Head Board Project

[Leon]

Well I am about half way through the next project, a stained mahogany federal style head board. I am building this to go with an existing dresser and chest of drawers. Oddly the existing bed headboard looks like stained rattan.

Anyway about 2 1/2 years ago I had was working on our tall pantry for our home. I first tried General Finishes Java gel stain for the face frames and the stain was not adhering properly. Every time I went back over a spot that I had already applied, the stain would wipe off. This was a very unexpected situation and I ended up resanding and applying a dark brown dye stain from the same company. That worked great other than raising the grain.

Anyway reluctantly I bought the same product but chose Georgian Cherry to go over Mahogany. I topped this with 3 coats of Old Masters Gel Varnish. I am really really happy with the results.

I have stained, varnished, and assembled the body and legs of the headboard and have just begun the decorative top piece that will have lots of angles and a turned finial in the center.

Below is one of the leg/posts with the Domino cut mortises and the masked unstained section that will receive glue to attach to the body of the headboard. The body panel is on bottom.

Terrible lighting that does the stain bo justice like the above picture but this what the main body looks like so far.

[nailshooter41]

OK, I have read this three times and don't know exactly which stain/dye you used. Did you use your "go to" first choice product or the second choice that worked better on the buffet?

Nice finish, BTW. How did you apply the colorant?

Robert

[Sonny]

Very nice, Leon, as always. I'm anxious to see those other details.

Is the decorative top angled pieces to extend toward or to the posts?

My first thoughts, about those post tops, is that the posts need something Federal, on top, similarly as Bryan's bed posts needed those Mission style caps. In my mind, I was picturing (wrongly) the finial would be a stand a lone detail, and some complimentary pieces needed to be on the posts, to ba lance the overall look.

You did say you're not finished; You did say there are other angled pieces , so it may be these other pieces that will compliment or balance with the finial. Anyway, this was just some of my first thoughts, that popped in my head, when I first saw the (unfinished project) pic, i.e., that the posts tops looked too plain.

I'm suppose to be mowing grass, instead of sitting here, so my thinking is screwed up, anyway. *I pried open my wallet and hired a lawn service. The y start next week. My lawn is taking its toll on my body (and mind?), so h opefully the lawn service will give me a good break from that torture. Law n work use to be fun and exercise, for me, but not no mo.

Leon's progress makes me envious.... I'd rather be in the shop, than mowing grass, right now.

Sonny

[Leon]

Thank you Robert.

I used the General Finishes Georgian Cherry gel stain with great results. I had terrible results with same product, different color,

2.5 years ago. Previously, overlap spots actually removed the stain that was wiped on a minute or two previously.

I wiped the gel stain on, about 1~2 sqft, with a folded Scott Blue Shop paper towel, immediately a few seconds later, wiped with another of the same type towel to remove excess and to buff.

With Old Masters gel varnish I applied the same way, about 1~2 sqft at a time and immediately wiped off excess with same type towel, and then immediately with another of the same type towel buffed out.

[Leon]

Thank you Sonny!

A picture is worth a thousand words. The link below shows the whole head board and on the right side what needs to be added. This is what the customer approved. His dresser mirror unit has a very similar top.

It was 95 degrees in my shop at 9:30 this morning and has been the past several days. Progress is slow because of this.

[Sonny]

I must be absent minded. I should have realized what the additional design elements would be like, being familiar with many furniture styles and have a few similar pieces (Grandfather clock crown, staring me in the face). But I've never built a feature as that, so it'll be interesting to see how you do it, if you post those details.

Thanks. Sonny

[Leon]

You bet, I'll post those details. The main body of the upper section was a glue up of a 7.25" wide board and two shorter 3.75" wide pieces to form the two points at the top. I printed a full scale drawing of that piece and glued it down to the piece with a glue stick, only along the line locations. Yesterday I used my track saw to cut all of the outer angle sides, 7 cuts in all. The center was the tricky one as I needed to plunge cut to start and move the saw a couple of inches so as to not cut into the outer sides of the circles. This cut is the one that the finial will set on. Hopefully today I will get those circles cut out and sanded on the oscillating drum sander.