Grad Bedroom Suite

[Shelley Bolster]

This year my son, our youngest, graduates from High School. His class decided to hold a raffle (alot of government red-tape) and I offered to donate a bedroom suite as one of the prizes. Another parent, who owns a sporting-goods store, donated a childs size snowmobile! It has taken me 6 weeks to complete with most of the time preparing the rough pine 1x4s and 2x4s, which I was lucky if I got 3" of width after cutting out the wain. So, it took a bit of time to biscuit, glue and clamp to make a panel. Also, I'm a bit of a fanatic when it comes to mortise and tenon joinery and used them to construct the carcasses. I might as well add a couple of progress pic so the Picture Police will have nothing to complain about.

Below is a pic of the back frame of the dresser. You might be able to see the mortises that will hold the pieces that connect the front to the back as well as giving something to attach the drawer slide to. The ends have tenons that will be mortised into the sides.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v99/shelleybolster/101_2144.jpg

After connecting the front to the back came the tricky part, attaching it to the sides. I called on my husband for help with the dresser, the 2 night tables I could do on my own. Below is just after it came out of the clamps.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v99/shelleybolster/101_2154.jpg

With each project, I try to learn something new - this time is was how to make ogee bracket feet (at least I think that's what they're called). They are great fun to make but I warn you, they are rather time consuming - it took me 2 days to make the 12 feet. Hopefully, with more experience, I can cut that back a bit. The mitre corners have a biscuit in them but for the life of me I could not get a clamp to work so as you see in the pic, I ended up using tape until the glue dryed.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v99/shelleybolster/101_2163.jpg

I had to add some bracing in order to be able to attach them to the dresser as shown below.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v99/shelleybolster/101_2272.jpg

Anyways, below is what I ended up with. You will notice that I only made a headboard. I was planning on making a bed, but the hours really started to add up and I have another job (this one paying) that I have to start. Also, alot of people really don't like a footboard and I have no idea who will win this.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v99/shelleybolster/101_2261.jpg

The pic isn't the greatest but we were in a real hurry to try to beat the incoming snow-storm - not quick enough, it caught us out there.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v99/shelleybolster/101_2258.jpg

and....a bunch of little "boxes"

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v99/shelleybolster/101_2274.jpg

The vacant room in the school where we were to store it, became unavailable so guess who has to have it stored for 4 months until the draw date. What we don't do for our kids??:) Thanks for looking.
Shelley

[Dennis Peacock]

Most EXCELLENT Shelley!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Did you do all this in a single week? How long did it take to make all these pieces? Just curious.

Once again, very good on the pieces. I lilke the look and style you made.

[Robert E Lee]

Shelley, That is very nice !!!!! My wife would like the kitchen done all in pine.
Bob

[Lou Morrissette]

Great job, Shelley. Nice crisp lines, which as you well know, is not easy with pine. I home the raffle makes a ton of money after all that work

Lou

[Michael Stafford]

Enter me,enter me!!! I would love to win this raffle. Your work is great. I have seen examples of it before on your web site so I was not surprised. Very fine. I love the feet. One question though, we are not becoming OCD about mortise and tenon are we?(Obsessive compulsive disorder) :p Really nice work. :D

[Christine Tiede]

Yay, Shelly! Glad you posted your work. It's truly amazing how those tiny little feet needed SO much work..... but it really was worth it!

Hey Big Mike...... yes, she is just a tad OCD, I might add.... and I only know her as an e-friend!! LOL

Regards,

[Chris Padilla]

:eek: W O W :eek:

Awesome work! It takes me 6 weeks just to design something my wife will like! Someone will be a very lucky recipient of that fine set. I could easily see a year go by before I could complete a whole set! Ah, who am I kidding? ...maybe more like 2 years! :o

[Jerry Olexa]

Shelly OUTSTANDING work AND QUICK. You should be proud!!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Excellent results Shelley!

[Shelley Bolster]

Thanks all for your kind remarks! :)
Dennis, you had me worried I had made a typo, I only wish I could have done that in a week - it actually took six.
Robert, years ago I had my first experience with "cabinetmaking" buy building a set of cupboards (they weren't anywhere near good enough to be called cabinets) out of pine. You probably already know this, but because pine is such a soft wood, often it is not your best choice for kitchen cabinets particularly if you have kids. I faithfully put on a fresh coat of oil based Varathane every year, but those chairs being pushed to the counter up to help Mommy, really did a number on them. When my husband and I built our house, I chose to use a birch and alder and after 20 years, they don't have a scratch...just something to ponder.
Lou, thank you for appreciating how pine can not be the nicest wood to try to work with, most believe you work with pine because you don't have the skill to work with hardwoods. The biggest reason most of the stuff I've made is out of pine is because my husband works at the mill here and so I buy it by the lift - and ...cherry (which I adore) and most other hardwoods, are just out of this world way up here!
Mike, I love to sell you a ticket but hey, think it would be a little hard to mail it to you when you won. Now, the part about being a little "Obsessive" about the mortise and tenons (and thanks alot Chris!) .....well, think you've got me there. All kidding aside, there is a good reason though why I really like them. During the house fire we experienced 2 years ago the burnt off the top story of our house, I literally threw the chairs I had built (using Mortise and Tenons!) out of the glass doors clearing the patio and onto the lawn. To this day not One of them have even the slightest wiggle! So, I"m sold - talk about a "stress-test".
Chris, I am fortunate to have been able to be a stay-at-home-mom (soon to be unemployed :cool: ) so when I say 6 weeks, that is working on it everyday. It would have taken me forever if I could have only worked on it during the evenings and weekends. Many of those days however, were only about 2 hours - once I had the panels in clamps, I ran out of room to work on something else. A 24 x 32 addition is planned for the spring so those short days will be history!
Thanks Jerry, but I think the class might have thought I wasn't so quick! Once they got the raffle licence, they told me they were going to start selling tickets in 3 weeks!!! You know, they aren't much different than most of the general population - they have no idea just how long it takes to make something - they are used to walking into a store, picking out something they like and in alot of cases, taking it home the same day. I think the kids assumed three weeks would give me more than enough time - gulp! So I really appreciate you "woodworkers" giving me credit for being quick!
Thanks again folks, you would not believe just how nervous I was posting this thread - I have seen so many incredible pieces here that I just feel out of your league! But hey, it sure makes a guy/girl aspire to do better.:D
Shelley

[Mathew Nedeljko]

Shelley, let me just add my praise to everyone that has already responded. I just can't believe that it is possible to make such nice pieces out of pine! You are truly an inspiration, and I hope that I can come close to your level of skill some day.

Please continue to post your work, and no need to be nervous, for we all have a lot to learn!

[Michael Stafford]

Out of our league indeed! Shelley, OCD or no, you are in the major leagues and batting 500. Post more!!!

[Jim Becker]

Yalza! Whomever winds that one is getting wonderful craftsmanship, Shelley! Great job!

[John Miliunas]

"Holy pine scent, Batman!" That's some great looking furniture, Shelley! :) Yup, that's gonna' be one real happy winner! Super job. :cool:

[Pat Monahan]

Super job, Shelley! Just curious, what finish do you plan on using?

[Fred Pilkington]

Shelly:
Great looking furniture,:cool:

One question? how did you make those feet?
I have been trying to figure this out, Table saw bandsaw or router bits. Or a combination of each.

Fred P

[Betsy Yocum]

You've outdone yourself Shelley. The winner and their family will have that set for generations to come - I'm sure of it!:)

Betsy

[Pete Lamberty]

Absolutely fantastic Shelly! And to think that you made all of it out of construction grade pine. Unbelievable. Great job.

[Ted Shrader]

Wow Shelley -

Those are great. Someone is going to get a roomful of great furniture. What is the price of the raffle tickets?

You also said you were a stay at home mom. That is a full time job, so you were able to manage your time very successfully. "About to be unemployed" - Nah - time spent worrying that everything is going OK at university - enough studying, not too much partying, etc will consume some time. Although you can still do that while woodworking :) :)

Congratulations on a job well done!

Regards,
Ted

[Shelley Bolster]

You know, SMC didn't get the reputation of one of the nicest forums in Woodworking for nothing - You folks are really great. I'm just heading out the door for the day, but will try to answer the questions later this evening - and this time I'll try to keep it short.
Thanks again, Shelley

[Mike Scoggins]

Shelley,

It's already been said by many, but let me add my "Great Job!" You have no reason to be timid about posting here; let that bolster your confidence (yes, crummy pun intended :) ). I made living room furniture years ago out of pine when I was just really getting into woodworking. I still have the coffee table and end table in my living room (which I hope to replace with a fun project before too long), but it's held up remarkably well. An interesting side note,--because pine is so soft the coffee table has indentions made by each of my three kids from grade school homework, drawing pictures, etc. Because of this, I'll probably never be able to part with the table! :rolleyes:

Again, great job on the bedroom set.

Mike

[Fred Chan]

Hi Shelley. That's a great looking bedroom suite. Did you shape those feet on the tablesaw? Is the high school right in Clinton or do you have to go to 100 Mile House? I see in the picture that there is snow already. I hope the temperature hasn't gotten too cold yet. I've got a place up at Loon and I haven't winterized yet.

[Allen Grimes]

Shelley, that is the best looking pine furniture I've seen. Is that design your own? I hope whoever wins it really appreciates all the hard work you put into it. Some people just don't know good craftsmanship when they see it. I actually saw this before class today and I told my teacher about it. I basicly said that I never thought pine could look so good. Then he said "its not the wood that makes the furniture beautiful, its the woodworker" he was right. Great job!

[Shelley Bolster]

I'll try must best to expain to those of you who asked how I made the ogee feet. Please remember, this was my first attempt at making them, and I had just finished when Jason posted his picture of the beautiful cherry hope chest he make using the same feet. http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=12912 So Jason, feel free anytime to jump in - you obvioulsy have had more experience than I. I pretty much followed the intructions in Lonnie Birds book "Shaping Wood" but had to improvise a bit as I don't have a bandsaw - well, we do, but it a big meat bandsaw that I plan to "retrofit" so to be able to use it for woodworking.
So, I started by making a cove in a 2x4 on the tablesaw. If anyone has a quicker, more effective way of removing the saw marks from a tablesaw cove I would love to hear it. I used my ROS as well as hand sanding but that is quite a job. I'm looking at a curved scraper set from Lee Valley and would be interested if any of you have used this method before?
I then ran the 2x4 through the table saw with the blade tilted to make a bevel on what will be the top part of the feet. (the degree of the blade will be determined by the depth of your cove) I then took a plane and the ROS to create a convex curve on the beveled part.
Anyways, once the 2x4 was "prepared" I cut them to size mitering the front corner. I marked each 1/2 of a foot so the grain would match up at the mitered corner. Once all 24 halves were cut, I transfered the pattern I had made up to the back side of each of them using a template that I flipped over from left to right. Right about now, I am kicking myself that I didn't take pics - would have been much easier to explain! For the really tight curves, I used the drill press and then cut the rest out with my jig-saw. Then I sanded the curves using the ROS and handsanding.....but.....my very next trip to the city, I bought a oscillating spindle sander! Because I liked the way the feet turned out and will no doubt be making more, justified another tool purchase! (That's my story and I'm sticking to it!) I joined the 2 halves with glue and a biscuit and taped them together until dry. I added blocking for strength and for a way of attaching them to the base. I stressed tested them by standing on one of the night tables and had Blake (my son) sit on them - all 6'2", 220lbs of him - and they handled it with no problem so they are stronger than they may look.
I hope I haven't got you totally confused with my attempt of expanation. Next time I make them I will take some pics and post them if anyone is interested.
Shelley

[Mike Stanton]

:D They are great .I wished I was that good maybe someday. Keep up the great work. Mike

[Shelley Bolster]

Sorry, my reply was soooo long about the ogee feet that I neglected to answer a couple of your questions.

For the "finish" I just sprayed on 5 coats of satin water-based Varathane (to add some protection) sanding between coats with 400 grit. I prefere to leave the pine natural as, in my opinion, why try to make it look like something it isn't?

The price of the raffle ticket are $5.00 (Canadian). The first ticket drawn will have their choice between the bedroom suite or the kids snowmobile with the second ticket drawn getting the "left-over".

I guess you could call the "design" my own being that I drew up the plans (and of course revised them a couple of times in the shop ;) ) but like most I think, I've been influenced by styles/details from existing pieces I've seen. Heck, I can't even watch a movie without checking out the furniture in the scene.

Hey Ted, thanks for your remarks about stay-at-home-moms and your right, my job isn't over although my hours will be getting cut back a bit. (more shop time??? :) )

Thanks to everyone who replied - you have really bolstered (good one Mike :D ) my confindence!
Shelley

[Carl Eyman]

Which the winner chose. Snowmobile or fine, fine furniture. But if it were to be the snowmobile don't give the winner's name. I might be tempted to write a nasty letter about some people's taste.

[Keith Christopher]

Shelly,

Awesome job ! I love it.