Arts and Crafts Bed

[Ben West]

Been meaning to post this for a while, my latest project. I always love the look of quartersawn white oak, and this had some particularly dramatic grain patterns.

This also was my first experience using Tried and True Original Wood Finish. Definitely will use it again.

[Ben Martin]

Great looking bed!

Can you give some more details on the finish?

[Carl L Goff]

A real nice bed and I like the wood grain also. Now you will have to make two night stands to match:D

[Baxter Smith]

Great looking bed and wood as well!

[Jim Rimmer]

Great looking bed!

[John Keeton]

Excellent work!! And, you are right about the QSWO - it is beautiful. Very nice project, and thanks for posting.

[gary Zimmel]

Nice, real nice Ben.
You got to love the look of that QSWO.
Now that the bed is done are you doing any other matching pieces?

[John Thompson]

Great job Ben. You definitely got some really nicely flecked QS. Did you hand pick if from a batch you purchased or was the whole lot flecked so heavily. I purchase a lot of it and my sawyer rips it from the tree as he gets it. Some will have heavy fleck.. some darker.. some lighter with the sapwood edges so I have to mix and match not always getting the heaviest of fleck.

But then again.. for what I pay for it I'm not complaining.. ;)

[Joe A Faulkner]

Very nice job Ben. Are the accent pieces out of a different species? Walnut?

[glenn bradley]

I was so busy ooh-ing and ahhh-ing I almost forgot to start typing. Beautiful piece and a great finish.

[Van Huskey]

Very nice fleck and pretty bed to boot!

[Ben West]

Thanks to all for the nice comments.

For the finish, I first used TransTint's honey amber dye, followed by Minwax Early American oil stain. Then, 3 coats of Tried and True original wood finish. The Tried and True took a while to dry, but I'm happy with the final results.

The accent pieces are walnut. My original plans were to use oak also for the rail and post caps, but I liked the contrast of the walnut.

I did pick through the oak some to find some highly-figured pieces, and I used the pieces with the most fleck on the footboard.

I do plan on making some matching night tables and, eventually, a dresser. But, that will have to wait, as I'll be moving to Jackson, TN in the next few weeks, and that will put a temporary halt to all my shop time. But, I'll be getting a much better shop with the move!

[Scott Schwake]

Wow, that's beautiful!

[Mark Ball]

Definitely can't let the wife see that one. It would go right to the top of honey-do list. The walnut accents really add to this one. Great job.

[Brad Wood]

very nice.. good job

[Prashun Patel]

Way to 'flecks' your skills. Nice.

[Brian Williamson]

Beautiful!

I love the proportion and design of the bed. I do have a few questions about the construction details... Are the posts solid or laminated? What kind of bed bolts did you use? Are the bolts stable?

Thanks for sharing!

[Ben West]

Beautiful!

I love the proportion and design of the bed. I do have a few questions about the construction details... Are the posts solid or laminated? What kind of bed bolts did you use? Are the bolts stable?

Thanks for sharing!


The corner posts are solid, milled from 8/4 white oak.

I used the bed bolts from Lee Valley (http://www.leevalley.com/hardware/page.aspx?c=2&p=40445&cat=3,40842,41269&ap=1). The bed bolts are rock solid; definitely the best rail mounting system I've tried.

[Mark Valsi]

GREAT JOB especially in picking the lumber.

you done good !

[Joe A Faulkner]

I think the walnut looks great. Did you use one bolt per rail? I made a set of twin beds this summer, book shelf head boards, and used standard bed rails. I am planning a similar project to what you've done for the master bed (king size) and want to go with hardwood rails. Did you go with a stock plan, or design this yourself? The bed really is a great piece of furniture. Thanks for posting this.

[Ben West]

Did you use one bolt per rail?


Yes, one bolt per rail end (total of 4). I also used cut mortises into the rails and posts and used loose tenons to keep the rails lined up correctly with the posts.