Gluing up legs for a mission/craftsman style bed using quarter sawn white oak

[Brian Runau]

I have 8/4 stock to start with and I am trying to decide if I want to make a 4 x 4 leg or use the 8/4 thickness and after milling and glue up shoot for 3-1/2 square. If I want the 4 x 4 I am going to have to put in a fill piece. I plan to cut veneer for two sides of each leg so I have a quarter sawn face on all four sides of the leg, so this would hide the filler.

Appreciate any input.

Brian

[Jim Becker]

The answer to your question revolves around proportion...will the 4" or the 3.5" dimension look better overall for the design of the bed?

[Brian Runau]

The answer to your question revolves around proportion...will the 4" or the 3.5" dimension look better overall for the design of the bed?

Simple 3 panel across, queen size. 44" high headboard.

Brian

[Bryan Lisowski]

I would find a scrap 2x4 and mock up both the 4” and 3 1/2” leg. This should give you a better idea of what fits your eye, then the decision will be easy.

[Brian Runau]

I would find a scrap 2x4 and mock up both the 4” and 3 1/2” leg. This should give you a better idea of what fits your eye, then the decision will be easy.

Looking At some plans, 2-1/2 to 2-3/4 seems normal sizes for them, so 3-1/2 or less will work fine. Brian

[Bryan Lisowski]

Looking At some plans, 2-1/2 to 2-3/4 seems normal sizes for them, so 3-1/2 or less will work fine. Brian

That seems better, sometimes things are overbuilt and we don’t think the smaller size is strong enough. Good luck with the build.

[Darrell Bade]

My similar style bed has 2 5/8 x 2 1/4 posts. They are 3 boards glued together. I made a headboard and footboard for bedframe and used 8/4 on it.