DVD. Right now it is on sale on his web site www.antiquesbuiltdaily.com for around $50.00. It is a 2 DVD set (5 hrs running time) covering how to make and use the jigs and everything you need to know to make the bed. Thanks also to everyone who took the time to read my blogs. I hope you had as much fun reading them as I did making the bed.


Great post, Mike. And great to have Charles help you. He sounds like a great guy.


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## Mario (Apr 23, 2007)

mikega said:


> *Pencil Post bed part 4 FINISHED*
> 
> In my last blog I mentioned that I would be traveling back down to Charles Neil's shop in New Market VA .to put the finish on my bed. When I arrived there I saw a police car sitting in front of the shop. Charles greeted me and told me that they had a break in that night. After some investigating they found a trail of some items from the shop leading right to the backdoor of the house next door. A drill was found in the basement and a phone charger was found in one of the bedrooms. However the 2 video cameras were no where to be found. The police took the information and the investigation is still on gone. I talked with Charles last week and he said that Sherri has purchased a new camera and some other items needed to get them back up with making his videos. Needless to say everyone was very upset but after the police left Charles was able to pull it together and we got started on my bed. The first thing we did was to spray on an equalized by Gemini products.  Charles explained that this would help to even out the color of the cherry when we put the stain on. This stuff dried really quick so it was not long before we were spraying on the stain. The stained we used was called Honey-Pine also by Gemini.  This gave the cherry a nice warm look and really brought out the curl in the grain. Next we sprayed on a vinyl sealer and left that dry for awhile. Next we rubbed on a dark glaze (mahogany I think) from Mohawk which gave the wood a nice aged cherry look.   Next came a very heavy coat of a precatalzed lacquer. Then we left the bed to dry for the night. On Saturday we got started about 8:30. Charles explained that today would be easier because all we needed to do was to sand and level out the lacquer that we put on the day before and then spray it one more time with another coat of lacquer.  Here is a quick way to sand and glaze the finials.  This gave us plenty of time to sit around and talk woodworking while things were drying. I also took advantage of this time to get some pictures of the new shop layout. If you subscribe to Charles newsletter you know that they split the shop in half. This was mainly done to help keep down the heating cost.   All the woodworking machines except the big drum sander and a planner were moved to the front of the shop.  The main shop is now just a little larger then a 2 car garage. He explained that by setting his shop up this way guys who view his videos can see how they can setup their shop. I looked at the wall that holds some of his 20 routers and said "yea most guys have 20 routers in their shop" He just laughed and said "I hate changing router bits". He then went on to explain that he is still a production shop making furniture for a living so he needs things that help him cut down on the production time like more then type of tool and tools on their own stands so he does not have to waste time moving tools in and out. By 3:00 everything was sanded and sprayed and left to dry for another night. I left for the day and went over to check out the VMI Hall Of Valor which is less then 5 minutes from the shop. If you get to New Market be sure to spend some time there. Sunday morning I was back at the shop by 8:30. We talked for awhile then carefully wrapped the bed in some moving blankets and loaded it in my truck for the trip home. By 4:00 that afternoon we had the bed set-up in my son's spare bedroom so that it could cure for a few days before we moved it into his room. This was the first time it was completely put together and I was a bit worried that everything would fit, however everything fit like a glove and I gave a sigh of relief. On Friday night I went back to my son's house for the final move. We moved the bed into his room and I installed the strips for the bed slates and put on the bed bolt covers. Now for the last big test 'will the box spring and mattress fit?' YES IT FITS!!
> 
> Project done! I would like to thank Charles for all his help in making this bed happen. I could not have done this without his support and the Pencil Post Bed DVD that he has out. If you would like to make your own bed I strongly suggest you get the DVD. Right now it is on sale on his web site www.antiquesbuiltdaily.com for around $50.00. It is a 2 DVD set (5 hrs running time) covering how to make and use the jigs and everything you need to know to make the bed. Thanks also to everyone who took the time to read my blogs. I hope you had as much fun reading them as I did making the bed.


Thank you so much for this blog. It was really nice to see this come together, it feels like we were all part of the process.

Thanks


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## kenn (Mar 19, 2008)

mikega said:


> *Pencil Post bed part 4 FINISHED*
> 
> In my last blog I mentioned that I would be traveling back down to Charles Neil's shop in New Market VA .to put the finish on my bed. When I arrived there I saw a police car sitting in front of the shop. Charles greeted me and told me that they had a break in that night. After some investigating they found a trail of some items from the shop leading right to the backdoor of the house next door. A drill was found in the basement and a phone charger was found in one of the bedrooms. However the 2 video cameras were no where to be found. The police took the information and the investigation is still on gone. I talked with Charles last week and he said that Sherri has purchased a new camera and some other items needed to get them back up with making his videos. Needless to say everyone was very upset but after the police left Charles was able to pull it together and we got started on my bed. The first thing we did was to spray on an equalized by Gemini products.  Charles explained that this would help to even out the color of the cherry when we put the stain on. This stuff dried really quick so it was not long before we were spraying on the stain. The stained we used was called Honey-Pine also by Gemini.  This gave the cherry a nice warm look and really brought out the curl in the grain. Next we sprayed on a vinyl sealer and left that dry for awhile. Next we rubbed on a dark glaze (mahogany I think) from Mohawk which gave the wood a nice aged cherry look.   Next came a very heavy coat of a precatalzed lacquer. Then we left the bed to dry for the night. On Saturday we got started about 8:30. Charles explained that today would be easier because all we needed to do was to sand and level out the lacquer that we put on the day before and then spray it one more time with another coat of lacquer.  Here is a quick way to sand and glaze the finials.  This gave us plenty of time to sit around and talk woodworking while things were drying. I also took advantage of this time to get some pictures of the new shop layout. If you subscribe to Charles newsletter you know that they split the shop in half. This was mainly done to help keep down the heating cost.   All the woodworking machines except the big drum sander and a planner were moved to the front of the shop.  The main shop is now just a little larger then a 2 car garage. He explained that by setting his shop up this way guys who view his videos can see how they can setup their shop. I looked at the wall that holds some of his 20 routers and said "yea most guys have 20 routers in their shop" He just laughed and said "I hate changing router bits". He then went on to explain that he is still a production shop making furniture for a living so he needs things that help him cut down on the production time like more then type of tool and tools on their own stands so he does not have to waste time moving tools in and out. By 3:00 everything was sanded and sprayed and left to dry for another night. I left for the day and went over to check out the VMI Hall Of Valor which is less then 5 minutes from the shop. If you get to New Market be sure to spend some time there. Sunday morning I was back at the shop by 8:30. We talked for awhile then carefully wrapped the bed in some moving blankets and loaded it in my truck for the trip home. By 4:00 that afternoon we had the bed set-up in my son's spare bedroom so that it could cure for a few days before we moved it into his room. This was the first time it was completely put together and I was a bit worried that everything would fit, however everything fit like a glove and I gave a sigh of relief. On Friday night I went back to my son's house for the final move. We moved the bed into his room and I installed the strips for the bed slates and put on the bed bolt covers. Now for the last big test 'will the box spring and mattress fit?' YES IT FITS!!
> 
> Project done! I would like to thank Charles for all his help in making this bed happen. I could not have done this without his support and the Pencil Post Bed DVD that he has out. If you would like to make your own bed I strongly suggest you get the DVD. Right now it is on sale on his web site www.antiquesbuiltdaily.com for around $50.00. It is a 2 DVD set (5 hrs running time) covering how to make and use the jigs and everything you need to know to make the bed. Thanks also to everyone who took the time to read my blogs. I hope you had as much fun reading them as I did making the bed.


Great job, I really appreciate you posting this since my next major project is supposed to be a pencil post bed for my son. I'm sure I'll be back checking this out a few more times.


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