Red Oak Bedroom set

[Fred Voorhees]

Well, found some time to fool with the new scanner and got some pics scanned. I built this bedroom set using red oak purchased from a local rough-sawn lumber supplier. The style is obviously raised panel construction. I love to work with red oak. It's a beautiful species.

So here goes:

Pic 1 - queen sized bed and the pair of matching nightstands.
Pic 2 - The LOML's dresser and mirror
Pic 3 - My armoir-style dresser and the hutch, which was the first piece of the set built.
Pic 4 - This is a shot of the innards of the upper part of my dresser. By the way, the upper and lower sections are seperate and do come apart for transportation.
Pic 5 - To finish off the set, I built these oak window shutters. They were built using the jig from the New Yankee Workshop.

[Jim Becker]

Let me be the first to say that this furniture looks even better in person...it's great work and it really transformed the room. Thanks for posting the first of many pictures of your super work, Fred! :D

[Dennis Peacock]

Very well done Fred..!!!! Very nice work and I really like the style. Giving me ideas for our master bedroom stuff when that time comes. ;)

[Tyler Howell]

Toooo Nice Fred. It was worth the wait.;)

[Tony Falotico]

Beautiful looking furniture Fred, something for you to be very proud of.
Keep up the great work and more pic's.

[John Miliunas]

Nice stuff, Fred! You been busy, I'd say. I really like that style and you've done it justice. I have found Oak to be kind of a chore to finish. How about some details? Please! :cool:

[Fred Voorhees]

Details huh? Well, the finish that I used was Minwax Polycrylic. It's waterbased and I used that because right now, I am forced to finish my furniture in out actual home and the LOML has one seriously sensitive nose. She would definitely hate me finishing with anything else at this time. A very future plan is to add on to my shop with a dedicated finishing room. That will bump out right over top of my camper bay. I have found the open pores of the red oak to be a bit of a pain, but that is what I kind of like about it. I did think about using a pore filler, but I think it kind of takes away from the natural character of the wood. I don't know if I will continue to use the Polycrylic as you get some varied results according to the humidity levels while you are doing the finish. All in all though, I do like the stuff. AND it cleans up really easy.

For the bed, I actually copied the style from a local furniture outlet's flier that came in the Sunday paper a few years ago. I've attached a copy of that add, though I can't promise a quality photo. In the entire set, I think there are a total of thirty three raised panels. I built the hutch first and then moved onto the bed and then the matching nightstands. Next was my wifes dresser and then, finally, my armoir style dresser. I figured that after all of that work, I was going to make myself something really nice. I had always wanted to make an armoir style piece and I incorporated it into my dresser. I found the layout of the top portion a bear to draw out as far as the plans, but careful measuring and attention to detail got me through it with little problems. This armoir was also the very first piece of furniture that I have used hardwood plywood in. The plywood was left over from my tablesaw outfeed table project. As it turns out, the two projects used up exactly one sheet of the stuff with very little wasted.

This set has gotten the red oak out of my system, though I will certainly build with it again. I just want to move on and experience some other species.

[John Miliunas]

Thanks for the info, Fred! Even though my shop area is seperate from the living area, I still like using water-based whenever I can for both, the ease of cleanup and the problems with "aroma"! :rolleyes: Unfortunately, I don't think you can beat the oils for popping the grain out, especially in the burls and curly stuff. Velvit Oil is still my favorite for that, but LOML doesn't care for the smell, either. (She's a regular visitor out in the shop!) Again, nice job on the set! :cool:

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Fred, beautiful work!

[Joe Bourbois]

Fred, that's an incredible job on the whole set. I especially like the dresser. Good work!

[Mark Mazzo]

Fred,

That's beautiful work! It's quite an accomplishment to produce an entire set of bedroom furniture, you should be proud.

-- Mark

[Daniel Rabinovitz]

Fred
That is one beautiful bedroom suit!
Really well done.
Daniel :cool:

[Jason Tuinstra]

Fred, excellent job. You obviously put a lot of time, energy, and love into your work. The finish looks wonderful. I especially like the raised panels on the bed. Nice work and thanks for sharing.

[Chris Padilla]

Nice! That is a lot of pieces! How long did it take you to complete everything? I am soooo slow...take me forever to make anything but I enjoy the process nonetheless

[Rick Lasita]

Wow Fred, a great set to be proud of...I too am curious as to how long it too to complete all of that, can't wait to see what you make next. :D

[Lynn Sonier]

Very nice work, Fred. I shudder to think what that bedroom set would cost if I had to buy red oak at the prices I have to pay around here (south Louisiana).
Congratulations.
Lynn

[Fred Voorhees]

To answer those who questioned how long it took to complete the entire set - well, about a year and a half to maybe two years at the outside. I didn't set out to break any records while building the set. In fact, I built the hutch first and that was a stand alone unit - meaning that it was the only thing that I was going to build. Then I saw that flyer that had the bed in it and I said, that is a nice simple, yet beautiful bed. I decided to build the bed and quickly said to heck with it and decided to build the entire set. The timing was pretty good also since our son was just about to get out of college and would be out on his own and would need furniture. When I completed the entire new oak set, he got our older, yet still in great condition bedroom set.

Thanks for all of the great compliments. As of now, this bedroom set is by far the largest project that I have undertaken. I have done lots of smaller items (and maybe I'll post a few examples over the next day or two). I have completed some darned nice arbor style clothesline supports that have lattice between the double uprights on each one of the set of three. Made completely out of cedar about two months ago and are waiting to be "planted" in the yard this spring. I want to wait until I get them in the ground before posting any pics of them.

[Ted Shrader]

Fred -

Great job on the set of furniture. What was the total time from first piece to last?

BZ!
Ted

[Jim Stastny]

Super work there Fred. I apreciate your love for red oak. I'm sitting on about 500 board feet, waiting for it to air dry.

[Jeff Skory]

Missed this post the other day. Beautiful work Fred. Definitely the level of craftmanship that I would like to attain someday.

[Fred Voorhees]

Fred -

Great job on the set of furniture. What was the total time from first piece to last?

BZ!
Ted

Ted, I think it was a little under two years between the start of the first piece (hutch) and the final touch (shutters).

[Fred Voorhees]

This photo gives a better idea of the detailing of the bed - taken on the "back forty".

[Jim Becker]

This photo gives a better idea of the detailing of the bed - taken on the "back forty".

Very realistic wall paper you have in that bedroom, Fred...:D

This one is reminicent of the picture at the top of Bill Grumbine's site titled, "A man 'out standing' in his field". You need to get a caption for yours!

[Randy Moore]

Fred, that is some beautiful work there. Do you like Red oak more than White oak It would take me ten years, if not longer do make that bedroom set. Again BEAUTIFUL work.
Thanks for sharing
Randy

[Tyler Howell]

Fred,
If you tell me you cut, milled, and dried the wood yourself off your land I'm going to hang up the tools. The details behind the construction make it all the more grand. Thanks for sharing.;)

[Lars Thomas]

Wow, a whole room of furniture in two years, By my standards, I'd consider that a new land-speed record. You have a lot of work invested in the projects - it shows. Each piece really turned out great. Lars