Sleigh Bed #2
Sleigh Bed: Sides of the Headboard and the Footboard
The first step to create the sleigh style sides to the bed’s headboard and footboard was to create a template. Using 1/4″ MDF, a pencil, a compass, and our mind’s eye, we began sketching the rough outline of the headboards pattern.
After arriving at a design we liked, we cut out the pattern on the bandsaw, cleaned up the edges on the horizontal belt sander and the spindle sander, and designed a smaller version of the headboard’s pattern for the footboard.
Before we could do any patterning though we needed to glue up the blanks. Here you can see one of the headboard blanks being glued up.
We then planed down each blank to 3″ thick and, after tracing the outline of the pattern on each blank, cut away the excess using the bandsaw. With the excess material removed we were able to tape on the pattern and follow the edge using a flush trim bit.
Viola! Four perfect headboard and footboard pieces!
Using a router, a straightedge, and a straight cutting bit, we routed out a groove in each of the pieces to accept the spline from the headboard and footboard. We also drilled a round hole in the top, using a Forster bit, to accept the rounded top of the headboard and footboard.
Next, using a double bead bit, we routed out the nice detail you see in each of the four pieces.
A close-up view of the router bit.
Once the pieces were cut out, trimmed, and detailed, it was time to tackle the hardest step of all, the side detail. Each side piece had a detail routed into the side that parrallelled the edge and included a slight flair at the top and the bottom.
This step was very difficult becasue there was no easy way to tackle it. There was no way to use a fence as a guide because of all the curves, and routing it out freehand would be way to risky, as one slip with the router would ruin the entire piece. Therefore, we decided to cut a pattern for each one that we could follow with a bearing and a straight cutting bit.
The first step was to make a brand new patterns of the headboard and footboard pieces. We did this because we wanted to keep the original patterns unscathed, allowing us to use them for future sleigh beds, should the opportunity arrise. Once we flush trimmed new patterns out, we then traced a line inset by .5″ from the outside edge. We then cut along the inside of that line using a jigsaw and cleaned up the excess very carefully using a Bosch Colt router and a sharp straight cutting bit. This step required extreme care and concentration because one slip would ruin it and the process would have to be repeated with a brand new pattern blank. Thankfully, we only slipped once and the mistake was easily remedied.
After all that work, we had a pattern like you see in the left side of the picture above. It was nailed onto the side piece using 23 gauge pin nails to hold it securely in place, and a router outfitted with a collet and a straight bit was set on top of the pattern and, following the inside edge of the pattern, the middle of the piece was routed away, as seen in the far right piece in the above picture.
And that is how you make the sides for the headboard and footboard!