reeding a Sheraton bed post

[Rudy Fichtenbaum]

Does anyone know what type of router bit you would use to reed a Sheraton bed post?

Rudy

[ejb]

Hi Rudy,

I wasn't aware of a design called "Sheraton" until I saw your post and found this:

something like this work:

one on the left)

-or-

'm assuming that the bed post is round. You would utilize the center section of the bit in a fixture that would allow you to index the rotation of the bed post. Guidance would require a creative solution if the bed post weren't straight.

I went look> Does anyone know what type of router bit you would use to reed a > Sheraton bed post? >

[Andy Dingley]

You wouldn't - you can't reed (for any useful quality) with a router. The problem with reeding on a vertical router is that you can't get a sharp bottom to the vee - there's always a flat base to it. If you want a sharp good-looking reed, do it the old way and cut it (or at least finish it) by hand.

Start out with a lathe, which you probably have already to turn them or you can make a crude one up from 2x4s -- it doesn't need to spin. Now make the enormously useful two plywood boards "gutter guide" and a headstock indexing disk. With this and a wide plywood baseplate on your router you can cut a series of equally spaced vee grooves on the post. Use any pointed vee cutter because these are only rough guides for spacing and to remove the bulk of the wood. The finishing of the reed is done by hand with a home-made scratch stock. Make a special curved stock up just for this task - it's easier than trying to guide a straight stock on a round post. If you have one, a suitable wooden moulding plane might also be useful as an intermediate step.

Try and find a copy of Fine Woodworking magazine or their reprint book "Beds and Bedroom Furniture". There's a detailed article in there on a Sheraton bed with reeded posts. The author uses the lathe as a workstand and hand carves them.