My Unique first Bed Build and finish, Built form vision,no plans!

Submitted by Build4life on Wed, 10/08/2014 - 13:11

My first furniture build using my Kreg HD jig, 3/8 Rockler Dow jig and my imagination as I went along. I was making a twin bed frame so I got the dimensions form the box spring and went form there. I made it 3 inches wider then the box spring and 3 inches longer. I glued to the runners a 2X2 and screwd it down with my Kreg 2 1/2 decking screws which made it nice and solid.  I used the dowling jig for the headboard and footboard to give it a distinctive look. I cut the dows to the length I desired and then glued one side in. Now making the otherside line up is a bit of a task. I found angling the final piece  and lining one are two at a time and working my way to the opposite side worked best. When you get the last dow lined up take a rubber mallet and give it several good wacks to take out your fruststions (LOL) and sinc the down in until they are bottomed out. I use 3 Kreg HD screws on each side of the rails along with Oak dows to mount the headboard and footboard to the runners. Workd out just great! The bed is solid and dows not creak in the least. It's as if the bed were carved out of one piece of wood.

The paint I used a base coat of Creamy Oat. Then I painted Elmers glue over the base coat and let it get tacky. Then I drenched it with the green top coat and sat back and watched it crack. It was awesome to watch it crack! Don't worry about it running are dripping you can come back after and take a razor blade and gently remove the drips keeping the razor flat against the finish and not angling it in to the paint. Remember it's supposed to look old and weathered. You can also use the cheapest throw away brrushes you can find. Be sloopy! No worries at all. The thicker you add the glue the wider the cracks will be. Practice on a few scraps to get the feel. I let it cure for 3 days because of the thickness of the paint then covered it with 3 coats of Rust-Oleum's water based Ultimate Polyurethane semi gloss.

I am so proud of this build. Came out better then I ever thought and I love the unique paint as well. Time comsuming but well worth it!

Estimated Cost
$175
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Described in post above.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Build4life

Wed, 10/08/2014 - 13:18

Sorry about the typo's. I should have proof read everything before I posted. Any questions please feel free to ask.

Build4life

Wed, 10/08/2014 - 15:18

I used 2X10's for the rails, headboard and footboard. Also I used Poplar and Oak dows on this build. Poplar was use on the headboard and footboard and the Oak was use on the rials to line them up and also for extra support along with 3 Kreg HD screws on each rail support end. 

When using the painting method above make sure you keep the surface flat are you will see a significant sag in the paint. As it dries it will want to run off because of the thickness of the glue and paint combined.

indykj

Sat, 10/11/2014 - 16:49

I tried the paint method suggested, however, It did not turn out as it does in the picture of the bed.  Can you tell me what kind of paint and glue you used?  How long did you wait until you found the glue to be "tacky"?

Thanks for any input you can suggest!

Build4life

Tue, 10/21/2014 - 14:43

Hi sorry it took me so long to answer. The base coat I used Valspar Signature Egshell Creamy Oat. Then I used Elmers Glue-All putting it on with and old throw away brush and alternated between thick and thinner areas on the surface of the 2X10's. Let the brush get saturated with glue and use pressure when applying to have the thinner areas and less pressure for the heavy areas. The heavy areas will produce the larger cracks. I let the glue sit for 5 minutes. I bought the glue by the gallon from either Sam's Club are Walmart online and they have free shipping so it runs about $16 per gallon. The top coat I use Olympic Premium that was so old I was not sure it would cure.

The trick is keeping the wood flat for about 1 day because the process is so thick the thickness of the glue and top coat will sag like crazy. The sides of the 2X10's are way different form the front and back. The paint process wanted to run off and I had to let it dry and thgen just use a razor blade to trim the drippings off. I hope this helps. If you leave it lay flat you'll get the effect I got. I'll tell you the picture does it no justice at all. Take care!

Mike