Sleigh Bed #1
Sleigh Bed: Feet and Rails
I recently had a client from Reno, NV call me and request a custom sleigh bed for one of their clients in the Lake Tahoe area. Their clients have a sleep number mattress that raises and contours with a remote and this presented a problem when looking for a bed. There were no beds on the market that would work with the height and configuration of the mattress, so they decided to have one custom built mimicking the style of a bed they liked.
We will be building this bed out of Alder and custom staining it to match the other pieces in the room.
The first step was to design the four turned legs for the corners of the bed. Using Google SketchUp we designed the leg you see below. It is 16.5″ tall and 5.25″ in diameter at its widest point. We sent the design off to Turnco Wood Products in Vancouver, BC. They are a fantastic company with great customer service, great quality, and great lead-times.
Once we received the legs, it was time to route a mortise along two sides of each one to receive the bed rail. This task was not easy, but neither was it to hard. The most time consuming part was making the box to hold the turned leg perfectly horizontal and the supporting rails to guide the plunge router.
The 13.5″ long, 1″ wide, 2″ deep dado was cut using a 3/4″ diameter straight bit in about four passes.
Connecting the rails to the feet was incredibly easy! Just slide the rail into the mortise! This is where taking one’s time in the preceding step makes the subsequent steps a breeze.
From the outside the rail-leg union provides a seamless integration.
A parting shot of the entire bed rail assembly. The next step is to begin work on the headboard and footboard.
July 14th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
enjoy your work.following u on twitter.Mister Trees